October 1-October 11  Week 29-Week 30! That's a lot of PPE!

     This month got off to quite a rough start. In July, my rehab facility sold the therapy department to a contract company. We learned at the beginning of October that the current company, Rehabcare, has sold out to a new company called Select Rehab. So starting in January I will have another, new management company. This is why I never took a job with a contract company. They sell off faster than mortgage companies. And just when we thought Rehabcare was the worst, we found that the new company, Select is even more crappy! No paid vacations, no paid continuing education. I am starting to take a look at other options out there, but this is not exactly the best time to go job searching. Not a lot of good choices right now. And it makes it worse with COVID. Not sure how good other facilities are following precautions. 

Meanwhile, our facility has been very busy. The administration is bringing in lots of rehab patients, from all over Maryland(and not the best rehab candidates) with less staff. So far I have been working overtime and 6 days/week. They want to make up for lost revenue from March when the virus broke out and our facility stopped bringing in patients. We also have to be more flexible with work schedules. Our OT assistant has to take off work once a week to stay home with her step kids since they are not at school. So she has been working every Saturday, but she cannot complete evaluations. So I have been taking turns with the other OT to cover extra work on Saturdays.  At least we have not had any positive COVID outbreaks among staff or patients/residents. And now the CDC has dropped weekly COVID testing to 1x/month. I am still off the list of those to be tested until Nov 1 since I supposedly tested positive back in July. They decided we no longer need to wear the N 95 masks(which is kinda nice since they are very constricting and hot). We just switch out regular hospital masks when we enter the isolation unit. 

Maryland is still on Phase 3 COVID recovery. The MD governor made an announcement that Nursing Homes would be opening up for visitors, but that was not accurate. It only meant that restricted visits would go inside rather than outside since the weather is changing. Everyone thought they could all go running back inside the facilities to visit their family members on the rehab units and in their apartments. Not so. They still have to make appointments, sit six feet apart with masks and a plastic shield between everyone. And only 2 people allowed at at time per visit. And no passing things back and forth. Same thing at my mom's facility. At least the beauty salon opened in her building and she got a perm.  

We still have to place patients on a 14 day isolation when they come in from the hospital. That has made a lot of people angry. But better safe than sorry. We have had to explain that we are still in a pandemic to quite a few patients and their family members! All their clothes need rewashed and belongings sprayed with Lysol or wiped down before coming into the facility. We are allowed to bring in one patient at a time to the rehab gym for treatment if they are off the isolation unit. They have to wash their hands before and after and wear masks and everything they touch needs wiped down. Thank goodness we now have a very nice tech who is helping out with all the disinfecting. We still have to wash all our equipment that we take down to the rooms also. And that takes time too. 

So I am tired now! I don't have as much free time at home to get projects done or run errands. Instead I have to pack in as much as I can when I am not working. Like yard work. I spent the past two weekends readying a few areas of the lawn to spread grass seed, along with a few more trips to Home Depot for more seed and dirt. I am so happy to see baby grass growing! At least we have had weather in the 70s and sunny with just a bit of rain-great for growing grass. I am also trying to climb up into our garage attic to bring down some Halloween and Fall decorations. Don't think I will go all out since I don't think we will be participating in Trick or Treating. And I don't have Scott home to help me. Halloween started early this year-back in September. All the Halloween and Fall decorations were out back in September at all the stores, including lots of candy! I have been busy packing up Halloween and Fall goody boxes for Scott at school and shipping them out. He had fun decorating his dorm room too. Besides starting to get out the decorations, I have been busy trying to plant the last of my Fall flowers. Such a nice time of the year. Our leaves are just starting to turn colors, but also fall from the trees. So I have started bagging(let the fun begin!). I also stopped into my mom's storage unit to pick up her fall and Halloween decorations and dropped them at her place. I think it helps with orientation to see the change in seasons. Our neighborhood as also been busy putting up Halloween decorations. Cookie is not thrilled with the decorations-she is especially fearful of a big, crouching light up cat that turns its head back and forth. And there is more than one in the neighborhood! Cookie will actually walk up on the lawn to bark at those big cats! Such a brave dog. 

October also saw the start of taxing our County residents for every plastic bag they use by a nickel. When you check yourself at the grocery store, it asks how many plastic bags do you have. I collected all my cloth bags and have been using those at the check out, but it sure slows things down. I like Allison's idea of just putting things back in the cart and bagging them at the car. Then I don't feel like I have to rush, or put everything in a bag. They even charge for the plastic bags over the dry cleaning. Maybe not a great time to start being environmentally sound-more expensive for residents to do the right thing. Especially for those out of work. And they weren't sure about spreading COVID with use of personal bags. I also find I need to launder my bags since some things tend to leak, like meat. I usually try to find the plastic bags at the store to put the meat in to keep it from getting in the cloth bags. Good thing I have all this extra time in my life for these new procedures. And the paper bags some stores offer also charge a tax.  Not just plastic. They have also banned styrofoam take out containers which has been a burden on some of the small restaurants since the substitute packaging costs more and there is a lot more take out these days. 

I have been keeping up with a few Girl Scout events on Zoom. We had an initial meeting to discuss our annual Camporee that was cancelled in May. We met to discuss the possibility of hosting the event next year. At least most of our planning is already done. We mostly talked about changes if we are still following social distancing, cleaning procedures, etc. And it may turn out to be a one day event if we are still not allowed overnights. And it was fun seeing Allison, even if it was only o a Zoom meeting! I did skip the Zoom Girl Scout choir practice however since I was busy watching the Ravens play. And I really don't enjoy meeting on Zoom. At least I am slowly getting the hang of the Zoom system. (kinda). 

