Blogging at random…
Another week holed up in the Corona (Man) Cave. It’s beginning to settle in that this is going to be the norm for a while. In many ways, I don’t mind because, as someone who harbors the personality of an introvert, I do very well when it’s just my CD player and me and a stack of discs from the “Grooveyard of Forgotten Favorites.” Occasionally, I allow Alexa in to belt out a few tunes from Amazon Music.
I have some other pursuits to occupy my time. I love to read, but my reading is more about learning than for pleasure. Occasionally, a novel will catch my eye, but I prefer biographies or historical accounts of an event or period in history. Recently, I read The Fifties by David Halberstam, a lengthy summary of an extremely prosperous time in America. I also picked up James Rosen’s The Strong Man about Watergate figure John Mitchell who went to prison then took the secrets of the scandal to his grave.
I love to pour over the few magazines that make it into my inbox. I can read Garden and Gun from cover to cover in one or two sittings. Trailer Life, a magazine for RVers, is a must-have as far as I’m concerned. Each issue contains articles about products for equipping an RV as well as tips for maintaining one. Contributions from readers about exciting places to visit are useful for trip planning.
Lately, I have spent a significant amount of time learning about my camera and taking pictures with it. Last week’s post contained a few images from my walk through the blooming trees and flowers on one of Knoxville’s Dogwood Trails. This week, I spent time experimenting with those photographs as well as some I captured while walking through the neighborhood. I love bright colors and tried my hand at colorizing a few pictures. Here are some before and after attempts. What do you think?
I have enjoyed reading posts from my favorite retirement bloggers listed on the blog roll in the margin of this page. RV Sue, a legend among RV bloggers, came out of sequester to share a glimpse of her life now that she and her crew have left the road full-time. Sue decided it was time for a short road trip. For her readers’, life almost felt normal again, if only for a brief period.
The remainder of retirement bloggers seemed to be leading the same socially-distanced life that I am, although theirs appeared much more varied…some even humorous (check out Donna’s soup story). Barb is staying busy, Suzanne and Ingrid have their cameras out and much to share with the rest of us. Nancy is carefully enjoying life in Florida, and Mary is counting the days until the boating season. Alan finds plenty to report about in Downtown Knoxville. Please check out these well-written blogs, and then I invite you to come back here and see how exciting my life has been. For comparison, I decided to make some journal entries on my phone of my activities for several days this week. I would recommend that you keep the list handy. It is not a cure for the Coronavirus, but it might cure insomnia.
Monday:
Joe: Mopped and vacuumed floors; nap; wrote a short story and sent it in a letter to my granddaughter; watched The Voice; red wine and dark chocolate before bed (apologies to Nutrisystem).
Helen: Cleaned bathrooms; walked with “the girls”; bought wine and lottery tickets; finished a puzzle.
Tuesday:
Joe: Visited Lucy (RV); posted a couple of pictures on Facebook; worked Daily Crossword Puzzle; watched old Perry Mason re-run.
Helen: Played pickleball; made ham and asparagus crepes; walked with “the girls”; visited with my Mom from outside the retirement home; watched NCIS.
Wednesday:
Joe: Walked at 7:30; downloaded two apps to phone; ran rug cleaner; waxed Freddie (car); went to Walmart for more rug cleaner; took pictures of neighborhood flowers; booked campground reservations in Montana (hope it happens).
Helen: Polished silverware; paid bills; online call with physician to refill a prescription; started a new puzzle.
Thursday:
Joe: Finished rug cleaning; experimented with azalea picture; made RV reservation calls; had tuna salad for lunch (back on Nutrisystem); walked 2 ½ miles (I’m paying dearly for the dark chocolate); edited blog photos; Daily Crossword puzzle; watched Moonraker (old Bond flick).
Helen: Picked up some food for her brother; played pickleball; washed, folded, and put away laundry.
I promise I won’t do this to you again…this has to be more excitement than you can stand. I would love to know how you spent your week. I’m Easin’ Along.
Hi Joe,
I love hearing how others are adjusting to staying put…I wasn’t bored reading your week’s routine at all. And the flower transformations are really interesting and attractive.
Life is life, after all…need to clean the bathrooms and shampoo carpets, exercise, and occupy our minds with puzzles, reading, and old movies…we are all their. These are routines that glue us together…and keep us sane in this bizarre experience.
Montana, eh? What month? We are trying to decide how to proceed with our RV trip plans. So far the only things “in stone” are Grand Ole Opry at end of October and a month in an RV park in Corpus Christi.
Good morning, Nancy,
Life is certainly different. Sort of reminds me of our time in Berlin in the early 70’s and East German guards peering down at us from atop a wall that surrounded the city…surreal experience. We made it through that and we’ll make it through this. Planning to start on our trip west in mid-June and will be in Montana on July 5. After talking to campground operators, I’m a bit more optimistic that we can pull this off. You’ll love the Opry and ALL of Tennessee. Great hearing from you! Stay well!
Joe, another terrific story of the life and times of Joe et. al. As a matter of fact, I think I will bust out one of my favorite audio books…The Life and Times of the Thunder Bolt Kid.
Just thinking about this unique story makes me grin, chuckle…and laugh my buns off!
Dynamo, I’ll have to add that one to my Kindle. Sounds like something I would enjoy. Stay well down there!
Looks like you’re enjoying the new camera and have found a routine that works for you guys. Thanks for the mention, but I wish you would’ve linked all the bloggers so I could check them out.
