266 Adjusting!

Adjusting!

The past five months have taught us many lessons, the least of which is the capacity to adjust.

Adjusting to a new normal – staying home to stay safe.

Adjusting to not seeing family so all of us can be safe.

Adjusting to wear a mask for several hours for my safety and others.

Adjusting to not visiting friends and taking part in events so everyone is safe.

Adjusting to a new life style of not eating out, cooking more at home, or ordering take-out, again to stay safe,

There are many more but I don’t want to belabor the point. We are all seeking ways to adjust to a life that may never go back to what we perceive as normal.

Recently, several situations have come to mind on how others are adjusting.

Online schooling is about to begin for many students–this cannot be taken lightly and must be done so our children learn as well as they do in person. It will take some creative solutions, and teachers and families are working hard to make it work.

Retailers are taking great precautions to get us in and out of stores with hand sanitizer, wipes, masks, and staying far apart.

I recently got an email from the Philadelphia Flower Show – an event I love which is held each March for nine days inside in a huge convention hall. This year’s event was completed just as the shutdown began.

Flower Show in 2016

The organizers and managers have been busy at work to salvage the show that has been in existence since 1829.

For 2021, it will be held outdoors and in the summer. No dates have been set yet but it makes a great deal of sense. "… we are moving the Flower Show to a new location at a new time of year in 2021,” says Sam Lemheney, Pennsylvania Horticulture Society chief of shows and events.

Given the monumental challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, PHS’s staff and board made an early decision to change the 2021 Flower Show’s look and the locale to offer a safe, breathtaking experience for all, according to phsonline.org.

Thank you so much. This is true adjusting to keep people safe!

Also, recently I was watching a Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” which really adjusted the show during the pandemic. The host Guy Fieri usually visits places all over the USA and other countries to find amazing dishes.

The show’s name was changed to “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Takeout,” for a few weeks. “Each episode features four chefs that Fieri has met in the past, who send him their full ingredient list for a chosen recipe and guide him through each step of the cooking process remotely so that he can cook up his own version of their special dish from home,” according to thewrap.com.

“Triple D has always been about hitting the road and celebrating the hard-working folks of the restaurant business. And while the restaurants are partially closed and the Camaro is parked, DDD: Takeout is here to show you how your favorite chefs are still cookin’ it up to keep people fed, support their communities, their families, and their employees,” Fieri said in announcing the new episodes.

It was just as interesting and exciting as his regular shows that take you to the actual location. The chefs were enthusiastic and added good-natured comments about the preparation while they watched. (A little ribbing—pun intended—but all in good fun.)

That is an amazing way to adjust and keep the show going and everyone safe! Hopefully, we all can be on the road soon so remotely will not be necessary.

Please add any adjusting tips you have noticed or have taken yourself. I am sure there will be many, many more as we enter into the sixth month of the pandemic.

Keep adjusting and stay safe!!

Savvy Fran                                            

265 Rain on the roof

 

Rain on the Roof

This rainy weekend has reminded me how much I love the sound of rain on the roof. Our house has a metal roof--the sound is so soothing to sleep by.

Every time I hear that rumbling murmur, I think about the scene in the film, W.C. Fields and Me. W.C. Fields was dying in a sanitorium. His friend, former lover, and future biographer Carlotta Monti, knows he longs for the sound of rain on the roof. The shot shows him passing away peacefully in his room as he listens to the rain. Then the camera pans to the outside where Carlotta is using a garden hose to create the "rain."

There are so many sounds of nature to enjoy:

• Wind in the trees
• Crickets in the grass (not in the house!)
• Listening to bird songs while trying to spot the birds
• The who-who-who of an owl
• The rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker (except on the house!)
• The rush and gurgle of a brook, a stream, a river
• A waterfall
• Waves crashing on the beach

A scientific study in 2017 found that people relax when hearing the sounds of nature, but not when exposed to artificial sounds. In true Savvy-Broad mode, I googled "sounds of nature" to look for studies such as this one. I did not pursue it through too many screens because the search was filled with sounds of nature that could be downloaded. Are nature sounds artificial if recorded?

I must confess that we turn on a sound machine every night that mimics the sound of running water. We had never used one until we contemplated taking our six-month-old Jack Russell, Tootsie to a motel! We were sure that every sound in the hall would have her awake and barking all night long. The machine really worked and blocked out the stray sounds. It still does--we turn it on and she knows it is bedtime!

I need to listen more when outside and, when not; there are always memories:

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Last stanza: 

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree." William Butler Yeats

                                                                         Trish

264 At the White's House

This Week at the White's House

Hello, my friends. Nothing much of import happened at our house this week, but thought the title maybe catch your attention. [Just being my usual smart-aleck self!] 

Anyway, our week’s highlights: we do have a new motor on the attic exhaust fan, new tie rods on the truck, and some part for the Jeep that mixes fuel and air so that it runs smoothly--something to do with a throttle which I thought was only on antique cars.

So, we spent money, continue to isolate ourselves, and try to be patient with one another. One of the best ways for me not to bother dear husband is to play on the computer with my friend Google. Dear husband retreats to his “man cave” TV for old westerns and sports. 

I asked friend Google what the top queries were for the week. You all know that I love “top 10” type lists. Here is what I found out. [Excuse me for digressing for a moment – but Google can do all kinds of things with their lists: make recommendations for greater usage, tell you how many hits for individual searches v. major sites, etc., etc., etc. I wish I understood their algorithms. The internet world is just fascinating!] 

