First written on 3-13

I went for a long walk yesterday. Discovered some new trails near my house. Well, they aren’t really new but they are new to me. They meander along little brooks. There are a lot of them around here. So refreshing. It looks like there might be beavers around here too. But I haven’t seen any. Just the dams they have built. 

There were a lot of people walking and running on the trails and sidewalks. Some were solo but some were in groups. And then when I passed through a park there were little kids, some toddlers, more than a dozen of them, playing on the playing ground equipment. Their parents, grandparents and caregivers seemingly oblivious to the virus. What is it about people? Are they in denial? Are they thinking it just won’t effect them? I don’t get it. I gave them a wide berth and continued on my way.

This morning Andy and I got up early to get to Fred Meyer when it opened. We arrived 10 minutes early but it became apparent that something was not right. A woman walked up to the locked doors and diverted her attention to a little sign tacked up on the Starbucks sandwich board and then threw up her arms and walked back to her car. I jumped out of our car and read the sign. In order to have the shelves stocked they are opening an hour later than normal. Darn. So we drove over to Safeway. We managed to miss picking up toilet paper, canned goods, flour, cake mix and liverwurst but there were lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. 

It is hard to stay off the iPad. I keep wanting to see if there is anything new to report. So much rehashing of posts from the day before. 

Rebecca thinks it would be better for her to stay in Canada. She thinks, 1- she can’t get out and 2- she doesn’t want to risk infecting us. I get it but I would rather she come home. 3- she has health insurance in Canada, not here in the U.S. After tomorrow they are sending the library workers home. Fortunately the Librarian has a project she can work on from home so she can keep being paid. She walked 11K this morning, all the way from downtown Vancouver to UBC. She wanted to avoid the bus and she wanted to get in her steps. I think they are ending bus service after this week. Things seem to be pretty severe there. She is having a hard time finding stuff on the store shelves. 

Sonia has us signed up on Marco Polo. I don’t really get it. You can form groups and send video messages. Not sure why you need the app to do it. Maybe the quality is better than regular video. And there are editing opportunities. We’ve sent a few videos but nothing too exciting.

This morning the first WW workshops went online. At the 9:30 workshop I couldn’t figure out how to use Zoom so I missed most of the workshop. But I didn’t give up. Attended another one at noon and figured it out. Very exciting to be able to do it but it lacks something that happens when you are really in the same room as other people. There were a lot of silences. But my coach Kathy and the noon coach tried very hard and I am sure the next meetings will go more smoothly.

It is only one day since my last post and oh my, the changes it has brought. This morning our governor threatened to close restaurants and bars but then stepped back and said there would be no closings. Then the chefs and restaurant industry raised a collective shout out and she decided that  only take out and delivery would be allowed. No gatherings of more than 25 people. That means almost everywhere except grocery stores, retail stores, and what else? Kaiser has notified us that most regular appointments will be dealt with online or by phone. Elective surgery is out the door. Rebecca informs us that her YMCA is closed. She goes there several times a week for various classes. Sonia is at home because she has been sick but now her office is closed down and all work is to be done at home. Seven Bay Area counties in California are under a modified curfew. No one is supposed to leave their homes except to get food or medical help or to work if they have a job to go to. I expect that will be happening here too if our governor has any sense.
Rosie and I delivered Meals on Wheels this morning. When I walked into the lounge where all the seniors normally gather for TV and bingo, it was completely empty. Usually there are a good 50 or so elders and disabled chatting or dozing. And this morning but there are new protocols for the deliveries. No hand to hand contact. We put the meals in a plastic bag and leave it on a door knob. Two days worth of meals for each client. No nice fresh salads or dessert. Just a main dish, a cooked vegetable, an apple and a carton of milk. Most of the clients are totally onboard. They get it that it is them we are protecting and while it was alway nice to give a friendly hug or squeeze of the hand to some of our clients, they understand it won’t happen. We have to keep a 6 foot distance between them and us. We had a handout that explained it all and some of them had been contacted by phone and already knew. But we were supposed to explain in person as well. Funny how one’s Spanish gets better and better when you really, truly need to use it. Only one client thought it was a stupid plan. I gave my best shot at explaining why two days of meals in one delivery made her safer from exposure but she wasn’t buying it. Oh well.
I did go for my walk today. I drove to the mall but walked around outside. Didn’t go in. Didn’t see anyone outside except from afar. I have no idea if any of the regulars were there or not. There was a huge number of plumbing trucks parked where the regulars park and it appeared that there was some kind of big plumbing issue going on. They had a very noisy pump going right next to the security office. If I had gone inside and if the regulars were there I would have gotten an idea of what was happening but I didn’t go in.
After my walk and meals on wheels I returned home and we spent the rest of the day watching Buffy and Angel, eating and reading and catching up on the latest COVID news. Things change from hour to hour. We got a notice that Canadian ports will be closed to cruise ships until July 1st. I sent Rebecca a text of condolence since she runs and walks along the sea wall by the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver almost every day and looks forward to seeing the ships from the various cruise lines during the cruising season. Then Andy pointed out to me that our cruise in May and June was supposed to stop in St. John’s, Newfoundland. So much for that. Of course the whole cruise may be off anyway so it may be a moot point.
It is evening now. I have served Andy the last of the corned beef and cabbage for dinner. We started celebrating St. Patricks Day a little early. I had a meal from the freezer. I think we can survive on what we have in the pantry and the fridge for maybe two or three weeks. But I do need to go to the store to see if I can get some fresh fruit and vegetables. And we still don’t have any hand sanitizer. Which I would happily make myself if the ingredients were available. I’ll look. Don’t have much hope. I’ll go either very late tonight or very early tomorrow morning.
Can’t wait (dreading may be a better word) to see what new developments tomorrow brings.

