I guess everyone on staff at St. Paul’s has been charged with contributing something online to help our parish maintain community. This is the best so far.

Nicholas, Dr. Klemme’s assistant, father of tiny twin boys, graduate student, has created this YouTube of how to make Syrian bread. Looks to me like it’s pita, and I’m doubtful many of us are going to make it; but do watch this excellent video. It’s sure to lift your spirits.

Can “they” really close the great outdoors? That’s where my mental health resides. They’re going to have a lot of crazy old women on their hands.

Clipped from this morning’s paper:

Oregon, Washington close 24 million acres to outdoor recreation
In the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the entire forest is closed — even to dispersed and off-trail exploring.
SIUSLAW NATIONAL FORESTCLOSED TO RECREATION

SIUSLAW NATIONAL FOREST
CLOSED TO RECREATION

I have turned into such a crybaby.

I am rarely watching the news these days, but today I caught a glimpse of the pilot boats slowly guiding the Mercy hospital ship into the LA Harbor. It has 1000 beds and 12 fully equipped OR’s. It wasn’t meant for this. It will keep on-shore beds available for virus victims.

It’s something about those big red crosses.

When I was a little girl, “holocaust”meant any destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. It had a little “h” and we mostly thought of “the bomb.” Then “Holocaust” got a capitol “H” and referred to a specific slaughter. I think we now have another one with a capital “H.”

Kyrie eleison.

It’s apocalyptic out there.

I made an abortive run to pick up supplies to sew protective masks yesterday. It was pretty much the first time I’d had the car out of the garage in a week. At first, I felt as though I was one of the few survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Empty streets and closed shops.

Then, as I tried to drive to the hospital distribution center to collect a mask-sewing kit, I came upon the most heart-warming traffic jam ever. For miles in every direction, cars were lined up. Kits to make over 10,000 masks were distributed as fast as drivers could pull up. That is life as I want to know it.

But everything is different. Great and small.

The big annual summer community event in Salem, The Art Fair, has been cancelled. Personally, I have been working in St. Paul’s booth there for many years.

My doctor’s staff called and said the doctor would be keeping my appointment this morning with a FaceTime call. Apparently, Medicare has set up brand new codes for funding these virtual appointments. Guess I’d better get the frog out of my throat.

Section B of my local paper has always been Sports. I checked the “On the Air” box every morning and passed on to Joannie the times and networks of games that I thought Mother would enjoy. She then posted a stickie with this information on Mother’s table. Now Section B is called Nation’s Health. And Joannie is barred from visiting the nursing home.

Here she is visiting Mother at the nursing home window. Can’t see or say much through a closed window and screen. Those two poles hold bird feeders and strings of twinkly lights.

This is not life as I want to know it.

I love this town. Our hospital set up a kiosk in an old K-mart parking lot to distribute kits so people with sewing machines could make face masks. I was driving over to get my kit when I noticed a significant traffic issue. I thought here must have been a terrible wreck. I made u-ee and tried a different route. I did it again. Looked on my phone and saw that traffic was blocked in every direction and the wreck seemed to be right where the kiosk is located. Folks, it wasn’t a wreck. It was cars lined up for miles to get mask kits. I turned around and got out of the way. I cried all the way home for the goodness I had witnessed.

See that red dot? That’s the spot. I’ll try to get back over there later, but I bet the kits will already have been distributed. How great is that!