Monday, November 23 Deaths 826 (+6) Cases 66,333 (+1,163)
Shopping day. M drifted through Market of Choice and purchased a half turkey. Yes, a ten-pound half turkey, which was a twenty-pound whole turkey not too long ago. But let’s not think about that. Now if we can only find a half-oven to cook it in. E again went to the Co-op and bought whole versions of a veggies, fruits and a cheese or two. She then began her serious daily work and made crust for the blackberry pie that she is making for the Andees. After that she sent out twenty-one email notices telling everyone who they’re supposed to be giving to in the Chambers family gift exchange. She also went on two walks, cooked dinner, and finished the blackberry pie. Meanwhile, M went out to the back yard and pruned apple trees with his new toy, a cordless electric chainsaw on a ten foot pole. It worked fine but left him pretty well tuckered out. Did I mention that E also did a Zoom yoga class today?
Tuesday, November 24 Deaths 847 (+21) Cases 67,333 (+1000)
We drove up to Vancouver WA today and dropped in on Andrea to deliver birthday presents. It’s Andy’ b-day today and Andrea’s is coming up soon. We were able be in their living room for a bit because Andrea opened the patio door and the entrance door and there was a stiff breeze. We kept our coats on and had a nice visit. Andrea had made cake balls, which we got to see. Didn’t meet Andy, of course, since he was slaving away working long hours for the post office–which is not necessarily a great place to be at this time of year, especially in this particular year. We chose to go up in the middle of the day looking to avoid traffic problems and that worked out well with smooth sailing both ways. We reviewed our latest Turkish homeowork to pass the time. Not much rain while we were on the road, but in the early evening it rained like crazy (deli gibi yağmur yağdı.) By midnight the storm had passed and before going to bed (yatağa gitmeden önce) M spent a few minutes (biraz zaman geçmirdi) watching wisps of cloud float across the bulging moon.
Also in there somewhere, we found time to watch the last two episodes of Winter Sun. It was a very satisfyihg ending. That which had to be resolved, was resolved. And nothing overly ridiculous was required to make it so. We recommend this Turkish soap to all.
Wednesday, November 25 Deaths 867 (+20) Cases 68,503 (+1,170)
Turkish lesson today and then a couple of quick shopping things that we missed on Monday. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day is never a good day to shop, of course, but actually Bi-Mart was relatively empty, and for vegetables, we went to Natural Grocers, which is never crowded.
The Thanksgiving feasting, for us, has already begun. M made a pie crust and E mixed up a pecan filling and baked it. After dinner (akşam yemeği sonra) we had some. It was good. It was very good. We were encouraged in this early start on the goodies by our friends B and B, who are doing exactly the same, except that the pie that they have already cut into is apple. E has also started the cranberries. Tomorrow, of course, is the real thing.
Thursday, November 26 Deaths 882 (+15) Cases 70,006 (+1,503)
And so there it was. Şukran Günü* in time of COVID. Turkey cooked, potatoes mashed, gravy stirred, wine poured. And then, at about 1:30, some small portion of it all was eaten, along with stuffing, green beans, cranberries, and a small relish tray just right for two. Despite a minor misstep or two, upon which we will not dwell, all was delicious and all was well. We delayed dessert for a few hours, and finally made a very satisfactory supper of pecan pie–Chambers pieces. Could be worse. Could be much, much worse.
E moved furniture to create a cozy window table.
*Şukran Günü means Thanksgiving Day. Şukran (from Arabic) means thanks, gün means day and ü is the compound noun marker. Relatedly, güneş means sun, and in the title Kış Güneşi (Winter Sun) the compound noun marker is the final i.