We had Allison over to watch a football game on a Sunday afternoon and she stayed for dinner before heading home to play D and D online. It has been pretty crazy trying to keep up with all the sports. The NBA finished with the Lakers taking the championship. Los Angeles responded by having happy riots. Now we have the NFL to follow, although they have had constant changes in their schedules due to players testing positive for COVID. The fluctuating schedules make it more difficult for Tom and neighbor Dan to get together each week to watch a game consistently. So far, only the southern states have college football.  And baseball is winding down, getting closer to the World Series. Maryland ran the Preakness horse race on Oct 3rd with no one in the stands except horse owners. Swiss Skydiver won-a filly which is unusual. And they decided the Maryland state song(Maryland, My Maryland) sung to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree/O Tannenbaum was too racist, so they did not sing it or play it. They have used the song for the opening of the event since 1909. It actually was written as a poem to support the south during the Civil War. It picks on the Northerners referring to those states as "Northern Scum" and refers to Lincoln as a tyrant. So I guess it is a bit outdated. And yes, Maryland is the northern most southern state. Apparently no one could come up with a better tune or lyrics.   Instead they decided to play "Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door" in honor of Baltimore. Which I guess hits home since the city has seen about 232 murders so far. Looks like they also stopped singing the lyrics to "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby too. And we all know what happens during the National Anthem, not only during the NFL, but other sporting events. I think they should stop playing the songs altogether. When and why did sports become so political? Maybe when it became big money. I did take advantage of a Sunday afternoon Ravens game and made a hair appointment for a cut and highlights. I knew I would have to be at the salon longer and this way I had the whole place to myself!

Allison has been staying very busy, not only with her new position at work. She seems a bit frustrated with this new  rotation though since she is not familiar with the job duties. And the last intern did not do a great job orienting her to the work. So she is trying to figure it out herself which is not easy. And when she is not working, she is working out at the apartment gym or is entertaining a few friends at her apartment. A small group even started getting together for Dungeons and Dragons rather just online. She also has been spending time with Gabe, going on hikes and visiting him at his new house. They even traveled to New Jersey for a weekend visit with some of Gabe's friends for a small Octoberfest of their own. Allison even won the beer stein holding contest amongst the girls! (Must be her German bloodline!). Gabe enjoyed drinking the beer!

We keep tabs on Scott mostly through Skype. He seems to have finally fell into a routine with his online classwork and in person labs. Still a bit rocky however. He had one in person class that had to switch to online when a student tested positive for COVID. His in person labs are a bit skimpy-plastics lab mostly has them watch videos of experiments and write lab reports. He actually seems to be really enjoying his machining lab since he actually gets to make something! He even learned how to use a lathe to make the threads for large metal screws, however he was a bit behind since he could not locate the class during the first week, and he had overlapping classes then as well which he had to drop because the school started switching classes from in person to online.  I would say he spent most of this semester learning how to be flexible. I am sure every kid in America feels the same way. And even cheated out of a quality education. Learning online is just not the same as in person. Although Scott says he is also enjoying his Plastics class and actually feels like he is learning something new and interesting. Not the same for Quality Assurance class.  Here in Maryland most of the county schools remain online. Some counties are talking about starting up in person learning in the next few months. Seems silly to start deep in the flu season. Our county is not even considering hybrid or in person classes  until Feb 2021.  Same with school sports. 

The month of October also started off on a very sad note. On the first Sunday of the month, there was a knock on our door early in the morning. Our next door neighbor was in distress. They had just heard that their 47 year old daughter died suddenly at home in South Carolina. Married mother of 4 teenagers. She had been complaining of headaches and her family heard her pass out in the bathroom, called 911 and she was gone. So very sad. Paul and Phyllis are  older parents in their late 70s. Their eldest daughter was with them as they quickly packed the car to head down to Sherrie's house. Our neighbor's son Darrel, (our age) who lives with them had already left the day before to travel to SC. Paul was just asking if we could check the mail for them. Of course Tom and I were happy to keep an eye on their place as they did not know when they would be returning. Tom also cut their grass a few times and we put out their trash cans. The least we could do.  

Then I received an email from eldest cousin, Lisa Bozyk Parmentier in Michigan. She was asking for information on the Estate Sales company I used when I traveled to West Bloomfield to sell off Mom and Dad B's houses and belongings. I had not heard from my cousin Lisa since the beginning of summer. She was always posting on Facebook and then nothing-I was unfriended. She said her account was hacked and she dropped Facebook. She sent me a message but I guess it never went through. Turns out my Uncle Jim Bozyk, my Dad's younger brother, has dementia. They were looking for someone to help sell off their lake house belongings. I was confused about the status of his wife, my Aunt Mary. Turns out she passed away this July from a heart condition. I was shocked since I did not hear anything from the family. No written announcement, no obituary in the paper even. I guess my Aunt said she did not want any special services. And of my three cousins, the eldest and youngest are not speaking to the middle child, Marcia. She was living in the Lake Tipsico house, trying to care for my Uncle Jim. But Lisa, the eldest, decided he needed more care than Marcia could provide. So Marcia had to move out of the house and I assume is currently not working. Lisa was not even sure where Marcia moved to at this time-maybe her son's house. Sadly Lisa also said they will have to sell the Tipsico lake house because no one in the family can afford to keep up the cost. The property has been in the Bozyk household for over 65 years. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim took over the property from my Grandparents Bozyk when they passed and they built a new, modern house on the property. Very sad. I sent the girls some flowers in honor of my Aunt and now I need to send some flowers to our neighbors. 

A very sad start to October. 

 September 14-September 30th, Week 27-28 COVID 

Happy First Day of  FALL -September 22. 

