And then along came Covid..

About mid-March, as we all know all too well, Covid 19 arrived as a pandemic turning our world a little upside down.  I went from working 3 days at home and 2 days in the office to working full time from home.  We had to do something new called "social distance" which meant not being less than 6 feet from another human. We started wearing home-made face masks and were to "shelter in place".  All the non-essential businesses were closed.  Groceries were available but some things were in short supply if you could get them at all.  Oddly, toilet paper became a hot commodity. 

Like so many others, I broke out the sewing machine and started making masks.  My first attempt, above, wasn't too attractive.  I've gotten better!

Our governor cracked down on closing up everything pretty fast but it didn't stave off the virus.  Detroit was hit hard. Thousands were diagnosed and thousands died.  On March 19, 2020 there were 171 diagnosed cases in Michigan.  By April 12, less than a full month later, there were 24,028 cases.  Another month later and it was 49,582 and 4,787 had died.

While I was still working, I no longer had commute time 2 days a week and there wasn't much to do with all the stores and entertainment closed...but I could still hike. So I did. It was a nice way to usher in spring in the midst of the raging virus.

I worked on finding new hiking trails and undiscovered paths since everyone and their brothers were out hiking/walking/biking as well.  Some of the bike paths at Kensington turned into something akin to rush hour traffic congestion!

But I was sneaky.  I know about horse trails...and many don't think hikers are allowed on them but I knew this not to be true.  And they are some of the best trails around!

I'd occasionally see a horse and revel in the smell and chat up the riders as I hiked.  But more often than not, I was alone on the trails absorbing the fresh spring air.

And when it was too cold or too rainy to hike, I organized.  My pantry has never looked so good!  Every closet in the house got a good cleaning and make-over!

Late Winter 2020

For Christmas I bought myself a set of tattoos - that wash off.  I had so much fun surprising people with them!  This one was a little more private being on my back - it says Breathe - which I ended up needing to heed a few weeks later...

Early March was really quite pretty - we had some really nice weather that was perfect for hiking.

This is one of the horse trails at Kensington. 

The ice melted early and the ducks and swans were back!

This big, tough soldier is the son of one of my best friends...

And this is his new puppy!!  Collective AWWWWWW!!!

Henrik

I admittedly take way too many cat pictures.  But he's so freaking cute!

He often sleeps curled up next to me in my office chair like this.  Good thing I don't have a bigger butt! Sometimes he is on my lap but he seems to prefer next to me better.

One of his favorite spots - especially if I have the shutters open.

My coworker sometimes sits on the arm of my chair and not next to me to get a better view of what I'm working on apparently!

And then he will play jungle cat with the potted plant in the bathroom!  LOL!

Meet me in St. Louis!

So that new guy I met in December?  Well, we started planning a little winter trip to get away - to St. Louis on Valentine's Day Weekend!  It was such a random place but we had a blast planning it!

Getting packed, Henrik decided my dresser drawer was worth investigating!  His eyes look so big!!

First stop - the ARCH of course!!

I didn't know you could take a tram to the top where you get an amazing view of the city.

I didn't take a picture of it but we stayed in a place called The Last Hotel.  It's play on words - the hotel was a former shoe factory and a "last" is a part of a shoe.  It was a super cool hotel!

A view of the Mississippi River with a barge pushing cargo containers.

Our cheesy picture was taken in front of the screen with a picture of the arch with a perfect sky...I loved it anyway!

Inside the St. Louis historical museum.

I think this was at the St. Louis Library...this is what happens when you take too long to publish pictures!

For Valentine's Day, Garry (that's his name!) didn't give me just ONE card... :)

January 2020

It was a relatively mild winter with a few big, wet snowfalls, but not much in between and it would melt pretty fast leaving the dreary brown behind.  I still tried to get out to hike as often as possible and it was pretty when we did have snow.

Even though it wasn't sunny, it was bright and fresh out.

I love a fresh snow fall!

Some time in between hikes on this trail, this tree came down - but still holding up high enough for me to cross under easily enough.

The dam always looks cold but especially so in the winter.

Madison and I had tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Detroit Opera Theater.  The building is beautiful but boy is it crowded in their little lobby.

After we wandered around downtown for awhile.

It was pretty cold out but we were bundled up.  Or at least I was!

We went into the Detroit Library to warm up and use the bathroom.  So many books!

Christmas 2019

When you lose track of time and forget to blog for 6 months...

Time to try to catch up!

I don't remember where Austin and his girlfriend/fiance were going when they were in Downtown Detroit but they sure looked happy!

Mom and Dad hosted Christmas for the last time in 2019.  It was just too much for mom - she had the house decorated by Halloween and the table set about 2 weeks before Christmas! But we all had a great time!

Madison and Olivia were so happy to see one another!

This was actually the next day - Henny decided needed in on the action!

While Madison was home we got her friend Kari and went to see Mata Hari in her new home - where she has a new name...it was bittersweet.  Love that horse!!

And in early December, the 7th to be exact, I went on a first date with this guy.  A 6-hour first date.  I guess it went pretty good since we've been together ever since!  We laughed that he hit the trifecta with starting to date me in December - because then we had my birthday, followed by Christmas and then New Year's Eve!!

December 2019 Randomness

Henrik - such a handsome cat - even when he's perched on my stomach when I'm trying to take a quick nap!

Or perched on the arm of my office chair while I'm working!

My truck...selling her almost 11 years to the day that I got her.  Lots of good memories happened with this truck.  I'll miss her.  But she's going to a good family where I can still see her and even borrow her on occasion if needed!

It's too premature to say much other than I got this beautiful paperweight from a special friend. It represents how our universes have aligned in the first month of our friendship.  It was a gift for my birthday.

After lunch with the kids and parents for my birthday, Madison and I went for a hike at Bird Hills Nature area in Ann Arbor.  It was a beautiful day - almost 50 degrees!

Madison was taking this pic of me and we got this cool optical illusion.

So then we tried to do a repeat with her and it worked!