Wednesday we got new blinds for all the doors and windows on the back wall. Drapes left by the previous owners had done their job, but they were definitely past their prime. Several had fallen off the wall, either because of poor mounting or failed hardware. We didn’t want new blinds until the builder had finished banging on the back wall. We were supposed to get new blinds before Easter. Unfortunately, Rin and Racheal didn’t get blinds for their bedroom. It’s not a serious issue. There is nobody living behind our house. The bedroom is on the second floor, and there is quite a hill behind the house. Still, it would have been nice to get the blinds in time. It worked out well in the end. We really like the new window treatments.

Construction on the back of our unit is almost done. The builder cleaned up all their trash from behind our building. They decided to replace the vinyl trim around our deck, which made us quite happy. The builder has another couple of hours of work to wrap that up. This phase of construction is down to parts of three buildings. The HoA board decided we should get new flashing on the front and sides of the buildings. This affects every building in the neighborhood. They will be working on this most of the summer. There’s also a matter of the mud behind our building. The board has not decided what to do about that.

Danita and I have been discussing the second COVID booster. Our understanding is that the booster gives two-stage protection. First there are about 8 weeks of antibodies, which prevent one from getting COVID. Then there are 6 months of T-cell protection. These don’t prevent infection, but they prevent an infection from being severe (hospital visits). It’s been about 6 months since we got our first booster, so a second booster made sense to us. We went out yesterday to get our boosters. We arrived at 11:00 when they opened. Another couple arrived at about the same time. Danita and I had trouble filling out the electronic form. The other couple had problems because the administrator couldn’t locate their original vaccination, which they got in Delaware. (Remember people driving all over the place to look for a vaccination?) After all this, the other woman was denied the booster because she wasn’t 50 yet. All in, we spent an hour and a half getting boosted. But it turns out we were far from done. Driving home, I hit the curb.

There was a huge gash in the side of the tire. Cars don’t come with spare tires any more. Our car insurance includes towing. We called. We answered questions such as “What is the VIN number of your car?” We got cut off. We called again. Answered questions again. Waited a couple of hours for the tow. Fortunately we were close to home. Danita walked home and made me a nice lunch. When I got to the tire place, they had several other cars in front of me. It’s only a mile and a half to home, so I walked home and awaited their call. We were all done by 4:30. Fortunately we had really nice weather.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We have a fabulous Easter. Jul was a sweetheart and drove up from NC with Bryon and Elizabeth. They arrived in time for dinner Friday. Saturday morning we visited DoodleHatch. This is impossible to categorize, but it’s a kind of art / imagination / fantasy place for children, merged with a woman’s clothing design, manufacturing, and sales. We had such a good time that the owner promptly put us to work. They want a 20-foot robot made of bamboo poles, old furniture, zip ties, and miscellaneous junk. Later on Saturday Rin showed up with Rachael, a colleague on the farm. Of course Rin had the very best self-made clothing item — a way cool vest that everybody admired. After Church Sunday Ed and Lynne drove down and I picked up Mom for Easter dinner. With all the construction mud, an egg hunt was out of the question, so Danita made a treasure hunt that lead to Easter baskets. Addie and Suzanne were with Ed and Lynne Monday, so after Rin & Rachael left, we drove the kids up up to Ed’s for a “cousins day”. (Julia had to work.) Ed and Lynne surprised us with a real egg hunt, which was probably the highlight of the holiday for the kids. Today we went back to DoodleHatch. This time, in stead of paying admission, we were building robots, fantasy chairs, and admiring “Bear Bare Beer”.

If it sounds busy and confusing, it was also a lot of fun. I did a lousy job with pictures. I didn’t get shots of the adults. But you can see a few pics on the website. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

They finished construction on our unit. The porch is clean. The furniture is outdoors. When it warms up we can sit outside and contemplate the field of mud. We have the steepest hill in our condo. More than one neighbor tried walking behind our house, being lookie loos, and ended up falling down in the mud.

We are trying to buy new blinds for all the doors and windows on our back wall. The blind company has an excellent reputation, but we keep on getting different stories about when we will actually have the blinds. They sent a man out to measure everything, and promised to call within two days. That was 4 days ago. Bummer. After they call, we will pay for the blinds and they will submit them for manufacture. It’s supposed to be a two to three week process, but it’s going super slow so far.

During the pre-season, we open our pool for residents only. Life guards are there only on weekends. We use resident volunteers to keep the chemical levels correct and scoop out the dead critters. This year, Danita volunteered to help with these chores. To meet county requirements, volunteers have to be CPOs (Certified Pool Operators). To be a CPO, one takes a test that covers everything from pool construction to hot tubs. Danita took her CPO exam Friday. She passed, of course. She had put a lot of effort into preparing herself for the test. It’s no surprise to me that she was the first person to complete the exam. She’s certified for five years. After that, she would have to take the CPO exam again, but that probably won’t happen. She plans to retire after one 5-year stint.

Easter is coming. So is company. It should be fun. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We were planning to eat dinner with the Jonses from the Italian food truck. The food truck was a no-show. This happens surprisingly frequently. The four of us decided to go to the local deli. The pandemic has really dropped. The advantage of eating at the deli instead of bring food home is that we can get the salad bar (very important for meatless Fridays), and we can enjoy the free soft-serve ice cream. The deli gets most of their business at lunch. They never have people waiting for tables at dinner time, so we don’t mind sitting and chatting. The down side is that Carmel offered to drive, and we accepted her offer. She drives like a New Yorker (which she is, but still, they’ve been here for a good while).

The bigger news was Mom’s birthday Saturday. Many people remembered her, which she really appreciated. We took her to an afternoon concert, then went to Catonsville Gourmet for dinner. Plus desert, of course. This place is one of the few that offer Smith Island cake.

The still bigger news is that Easter weekend has been organized. Jul, Brian, and Elizabeth will come up. Kathryn and a friend will come down. Ed, Lynne, and Mom will join us for Easter dinner. Mark & family will be in Boston — Mark is running the marathon. All together, we’ll have 10 people for the holiday. It promises to be a good time.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.