Happy New Year!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post. At my three week post-op, they found the new lens was clouding over so I got a free laser treatment to break up the calcification on the lens. Yay to my overactive immune system, my antibodies were attacking the foreign body in my eye. The laser treatment was on December 22 – they were pretty booked up and that was the soonest I could be seen. Well the calcification on the lens made it hard for my eye to focus well which is why I haven’t spent much time on the computer or reading. Hoping I can start enjoying books again in 2022.

At the end of 2021, we were all in quarantine. My mother-in-law came over on Christmas, not feeling well, and two days later tested positive for Covid. We were so careful for almost two years and then it walked right through the front door. Needless to say no one was very pleased with Nonnie but after 5 days no one in this house showed any symptoms and Robin was able to fly back to Oregon on the first. Gretchen has started her spring semester. She just looked at her major map yesterday and told me it looks like all my requirements are completed or in progress (this semester’s courses) what does that mean? I told her if she doesn’t have anything in red it should mean you’re eligible for graduation. She may be able to graduate early. She retorted, It doesn’t say I’m eligible for graduation. It won’t you can still take classes. Robin took some extra classes because he fulfilled his requirements early but wanted to take all four years. He had a full scholarship and mom and dad covered the extra expenses. A full scholarship does not cover all fees as different degrees accrue different costs. Science classes are more expensive than humanities courses.

The other thing Gretchen looked at last night was her GPA she’s only earned Magna Cum Laude. I told her there’s nothing wrong with that (mom graduated magna cum laude), but she told me she’s going to steal Robin’s summa cum laude. The rest of the night we were regaled with how Gretchen was chasing Robin and Robin kept evading her efforts. Then Gretchen said, I’ll kidnap Burke. I laughed and told her, I think you’re a proud new parent then because I don’t see Robin giving up the summa for the return of his cat.

My muse lies quiet
Writing haiku – a reflex
Long out of practice

Advertisement

Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

Mind over matter
The body is feeble, but
I have strength of will

Good afternoon and welcome to a whole year of isolation aka March again – Women’s herstory month and cerebral palsy awareness month. Last Friday Gretchen and I walked over to Kohl’s to do some shopping. It has been over a year since I’ve walked any sort of distance (the reason why I got winded on the little hike Shawn and I took when camping) and believe it or not it’s been close to three years since I did any clothes shopping. Other than that, this past year has been the same old routine for me. I did submit a few haiku to the Arizona Matsuri haiku contest. The 2021 ebook should be out soon. And I have been keeping up with the haiku challenge on twitter; I only missed a couple days in February and March.

Shawn has artwork up in the Erotic Show at the Alwun house. Today is the last day of the exhibit. I went to the poetry festivus back in February. Then we celebrated Shawn’s birthday the last weekend in February; one more year until the big 5 0!

In the aftermath
of erotic poetry
blush tingles your cheeks

Half a century
is sneaking up, already
Forty nine years old

Still sitting at home
Outside socialization
Effectively blocked

House never empty
Reflect on lost solitude
Block off alone time

At the beginning of this screwed up year I wrote about my same old routine, after all I don’t get out of the house much and not being able to go out was not all that different for me. I actually posted on Facebook one year ago today that I had to watch episode seven of Star Trek Picard for the fourth time before watching the new episode just released. Everyone was home and had to catch up on the series; it was a big sacrifice on my part. 😉 But as the month wore on, I realized I had no alone time. A year later it’s not so bad; Robin is up in Oregon and Shawn has been out of the house working so it’s now just me and Gretchen; and she has been pretty occupied with online classes. Especially since ASU took away spring break.

This has been my year of isolation. How has everyone else faired?

End of Year Review

Another year ends
Strange as 2020 was
There were happy times

Good morning and welcome to the last day of 2020 and my year end review. Despite not posting very often this year, my blog visits were up from last year. I did complete #NaPoWriMo in April, thanks in part to not having to score standardized tests. This may have been a factor to the increased traffic. At the end of February, we celebrated Shawn’s 48th birthday. We had no idea at the time it would be the last time we would enjoy an evening out.

Shawn and I at his birthday dinner

Then in April we celebrated the first birthday in quarantine, Gretchen’s 19th birthday on April 4th. Shawn picked up dinner from the very same restaurant we went to for his birthday and we decorated the backyard and had an enjoyable evening. I used the success of our first quarantine birthday as inspiration to submit a haiku to the OCMA sound collage. Also in April, Patricia posted one of my haiku on her Pea TV moment. It took some finessing as I’m not great at capturing hummingbirds on video; but as we were eating dinner one night, we saw a hummingbird enjoying the aloe out the window. And I confess, Gretchen was the one who captured the recording.

