Farewell 2020!

 Happy New Year!

It’s hard to  believe that I was posting reunion information just about a year ago.  2020 certainly did not turn out as expected!  

Does the existence of a vaccine change the way we look at 2021?  I think we will need a couple of months to see how the vaccine rollout progresses, but If the vaccine is widely available by May, might we consider a reunion the end of July?     If we all get the vaccine, but the general public percentage is not high, will you feel comfortable traveling?  Would love to hear your thoughts and concerns.

Since my last post, we’ve been working on the interior of our house.  We’ve done some painting, changed out all baseboards and added wallpaper to the bedroom.  We’re in the process of reusing the old baseboards to make wainscoting for the dining room.   The master bedroom quilt top is now finished, but still needs to be quilted.  Of course you make one thing look better and it makes other things look shabby...always more projects.  Doug’s to do list isn’t getting any shorter, but he’s got a long dark winter to work on projects.

Weather here has been rainy and blustery.  Had snow a couple days before Christmas, but it didn’t last.  The days this time of year are short and gray - which is why we were in Hawaii this time last year.  We had planned to go again this January.....oh well, maybe next year.  

You are all invited to attend the first meeting of the family book group (via zoom) which will be sometime in early February (exact date TBA).  Don’t expect anything structured or formal, it’s just basically an excuse for us to visit with each other.  

The books Kelsey and I have chosen include one fiction and one non-fiction.  Hopefully, one or both will appeal to you and that this notice gives you enough lead time.   The books are:

The island of Sea Women -Lisa See

Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate epidemic - Sam Quinones

I have not read either of these books, but both are highly rated.  As I am retired, I intend to read both -although I may wait a couple of weeks before I start as I’m afraid if I read too far in advance I will forget too much.  

For those of you who haven’t seen this picture of our yard art..this is what you get when you cross a woman with a Pinterest account and a retired man with a chain saw.

Love and miss you all.  Hope to give you a big hug sometime in the near(ish) future!

Love, Sue

Update and a new challenge

 Hello Family!

Autumn has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. It’s cool and we’ve had a bit of rain.  Great time to hunker down - Oh wait - that’s what we’ve been doing for the last 8 months!  We’re enjoying the beautiful colors, but they won’t last much longer.  It soon will be leaf raking time!

Our first season of gardening here was a bit of a mixed bag, but very much a learning experience.  We had a bountiful harvest of potatoes, kale, chard, parsnips, beets, onions, carrots, snow peas and green beans.  Less successful were the tomatoes and peppers - although we did get some.  Also got a couple of good sized pumpkins.

I did not know that peas could get this tall or that parsnips grew this big!

The fruit trees we had planted a couple years before we moved in grew like crazy this year.  Most didn’t fruit, but we did get a few dozen apples.  Our one apple tree is grafted with 5 different varieties - one of which is Honeycrisp.  We got exactly one of these, but it was huge!  

We checked it regularly as it was ripening, but it fell off in a windstorm and the birds got to it before we did.  We were pretty bummed.  This apple was a little smaller than the honeycrisp, but still pretty good sized and quite tasty!

We also participated in the local gleaning program.   Fruit tree owners contact the program when they have more fruit than they can harvest or use.  We ended up doing 3 gleans at the same house as the owners had multiple trees. We’re allowed to keep some of the fruit and share with friends and neighbors, but are expected to give a sizable portion to local food banks or other charitable organizations.  This year the rules were a bit different because many of the usual places weren’t taking donations because of Covid.  However, the tribal food bank in Sequim was - so we gave them plums and 2  different kinds of apples. After my first glean, two of the neighbors who took some of the fruit offered to help me with the other gleans.  It was a good opportunity to get to know the neighbors a little better as we’ve obviously not been able to socialize with them.

My leg is completely healed, but I’ve started a little physical therapy to regain some strength and flexibility.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get back on the bike next year.

We’ve gone on several hikes recently as we continue to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. We want to make sure we know the best places to take people once when folks feel comfortable coming to visit.