It has been so long since I last posted. So much water under the bridge. We moved from Walnut Creek to Lahaina, Maui. Spent 5 years living there. Traveled. Worked and then Andy retired. And then we decided Maui just was not what we wanted. So we packed everything up that we wanted to keep, there wasn’t all that much after the huge pruning we did to get to Maui. We went to Oregon and bought a house in Tigard. We have spent more time cruising and traveling. Right now it is still winter even though we teeter on the brink of spring. We had quite a snow yesterday. So pretty. The snow flakes were huge, they looked like feathers falling. It was nice entertainment while it lasted, on and off during the day. Something to divert us in the new era, the COVID-19 virus pandemic.
It sure snuck up on us. Well, perhaps I exaggerate. We had just gotten back from a cruise to Antarctica and the southern tip of South America, We had so much fun and saw some amazing places. But almost as soon as we got home there were rumblings on the internet. A virus had a grip in a large city in China. A doctor had tried to warn people but he had been silenced by the government. Then China was quarantining the city. Then restricting travel. Suddenly it was appearing in other parts of Asia, and on ships. The Diamond Princess was the first cruise ship to report cases. Then the Grand Princess. Italy had cases in the north. Korea, the U.S. Washington State, just north of us and then here in Oregon the first case was reported in Lake Oswego, just one city over from us. From the end of January up to today. We have gone from people congratulating us for missing the virus onboard our ship to self isolation. I shop at the grocery either late at night or when it first opens in the morning. No walking at the mall. No cozy cup of coffee at Starbucks. No casual dropping by to visit neighbors. Just sitting at home, tidying up incessantly and reading and watching TV.  And walking outside in the cold down into Tigard and on the Fanno Creek Trail or over to Cook Park. We aren’t going stir crazy yet but who knows? With a national emergency declared and large groups of people banned from congregating we don’t have the symphony and the opera to look forward to. I can’t attend WW in person at the Workshop but they are gearing up for meetings online and by phone. I am impressed at how quickly some businesses have reacted and adapted.
With Amazon and the proliferation of online shopping we may get through this with very little inconvenience. That being said it is still inconvenient to get to my regular grocer and find no potatoes, no toilet paper, no hand sanitizer and no pasta or rice. I did get extra canned goods the other day but I hope I will end up donating them to the food pantry when this is over.
Until then I look at the posts of my friends as they navigate life with jobs, families to provide for and fear hanging over us all.

Whew! I haven't I posted in so long because I have just been too busy. Boxing up our daughters' lifetime accumulation of stuff is a challenge. And I want to say right now that most of these things were boxed but in boxes not suitable for moving. Thus the transfer of dozens and dozens of boxes into sturdier boxes. And then the questions arise. How heavy should I make them? Sure the movers can handle them but can we after they get to where their first stop is? We will have to move some of them again. So did Child actually go through this box? It seems to have a lot of useless detritus in it. Will send photo and ask. How am I going to package this enormous picture? What about this old roasting pan? Does she really want it?  I think I'll toss it and let her get a new one. And so it goes.
There are so many things that still need to be taken care of. What if the movers don't show up? Don't even want to go there but it did come up in conversation. Can't even imagine our last day in this house. Hoping we don't realize at the last minute that there were things we need that didn't get packed up. The movers will have been long gone by then. I guess that is our nightmare du jour.
I am also wondering how to say goodbye to everyone. Will I walk around the neighborhood and knock on every one's door? Or will we just quietly disappear. How to say good bye to the dry cleaners and the bagel people. I don't want them to think I don't like their service anymore and that is why I am not coming back. I guess I will have to drop by those places too.
I've already said goodbye to my dentist. Dr. Moore and his staff are excellent and I am really, really going to miss them.
Too many visits to Box Stop to count. But I must say that the gentleman behind the counter there is most helpful.
I have driven the route to Shadelands Storage so many times the car can practically drive itself without my direction. Today I said goodbye to the lady behind the counter there and walked away from the empty storage unit. One more thing to cross off the list of things to do.
On the one hand departure day seems way too far off. On the other hand it seems like we won't have it all done in time. The Lahaina things are going on Tuesday. Chicago stuff goes the following Monday. Will everything be packed in time? I am sure it will but it seems like an impossibility.
I guess the thing is that while we are moving out very soon I won't be on Maui for another month beyond move out day. I will be driving to Ann Arbor, Chicago and Oberlin, helping daughters move into new quarters. So Maui still seems a long way off. Sigh.

