Monday, August 24, 2020

Seven Days of Rain and Counting

  
  Seven days of rain in a row now — so far.   We had an hour or so, maybe less, of dry this morning and got out and headed “up the neck”.  Waccamaw Neck is a long peninsula of land north from Georgetown with rivers on one side and barrier islands and ocean on the other.  There is only one road, Ocean Highway, up and you must cross two high and long bridges to get there.  Too often there is an accident on a bridge with traffic back-ups and nothing to do but wait until it clears.


  Most of our stores, medical services, etc, are Up the Neck and it’s just a fact of life that there will be delays.  Thank goodness for today’s cell phones.  If you have an appointment you just call and say, “There’s an accident on 17 so I’ll be there when it clears,” and they fit you in when you get there.  



 
 Last week we waited 30 minutes in this spot to get moving again.  

The views are nice, though, and you get there when you do.  








  Don’t think all traffic accidents and delays are on the bridges though.  This appeared in the town news on line last week.

  Shopping Up the Neck and in Georgetown has a whole new meaning these pandemic  days.  We don’t go in stores anymore, browse the aisles, exchange pleasantries or money.  Our shopping goes like this.


  For the hardware/garden store, you shop from pictures and pay on line and they notify you when your things are ready.  You drive Up the Neck, park in a special spot, and try to follow the somewhat confusing instructions on the sign.  Sometimes they work, other times you have to call the store service department.  Either way, eventually someone in a mask comes out, checks your I.D. through the window, places your stuff in the back of the car, and you’re on your way.  


  Walmart (groceries, prescriptions) has a similar system, but you send a text when you leave your home, they track your car and are often waiting with your order when you arrive. 

  Does this seem a little, um, 1984 to anyone else???

  If you have to wait a bit, no worries because there is lots of activity cavorting in this large drainage pond where you have a front row seat.  That thing that looks like a stick in the center — that’s a 4 foot alligator that entertained us.  The other dark spots are large turtles.  We counted nine with their heads out of the water at once this day.  

  Well, enough of that.  Let’s get to the real news.  


  For months I worked on a little project.  Months because — I made it and remade it three times!  The first time the color was wrong when we got a little important information about its recipient.  The second time I didn’t realize it was getting wonky from uneven tension (crocheting too tightly (me - stressed), then too loosely (me - relaxed)).  Instead of a rectangle we had a rhomboid,and I frogged it and began once again. Third time was the charm.






So ... 

Meet Jack, our ninth (9th!) grandSON!  


 
  Masked and socially-distanced, we are looking forward to seeing him for the first time this weekend.  







13 comments:

  1. The crochet blanket looks rather wonderful and it's a good feeling when it's finished to your/our satisfaction.
    Baby is gorgeous.
    That's not too bad for collection your food and hardware.
    Here we can have our groceries delivered or we can pick them up at the supermarket.
    We can still go shopping to any place that's open as we have no Covid-19 on the Island (at the moment) border is closed only open to Tasmanian's who are returning from other areas in Australia but have to quarantine for 14 days in their own home if they haven't been through a hotspot on the mainland, if they have been through a hotspot then have to quarantine in a motel/hotel provided and pay, plus international flight people returning home to Tasmania.
    Take care.

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  2. Well hello Jack! He looks so comfy in his blanket! Well done Grandma...nine...I am so jealous....I will be stuck on five. I know how badly you want to snuggle with him...it is so sad that Covid is still here:(

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  3. Congraulations! Jack looks gorgeous and your blanket is perfect. You must be so excited to be meeting him for the first time. I am sorry I have missed your recent posts. I have not been blogging as much these days as I don't have much to blog about.

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  4. Congratulations you have been blessed with a gorgeous Grandson. Well done on your crochet blanket, worth all the hard work to see him snuggled up so comfortably. What a setting to pick up your shopping from its like been in a film set.

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  5. Congratulations with the new grandson and you made a beautiful blanket for him! All our lives have worldwide changed so much these days. It is difficult for everyone to cope with it and not meeting releatives anymore. Keep going!

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  6. I still shop in person, masked and socially distanced - and it has worked well so far. Nine grandsons? You have a productive and gender-biased family! Maybe the confinement imposed by COVID will result in a few more!

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  7. What an interesting drive you have when you go "up the neck. On the Island in Maine where I spend a lot of time, we say we are going "down the harbor" when we need to shop. Here in Bethlehem, PA, our stores are back to the new normal of just wearing masks and getting in and out without socializing. No lines! Restaurants are open with tables distanced from each other but we noticed their business is very slow. Congrats on the new grandson!💖

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  8. Another grandson! Wow. You're blessed.
    Shopping here is the new normal: masks, lines pointing which direction in the aisles, carts cleaned after use though I always bring my own to wipe down the cart handle. Wash hands as soon as I return home.
    College students coming back or maybe not to Dartmouth will bring lots of potential for more infections in the weeks ahead. Granddaughters going to school may do that too.

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  9. That sounds a little frustrating to go shopping. But at least safe from contact. Your new grandson looks like he is enjoying your super blanket Mark 3.

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  10. Dear Cynthia, Jack is so lovely (I use that word for both boys and girls because there's "love" in lovely!). I hope that this weekend you do get to see him. Will you be able to hold him? Or is that not done now because of COVID? The blanket must be so treasured by Jack's parents. Take care. I'm missing your postings of your travels around the state and all the history you've taught me. Well, that will come again. "If winter comes, can spring be far away" is a line in a poem or song from my youth and it gives me hope now. Peace.

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  11. Oh, he is so beautiful. There is nothing so special as the gift of a newborn. This is definitely the year of missing our grandchildren. I keep telling my son that once this thing is over, the grand girls will be sick of seeing me.

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  12. Congratulations Jackson looks a handsome chap, you nearly have enough for a football team! He looks very snug in your baby blanket whatever the shape!
    Have a great week.
    Wren x

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  13. A store can track your car? Oh, my! I don't like the idea of that. Congrats on your new grandson, and enjoy meeting him soon. I just got my first grandchild, a grandson, in May. Unfortunately, he (along with my daughter and SIL) live 2,800 miles away from me.

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