Things are slowly getting better here at the cottage. Don is still pretty weak, but he is staying downstairs for longer periods of time. We even watched a few episodes of Frasier  last night. His sleep patterns are off, his dreams are very intense, and the weather we’re having doesn’t help. We’re under a heat advisory and an air quality advisory through tomorrow night. It’s extremely hot and humid here.

After I write this post, I’m going outside to water everything. We try to keep the a/c off as long as possible in the morning but I suspect I’ll turn it on soon.

We’re very grateful. It’s been a scary week but Don is improving and his eyes are clear and he’s had no fever for the past 24 hours. We’re both wiped out, for different reasons, so we’ll take it easy today.

I finished Death in La Fenice  and have now started two books: Weather  by Jenny Offill, which I bought several months ago – it seems a lifetime ago – from Oblong Books, and Let’s Just Say it Wasn’t Pretty  by Diane Keaton, which I’ve had on my shelf for a few years. I pulled it out because Don and I were having a conversation about Keaton, about how much I have always loved her ever since the Annie Hall  days. I love her wit, her style, her humor, her talent, and her determination to live life on her terms. I follow her on Pinterest – though I almost never go there these days – and on Instagram, where she has been doing wonderful videos during lockdown. If I could sit down and chat with anyone it would be Diane Keaton. I think of her as a long lost sister.

She recently did a video about wearing hats (I love hats) and I showed it Don, saying that I needed to get some hats like hers. After researching, I found a place in Hollywood that designs a lot of hats for her. The one I liked was $750.00. Gulp. I guess I’ll have to find a Claudia version that is much less expensive. And then there’s the pair of jeans she wears: wide leg, almost like the bellbottoms we used to wear way back when. They are so cool! I’d love them. On to the research: they’re from a company in Italy and they cost $650. Gulp again. I also love her house, which she highlighted in a book I used to have The House That Pinterest Built. Why I donated it to the library, I’ll never know. Anyway, it’s not my style, but it’s really fabulous; so unique, so her.

Though I can’t afford that hat and those jeans, I love her nonetheless. She inspires me. She’s down to earth. She sees the absurdities in life. And this book, which is a series of essays on beauty, perceived beauty, her family, children, friends, is so honest. She’s insecure just like the rest of us. She doesn’t like the shape of her eyes. Her forehead is too high. Her hair is too thin. She, like me, has to come to terms with aging, with things that cannot be changed, with negative self-talk, for want of a better word.

I will always be an adoring fan. And this book is a lovely read.

Okay, friends. Thank you again. I have to do some watering STAT.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Big fat bumblebees like coneflowers.

Frankly, I don’t even remember what I did yesterday.

Okay. Let me think. I watered all the zinnias, morning glories, and moonflowers that are growing near the chicken wire fence. I added water to the birdbath. I watered the pots in the Secret Garden and everything on the porch.

I sat on the glider with Don and we took some time to gently rock and listen to the birds. It was that rare day around here with relatively low humidity. Oh, right. Before that, he went to pick up the groceries and we disinfected everything. And then we tossed our clothes in the wash and took showers. And then I did two loads of wash.

See? It’s slowly coming back. I actually DID some things!

Today, I’m going to mow the front lawn. All by myself. Don is a bit under the weather, so I have issued a “No Mowing for You” proclamation. But the front lawn is big, so I’m going to start early, take plenty of breaks, and if I don’t finish today, I don’t finish. It’s going to get very humid again on the weekend, so I want to get it done.

Stress is taking its toll on me. Certain stress-related issues that I sometimes get physically are making themselves known. That’s when I need to stop worrying, meditate, and do everything I can to find some peace, including doing something physical like mowing the lawn. Even though it’s a lot of work, I love to do it and it ends up being meditative. It will be good for me.

So that’s it for me today. Mowing, watering, taking care of Don. And avoiding anything stressful.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Coneflowers are blooming all over the property. I must have well over a hundred of them. I’ve planted a lot, but they self-seed prolifically, so I often discover them in other parts of the gardens – or even outside the garden beds. This year, I see some white coneflowers coming up at the top of the big garden bed. I didn’t plant them there. Such a delight!

Yesterday was a strange and unsettling day for me and my anxiety was also flaring up. I think last week’s exposure to too much news was the prime instigator. But I did get some more work done on Dove Cottage. I only have to put some stones on the base at the back and then I can start my experiments with ‘grout.’

If you read Meredith’s blog, you already know this. Her work as a therapist requires her to treat young children in their homes and/or foster homes. She has been working throughout this pandemic – with the greatest of caution, of course. Her post goes into this more deeply, but suffice to say, one of her foster parents – whom I know – neglected to tell her that her older son was home from work because his bosses had been exposed to COVID-19 so everyone had been sent home to quarantine and he was in the house when Mere was treating the other kids. I think it’s been nearly two weeks now since that exposure, but my God! She didn’t inform any of the therapists who routinely enter that house for therapy sessions. She still  hasn’t said anything. They’re Trumpers, of course, who think this is all a hoax and that they shouldn’t have to wear masks.

I want to go there and smack her across the face; this could have endangered my family, as well as the other therapists and their families. My sister had cancer many years ago. Because of her treatment at the time, her immune system is not always functioning at full strength. My little nephew had respiratory issues as a baby (for heaven’s sake, he died at birth and had to be brought back to life!) and this woman knows him and knows of my sister’s medical history.

I am sick of reading about this selfish behavior. Now it’s touched my family. It’s not enough that my sister and her family are living in state with a Governor who has mishandled every stage of this pandemic, but now my sister’s compassionate and humanitarian work as a therapist has brought her into contact with a family who simply doesn’t care about the health and welfare of others.

I had a mini-meltdown yesterday about everything. I know that some of you have had them lately, as well. I think it’s a good thing. We have to find a way to release our anxiety and anger and outrage about the mishandling of the pandemic, the terrible loss of life, and everything to do with the corrupt carnival barker who is masquerading as Commander-in-Chief. I’ve never been through a time like this. I don’t think any of us have.

May we find some peace in the midst of this horror show. May we find moments of quiet and wonder and maybe a small (or big) spark of joy. May everyone stay safe.

Happy Monday.