Editorial Notes
I gave this post the title, Half Way, referring to the fact that we’re now a little more than half way through 2020. In the ten years I’ve been blogging I’ve averaged about 80 posts-a-year. So far, this year has been below average. I’ll attribute that partially to the pandemic, because, instead of digitally posting here on the blog, I've been keeping a written journal documenting the evolving story of Covid-19 as seen through the eyes of one living in Seattle, where the first case of the virus was discovered. I've been tracking the numbers globally, for the USA, and for Washington State, on a daily basis, via the Coronavirus COVID-19 Dashboard from John Hopkins University. The stuff I normally blog about hasn’t really changed much. I’m still watching the ships come and go, enjoying the maritime activity out there in Puget Sound, watching the ever-changing skies, reading and listening to books, watching a few videos, and trying to keep all my devices charged and up-to-date with the latest software.
I recall watching the evening news on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, and hearing about the first case of Wuhan coronavirus being discovered here in Washington State ... virtually in my backyard. (Watch that newscast HERE) In just a few days 6 months will have passed and Covid-19 has turned out to be much worse than I initially anticipated. Sadly, the response of the United States Federal Government has been pathetic. The same is true for some of the States. I expect things to get worse before getting better.
In my last post I asked those who wanted to leave a comment to tell me how they were doing and contending with the pandemic. It was great to hear from so many about how things have been going for them. So, I hope that will happen again. Tell me how you are. I'm much more interested in how you are doing than in kudos for John's Island. It really seems like Covid-19 is affecting everyone in some way or another. As for me, it mostly means wearing a mask when out in public, using a lot of hand sanitizer, and keeping my social distance when appropriate. I don’t really like wearing a mask but I do it, not so much to keep me safe, but to set a good example and hope others will wear a mask. I know that my greatest chance of getting infected is from someone, who may be asymptomatic and not even know they’re sick, who is not wearing a mask and, in some way, gets close enough to me to spread the dreaded virus.
The thing I'm missing most, this year, is not being able to get out on the ocean on a big ship. The first photo above is one of my favorite shots from a cruise last fall. Every day on that cruise I walked 3 miles on the promenade deck ... around and around ... one time around the ship was a quarter mile. I recall stopping to snap that photo as we were nearing a port in Mexico.
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| Dramatic sunset February 29 |
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| March 11, 2020 Hapag-Lloyd arriving with exceptionally small number of containers. |
Better late than never ...
I'm closing with a tribute I intended to publish on July 4th. |
| From my postcard collection ... Two Beauties Postmarked 1906 Happy Birthday America |
Good to hear from you. I really am thankful that here in Manitoba, we are doing exceptionally well with the COVID-19 situation. We now have a streak of 13 days with no new cases and only one active case in the province at this time. I co realize that we must not let our guard down just yet. I am doing well, getting out more now and still trying my best to be smart about where I go and how I interact with strangers.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth, It's good to hear from you and know that things are going well in Manitoba. Canada has done a much better job with COVID-19 than USA. Thank you, as always, for stopping by and leaving me a comment. Take care and, as they say now, stay safe.
DeleteIt's so nice to hear from you, John. I've been doing fairly well since the lockdown started. I really had a hard time missing my usual workouts at the gym, but I've adjusted and am thrilled to have my yoga classes twice a week through Zoom. And we are just now beginning those lovely few weeks in this part of the country when the weather is perfect! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi DJan, You are so right about our weather. It looks like summer has finally arrived. 75 degrees and clear blue skies out there as I'm typing this. I'm impressed with your ability to adapt so quickly to the new normal for your yoga classes. I always appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for stopping by. Take care and stay safe.
DeleteHi John, I've been missing your posts. It is so nice to see that you are well and taking measures to stay that way.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you dear friend.
Connie :)
Hi dear Connie. Thank you for the blessing and may God bless you as well. Always good to hear from you. I just looked at your latest post on Crafty Home Cottage as I was wondering how Steve is doing. It looks like all is well. And your post is so well done as always. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment. Again, God bless and stay safe.
DeleteHello John, I have missed your post, the lovely skies and views of the ships. I am glad you doing well, hanging in there. Hubby and I doing well, keeping our distance, wearing the mask. Maryland seems to be doing better than some other states, since our governor took care of things right away. I do miss traveling. We are not sure what our new normal will be, hoping for the best. Take care, stay safe! Have a great day and happy week ahead.
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen, Great to hear from you and know that you and hubby are doing well. Maryland has truly had one of the best responses to COVID-19. I hear you about the new normal ... and one of the biggest downsides to the pandemic to me is the uncertainty of what the new normal will be. Like you, I'm hoping for the best. I just clicked over to your blog and see that yesterday, July 13, was your 11th Blog Anniversary. Congratulations Eileen! Following your blog is a pleasure. Thank you for stopping by and leaving me a comment. Have a happy week ahead, take care, and stay safe.
DeleteThank you John! I enjoy your blog and beautiful photos. Stay healthy and safe are our main objective. I appreciate your comments and visits . Take Care! Hope your day is great.
DeleteHi John- Very pleased to hear from you- it has been awhile. Glad your well, safe and contented there in Seattle. It is all a bit of a mystery when the Cruise Liners will be all back to normal- yes, those Container Ships do look a bit light on. Avoiding the crowds, keeping social distance, wearing a mask is all the new norm. Regards. KEV.
ReplyDeleteHi KEV - Pleased to hear from you and thank you for stopping by. I just clicked over to your blog and see that you are still publishing some fascinating posts featuring miniatures. I will be by to take a closer look. I hear you about the Cruise Liners and you are so right about the mystery of when they might return. This year is a first for me ... I've not yet seen one single cruise ship in Seattle waters. Quite amazing on July 14 and, honestly, a big downer for the local economy. Take good care KEV, and as they say now, stay safe. Regards, John
DeleteWe were isolated for two months but the province only had seven cases, all travel related. Then we went on a staged opening, eventually to stage 4 where we are now, with restrictions of course.
