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Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Another Year had Passed

As I come to another birthday, I have a lot to think about. All of the things that I have accomplished, the things I have not accomplished, and the effect that Covid-19 has had on the last year of my life.
I have family all over. That makes the virus difficult, because I can't visit them. My son is away at college and I worry about him during this. I'm older and my birthday reminds me just how old I really am, especially where this virus is concerned. My mother is quite elderly and living through this virus alone. There are a lot of things to be fearful of the in the world that we are dealing with today.
It's during this time that I realize how much family and friends mean, and how little everything else means. I've taken leave of telling my stories that don't seem to thrill anyone and am writing the life story of a dear friend. It gets me through. These are difficult times, and we need to do whatever we can to get through. We also still need to be aware of the problem; follow the rules, such as wash your hands, don't overexpose in public, wear a freaking mask. This too shall pass at some point. Don't be selfish. Think of the greater good.
Take some time off from gathering. Be introspective. Go outside and enjoy nature. It's good for you. I've done this. I've reprioritized. I've seen the light.
Above is a link to a story in its roughest form that I am writing for a friend. She is fascinating, and she has lived many lives. I only hope that I am doing her story justice. You can check it out at the link over on Fictionpress. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I will leave you with some of the amazing sights that I have seen this fall. Enjoy!







 

Monday, June 29, 2020

You Can Go On a Covid-19 Vacation




This year has been a whopper.  First, there wasn't enough snow in my area to make a snowball, then we had a pandemic.  My son was supposed to start college on April 1st.  All of my family's special occasions are between Easter and Mother's Day.  It's been a long year.  My husband and I are essential workers with unbelievable schedules due to the virus.  I'm a traveler.  I need to get out.  I had to come up with something to do, because my job insists that I isolate as much as is humanly possible.  It was tricky, but it can be done.



I did my research and found that most states have requirements for travel, but read the fine print.  I found that in most states, as long as you isolate for two weeks OR for your entire visit; they're okay with that.  So, my husband and I decided that it was worth it to isolate for our entire vacation.  The view from our north woods cabin in Maine was worth it.


We brought our food, our clothes and our activities with us.  We hauled kayaks, hiking gear, electronic devices, cameras, games, and even booze to our location.  We had a contactless check in and check out.  We kept in touch from our messenger services, because we had no phone service.  We cooked our own meals and did our own dishes.  We went to gas stations with our card.  We were completely isolated the entire time.  We didn't even stop and buy food on the drive.


What did we do?  Well, we stayed in an isolated cabin that was very nice in a town in the north of Maine with very few residents.  We had ample locations to go kayaking, which is one of my favorite activities.  We even had a public access to the lake our cabin was on.  Convenient.



We enjoyed the wildlife.  Moose peeping is one of my favorite activities in the north of Maine.  They claim that they have more moose than people, and I think they're right.  I enjoyed spotting 8 moose on this trip, and I don't use a service.  I know where to find them.



We did a lot of driving on extremely back roads.  They were mostly dirt roads that are shared by the lumber company.  But, photography being one of my loves, did well for me in northern Maine.  The skies are beautiful.  The water is beautiful.  The Mountains are beautiful.  I had a great time taking walks and drives and taking pictures all along the way.



Our cabin was more of a two bedroom house with a Jacuzzi tub, satellite TV, and a fully equipped kitchen.  Not bad for the middle of nowhere.  We were able to chef it up right and enjoy our environment. 



Kayaking is a very relaxing activity and gives you a view that you don't get any other way.  I am a kayaker and therefore, brought my own kayak.  When vacationing during a pandemic, you probably won't want to rent one, so bring it with you; just like the food and entertainment.



Now, when visiting northern Maine, there are some tourist attractions that you can visit without seeing people.  On Elephant Mountain, in 1963, a B-52 Bomber crashed.  The remains are still there today.  It's a sobering site, but interesting and it's in the middle of nowhere.  It's a one of a kind spot that will live in your memories forever.  I recommend taking a look at it.



So we had it all.  Activities, adventure, wildlife, entertainment, food, drink, and gorgeous views.  All in the backroads of northern Maine.  Thank you Maine for being there, and we hope that we will see you soon again.  Enjoy!

Monday, March 16, 2020

One of the Biggest Adventures is Staying Home and Being a Good Citizen






What do we do when we can't go out and do whatever we want?  It's an interesting question, and one I've been thinking about since the onset of the Coronavirus issue arrived in my country. 





