I posted last week about feeling lousy and trying to get tested for covid-19. I’m fully vaccinated and boosted against covid, but with the new Omicron variant, a lot of vaccinated people are getting it, so I thought I should find out if I had it. The covid testing sites were not taking walk-ins, andContinue reading “Another Test, Another Negative”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Almost 20
My son will turn 20 in a few days! But his birthday is the same day that we’re moving him back into his dorm at school– and a snowstorm is expected that afternoon, so we’ll have to rush back home from campus rather than sticking around to celebrate with him. So we thought we’d startContinue reading “Almost 20”
Recovered
My mom helped me with a reupholstering project this week. But this one has a backstory. After he retired from politics, after decades as burgess and mayor of his town, my grandfather was superintendent of a state-run nursing home for the indigent elderly. The people who lived there had no other options. Few had anyContinue reading “Recovered”
September 7 Writer Birthdays
1434 – Janus Pannonius, Croatian-Hungarian poet, writer, diplomat, judge, and Catholic priest who is considered the most significant Renaissance poet in Hungary. 1707 – George-Louis Leclerc (Comte de Buffon), influential and prolific French natural-history writer, naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedia writer; of his 36-volume Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, it has been said, “Written inContinue reading “September 7 Writer Birthdays”
Spy Rock
We were in the Blue Ridge Mountains over the weekend, staying at a cabin not far from the Appalachian Trail. On Saturday we set out on a hike to Spy Rock, a point on the trail in Virginia with a panoramic view of mountains and valleys. We planned to search for a few Geocaches inContinue reading “Spy Rock”
Masks Are Back
In May, I warned that the CDC’s loosening of mask mandates for vaccinated Americans was an ill-advised decision that would cause an increase in covid-19 cases. It did. The virus’s new Delta variant has taken hold in this country; close to 90 percent of new cases are caused by the Delta variant, which is manyContinue reading “Masks Are Back”
March 19 Writer Birthdays
1084 – Li Qingzhao, Chinese writer, poet, essayist, artist, and lyricist; she is considered one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. 1721 – Tobias Smollett, Scottish poet and author best known for his picaresque novels and for his work’s influence on Charles Dickens. 1821 – Sir Richard Francis Burton, British explorer, translator, and travelContinue reading “March 19 Writer Birthdays”
March 6 Writer Birthdays
1483 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian writer, historian, politician, diplomat, and philosopher. 1486 – Francysk Skaryna (or Francisk Skorina), Belarusian humanist, physician, and translator who was one of the first book printers in Eastern Europe, laying the groundwork for the development of the Belarusian language. 1619 – Cyrano de Bergerac, Pen name of Hercule-Savinein de Cyrano deContinue reading “March 6 Writer Birthdays”
March 4 Writer Birthdays
1493 – Anna Bijns, Flemish writer, poet, teacher, and school administrator; she was the first author in Dutch-language literature who owed her success in part to the recently invented printing press. 1743 – Johann David Wyss, Swiss folklorist and author who is best remembered for the book Swiss Family Robinson. 1819 – Narcyza Zmichowska (alsoContinue reading “March 4 Writer Birthdays”
Pepino Returns
After dealing with several mice in the house, we were finally convinced that we had succeeded in getting rid of them. We hadn’t seen or heard a mouse in weeks. And then, on Saturday night, I walked into the kitchen to see Pepino scurrying across the floor to disappear under the refrigerator. Damn. Bob saidContinue reading “Pepino Returns”
The Petrini Page 