Nothing Scheduled!

This will be a good day! Nothing scheduled anywhere! Actually, nothing is scheduled until next Tuesday, March 31st. It sounds like vacation!

I started this a few days ago after Butch's latest PT session.
I can always fall back on pictures so here are a few. The introvert that I am I do not mind the quiet, the slow pace, nowhere to go and nothing to do. It will be A-OK for awhile.

Butch was due for a haircut. We have been with these people all winter and we do take greater care with handwashing and distance...in case you are wondering.

Playing a little cribbage on a Saturday morning.

 Less people= More birds

Right outside my windo while at my computer. Uh Huh, I LIKE IT.

Shopping HEB in Alamo TX

I didn't take these pictures. I snipped them from Facebook. But I think I will feel more comfortable when I have to go buy groceries.

Update Plus

Butch is home from the hospital and we had an appointment with his surgeon. The Xrays say the bone is starting to heal. Good News. Today we will be going to his first outpatient appointment for physical therapy. I have to drop him off at the door. I won't be allowed in. (Covid-19)

 Liz loaned us her golf cart so we can get around the park for a change of scenery. We were naturally slowing down because of old age and this adds another layer of slow.

One of the little snafu's we have had concerns a hypodermic syringe. I am supposed to give Butch an injection every morning for 11 more days to guard against blood clots. Yesterday was the first one and we ruined the syringe in trying to figure it out. It seemed like a puzzle. I asked several people in the park if they knew how, including a couple of RN's. None of us were able to figure it out. So today I called CVS and they told me to bring it in and they would show me. The pharmacist looked at it and said this must be new. So he went online to see if he could see what the changes might be. We both felt a bit sheepish when it was discovered it was merely a matter of muscle. Pulling the end off,  exposing the needle took a lot more effort than any of us realized. Simple once you know how!

Butch's first outpatient appointment was today at 1:00PM. They told me I could come to pick him up at 2:00. It was more like 2:30 because he was going through an evaluation to see where his start line was and that took more time. It was a pleasant surprise that his sessions will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The only negative part of that is that shopping at Costco would not be a good diversion for me at this time. So I parked in the shade and listened to an audiobook.

Thelma belongs to Candy and Rick, our neighbors closest to us. Thelma and Butch have formed a relationship. Thelma will be leaving for Kansas tomorrow and she and Butch will miss each other. Thelma has a solution now. Rick, Candy, and Thelma have been the best of neighbors.

Butch's loaner

When old guys put their heads together some serious problem solving takes place. A big thanks to Dave, Paul, and Alex. Butch said things would be a lot easier if he had a handrail on the left side of the Moho door. Abracadabra and there it was!!

The first time he has been at the computer since the accident.

Sitting at the table at Liz's rental place while talking to Jason on the phone. Peaceful picture don't you think?

About my blog

I have been writing this blog since 2002. Sometimes I add things for future reference, using it as a journal so to speak. And my style of writing has always been as if you are sitting across from me and we are having a visit. So if you see something I have posted on Facebook or in an email or other location and then it shows up on the blog it is because I want to "save" it.
Since Butch broke his leg I have been quite busy. When I haven't been physically busy I have been mentally busy and for me that is normal. My mental busyness has always outrun the physical and that is why I have heard on more than one occasion from my constant companion, Butch, "You think too much, Barb." Yup, I must say he is probably right but I look upon it as a benefit most of the time. In my old age, I have learned to harness it a bit and we are both grateful for that.
Till I think up something else...

Civilization

Viral Poem

This is the good kind of viral — a poem, making the rounds on social media, that can uplift anyone affected or infected by coronavirus:

"When this is over, may we never again take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

Full shelves at the store

Conversations with neighbors

A crowded theater

Friday night out

The taste of communion

A routine checkup

The school rush each morning

Coffee with a friend

The stadium roaring

Each deep breath

A boring Tuesday

Life itself.

When this ends

may we find

that we have become

more like the people

we wanted to be

we were called to be

we hoped to be

and may we stay

that way — better

for each other

because of the worst."

Who wrote the poem?

The author, Laura Kelly Fanucci, a Minnesota resident, writes a syndicated column, “Faith at Home,” published in Catholic newspapers nationwide and has written six books.

She didn't mention "coronavirus," "virus" or "pandemic" once in this poem. Did you notice? Probably not. Anyone who reads it will know what the "this" in "when this is over" is.

Author Laura Kelly Fanucci (Photo: Twitter)

But she may have mentioned everything you'll never take for granted again once we're past all of "this."

The poem has already been shared thousands of times on social media. 

Fanucci told the Caller-Times via email that she has been amazed by the response to her poem.

"At this point it's been shared over 83,000 times on Facebook and 48,000 times on Instagram, as far as I can track," she wrote. "So it's certainly struck a chord (although it feels strange to call something "viral" in this present crisis). I've seen it translated into several languages and have been asked for permission to reprint it in countless places.

"The words came to me in the middle of the night. Our youngest child is only 3 weeks old so I'm up with him at all hours. Everything feels darker and more frightening at night, so I started wondering what small good I could offer to people as a writer. Since then, it took on a life of its own. I've simply been sitting back and watching. Hoping it offers people some hope and comfort in such an anxious time."