Saturday, October 30, 2021

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken on Halloween of 2006. Mattie was four years old and that year he got to actually wear his calico cat costume that we made together. Though we made the costume together the previous year, Mattie never got to wear it because he was hospitalized over Halloween of 2005 with sepsis. I will never forget that moment in time, as I insisted to Mattie's pediatrician that he had an ear infection. She dismissed me, and thought I was a hypochondriac. Sure enough within days of taking Mattie in to see her, we had to rush him to the emergency room as he was constantly vomiting, dehydrated, had a fever, and by that point his ear infection went throughout his body causing sepsis. Needless to say when she visited us in the hospital, she apologized! 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,949,571
• Number of people who died from the virus: 745,674

It's that time of year when our potted plants have to be taken in from outside, in order to make it through the winter. This was what our townhouse in DC used to look like. I always called our living room, the room with a view. Our plants absolutely LOVED this space and I am a big fan of windows. 

I would say that Peter and I were at it for hours today. Half the problem is we had to figure out where to place all of our plants. As some of these plants need direct sunlight. So instead of placing them altogether, like in the townhouse, we dispersed them around the house. All I know is seeing greenery during the winter months is therapeutic for us. 

Literally there are plants everywhere. This big rubber tree plant is nicknamed, Jack. For 'Jack in the Beanstalk.' He grows incredibly and we keep cutting him back. 

The Christmas cactus made it to the dining room. We shall see how she likes it there. 

I am a big fan on canna lilies. This is one of our smaller ones by the front door. 

Our Meyer's lemon tree got the living room window. Indie did not know what to make out of all of this today, but as you can see she has claimed the living room chairs. 

These are my big canna lilies. In theory they come from bulbs, so we probably could plant them in the ground. But we have been city dwellers for so long, and some of our potted plants are special to us. Therefore for now, they remain in pots. 

Peter brought many abandoned plants home from his office in Arlington, VA. When this dracaena came home, he was tiny. Maybe up to my knees. Look at him now! 

Last but not least is Butterfly Ginger Lily. She is now in my office. We bought her years ago in North Carolina, at the Elizabethan Gardens. She produces incredible flowers in August. They are the shape of a butterfly and smell a bit like jasmine and gardenias. 

Friday, October 29, 2021

Friday, October 29, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2005. Mattie was three years old and together we made his calico cat costume that year. Mattie wanted to look just like our cat, Patches. So we went to AC Moore, bought the felt, and got this black sweatsuit at Target. I cut the patches and Mattie and I hot glued them to the costume. To me, Mattie made the cutest cat. However, the day before Halloween, Mattie was hospitalized with sepsis. So he never got to wear the costume or go trick or treating. Nonetheless, I saved the costume and he officially wore it the following year in 2006. By that point the sweatsuit actually fit him. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,895,114
• Number of people who died from the virus: 745,006

It was another winner of a day on the Farm. It is non-stop here, so much so that I rarely have time for lunch or to drink fluids during the day. It is just frenetic. I had the plumber over today, he was supposed to install a new vanity that I purchased for my mom's bathroom. Turns out that the vanity I bought couldn't be installed because of the positioning of the pipes! LIVID! So I had to figure out how to return it and then order a vanity that would actually work. Needless to say that means the plumber is coming back out next week. Thankfully I like the plumber. Nonetheless, I was up and down the stairs countless times with the plumber trying to figure out how to manage this new vanity order and installation. Of course when we move the old vanity, we have no idea what the floor under it will be like, nor whether the new vanity will install properly. I would love to just order a new sink top for the old vanity, but the old vanity is a very old piece and new sinks are not made with this dimension. Even so, do you know ordering only the sink top (and not the vanity) is even more expensive than ordering the whole vanity. Go figure. Of course the reason I am doing this is because the former owner left us with a cracked sink, so there is no fixing it, and turning the water on, leads to a flood. 

Meanwhile, this was delivered today! It was raining cats and dogs, so getting these boxes in was important. 

Given the volume coming in, I began sorting items today. Now I have sections of the room designated for nuts, coffee, chips, cereal, candy, cookies, etc! I am lucky to have this open space. It won't look like this for long when my parent's furniture gets here, but this space is so needed for Foundation purposes. 

