Raincharm’s Weblog

We risked our lives yesterday and went to a store. The primary goal was to get some tomato plants. And some envelopes and turkey burger. Based on the wide variety of items we settled on Fred Meyers. We managed to find the tomatoes in the outdoor section without too much difficulty, and put them, 3 of them, in the car. Then it was into the indoor building. The envelope hunt was pretty uneventful, except there were no envelopes. Back up to the grocery section. This was where the risking was all over the place. Masks – only about half, distancing- about the same. We did the self-checkout, where the line was distanced as were the checkout stands.

Today was the day to get outside and plant. Three tomatoes shouldn’t take too long, except in my world it’s never that straight forward.

My garden gnome

I wanted to add some soil amendments before planting the tomatoes. The bag of soil amendments was way too large for the raised bed, so I/we needed to weed the backyard beds and then use most of the amendments in that area. And I needed Carl’s help to lift the full bag.

A few hours later the beds were weeded, amendments added, and tomatoes planted. And pruning of the camellia started.

One cage short

The camellia pruning is a project that needed to happen. It is growing into a rhodie and is way too tall.

Pruning started. The rhodie is getting leggy, and will be pruned too.

This project did not get completed, but it was started. I wimped out, am out of shape and needed food. So I will attack it again another day. Maybe tomorrow.

Post yard work hair, pulled back because it is long enough!

We did manage to add a walk in as well, on this rainy sunny day. The following is one of the many rhododendrons we passed. I think this was the most striking for colors.

Tomorrow it’s back to the grindstone.

A few days ago, my Mother’s obituary was published. It is good, but she was so much more. She wanted to be a career woman, when that was unusual. And she was smart, could sing, and played the piano and a little trombone. No nonsense in her way, she told it like she saw it. “You’re doing it wrong.” Her advice to me as I set out for my first job in engineering was, “Don’t let them know you can type. “Her knowledge of plants was encyclopedic. And fauna, dead fauna, could be mounted with a pin. Small, dead fauna, like butterflies. I do recall she was not too enthused when I brought a deer skull home.Further she demonstrated showing up for what you thought was important. She volunteered for many years at Planned Parenthood. One of my more recent memories with Mom was sitting at the table for breakfast, while she looked through the New York Times. “That damn Trump is an idiot. I fear for our country. “And there is still so much more. I miss her. Here’s to the last 62 Mother’s Days. M is for the million things you gave to me! Just kidding Mom.And for that relationship just beginning, Happy first Mother’s Day Becca! You’re rocking it.

And now for the NUT.So, have you received your stimulus check? We had done our taxes with direct deposit, so we would avoid getting a check with you know whose signature. Small favors.But no. We got a letter from the IRS. Telling us we had a check deposited. Thank ME very much.This provided us the opportunity to compare the NUT’s signature to ballplayer autographs.We have a few around the house. Carl sends birthday cards to ballplayers, mostly well past the end of their careers. Many reply, some even call, and have established a relationship. One even called to see how Carl was doing during this pandemic. Back to the signatures. The modern day player’s autograph is frequently a swipe with a pen. It could be anybody. The retired Harmon Killebrew would ask rookies to sign their autographs during spring training, and if it was illegible, he would ask them to work on it so in 5 years the recipient would be able to tell who they were, and better remember the moment.Now, an autograph is really different than a signature. But not really for the total self promoter trump. Here, have my autograph, I AM IMPOTENT IMPORTANT.

And what we miss most is the people that are in these places.

Hoping for a great day in the Big Apple.Birthday celebrations in the time of Covid.Ashlan is in the thick of the current situation. Coming and going, and having to deal with all of the issues going on with the running of restaurants. Trying to adjust to a wildly different situation, different customer demographics and service expectations, and employee situations. Business learning at a graduate level.We are very proud of her.

The Best Friend

The unauthorized Zoom in the time of COVID

Theo working to keep Ashlan safe

Happy Birthday

1. Carl is a caregiver.

2. Carl’s care giving is normally for infant to early elementary school ages.

3. Carl has not worked in a small child care giving capacity since mid February. This statement does ignore caring for Corwin.

4. Carl has been applying artistic techniques to food for well over 30 years.

5. He is working to keep his skills fresh.

Picasso inspired Woman with Red Hair

This does not come close to all of the artwork I have devoured in the past few months.

Happy Jackie Robinson Day

Carl has made it a point every year to go to a baseball game on April 15th, Jackie Robinson day. The Mariners, if they are in town, occasionally a minor league team, and high school games a few years. This year, the closest we got this year was a family group playing at the Ravenna little league field.Our lunchtime walk was to a drugstore to get aspirin, and some baseball cards. Our post work walk was to a friend’s house to, safely, pick up another baseball card, and catch up on several weeks. About 5 miles altogether. Two trees caught my eye today.The first was just a magnificent specimen.

The second had very interesting shape and delicate structure.

That’s all

WFH (working from home) has allowed me to track and appreciate the neighborhood flowers on a daily basis. When I planted our bulbs last fall and many falls ago I did not think to retain any information. So what blooms is always a bit of a surprise.

From the front walk.

Nice light pink with yellow highlights

Deeper pink, and somewhat larger

Really enjoying the orange with a more open petal arrangement

The next 3 are all the same variety. They have denser petals, but never seem to get really organized for a nice presentation

We also got some new photos today.

I know this is all over the internet now, but as a lego household, I couldn’t resist the humor.

Apparently Easter Eggs grow on trees

Our bunny brigade

We will continue to physically distance today, although a walk for takeout dinner is planned, about 5 miles round trip. For the first time in a long time Carl will not be helping the Easter bunny distribute his wares. The Easter bunny may be an essential worker, but his assistants are not.

The Easter Bunny was here!

29 eggs hidden around the house to get me moving this morning

And hello from home church in Tennessee

We took an afternoon walk today. About 4 miles and 9,000 steps. It was generally sunny, with a few clouds and about 55 degrees with a 5 to 10 mph breeze. The temperature you felt was very much dependent on whether or not you were sheltered from the breeze.We drove up to Maple Leaf, did one circuit on the 1/2 mile loop, and set off into the neighborhood. The first half was fairly flat, with some inclines. But then we encountered the hills. Up, down and around. A reasonable workout in the end.Our tree of the day.

And now I am sitting on the back deck, in a tshirt and shorts! First time this year. There is a definite edge to the warmth, but the warming sun is worth the cool edge.

And I brought Carl with me.

In reality, the day was OK. But at the end of the work part, I was spent. The day included working on several different topics, including customers that didn’t quite understand the requirements for new water service, others needing documentation, policy discussions with my boss, the normal Covid check-in, and reviewing and responding to others work. Just drained.

So we took advantage of the relatively nice weather, and set out on a walk. We didn’t stray too far, 9 blocks east and about 10 blocks north-south, cruising up and down the streets. About 7,000 steps worth.

Tiny tulips

We included about 6 blocks of student housing that we don’t normally traverse. There were a few small groups playing some game involving a table, rock or ball, and, we assumed, beer. It was entirely possible these were living groups, and the area was much quieter than would be normal for a sunny Friday.

The tree of the day invites you to find faces and shapes.

A really interesting surface

This gathering of beings, however, was our favorite by far.

The gathering, click to zoom in

The detail is quite remarkable

In other news we put in our order for next week’s groceries. For this week we may have to venture into a store for more carrots.