On September 19th, Saturday morning, Allison and I visited my mom for a 20 minute, outside/inside Birthday celebration! (only 2 guests allowed at a time). Mom B turned 84 this year, but we could not celebrate completely together. So we had to make due because of the COVID restrictions. Her facility has been COVID free for the past two weeks. Therefore, the Md Dept of Health is allowing the residents to come out of their apartments again, and to eat  all their meals in the dining room. First they could just have dinner, then lunch and dinner, and now all 3 meals. Many of the residents in the facility got quite comfortable with having their meals delivered and declined to go to the dining room! Unfortunately, you have to pay for delivery. They were paying to have their meals delivered when they were quarantined in their rooms. Usually you only pay if your are sick and cannot come to the dining room. Not because you were confined to your room not of your own choice or fault. After all, it is a business, and they have to schedule more staff to serve trays to all the separate rooms, 3x/day. There is a large dining room on the main floor. Mom's 3rd floor has its own separate dining room, and I imagine it was not easy keeping my mom in her room all the time. When the residents do come out, they are supposed to wear masks. I had to drop off a box of disposable face masks for mom since the staff said most residents cannot tolerate the heavy cloth masks. Not sure how consistent my mom has been wearing a mask-she can't really understand and remember the whole concept of protection from the virus. But she has her own masks if she'll wear them. They also cancelled all group activities, but now are slowly bringing them back, like BINGO and Exercise group-socially distanced of course. Mom B seems to be taking it all in stride. Good thing she cannot remember missing out on anything. She pretty much lives life in the moment, so anything is a good thing! So we still cannot enter the building. And if she were to leave, she would have to be quarantined(for real)for 16 days. Fortunately she has not really had to go out for anything. She only missed a dentist appointment. And the staff thought she should be seen by a Speech Therapist in house because she was coughing during lunch-they were worried she might be choking on her food/drink. Turns out it was nothing. I didn't think it was an issue-I know she has post nasal drip that makes her cough quite a bit. Just to be safe, they recommended she sit at a table with no distractions when eating her meals. Good thing we have mandatory social distancing!  They also treated her for a urinary infection, which I always wonder about the accuracy, but it was just a bit of antibiotics, so no real harm. I was just upset that they never told me until after I got the monthly bill. As I said, she cannot come out, and I cannot go in. So it makes it tough to keep a close eye on things. 

And to celebrate special events, like 84th Birthdays. But we made the best of it. Allison made a beautiful, big card from all the Grandkids. I bought a huge Birthday Balloon Bouquet(still no flowers allowed) with huge numbers 8 and 4 in helium balloons and a dozen multi colored Happy Birthday balloons alongside. I bought a birthday card that plays "Happy Birthday", a Birthday Girl tiara,  a small chocolate cake for Mom and some small cans of Vernors ginger ale.  Plus lots of cupcakes and cookies to share with the other residents on her floor and staff. Plus I wrapped up some gifts including a few long sleeved shirts(it is starting to get a bit chilly), some jewelry, hand lotion, lemon scented soap and a small box of chocolate truffles. My brother Mike sent her some pumpkin scented body spray and she had a Birthday card from my brother Dan and wife Sheila. Allison and I sat outside on the patio and they brought Mom down to sit at the door of the dining room while we sang Happy Birthday!  She looked terrific! They also announced that the in -house Beauty Salon was reopening, so Mom is on the list for a perm and hair cut. I know she will really enjoy that! So not exactly how I planned on celebrating my mom's 84th Birthday, but I am just glad to have the opportunity!

Surprisingly, I have been incredibly busy at work, especially after Labor Day. It would appear that our facility management decided to go for it and bring in as many patients or hospice patients they could find, all around Maryland to make up for lost revenue when the virus first appeared. Our facility manager did not want to take any chances on exposing our residents to the virus, so they did not accept rehab patients for several months. The positivity rate in Maryland has been declining, so I think they feel more comfortable opening up the units to rehab patients now. And since we have less staff working when we switched to operating under a rehab contract company, there is more work for the rest of us that are left to manage. Even though the new company said they would bring in extra help when things picked up. I think they forgot that part. We also have to rotate working on Saturdays, but can't always take time off during the week. Plus we have had a lot of people that seemingly were talked into coming for therapy and then decided they could have gone right home. Which makes for a lot of unplanned paperwork when they up and leave ahead of schedule. And to make it more crazy, the new rehab company decided to upgrade our computer system. They shut it down on a Friday night at midnite and it was not up and running again until noon on Saturday. It just so happens I had to go in to work that day, my Mom's Birthday-on call for any evaluations that came in Friday night. I decided to wait and go in after noon when the computer was supposed to be up and running. So after visiting with my mom, Allison and I enjoyed lunch sitting outside at the Little Market Cafe in Olde Ellicott City(place that Gordon Ramsey visited). The place was packed and getting even busier. Glad we went earlier in the day. And it was fun catching up with Allison. But work was not fun. Even though the upgrade on the computer system was done, we were having terrible problems logging in and staying logged on! And now they have added a second ID system-calling in for a security code every 2 hours. Extremely annoying when you have to stop your treatment to go get your cell phone to call and get a security code. Especially annoying when you are on an isolation unit and have to change your PPE to leave and get your cell phone. None of us like taking our cell phones around the facility, especially on the isolation unit. My facility decided to place all the hospital patients on one, long hallway rather than 2 small hallways. After they reach their 16 day quarantine, they are moved off the unit to bring in more patients. Each patient has their own room and bathroom-no sharing. It gets a little crazy on the floor, and is very tiring when you have to constantly change your PPE to visit the rehab gym for equipment. We have just been allowed to bring 1 non isolated patient into the gym at a time-no other staff present. And they have to wash their hands before and after treatment and everything they touch has to be sanitized. Not sure it is completely worth it. And still no group treatments. Our residents also can come out of their long term care rooms if they are wearing masks. And Activities  has BINGO and exercise group in the hallway, socially distanced. Still, it definitely appears that most residents have demonstrated quite a decline in their function and physical condition with the limited attention and isolation. We have had more falls, including fractures in both our Assisted Living apartments and Long Term care rooms .And it would seem out in the community since most of our patients are coming in with hip or shoulder fractures due to falls. So not only are we busy with rehab patients, but still having to treat quite a few of the permanent residents. And it seems that we have lost quite a few residents as well, and not to COVID. Not a great time to be living in a facility. Although I still feel quite comfortable about having my mom in her apartment.  Mostly because she has always had a fairly upbeat personality, and thank goodness, can't remember what is going on! I feel like she is much safer living in the facility than she would be living at our house since they follow more strict guidelines with use of PPE and sanitation. Meanwhile, we have all had our flu shots. I have to get one for work and I did a drive through with Kaiser. Allison actually went in for a physical and got her flu shot. Tom usually opts out and Scott needs to wait to come home. 

