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Hello All, I hope this finds you all well! I probably speak for many when I say I am experiencing some quarantine fatigue – but I am sure I can hang in longer. It does help that I am the grocery store shopper for my little mom and Bob. Actually, I have begun to refer to this activity as scavenger hunting, because you never know what will or will not be on the shelves! Makes the whole trip very exciting! And I know the grocery store workers will be happy when I have more social outlets since I LOVE talking to them! I am sure they wonder what on Earth I…

Hello All, May is an important month for our national heroes – our teachers, nurses and hospital staff. Actually I should say our national treasures! National Teacher Appreciation Week – National Week of the Nurse – National Hospital Week – all are celebrated in the first two weeks of May. I think that if there is a positive to this crazy pandemic, our recognition of and appreciation for these wonderful people is it! National Teacher Appreciation week is May 4th to today. As schools closed, every parent developed a new appreciation for the importance of teachers! There was true wonder about how the teachers handle not just the individual parent’s child/children but…

Hello All, Well, I am siting here in what I affectionally refer to as my quarantine outfit – a pair of very old, holey jeans, one of my many sweatshirts and my cat slippers! I know – some of you didn’t know I even owned a pair of jeans! Comfort clothes. Or should this outfit be called my day pajamas? I am thinking that I am not alone when I say that I have been wearing my emotions “on my sleeve” a little more these days. I have seen more commercials that bring tears to my eyes than ever before. (That honor used to belong to those dang Budweiser Super…

Hello All, I love my readers! I love that you are always looking out for ways for me to improve the blog. The latest request was to add a mechanism similar to a “like button” to use if there is a blog that you really enjoy. I, of course, had to send the request to wonderful Ashish, the King of the Blog (KOB). After researching this, it can be done but it creates a burden for you. Currently you can subscribe which is an easy function for you. You just need to add your e-mail address and this allows a note to alert you when I post a new blog. In…

Hello All, I hope this finds all of you staying healthy – physically, emotionally and spiritually. These are definitely different and sometimes difficult times. So I thought I would share a number of things that I have discovered that have been helping me stay sane (relatively sane anyway) and are allowing me to continue to learn fun things while on quarantine. Whether you are at home or need to relax when coming home after a busy shift, I hope these help! I love to travel. So Viking (of riverboat and ocean cruise fame) has created Viking TV, virtual travel from home! Monday is devoted to museums. Historian Tuesday – Arts…

Hello All, One thing about being homebound, there is a lot of time to listen to music. There will be many songs that will become the anthems of hope during this pandemic – both new and old songs. One of those old songs is my favorite to sing (poorly, I will admit – which is quite evident due to the acoustics in the shower) – “Lean On Me”. (I am sure you just wondered what my second favorite is! Well, that happens to be “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Bob thinks that title is correctly associated with me!) “Lean On Me” is even more important to me because Bill Withers, the singer/songwriter,…

Hello All, This continues to be a scary time for all of us. Every one of us is doing our part, whether you are on the frontlines battling the virus or you are staying home so you are one less person for the healthcare team to battle for! I know each of us is doing this out of love. And as psychologist Lynne Namke says: “Love in action is service to the world.” Thank you for your love and service! At this time we all need to find some peace. I can hear the stress in people’s voices, read it in the lines of text messages and emails. The great…

Hello All, COVID-19 still rules our lives at the moment. So many changes at one time. Shared experiences across the entire globe – heartbreaking and, as our human spirit shines, heartwarming. I have been reaching for things to bring all of us comfort. I often look to what the social worker extraordinaire, professor, lecturer and author Brene Brown says. Here are her thoughts: “This pandemic experience is a massive experiment in collective vulnerability. We can be our worst selves when we’re afraid, or our very best, bravest selves. In the context of fear and vulnerability, there is often very little in between because when we are uncertain and afraid our…

Hello All, I am just dropping in to say hello and to see what condition your condition is in! For those of us who are more “seasoned”, you might recognize the call out to the 1968 song “Just Dropped In” (to see what condition my condition is in)! The song happened to be a warning to young people to not use LSD…..and even though I am a child of those times, I did not know that was what it was about! It was the time of peace and love…..and I thought it was about self-reflection! (As Bob says, it is scary to be in my head!) “Just Drop In” also…

Hello All, I know we are in unprecedented times. The entire world is facing the same challenge, combating a new virus. It is a time that is scary and difficult. It is also a time when we have seen a huge number of examples of the incredible nature of the human spirit. Neighbors offering to take care of their elderly friends with grocery and drug store runs. School systems developing wonderful curricula in order for the students to continue to learn. Churches providing spiritual support on-line. In Spain a fitness instructor providing a fitness class on the roof of his building so his neighbors can see him and do their…