Thursday Thoughts

What happens when we die?  I ran across THIS a few days ago, and I was fascinated:  "Brain activity may prove our souls leave our bodies when we die."  Recent studies suggest that a surge of brain activity observed in clinically dead patients could potentially be interpreted as evidence of the soul leaving the body.  EEGs have detected a burst of brain activity in the brains of clinically dead patients, even after vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate have ceased.  Another way to say it is the brain's final moments of activity or the effects of the dying process itself.  Someone called it a "near-death experience."  Yeah, I know this is a speculative interpretation, but isn't it interesting?

Once again, I happened across one of my old posts with a link to WindowSwap, which linked me HERE.  Clicking from window to window all over the world is fascinating . . . and addictive.  I just kept clicking, from backyards here and there to active scenes.  I saw Cancun and Japan and different states in the USA.  I glimpsed parts of the UK and South Africa and the Punjab, India.  I saw several cats looking out windows the way Clawdia did when she lived with me (shown above), plus a few cats cleaning themselves in the window or out on the porch.

Books, libraries, WindowSwap, and groceries

My books are always calling me!  I am currently reading the book I shared in my Book Beginnings on Friday post a couple of days ago:  A Tuscan Memory by Angela Petch, 2020, fiction (Italy), 272 pages.

We had a visit from David of the University City Library on March 3rd, meeting in our little library at Crown Center.  Here he is talking to me during his visit.  The University City Library sends books every three weeks to seniors all over the community who sign up for the program.  The library folks choose books based on our general interest or our favorite authors.  Some of us reserve books that we choose ourselves, if we know how to use a computer to make our own reservations.  So I've been talking to Dave (or now, his new helper Loretta) every three weeks for several years.  The next time Dave or Loretta calls, I'll say I'm reading from my own shelves for now, as I posted on Monday.

Dave is on the left in the photo above with Risé, Mary, Sandy, and me (with my hand on Sandy's mobile chair).  Since Donna died, Risé and I are the only ones still re-shelving books.  I really do appreciate Risé a lot; she's doing most of the work culling our bookshelves these days so that we can add recent donations.

It's been awhile since I shared the link to WindowSwap.  Each time you click on the link, you see a new window from somewhere in the world.  I just now looked out a window in Turkey, one in Spain, one in India looking onto a courtyard, and another in France with birds flying past a high-rise.  This link has been really great during the two years of the COVID pandemic, part of which was lockdown and not going anywhere at all.  This photo shows a window view in Switzerland.

Our Circle@Crown Café now has Grab & Go grocery goods:  bread, milk, eggs, butter, cheese, sweets, juice, water, and soda.  It's really convenient to "walk" to the store in the other building, right here on the grounds of our senior retirement center, when all we need is one or two of the basics.  I'm frequently in the Café anyway, having lunch with a friend or three, and can grab what I need.  To get a regular load of groceries, I sign up for one of the weekly bus trips to the store.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.

Sunday Salon ~ Donna's jar and other good things

I've finished reading the notes Donna put in her Good Things jar every week during 2019.  Three of her weekly "good things" reports for herself surprised me when I pulled them out on Friday.

(1)  The very last one I opened turned out to be HER very first one.  How weird is that?  "I had a fun-filled time at the Crown Center Resident Council New Year's Eve party — wonderful dinner, great music, and sharing laughter w / friends," she wrote on Week 1.  She drew smiley faces between her paragraphs.

(2)  I was shocked when I saw what she wrote on Week 31:  "No blessings this week — too many mass murders!  Sad times!"  And that's all she wrote that week.

(3)  Several of us were mentioned in Week 8:  "On Sunday afternoon last week, Bonnie went to the store for me because my arthritis was acting up in my back and hips.  She is a life-saver!"  Her next paragraph says:  "On Saturday night, Dora took me to Powell Hall to see this year's Black History concert."  They ran into some other Crown Center folks there, and Donna added:  "A good time was had by all (I hope).  I certainly enjoyed it."

