valeriesbookofme

  And COVID is still dragging on. The numbers are getting better here in Arizona but they are still high. People are tired though and so I see more people without masks in stores--or at least their masks are down below their chins. Our local newspaper kept it such a deep dark secret, about how severe the cases were, how many people actually died in Sierra Vista, that it seemed from the way my church presented it, that it was more an inconvenience than anything else. That people couldn't meet in person. Ah well, we make up our own minds as to what to do. I am very thankful that on February 11th I had my first shot of the Moderna vaccine. I had very mild side effects that lasted a day and a half. A relief. I am due for the second on March 11th at my doctor's office. Some people have said that second dose had worse side effects. Still, what to me is more important is that the stats are good about people who have had both shots. They are indeed not gettin...

 “Do you like this one?” He showed her his latest creation, framed in the scrolled gold frame he used for all his works, exchanging one for the other almost daily. She screwed up her face. “No, not as much as the others,” she said carefully. She hated not being effusive about his efforts, knowing how excited he was about each drawing, how these drawings meant so much to him, the only “work” he felt he now produced.  Retirement was so much harder on men her age than on women she reflected. She herself was thankful not to have to go into an office at a set time anymore, wrangle with people, coax and cajole them, attend meetings where nothing was ever decided. Wiggle her feet in uncomfortable “office” shoes, surreptitiously adjust bra straps, straighten skirts.  Now she luxuriated in the morning when she awoke, looking at the time and thinking that she didn’t have to rush anywhere. She woke early out of habit and that, too, was a luxury, looking at the spreading light ...

 Thanksgiving. So thankful for a quiet life right now. Election over, Trump almost gone. COVID still raging but it’s something I have just learned to live with. I escape into books and memories. I have spent a couple of hours reliving October and November 2016, when we decided to up sticks and move to Ireland. Reading the commentary as it happened, I am struck by how sure I was that this was meant to be, because my Irish citizenship came through, because our house on Softwind Drive sold so quickly, because it just seemed that everything was falling into place in October. However, reading about how much work and angst there actually was winding things up in November 2016, arranging for the dog to be flown over, saying goodbye to younger grandkids, I am so glad that today I am sitting in my den/bedroom NOT contemplating any big move. R and I did discuss moving back to Ireland--or somewhere else--a couple of months ago but thankfully, we decided to just let it all go until COVID is ...

  I haven't written anything political for a very long time. As a matter of fact, I don't know if I have ever written anything--publicly--about American politics. My friends know I have a lot of opinions though. Between COVID and this presidential election, I have felt myself spiraling down and down over the past few months. COVID is bad enough, hearing so much bad news constantly, wondering if we will ever get back to "normal" again. If I will be able to travel outside of this fairly small bubble I am in. I did manage to get to La Jolla California last weekend and will be blogging about that soon but, even there, masks everywhere. Restaurants severely limited, hotels socially distanced. I enjoyed myself but overlaying the three days was a tinge of sadness for a world that is, currently, so much changed for the worse. And then we have the specter of Donald Trump possibly winning a further four years. I have followed the election cycle with an almost un...

 As I write this, forty one years ago, almost to the very minute, I gave birth to my one and only child. As birth stories go, the actual labour was pretty good, about 3 and a half hours. Felt like more than that, but, really, it was only the last hour that was super painful. As I reflect back today, I think it's funny that the person being born is the one who is feted. But the one who gave birth, well, she’s left to her own thoughts and memories. And yet, the person who gave birth is the one who got the greatest gift of all. Forty one years ago. I was living in a room in Teddington, England. The landlady was very kind, took me in when I really didn't have any other place to go. The woman I’d been sharing a flat with had said categorically that she didn’t want a baby in the flat and, actually, didn’t really want a pregnant roommate either. Although she did give me a very nice gift after Laurie was born so perhaps it was all too overwhelming for her. One thing I learned during m...

There's a full moon tonight as I walk Mitzi around the neighborhood, as I have done for most of the past almost 9 years. With very few street lights, the neighborhood looks magical at night. Various house lamps twinkling, indoor lamplight spilling out through Arizona doors, the sound of people chatting. On one of the streets, there's a small street party going on, socially distanced of course. Someone is playing a keyboard in their garage and people have brought their lawn chairs.  Another month of this dreadful year has gone, we are edging closer to a hopefully better 2021. In our corner of Arizona, the COVID count continues to be low, almost flat. Elementary schools are open to in-class learning 5 days a week, the high schools are still part in-class, part online but that could change in a couple of weeks if the COVID numbers stay down. I have gone back to substitute teaching. Partly because I feel for the kids, I want to be part of their experience, a positive part. So far ...

  I actually wrote the following in April, 2009, on a fitness blog I kept up with for many years. Ironically, I can't really remember why I was feeling so dispirited. Maybe because I was facing a hysterectomy, another move . . . I can't remember. And maybe, in another 10 years, I will read THIS blog and wonder why I felt so dispirited too. I can only hope. Inn of the Sixth Happiness Thursday, April 02, 2009 There's an old movie called Inn of the Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman. A bit hokey but I always cry at the end. She plays the role of a woman working in a mission in China when the Japanese soldiers invade her area. She has to get 100 orphaned children across the Chinese mountains to another mission where they'll be taken to safety. 100 children of all ages, little food, across mountains crawling with Japanese soldiers.  Not surprisingly, they start to fall behind their schedule. They're following a map and she knows they're going to have a very hard tim...