Say It Isn't . . .

SNOW ! ❄️☃️🌨

But it was earlier this morning as seen in these scenes taken from our apt window. Thankfully, this was a very brief snow event and by 8 a.m. it was quickly melting away.

Yet, the snow event didn't deter this sculler who we've seen on the Nashua River several mornings a week in recent weeks.

Today, there was a noticeable difference in that he was wearing a face mask — true social distancing.

As stated above this was a short-lived wintry scene. Here's the view an hour after the first photos were taken. 

Spring 🌸🥀 we hope it gets here soon 🌺🌼

Who's the Cutest?

SPOILER ALERT: It's been awhile since I've posted photos of the youngest family members on both sides of our family. This post resolves that issue, so proceed at your own risk.

Great nieces, Autumn Rose and Savannah Marie, were born 2 weeks apart last October and these cousins are nearing 6 months of age this month. Their moms are my brother's two daughters, Julie and Jamie. The cutie below is Autumn Rose, the older GN.

GN Savannah is shown below with her maternal grandfather. She and her parents recently relocated to FL, unfortunately no one is getting any beach time now.

We received new photos of both great nieces over the Easter holiday weekend. Savannah and mom Jamie are on the left; Autumn and mom Julie are on the right.

That's all for the baby cuteness overload for now folks (till next time).

Easter/Passover Wishes

There's no doubt that this will be a very different Passover and Easter holiday for so many people worldwide.

Individuals and families will self-celebrate observe religious traditions in their own homes. 

They won't be able to attend houses of worship. Nearly all synagogues and churches are remain closed. However, many are streaming services online.

And like many other fellow bloggers, we will observe Easter in the privacy of our apt away from family. As much as they'll be missed, we take comfort in knowing that they are safe as we are too.

Sure, we'll miss the traditions of egg hunts and egg coloring shared with grandchildren in years past. Instead, we'll rely on memories of these fun times.

Since we won't be seeing the grandkids to distribute Easter treats, we sent them some, not in the traditional basket, but in a box. Thankfully, the USPS remains operational and postal employees continue doing a wonderful job under stressful conditions. We appreciate them.

We remember when our Easter holiday was celebrated with new clothes and treats. Here's a trip down memory lane with vintage holiday pics from our family albums. Dorothy/Beatrice is shown with her mom and younger brother, Anthony on the left and in the center. That's Patrick/Grenville with his parents and a very large bunny on the right.

While we didn't color eggs with the grandkids this weekend, we had fun doing it at home and shared a video chat with them. 

We hope that you and those you love are safe and happy, and that you get some special treats too. Through a video chat session today, we were able to see and talk to family members in several states to share Easter greetings. Did you do the same?

Chag Sameach and Happy Easter to Everyone

Nothing Funny Today

Normally, a Friday post will have be humorous with a photo included, but not today. 

It's Good Friday which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Considering the current state of the world's health, this day is even more solemn this year for all. 
(Comments are off today)

Early morning view of downtown Nashua, NH

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Be kind to one another

This 'n That Updates

This post has updates on previous blog posts, because I had the time (don't we all now) and wanted to share.

I'm late in posting this very happy news that fellow blogger Laurie, who in late February posted a blog farewell, has returned with her same blog title. You can find at Where the Spruce Trees Grow. Welcome back Laurie, you were missed. Drop in for a visit. Laurie blogs with the same spirit of doggedness and expressiveness that I and so many others admire. She shares her daily struggles with grace and candor and her positive outlook is always inspiring to myself and other bloggers. Welcome back Laurie, you were missed.

Update: After preparing this post a few days ago, I checked Laurie's blog and, sadly, it's no longer available to read posts or leave comments. You can read her explanation at the above link. Unfortunately, part of the reason is due to culprits who we all dislike.

In mid-March, I posted a goodbye to Picasa, Google's photo editor, which though no longer supported, was still functional on my desktop iMac computer. An operating system upgrade in late 2019 would only support 64-bit software apps. Since Picasa outdated was a 32-bit app, it wouldn't work after the OS upgrade. I needed a replacement 64-bit photo editor, and preferably a no-cost version (free is always good).