Thank goodness I have not had any symptoms of COVID, and neither have our family members or friends. We have not had any confirmed COVID patients coming into my facility since July. Still trying to follow the restrictions, especially since we should be expecting a MD State inspection soon. They missed us last year, and then got really behind with COVID. An article in the paper mentioned many facilities in Maryland getting huge fines for not following the COVID protocol. One of the facilities I worked at on a part time basis was fined $315,000! I know they can't afford that. One of my previous coworkers from my last rehab center works there and said they are not allowed to bring in any more patients. She is worried since she does not have much work there and is traveling to another facility near DC to make up for lost hours. But it still is not enough to pay the bills. And she is now the caregiver for her Adult Down Syndrome brother. Very scary times. So I guess I should not be complaining that I have too much work, but it is pretty exhausting. When I started out as an OT, I usually treated 6 patients a day. There was at time when I had up to 12 patients a day, but we had techs that worked alongside us, and it cut our own work in half. Now I see 9-10 patients daily by myself. Plus our company only allows the therapist to do all the paperwork, so more typing for me. On a tiny Apple Ipad so I've had to resort to reading glasses! Some places allow the assistants to help out with paperwork. Not us. And the paperwork has to be done when you are treating the patient. So it is especially annoying when you lose the WiFi on the small Ipad, or now have to log in with an added phone call for top security! Plus with this new rehab company, we have to spend more time training by participating in online inservices several times a week. So it really interrupts our day. I was so getting used to having 3-4 patients a day and coming home before 3pm.It gave me time to get errands done, help cook dinner or go to the grocery store.  Now I get home around 7:30 each night. And I was not used to working 5-6 full days a week. I needed an extra day to take care of myself, and run errands and get to my pool exercise group. 

Our YMCA and local gyms are open, but on a limited admission basis. Most of the exercise classes were being run outside in the parking lot-not easy for me to do that anymore. I have tried to make reservations for my pool exercise class, but they only take 10 people, and there are not very many classes available after work or on the weekends. And I am not really a lap swimmer person. Plus the locker rooms were not open, so you had to wear your swim suit there and go home in it(wet). No place to change. That would not have been so bad when the weather was warm, but it is starting to get dark and chilly earlier in the day. I am lucky if I can get home long enough to shower, wash my uniform, eat a quick dinner and take Cookie out for a walk before it gets dark. Most nights I can't get it all in and Cookie gets a walk in the dark with a flashlight. That makes for interesting walks sometimes. One night we got snorted at by a startled deer! I can tell you I was just as startled! So Tom wants to know why we are paying for the gym if we don't use it. I really did not want to stop my membership since you end up paying a fee for renewing your membership if you start up again. For awhile  it was considered a tax donation. And our Busch Garden membership was extended even though we pay a monthly fee. We found it hard to give up the membership since we pay so much less than new members as we have had it for about 20 years. And our family still enjoys visiting Williamsburg, VA. Especially during the holidays, like Halloween. We are waiting to see if the park will put on some type of Halloween celebration. 

We have also been staying busy with yardwork. I have started planting my fall flowers/mums and pansies. It's time to take out my summer flowers. I was just excited to see that I was able to get a few milkweeds growing this year. And even more excited to see them full of monarch caterpillars! So glad to be helping to add to their population.  I spent a few days edging the entire driveway, sidewalks and curb(we have a very big curb since we are on the corner). Twice in one season! That is a record. It takes me about two days, even with the electric edger. Plus sweeping up all the loose grass and leaves. I  also wanted to take advantage of the season and get some new grass seed down. I planned on getting more done than I could accomplish in one weekend with raking/thatching, laying down topsoil and spreading seed. After Tom and I stopped into Home Depot to buy supplies, it was just not enough. I needed more. And grass seed is so crazy expensive! I usually just work on a small area at a time, and we have quite a big lawn! I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather, but it seems like we went from summer to winter rather quickly, even with a few nights of frost warning. Even though the meteorologists predicted a warm Fall. Not so. Tom has taken over the grass cutting(we sure miss Scott's help with this!). And he still had to put down weed killer since the lawn company he hired this year has been lacking. We also spent an afternoon helping our elderly neighbor trim some big branches off his cherry tree located near out lot line. Tom has a small chain saw and ladder that made the project run a lot more smoothly and quickly than our neighbor with his handsaw trying to cut through large, heavy branches. And Tom has been struggling with one of our garage door openers. He installed a new one, but it seems to keep slipping on the track and never consistently shuts the door all the way. Tom even replaced the springs since they broke, but still not working consistently. It is a good brand-Genie-but Tom may have to bite the bullet and buy a more expensive unit. He's also been doing more of the cooking since the kids are gone and I usually get home late. He had a bit of a mishap with the oven though when he put some stuffed pork chops on to cook in my last blue glass pyrex casserole dish-and it exploded! Guess they recommend now when you use the glassware at high temperatures that you add some water. Of course it only happened when I gave my other dish to Allison. And what a big mess to clean up on the bottom of the oven. Not to mention, there went dinner!

Tom has actually been able to go into work more consistently with his new space program. Just waiting for further security clearance. In the meantime, he has been busy with his new class, writing up his thesis. He thought he would just be working on his own project, however, as a class, he has to critique other student's work, which he feels is a waste of his time. But unfortunately it is a class. So he has extra work that he'd rather not be doing. At least his thesis is coming along quite well and ahead of schedule. Congratulations to Tom who earned a Masters of Philosophy in Management by completing all the prerequisite work to his PhD!

