Zoom Memorial

Before she died, my grandma ascend that we did not have a funeral.   As it turns out, COVID would have prohibited it anyhow.   But I thought we should do something.....so we did what people do in this time....organize a Zoom.

 The family got together on Saturday night for a bit over an hour to reunite and reminisce.   I was able to see my cousin Christopher for the first time in probably 20 years!  It was a nice way to see everyone and spend some time celebrating Grandma's life.   We all agreed to get tougher in person at Alioto's once COVID subsides.

Remembering Mary Rose Ferschl

 My Grandma Ferschl died this afternoon.   She was 97 and a half years old.  She has been such a constant part of my life for the past 41 years--it is really difficult to believe that she is gone.

Gramma had been suffering for a while--she had emergency gall bladder surgery back at the end of February, and despite the fact that she has always been one tough woman, she never did quite bounce back.

COVID of course made everything much much worse.   Basically from the moment she left her apartment for the hospital she was quarantined away from the family to protect her from contracting Covid.   Only just recently, when she transitioned to hospice, was she allowed in-person visitors.   I think that the loneliness certainly did not help her healing.   

Recently, we have been able to FaceTime with her.   Each day, she got a little bit sleepier and less interactive.   On one of her last lucid days, she saw Alaina and said, "Oh I bet she wont even remember me."   That sentiment broke my heart.  And I hope it is not true.   I will do my best to help Alaina remember her Great-Gramma!

At the end, Gramma just stopped breathing, and finally gave up her fight for good.

There are many things that I will remember Gramma for.   I loved how she laughed (giggled really) and could fill up the room with her joy.   I remember her squeezing my dimple when I was as small kid, and her exclaiming "look at your dimple!"  She later did this to my own kids,   I remember her enjoying a "7 and 7" when we went out to family dinners at Alioto's Restaurant, and how she would always order her steak extra well-done, like a "hockey puck".  I remember her telling us stories of her jobs before she had kids--she worked as a telephone operator, and sometimes listened into calls late at night.   She also worked in a market where she "demonstrated herring".   She always had good stories to tell from days long ago.

Gramma was always was well-put together with coordinating outfits and neatly curled hair, even towards the end.   She never liked to be the first one to hang up the phone when we talked.   She wore her husband's wedding ring on a necklace around her neck every day.    When my mom was sick, she was always worried about her (and my dad).  She always reminded me of how special my mom was.  She had a special place in her heart for Jason too.   I remember her dancing at our wedding.  

We were already planning a big 100th birthday party for her--and I think that until the very end she thought she would make it to the party.  

I will really miss her.

A Weekend in Tahoe

 We spent a long weekend in Tahoe, getting the place ready for us to enjoy for the winter.   We were delighted to get a sneak peek of the snow, when we woke up to about a foot on Sunday morning!

Some of the weekends events included getting a new couch (I was allergic to the old one, probably because the previous owners had a dog).  Since it was a big couch, the delivery people had to hoist it over the balcony (!!) and take the sliding gladdest door off to get it inside.   It was a real feat.

We also spent some time decorating the cabin to our taste.  Specifically, I am excited to be able to use a few heirlooms.   The first is the quilt that my Grandma Harris made for me.   This quilt has a special story.  As an expert quilter, she made a quilt for each grandchild as a wedding gift.   Though she did not live to see my wedding day, I have treasured the quilt since the moment I received it.   However, it has always been in Chicago....until my Dad's moving truck came.   And what perfect timing.   We have a bed in Tahoe that looks like it was just made for the quilt.  It gives me such joy to use it.  

We also put one of her cool quilted wall hangings up in the stairwell.

Another treasure also came from the moving truck from Chicago--an antique hand-made wooden dresser.   This dresser was in my the Harris' home, and I believe was made by my Grandma's father.   It is a truly beautiful piece of furniture and it fits perfectly into Ethan and Alaina's room.

So, it has been fun making the space "ours".   Next time we go up, we should have some time to relax!