It's been a long time since I shared the WindowSwap link, so we could "go" places around the world without leaving home.  Yesterday I visited someone's backyard in Canada and saw a cat in an open window overlooking rolling hills in Taiwan.  It was snowing outside a window in New York and a few other places.  Blue waves washed ashore in Cancun, Mexico (see photo).  Click the link, and see where it takes you. 

Books I'm reading

It's still the weekend, so I'm on the third book I had planned, as I shared on Wednesday:

• What Child Is This (a 2018 Kindle fiction story by Rhys Bowen) ~ I finished this one that I'd already been reading.
• The Girls with No Names (a 2020 novel by Serena Burdick) ~ I read this from beginning to end, finishing last night.
• Catch You Later, Traitor (a 2015 novel by Avi) ~ I'm reading this library book now.  Which cover do you like better?

Good Thing #1

Good friends I know in person.

Good Thing #2

Good friends I know only online.

Good Thing #3

Blogging, especially book blogging.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts Sunday Salon, a place for us to link up and share what we have been reading and doing during the week.

WindowSwap on Wednesday

It's been ages since I last mentioned WindowSwap.  If you click on the link, it "opens" a window at some random place around the world.  People share the view from their windows, and when I opened it last night, I got a view out the front window of a car on a highway.  That was a first for me.  It feels strange, zooming down some strange highway!  When I clicked again, I watched some birds on a bird feeder outside someone's window in Maryland.  Try it, and maybe it will "take you places" even if you are still hunkered down at home during this pandemic.  I "went" to Denmark, Sweden, France, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Serbia, and Turkey before clicking to a window with two birds on two different feeders in Perth, Australia.  If you enlarge the photo, which was in an article about WindowSwap, you may be able to read in the top right corner that the cat is looking out a window in Qatar.

Food, fun, time change, and books ~ always books

The Circle@Crown Café downstairs here at the Crown Center added a Swiss Tuna Melt on Pita to the menu recently, and it's delicious.  I highly recommend it, if you like tuna salad.  My friend Dora suggests adding a Ted Drewes frozen custard for dessert.  They come in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.  I like all of them.

WindowSwap ~ fun seeing the world

Once again, I recommend clicking on WindowSwap to open a random window somewhere in the world, especially for those of us who are still basically staying home as much as possible.  It's a way to get out there and see the world without worrying whether other folks are wearing masks and keeping their distance from us.

Time Change

Did you set your clocks back an hour last night?  For most people, setting the clock back an hour means an extra hour to sleep on Sunday morning.  Ah, but not if you have a cat, and I do have a cat.  Clawdia wanted to eat this morning when Clawdia wanted to eat, to heck with the clock.  Now I need a nap.

Books

I finished reading the 2019 journal by Jacqueline Winspear called What Would Maisie Do? : Inspiration from the Pages of Maisie Dobbs.  Now I'm reading Messenger of Truth (2006), the fourth book of Winspear's mystery series about Maisie Dobbs.  And I have the fifth book ready after that.  It's An Incomplete Revenge (2008).

Birds, ocean, mountain, and a moving window

Monica's window looks straight out onto a plastered wall in San Diego, California.  But that makes it all the better to see a colorful bird feeder hanging just outside, which has attracted seven or eight dark-colored hummingbirds, poking their beaks into openings to drink the water.  "It's my turn, guys!"  I enjoyed watching the water slosh inside as the birds landed and darted away.  The feeder was something like this picture, but with a ring all the way around where they could sit until their turn to sip.  It also had a totally different pattern of color.  Oh, there was also a blooming plant in the window, adding to the color.

Kimberley's windows overlooks  ocean swells and some land jutting out into the ocean in St. David's, Bermuda.

Anton's window was moving in Moscow, Russia!  At first, I thought he was in a car, then I saw indications it's a moving train.  Excellent interpretation of "window" for us to enjoy a few minutes of the greenery growing by the tracks on his trip that sunny day.

Jim's view is a nearby stone building up against a rocky mountain covered in trees and bushes in Pyrenees, Catalonia.

Sarah must not have had a bookmark handy the day she videotaped the view from her window in Oldham, UK.  Although I can't see the book's title, she has it splayed open on her windowsill beside her cup of tea (coffee?), flanked by a couple of potted plants.  Her window overlooks neighboring trees and houses with buildings a few blocks away.