Friday, November 27 Deaths 885 (+3) Cases 70,832 (+826)
Zoom meeting with the Chambers brothers. James has made news by being out in his Corvette and having it get away from him for a moment. Whether it was a spin or just a series of fishtails is not clear. The driver reports that the proximate cause was a slick spot in the road with “old gas” being another significant factor. We’ve not heard before of this connection between lack of control and old gas, but of course we are young yet and there is much we do not know. John is enjoying staying in his new lakeside cottage. Normally the Chambers Camp closes up in October, so he is getting to see a very different scene than in years past. The early winter views are lovely and with most of the humans gone, animals have reoccupied the area. Among other wildlife, he reports seeing groups of loons, as many as twelve together. Lacking a Corvette, he is driving a leased Volvo C60 plug-in hybrid, a somewhat better vehicle for a north woods winter.
Later on we watched an episode of our new Turkish TV show, which Netflix calls Ethos, but which in Turkish is called Bir Başkadır. Our Turkish teacher recommended it and it reminds us of something a teacher would recommend, i.e., not shallow, not ridiculous, not completely artificial, and not glossing over crucial social issues. It is also completely lacking in beautiful, expensive cars. So what is the point you might ask? Well, it’s still quite a drama, with lots of people angry and unhappy, often in conflict with those around them, and often unaware of how much their own blindness and self-absorption are actually responsible for their problems. And of course it has some scenes in a hospital, which is a box that all TV dramas must check off sooner or later. Another bright spot is that we recognized two of the actors, having seen them before in other series. One is the actor who was Naz’s husband in Intersection, and another is a woman who played Efruz in Kış Guneşi. In Bir Başadır, she plays a soap opera actress! And one of the themes of the show is how real people spend time watching facile popular dramas in the midst of their own actual crises. So that’s pretty cool. Our Turkish dictionary does not translate “bir başkadır” as “ethos.” We need to ask our teacher about that one.
Saturday, November 28 Deaths 896 (+11) Cases 72,506 (+1,669)
E went out to the country to walk Pepper again today. While she was gone M moved an azalea and did some more pruning of the rearmost apple tree. After lunch Eve called The Inkwell and asked them to pick out four greeting card sized advent calendars for her. The clerk went and got them and gave her a little bit of a description, then took her money. The E got some stamps and address labels ready and found a driver to run her downtown, where she called again and had the cards brought out to the car. We sat in the parking lot for a minute, preparing two of the cards that most needed sending, and then cruised by the post office and dropped them in the slot. Slick.
On the way home we stopped at a Coffee Culture drive-thru to get a couple of lattes and discovered they were having a one day sale, fifteen per cent off almost everything. We didn’t need everything, but we did in fact need some decaf beans, so we stocked up a little. When we got home, a Zappos box was on our porch with some new slippers for E to try. The package happened to arrive on the day that Tony Hsieh passed away, Hsieh being one of original founders of Zappos.
Sunday, November 29 Deaths 905 (+9) Cases 74,120 (+1,614)
A quiet Sunday. E and M got up late and sat around reading the paper, then went for a walk up Garryanna and down Rolling Green. What kind of name for a street is Rolling Green? M thought about putting up Xmas lights in the afternoon. He was waiting for a glimpse of the sun, which his weather app had promised. No sun was glimpsed.
However, we did get a surprise visit from H and T. It was nice to see them both again. We had a socially distanced tour of the yard and then sat for a time on the back patio. Was it cold? Yes. The guests, being intelligent people, were well-prepared and came bundled up in many warm layers. The hosts, being slower to grasp the nature of reality, hadn’t put on enough. We all had some hot tea, though, and some good conversation. From T we heard a little about how it is to be a pediatric clinician in these times. She is doing a certain amount of appointments remotely, and lots of those have been cases of childhood depression. Remote medicine keeps her safe, of course, but it’s basically a sedentary lifestyle. She misses the activity and natural exercise of work in the clinic.
Also today, we finished our jigsaw puzzle, a painting by Robert Bissel. It should be titled A Couple of Bears Looking at the Sunset during a Butterfly Invasion, but the painter has inexplicably chosen to call it The Golden Hour instead.
After dinner, another episode of Bir Başkadır. It’s good, but kind of a downer. Just two more episodes to go. We fear it may not end happily, but of course we must see it through, just to find out.