1. I deeply appreciate how all through the day on Tuesday, both by email and through Facebook, friends sent expressions of sympathy, support, encouragement, condolence, and remembrances upon learning that Charly died. I spent much of the day responding to these kind words, but didn't finish. I'll return to it today.
2. Christy and Everett invited Debbie, Zoe, Carol, Paul, and me to their back yard for some chips and salsa and guacamole and we could spend some time together. We all brought our own beverages. It was fun. Zoe had news about her continuing studies. Christy, Carol, and Paul have been getting a lot of yard work and gardening done. Paul has been working for Christy, for Debbie and me, and at home.
I'd been to Yoke's and the liquor store earlier in the day and took a drive around town. At Yoke's and Dave Smith Motor Services, many people seemed happy that restrictions have been loosened and were talking while standing close to each other without any face covering. (I was one of two people in Yoke's with a covered face.) I saw people shaking hands and touching one another in big, friendly ways. I moved as briskly as I could through Yoke's and left as quickly as possible. I was the only customer at the liquor store, but I didn't lollygag around there either. I sanitized my hands in the car and scrubbed them when I returned home.
I joked after our family get together that I had sat in Smelterville while we were together -- it was just a way of saying that I sat quite far away from the table and stayed pretty far away from everyone as we enjoyed our time together. I will be relieved if one day I learn I didn't have to be so cautious, but my rational mind is wary, in part because of my own vulnerable medical condition, but mostly I'm wary of this virus' unpredictability, the lag time between when the virus has entered a community and when a community knows it's arrived, the virus' novel nature, and my concern with infecting others should I contract it. I'm playing it as safely as I can. My caution and my patience with staying inside so much is consistent with my general temperament.
3. I had a lot of fun preparing dinner today. I wanted to use some of our generous supply of crab stock, but I didn't want to fix a fish chowder or soup. I read some recipes and decided to make a vegetable chowder with the crab stock (the recipe called for chicken stock). I chopped up baby potatoes, broccoli florets, onion, carrots, and celery and got out a package of frozen corn. Once the vegetables got tender in the bubbling crab stock, I added in a mixture of butter, flour, and milk I'd made in a separate saucepan and added some half and half to it all. I cooked this for a while and once the vegetables were no longer crunchy, Debbie and I fixed ourselves steaming bowls of soup and enjoyed them a lot. (The recipe called for shredded cheese, but I declined -- I thought with the crab stock, milk, and half and half, the chowder was rich enough.)
Later, we decided that on Wednesday, we'd add diced tomatoes to the leftovers and see how that tasted. I have high hopes for this being a solid move.
BONUS
Today's Beautiful Things runneth over.
After dinner, at 7:00, I jumped online, went to Bill Davie's Facebook page, and listened to the next of his Tuesday night hour long performances from his home. It was awesome. Bill performed songs from throughout his catalog, including one he wrote very recently about his life during the pandemic.
Once again, some longtime friends were in the virtual room: Colette, Val, Jeff, Kathy, Loras, and maybe others I missed. It's become the highlight of my week to put in the earbuds and listen to Bill play every Tuesday. His music connects me to so much that I've enjoyed in my life: time spent with Bill -- and, in the last ten years, Diane, times with Bill I cherish back in Spokane, starting in 1977, his visits to Eugene, and the one time I traveled to Seattle to hear him perform and spend time at his house. My history with Bill is a mighty river with many might tributaries. They flood my mind with priceless memories.
Here's a limerick, written by Stu:
You wish it'd not muss up your hair.
In extreme can cause massive despair.
But enjoyed on hot nights,
Sailing boats, flying kites.
Plus, Beaufort Scale measures wind if you care.
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