In that earlier post, I listed several free photo editing apps, some of which were Windows or Mac specific and/or platform specific (tablet, phone or desktop). I posted about downloading a couple and since then, I've been two of these: Fotor and PhotoScape X. While they share some capabilities, overall Fotor is more limited; however it's a quick and easy collage maker and editor. 

I'm a big huge fan of photo collages which let me show multiple photos in a single image. To that end, I've been using both applications to create collages used in this and recent blog posts. PhotoScape X lets me create "funkier" collages in terms of shapes and editing images within each collage cell. That was done for each of these individual images within this collage. Effects were applied to the individual collage cells. Sometimes Most times it's just fun to play with these effects and shapes.

Without repeating comments made earlier, Photoscape X has been the more versatile app for me, as it provides have more image control. Each of these apps offers a paid/pro version but I continue to use free versions of both. They've been working very well.

Has anyone tried these or any other free photo editing software cited in that earlier post? If so, please share your thoughts in comments.

Masked and Ready

Whoops, Sorry for a double post today, folks. I was going to delay posting the previous one until a day or so after this one, but mistakenly left it set to publish. As a couple of fellow bloggers had already "found" it and commented, I decided to let it stay posted.

Ongoing COVID-19 virus precautions have included hand washing thorough, social distancing, avoiding contact with others. The US Centers for Disease Control now strongly urges that Americans wear face masks when out in public to slow the spread of corona virus. Even if the President disagrees, we do not and are ready.

Health officials emphasize they do not want folks rushing out to buy medical and surgical masks, but to make them instead. These were homemade by us this weekend. No, we're not going near any banks.

US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams posted a YouTube video showing how to do that with items folks already have, like scarves, bandanas, hand towels or an old t-shirt. (These instructions are from the CDC. There are many others online showing homemade mask options, especially in YouTube.)

Dr Adams said the face coverings should be worn in public places, like grocery stores, where social distancing can be difficult, but not as a substitute for social distancing.

Earlier, Dr Adams urged people to stop buying masks stating that doing so wouldn't help against the spread of the coronavirus, but take away important resources from health care professionals. Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!  Dr. Adams tweeted. They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus." (The ALL CAPS were his.) 

This plea followed numerous reports of panicked consumers rushing to buy masks online. The surge that has led to price gouging and counterfeit products. 

Dr Adams said the best way to self-protect is to wash hands regularly, and advised those who are feeling ill to stay home.

This was an easy project to complete as we used bandanas and rubber bands we already had in the apt. A big plus is that these masks can be laundered for re-use, not discarded.

Have you made any reusable face masks? If so, please share in the comments.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

When in need, people come through for each other, especially neighbors now that the COVID-19 virus has reached pandemic status and, sadly, claimed many lives.

In the past, when natural disasters and other misfortunes struck, assistance was through monetary donations to organizations.

That's changed in the past month. 

People are out of work, school children are home, restaurants, local businesses, libraries, churches, senior centers and more are shuttered. Families and individuals are struggling to buy food and/or basic necessities. Some items are increasingly hard to find and, when they can be found, it might require travel to several stores.

That's WHY it was especially heartwarming to see how residents at our mill apartments responded after another resident suggested a community food bank within the building. The management office staff not only supported this idea, but even started it off with some contributions. 

In the course of an overnight, food items and toiletry item were being donated by residents to help other residents. (The wall signage is in English and Spanish.) There's also a supply of water and snacks for delivery folks provided by management personnel. 

This Community Pantry is set up in the package delivery room of the mill apartments. It's only accessible to residents to either drop off or pick up needed items.

As many readers of this blog know, some may not, we currently reside in a mill apartment in Nashua, NH. The historic 1823 building, once a bustling textile mill, is a 5-story apartment community with 326 units. The total number of residents living here is just over 900. YIKES ! That's a LOT of folks all in one location and nearly double the total population of the VA Eastern Shore town we previously lived in.