Hi, Ingrid,
The routine works even tho’ it can be a tad boring. I have a short list of links to those great bloggers on the right margin of the page. I think you will know most of them from the blog titles. In fact, I think I found almost all of them when I began following your great blog. Say hi to Al and stay safe out there!
Thanks for sharing Joe. My shrubs and day Lilly bed have received lots of attention lately. I read Garden and Gun and dream of trips in the future. The Our State magazine (North Carolina) has great stories. Take care my friend.
Good afternoon, David,
I gave up yard work when we downsized and left what little yard we have to Helen. I guess that’s how I ended up with cleaning the rugs! Stay safe down there. Joe
You guys get more done than I do. I still need to learn how to use my camera phone properly!
Hello, Barb,
So glad you stopped by! It always seems like you’re running circles around the rest of us. Stay busy and stay well. Hope you’ll come back! Joe
Hi, Joe – Thank you for the shout-out. I greatly appreciate it.
I enjoyed the summary of your week. It’s good to know what others are doing.
Having a rather ‘driven-personality,’ my life pre-COVID was usually quite production-focused. (I know, know. No lectures needed.) 😀
The irony is, now, during social isolation, you think that I would get TONS done. Right? Wrong!!
Nowadays, if I’ve walked the dog and have had a shower, I shout out, “Yeah me!”
Glad that you and Helen are well.
Donna,
Consider that a blessing. My own Helen is one of those “Type A’s” and I genuinely love the fact that she has used this time to sit, work her puzzles, read books, and take some time to reflect. Usually, she is drawn to any activity where her friends, church members, or family is gathered and tries to squeeze the other stuff in so she can go and be around people. I sincerely want all of this to be over, but then again…
Stay well, take a deep breath, and enjoy the dog walks. Joe
Joe, your colorized photo of the pink dogwood looks exactly like something my sister-in-law (an artist) might have painted – it’s quite striking. Thanks for the honorable mention. We are, indeed, looking forward to boating and camping, but Old Man Winter doesn’t seem to want to let go here in the northeast. Yesterday, we awoke to trees heavily laden with snow and several inches on the ground. Almost all of it has melted already but, really, I am so done with winter weather. I think it must be Mother Nature getting back at me for happily chirping about an early spring when we had a delightfully warm spell back in March. You and Helen are doing a fine job of keeping busy – carry on, my friend!
Mary,
Spring weather in East Tennessee never lasts long enough for me. We seem to go from wet, cold weather to hot and humid in about three weeks. This year is different and spring might actually linger around for a bit longer. Our flowers are as pretty as any time I can remember. I feel for those with extended cold snaps, although I do enjoy an occasional snow which we don’t get anymore. Hang tough up there, spring will bust out soon, I promise. Stay well. Joe
Joe, I find it very encouraging that you have booked a camp spot for June. I too believe that we will be out and about by then. The edited version of the pink dogwood is really pretty. It would make nice 4×6 note cards for Helen to give friends this Christmas. I use Vistaprint which is reasonably priced. Just an idea. https://www.vistaprint.com/ Thanks for the shout out and for sharing your day to day. We are all in the same place right now. Just trying to stay positive and not be overwhelmed with waiting…
Suzanne,
Words can’t describe how liberating it felt to call a campground operator and reserve a campsite. We don’t know yet if conditions will permit a road trip, but by just going through the process of making plans for the future made life feel almost normal again. Love the idea of gift cards, thanks! Once again, I have to give you credit for another great tip. I followed a link on Picture Retirement to Terri’s lessons on colorization. I had a lot of fun considering how color-blind I am. Thanks for stopping by, stay positive–there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Joe
Joe, you’re color blind, too?! Well, isn’t that an interesting coincidence. Here we are, two introverted, color blind bloggers who write about the RV lifestyle. My son and I are both color blind and, yes, I know it’s more unusual for a woman. It never stops me from enjoying the magnificent colors in the natural world, even if I might not be able to exactly identity some of them.
Mary,
Good morning! I suppose that the term colorblind is a slight exaggeration in my case. I see color, but I am not good in matching them or using them in an artistic sense. In my home building days, I always let someone else pick out paint, brick, or interior colors. Otherwise, I would mess it up pretty badly and just paint everything gray. I enjoyed colorizing the pictures in this post however. Hope you’ve busted out of that cold snap up there. Stay in touch! Joe
Hi Joe, thought I would visit your blog. You sound pretty busy in spite of staying home. As my husband and I prepare to move to Washington state early next year, we are keeping busy with home renovations and tossing unneeded stuff. Hubby still works full time, but retirement is imminent. I like to call myself semi-retired because I draw a pension, but teach part-time at a university. I enjoyed your photos and the post editing you did. I see you and follow many of the same bloggers. We’ve visited Al and Ingrid twice in AZ. Great couple!
Hello, Terri,
So honored you stopped by and best wishes on your move. I have a niece who lives in the Tacoma area and we plan to make an RV trip out to see her and her new twins in late summer. Maybe we can get a chance to meet on our next pass through. Thanks for the comment on my photos. If I could ever match your skill, I would be incredibly pleased. I saw your comments on Ingrid’s blog previously, but visited your blog after Suzanne, Picture Retirement, mentioned your challenge. You have a very attractive website. If I can figure out how to tag an entry, I will enter the challenge. Helen and I were fortunate to spend a day hiking with Ingrid and Al last March where she gave me some photo tips. They are a great couple indeed.
Thank you, Joe! To join the challenge, you just create a post, then link to my post with a ping back. WordPress has tutorials on how to do it. Looking forward to seeing your future posts!
With camera in hand, I’m on it…and I’m trainable!