Being appreciative in hard times....

Being appreciative…


A lot has been written on “privilege”, that state of being where your advantages in life...as compared to others, is noticeable or even profound.  As I sit here on April 19th in the year of the modern day Pandemic, I think just how damn fortunate I am. And, I’m thankful for that.


As I type I have a chicken in the oven roasting (in a cast iron skillet), the potatoes which will be mashed are on the stove-top cooking, and the frozen corn is in the microwave waiting to be started. I’m typing this note on a wine-proof Chrome Pad, and listening to BBC Proms on a Google Hub maxi.  Despite the quarantine with the pandemic we have a pantry full of food, our health is reasonably good for the condition we’re in, and our rec vehicle is gassed up and ready to go when we have the all-clear to get out of Dodge and socialize.


That all being said I’m very aware of the blessing that has bestowed on us, and our unique position as compared to others less fortunate.  May I never forget that and not be thankful for this unearned privilege.

Living with the pandemic....

I'll count our blessing where I find them.  My immediate family's health is good as is the many pets, the weather is terrific and we have an ample supply of toilet paper and red wine.
On the down side our recreational life has gone to hell in a basket, which is a small price to pay compared to what's happening with other folks.  Our local theaters have been massaging their schedules and trying to postpone and advance, and most of them has pretty much just quit and are waiting it out. One theater notified us yesterday that they'd be streaming a play we had good seats for (A Chorus Line) and they'd be sending us the log-on and password for it on Friday so we could enjoy it in our home. How slick is that? 😃
We were also notified that our Florida State Parks are pulling the plug, and cancelling all reservations in a two month window that start on March 18th.  We had two camp outs reserved and that's disappointing.  In the meantime, some orchids in the yard are in bloom. There's usually a bloom if you look for it, somewhere :).

Some Payette pets 🥰

Meet Jello, the new bird😊

Dave and Ashley delivered Jello today, a yellow rescue Cockatiel to go with our Pudding.  She/he is settling right in 😍.

Tony & Alissa down from CT for a visit.....

Alice, Alissa, Tony, David & Ashley.

Tony and Alissa were down from CT for a few days....staying at her snow-bird parents home a bit further South. Had a nice dinner with them at the local Durango's and a visit afterwards...they'll be back for breakfast before flying home on Saturday. Always nice to have them come South!

Nice mini-vacation at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park...

Last week \we spent some time at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park, the place where we found our Buddy the hound two years ago in February. https://photos.app.goo.gl/xY44aRTqTXMnvZNs9
Click the link above for some snaps from this campout.

We've reconnected recently with some snow-bird friends from CT, and celebrated some birthdays with friends from the old FL camping group.

Life is going pretty good.  There are some health issues being addressed (hopefully!) as we move forward.

Heading out January 19th to O'Leno State Park...

It seems like forever since we last camped!  During the last camp out we dropped the transmission of our toad (tow vehicle), a 2018 Ford Focus) and it took over a month for repairs to be completed...so we've been off the road so to speak.  This morning we're heading out to O'Leno State Park.  https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/oleno-state-park and we're just a little nervous as this will be first time towing the car since the transmission failure.
This is a particularly beautiful time of year here in  Central Florida, and it'll be good to get back into the countryside after the Holiday period.  I'll post photo's here after the trip.