Living in the Time of Corona

Good evening my Corona friends and hope you are all doing well and let’s not get too comfortable, as this thing can spike right back up if we are not careful. I know we are all over the map on this virus thing and I do mean that literally, as it has fled to our brothers and sisters in the southern belt, many who thought it was just a plague sent to their liberal neighbors but now the reality is it knows no political boundaries, so just wear a mask asshole, and we may make it to the other side.  When I last posted I had returned from a trip to Maine and tomorrow I embark on another vacation with techie and my friends Howie and Lisa who got married on the July 4th weekend. Yes, my friends, it is official, even the “olds” do “buddymoons”. Now I know I am going to sound ungrateful but believe me, when I tell you setting sail with four people on a sailboat for a week is not Glamping if you will. Yes, there are wonderful pieces of it, but during the time of Covid, the boat can shrink and there is only one head, for those landlubbers it is what they consider a bathroom. Normally that is not a problem because we will get a mooring or a slip every night along the way and they have facilities that include indoor plumbing, but during this time of Corona they have warned us that the facilities are closed, you just get to tie up but no showers or bathrooms.  I just went to CVS and stocked up on my depends, and moist towelettes for my daily cleansing. did I mention that people do this for fun?  Seriously if we have wind and weather it will be fabulous and my roommate really needs to enjoy this trip. The things we do for love.  I have laid out all my provisions and even purchased a new coffee percolator because I don’t want a repeat of bad coffee from that trip in Maine. I was in line at Costco yesterday getting stocked up on the Vodka and the cashier and lady in front were going on about some kind of Popsicle stick of Vodka. Immediately honing in when I heard something about Iced Vodka sticks I asked what are they and immediately added to my purchase.  I have them in the freezer right now and hope they make it past the first night aboard Charisma 3. I know there is a reason I love Howie so much because when we were planning the provisioning of the boat for meals, he said he was more of the ilk of Dock and Dine. yes, score one for the team. Techie would be happy heating up some beans or a can of soup, so glad we have someone on board besides me who wouldn’t mind dining off the boat. Of course, that leads to a whole new circumstance as to what is available but between Lisa and me, we got the Tuna fish and peanut butter covered so none will go hungry.  I doubt I will be able to chronicle my trip so you will have to wait for my return to hear all about my spa treatments and adventures, we will be enjoying this coming week.

We did have fun last weekend when we had a friend come from Minnesota and Franklin and we were able to give them a night of sailing in the Boston Harbor before going to dinner. Kelly was even kind enough to bring me a box of Nutty Buddies, so happy to hear that someone is paying a mind to my ranting and raving.

When we return next week it will be what is rationally Pan Mass Challenge weekend and this was to be my tenth year and because of Covid like all major sporting events, it has been reimagined. Techie and I ride on the Flames and this year we will ride with our team to our pedal partner’s homes, young cancer patients that partner with our team for support. It is an amazing feat to be a part of and I am grateful for all the support my techie and son have received from the folks at Dana Farber. I am willing to humiliate myself by squeezing into spandex [sure isn’t pretty] but we have to kick this cancer thing.

Just sayin,

Good evening my Corona friends and guess what! She’s back…………………… Yes it has been fifteen days since my final post and I did take the opportunity to take a vacation with my incredible, beautiful, and wonderful, children and grandkids, and yes I am including my daughter-in-law and son-in-law in this equation.  Let me just say for the record after spending time with them isolated on a small island in Maine, you learn things at the dinner table because there are no distractions and we had a lot of meaningful conversations.  One is that the younger generation really hates when the old people use ….. at the end of a sentence, really bugs them and I use it all the time. Which led to more conversations about my emails, techie brought up the point that he doesn’t believe I read what I am sending and case in point he shared one I had just sent to my team back at work, that I agreed the average layperson would probably not know what I am saying but thankfully I have the incredible Stephanie who replied no worries I speak Peganese.  They especially got a kick out of soibought , but like I said I got my Stephanie, and my techie, it takes a village and in my case maybe a large metropolitan area.  I put our dinners in a box on hold and yes we had to wing it, but we made it and had a few dinners out. I am telling you not digging the Vodka pours in the restaurants, I really didn’t think my hand was that heavy but I guess it is and will have to get out my flask. It was kind of a last-minute opportunity that it all came together and we got to be on an almost deserted island together in Maine. We had planned to join my daughter and crew and lo and behold Alana freed up the family to work from home in Maine. I speak for all mothers of sons who enter a different universe when they get married, we can no longer have any control of what is happening it is I the power of the woman so you best get on or you are screwed. Luckily in my case, my daughter-in-law is so very awesome, sucking up big time here, but I can’t disagree with the premise. Women should rule and it is something how quickly men acquiesce to their wives, Oh I must check with my wife before making any plans, you know the drill. Let’s face it women just know how to get shit done, so why aren’t we running the country?   I don’t want to get on any rants because it was ten days without my beloved cable news programs, and yes they are all bullshit the lefties love theirs, and the other crazies love theirs, but they are just wrong.

Life on an Island in Maine with no cars, no stores, and weak Wi-Fi can be wonderful and challenging at the same time.  First I don’t mean this in a bad way and I am sure I am insulting someone, so may lose my return privilege, but it can be kind of inbred. Not a lot of people on the island so when you run into someone they say we are at the Smith cottage or we are staying at the McCrery house.  You really are in tune with nature, picking blueberries, finding crabs, and digging for clams, even sometimes dipping into the frigid water for a swim.  Most of these things I thoroughly enjoy in my time there and even can suffer without air conditioning, and mosquitoes, but Dam IT why can’t these people invest in a decent coffee machine. I swear to God this thing was straight out of the eighties with a thermos coffee pot with not barely enough for four cups and an antique grinder that was working overtime. Well there you go the only suffering  I had to do on my vacation was suffer weak coffee and maybe some night sweats, but we were not near people, and most time we could be mask free to give kisses and hugs to my beautiful grandkids.  The plan is to go back at the end of the summer and I hope I am invited back, I know Techie is because they all like him way better than me, so fingers crossed.  Back to work and back to preparing meals for my roommate so he will keep me a while longer, I made dinner tonight and not even out of a box, and last night as well. I am listening now to a mix of best songs of the eighties that Techie made for a party, not sure of the occasion but right now it is Tina Turner and I need a dance partner.

Oh, one last thing before I sign off on July 3^rd, we were lucky enough to be a part of a small intimate wedding of friends that felt the need to tie the knot and it was very special. Our friend Howie lost his wife to cancer several years ago and we had met them both through sailing. I have a special place in my heart for this man because he just loved his wife so much, even in death she was so loved and he was lucky enough to find a partner who understood that love and could be the next love, Lisa is pretty awesome.  Techie and I plan to take them on a buddymoon in a few weeks sailing, so beautiful things are happening during these crazy times we can always find love and humanity.

Here’s a clue it is hiding under that giant bottle Ketel One.

Happy to be alive ……………………………………………………

Just sayin………………………………………………………………………………………..