Africa, CoVid-19, Puzzles, Books, Streaming and iPhone Game Apps.
Margie V and I were so lucky to have the dates of our Africa trip scheduled before the worse of the "known" CoVid-19 hit the US. We left at the end of February and returned mid March. We had heard about the virus and were a little wary, but Kenya had no known cases so we decided that with a non-stop flight to Niarobi we would be fairly safe. Margie's yoga group had given her masks for us to wear and we did the santitizing bit on the planes. The trip was great and the memories have sort of made this long UNevent filled spring/summer a tee-tiny bit less painful. (I keep repeating that over and over to myself) Africa Photo link is on the rt sidebar.
When we got home, we quarantined for 2 weeks and then started the rest of the repetitive activites that I sadly assume will continue thru the year.
I usually only do jigsaw puzzles during the 'winter time' but this year it extended into May and would have gone further but all the 1000 piece puzzles that I was interested in doing were out of stock. 18 so far...... I definitely helped the White Mountain and Ravensburger Puzzle companies earn some extra profit this year.
In June, I had to make a decision on how to get to Salem NY for my 2 month stay during this pandemic time - It's usually by plane, but I figured that a 2 day drive/w 1 night in a hotel was a tiny bit safer than 3 airports and 3 different planes. Pain to drive but being here is a lot safer CoVid-wise than staying in Glynn County GA. People actually wear masks here! The numbers of cases were comparable when I left (both counties has less than 200 cases) but as of this typing - Washington County NY has a total of 250 cases and Glynn County GA has 1600. Hmmmm .....
SAW (Salem Art Works) where my summer apartment is located has no cable TV but it does have great internet. Therefore, I decided to finally buy an Apple TVsetup which included 1 yr of free Apple TV+. So with my Xfinity, Netflix, Prime Video and the Apple TV+, I have been streaming like crazy.
Physical activities - I climb Cary Hill almost every morning. Getting to the top is a major feat for this "flatlander" but it has to be good for me - right?
The large orange sculpture (by Marc di Suvero) is the top of the road!
Lots of interesting scultpures to look at - as we climb
Jess and Pearl keep me motivated !
I ride my bike around SAW and the mostly closed Salem village.
Tuesday nights, which USED to be "B-Sides" at the Salem Tavern, Zac would make chocolate chip cookies and play the B-side of old records in the bar. Not sure if it was the cookies or the music but on Tuesday nights it was a popular place. Covid-19 has altered our location to the SAW pond where just a few of us will social distance, listen to music, cook hot dogs, and of course eat cookies.
And now to the most embarassing for a 72 yr old to admit to - the iPhone Game Apps. Angry Bird Match, Toon Blast, (both are match games), Woody (think tetris), and the tried and true Solitaire. I also have to confess that I have actually spent money (honest - just small amounts) on purchasing the game prizes. If somebody had told me 15 years ago that I would actually pay $$ for an award/tool that was digital and NOT REAL I would have said you were crazy or that I was crazy ! OMG -- I decided to check out the statistics on how much was spent on in-app purchases for games. King company, the top game app earner, (Candy Crush + other games) made 93 MILLION in January 2019. Check it out if you want to learn some interesting facts App Statistics. Think Billions .....
