Monthly Archives: April 2021

Are you ready for May Day?

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In first grade, my teacher Mrs. Iverson showed us how to make May Day baskets from pink and yellow construction paper. We drew ivy and flowers on the paper baskets with our thick crayons before going up one-by-one to our teacher’s desk to get the handle stapled on.

On the way home from school, we walked together picking dandelions and soft lavender-colored clover to fill our baskets. The more daring kids picked pansies or snap dragons from a neighbor’s yard to add to their construction paper baskets.

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We took turns “May Daying” the neighbors.

I climbed the steps to Mrs. Fixie’s front door. She was the grandmotherly lady with the neat white bun on top of her head who often gave me home-made oatmeal cookies.

I hung the basket on her doorknob. Then, I rang her doorbell and ran as far as my first-grade legs would take me. I hid behind a hedge and watched her open the front door and scan the neighborhood.

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Then, she looked at her doorknob at the paper basket filled with flowering weeds.  A big smile broke across her face.

“Happy May Day!” I yelled jumping up behind the shrubs.

Bougainvillea in Palm Springs
Bougainvillea.

Where did this fun tradition begin? But, more importantly, where did it go?

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Do your kids make May Day baskets in school? Do they surprise your elderly neighbors with baskets of flowers and sunshine on May 1st?

My mom is in an assisted living home three states away. She usually gets a delivery from FTD of a little basket of flowers. The card reads “Happy May Day! Love, ?”

She’d call to thank me and I’d say, “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!”

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“Really? I could have sworn it was you! I wonder who sent me these flowers?”

That’s how we’ve kept our May Day tradition alive. My son sometimes remembers to text me flower emojis to wish me “Happy May Day.” While my daughter was home, she’d pick bougainvillea, snap dragons and roses from our back yard and pound on the door after school and her swim meet.

I’d run outside and won’t be able to contain the smile on my face as I race around the yard trying to catch her.

This is year I’m skipping my mom’s May Day basket. I’m going in person next week and will deliver it to her in person.

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Happy May Day, everyone! How do you celebrate May Day? Do your kids make baskets?

On the move

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It turns out we weren’t the only people to move during the pandemic. We’ve run into several friends who made the move to Ariz. It was one of the toughest things I’ve done. Going through 28 years of junk. Parting with the home and town I loved. Leaving behind friends. I go from loving my new home to missing my old life. But shelter in place changed everything.

A cactus I saw on my morning walk today.

My husband gets to work from home which started a year ago in March. Our new home accommodates that better than the old one. He has his own office and so do I. I used to write in my son’s empty bedroom or at the dining room table, while my husband worked in our Master bedroom. It didn’t feel like my bedroom anymore.

I read an article that said 11% of Americans moved during the past year. In an article called Survey Shows Americans on the Move During Pandemic by Evan Anderson for NBC in Dallas Fort Worth, most people are moving out of high priced areas, like we did.

It’s no secret the pandemic has completely changed the meaning of home, prompting many of us to rethink how and where we want to live. A new survey finds 11% of Americans have already moved in the past year not just across town, but across the country.

This is all according to Zillow in its first-ever “Mover Report.” It’s a data-based dive into the people and emotions driving moves this spring.

Anderson wrote that Zillow predicts another 2.5 million people will be moving. It’s making the housing market go wild. He also also stated that the sunbelt is most popular and that cities seeing the most people move in include  Phoenix, Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. People want warmth and affordability. We moved to a suburb of Phoenix, so I guess our unique idea to move during a global pandemic wasn’t to unique after all. We’re part of a trend.

My new backyard.

Would you consider moving from your home? Why or why not?

What animal begins with N?

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Cactua pool in Scottsdale
Cactus pool in North Scottsdale

Last week I finally jumped back into the pool. It’s been a year of mostly not swimming due to COVID closures. I swam in the backyard pool on a bungee cord velcroed around my waist at my old house. Then when the city pool finally reopened, I rarely made it to practice because of the busyness of moving. Once in Arizona, it took me months to get settled and the weather was too cold! We had snow, rain, wind, and I just didn’t want to go.

Today, I managed to make the 30-minute drive, got my own lane and swim laps. No, I’m not swimming Masters yet. I want to get stronger. Plus the Sun Devil’s Masters that practice in this pool look so fast and fit that it’s intimidating.

My third day back in the pool felt so much better than the first two attempts. I swam my normal Palm Springs warm up of 4 -3- 3 (400 yards freestyle, 300 yards kick, 300 yards pull). That’s all I intended to do but I felt good so I swam some more.

My fellow swim mom, school mom, Masters swimmer and dear friend Linda said she keeps track of her laps by the alphabet. I’ve tried that and it works. So, today I played the animal alphabet game. Each 50 yards was an animal. I started with ape, bear, cat and dog. You get the idea. However, when I got to “N” I was stumped. Does anyone know an animal that begins with the letter N? Another tricky one was Q. I decided Queen Bee was good enough — not quite an animal but it’s a living being. The last 50 yards was X….

Entrance to Cactus Pool and Recreation center.
The entrance to my new home pool.

Can you help me with N, Q and X animals?

I’m so easily entertained

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Olive entertains me.

