This elderly couple is about 3 weeks into our "Safer at Home" policy in Wisconsin. the pandemic surges on. In Wisconsin seems somewhat behind many other regions. Of course, this means that we will probably be at this isolation longer than other places because we started earlier and we will still have to go through the peak and the trough before may people are able to return to work. And then there is, of course, our age and our comorbid conditions that I think means we will have to continue at home even after many populations can return to work.
The first thing I did was to clean a closet. I missed an opportunity in that I should have taken a before and an after photo of my hall linen closet. This is a large double door closet with 5 very deep and long shelves. I can only describe to you the mess that it was. heeps of unnecessary and unused linens which still sit packed in bags to take to the Goodwill Store as a donation when it reopens. Mixed in with all these linens were very non linen type items such as photo albums from a couple of our trips. I think they got put there because it was handy and other closets were full. There were some automatic plant watering systems consisting of beautiful glass bulbs that you fill with water and put in the plant's soil. They never worked very well for long trips. I found several nice children's gifts that never got gifted. At 13 and 10 years old, the two older grandsons have outgrown them. But I now have a 2 year old grand daughter and will soon have a baby grandson. I saved those gifts. They may still find a child's home. Of course, there is always my own antique toy collection if I save these long enough. One real itme of interest that made my younger son laugh: a paper grocery bag full of one particular sample drug, folders with 4 small diamond shaped blue pills in each. I am known in my family and among friends as a prepper. Well, these were certainly prepping for a different situation. In case you are having trouble guessing what these pills are, there is a photo at the end of this particular blog.
We had a couple of nice days and of course, gardener that I am, I had to get my hands in the dirt. I had ordered 12 new hellebores before this whole isolation process began, so on the first nice day I got out and stuck them in the ground, most of them near the house and the rest out in my woods where there are more that have grown over the years. Hellebores are also called the lenten rose because they are certainly among the first flowers to bloom in spring, around Lent. They like shade and are just about indestructible. The blooms lasts for about 3 months and after that the foliage is quite attractive. I wanted some up near the house where I could see them easier since you can't always depend on April weather for a walk in the woods. Here are some photos of the first blooms timed right along with an early crocus near the house.
During this stay at home time, some of our neighbors started a nice little email group. And I joined another group also that stretches further along the Lake Michigan shoreline, down into Bayside and maybe even up into the next community north. One neighbor got the idea that since this email group has been so active with advise, grocery shopping, and other helpful ideas, she wanted to drink a toast to the organizer. She and her husband left bottles of wine out front and invited people to come up their driveway and drink a toast and then take the bottle home with them. Since we have some new neighbors with younger children, the next week this same couple put out boxes of animal crackers and invited strollers to come up and take a box. This stimulated the organizer to suggest that since the real zoo was closed, that we create our own neighborhood zoo by putting small toy animals, stuffed or otherwise in the window for the families to walk around the neighborhood and find the different animals. Almost everyone participated, and there was quite a menagerie.
I have a very large stuffed animal in my toy collection. It is not really a zoo animal but I thought it would work. My oldest son won this at the Wisconsin State Fair when he was a sophomore in high school. He remembers it well. It was a very hot day and he was lucky very early in the day and had to carry this huge animal around his neck for the entire day at the fair. Since he left home, this creature has been sitting in a corner of my toy room. I thought it would fit very well with zoo animals. It is a 4 foot tall stuffed blue performing horse with white mane and tail, and a saddle and golden bridle. He is stuffed tightly with straw, but over the years, he can't stand anymore but sits as though ordered by his trainer into that position. I heard some interesting stories about the horse as the neighbors passed. One neighbor was walking her two dogs and they would not pass the horse. They put up such a barking fuss that she had to turn around and go back toward their home. Another neighbor told of walking her great dane, who also was terrified of the big blue horse. Finally when slowly allowed the length of his leash, he made friends and immediately went around to stiff around the white tail, just as dogs do. The owner of the dog was seen to absolutely crack up with laughter. So my blue performing horse was a big hit even with the adults and some of the dogs.
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| Crocus |
Now of course since I was cleaning off some beds near the house, I had to arrange some of my fairy scenes.
During this stay at home time, some of our neighbors started a nice little email group. And I joined another group also that stretches further along the Lake Michigan shoreline, down into Bayside and maybe even up into the next community north. One neighbor got the idea that since this email group has been so active with advise, grocery shopping, and other helpful ideas, she wanted to drink a toast to the organizer. She and her husband left bottles of wine out front and invited people to come up their driveway and drink a toast and then take the bottle home with them. Since we have some new neighbors with younger children, the next week this same couple put out boxes of animal crackers and invited strollers to come up and take a box. This stimulated the organizer to suggest that since the real zoo was closed, that we create our own neighborhood zoo by putting small toy animals, stuffed or otherwise in the window for the families to walk around the neighborhood and find the different animals. Almost everyone participated, and there was quite a menagerie.
I have a very large stuffed animal in my toy collection. It is not really a zoo animal but I thought it would work. My oldest son won this at the Wisconsin State Fair when he was a sophomore in high school. He remembers it well. It was a very hot day and he was lucky very early in the day and had to carry this huge animal around his neck for the entire day at the fair. Since he left home, this creature has been sitting in a corner of my toy room. I thought it would fit very well with zoo animals. It is a 4 foot tall stuffed blue performing horse with white mane and tail, and a saddle and golden bridle. He is stuffed tightly with straw, but over the years, he can't stand anymore but sits as though ordered by his trainer into that position. I heard some interesting stories about the horse as the neighbors passed. One neighbor was walking her two dogs and they would not pass the horse. They put up such a barking fuss that she had to turn around and go back toward their home. Another neighbor told of walking her great dane, who also was terrified of the big blue horse. Finally when slowly allowed the length of his leash, he made friends and immediately went around to stiff around the white tail, just as dogs do. The owner of the dog was seen to absolutely crack up with laughter. So my blue performing horse was a big hit even with the adults and some of the dogs.
Have you figured out what the tresure chest of medical drugs I found in my linen closet? Well here is a big hint.
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