Category: My Little Blue Kayak Blog

A Sea of Red Love

Eight cardinals greeted us when we arrived at my nephew’s house at the beginning of March. Not one or two but eight. The tree was glimmering in a sea of red. Cardinal sightings give me joy and I look forward to hearing their song. Seeing a cardinal is said to be a visitor from a loved one who has passed away. When I only see one, I can’t always determine who is visiting. But eight, hell everyone who held a serious place in my heart is probably close. Now that is a comforting thought!

Not only did arrive to see eight beautiful birds, we were greeted by my nephew who had been fishing. Soon we were joined by his wife, their three amazing kids, his Mother-in-law, his dog and two baby lambs. It was quite the greeting. We spent some time just sitting around in lawn chairs talking. The lambs were only a couple of days old and wandered around freely with the kids, dogs, and chickens. I even got to bottle feed them!

Aren’t they adorable?
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The Rubik’s Cube Effect

I was talking to a co-worker recently and the topic turned to childhood games. We spent several minutes reminiscing about Pong, Space Invader’s and the Rubik’s Cube. He said the best he ever did in terms of solving the cube was to get one side all of the same color. He would haphazardly turn the sections attempting to do better but could never get more than one side done. In desperation, he peeled off all of the stickers and put them back on where he wanted them. I have actually solved it multiple times (without cheating) but never fully understood what I did to make that happen.

So hard! Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
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Keep the Positive Changes

The last month and a half has been a little crazy. Do you agree? It is like we have moved to a new country where the language and the customs are very different from our own. If you watch “The Flash“, it is like we have vibed to Earth 10, where all the people we know from Earth 1 are here, they have the same name, but they aren’t the same person. They cover their face with masks, wash their hands incessantly and stand 6 feet apart from everyone. They do not touch others nor spend time with people. Even my blog posts are different, with titles like “A Report From The Field” and “My World Got Crazy” and “These Are Not Normal Times”. These don’t sound like the pursuit of health, wealth and happiness.

Lots of new rules to learn! Image by cwhrtmnn from Pixabay
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Stop Talking and Start…

I hear myself talking about downsizing but I never seem to accomplish this task. I say how important it is to me but I can’t seem to make any significant headway. Don’t get me wrong, I am in a better place than I was in the past but I still have too much stuff. I go into the basement and riffle through some boxes but get distracted by my stuff and by all of the boxes that don’t belong to me. I find something small I can throw out or put in a donation box, I putter for a few minutes and then give up; retreating to the living room couch to play on my computer.

My couch is comfy! Image by Mylene2401 from Pixabay
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These Are Not Normal Times

What does happiness mean to you?

I know these are trying times and I know we are stressed. I hope living in the manner we are being forced to live right now, never becomes normal for any of us. I long to be able to have friends over for dinner, to hug my family, to feel safe at work and in the community. I want to ditch the hand sanitizer, the Lysol wipes and the gloves that have taken up residence on the front seat of my car. I want to walk with my honey and my dog without having to cross the street every time we see another person. I want to be able to say YES to the kids who simply want to pet my dog.

Why is it so hard to simply enjoy the here and now? Right now, I am sitting on my couch typing this post. I can hear the sing song of my favorite bird, the cardinal. One calls, the other responds in an ongoing fashion. My dog is sleeping and I can hear her rhythmic breathing. These are all things that relax me, however at the same time, I am anxious about what is happening in the world today, I am scared for my family and friends, I am petrified for health care workers in New York City, across the country and across the globe. I am trying to not let this fear take hold in my heart.

Not normal at all! Image by Gloria Williams from Pixabay
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My World Got Crazy

This is a guest post from my cousin Stephanie who was recently hospitalized on Long Island. The only changes I made were to add the pictures. It is re-printed with the authors permission.

Recently, I started to not feel well, had a low grade fever. I spoke with my Dr. and because I am immunocompromised, I was given an appointment to be tested for COVID19. I was told to go home and self isolate in my bedroom. I had a horrible night, fever, chills, body aches , severe stomach pain. About 5 am I sent Gerry a picture of the thermometer reading 102.

Too hot! Image by Арсений Попов from Pixabay
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A Report From the Field

This is a guest post from my friend, Linda Savarese Wrinn, who works in a skilled nursing facility in Massachusetts. One day recently she left work, pulled over to the side of the road, cried, and ferociously wrote and wrote before heading home to be with her family. The only changes I made were to add the pictures.

A report from the field

I’m not on the front line. I’m in that place where we can hear the gunfire in the distance. And that distance gets shorter every day. Every hour.

Getting closer to the front line….. Image by skeeze from Pixabay
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It Takes 9

My parents had nine kids that are spread out over the East Coast. Mother Fran is the glue that holds us together. We don’t always talk on the phone or see each other often but we all share one thing in common. We all love Mother Fran like crazy. It is funny because she is not overly warm or affectionate. She didn’t spoil any of her kids and doesn’t give lavish presents. She is not a doting mother or grandmother. Somehow she and Papa Jack raised nine kids who all adore her. How did they do it?

Mother Fran has always been a bit of a health nut and has enjoyed good health into her 90’s. She likes to keep active both physically and mentally. Since February, she has visited the emergency room twice and been admitted to the hospital twice. This time period has been a whirlwind for my family and it isn’t over by far. We have decided to continue to provide 24 hour care for her at home as she isn’t out of the woods and should not be alone.

We don’t want her to be alone anymore. Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
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Change the Dynamic

I work in the world of rehabilitation as an Occupational Therapist. I have worked in this field for ten years in several different nursing homes. I have seen staff, co-workers, and residents come and go. I can usually remember the faces but the names escape me. There is a weird dynamic in most nursing homes between therapy and nursing. We are working with the same patients but we come from different worlds. We use different terminology to describe the same thing. You would think by now we would have figured this out.

Nursing uses words like limited assist, extensive assist and total assist to describe how much help a resident needs to transfer, bathe, toilet and dress. Therapy uses words like minimum assist, moderate assist and maximum assist to describe the exact same thing. Nursing staff strive to make sure each person is safe, clean and dressed. The therapist is working towards having the same person be as independent as possible; prepared to return to their prior level of function.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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Save Money and More! DIY

Recently, my honey and I drove to Florida in my trusty RAV4 named “Rainy”. It was a beautiful month and the temperatures were in the 80’s on several days. Often we drove with the windows open but we also cranked the air conditioner when we were too hot. My honey noticed water seeping onto the passenger car mat by her left foot. At first we thought our water bottle was leaking but then realized it was more than that. It seemed to happen when I applied the brakes and it was getting worse. My winter gloves were on the floor and I could almost wring them out.

What a mess! Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay
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