ReplyDeleteThis past week, all of that effort appears to be ruined. A doctor travelled to an area with a higher infection rate out of Atlantic Canada and returned with the usual precautions, which didn’t include two weeks of isolation. After a negative test result, he went to work in the emergency room in Charlottetown and infected, at least, an 80 year old woman. Now the province is scrambling to trace contacts for seven shifts in the emergency. Imagine that nightmare.
We are all waiting with bated breath, no pun intended.
Hi Marie, Great to hear from you. I'm happy to hear that your Province has had so few cases of COVID-19 so far and sure hope the Doctor's infection can be confined. Yes, that must be a nightmare. I have been concerned about Charlottetown and how the economy there has been affected by the absence of cruise ships. I loved my visit to PEI last fall and still want to do a blog post on it. You sure live in a beautiful part of the world. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving me a comment. Take care, and as they say now, stay safe.
DeleteHi John, nice to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteWestern Md was doing good but since tourist season has opened more cases are being reported everyday. Still our county only has 27 cases. A little miss leading in that the 27 cases are for people who live here. People visitng from else where are not counted here but where they LIVE.
Ken and I are fine. We stay isolated here at Happy Trails. Only venture out every once in a while. We do where our masks. (a blogger friend made them for us) Miss going to church but listen to our church live on FB.
Take care!!
Hi Happyone, a pleasure to hear from you! Thank you for your kind comment. Happy to hear that you and Ken are fine and staying safe at Happy Trails. Interesting about the 27 cases and and how they are counted. Take care and stay well!
DeleteLovely to see and read this post from you John, I am pleased that you are keeping well.
ReplyDeleteEven though we are all living with the threat and worry of Covid 19 life goes on and the pace seems to have kept up. Life does not seem to have slowed down in any way.
Here in the UK husband Eddie and I are doing ok, we have recently started to venture out more, which has been nice but we are being sensible and social distancing ... unfortunately not everyone is ... and the virus has increased again in certain areas.
It is certainly a new normal that we are all having to adjust to.
Sending my good wishes, stay safe and well.
All the best Jan
Hi Jan, Thank you so much for the kind comment. You write some of the kindest comments and I always appreciate hearing from you. I am happy to hear you and Eddie are OK and starting to venture out. Keep up the great work with your blog, take care, and stay well my friend. Best regards, John
DeleteP.S. I also meant to say I do like the photograph of the dramatic sunset you took on February 29th.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Well John I must admit I did wonder what happened to you though I do admit to missing your last post. Used to like seeing your post and sightings. What happened here was much the same as you we went into lockdown and hid away. Though I admit when it first kicked off I had been gardening and put my back out bad. Around march we went off to our caravan in Wales and we wanted to set it up but my back was killing me so in the end left the stuff there and came home meaning to go back again. The following week it all hit the fan and we could not go anywhere let alone drive 150 miles to Wales. My youngest son was at Collage so ended up working from home and the oldest had his PC brought home and worked from there as well. Biggest problem we found was getting provisions. The first time I went to the supermarket I was so disgusted with fining the shelves empty I gave up and did not go back again doing all my shopping in the village. We ended up managing to book on-line delivery for the Supermarket so it was all delivered to us. Getting flour to make bread was also a problem at first (None of us like shop bought bread any more as I spoiled them with making my own) and I nearly ran out,the same with self raising flour and plain my wife used to bake with.In the end I managed to get the flour delivered as well, yeast was another problem but again that has gotten a little easier now. It has all settling down now and things are much better things are getting a lot easier to get, we have to queue for the supermarket and most shops but most time if you get it right you do not. All I can say is the one thing I noticed was our shopping bill got higher things got more expensive. We are allowed out now which is great and we finally got to Wales again to sort out the caravan (well nearly but that is another story)> we can go and get haircuts now and go to the pub,( don't drink much so don't) cafe's and coffee shops are open along with garden centres and most shops. It has been the most surreal time of my life. I do not feel any government had dealt with it properly least of all the clown who is in charge in your country. Ours should have locked down sooner and banned all overseas travel, that way I feel we would have had less deaths. None of this will be over until a vaccine is found and I just hope we all live through it. Unlike you I did not keep a diary but I did a weekly blog from my garden and found a way to keep posting the Church Explorer now I can go and visit new churches. My older son has been out on jobs having been to London twice and is now in Nottingham, my wife who has been out very little worries about him. Enough of my waffle Stay safe and take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, First of all, great to hear from you, and thank you so much for the amazing comment you left on my blog a few days ago. I truly enjoyed reading about how the pandemic has played out so far in your part of the world. I had very similar experiences doing the grocery shopping. Early on I was so disappointed with the stock in the store ... it seemed like they were out of so many things, especially flour and yeast. I guess lots of folks were making their own bread just like you. More recently, at the grocery, I was talking to one of the checkers and asked if they had been staying busy all the time as it seems like they are, at least every time I go there, busier than they used to be. She said yes, and said they expect it to stay that way as long as most folks are eating at home instead of going out to the restaurants. And, I'm afraid many of our restaurants are not going to make it. Even today, almost all of them are "take out" only. Example, all the McDonalds are drive-thru only. Now, you are so right about no governments treating the situation seriously from the start and especially not USA with our clown leader who doesn't even wear a mask. What a poor example he sets. I admire you for getting your garden going. Maybe you will share some garden photos on Spud's Daily. Well, bottom line, I'm glad to hear you and family are doing well. Take good care and stay safe. Thanks again for your comment!
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