We had a few busy days with our son, his girlfriend and one of her sisters. They stayed with us for a long weekend in our new home. It was their first time to see our house and thankfully they seemed to really like it! That’s a relief, because when we sold our home of 28 years, my children threatened to never visit us again. We had great meals together, shared laughs, went for walks and hikes. We watched the sunset, the wildlife and toured the nearby town and farmer’s market. They drove from our house to the Grand Canyon for their first ever glimpse. They called the Grand Canyon life changing.

Now that they’ve returned to the Bay Area, I miss them. It felt so normal to have them here. My house and heart were full. I’m left alone with my husband — and thankfully our 10-year-old cat who is increasingly cuddly and entertains me with her antics.

Olive doesn’t know that the window is reflective on the outside and the bird can’t see her.

Is anyone else nervous about a return to normal?

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maine coon on a sofa
Olive has given me great comfort and company during COVID-19.

After spending March 2020 through April 2021 mostly at home, quietly in solitude, reading, writing, packing and unpacking because of our move, I have been more social the past two weeks (post vaccines) than in the past year. It’s fun but tiring and stressful, too.

Tomorrow my son, his girlfriend and a sister come for a long weekend. It will be their first visit to our new home. Last weekend, we got together with friends from Palm Springs who we discovered moved less than five minutes from our new house. A few days before that, we got together with a Palm Springs couple from our old neighborhood who were visiting Arizona.My daughter also managed to drive down from the Bay Area for her first visit at our new home. So much socializing and I’ve been used to solitude. It’s a weird feeling. I enjoy the interaction, but it’s almost as though I’m afraid to get out and it’s more tiring than I remember.

My son told me that since he’s now fully vaccinated, he’s going for it. He said it’s the only way to get past the shelter in place feelings. So they are flying and coming here. Of course I can’t wait.

Then for Mother’s Day, my daughter bought me a ticket to fly to Seattle. My mom is in assisted living up there a few miles from where the first bad COVID breakout happened in a nursing home. I missed my mom’s 88 and 89 birthdays due to COVID and I did say the first thing I wanted to do when things were normal was visit her. I called the home and they said all restrictions are off for in-person visits. I cried, I was so excited.

My daughter said that our son was bragging about “winning” my birthday with the best gifts, so she had to step up her game to “win” Mother’s Day. I kind of like their competitive spirit when I’m the one benefitting from it. I’ll get to see Mom and my Aunt, too (mom’s little sister). Plus, I get to see my best girlfriend from college days.

It’s a dream come true, but I’m filled with apprehension. The idea of the airport, plane getting a rental car seems overwhelming. But I’ll do it.

Cactus Arizona sunset
Sunset in the neighborhood.

What are your thoughts about returning to normal? What did you like about sheltering in place?

Back to the pool again

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swimming pool in Palm Springs
Our beautiful Palm Springs city pool where our team practices.

I did it! I finally drove to the pool today for lap swimming. I haven’t been swimming since I moved four months ago. I used to live a mile from the pool and it was a big part of our lives. From swim mom to swimmer, I built friendships and healthy habits around the pool. It’s now a 30-minute drive and it’s much easier to find an excuse not to go than when I lived close by. Plus, I had friends who were there and we’d text and call to encourage each other to go.

Today, I drove by myself to a pool where nobody talked to me except the lady who took my $3. It was so hard to swim! My shoulders were tight. I got winded so easily. I noticed most of the swimmers were women who had their hair up and wore visors or hats.They used kickboards or walked. I felt like a superstar for actually swimming with my face in the water and managing an occasional flip turn!

Looking back at the pandemic, and then my move, it’s been a year of mostly not swimming. I hope I can get back into my swimming shape again soon. I can’t believe how hard it is!

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My new pool.

Here’s what I wrote last fall:

Today I am returning to the pool. I’m nervous yet excited. I haven’t been swimming at the city pool for months — since February would be my best guess. The pool quickly shut down when shelter-in-place began in March. It reopened while we were out of town in August.

Although I keep saying that swimming outdoors should be perfectly safe, I’ve been a little bit afraid to swim anywhere but in my backyard. I tried swimming at home with a bungee cord, which is hard because it’s boring! Plus it’s swimming against resistance.

I see one of my Piranha Masters friends at the park during my morning walks. He’s been swimming three times a week and asked me to join him this week. It’s been my goal to return to swimming, so I’m diving back in. I’ve also invited Linda, my Masters buddy and fellow swim mom, to join us.

I think getting back in the swim of things is going to make a big improvement to my overall health — physically and mentally.

It’s time to get ready. I wonder if my swimsuit still fits?

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My daughter using the bungee in our backyard.

What have you had a hard time doing because of the global pandemic?

More Spring blooms

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Every week I get a new treat for my senses. Since this is my first Spring in Arizona, I keep seeing more plants bust out with flowers. I took these photos this morning in our back yard and around our neighborhood. I’m trying to learn the names of the native flora so I downloaded an app where I can snap a photo and it gives me the Latin and common name. But it’s hit and miss and many times the information is obviously wrong.

On a hike this weekend at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy we picked up a book called “Wildflowers, Butterflies and More.” It’s a flora photo ID guide by photographer Marianne Skov Jensen for the conservancy. She has it organized by color, so you can flip through the white, yellow, blue or pink or red flowers for easy identification.

I think this is a prickly pear cactus.
The is a type of geranium that began blooming a month ago.
My plant app calls this Erthrostemon gilliesii.
Aloe plants in bloom.
I’m not sure of the type of cactus, but I love the white and pink flowers.

If anyone can help identify these plants, cactus and flowers, I’d love the help!