Okay, that's enough for me today.  Your turn to look out a random window or two in the world, using WindowSwap

Extra ~ a little nature tour of Iceland for us, thanks to my daughter.

Meditating on Japan, Australia, and Greece

Tokyo Metro

WindowSwap

Four or maybe five tracks are visible below Marina's window in Tokyo, Japan.  It's a dark and rainy night view, and several times the Metros cars pass by, sometimes singly, sometimes going in opposite directions, sometimes side-by-side.  I can see lights on the buildings along the street down below the other side of the elevated tracks and in windows of the high-rise buildings beyond that.  Most people have shown us their windows on bright days, sunny or not.  Maybe this is the only time Marina could do it, or maybe this looks better than the daytime view.

Sydney, Australia

Paulina's window looks down on lots of small boats anchored in Sydney, Australia.  This photo has city buildings, rising high into the sky, but Paulina lives in a neighborhood of regular houses.  She looks over their rooftops from an upper window to the water, which is more like maybe a river before you get to this big bay.  I did not see anything moving, except sunlight on the rippling water and a breeze through the leaves of one nearby tree on the right.

Greek island of Kythera

Yiannis's window in Kythera, Greece overlooks what seems to be a small village, with people in the water below, that is similar to this photo.  A smooth mountain flows down from the left to a rise all across the top of Yiannis's view, blocking whatever is beyond.  I see several palm trees among the two-story houses.  The blue-and-white Greek flag is flying in front of a building on the left.

To see the view from a random window somewhere in the world, click on WindowSwap.

Reading today ~ and checking out random windows

Ljubljana, Slovenia

The window in Ljubljana, Slovenia is an office on the ground floor, and I watched people walk past, including an elderly man carrying a bright green tote and walking slowly.  I wondered if he'd been shopping.

Kailene's dog wandered into the frame and looked out their window in Burnaby, BC, Canada.  A breeze was ruffling the hanging blinds beside a half dozen potted plants.

Click to enlarge the map

Crystal's window in Okinawa, Japan, seems to be at an eatery overlooking the ocean.  A young person was eating leisurely at a counter against the long window, while watching people go by.  When she finished, she got up and left.  The only thing missing was food for me.  As I wondered what might be on the menu at this place, a young woman wearing a white mask came along and spray-cleaned the counter before taking away the empty plate and sweating glass of water.  Mundane little things like this make it seem like I'm actually there.  As I kept looking, I realized it wasn't a window at all, but an open counter under a tarp-covered food court, held up by poles.  The "inside" hanging lights were swaying in the breeze that ruffles the palm leaves outside.  As usual, I looked it up.  Okinawa is one of the Rhjkyu Islands between the large islands of Japan and Taiwan to the south.

Storm clouds gathered outside Arnulf's window in Bavaria, Germany.

Maarten's window in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, overlooks a small canal.  I didn't see any boats in the canal or vehicles other than a few folks on bicycles across the way and, seven bikes parked in a row, and one parked at the foot of some steps.  I did see lots of pedestrians and birds flying beneath Maarten's window.  It was several minutes before I noticed the only "business" I could make out among the buildings was a Peep Show — with the words written in English.  Most of the people were young folks, including a couple sitting by the canal, talking.  At one point, the young man stands up, gesticulates, and sits back down.

Okay, enough of WindowSwap.  Now, back to my reading.

Why Did I Come Into This Room? : A Candid Conversation about Aging ~ by Joan Lunden

Lunden candidly shares her anxieties and breakthroughs and how she’s coping with the realities of aging.  She goes where others fear to tread, openly talking about wrinkles and age spots, diminished energy (my get-up-and-go got up and went), hot flashes, disrupted sleep, ageism, and yes, the real reasons we suddenly find ourselves always searching for those car keys!

A new word for me ~ derecho

On Monday, we had a sudden storm move through, bringing a wall of rain so heavy that I couldn't see the buildings in Clayton above the trees — and they are only a mile away.  There's a leak somewhere above me that trickles through the wall and into my kitchen, so Scott called to ask if I had water in my kitchen floor.  I went to investigate, and I did have.  It was only a small puddle, so I told him I'd mop it up myself.