Halloween

On Saturday we "celebrated" halloween.   "Celebrated" in quotation marks as most celebrations were cancelled.   I had originally taken Friday off of work to attend the kids Halloween parades at school.   But, obviously, that was no longer necessary, so I picked up a shift and worked while the kids had "zoom" halloween parties.   And our local government discouraged trick-or-treating.   I didn't even organize costumes.

 

Luckily, we have a very small community on our cul-de -sac, and we arranged a small trick-or-treating event among our 9 houses.  Everyone left small treat bags out on tables or doorsteps for the kids to gather.   And most neighbors were pretty generous.   The kids went digging through the dress up box, and became...a cowboy and a butterfly.   And they were quite successful--the kids might have gathered more candy than last year!

 

So we did the best to make the most of the day.

Fall Fun

 We did our best to have some fall fun this weekend despite the pandemic.   The days are definitely getting shorter and cooler.  The kids carved their halloween pumpkins this weekend.   Neither chose a traditional jack-o-lantern face.   Instead, Ethan carved a jail (symbolic of the pandemic, perhaps?) and Alaina carved a pumpkin on her pumpkin.

  

They did a pretty good job doing it mostly without adult interference and even cleaned up their mess (mostly).   Win!

We also made my seasonal favorite, caramel apples.  I always think about the "taffy apple" days at my elementary school--where we could pre-order caramel apples and bring them home at the end of the school day.   Loved them then--and now!   I had upgraded them by adding sprinkles--and they were delicious.

So, no hayrides or pumpkin patches, but, still some home fun.

Our Pandemic Purchase

Well, this was a big weekend for our family: we closed on a vacation home in Lake Tahoe!  Now, if you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever buy a second home I would have laughed.  Certainly, this was never something I wanted to do, mostly because I love traveling to new places when I have time off of work.   Jason, on the other hand, has always waned a home in Lake Tahoe.   So, in this sense, the pandemic has been a big win for him.  CoVID certainly helped convince me that having a home away from home--a place that is easy and safe to travel to--is a good thing.   And since I don't foresee big trips anytime soon, it seemed like a good time to take the plunge.

When house-hunting, we looked all over the Tahoe area, but ultimately bought a home in an area called Serene Lakes, which is just west of the Donner Summit.    This area has two advantages: 1. It is about 30 minutes closer to our home in Marin than most other vacation areas and 2. It is super quiet (serene, really) and low key, which I something that was important to us.   It also is home to North America's largest cross-country ski resort, and a big downhill ski resort called Sugarbowl.   Plus a ton of hiking and biking trails for the summer.

 

Our cabin (name forthcoming, but I am thinking Pandemic Purchase might be pretty good!), is a rustic but charming house in the woods.   We are about a 10 minute walk from the lake itself which has a nice swimming beach and storage for non-motorized boats (the house came with a canoe!).   

  

Anyhow, we spent our first weekend up there--and I have to say it was lovely.   Cozy, quiet, and really beautiful.  I feel so fortunate that we were able to do this.   

Visitors Welcome!!

Some pictures from the week

 Well, it has been another special week of smoky home schooling.

Here is an assignment that Alaina "turned in" on how to behave appropriately during Zoom School.   Who would have ever thought?!?!?!?

Our School district is going to start very limited in-person school on Monday, 4-5 kids per grade.   What a joke.   There is a lot of challenges with the teachers union and it is unclear if/when either of my kids will get back to in person school.   Ugh.

Smoke: It has been another smoky week with another huge fire breaking out in the wine country last weekend.   Here is a blurry picture of the full orange moon I saw this week.

And here is a picture of the best air quality we have had all week, yesterday.   Blue sky, hooray!   But still lots of smoke too.

So, yes, it is a tough time to live here.   Our next-door neighbors announced this week that they (and their 4 kids) have decided to move to South Carolina (!).   I think that people are really feeling frustrated with everything....and looking for alternatives.   I am trying to stay positive and convince myself that at least the fires will go out soon--it is supposed to rain next weekend.  We will see.