Hurray for May

Good morning Everyone. How is everyone holding up? It is a rainy Sunday morning, but it is May. The last of April’s showers and cold is finally moving on. Did you get yourself a cup of coffee? Let’s catch up.

If we were having coffee together, I would say that spring is starting to look green. The oak trees are ready to shed their fluff in exchange for leaves, the forget-me-nots bloomed into beautiful blue mounds, and the combo coffee grinds and acid fertilizer I fed the hydrangeas have perked up the foliage. Dandelions have sprouted alongside the clover on the lawn. I have been on a mission, using this handy-dandy gadget that twirls the dandelion weed from its roots. It is more satisfying than vacuuming the house. We spread the clover last summer in hopes of enticing bees. For a few years, we have used non-chemical lawn and garden treatments to protect the birds, bees, and the water aquifer that supplies Long Island drinking water. Matt has gone to war with the moss growing between the patio pavers. Personally, I don’t mind the old world look, but he believes moss has no place on the patio. He mixed Epsom salt, white vinegar, and dish soap and sprayed the concoction. It worked within a few hours. Now someone will have to scrape the brown remains.

The ferries restarted the spring schedule to Fire Island, but it is limited with lots of rules for social distancing and masking faces. The town and county lifted the bans for the marinas. My sisters got their family boats into their slips. If the weather would just co-operate, Matt and I will varnish the trim, paint the bottom, place the rudder and little engine, clean the deck and hull, dig out gear— a lot to do.

If we were having coffee together, I would report on the COVID-19 front. Suffolk County has high numbers, but the hospitals are beginning to see a slowdown. More people are being discharged then admitted. New York school and campus facilities will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year. Teachers, students, and parents must continue with remote learning (big sigh). Restaurants continue with take-out orders only. Main Street looks abandoned, and everyone must wear masks in stores. I have been riding my bike around town, waving to anyone on the street. I noticed kids playing in their front yards and people sitting on front porches engaging in much missed conversations with neighbors walking by.

My parents are still stuck in Florida. They miss home, and we are missing them terribly. My sister and I are tackling the yard with Mom relaying instructions. The roses must miss Mom since, despite my feeding and care, not a bud has emerged. Today, we scheduled another Family Meatball Meet-up on Zoom. I made Sunday Dinner Bingo boards to play during the zoom session.

If we were having coffee together, I would report that I completed the Blogging A-Z Challenge. I wrote daily prompts for kids to journal. Maybe it was a quarantine, but I found the whole challenge a struggle. This was my third year, and I had a hard time finding a rhythm to compose and keeping up with fellow bloggers, piling up the guilt. Daily Bread is still in editing. I am now working out a few project ideas. A writer always writes.

That’s it, folks. Have a blessed day and week. Make it great. Be safe. Be smart. Be well.

Big thank yous go out to Ecelic Ali for keeping the Weekend Coffee Share up and running.

Antoinette Truglio Martin is the author of Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer. The memoir is a wimpy patient’s journey through her first year of breast cancer treatment.

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