Pandemic Diary – October 12 to 18

Monday, October 12     Deaths   599  (+0)   Cases  37,467 (+218)

Having seen a near record high number of deaths reported last Thursday, we now get a second straight day of zero deaths. That helps some, but the trend is again upward. Here’s an updated chart on this the 200th day of the Pandemic Diary database. 

Tuesday, October 13     Deaths   605  (+6)   Cases  37,770  (+259)

Last night we watched more of The Gift, a Netflix series filmed in Turkey by a Turkish production company. It’s very good. There are lots of beautiful location scenes, both in the city and out in the Anatolian steppes. Much of the action in Episode 4 took place on Mount Nemrut, a site in southeastern Turkey where lie the ruins of the tomb-sanctuary of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene. In Episode 3 Atiye dodged one bullet by bailing out of her wedding just in time. She’d been conflicted already, and when she learned that her mother had lied to her about nearly everything, that did it and she was out of there. But she cannot dodge her destiny. By the end of Episode 4 we understand that the mantle has been passed. Her sister Cansu, meanwhile, has broken out of the friend zone…but now feels terrible.

This morning E had an exercise class and doctor’s appointment; M did some grocery shopping. Weather wet and blustery. Turkish homework in the afternoon. 

Wednesday, October 14     Deaths   608  (+3)   Cases  38,160 (+380)

Turkish lesson this morning. We learned how to say “Shopping to do going am I” which is of course  “Alışveriş yapmaya gidiyorum.” That means we should also be able to say “Shopping to do went I” (Alışveriş yapmaya gittim.) So the next time M or E goes shopping at the Co-op, we should be able to report the fact in Turkish–provided that we remember any of this beyond the next few hours.

With all this attention toTurkey, we have been thinking a lot about our good friend Neşe, who unfortunately passed away about two years ago. Eve met her when both were working at the Turkish American Association in Ankara. After we left Turkey, Neşe came to visit us in Oregon. It was blackberry season when she was here and our neighbor Rich invited us to come picking at a place just south of town. Rich, who has also since passed away, was a former professional football player. Here’s a picture of the two of them. Presumably, Rich picked the high-up berries while Neşe got the ones lower down…

We also visited Neşe after she had moved from Ankara to the Mediterranean coastal city of Alanya, where she worked with a Georgetown study abroad program. Here’s one of our favorite photos from that time.

Thursday, October 15     Deaths   611  (+3)   Cases  38,525 (+365)

Tertulia at Bohdi’s once again. Although the sky was clear and the sun was bright, and it was a little chilly at 8:30 in the morning. You have to dress for it. At the other end of the day, we had dinner and wine with J and B (or was it B and J? We forget.) Anyway, that was also very nice. They have a large front porch that was designed–along with the rest of house–by B himself. It’s just right for this pandemicky sort of entertaining. Even if it had rained we would have been cozy. 

Friday, October 16     Deaths   617  (+6)   Cases  38,935 (+410)

Worked on Zoom skills in the morning. At lunchtime we went hiking once again in Mcdonald Forest. Several miles, so not just a walk. Had a visit from R. who came over by bicycle around 4:00. He’s looking well. Our friend P. also came over around 5:00. Weather was fine and we entertained both the guests on the back patio. Nice. Had some olive and cheese sandwiches with P and then later on dined on leftover chili. We got some carrot cake cupcakes from Trader Joe’s in honor of P’s birthday. Hm. Probably won’t do that again.

Saturday, October 17     Deaths   620  (+3)   Cases  39,316 (+381)

Spent most of the day prepping for seminar coming up next Tuesday. Ridiculous behavior. Splurged on take-out dinners from Sybaris. M liked his entree; E was disappointed by her pumpkin stuffed ravioli. We shared a Boston cream pie for dessert. Neither of us was disappointed by that. We were thinking that while we do miss going out to restaurants, having restaurant food at home also has its points. You can say whatever you want or laugh as load as you want anytime; plus the wine is a lot cheaper.

After dinner we watched more of The Gift.

Sunday, October 18     Deaths   620  (+0)   Cases  39,532 (+216)

The Patissier was closed but E fetched breakfast for us anyway on her morning walk–a chocolate donut for M, a cherry danish for herself. Then more Zoom practice. Then E had a Skype visit with her friend M in Madrid. M reports that the virus continues to be a serious problem in Spain. She says that most people wear masks while walking down the street, but then they go into crowded bars to meet their friends and of course everyone removes their masks to drink and talk. Sigh. M has two granddaughters, one seven and one three (?). She wants to teach them some English while they’re young. She’s having some success with the older one but less with the younger. The little one has been known to say (in a three-year-old’s Spanish) “I want to sit with grandma now, but not for studying English.”

M meanwhile was opening up our newish furnace to check the filter. Sure enough, the weeks of smoke and ash from the fires has left it sorely in need of replacement. The filter size turns out to be not a common one, so he had to order online. Once he started thinking about the garage, M was moved to try and tidy it up a bit. This involved moving the Porsche out so as to get better access to some storage shelves and etc. and etc. We still have debris from the great cupboard delivery and he got rid of some of that as well. Then, since the little car was already out in the driveway, it seemed like a good time to take a quick ride. While he was gone and the garage was sort of clear, E rearranged some of her stuff in her quest to create more free space, possibly enough for a bicycle. Then it was time for a walk, which took us to exotic places like Anjni Circle and Angelika Avenue. We ran across a street party, a dozen or more neighbors on lawn chairs arranged in a large circle on the pavement in the center of their cul-de-sac turnaround. They were a friendly group, even offering to let us join them if we paid a $2.50 entry fee. Back at home we had a bit of Turkish study and then E jumped in the car and took our completed ballots down to the drop box at the courthouse. It turned out to be a kind of party atmosphere with a line of cars and people saying ‘Yay for voting!” She says it was an energizing experience. When she got home, it was time for dinner: leftover spinach dal (once cooked by M), leftover raita (once whipped up by E), and fresh cooked but oddly mushy rice also courtesy of one who shall be nameless. Sunday night TV included two episodes of The Gift and and one episode of Flesh and Blood on PBS. Lastly we had to check the daily Oregon COVID news and as noted above, it turns out nobody died that day, which is quite fine and deserves a mention.