Meandering on the Way — March 5 to 24

Tuesday, March 5th

We just watched The Holdovers, which is nominated for a best picture Oscar. It’s probably too low key for that, but still very good. It stars Paul Giametti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph and is set in a remote New England prep school over the Christmas holidays. Wonderful acting and scenery, and an interesting plot.

Wednesday, March 6th

We did a short hike on Vineyard Mountain. The trailhead is just a couple of hundred feet higher in elevation than the city; but whereas in the town last week’s snow melted almost immediately, up there it was lying around everywhere. It was like a different season.

In the afternoon, M finished doing this year’s taxes.

We’ve almost got the house cleaned up after the various parties, but we do have a challenge remaining. There is chocolate everywhere. Where are we supposed to put it all?

Thursday, March 7th

M tested negative and off we went to Tertulia. We’re still trying to get the house back to normal. That includes not only party pick-up, but also disassembling the COVID ward and returning to communal living.

E went to her in-person exercise class and was glad to be back.

Sunday, March 10th

Da’Vine Joy Randolph has won best supporting actress Oscar for her role in The Holdovers.

Wednesday, March 13th to Wednesday, March 20

After a week of rain as well as some snow earlier in the month, we just got a whole week of sunny days with temps in the 60’s. Wow. Lots of garden work got done: bed maintenance, irrigation rebuilding, and a start on a major revamp of what we call Hummock Zero. More on that later.

Thursday, March 21st

Cloudy today with rain on the way. But today’s big news is that E managed to have three meals out! First it was morning tertulia at Coffee Culture, then lunch with a friend at Ants on a Log, and finally a meeting of the Lemon Meringue Pie Society at Shari’s restaurant. Somewhere in there, we also found time for a walk in the forest to see what we could find in the way of flora and fauna.

Sunday, March 24th

It’s the start of spring break for OSU and normally the town would have been quieting down. But the Oregon State women’s basketball team has done well this year and has just finished hosting two NCAA tournament games. OSU won both their games, beating Eastern Washington in the first round on Thursday and then eliminating Nebraska in the round of thirty-two on Sunday, earning themselves a place in the Sweet Sixteen. Later this week they will travel to Albany, NY and take on Notre Dame.

We got a mysterious gift bouquet today! M heard the doorbell ring and when he got there he saw no one but did notice a lovely little bouquet on the mat. E found a vase for it.

In other news, Meandering on the Way–via our vast network of contacts–has obtained a copy of a document that we hope will shine some light on the mysterious goings on at LMPS. A redacted version follows.

A meeting of the Lemon Meringue Pie Society was held on March 21 at Shari’s restaurant in Corvallis. Members present were XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX. Members absent and sorely missed were XXXXX and XXXXX. While they were sorely missed, their portions of pie did not go to waste, as members present took on the burden of consuming the extra rations. 

The next meeting of LMPS will take place at the residence of XXXXX, who will endeavor to produce a cherry pie for a belated celebration of the 292nd birthday of George Washington. The party will be held at 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 25th. 

At the March 21st meeting, a resolution was passed to declare the 3rd Thursday of every month as LMPS meeting day. Time and place may vary. 

Respectfully submitted,