Shut down update.

Looks like I have not posted any update on our situation here.  We cut short our vacation. We were gone six days out of the 20 we planned but arrived home safely and have been in shut down since.  Since Gerry and are in a high risk group , due to age and his cancer, we are trying to be extra careful.  I found a meat market and bulk food market which also has some fruit.  Both were willing to do curbside pickup.  We have plenty of meat, which makes Gerry happy. 

I have been able to order online  personal items such as soap, shampoo, and even aspirin and vitamin pills.  No toilet  paper of course.  I do a lot research along with my children as to what are safely measures. 

Gerry is continuing with his writing on his autobiography. Many of my friends are doing "Spring housecleaning" which I may or may not do.  I hope to stay ahead on the weeding of flower beds. 

Also, spring flowers are starting to bloom in the woods.  Walking out there and looking for new ones give me great joy. In past years I took many, many pictures of them.  I think I will spend my time now editing and printing some.

Hilton Head, South Carolina

I have just completed reading three books on traveling alone, one being a solo female travel book.  Just a few of the tips:  The first thing is to find the location of the tourist information center. Bring functional clothes - no one cares what you look like.  Check days museums are closed and days they have a docent. It is OK not to see everything. Look at weather forecast as far ahead as possible.

Then there are things I can learn about myself.  Learn to be more open minded. Learn to be comfortable being alone.  Remember when I tell friends that I plan to travel alone they will tell me stories of people who had problems, or that it is not safe. 

This week G and I will leave on a trip with the final destination Hilton Head, SC.  We will be together for about a week, then I plan to spend two weeks by myself. That was why I reading the books.

I hope to use this blog to document activities of each day.  It will be for me as well as sharing with others.

A "Bernice Day"

Yesterday was a day for me.  I had decided to have a day that was relaxing and fun.   So, I packed my bag for a day in the outdoors.  First of all I had  lunch at Rito's, an Italian Bakery and Deli.  The sandwich I ordered had two kinds of meat,  marinated egg plant and then Italian Dressing was poured over all.  Quite unusual in that the bottom of the bun was completely soaked .  Dessert was Tiramisu .

Next I drove to the Hinckley Metropark which is part of the greater Cleveland Metropark system. This is one of favorite as you see the lake from all the trails. At the first entrance there were large orange cones in front of the drive.  The second was the same with a police car there.  I drove to the third.  After seeing the cones I Googled "Why is Hinckley park closed"  Seems it was closed for wildlife management, but they were also working on the trails. I went to Plan B which was to find another of the Metropark locations,where I walked three miles.  Although nothing is green yet, I find beauty in just looking at the mosaic of the fallen trees.

Next I went to a theater to see the movie "Little Women". 

This a view of the theater when I walked in.  I was the only person there.  Three women joined be later.  Usually there 15 minutes of advertising for upcoming movies.  The last on was Dr.  Dolittle.  After about ten minutes of watching  what we thought were the previews of Dr. Dolittle one of the ladies said I thought this was to be Little Women.  As it turns out, the computer was showing the wrong movie. They could not change it so I was given a ticket for the mix up, but didn't have time to wait for Little Women.  So I watched Dr. Dolittle.  It is a fun movie for kids, but I enjoyed it again as the only person in the theater.

To my children - We can get it done!

As my children can attest to, it sometimes (maybe more that I want to admit) it takes a loooong time for G and I to get something done.  Once Daughter told us to not tell her about any house we had looked at until we signed on the bottom line.  According to my blog post on June 17, 2019, we had the counter top installed.  This week we had the back splash installed. It only took seven months. 

June 17, 2019

February 26, 2020

February 28, 2020

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Happy in my woods

After reading the blog of Alexis .... I noticed in the pictures, the clothing of choice is usually a raincoat.   That also seems to be true here.  For his last few days it grey and dreary when I wake and look out the window.   One of the things I do to raise my spirits is to walk in my woods. The colors may be drab, but the shapes of the trees, fallen logs,  and the texture of the half frozen ground just makes me happy.  Sometimes I try to take pictures, but it in no way conveys what I experience.

My latest challenge is to note "landmarks" to find my way back home. Examples are fallen trees with all the roots exposed, logs laid out for a vehicle to get across a wet area, branches of a certain shape and even a small deer stand  left there by a hunter.  I do not worry about getting lost as the woods is only 20 acres, so if I walked to the edge, there would be an open field.

I call the woods mine because G does not go out there.  There are no paths to ride motorcycles.

Red Car

On my blog post of January 17, I sort of made fun of a friend who just goes into the car dealership, points at a red car, and says "I want that one".  Here is the red car we just bought.  But for us it was after a few weeks of research, etc.
It is 2020 Mazda CX-5.  Gerry would have you know it has a turbo, all wheel drive and 2000# towing capacity.  For me, it has so much computer stuff in it, that I say we are driving a computer.  But I will be able to find my car in the parking lot.

Last night we went to our favorite place to see a movie.   Lorain County Community College.  According to their site, "LCCC's film Series screens the world's finest art, independent, classic and foreign films..."  We have never seen a film there that we didn't love.  We saw the classic, "The Bridges of Madison County".

Inspiration from two sources

Sometimes it seems hard to find something interesting to write about.  My highlight today was taking a leisurely two mile walk on our country road.  The thing that made it so great was that the temperature was nearly 60 degrees.  For February 2 - what a treat. It just reminds me of how Spring and Fall feel.  Now to keep the feeling. 

On another topic, DH loves to collect quotes, which sometimes are on tee shirts.  He is not afraid to ask strangers if he can take a picture of their shirt. Recently after exercise class I saw this and asked to take a picture.  I doubt if I will do it frequently, but it was for DH.