Neighbors, however, began inquiring on NextDoor (the neighborhood connection), if others had lost power.  Yes, a lot of people did.  Today, we got email about the electricity still being restored, three days later.  Trees were down all over the place.

Word of the Day

de·re·cho / dāˈrāˌCHō / noun US = a line of intense, widespread, and fast-moving windstorms and sometimes thunderstorms that moves across a great distance and is characterized by damaging winds.

This morning we got a "Restoration Update" online that included my new word.

"More than 800 co-workers have safely restored power to nearly 90% of customers impacted by Monday's weather event, which has been categorized as a 'derecho.'  Crews have continued to make progress overnight, but the remaining outages are extremely time-intensive and require difficult repair work.  Additional resources have been called in to help from neighboring utilities, and will be working through Thursday in neighborhoods to complete restoration."

Le Rousset

WindowSwap

I am looking across fields and rolling hillsides, as I peer through Jean-Yves's window in Le Rousset, Burgundy, France.  I looked it up and learned that Le Rousset is a small village, with a population of 253 in 2007, with only 178 houses, and some of these were "second or occasional homes" or vacant homes.

Sebastian's window in Copenhagen, Denmark, overlooks a nearby apartment building beyond his balcony with its potted flowers and watering can.  As you  can see, I'm once again traveling the world by clicking on WindowSwap.

Weather

Uh-oh, while I was taking a look at France and Denmark at 10:15 am, it suddenly got very dark outside and thunder is rumbling around us.  It's 76° and raining.  The buildings of Clayton have once again disappeared, so I'm going to post this and turn off my computer.

Thursday travels via WindowSwap

Amsterdam

Tram in Amsterdam, found when I tried to find photos of trolleys there.

This is my favorite window view, so far, using WindowSwap.  I got to do a lot of people watching out this window.  There was a canal outside a window in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and people were biking across a little bridge along with cars, vans, mopeds, vehicles, pedestrians, and long, multisectional trolley cars going across the bridge.  Each of the trolleys had different window configurations.

Oooh, the bridge was raised as I watched, so that a long, empty barge could pass through.  It was almost as wide as the opening spanned by the bridge.  It moved through quickly, and the bridge came back down.  Fascinating to watch!  On the other side of the canal, pedestrians traversed a curved flight of stairs.  A dog on its own trotted across the bridge.

Word of the Day

tram / British = a trolley car.  Under other words for tram, I found trolley (which I used above) and streetcar (which is what Mother called the ones we rode in Chattanooga when I was a small child).  In another place, I found this definition:  "A tram is a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks along public urban streets."

Kigali

Sheila's window looks across a concrete courtyard at street level in Kigali, Rwanda.  In 2006, I read A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (2000) by Gil Courtemanche, about the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda that were associated with the country’s civil war.  That was before I started blogging, but I did write about the book in 2014, twenty years after the killing began.  (Click the title to read my blog post.)

The book was very memorable, and I actually met one of the men who fled Rwanda and was living in Chattanooga in the early 2000s.  The massacre of Tutsis and moderate Hutus lasted for three months, and 800,000 people were killed.  From Sheila's window, however, I can't see much beyond the gated courtyard.

Luxembourg City

I see a residential area outside Igor's window in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.  The street is narrow with parked cars narrowing it even more, so vehicles slow down when they approach each other.

Giza near Cairo

Oh, surprise, surprise!  I can see two pyramids — no, a little bit of the third one — as I stare out of Abdulrahman's window in Giza, Egypt.  I'm pretty sure it's the tops of these three I can see.  There are city buildings between the window and the pyramids, but I can't see any of the streets or traffic or people.  I've never seen a picture of these famous pyramids from a window with the shutters open.  Just the touristy sort, like this one I found online.