I've been listening to the people in my life and the ones on TV and social media make fun of this virus, complain about the restraints that have been put on their lives due to the virus, and all kinds of stuff.  So, I had some thoughts myself, and I finally decided to say them.





For years, I've heard people complain that they don't have time.  I've been one of those people.  I've worked two jobs at times just to get by.  I've complained that I'm missing out on family time and writing time and time with my friends, and reading time, and cleaning time, and sleeping time, and TV time, and cooking time, and exercising time.  Well, here it is.  As my grandma used to say, "When God closes a door, he opens a window."  Let's not focus on everything we can't do right now.  Let's take a good long look at the silver lining of this situation.





Sure, there is no toilet paper.  Sure, we can't go out wherever we want and do whatever we want to do.  But there are so many good things going on as a result.  I've cooked more nutritious home cooked meals than ever before.  My family is eating together.  I've gotten more rest, had time to use my Nordic Trak, watched some great movies and TV shows, talked with my family, and in my case, had time to work on my latest book.  When my family is out of work because of the virus, they will be paid.  In my field, I may have to work more. We're saving money because we aren't running around so much.  It's a good thing.





I'm hopelessly hopeful.  I find myself in the position of my son's college start date being delayed, but I still see so much good that is coming of this horrible thing.  We all need to be aware of that.  Has anyone considered this?  Our government is working together better than they have in many years.  They are talking to one another and listening to one another.  There are suddenly 500 or so elected and appointed officials in Washington that are finally doing their jobs.  There are manufacturers, labs, research facilities and charitable agencies all working together for the common good.  A democrat actually called our President, President Trump.  Unity is a good thing, even in the face of adversity.  By having a common enemy, suddenly the powers that be are working together.  What could be better than that?





Many businesses that are normally just a pain in the neck are suddenly trying to help ease the frustration of the situation.  Cable companies are opening up movie channels for free and vowing not to cut services during the crisis for non payment.  Sports are turning to virtual sports events with the actual athletes taking part, just to help provide entertainment.  There are so many humanitarian and truly acts for the common good going on right now that I can't list them all.  Museums are providing free online walking tours of their institutions.  If you like opera, you can stream recorded performances of the NYC opera.  There are a lot of things happening to try and make our incarceration more livable.  All of these private sector things are being done without them being asked to do them.







I've instituted a group on Facebook and invited my friends.  They are sharing things and I hope that my friends get to know each other a bit.  It's working so far.  We shut out the business end of this thing and are concentrating on good things.  I've had a chance to talk to my mom more than just on holidays.  I've had a chance to clean my house and do some projects.  It's time for all of those things that you wish you had time to do.  This is an opportunity that probably won't come again in my lifetime.  I'm living the dream now.  The virus is bad, but time is good.


I know we all have things to do.  I know it sucks to be told to stay at home.  But, we need to take this time to be solid citizens.  No one thinks that we're all going to die.  The problem is that if everyone in a town like mine shows up to the hospital because they think they have the Coronavirus, that's 30,000 people.  Most of them won't be serious cases.  Most of them will rest for a while and be fine.  Mass death won't be the case.  Not everyone in a town will get sick at the same time, but if they do; you need treatment for them.  No one has that.  What happens if your grandma is weak and one of the people we really need to worry about?  What if in a line of 30, 000 people, your sick grandma is person number 30,000?  What happens when there are too many patients for them to get to the one that really needs serious treatment?  What happens if your grandma dies because there were so many people at the emergency room that she wasn't seen in time?  This is what our government is thinking about.  This is what we need to realize.  All the toilet paper in the world won't make a difference if grandma is in a line so long that she dies because no one could get to her in time.





We all have a golden opportunity to do the right thing.  Our government is actually trying to do the right thing.  It provides us with the one thing that we always wanted more of; time.  Don't worry about what you're missing because of this.  Think about what you're gaining because of this.  The world will get back to normal.  Everything will get back to normal.  When I was a kid, we were isolated for two weeks at a time from blizzards.  We played board games, cooked meals, and watched the three channels on our TV.  It's so much better now.  Enjoy the break.  Treat it like the adventure for anyone that it is and enjoy!


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https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts
https://hgis.uw.edu/virus/
https://www.mydomaine.com/things-to-do-when-bored
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26872864/what-to-do-when-bored/
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/stuck-home-12-famous-museums-185921806.html
https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/music/metropolitan-opera-offering-free-virtual-shows
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/comcast-free-broadband-low-income-households-coronavirus-1203532765/