It’s the End

It is already the end of February. Warnings are being posted about the time change in the middle of the month. Remember to spring forward. It just didn’t seem like February lasted long enough. ¶ We enjoyed several days of spring-like weather during the past week. Lots of sunshine and warm, at least for this time of year, temperatures. Much of the snow has disappeared. And now there is a winter storm warning posted for tonight. ¶ Those of us who have lived in South Dakota practically for ever know that these wild weather swings come with the territory. Never count on it really being spring until summer. Prepare for winter in September because it can happen. A snowstorm on September 29, one year comes to mind. Then there was the massive ice storm on Hallowe’en that cancelled school and the attendant parties much to the dismay of the children involved, and much to the delight of the teachers of the same.

¶ One year Holy Week occurred during the first part of April. It had been very nice springlike weather all week. Part of the ceremony for Holy Saturday is the lighting of the New Fire, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus. Many churches have a smallish container in which they light the fire. I’ve always like to have a big fire which means it better happen outside. The church where I was filling in had a big window in the rear. Saying to myself that this was perfect, I arranged to bring my fire pit and place it outside this large window. Those who wanted to come out could. Those who wanted to remain in their places could, but could also see the fire. Sure enough, Holy Saturday afternoon the snow began and it snowed and continued to snow. I brought my deck umbrella so there would be some shelter over me. By this time the wood was wet. So the Great Vigil began with me standing outside in the snow storm struggling to light a fire with wet wood. Finally it was accomplished and the procession (small though it was) entered the church stomping snow off boots and shedding snow covered clothing. It wasn’t exactly as I envisioned the whole thing. Spring in South Dakota–there’s nothing like it! ¶ This was the appointed week for OLLI class registration. OLLI (Osher Life-long Learning Institue) is a national program instituted to provide learning experiences for “senior citizens.” There are no tests, and only an occasional assignment. Most of the classes are lecture type or visual presentations. That has made it fairly simple to convert most of the classes to Zoom format during this pandemic year. Except for those few classes that involve tours or another feature which requires physical presence I find this to be a wonderful way to take the classes. Most of the classes in former times would be held at the University Center (I believe it has a different name now) which is about as far from me as you can get. Now I can just stay home and enjoy the class and save about an hour commute forth and back. Another advantage is the lack of any class limit due to room size. Also, if one cannot participate when the class actually happened, they are all recorded so one can watch at any time. I’ve registered for 20 classes for this term. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to it.

¶ Thursday was my second COVID vaccine shot. The weather this time around was much more pleasant. I asked one of the staff how many people are vaccinated each day at their site. This week they are dealing with 900 per day and next week hope to get to 1100. They are very efficient. The aftermath was a muscle ache in the target arm which has finally abated, and a weakened state the morning after. I slept most of that morning and by mid-afternoon I was back to normal, whatever that means. No “mump” has appeared as yet. It is a good feeling to be as protected as one can get. ¶ The cat wooden puzzle has been started and it is certainly not an easy one. The resident cat has been fond of trying out her “lurking leopard” poses just in case she is ever called upon to play the lurking leopard. It’s always good to be prepared. ¶I did have a chance to view the movie "Nomadland" which I mentioned last week. There are some beautiful scenes. The acting is excellent. I found that it tended to "drag" a bit but that may have had something to do with the time of day I was watching it, 10 PM. It deals with a whole subculture about which I knew nothing. ¶ Monday I begin with scans at 7 AM, labs at 12:30, doctor’s appointment following and then an infusion. It will be a long day. Hopefully, the scans will show no new concerns. I’m praying for that and hope you are as well. ¶ Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts and communications. They are all treasured.