In May we were also busy, Gretchen finished her freshmen year at ASU on the Dean’s List while Robin graduated from ASU Summa Cum Laude.

Gretchen’s 1st year of college

Robin in cap & gown

Of course we had another quarantine birthday to celebrate on May 20, Robin turned 22. Near the beginning of the month, our internet went down for A WEEK. The only plus it happened after the last final was taken since everything went virtual in March, it would have been a hassle to figure out how to get finals completed without internet. For June and July we were alone together. Shawn has a great job and has continued working; Robin finished employment at ASU in May since he graduated. He was still going to work at 4 paws but it was not every day. Then on August 1st we packed up the van Shawn dragged me over to the dealership at the end of May to buy and we took a road trip up to Oregon. Robin started his first year at the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine in September.

Gretchen and Robin in Corvallis

In October Shawn and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary in quarantine. There was one good thing to come from having all these celebrations at home. Shawn learned how to cook a proper steak. We had filet mignon medium rare. Then the following weekend Shawn talked me into an overnight camping trip at White Tanks. In November I celebrated my birthday in quarantine. Once again Shawn cooked an excellent steak and we had lobster tails to make it surf and turf. Then in December Robin and Gretchen wrapped up their second semester of virtual learning. Robin earned a 3.7 his first semester of veterinary school and Gretchen has a 3.6! Both are doing very well in this mixed up year of schooling. And as you can see, I’ve stopped adding links to my review since most everything can now be found on my blog’s home page as I really sloughed off updating the blog after May.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Grand Scheme

The Colour of Poetry

Good afternoon everyone. I spent my morning playing with the #haikuchallenge on Twitter. I learned yesterday that July is disability pride month as it coincides with when the ADA became law (July 1990). And since most of us have been forced to slow things down thanks to the coronavirus, I thought I’d share my view of things; as I have learned it is best to work slow and steady. It takes me longer to do everyday tasks, but they get done just the same.

One step at a time
Do not fret how long it takes
Picture the grand scheme

My husband was working on a photo this morning and I told him it looks like a corona. Well as it turns out, when you google corona theses days you are inundated with news on the virus, but I finally found the definition for corona and used it for another haiku about Shawn’s photo.

Corona Areola 2020 Shawn Hosking

Play with color scheme
Irregular pearly glow
Set nipples ablaze

Yes, Shawn has a strange idea about art. And since my blog is still in Facebook jail, I can share this here as no one will see it on Facebook to lodge another complaint about my blog. Also this post is brought to you by the sound of children building their minecraft world. I did have some peace and quiet yesterday since Gretchen accompanied Robin to Liberty Wildlife to play with bunnies. Less than a month we should be off to deliver Robin to Oregon. Apparently the coronavirus has made them move the white coat ceremony to Zoom. 😦 At least we don’t have to figure out how to get back up there in September.

Scheme for alone time
Everyone stuck at home
My solitude lost

#NaPoWriMo Return to Normal

Hosking Family at the Phoenix Zoo Lego Exhibit

Peace and quiet gone
Wonder when it will return
Alone together

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And last, but not least, our final (optional) prompt! In some past years, I’ve challenged you to write a poem of farewell for our thirtieth day, but this year, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about something that returns. For, just as the swallows come back to Capistrano each year, NaPoWriMo and GloPoWriMo will ride again!

Good morning and welcome to the last day of napowrimo – day thirty. At the beginning of all this I posted how my life hasn’t changed much. After all I don’t drive and have not worked outside the house in over twenty years, but then my family started intruding upon my house. First it was Gretchen as ASU moved to online classes. Then Shawn began staggered work days, leaving him more time to be at home. Then Robin moved out of his apartment and back home. Thankfully both Shawn and Robin are working outside the house. But since Robin’s job at ASU is for a student and he graduates in May, the last day he is allowed to work is May 25th. This summer my house could be overly crowded!

We just received word from Michael Crow (ASU president) that they are looking to resume in person classes this fall semester. August 20th should be the first day of class. And Robin is looking at moving up to Corvallis at the beginning of August (Vet school doesn’t start until September). So maybe mom will get her real alone time back by the end of August. It seems so far away. I know I am the total opposite of most people who want a return to normal so they can go out and socialize. I want a return to normal so I can be alone again.

By the way the family photo is a few years old for anyone wondering. Just before all this craziness started, I found out I won a trip to Legoland in California for the family through the ASU rewards app. I got the paperwork filled out and mailed to them before the stay at home order in AZ was given. At first the trip had to be made before today, but it was extended til the end of June. Well when the stay at home order came down, I emailed them and we now have til the end of June 2021. I’m hoping we can make it work as both Shawn and Gretchen are huge Lego fans. There is a reason we had to go to the zoo when they had the Lego sculptures up.