We’ve ignored Monty far too long. It’s high time I post a photo of him.

We found him in a little shop not long after we moved to New York. We were quite taken with the expression on his face. Several Christmases ago, I added the “necklace.” And there it has stayed.

Well, we had an earthquake yesterday.

Apparently.

We didn’t feel it. Nothing. At first I thought that maybe it was concentrated in NJ, PA, and NYC. Not here. But later in the day I saw the FB page for my little town and it seems like EVERYONE who lives here felt it. As did a friend in Woodstock, which is north of us, and friends across the river in Poughkeepsie.

We were home. We weren’t driving anywhere. I was sitting at the table working on my puzzle. Don was in the living room.

Nothing.

It’s the strangest thing! After we first moved out here, we experienced one mild earthquake in NY. We had at least one in Michigan when I was growing up. And goodness knows, I experienced them in California, both when we lived there full time and when I was there temporarily coaching for the Globe. So it’s not as if we haven’t experienced them before.

It’s a mystery and I guess we’ll never figure it out.

So, we’re fine. Though, we kind of wish we’d experienced it.

It’s supposed to rain a bit this morning. Hopefully, I can get outside this afternoon and do some work. Yesterday ended up being too windy for me – pollen flying around and allergies are not a good combination. So I stayed in.

In the meantime, there is laundry to do, puzzles to solve, books to read, and a great husband to adore.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

This is how all of us coped with the winds the other day. Sometimes you just need to burrow down under the covers.

Now, we have rain. And more rain for several days next week. Pardon me while I groan.

I ended up running a few errands yesterday. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I absolutely abhor shopping in stores these days, the only exceptions being bookstores and antique stores. I needed to buy a few things, so I had to drive south to a town that has a Home Goods and a Michaels. Trying to find my way to this particular shopping center via a strip of nothing but shopping centers drove me nuts. I finally figured it out with the help of GPS. Then, into the stores where I didn’t find what I really wanted, but did find two inexpensive bath towels, which we definitely needed. Then I visited Michaels, where I again didn’t find what I wanted, but did find a bathroom, which I desperately needed. Had to use GPS again to find my way out of the warren of shops and roads and drove to a grocery store to pick up a few things that we needed. Then home. This took about 3 hours. I was a bit dehydrated as well, but was able to grab a bottle of water at the grocery store to drink on the way home.

Honestly, I detest shopping. Years ago, I loved  it; I spent hours in the mall, and thought nothing of driving a long distance to ‘go shopping.’ Those days are over. Fortunately, Don likes grocery shopping so he takes care of it most of the time, but I wanted to give him a break yesterday as he had to perform last night and tonight.

And, in each and every store I entered, I was the only one with a mask on. And yet, I keep reading of people who are vaccinated getting Covid for the first time. Sigh. I guess they have decided that it’s no big deal now, but facts tell me otherwise.

I’m becoming a reclusive senior citizen. I’m actually okay with that.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Taken yesterday morning when I woke up a wee bit too early, but it was worth it to get this shot.

Welcome, March!

Today is sunny, but cold. We had relentless winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Even Don – who usually doesn’t mind them – was saying “Enough, already!” As happened to some of you a day or two earlier, the temperatures plummeted. It’s still cold out there, but the we should be getting back to the low fifties soon.

Last night when I was headed to bed, I took one look at the Olga Tokarczuk book (which is at least 800 pages long) and decided to go with the newish mystery instead. I need a ‘very long book’ palate cleanser. But I’ll take a peek at the opening pages later today.

We watched The Holdovers  last night. Have you seen it yet? We are big fans of Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne, the movie’s director. It’s simply wonderful. Giamatti gives an amazing, nuanced, and profound performance. Payne tells the story beautifully. It’s not rushed, there’s no high-tech action assaulting the viewer. Just a story that takes place in the 70s. Character development is everything here and boy, do I recommend it. I’m still thinking about it this morning. Giamatti is nominated for an Oscar, as is Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who is also quite wonderful. And newcome Dominic Sessa is wonderful as one of the students.

Don has a gig tonight and one tomorrow night as well. Good for him, of course, but I’ll miss him.

I’m in the middle of a Stella deep cleaning. Because we use propane gas, she gets greasy, and, although I clean the surface every night, it’s time to get into every nook and cranny. It’s yucky but it must be done.

Exciting times, right?

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.