So when we are not busy doing yardwork, schoolwork or going to work, we have been enjoying a plethora of sports! How crazy to be able to watch Football, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Tennis and of course, Hockey all at once-live! We especially enjoyed watching the hockey games leading up to the Stanley Cup and cheered on the new champs, The Tampa Bay Lightning. We were also happy to have NFL back and cheer on our Ravens. We hosted a Sunday dinner with their first televised game and had Allison and our neighbor's Dan and Gloria over for a watch party. They invited all of us over for a Monday night football game and dinner too.  And Tom and neighbor Dan have taken up Thursday night football games together. Not sure if and when College Football will take place for the BIG 10 or northern teams. The southern teams have started playing and there has been negotiating for starting the BIG 10 season, even with President Trump getting involved in the discussions. Western still has not announced a planned season. Definitely no Homecoming events. I certainly missed the Uof Maryland/MSU game this past September that was scheduled here in Maryland. I was looking forward to another visit by my brother Dan and wife Sheila and attending the game.  Our local schools sports teams are also  still on hold. I ran into Allison's high school field hockey coach. She said they may try to have a Fall sports season in the spring. Going to be very crowded on the fields. Meanwhile the Fall teams like soccer, field hockey, football, golf, track and tennis are all just having team building meetings. I imagine it would be hard to try out as a new player. School classes are all still online, although our Governor gave the green light for students and teachers to return to the classrooms. Our county is still in Phase 3 recovery from COVID-more people allowed in indoor spaces but still follow social distancing and wear masks. Not so apparent at places like the grocery stores or box stores like Walmart. No one really follows the one way signage anymore. They stopped counting the number of people entering stores, except maybe for Trader Joes. They always have a line out the door. And no one mans the front door to clean the carts anymore. Some places leave cleaners out for shoppers, like the grocery stores. Costco continues to spray down their carts when they bring them in with sanitizer. We continue to keep hand sanitizer nearby. 

September 1-September 13, Week 25-26. Maryland Phase 3 COVID

Just in time for Labor Day weekend, our Maryland Governor moved the state to Phase 3-large venues may re open but with limited admission. Our library just reopened. Movie theaters opened. Live performances are allowed at 50% capacity, or 250 people. Churches can increase to 75%. Restaurants and stores may increase the number of people allowed inside. But people are still being asked to stay 6 ft apart and wear masks inside and outside if there is a large crowd. Tom and I tried going out to dinner at the outdoor spaces in our area, but most tables have been full. Or you need a reservation. There were several restaurants that have added live entertainment. After driving around for an hour with no luck, we ended up on the patio at a local chinese restaurant, and we had it all to ourselves! The staff brought out some camping lanterns for the table since it was getting dark. The food was very good, and they even gave us some hot tea and a bowl of wonton soup for free. 

And with September comes the start of school. Governor Hogan approved all school sports and schools reopening in person, however, all counties have chosen to cancel sports and begin school online only. School systems are stating they are not prepared to begin school in person, or there are just too many kids to safely reopen. If they do reopen, they are eligible for federal funds to assist with safety measures, but it does not seem to be too big a draw for Maryland schools. Instead they are trying to make sure all kids have computer access. The private catholic schools have reopened and are allowing students back on a rotating basis at both the elementary level and high school level. 

As the weather starts to cool slightly, that excitement of the Fall and all things fall has started to settle in. But it does not feel the same this year without all the kids back to school activities. Usually we can hear the high school band practicing late into the evening as the football team, soccer team, field hockey and track teams all prepare for their season. The high school kids usually start pre season practices in mid August, but all the fields have been quiet. We are used to seeing the high school track team running through our neighborhood, but not this year.   And no pack of kids waiting on our street corner in the morning for the bus when I am heading to work. And no buses on the road slowing everything down during rush hour, but there does seem to be a bit more traffic out these days. And more kids playing outdoors and riding bikes in our neighborhood.  Frankly, I am so grateful not to have to be a parent trying to assist with online teaching for their kids. Or working online from home at the same time. Or working outside the house and needing someone to stay home with the kids while they are online learning. What a crazy mess. Some parents have switched to homeschooling systems, or put their kids in catholic schools in order to go back. 

We always enjoyed wrapping up summer with a trip to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. We usually had to make plans quite a bit ahead of time. The hotels were usually sold out-besides the tourism activities in the area, many traveling sport teams took over the rooms and restaurants. We also had to make sure we could drop Cookie off at our friends, or get a hotel that took dogs, or put her in the kennel. All several weeks ahead of time since everything booked up fast. We've even traveled to Williamsburg during a hurricane once since we could not get out of our reservations. That was an interesting trip since the amusement parks were closed and the hotel and most of the city lost power. Still quite an experience, and they ended up reopening the park before we had to head home. This year, Busch Gardens finally opened in August on weekends only for a Beer Fest. You had to make reservations and pay extra for beer tasting. The water park never opened. In September, Busch Gardens brought back their spring Food and Wine Fest-make reservations and pay for samples. We thought we would give it a shot and see if we could get hotel reservations and park reservations over Labor Day weekend, even though we were checking the week before. Initially there were no openings at the park. But they said to keep checking back and lo and behold I got reservations for Sunday morning from 11-3(the open time slot in the park). Then Tom was able to get us a hotel room right in Williamsburg! And last but not least, our very good friends the Plunketts graciously took Cookie back even though they had just watched her the weekend before when we left to take Scott up to school.  So everything was on track and we invited our neighbors and Allison along too. Allison wanted to come home Sunday evening so she could join her online Dungeons and Dragon group. Tom did not want to drive home on Labor Day through DC. And I had to work on Saturday since I had taken off the previous Monday. So it was going to be a quick trip!

We had hoped I would not have to work late Saturday and that we could get on the road a bit early and tour around Williamsburg. Not the case. We were extra busy at work and I did not get home until 5:30. Looks like the hospitals were trying to empty their beds for the holiday weekend like they usually do. (less nursing staff on duty). But I quickly showered and threw my bag in the car and we picked up Allison and headed down the highway. We got dinner on the way and traffic was not too bad. We got to the hotel around around 10pm. On Sunday morning, we went for a stroll around historic Williamsburg and stopped in for coffee and breakfast at a local shop. The town closed off some of their streets to put out tables, but our coffee shop was packed. And there were quite a few William and Mary students out strolling the streets as well. On the other hand, the Virginia Peanut company store only allowed a few people inside at a time and we had to wait in a line outside before getting in. I wanted to pick up some peanuts for Beth and Barry as a thank you for watching Cookie. Sadly, there was no line at Kilwins ice cream, but we were still stuffed from breakfast and heading over to a Food and Wine tasting, so we missed it again! Last time we ran into Kilwins was in South Haven, MI, when we took Scott back to school, but that line was very long and we were hungry for dinner then. We strolled down the main street of the historic Williamsburg homes and shops too, but they did not have their usual outdoor market. You could still pay to get into the historical buildings, but we did not have enough time for all that.  It was getting to be time to drive over to the park. 

