First Day of Spring 2021

 

Daffodils in the Yard/
Elkridge, MD
March 19, 2021

The dark season is officially over! It happened at 5:37 AM EDT this morning.

It actually happened on the 17th when we crossed over 12 hours of sunlight per day--but Spring began this morning.

I have felt that we were suffering through Winter's last gasp for the past few days, but now that is over. Chris and I even have a golf Tee Time for tomorrow to celebrate the first full day of Spring.

The signs of the new season are everywhere. The trees are beginning to leaf as many of them are red with the signs of the season springing out.

I am more and more called to be outside, but the cold last week of the winter made that a miserable experience. Although I noted as I walked out of the building that I work in yesterday that the sky was clear and blue. Something which we had not seen in a few days as the first rains of March graced the land. 

But now the new season is off and running! And I will be running along with it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Broken Oven Troubleshooting

 The oven broke!

It was a serious catastrophe. It happened Wednesday afternoon as Chris was preparing the St Patrick's Day dinner. She wanted to use both the small and large overs simultaneously. The large oven, however, would not heat above 255 degrees. Which was weird. 

Last evening, as I got home, I began troubleshooting the problem with the lower oven. I went on line and located information for the model number. The stove is a Maytag Gemini which I remember installing years ago when it was new. How many years ago is a good question, because I do not remember. I know that it was more than 5 but less than 15. Or maybe it was 15 years ago. It is amazing how time flies. 

Pieces of the Oven Heating Element

Step 1: Inspect the heating elements for signs of damage. 

OK this was the easiest troubleshooting problem that I have ever had. As I opened the oven and looked at the heating element I could see it lying in pieces on the bottom of the oven. 

Well, that cinched it. A new heating element was ordered. $40 later it will be delivered Tuesday and the bottom oven should be good as new and fully functional for cooking Easter dinner!

Sometimes it is the most obvious things that are the problems.

I am hoping the replacement goes as easily as did the troubleshooting.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

St Patrick's Day 2021

 Yesterday marked the one year point of my personal struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic. It was when everything changed although the signs had been evident about a week prior and the planning for transitioning life into a new paradigm had begun in earnest.

Classic St Patrick's Day Dinner
Elkridge, MD
March 17, 2021

But, all of that aside, last evening Chris and I celebrated the holiday with a classic dinner done jut a bit differently and with fantastic results. We are hopeful that the year ahead will be far better than the one behind.

The dinner was a joy to behold and it was also great to eat. But it was not without problems--the oven decided to inject some unwarranted angst into the preparation by not heating to the desired temperature. I will be fixing the oven during the next couple of days. Apparently the lower heating element is not heating. 

But, the celebration was grand with just Chris and me to enjoy the dinner. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Living without Fear

 

As more and more Americans become vaccinated, the questions begin to arise: OK, now what?

It is a good feeling to be fully vaccinated, I know that it lessens my chances of becoming infected with COVID-19 and that even if I do contract the virus, its effects will be lessened.

But what does begin vaccinated do for me, otherwise/

The Wall Street Journal has an article this morning which goes over the do's and do nots of being vaccinated. The article is titles:

What You Can and Can’t Do if You’ve Been Vaccinated: Travel, Gatherings, Risk Factors, What You Need to Know

Basically, at this point we who are fully vaccinated are waiting for the rest of the country and the world to catch up. When I last saw statistics, about 12 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. 

Quoting from the article:

Which activities are lower and higher risk, even after vaccination?

Vaccinated individuals can feel comfortable when doing quiet indoor activities where people are generally still required to be masked and distanced, such as visiting an uncrowded museum, says Dr. Sax. Outdoor activities are even safer.

Higher-risk situations include indoor dining, bars, gyms and houses of worship, where people are singing and talking. “We don’t want to push the limits of what the vaccines can do before case numbers drop,” says Dr. Sax. He and his physician wife are both fully vaccinated but won’t dine in restaurants until case numbers and hospitalizations are significantly lower, he says.

So, beware indoor dining, bars, gyms, and church!

But, I'm safer, right?

Yep.

So when can I resume playing racquetball?  

Soon, I guess.

Get vaccinated so we can get back to living without fear!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Perfect Weekend

 This past weekend was the most normal weekend that I have experienced in quite a while. 

Blooming Crocus
Ellicott City
March 14, 2021

The weekend started on Thursday evening with friends around the fire pit celebrating the warm temperatures. It was a fantastic start to the weekend and marked the first time we had all gathered together in many months. We are all vaccinated and took advantage of our new status to renew in person gatherings.

Then on Friday, Chris and I ventured out to a new place to enjoy a quiet happy hour together. I wrote of this before. It was very nice and a grand way to start the weekend. 

Saturday was a normal Saturday. I felled three trees in the morning, attended a baseball game, and spent the evening with Nicole and Mike and the boys. Wow. We have not done that in a long time.

Sunday was more of the same. Chris and I completed the forms to renew our passports in the morning and went to a winery in the afternoon. And to top it off, it was Pi Day!

Just like that--poof, the weekend was gone.

But it was just like weekends used to be--too much activity crammed into to too few days.

And along the way, I even stopped to see the blooming Springtime flowers!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - March 15, 2021

 

1. It is the third Monday of March and it is also the Ides of March! Beware the Ides of March!

2. I was reflecting that is is nice not to have to read Twitter every morning to understand what the lead story on the news would be.

3. If it is March, it is March Madness!

4. Yes, on this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. 

5. What is the definition of a perfect day? Drinking wine with friends at a winery and then sleeping all the way home--it gets no better than that. I didn't actually mean to sleep, it just happened that way since I was not driving. It made the trip go faster!