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2004. Mattie was two and a half years old and together we picked out this cute Winnie the Pooh sweatsuit at Target. Mattie did not like shopping for the most part, but tolerated Target. Most likely because in addition to items, there were also toys to look at in the store. In any case, Mattie was all about wearing soft materials, and nothing that was too tight and confining. We read many Winnie the Pooh stories together and it seemed fitting that Mattie would want to dress up as Pooh. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,812,770
• Number of people who died from the virus: 743,294

In addition to all the other craziness on the Farm, we also have the Foundation's Candy and Item Drive in full swing. The Amazon delivery guy today was a total riot. He said.... 'Maam, I have NEVER delivered so many boxes in one day to ONE house!' 

That's us! You can imagine the recycling truck hates us, as the amount of cardboard we produce each week is significant. It took quite some time to process through this and break down boxes. I am VERY grateful to our supporters, because this generosity speaks volumes. 

The Amazon guy and I stacked the boxes, so that I at least had a pathway out of our side door. 

Meanwhile, get the picture?  This is the volume we have in our family room currently. It's looking a bit like a warehouse. The item drive goes through the second week of November, so I have no idea what the final tally will be like. The Foundation is now stocking three carts, so receiving this volume is MUCH APPRECIATED.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2003. Mattie was about a year and a half old and by this point, kind of got Halloween. Or at least he was willing to wear a costume and trick or treat with his cousins. Mattie was fussy about clothes. He did not like anything too tight, itchy, and let's not talk about clothing tags. They irritated him. Together we picked out this cute pumpkin sweatsuit at Target. To me he made the cutest pumpkin and Mattie really gravitated to the color orange early on. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,696,134
• Number of people who died from the virus: 740,999

Honestly I feel like I am on a treadmill at this house. From the moment I get up, I am doing chores. It is one for the books. After putting my dissatisfaction in writing, guess what? The pool was cleaned today and we are back on track. One in the plus column. Still dealing with the mysterious smell, however, now we bought screens for the windows! The former owner had NO screens on the windows and in most cases, sealed the windows shut. I deduce because he has a draft issue in the winter time. Nonetheless, some windows had to be open for both safety and health reasons. The ability to get fresh air into the room with the mysterious smell is helping. Not to mention using bleach and constantly cleaning out bathroom drains. I'm telling you all of this is a full time job. 

About a month ago, I made appointments on-line for Peter and I to go to the DMV in Virginia for our licenses and a license plate. However, it dawned on me this morning that I never got an email confirmation about my appointment. Peter did, but I didn't! I literally panicked. It doesn't take much for me to fly off the handle. I am sure it is because I am tired and stressed constantly. In any case I prepared myself that I wouldn't be allowed into the DMV today because I had no appointment documentation. I know this game well, as I experienced it before in Washington, DC. I tried to go in during COVID without an appointment (well I did not realize I needed one). The woman at the door wouldn't let me go in, and mind you there was NO ONE inside. It wasn't like they were busy. Given that horrible experience, I figured Virginia would be no different. WRONG! It was a night and day experience. It was well run and everyone was professional, polite, and accommodating. Definitely NOT DC. 

We were met at the door by a woman. She saw Peter had an appointment, but couldn't find me on the list. Instead of sending me away, she told me to go talk to the lady in the information booth. So Peter and I proceeded in. The woman at the information booth was named Cheryl. I told her I have no idea why my appointment did not register, as I made it at the same time as Peter. She listened and instead of telling me to hit the road, she worked me into the schedule. In addition, she answered my various questions about getting my parent's licenses. But she prepared me that I may not be able to get a disabled parking placard for my dad today because he wasn't a Virginia resident yet and I also did not have a copy photo of his California license. Fortunately Peter has a photograph of my dad's license and we showed it to her. 

We waited for about 30 minutes, until we were seen. Guess who actually worked with me? Yes Cheryl! I really lucked out. She was a God sent, and I called her a miracle worker. She helped me with my license and also granted me a disabled parking placard for my dad. She spoke to her manager and they believed my story. A story that is accurate and I most definitely will need such a placard with my dad in tow. After working with Cheryl, she asked if I would fill out a commendation for her. I did on the spot! She said she was so touched by my kindness, and I told her I was so taken by her compassion, professionalism, and can do attitude. She says she loves people and her job, and it shows! 

Meanwhile, Peter worked with a woman who was also a peach. He was in the booth next to me, so we could hear each other's conversation. When we got to choose our license plate, we naturally picked the Virginia childhood cancer awareness plate. It turns out that the woman helping Peter lost her brother, when he was 18 years old, to osteosarcoma. What are the chances? If you ask the medical community they would say low to rare. If you ask me, I would say quite common, as unfortunately I am acutely aware of children being diagnosed and coping with cancer. We were in and out of the DMV in 60 minutes and got everything accomplished. What we experienced today would be totally unheard of in DC. 