At Busch Gardens you had to show your printed reservation before getting into the parking lot as well as your member pass. Naturally some people showed up with no reservations and had to turn around. Once you park, they funneled us through metal detectors and temperature checks. If you passed, you went to the front gate to show your reservation again and get your membership badge scanned. And then we were in! We discovered that they only opened 1/2 of the park-a maximum of 1000 guests. The place was pretty empty. We caught up with Dan and Gloria and started around the open section of the park and began to sample some of the delicious treats. They had quite a sampling, including chinese dumplings, bangors and mash from England, steak strips with chimichurri sauce and mushroom Risotto as well as desserts like beignets and cannolis. I also discovered that I could get wine samples! We bought a punch card for one price and used up 10 punches between the 3 of us, sometimes sharing the samples because they were large enough. It was nice to just walk around the park. Mostly the roller coasters were open but Scott is our roller coaster guy, so we did not go on the rides. Instead we visited the shops, nibbled on the treats and chatted with our in house artist, Carolee Vitaletti. We have run into her over several years now, and Allison bought one of her shore bird prints. She told us how she had just set up her new shop in the Tampa Busch Gardens park when COVID hit, so she headed back to Virginia and stayed busy doing custom pet portraits and now custom people portraits. After a few hours strolling around the park, we headed out. Too bad the water park wasn't open because the weather was perfect. Traffic was a bit heavier heading back on Sunday afternoon, but we stopped to pick up dinner at California Tortilla before dropping Allison off at her apartment. She had plenty of time to join her group online and we had plenty of time to pick up Cookie. Overall a fun although quick outing. 

We definitely miss our usual end of summer/start of fall activities, like the Renaissance Fair and Maryland State Fair.

We all had Monday off for Labor Day. This is a pretty rare event for me, but my new contract company prefers that the staff not work on the holiday(cheaper if you don't work, although a few people asked to come in to work). Tom and I spent the day doing some yard work. We were going to have our neighbors over for drinks and dessert when they got back from Busch Gardens, but I was running late. I headed over to Mom B's to pick up her laundry and the nurse ended up bringing her down to the lobby for a visit! There was no one around, so we could chat through the front glass door. I was just amazed at how long my mom's hair has grown! The beauty shops have pretty much been closed since March in the facility, and I cannot take her to our hair salon. Not sure when she will be able to get an appointment again! Meanwhile, they are using barrettes to keep it off her face!  It was wonderful to see her, and even though Tom thinks she will forget who I am since we have not really visited in person for awhile, she readily told the aide when she saw me "that's my daughter!".  It was nice to spend the day at home after traveling both weekends. On the Monday before Labor Day weekend, both Tom and I were at home after getting back from Michigan which was a good thing since they ended up delivering our new couches! We decided to order couches from Amazon to replace the couch we gave Allison for her new apartment. It was cheaper to buy a new set of couches from Amazon then 1 couch from the Sofa Store. However, delivery was a bit tricky. They were going to deliver them the week before, but lost them. Then they were going to drop them off on the Friday we left to take Scott up to school. Tom got them to postpone to Monday, although Tuesday would have been better in case we didn't get back in time. However, it all worked out well with our couches coming early in the morning. We still had our old love seat to relocate. Allison decided it was too big for her apartment along with the couch and lazy boy chair. The delivery men did not need it and neither did Allison's boyfriend Gabe. So I put in on our neighborhood website and it was taken immediately for another happy college student. A neighbor woman came over to check it out and wanted it if it fit in her minivan, and it seemed to, but Tom could not load it himself. So she left and brought her husband back and the two guys slid it easily into the back and shut the door hatch! She was so happy to get the couch for her son, and very excited to visit our house! They had also lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years and have watched from afar how we remodeled and did our landscaping. She said she always wanted to check out the interior of our house and loved it. She remembers back when our place was a rental and not much improvements. Very sweet. 

We also gave away my last large screen computer to a local teacher. She was asking for a donation so she could better teach her art and photography class to her Baltimore City students. She said they were given small Ipads to work on from the school district, but the screen was so small she could not really do a good job. She was very excited to get our large monitor and equally excited that it had a camera. I have been trying to sort through items recently with Allison moving out, making sure she has all her things from around the house. Although we don't want to overwhelm her!  However, she does have that extra storage in her bedroom closet and we haven't yet sorted out the Christmas decorations! She seems to really be settling into her new space and has enjoyed having friends over for dinner and video games. Now she is really finding out what it is like to host since her friends visit often and have requests for drinks and snacks! I picked her up an extra set of 4 place settings with bowls and dishes since they were on end of summer sale 1/2 off so she'd have enough table servings. She purchased herself a set of high stools for her kitchen counter with her Target gift card that she got from her previous work group and a spice rack. It's amazing all the things you need and don't think about until you move out on your own. At least when Tom and I were married and moved out of the parents house, we got lots of gifts from our wedding and furniture donations also from parents. This new lifestyle is different for all of us!  Especially Cookie-she was getting comfortable with having someone at home all the time and taking her for daily walks. I am trying to keep up! 

Sending out a whole bunch of Happy Birthday Wishes to Sarah Seitz who celebrated her special day the last week in August. And a Happy Birthday Shout out to Dan and Dave Bozyk on Sept 2nd, as well as to Mike Bozyk on Sept 10th. Happy Birthday to everyone!  And special remembrances for September 11th. Cannot believe it has been 19 years since that horrible attack on the US. Tom and I were in England that day. 

