A package arrived from reader Kathy in Iowa. In it were two of these wonderful masks. We love them, Kathy. Don wore his today; he had to make a quick run to the store for yogurt. Thank you so much!

We both woke up way too early this morning. I have to fight that tendency toward irritability that comes when I’m way too tired. I’m going to mow this morning – the front lawn needs it. Plus, I’ll have an activity which always seems to help when I have had too little sleep. So I’m writing this post a bit earlier than usual so I can head outside after we have our second cup of coffee.

Also, we have a heat advisory posted from noon until 8 this evening. Heat indexes going up to 100 degrees. Best that I mow early. I can’t pick a better day as it’s going to be this way all week long.

I read an article yesterday that puts my stresses with lockdown in perspective. It’s written by Danny Burstein, who is a multiple Tony nominee for his work on Broadway. He is married to another Tony nominee, Rebecca Luker. They are enormously talented. I have worked with both of them (on the same show) and two more down-to-earth and kind people you could never hope to meet. Rebecca was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year. Both she and Danny had COVID-19. Danny’s experience with COVID was frightening and he is still suffering from lingering effects and complications. Rebecca’s condition has quickly progressed and Danny has had to be her caregiver, even while trying to recover from COVID.

I read it aloud to Don (who has worked with Danny) and both of us are heartsick that these two wonderful people have had to suffer through all of this. I urge you to read Danny’s story. He speaks movingly about Becca and her illness and his fears and being out of work (he was in Moulin Rouge   when Broadway shut down) and worrying about the state of theater and whether he will get any work in the future. Something that we worry about every day. Here’s the link.

My prayers are with them today and every day.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Running late today! A last minute decision to go to the grocery store in person, rather than order online, threw everything off. Because, of course, we disinfected when we got back, we threw our clothes in the washer, took showers, put everything away, and now here I am, trying to get a post in before my email post deadline.

But it’s done and that’s a relief. Plus, I was able to get a magazine or two, something I usually can’t get my hands on. It’s a hot and humid Monday and temps this week will be in the nineties, so I’ll mow tomorrow when I can get to it earlier.

Oh joy.

The a/c is already on. We’re freshly showered. We haven’t even had our second cup of coffee yet, but Don’s about to pour it. (I don’t do well when my orderly routine is upset.) So here I am, saying hello to all of you. Have you been doing your best to avoid the news? We have. Though I did succumb very briefly to Twitter yesterday. And then I got off and stayed off. We’ve been reading a lot, sitting on the porch, watching Frasier.

The deer chomped on some more hostas so I made up a bunch of my spray and sprayed everything that might be in danger. I think it’s a young deer. That happens every other year or so. A young deer, who isn’t at all cautious yet, will come very near the house looking for food, though goodness knows there’s enough of it elsewhere on the property. I may get one bloom out of the Rose of Sharon. I’ve done what I can to protect it. We’ll just have to see.

Sigh.

We expect the tree guys this week. I’m not looking forward to the mess they’ll make. And I’m determined to make sure the ‘pruning’ of the big maple by the porch doesn’t take away all of the shade, since the hostas that have been planted there for years depend on it.

That’s about it for this Monday.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

I’m late posting this morning because the phone rang and this guy was on the other end:

Everything must stop when we have a chance to talk to our Little Z, who is little but not as little as he was. Isn’t he looking grown up? The freckles! The eyebrows! The eyelashes! He gets tired of chatting on the phone more quickly than he used to because, of course, he’s nine years old and has a lot of things to do. Don was out walking our trails when the phone rang but he got back in time to hear Z’s joke about a strawberry and all is well with our little world this morning.

And of course, I got to talk to my beloved sister. What I wouldn’t give to hug her right now! I know she feels the same.

I covered up my face because the screen capture was not at all flattering and this is about Z, not me.

Yesterday was a strange day and it remained so, but this morning I feel better.

Forgot to add that on Friday, we drove to our local lookout point – just about 10 minutes or less from our house – donned our masks and got a look at the bigger picture:

I can’t tell you what a difference that made in our day. A quick trip to a place in the mountains, and an expanded view of the area rather than the limits made by the confines of our property. We’ve decided we’re going to take a least one of these little trips each week. Of course, it can’t be for too great a distance because I’m not about to use any public restrooms, so it needs to be timed for well after morning coffee, if you know what I mean.

I have only read a few pages of Hamnet  and I can’t wait to get back to it, but considering it has to do with grief and we’ve just come through a tough week, I changed over to Michael Connelly’s newest, Fair Warning.  I needed something that I could lose myself in right away. I have to say that I have read every one of Connelly’s over 30 books and I have never been disappointed. Never. He is a master storyteller. Even the great Louise Penny sometimes disappoints ever so slightly. Never Connelly. I just read the author notes and he has a podcast called Murder Book. I am subscribing today.

It’s sunny today and a bit more humid. Don is fully immersed in Caste  by Isabel Wilkerson. I’m immersed in Fair Warning. We’re on our second cup of coffee. After I publish this post, I’m going to sip on my coffee and finish waking up – my silent wake up having been delayed by conversation with my nephew and sister. But well worth it.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.