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 -- Mattie died 630 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in Halloween of 2002. That was Mattie's first Halloween. He was only 6 months old and I did not even dress him up. However, we bought a big pumpkin and I put it next to Mattie to commemorate  the occasion. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,597,371
• Number of people who died from the virus: 738,564

There is no peace on the farm! It is my mantra. I can't get anything done because I feel like I am a full time caregiver to the house. Today's debacle was dealing with the pool company. I am not a swimmer, but I fell in love with the property in part because of the water feature in the backyard. I think it is very therapeutic to look at. In any case, it adds to the complexity of things to maintain. One of the things you need to do on the East coast is winterize your pool. This requires a pool cover installation. The cover for our particular pool is customized to its shape. Guess what? The cover is not on the property, which means someone took it! That is bad enough but when I heard the price for this cover, I lost it. 

In addition, the previous owner paid for weekly pool service through September. Now we are into October. I had written to the pool company telling them I wanted to know the transition plan from the previous owner to us. No one ever responded. Until yesterday, when they sent me a large bill electronically. In addition to the poor communication, they have pulled pool service from our property until we pay our two month overdue bill. Hysterical, since we never received a bill until yesterday! So how it can be overdue is fascinating. But it's Fall, and with Fall comes A LOT of leaves. Therefore, I put in writing that their lack of service is unacceptable and that I wanted this resolved.  

Needless to say, I spent the afternoon managing this problem and escalating the problem up to the owner of the company. I now have him hopping and pool service resumes tomorrow. That is only one of the problems I am managing. I am still dealing with the mysterious smell coming from the drains of one bathroom. There can be times during the day you don't smell it and then other times where the smell is so pervasive it reaches the first floor. I have the plumber coming back on Friday to re-evaluate and also install a new bathroom sink in a different bathroom. Thanks to my nose and observations, according to the plumber, I have prevented major floods in the house already! Something to add to my resume. 

Monday, October 25, 2021

Monday, October 25, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2003. Mattie was a year and a half old and we posed for a photo by our oak tree, outside our window in DC. We grew to love this tree, especially during tent moth caterpillar season. As we learned that this was the only type of leaf they would eat. I remember buying Mattie this puppy dog hat and to me he looked absolutely adorable when he wore it. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,535,699
• Number of people who died from the virus: 737,250

We had our friends over today. They are going through a difficult time due to loss and grief. Peter and I know this feeling all too well. In fact, one of our friends is still here and it is almost 8pm. Peter and I remember these days of feeling lost and NOT wanting to go home. Afterall home symbolizes all the things that no longer exist. 

Peter and I cooked a gluten free eggplant parmesan, we served rolls, a wonderful autumn salad, and I even made gluten free brownies. Naturally I did this because one of our friend's is gluten free. What I have noticed about people coming to our home is they feel relaxed. I truly believe it is because of the setting. It looks like the country, has plenty of trees, no noise, and in a way it transports you to another time and place. 

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2004. I remember this day as if it were yesterday. Mattie was enrolled in a Montessori preschool in Washington, DC. He lasted at that school for about two months and then was asked to leave. It was a terrible match for Mattie! Before he was asked to leave, we went on a school field trip to a pumpkin patch. Because I did not trust the school's director, I invited myself along as a chaperone. It was a rainy damp day but Mattie loved the hay wagon ride and the fact that he got to pick out his own pumpkin. The only good thing about that preschool was that it introduced us to Butler's Orchard in Maryland. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 45,442,006
• Number of people who died from the virus: 735,930

Tomorrow I am having my friend Margy's daughter and husband over for lunch. My friend died in March of this year from ovarian cancer. It is a huge loss for her family and friends and it is unfortunate that Margy isn't joining us tomorrow. But I know she is with me in spirit. While deciding on tomorrow's menu, a cardinal came right up to my window and was staring at me. I took that as a sign. 

I have to admit I have never cooked anything gluten free ever! But one of my guests tomorrow is gluten free. So I decided to purchase gluten free flour and yeast and made rolls. In fact everything I am cooking for tomorrow is gluten free, including gluten free brownies. I honestly can't imagine how this will taste, but staying open minded. 

It was another busy day on the farm. One chore or task after the other. We did finish hanging all of Peter's photography in his office. I have to get a photo during the day light hours. But we have done everything from hanging new blinds to even inflating this pumpkin today. My mother in law sent us this for Halloween and will we put it outside this week. In our 27 years of marriage, this will be our first time actually visited by trick or treaters. 

Peter went outside tonight and luckily did not step on this HUGE toad! How do you like this?