6. Does anyone else thing ewe are spending too much time on "Tell All" stories? Do I really care about an internal family squabble (even if they are Royals?) or an unruly dog? 

7. Do you feel stimulated this morning? All I know is that I hope this stimulus package actually stimulates the economy. The last one didn't seem to do the trick. Most forget it was a $2.2 Trillion relief act passed by Republicans and fraught with pork during March 2020. 

8. Today in History. On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses a joint session of Congress to urge the passage of legislation guaranteeing voting rights for all.

Using the phrase “we shall overcome,” borrowed from African American leaders struggling for equal rights, Johnson declares that “every American citizen must have an equal right to vote.” Johnson reminds the nation that the Fifteenth Amendment, which was passed after the Civil War, gave all citizens the right to vote regardless of race or color. But states had defied the Constitution and erected barriers. Discrimination had taken the form of literacy, knowledge or character tests administered solely to African Americans to keep them from registering to vote.

“Their cause must be our cause too,”Johnson said. “Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”

Chinese Factories Burn in Myanmar’s Deadliest Weekend of Protests Since Coup - The Wall Street Journal

Year of Living Remotely: When 365 Days Went ‘Poof’ Into the Cloud - The Wall Street Journal

On Mexico’s Border With U.S., Desperation as Migrant Traffic Piles Up - The New York Times

Fauci Says Ending Mask Mandates Is ‘Risky Business - The New York Times

U.S. and Iran warily circle each other over reactivating nuclear deal - The Washington Post

Massive Facebook study on users’ doubt in vaccines finds a small group appears to play a big role in pushing the skepticism - The Washington Post

China will remove capacity limits of entertainment venues in low-risk areas of COVID-19 Reuters

Recovery bets support stocks as Fed comes in focus Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: ``We the People.'' ``We the People'' tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. ``We the People'' are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which ``We the People'' tell the government what it is allowed to do. ``We the People'' are free. This belief has been the underlying basis for everything I've tried to do these past 8 years.

Farewell Address to the Nation,January 11, 1989

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Jax at the Plate

Jax at the Plate
Kinder Farm Park
March 13, 2021

The slow, lurching progress towards normalcy took a big step forward yesterday. I did something that I did not do last Spring and that was to attend a youth baseball game. I was supposed to coach a a team that was planning to attend a tournament in Cooperstown.

COVID canceled the season and the tournament. 

Yesterday, Chris and I attended a youth baseball game during the Springtime! We had been to a few Fall-ball games during September and October, but Spring is when the games get serious.

It was a cool, but beautiful Spring day. I know that spring does not officially begin until next Saturday, but yesterday felt like Spring had already arrived. It was a nice day for a baseball game. Yes, there were face masks and physical distancing--but nonetheless, it was Springtime baseball. 

Life is returning, slowly and cautiously.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Did We Really?

Cured Table & Tap
Columbia, MD
March 12, 2021

Last evening Chris and I were out enjoying there late afternoon. Since we had hosted Happy Hour the previous night, we really didn't have anything to do, which is rare for a Friday evening. 

As we were driving in Columbia we came upon a restaurant and bar that we has heard about, and it being Friday evening, Happy Hour time, and we have both been fully vaccinated we chanced visiting the place. 

The watering hole was Cured Table & Tap. We felt that it is time to begin getting out again in a safe and responsible manner. We enjoyed a glass of wine and a small appetizer as part of our spontaneous Happy Hour celebration. 

We were pleasantly surprised. The bar was carefully enforcing physical distancing and it was a fantastic experience. They had a nice Happy Hour menu and a great selection of wines and what they seem to be known for: Scotch, Whiskey, and Rye!

Did we really just do that? Yup. It was fun and something different.

And we were very careful!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday-eve Happy Hour

What do you get when you add together great weather, good friends, no particular reason to get together, a roaring fire and a bit of wine and food?

Fun!

Last evening we celebrated Friday Eve by hosting a Happy Hour around the fire pit. It was a great time and a great way to prepare for the weekend. We changed up the routine this week because the weather was going to be so fantastic on Thursday, but not Friday and there were some possible Friday conflicts we were able to avoid. 

My view--it was a great success. 

The food was great--pulled chicken with Cole Slaw,  deviled eggs, and potatoes with a fantastic dessert of cupcakes with fudge topping covered in ice cream and whipped cream. 

We almost didn't need the variety of wines we enjoyed to make it a special evening. No wait! Did I really write that? I mean--the fantastic wines we enjoyed just added to the ambiance of the warm evening around the fire reconnecting after the long, cold, COVID Winter. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Welcome Spring

It has been almost a year since the COVID-19 quarantines began. Everyone is using a slightly different date for their start, but I will be using March 18th. I distinctly remember that I was at work on St Patricks Day and then the weird schedules and quarantines began. We thought it would last a couple weeks.

Now, a year later there is finally hope. Some places are opening--perhaps too soon. 

As I raised the Springtime flag outside our home, I was encouraged by the bright colors that remind me that Spring is close and almost here. I looked as some of they mages that I took last Springtime and noticed that last year the leaves and blossoms seemed to be ahead of where we are now. But that is OK--they will come and the rebirth of the world will be underway for another year. 

And as an added benefit this year, we will have the 17 year cicadas! I remember their noise from the last time that the brood appeared. 

I will enjoy the near 80 degree temperatures today, before the plunge back into the 40s to begin the week--but I know with every passing day the weather will trend warmer and the days longer.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD