All three sisters started with cold and allergy symptoms on the same day, Tuesday May 3 and tested positive for covid at various times. Windy and I are done. I’m basically symptom free, Windy tested negative, Lona is still having symptoms, but we are all past our contagious periods and ..drum roll please.. I am going to Iceland!
It felt a little touch-and-go there and I was pretty sick for a few days, like a bad cold or icky and persistent allergies, but thankfully, all is well!
Not only me, evil covid messed with Mother’s Day for a lot of people. I’ve just been home since Friday when Lona tested positive for covid. I’m home obsessing over every symptom because of my upcoming trip. I tested negative today as did Windy. Lona was positive again.
It goes like this – Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday Lona, Windy, and I took our little road trip out to the desert. We’re in the car for hours, sharing food, breathing in each other’s faces. On Tuesday Lona started to have symptoms of a bad cold/allergies. But we’re all having allergy symptoms and we didn’t think anything of it. And then on Friday Lona is not better, takes a home test on Trevor’s insistence, and BAM, COVID.
Of the three of us I’m the only one with a second booster. I’ll be fine. No more obsessing. No more lying around!
And although I spent Mother’s Day lying around I did not want for things to eat!
Cynthia sent over a feast from the deli, just what I asked for, that I’ve enjoyed for three days now, and a year subscription to Paramount+!
And Darryl, Angela, Rome, and Lilly swung by with Oliver and dropped off flowers Angela arranged From Their Garden(!) and some tasty treats I was sure to enjoy. They made the choices based on ‘what weird things would go together.’ I laughed! We kept our distance because of my exposure and because Lilly is still positive for covid too!
We had a delightful two night mini-vaycay at an AirBnB owned and operated by one of Windy’s friends. What a good time we had!
We thought we were going to stop for lunch in Hacienda Heights at a place called Alaska Cafe but instead:
On our first evening we drove into the park in search of stars. Oh Yes, we had Stars. Of course the pictures don’t do them justice because I was too lazy to set up the tripod…but Night Sight on the phones gave us at least a memory, taken in total darkness btw. We chose these two nights because they were the closest to a New Moon before I leave for Iceland.
After breakfast and some hot tubbin’ and hammock swingin’ we went to the nearby Pioneertown, used extensively in Western movies and TV, and music videos and tiktoks, etc. and now also occupied by shops and a well-regarded restaurant. We had fun and far too many pictures follow.
Next stop we drove into the park for a walk along the High View Nature Trail.
Next we took a spin through 29 Palms to enjoy the murals followed by home sweet home where we ate cabbage rolls Lona brought that tasted just like Mom’s and we watched a couple episodes of Death in Paradise. It was a lovely evening.
And now it’s our last morning. We all agreed, we want another night! But we packed up anyway and headed home through the park. We stopped for an excellent walk along the Arch Rock Nature Trail.
After almost two years, we finished reading Attar’s Conference of the Birds in translation of course. We’re taking a couple month break and then we will gather again to enjoy another book of Persian Poetry. If I had read this book by myself I would have finished in a week or two and it would be just another thing I can’t remember, but this process of reading together, once a week we’d read a few pages out loud and then talk about it, I got to hear thoughts I had not thought myself and it was great. Thank you my friends!
May Day at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire!
Here comes an insane number of pictures. Lill was SO kind and never made me feel rushed despite my “Squirrel!” at every turn. And she drove. And she walked the extra mile in the parking lot to get the car and pick me up when we were done. What a friend!
You can still go, it’s running for a few more weekends but I have advice. Surprised?! According to a security guy I visited with for a while, don’t go on Saturday, the crowds are worse. You should get there early on Sunday, like 9:30 and it opens at 10. Then you have 2-3 good hours before the crowds and the heat will crush you.
