Dear Reader:

On my first full day home from Mt. Pleasant I hurried outside to bring in some new plant pots from the car to be planted and decided to change the “plant pitcher” on the porch to something orange! (My favorite color!)

Some of you might remember when I bought it a couple of summers ago…I thought I had bought a cute water pitcher for watering the hanging baskets in the garden. However… as I first filled it up with water…I felt this strange sensation running down my pants, legs, and shoes…water. I turned the pitcher over and there were the circle holes for a plant pitcher…not a water pitcher.

At first I was disappointed…I really wanted and needed a water pitcher but as time passed…I realized how beautiful every flowering plant I put in the decorative pitcher was… adding so much beauty to the front porch.

Today the world is facing a different “pitcher” of life, culture, and customs…not unlike my misconstrued water pitcher mirage. But just because life changes or alters temporarily doesn’t mean that one still can’t find wonder, love, and joy in it.

I haven’t talked too much about the Coronavirus on my blog posts to date… except how the pandemic is starting to change the daily habits of families and varying age groups in this country. Believe me…I am not in denial…in fact just the opposite…with both age and a cancer issue putting me in a highly susceptible target group…I am well aware of the potential risks.

It is simply that (for me at least) too much information coming in too fast is hard to process. (Especially when it has to be corrected the next day 🙂 I feel like I have overdosed on it these past few weeks…and the virus is just in the early stages around here.

It is probably the Libra in me (the scales) but I have always sought balance in my life and am out of my comfort zone in the extreme…so I am quite aware of the different risks, understand the procedures and what to do if I take ill…but I have to rely on good old common sense to see me through this…it has worked pretty well with surviving breast cancer to date…much longer than expected.

So you won’t find me hoarding toilet paper…I mean come on….the vast majority of people who have lived on this earth for millions of years… never had such a luxury…it is a relatively new invention. (1857)

As far as hand sanitizers go… as long as we have any kind of washing detergent, shampoo, soaps, dish washing detergents, cleaning products around….one’s hands can get quite clean. 

The schools in South Carolina are now officially closed until the end of March…fingers crossed…children can return in April. It will be a big adjustment for families…harder at first while acclimating…but I suspect it will also open up possibilities for some real dialogue (between parents and children) that is hard -pressed to find time for in our modern “go go go” lives from dawn to dusk.

If nothing else…a lot of memories will be made during these uncertain times. Think about it…These children will one day tell their children  about living during the famous coronavirus pandemic.

I found the following headline (below) pretty sad…but understandable for long periods of time…it also (on a lighter note) brought some chuckling…especially among  men who nodded in recognition of a tough situation.

BEIJING — Millions of people across the world are settling into the new disrupted routines as the coronavirus began to uproot almost every facet of life.

One of the unexpected side effects of the outbreak in China is a spike in divorce rates, according to the local media. The Chinese city of Xi’an has seen a record-high number of divorce requests in recent weeks, Global Times reported last week.

Over 300 couples have scheduled appointments to get a divorce since Feb. 24, Lu Shijun, the manager of a marriage registry in Dazhou, Sichuan Province of south-western China, was quoted in the local press. “The divorce rate has soared compared to before [the coronavirus outbreak],” he added.

Couples spent too much time in home quarantine…

This phenomenon was caused by the prolonged time married couples were stuck at home following quarantine measures…some couples were cooped up at home with each other for an entire month.

So until tomorrow….Perhaps “Silence is Golden” or “Patience is a virtue” might be the appropriate answers to the Chinese divorce spike.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Our “funny”  today comes from Butch and Susan Swicegood…too cute.

What is the old adage with Walmart?…“You can get in…you just can’t get out!” 🙂

My plants will be my peace of mind saver over the next few weeks….Look at all the “almost” blooms on “Little Big Red!” It will be like watching a movie unfold.

My wonderful neighbor, Vickie, got my mail last week for me, while I was gone and she also left me a surcie! Several months ago she transplanted/ cloned a stem that fell off this clone hydrangea of the original “Big Red” (who lived for over a decade)….Look at our newest addition to the “Clone Family!”

*Walsh and Mollie are meeting the vet at 3:00 today to go over the results of Poogie (golden retriever) CT results and prognosis. I know they would appreciate any prayers  for their beloved pet. Thank you!