THE TOP TEN from Google
1.  Facebook. 151,500,000--(and “they” say it’s only for the middle age and older--I check mine about twice a week and rarely post anything) 

2.  youtube. 142,200,000--(I admit to listening to songs or checking for funny short clips)

3.  Amazon.  84,700,000--(yes, they have me hooked – from books to toilet paper to little gifts for the granddaughter)

4.  Gmail. 71,240,000--(yep, we have Gmail accounts!)

5.  Google.  63,840,000--(that’s a lot of questions and some of them are mine)

6.  Weather channels (as a group). 43,400,000 (looking at the temperature, humidity and following Isaias)

7.  Ebay.  41,010,000--(even if you’re not buying, it’s a great place to check values/prices)

8.  Yahoo.  39,170,000--(I didn’t realize Yahoo was still so popular)

9.  Walmart.  31,970,000--(if you didn’t find it on Amazon, I guess you try Walmart, plus they have the grocery shopping)

10. Yahoo mail.  31,880,000--(again, I am surprised--I looked and I have only one yahoo mail in my address book)
As I scrolled down among the following 40 searches of the top 50, I found some surprises – or, at least to me – surprises.

18.  news - (thought it would be higher)

20.  calculator

25.  maps

36.  twitter – (would have guessed it would have been higher)

46.  Donald Trump

48.  Roblox – (well, I didn’t even know what it was!) According to their website it is a game platform for amateur gamers to put their games on the internet. It is recommended for children 13 and up but apparently Roblox has had to add many parental controls because age 7 has become the popular starting age for kids to look for a new free game. I fear this is a little scary!

50.  Traductor – (since I don’t speak Spanish, I didn’t know this was the word for translate.) I looked at the site and it’s a really easy way to see the English equivalent of a word or phrase. There are many translation sites, but this one looks solid. It is sponsored by Merriam-Webster (now owned by Encyclopedia Britannica) and it also has pronunciations and little quizzes and a word of the day. AND, it is easy to use.

So, there you have it and I learned a couple of new things: Roblox and Traductor. Hmm--time well spent?? My pal Google and I are signing off to play a little online duplicate bridge.

Stay safe, my friends! 

Savvy, Glenne

263 Keep the mail coming!

Keep the mail coming!! 

Not the postal service, not the postal service!

This was my most recent reaction when attacks started blasting the U.S. Postal Service. Granted most of us don’t mail as many items as we used to since other services have taken some of the business.

BUT come on--don’t we all still send cards (sympathy, birthday, holiday), packages, and even a few bills. Sometimes, it is difficult to express emotions, such as sympathy in a text, tweet, or email.

In addition, the postal service is a large part of our history and means a great deal to many of us, growing up in the U.S., especially in rural areas.

Actually, the birthday of the system was celebrated this past month. The postal system was established on July 26,1775 by the Second Continental Congress with Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster, according to history.com. In 1789, there were about 75 post offices in the country and now that number is over 40,000. It doesn’t get any more real than that.

Nothing was more exciting as a youngster when a card came for a birthday (often with a few dollars in it) or a package with a magical unexpected present possibly from an order through the holiday catalog.

Of course, there are budget issues, but some services are so important we should be very careful to protect them. I don’t mind my tax money going for not only the post office but education and transportation (trains). Don’t tell me we can’t afford these basic services when there is always money for everything else but that’s another blog topic!!

Reflecting on growing up and how the post office affected our lives, I have to say it was a lifeblood for me. Actually, it was somewhat a rite of passage. The mail came twice a day back then, and we had to make the trip to the post office to check our box for any missives. In the upper elementary grades, I convinced my mom I was old enough to make the trek – a mile or less—twice a day to check the box.

This not only gave me a little freedom but also taught me some responsibility. I could take a younger sibling on occasion which added to my credibility. Plus, I got to see our mail first – not that it meant much to me, but I had to be so careful to get it home unscathed.

At one point, my grandfather owned the building where the post office was housed. I really took that personally and felt real ownership in the maintaining of the service.

Later, I really appreciated the lifeline the postal service provided as I took off for college. The letters were regular and often contained a few extra bucks to make it through the week. Those letters were really revered.

Then as many of my generation moved far away from home, letters again sustained us as long-distance calls were expensive. Packages again were a real treat whether expected or not and usually made my day on many occasions.

So please don’t dismiss the postal service--sure electronic methods help us to communicate quicker but there is still a purpose for the post. Yearly, 212 billion pieces of mail are delivered, according to history.com.

I still can’t wait each day for the mail to arrive especially during these days when we are confined to our homes, helping to stem the tide of the coronavirus. Often times, it may contain advertisements but a letter or card will often sneak in. I can also leave letters to be mailed which usually saves me time and is so convenient.

And don’t forget the packages brought to our door!! My ordering has increased tenfold since shopping became nonexistent during the shutdown so deliveries are now part of our daily routine. Even though there are delivery services not part of the post office, many of them use the post for the last leg of the package’s journey. 

I recently apologized to our postal carrier for the number of packages I had added recently that he had to deliver. He explained that was not a problem and that many of his customers have several packages delivered each day!

The most amazing delivery I had during this time was a dehumidifier at my front door within 24 hours. I still look forward to in-person shopping but for now, I rely on the postal service and other delivery services.

I did cut back on Christmas cards in the past few years, mainly because I had just grown tired of addressing them and felt guilty if I didn’t include a personal note with each one. I thought I would not receive them any more since I had not sent them, but guess what, we still get just as many. Some people still make the effort to send good wishes and take advantage of the post.

So please, hands off the postal service. For some people, it may be the only person they see on a regular basis, particularly during a pandemic.

I know my mom who lived by herself for 15 years after my dad died (definitely her choice), really enjoyed her mail person, who happened to be her nephew, in the last years of her life. She loved the daily delivery of mail with a great big smile and happy greeting.

Even though we complain how the prices for a stamp have increased, we must admit it is still a bargain. Remember the postal motto – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” And they definitely live up to that saying.

Frances