 August 24-August 31  Week 24 COVID

So Allison moved out. One down, One to go! This was Scott's week to pack and get ready to return to Western Mich. Mostly he left everything he needed for school packed in his room. He did have a little bit of laundry to do, but he figured he could pick up essentials like shampoo when he got to Michigan. And I have been setting aside disposable masks, gloves and cleaning supplies so that he would have it if he needed it.  So he just had to load his Jeep on Thursday night, but the overflow and large items went into my van. The only thing he was really missing was toilet paper since he grabbed paper towel packets by mistake. Good thing he has a suite mate for now who already moved in since they share a bathroom!  I also spent the week getting items ready for Scott, like his annual photo collage. I like to put together an 8x10 page of the year in review, starting with photos of Scott and the family from last fall.  I was afraid I would not have very many photos  this year since so many of our activities have been cancelled, but it turned out I had too many to choose from! I did have to get it reprinted though since the first one came out fuzzy. Walgreens happily replaced it. I also send him off with a family photo from last Christmas. Plus I found a very cute plant at Loews called a "Money Tree" from South America. Just needs watered 1x a week and it loves the sun and heat. Perfect for a college dorm room!  I figured he could use some extra greenery if he is going to be stuck in his dorm room.  I was also busy picking up items to through into a back to school survival kit that I will mail to him in the first week or so(if they get to stay at school!)

Right now college students all across America are going to back to school, or trying to at least. Some schools have completely cancelled on campus learning. Some only allowing students back that need to participate in labs-like MSU. Our neighbor's daughter attends NYU-they quarantined all their students. I guess food delivery to all the dorms was not going so well-late food, no food, wrong food. And no one has really said what the plan is if kids come to school and test positive for COVID. Not like camp-when your kid was sick, you had to take them home. WMU does not require you to be tested for COVID when coming to school, but strongly recommends it. Scott just has to fill out a daily COVID questionnaire at Western-are you feeling sick? Then if he answers "No" to everything, he gets a pass so he can continue his day. 

Tom and Scott left Maryland for school on Friday morning. Tom has started a new position at work on the space program. He has actually been going into work for a few days since his project is classified and he cannot have discussions over the phone or work on the computer from home for security reasons. Fortunately he has his own office at work, so he is not too worried about running into a lot of people. And he still has a pretty flexible schedule, so he was able to take off a day. The boys headed straight to Michigan after a quick stop at the Libby glass outlet in Toledo, but then did not have much to do when they arrived. Scott did pick up some glass plates at the outlet store to have dinner ware in his dorm. He does not plan on eating many meals in the dining hall. They are supposed to have "To Go" options on the meal plan. The boys did a bit of shopping in Kzoo for bathroom supplies, but not much since Scott's Jeep was packed. He also could not pick up the large, bulky items in his storage unit, but they checked it out to make sure everything survived the summer. They were very pleased to see nothing was wet or moldy so we did not have to replace anything including his rug, computer printer, desk chair, futon frame, large posters and coffee tables, fans and vacuum cleaner.  However, they needed my van to move everything. And they could not check in to the dorm early like they did last year. They moved in a day early last year late in the afternoon when things had slowed down, but we had to pay an extra $50 for checking in a day ahead of schedule. This year with the limited numbers allowed in the building, in the parking lot and on the elevators, they are being a lot more strict. Plus when you move in, you are only allowed to bring 1 extra person in the building with you at a time. Scott's move in day and time was not until Sunday from 11-1. Usually the freshmen get to move in on Saturday before class starts, as well as those playing sports or in band, ROTC and Honors students. Certainly it would be different if Scott lived in an apartment, but he hasn't really met anyone yet that he feels comfortable with living off campus. Kinda glad he is not in an apartment since so many college students are getting stuck with their apartment lease payments even if they are not back to school. In the dorm he has his own room and nearby parking for his Jeep, and nearby dining hall so pretty much everything he could need. Although in the next few years, more of his classes will be in the engineering complex which is off campus. However, with classes being mostly online right now, it really doesn't matter where he is living. This is just really convenient for everything. 

 Allison and I both had to work on Friday. She has started her rotation for her last internship, but they have not yet given her any real projects. Instead she is still helping out with the work load from her last rotation. I was able to get done early, so I headed home to shower and pack my bag. I also packed up a few last minute items for Scott. He had put the bulky items in my van from home the night before like his futon mattress. We also dropped off Cookie the night before to our friends, Beth and Barry. We were supposed to watch their dog while they dropped off their son at Georgia Tech a few weeks ago. However, their son decided to stay home since his classes were all online. So no dog sitting for us, but Cookie was able to stay with them. I was also dragging out bags of clothes and shoes that we all decided to donate as we were cleaning out closets during this pandemic. I filled 8 trash bags with donations and had to leave them outside for a Friday morning pick up. I was just glad they started picking up used items again. Scott also cut the grass for us one last time on Thursday, and even got his hair cut! Both Tom and Scott were holding out as long as they could. Scott actually wanted to see how long he could grow his hair, but I think it was starting to get in his eyes and tickle his ears. He actually reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo with his wispy hair and blonde mustache and goatee. He never really felt safe with most of the salons, but this place only allowed 1 person in at a time and they lock the door to keep people from wandering in. Even Tom felt comfortable enough to get a hair cut too. And Scott met up with his high school friend for a last visit with take out lunch at the local park before leaving for the fall term. 

