Aunt Gail

My Uncle Rob and Aunt Gail are two of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Rob is my Dad's brother and we are very close. Gail is my second Mom, always giving advice, always telling me to take care of myself.  I used to visit them in North Carolina but then they moved down to Florida and it's a little bit harder to get there but I have been down there a couple times to visit. I miss them being in North Carolina. Hickory, Winston-Salem, Hendersonville, Shelby all have special places in my heart. Rob is a retired radio engineer who is whip smart and quite the woodworker hobbyist. Gail can do everything. She is a kindred spirit in thrift shopping which we could never get tired of and she sews, quilts, crafts, paints - really amazing.

I was down to visit them in November for Thanksgiving. My Aunt had just had hip surgery so she was struggling to get around and I decided to go down there and wait on the two of them so she wouldn't have to do anything and give them both a break. We had such a nice time. I ordered a spiral ham to be picked up when I got there and had gone to Zabars on the upper west side and bought a ton of goodies to ship to them so we wouldn't have to go to the grocery store too many times. Chocolate rugelach, vodka sauce for pasta, cinnamon babka, bagels and all sorts of goodies.  I cooked, we sat out on their back porch and talked, met their two new cats, did some garden clean up, watched Jeopardy and their favorite sit-coms, walked Rusty their dog.  It was a really nice weekend.

I got an email from my Uncle yesterday morning. I called him and he told me that my Aunt had been having respiratory problems the day prior, by morning she was in distress, they called an ambulance. Because of COVID, my Uncle could not go to the hospital with her. He was told to call the hospital in an hour. He called and was told that Aunt Gail's heart had stopped in the ambulance ride to the hospital. They revived her once but the second time it happened, they could not revive her. I was shocked. My poor Aunt and my poor Uncle. I can't imagine a situation worse then this. I was in shock all day. I will truly miss my little co-conspirator, my secret addictive thrifter, my advisor, my friend. I love you.

COVID

It's going to be a long spring.  Sookie and Atticus look out at the bird feeder in the back yard.  I flew back from San Antonio on March 3rd.  I had work to do in the city on the 4th and then I told Tim - we really needed to get out of the city and head upstate. The Covid virus was going to hit the city and hit hard and we just needed to be in a safe place. We grabbed our two cats and some things and headed upstate.  It is now April 11 and we are going on being house bound for a month and a half.  We shop every couple weeks and go to the post office and the dump but haven't ventured out at all beyond that.  Both of us are working remotely as our offices are closed.  I feel like I am on a perpetual Ground Hog Day reel.  Get out of bed, work on the computer, cook dinner, watch Netflix, go to bed, repeat. We have not done much at all. The news has been awful with the daily Covid cases increasing by the thousands and deaths as a result of this horrible disease increasing as well.

The dysfunction and chaos that is happening on the Federal level is outrageous.  Thank God for Cuomo who rises to the occasion every time. New York is the hardest hit state but Cuomo's leadership has been amazing. I just don't know what the outcome of all of this could be?  What will our lives look like in a few months?  This administration showing absolutely no plan or leadership.

Meanwhile, we just work, watch Netflix and Amazon Prime, occasionally go outside but it's so early to be outside or we go down to the basement and work on projects. Sookie and Atticus have acclimated to being in the guest room indefinitely.  We had to cat proof it as they can be quite destructive. I moved a feeder pole out in front of their window and they watch the birds feed all day. They seem comfortable.