To their credit, residents have been diligent about remaining in their apartments except for necessary outings to food shop and some to jobs that require staffing. All facilities (gym, pool, function room) and the management office are closed. However, maintenance and other requests can be made by phone calls as staff remain on-site.

It takes a community to come together. The one we live in has certainly done just that.

Have you seen or participated in any community come-togethers where you live?

Happy Birthday Bro

Today is my little brother's birthday, only he's not so little anymore. Still, he will always be my younger brother and (unfortunately) I am will always be his older sister. He's my only sibling and 3 years younger than myself and we're both in the seniors age group now. 

We're Adults! How Did That Happen? When Can We Make it Stop?

Tony (he prefers this now to Anthony) lives in our native NJ and is a husband, father and grandfather. This year, there will be no family gathered to sing Happy Birthday, except by calls or online videos. But, I recall years ago when the entire family came together to celebrate these important milestones and everyone lived fairly close to one another. 

Since his birthday is close to Easter, he sometimes had to co-celebrate with the Easter 

holiday. This year, he lucked out and got his very own day as Easter is next weekend.

Happy Birthday, Tony. You will always be my younger and much-loved little brother.

Friday Funnies

This guy has really been taking social distancing to the max. 

We've seen him sculling in the early morning hours on the Nashua River below our mill apt, weather-permitting. Maybe he wants to beat the river traffic (there is none).

Sculling is the act of rowing with two oars. Oars propel a boat as they are moved through the water on both sides, or by moving a single oar over the stern. The oars are often called sculls when used in this manner, and the boat may be referred to as a scull.

We're former kayakers (since sold ours) and there's differences between paddling kayaks and canoes and rowing sculls. Paddles propel boats in the same direction the paddler is facing. Oars propel boats in the opposite direction from the way the rower is seated. Simply put, it means that paddlers go forward, while rowers travel backward.

Also, paddles are not attached to anything, move freely and are supported only by the paddler’s hands. In comparison, rowing oars are attached to the boat being rowed and rest in oarlocks, which act as a fulcrum (point on which a lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots) for the pushing and pulling rowing motion.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

(Keep on social distancing for health)

Social Distancing, Another Time

This group of men appears to be social distancing before it became mandatory throughout most of the world. But, this sculpture recalls another time and reason that caused serious economic and social issues in the US.

This sculpture is in Room Two of the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC, a presidential memorial dedicated to the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd US President, and to the era he represents. Dedicated in May 1997, the monument traces 12 years of US history through a sequence of four outdoor rooms, one for each of FDR's four terms of office.

This life-size sculpture, The Breadline, is in Room Two which covers the time of the US Great Depression (August 1929-March 1933). The sculpture represents the difficulties encountered by many in those years. It was created by American painter and sculptor George Segal.

The five male figures in the sculpture have downcast eyes. All are dressed in long coats and hats as a defense against the cold. They are shown standing in line against a brick wall, waiting for food that may be only bread. They face a windowless wooden door that's closed in front of them. 

A 1937 inscription partly above and to the left of this sculpture is not shown in this photo. Taken from FDR's Inaugural Address in January 1937 as he began his second term in office, it reads: I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

Considering Roosevelt's disability, memorial designers planned that it be accessible to those with physical impairments. The memorial includes an area with tactile reliefs with braille writing for those who are vision-impaired. 

Despite the sad time it represents, this piece is the memorial's most popular photo-op. Visitors pose at the front or end of the line and slump shoulders to look downtrodden. Others attempt to push it over like a stack of dominoes. The sculpture was never meant to encourage this behavior. 

Perhaps, those who think it presents a funny moment don't know its full significance at not just a moment in time, but years of many people's lives.

Today is April 1, also known as April Fools' Day, when people typically play practical jokes or hoaxes on unsuspecting others. Some online sources have suggested the "joke" is to cancel the month of April as the current state of the world is no laughing matter.

Still, we're trying to find something(s) to be happy about when we can, and YOU?