After I got off work on Friday and stopped into the house for last minute packing, I headed over to the medical lab for an antibody test. I wanted to see if I actually built up any antibodies with my COVID diagnosis. It was then time to pick up Allison from her place. We headed out on the road around 4pm into a tstorm. The rest of hurricane Laura was headed our way. We were only driving to Ohio that night, but it was a sketchy trip with on and off again downpours. At least when we got to the hotel, the rain had slowed. Fortunately the traffic was not too heavy. And we don't take long rest breaks since most everything is closed along the highway. I was just surprised to see on the newsbefore going to bed that Ohio has high school sports-at least football. All the Friday night games were on the news. The poor kids were out playing in the downpour while the parents sat in the bleachers under umbrellas and plastic bags. Actually, I imagine the kids were loving it! Here in Maryland there are no high school sports or extra curricular activities.  On Saturday we pulled into Kzoo around 1:30 and stopped for lunch outside at Qdoba before meeting up with Tom and Scott. We couldn't check into the hotel until 3pm, so we did some quick shopping at Meijer beforehand. Hotels are deep cleaning the rooms, so it takes longer to check in guests. And they seal the doors afterwards so you know that no one else has gone in your room after cleaning. When we did check in,  we dropped off our bags and I talked the family into driving out to South Haven on Lake Michigan, about a 30 minute drive. Tom and Scott visited Grand Rapids that morning for lunch which is about an hour drive from Kzoo. But they were up for another adventure. We had hoped to catch dinner in South Haven, walk around and peek in some shop windows, pick up some blueberry pie and Kilwins ice cream after stopping by the Lake Michigan beach. Unfortunately, the town was packed with people-with and without masks. The restaurants were all packed with long lines waiting for tables, as well as the streets and shops with some people wearing masks and others not. We drove right through town and down to the beach. It was petty packed as well, partly because the water level is so high in the Great Lakes this year that most of the beach is under water. They even had to put up barriers along the coast line to help hold the sand. We actually did not have a problem finding parking-their lot is paid parking at the beach. Tom and Scott stayed in the car and Allison and I got out. I really came for a mission-I had always wanted to sprinkle a little bit of my Dad's ashes in Lake Michigan. Obviously for sentimental reasons-just so some of him would be in his home state and at the lakes that he loved. And this September marks the 5th anniversary of his passing. Well, it was a great idea although I did not realize how many people would be around since half of the beach was missing and everyone spread out down the coastline away from the public swim areas. Last time we visited I was able to walk quite a bit down the lake with no one around. Not this time. And I also was not expecting such high waves on Lake Michigan. It looked like the Atlantic Ocean! And with the high wind and waves came a lot of kite surfers. The people with big kites that pull them around on the water while wearing a small surfboard strapped to their feet. They actually look like snowboards for the water. It was amazing to watch them all shooting across the water. But I had a mission, and Allison and I found a somewhat secluded spot for me to wade in and sprinkle some of the ashes from his small urn. Allison even recorded it for me. So mission completed, we tried to stop into dinner in one of the smaller towns back along the road to Kzoo, but all the little restaurants were either packed or closed early due to COVID. We also hoped to pick up a blueberry pie at the fruit stands, but they were all closed too. South Haven is known for their blueberries. So we gave up and headed back towards Western. We would have loved to have eaten at one of the local restaurants near campus, but they were all packed with people and very limited outdoor dining spaces. Instead we got in a curb side pick up line at Outback Steakhouse and ordered steak and shrimp combos and took them back to the hotel to enjoy since it was getting rather late. Good thing the sun stays up longer in Michigan. We have longer days up there. But we were running low on energy by 8pm.  We did enjoyed watching the Disney+ movie Ivan the Gorilla with our meal. A "live action" movie based on the true story of a lowland gorilla that was raised in captivity after being captured as a baby in the Congo. He lived for almost 30 years in a concrete cage while performing in a strip mall circus show until an animal rights group stepped in. Of course Disney hyped it up with their talking animals, but the kids and I liked it(at least Allison and I liked it mostly). Anyhow, it is nice to be able to stream our Disney shows anywhere we go especially with Tom's new gadget, a Firestick. 

So Sunday morning we were up early. No free breakfast at the hotel. Some hotels have prewrapped food to go. All the hotel swimming pools seem to be shut down as well as their exercise rooms. We decided to have a Sweetwater Mills donut breakfast with coffee. And the whole world decided it is now officially fall and all things pumpkin are out! We fell in love with the donut shop's plain pumpkin donuts, as well as pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake donuts. Although Scott and Tom especially enjoyed their huge raspberry fritters(we usually get apple).  By then it was time to wander over to school. We parked Scott's Jeep in the student lot and then drove the van  over to the front of his dorm. They stop your car to see if you are on the schedule, and then let you pull into the lot to drop off items on the sidewalk for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Scott had to check in online. Everyday he has to answer COVID questionnaires online(do you have a fever, cough, sore throat, etc) and gets a "pass" if he answers no to everything. He had to show it to the kids checking him into his dorm before given a key. All check in was completed outside. Then he has to fill in emergency contacts and his dorm check in list online before taking everything upstairs to his room on the 6th floor via elevator with only one other person. We loaded up his move in cart while he and Tom took up the carpet and lofted his bed. On the second run, I went up with him to check out his room. He has a very nice, single room at the end of the hall overlooking the rooftop and courtyard away from the parking lot on the other side of the building this year. May be quieter with less traffic and trash noise, kids walking to and from the dining hall and class. But then again, it may be noisier with all the rooms surrounding the courtyard. The room is actually a bit smaller with a cubby area that was perfect for him to set up his desk. Very cozy since he will be spending quite a bit of time there. Although a bit hotter and brighter since he now gets the setting sun

We quickly emptied out my van so Tom and I could drive back to his storage unit and pick up the rest of his large items while Allison helped Scott unload his Jeep with clothes and linen and set it up in the room. Tom and I managed to squeeze everything from the storage unit into the back of my van, with the back door open and tied down, but at least it was just one trip. Then we had to unload it back at the dorm, carry it upstairs and set everything up before we were done. Just about 1pm. We then went to look for lunch out at one of the local restaurants and did not have any luck. Again, everything was packed or long lines outside. So we decided to pick up some Olga's carryout. The kids have never tried this Detroit based gyro restaurant and they were up for it. However, they were not very excited about the food. Anyhow, it was fast and we drove over to Scott's engineering building to sit outside and eat. We were hoping to sit in the courtyard next to the pond, but the building was closed, so we just ate at a table outside by the front door. Then it was time to drop off Scott back to his dorm and start the long drive home to Michigan. After another stop at the donut shop for some tasty treats to take home. We tried stopping into The Traverse City Pie Company restaurant for some pies to go as well as breakfast or lunch on Sunday, but they had COVID hours and were closed on Sunday. Instead we picked up some of their pies to go at Meijers, along with some Koegel Vienna hot dogs for us and Allison, and my Vernors of course before hitting the road. 

I had taken Monday off just in case we stayed late, or stopped into a hotel along the way, or tried to do something in the area with Scott Sunday afternoon. But Tom and Allison really wanted to get back for work on Monday, so Tom and Allison drove the whole way back. Again, we don't make very many stops since most restaurants along the way at the Rest Areas are closed. Even some of the Starbucks inside the rest areas are closed. Mostly we just got gas and picked up some sandwiches at a convenient store in PA to eat in the car

. We were home around midnite after dropping Allison back to her apartment and picked up Cookie on Monday.