Honua Kai

This is a post I started two years ago. It has to do with living on Maui.

Two years ago my husband Andy and I decided buy a condo on the beach on Maui. It hadn't been built, actually they hadn't even started it. But we were ready and eager and we decided if we didn't do it then, it wasn't going to happen.

Two years later, the resort is complete and we have moved in. Well, I mean we are owners in absentia. Except for when we aren't. Andy was here in February for the walk through. Then he came again in April after tax season. Now, finally it is my turn. I am here for the summer. School let out two weeks ago. I (with the help of some wonderful coworkers) finished my work at school on Monday and on Tuesday I was on Hawaiian Airlines flight 23, winging my way westward toward Kahului, Maui.

I arrived a little early and was on the road to Lahaina less than 45 minutes after I landed. Unfortunately, there was a grass fire on the main road leading out of Kahului and all the roads around the airport were packed with people trying to figure out how to drive to Paia. It was a mess. But I managed to get through the traffic and arrived at Honua Kai around 4 p.m. When I walked up to the front desk, I clutched my hands to my chest and said, "I'm home!" and Liz, the lady at the front desk said, "oh, you must be Mrs. Fulop". I liked that. She made sure I had everything I needed to settle in and then I went up to our unit. It is wonderful! Everything is there. Everything. Except a good shelf unit for the closet we are going to call the pantry. But I will take care of that shortly.

I unpacked and tried to figure out where I should put stuff. There are lots of closets but not a lot of drawers. Nevertheless, I found a place for everything. I figured out how to open and close the lanai doors and screen. Not an easy thing to do but once mastered it is worth it. The living room and bedroom seem to stretch forever when the doors to the lanai are open. I found the instruction manuals for all the appliances, except for the coffee maker, the only one I really needed. But I was told that our espresso machine had arrived so really, who needs drip when lattes are to be had?

All this I wrote 2 years ago! Since then we have visited our condo a few times and now we are really ready to take the plunge and move there permanently!

Stay tuned....

Now going into the second week of my retirement. What have I accomplished so far? Not a heck of a lot. Saw an A's vs. Giants game. Helped Becca go through boxes. Vacuumed the house once or twice. Had a nice lunch with one of the teachers from WCI. There must be more to retirement than this!
Boxes need to be acquired to ship the pictures we want to take with us to Maui. Must look into that. Need to rebox all of the fragile stuff going to Oberlin/Chicago. Got to get off my chair and get moving. And most importantly, I must find an audio CD or two to listen to while Rosie and I drive to Ann Arbor. Any good suggestions?

There are all kinds of marathons

There are all kinds of marathons, aren't there? Traditionally a marathon is a 26.2 mile run. Been there, done that. Maybe not as an elite runner but I have completed 15 real marathons. Then there are marathons that we use to describe continuous episodes of entertainment, such as Friends marathons or NCIS marathons and so on. And my bout with breast cancer was a kind of marathon. Covering the distance, completing the task and winning the fight.
But what about a new kind of marathon? Selling a house while trying to pack a lifetime of "stuff", moving to Maui and moving one's children's household goods and "stuff" 2/3 of the way across the country. And delivering a car to one of those children 2/3 of the way across the country. Not a traditional marathon in any sense of the word. But an ordeal of minor epic proportions. Giving up a life one has lived for 40 plus years is going to be quite a change for me. No job, no children to take care of, not even a pet. Just a small condo on the beach in a delux resort to keep me and my husband busy and happy. Oh, he still will work, he does tax work. And I will help him when he needs it, but I kind of feel like when we move there it will feel like hitting the "wall" at mile 19 in a marathon. Whoa! Can we do this successfully and happily?
Stay tuned to hear what it is like to give it all up in suburbia and move to paradise....