It is beginning to look a lot like…Spring-mas. Hip, hip, hooray!
Finally, the weather is beginning to warm up to the low-70’s. It has been pretty cold around here for the past month or so…28 to 32 degrees in the morning…and we’re tired of it. It’s time for things to grow and sprout flowers, and we’re beyond ready to enjoy outdoor living and some patio parties with our friends.
Charlie and I, and most of our neighbor friends, have our first Covid-19 vaccines, with the prospect of getting the booster shot in the next week or so. Hallelujah! So, even though we are still wearing facemasks and observing social distancing, etc., when out about town, we feel pretty safe here in our Sun City Mesquite retirement community. Most folks here have been in a “bubble” state for about a year now, and don’t take chances with the coronavirus.
It is simply amazing that only one year ago there were just a few known cases of the coronavirus in the United States and we were told that there was nothing to worry about, “it’s just the flu” and “will go away by Spring”. This past week, America achieved a horrific milestone: 500,000 people dead from Covid-19.
That horrific total doesn’t even come close to describing the impact of the scourge on our Nation.
Every person, every business, and virtually every aspect of society has been dealt a demoralizing blow. The impact upon marriages, families, schools, hospitals and staff, livelihoods related to the hospitality industry, and government has been enormous…and we’re not out of the woods yet, by a longshot. It is likely that we will be into 2022 before this catastrophe ebbs. The effect upon the U.S. economy could last many years beyond that.
However, if Americans are responsible (observing public health measures and getting vaccinated as soon as possible), some normalcy can finally begin to emerge in 2021. Wouldn’t that be great?
Charlie and her best friend from So Calif, Karin, plan to do a several day Las Vegas whirlwind tour after tax season, beginning on April 16th. She deserves the down time, for sure. The girls will shop, enjoy a show, eat and drink, and get dressed up. Just what Charlie needs.
Charlie and I are planning some RV trips this Spring and Summer. We are planning to visit our adopted 5th son, Jason, in Colorado in May. We may bring our good friend Lloyd along with us, so that the three guys can do some hiking in the Rockies. We plan on camping on Jason’s property, where he has electrical hook-up for us, and Charlie can sun herself in the great outdoors with the dogs while we hike.
We may do another RV trip in late May/early June, possibly to So Calif to visit old friends and our children. I haven’t planned that one yet.
On June June 27th we will leave Mesquite for a 2-month jaunt up to the Oregon Coast. We will be in Coos Bay for a month and in Brookings for two-weeks. We love it up there, and we’ll be avoiding the brutal heat here in Mesquite in July/August (100 to 115 every day). We will return home in early September, just in time for great golfing and hiking weather.
We are doing some minor remodeling this Spring. First, we will be putting some cabinets in our laundry room. Then, we want to completely re-fashion our master bedroom walk-in wardrobe. Hopefully, we can afford the latter.
The rest of our property, inside and out, is looking good, although homeowners are always fidgeting with something. Our landscaping is beginning to fill-in; eventually, the property will look like a desert arboretum.
Charlie and I created a Memorial Garden in the back corner of our lot for our deceased, wonderful Boston Terriers, Booger and JayJay.
We actually purchased the large lot so that our dogs would have lots of room to sniff and patrol, because our previous home only had a very small space for them to lord over. Booger and JayJay loved our Mesquite backyard.
Today, we are going out to the patio to enjoy the warm sun and hoist some adult beverages to our departed friends.
We miss them every day.