Vernacular

This is the Inntel Hotel in Zaandam — pronounced zaːnˈdɑm — a town just north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  I was looking at pictures of odd architecture, and came upon this picture of "stacked houses."  I'm intrigued by the whole idea, which shows how weird I am.  But I wonder how soon I'd be tired of looking at it.  Then the article said:

"This fun bit of strange architecture may be one of the world’s weirdest hotels, at least in appearance, but it’s well suited to its Amsterdam setting and segues well into its surroundings.  The Inntel Hotel offers a fun modernized twist on traditional Dutch vernacular style."

And that threw me for a loop.  Vernacular style?  For me, the word "vernacular" is about language, not architecture.  So I looked it up.

Word of the Day

ver·nac·u·lar /vərˈnakyələr/ noun =

1. the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.  Example:  "He wrote in the vernacular to reach a larger audience."  
2. architecture concerned with domestic and functional rather than public or monumental buildings.  Example:  "These are buildings in which Gothic merged into farmhouse vernacular."

ver·nac·u·lar /vərˈnakyələr/ adjective  =

1. (of language) spoken as one's mother tongue; not learned or imposed as a second language.
2. (of architecture) concerned with domestic and functional rather than public or monumental buildings.

So today, I'm kind of combining my word fascination with the idea of WindowSwap, looking at the world beyond my own windows.  What a fascinating view I discovered, and I learned of a new way to use a word that I thought I already knew.

Rainy day travels via WindowSwap

This is Lake Guntersville in Alabama

Katie's window overlooks a huge lake in Alabama in the USA.  There's a beautiful crape myrtle growing just below her window, and a breeze is rippling the lake's water.  This photo shows Lake Guntersville.  Since no town was mentioned, Katie may live anywhere in the state.

I saw plants inside a very wide space between inner and outer windows, when I looked out Che's window in Suderburg, Germany.  And there's a wide sill inside the innermost window.  I've never seen that before.  It looks like the middle of the three tall inner windows is solid, and the side windows open inward.  I guess that allows a person to take care of those potted plants.  There's a small watering can on the table under the windows, which has a chair on either side.  I can see a tree out in the back yard, but not really anything else.

Chiara and Angelo's window in Rome, Italy, looks at tile roofs nearby and for block after block, with not one bit of greenery growing anywhere.  Not a view to inspire me to continue gazing, so I clicked for the next random window.

Mindy's window looks out past her deck to a lake in Oxford, Michigan in the USA.  A breeze is rustling the leaves of the trees, casting leafy shadows on Mindy's table inside.  I like her flowers on the table and also those swaying in a planter outside on the deck.  Too bad I can't give her a compliment.  The map I googled shows lakes all around this town.

Olly's window overlooks a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  There are cars and a van parked across the canal, but the only "traffic" I saw going by were pedestrians, bike riders, and boats in the canal.  Oops, I was wrong.  Several bikers and a van surprised me, when they went by just below the window on THIS side of the canal.

Enough for today.  If you want to try it, click WindowSwap to "open a new window somewhere in the world."

Alone, alone, all, all alone

This morning's email included a Questions and Answer about prayer, which included this line:

Many progressive Christians have come to adopt centering prayer or other forms of contemplative prayer or meditation as their primary form of prayer.

Two quotes

In this second article are a couple of quotes that I contemplated this morning, the first by a theologian I studied in seminary:

"Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone, and solitude expresses the glory of being alone." ~ Paul Tillich

Tillich compares two words:  loneliness and solitude.  Ah, yes, those of us on lockdown this year can understand these words.  But which am I myself feeling?  Loneliness, like so many of my elderly neighbors?  Or solitude, which is something enjoyed by most introverts.  Because I'm gregarious, few people think of me as an introvert, but actually I am.

To determine whether you're an extrovert or an introvert, ask yourself whether you recharge when tired by enjoying a lively party with friends or spending time with a book.  The introvert chooses the book.  I enjoy my alone time, though after four and a half months of staying home, it's getting to be a bit much. Alone for extroverts who need people feels more like the quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner that I had to memorize when I was a youngster:

"Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony."

The old mariner was in agony, being "Alone, alone, all, all alone" after his shipmates died at sea.  That's rather different from being alone in my apartment, surrounded by unread books.  After looking up this quote, I bought The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for my Kindle.  Another book.

