We did something today we haven’t done in years. We attended a Baltimore Symphony concert. We got tickets for the season. Hopefully we’ll be able to attend all the concerts. But for today, the BSO sounded grand. It wasn’t easy getting in. We needed our tickets, our masks, our photo IDs, and proof of vaccination. Entry was surprisingly well organized.

Now we’re looking forward to another thing we haven’t done in years — travel. We’re taking a week to visit Kathryn on her farm in New York and Mark on the drive home. We’ve had so many travel plans cancelled I felt like I should get a rubber stamp that says “Cancelled by Covid”. But this trip looks like it’s a go all the way. We leave Tuesday morning and return the following Sunday. I spent many hours this week getting all the house monitoring systems wired up and running. I had been making modifications and left them unfinished in disgust. But now everything is working and we’re good to go. We’re looking forward to seeing our two children “Up North”.

Other news comes on the Bud front. His TV remote stopped working. I making two trips to Riderwood with Danita. One was to get a temporary remote working. The other is to set up a new “Big Button” remote. We tried calling Xfinity, but it is impossible to talk to a human unless you know the account number or the phone number to which the account is assigned. It seems that at the CCRC, they have a special bulk account, so we were unable to talk to anybody on the phone. Fortunately, Danita found an Xfinity store in Laurel that was happy to give her a new big button remote.

Danita was working on her parent’s jewelry. She had the jeweler sort it into costume, real, and valuable. She had some of it appraised. While she was at it she had our jewelry appraisals updated. I didn’t realize this, but even though our homeowner’s insurance is replacement value, the jewelry rider is only for the most recently appraised value. She also had her engagement ring repointed. It looks fabulous.

The other thing that happened this weekend was the annual SOCA crab feast. As we did last year, Danita went with Carmel Jones. Jeff and I went out for hamburgers. I was looking at the menu and saw the milkshakes. I obviously didn’t buy one because I absolutely don’t need it. But after dinner, I was still thinking about the chocolate one with Oreo cookies. I ended up going back. My hamburger and milkshake cost more than Danita’s ticket to the crab feast!

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

This week has been a little more active than usual. I visited Mom twice — once to get her MD ID and once for an off-campus doctor appointment. Tomorrow I go back to meet a Riderwood IT person about the very slow internet in Mom’s apartment. Bud was exposed to COVID. He’s half way through a one week quarantine. So far, so good. We had the “Greek on the Street” food truck yesterday. That food is too good for our health. ;-) The monthly condo meeting lasted an extra hour. For some reason, there were several protracted complaints about things that were decided months ago. I was amazed at the personal details people will talk about in a public meeting. Next month the board will present the 2022 budget. I can’t imagine how that will go. The biggest excitement is just ahead. I’m leaving soon to help count the collection at our church. We have a brand new procedure. Nobody knows exactly what the new procedure is, but it promises to be complicated and confusing. I told Danita I expect to be home in time for dinner. ;-)

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We had lots of eating out this week. Panera offered me a free bagel and also offered me $2.00 off. The last day of our free coffee was today. So Tuesday, Danita and I went to Panera for breakfast — free coffee for both of us and a free bagel for me. Then we went to Panera again this morning — free coffee for both of us and $2 off for me. Then we came home to cancel our coffee club. We were both offered another 3 months of free coffee, which we both accepted. We noticed that less than half the tables were occupied, but the “to go” bags were overflowing their designated area.

We also went out to dinner Tuesday. We went to Bowman’s with the Tony and Donna Sochurek and had dinner on the porch. The road traffic on Harford Road was noisy, but we had good food and great conversation.

Friday was a neighborhood Chill ‘n Grill. They had a two-piece light jazz orchestra which thankfully kept the volume down. We were able to eat and converse while the band played on. Everything — food, drinks, tables, and entertainment — was outdoors on the deck. The weather was delightful. Nobody knows what we will do when temperatures fall, or if it happens to be raining during an event. But we had a good time Friday.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

It was a quiet week. Ida came through and dumped a bunch of rain. The only significant damage in Maryland was a tornado that hit a section of Annapolis. Before Ida, we were getting a heat index over 100 regularly. After Ida, temperatures dropped significantly. We’re dropping into the 50s at night and getting up near 80 in the day. In addition, the humidity is lower. It’s quite comfortable. The big difference for me is riding in the afternoon instead of the early morning.

I was supposed to help count

With Covid taking off, our neighborhood put restrictions on the clubhouse. Everybody in the clubhouse must be masked at all times. That means no eating or drinking. We have an outdoor porch where we can have activities. It has an awning and even has sides that roll down. But we can only seat 20 or 25 under the awning. There’s more seating under the stars, but bad weather can put a real damper on that. That was quite a curve ball for the social committee to handle, but they’re working on possibilities. In the mean time, the Jones will join is for a “do your own food truck” this evening. We’ll get food from a local kabob place and eat it at the Jones’.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.