Darn, I just wrote a long blog and somehow managed to delete it. Apparently the editor gremlins are at work to keep me from over-writing my welcome here. What I was saying was that we had a cold night last night - about 8 degrees was the low on my thermometer. It's up to 25.6F now - but the sun is shining and it looks very pleasant out there. Just stay in the sun if you go out!

I wondered if any of our snowbirds would be returning to Joe's Pond early to avoid the crowds normally found this time of year in warmer climates. A friend sent a link to an article in the Times Argus that I thought was interesting. I'm sure the folks who live at Joe's Pond would be considerate enough to not hoard goods that might take away from locals - that is not their nature. However, unusual events foster unseemly behavior sometimes, and certainly this pandemic qualifies as unusual. We'll get a handle on it soon, I'm sure.

In the meantime, kids are at home, being home-schooled (sort of). I spoke with daughter-in-law Monika yesterday and she said she never realized how hard it would be to home-school a youngster. Apparently Waterford School is sending home packets for the students to work on at home. Monika is a radiology technician at NVRH, a stressful job at this time, and Bill has a business to run, so they found an 18-year-old girl to work with Tangeni on days Monika is working. This seems to be working ok, but not being with her friends is not ok with Tangeni. She's definitely missing the camaraderie of her classmates.

I suspect being sequestered at home is harder on young folks than it is on us older people. It is actually pretty normal for Fred and me, especially this time of the year. We do miss heading out to eat on occasion, though. It forces us to get creative with our cooking. However, I just learned we are out of garbonzo beans so I won't be making up the new recipe for falafel I had intended to do this noon. I have some leftover ham that I can pair with something or other. Fred is great about accepting my "stodgings" - some admittedly better than others - but he never complains.

So if you are having to be at home, find a new hobby (there's lots of stuff on line to explore and you probably have everything you need right in your home), or here's a novel idea - write a book! Well, maybe start with a journal. These unusual times are worth recording. If that doesn't appeal to you, how about actually writing a letter to a friend. I mean, pen on paper kind of letter. It will be a total surprise (nobody writes letters any more!) and who knows, it might end up being a keepsake for that person. Above all, stay well.