And then there's the second quote I contemplated this morning, a proverbial story told about Mother Teresa:

Reporter:  "What do you say when you pray?"
Mother Teresa:  "Nothing, I just listen."
Reporter:  "Well, then, what does God say to you when you pray?"
Mother Teresa:  "Nothing, He just listens … if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it."

Do you meditate or spend time contemplating or meditating?  Lately, I've been contemplating what's out other people's windows around the world.

Aerial view of Brooklyn

WindowSwap

Taylor's window in Brooklyn, New York, overlooks a corner.  I watched cars, trucks, vans, a garbage truck, pickups, a bus or two, mopeds, and lots of bikers on the two-way street as they moved, stopped for the lights, and turned right onto what appears to be a one-way street.  I noticed some of the pedestrians were wearing masks, but not all.  One biker tried to cross traffic against the light and almost got hit.

I forgot to mention the window is on the second floor, giving me an unobstructed view of all this hustle and bustle.  It was fascinating.  A delivery man trucked a stack of boxes across the intersection and through the door held open by a merchant.  Mundane little details, but I enjoyed it after weeks — nay, months — of mostly staying inside my apartment and only venturing out for my mail every two or three days.  I'm getting groceries delivered, too, so the main way I'm keeping in touch is by phone, texts, email, and Facebook.

Words, Weather, and WindowSwap

Words

Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work is a little book by Kathleen Norris (1998, nonfiction, 10/10). I read it shortly after it was published more than 20 years ago.  The author looked at the mysterious way that daily or quotidian stuff can open us up spiritually.  Stuff like laundry, which I still need to do today.  I like that word "quotidian," and wrote about it on my Joyful Noiseletter blog in 2008, if you want to learn more about the book.  Now about that word "quotidian."

Word of the Day

quo·tid·i·an / kwōˈtidēən / adjective = of or occurring every day; daily; ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane.  Example:  "Norris looks at the mysterious way that daily or quotidian stuff can open us up spiritually, even if it's doing the laundry."

Weather

Here in St. Louis, it's 95° but feels like 107° Fahrenheit.  Humidity is 69%, so it's muggy.  Oops, it started raining hard just as I opened the second window below in WindowSwap at exactly 3:00 pm, so I came back up here to add this sentence.  Maybe it's a bit cooler out there now.

Haridwar, India

WindowSwap

Today, I looked out of Vishrut's window in Haridwar, India.  I saw only trees and an occasional person walking by.  Once again, I googled to learn about the place.  Haridwar is an ancient city and an important Hindu pilgrimage site in North India's Uttarakhand state, where the River Ganges exits the Himalayan foothills.  That's the bigger Ganges on the left and a smaller canal flowing through the town in the middle.  They have bathing steps where they hold a river-worshipping ceremony and tiny flickering lamps are floated off the steps.

A breeze was ruffling the leaves in the potted plants on the sunny balcony outside Denny's window in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Over the distant ocean, I could see puffy white clouds, blown by that same breeze.

And suddenly, a hard rain hit my own windows.  It lasted only a few minutes, but long enough that I quit looking out these other windows and "came home" to watch the rain blurring my own windows.

Click WindowSwap to "open a new window somewhere in the world" and start your own adventures.

Silly and fun and serious

I found this YouTube video on Helen's Book Blog, and she mentioned Ann of My Head is Full of Books.  I suggest you go read Ann's Sunday Salon post for today and enjoy the cartoons.  My favorite is a TV personality:  "I'm sending in troops."  TV viewer:  "Interesting reelection strategy, invading your own country."

WindowSwap

If you've been reading my blog, you know I've been fascinated with WindowSwap since I found it on Tuesday.  Down in the bottom left corner of their page is a link to what WindowSwap is all about:

"Let's face it.  We are all stuck indoors.  And it's going to be a while till we travel again.  Window Swap is here to fill that deep void in our wanderlust hearts by allowing us to look through someone else's window, somewhere in the world, for a while.  A place on the internet where all we travel hungry fools share our 'window views' to help each other feel a little bit better till we can (responsibly) explore our beautiful planet again."

Click to enlarge the image

Where did you "visit" today?  I "traveled" via WindowSwap to...

Andreas's window in Lucerne, Switzerland, which looks out over the water and the mountains in the distance.

Obviously, this aerial view is NOT from Andreas's window.  However, it does help me to imagine myself in Lucerne.  Click on the link, if you want to "open a new window somewhere in the world" using WindowSwap.  If you want to learn more about how WindowSwap got started, here's an article posted nine days ago.  I learned it was "created by Sonali Ranjit and her husband Vaishnav Balasubramaniam, two advertising creatives based in Singapore."

It's Time

There are a lot of things that are long overdue.  We've been hearing about them for ages, and Daily Kos made a list of things that are long overdue.

Weather

We are still under a heat advisory in St. Louis.  Yesterday, it was 92° and felt like 105° Fahrenheit.  Humidity was 61%, so it was muggy.  And it's supposed to be more of the same today.

What to do while you can’t travel

Another day, another window, as I continue to "open a new window somewhere in the world" using WindowSwap.  It's random, so there's no telling what view you'll see when you click that link to WindowSwap.  Let's see what comes up today.

From Alex's window in Tauranga, New Zealand, I could see water in the distance with land beyond.  Was that the Pacific Ocean?  Yes!  I googled it and learned where Tauranga is.

"Tauranga is a harbourside city in the Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand's North Island.  It hosts historic buildings like the Elms Mission Station, an 1847 Georgian-style home.  A bridge over the harbour connects Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, a beach town with hot saltwater pools and an extinct namesake volcano with winding walking paths.  Offshore is the active volcano White Island, accessible by helicopter or boat."

This is like taking a world tour.  Now I've "seen" some of New Zealand by "touring" pictures that Google showed me of that area.  What fun!

Masks and windows

Masks by Sarah

Donna's new mask

Masks

Donna got a Golden Girls mask with "Thank you for being a friend" on it.  Too bad her friend Clawdia can't read it.  Speaking of masks, my friend Sarah has a video about masks she's been making and giving away.  I admire her and Laurie and Linda, who also made and gave away masks.  Looking at the masked people around you these days, have you ever asked yourself, "Who is that masked person?"

Windows

It was night time in Dubai, UAE, when I looked out Hijaz's window today, using WindowSwap.  Click to read where I "went" the first time I looked out of random windows around the world.


One mask at one window

On her Gotcha Day yesterday, Clawdia DID get to visit Donna through the window and Sharon in the hallway, as I had hoped.  Both friends were masked.  Clawdia walked down the hall three times, ate her favorite gourmet food, and also got treats TWICE.  So it was a very event-filled day for Ms. Clawdia.

Gotcha Day ~ time to celebrate

It's Clawdia's Gotcha Day

Since I don't know her actual birthday, it's a day to celebrate and give my little roommate some extra loving.  What would she like?  I could...

1. take her out to nibble grass and watch birds and people.
2. let her "talk" to Donna through her window, as in this photo.
3. order her favorite gourmet foods on InstaCart.
4. maybe visit her friend Sharon in the hall to get petted.
5. give her lots of loving today, along with brushing her fur.
6. give her treats, maybe even give her treats — TWICE.

Update ~ I fortgot to mention that she came to live with me in 2015, five years ago.  The vet thought she was about six, so now she's eleven.  She's elderly now and fits right in at the Crown Center for Senior Living.

Life beyond my apartment

Today, when I clicked on WindowSwap, I was looking out Ami's window in Nes-Ziona, Israel.  I learned about WindowSwap a couple of days ago on NextDoor, a way of connecting with people in our own neighborhoods.  Click on WindowSwap for a surprise look at the world, with no way to predict what in the world you'll see.

Word of the Day

co-vid-i-ot / noun = (1) A stupid person who stubbornly ignores "social distancing' protocol, thus helping to further spread COVID-19.  Example:  "Are you seriously going to visit grandma?  Dude, don't be such a covidiot."  (2)  A stupid person who hoards groceries, needlessly spreading COVID-19 fears and depriving others of vital supplies.  "See that guy with the 200 toilet paper rolls?  What a covidiot."