Speaking of visiting - what are your thoughts about rescheduling the reunion?  I don’t feel confident about next summer but maybe in the fall?  I know Laurel and Sage have a Fall break - Julie do you have one?  Anyone else who would have trouble getting away in the fall?  I know it’s a long shot, but if we could put it our there tentatively, it would be something to look forward to and I could really use that. Let me know what you think.

Okay, time for today’s challenge. Even though I got only one response to my last challenge, I’m going to try again - mostly because posting these pictures makes me laugh.  So, it’s time for the worst school picture!  Sure, I’m okay with your best school picture, but since the picture I posted last time was my best, I decided to go for worst.  For those of you with adorable small children, be aware that they will not always be so cute - especially if you (like Marge) have poor bang cutting skills.  I have so many traumatic memories of having my bangs cut (oh, that’s not even, snip, snip) that the first time I ever trimmed my own bangs was this year.  

A second option for the challenge is worst holiday picture.  Here’s my contribution to that category.  Have you seen a sadder group of people?   I’m assuming this is a Christmas picture - I’m hoping it wasn’t a photo  Christmas card!

I guess that’s enough of my rambling for now.  I miss and love you all and look forward to seeing your posts (hint, hint), and sometime in the near future giving you each a big hug!

Memory Lane

 Ok, challenge accepted, but I need a little time.  Got back to West Hills and was going through old photo albums.   Several things...

1.  I changed my hair color and style often.  I had bangs, which I don’t, currently.  I wore it pulled back a lot, too.

2.  I took many of the photos, so there aren’t many singles of me.

3.  (Maybe this should be number 1)..I was much thinner.

4.  My albums have lots of photos of:

       a)fish...😛

        b) silly photos of Tom.  He was taking selfies way before it was a thing.(always a trailblazer).

5. I did find a single of me that I could re-create but it’s going to take a little doing, so bear with me.  (Let’s say near my bday)   I’ll post it then. 

xoxo

Molly

Challenge Accepted

 58 years ago I had more hair on my head and less on my shoulders...couldn't find a youthful baldie pic since I was born with more hair than I have now.

The little dude with the toothless, gummy smile had a premonition of how happy he'd be once he retired...

An update and a challenge

Hello Family,

It’s time for your monthly update from Sequim.  No exciting news here (we are not moving) just a quick update and a fun challenge.

I have been diligently exercising my hip and leg and am seeing improvement.  However, as I found out yesterday, I still need to work on my flexibility.  While - with a little maneuvering - I can get on my bike, I cannot yet lift my leg high enough to get off.  So, that’s my new exercise goal.

We have been doing some hiking and that presents no problems with my leg - although my endurance isn’t quite back.  Last week we went for a walk on the Dungeness Spit.  No issues with social distancing here...

Actually, the parking lot was completely full, but once we got down to the beach, there was plenty of room to spread out.

Today we went for another hike close by, this one through the forest.  Over 5 miles we saw 3 People and two dogs.  It was great.

Weather here has been sunny and beautiful.  We’re right about 70 degrees most days (although that might seem a little chilly to some of you).  The nights are cool and the sunsets are earlier, but they can still be spectacular (ok, not as spectacular as at MoJo).

Ok, now for the fun part...While I’m not on Twitter, I am aware of #throwbackthursdays.  This is where celebs post old pics of themselves.  It gave me an idea...

As I have not had my hair cut since February, it’s much longer than it has been in many years.  I have joked that if the pandemic goes on much longer, I might soon be rocking the Marcia Brady look I had in high school...and that was a good look, don’t you think?

However, I realized that my current look is much closer to 6th grade Sue.   I’m sure Molly and Carol remember this dress as it was my favorite and I wore it to church nearly every Sunday.  What you can’t see in the pic are the white fishnets and apple green patent leather shoes that really made the outfit. 😀😂 I especially like the size of the bow.  If there had been a pandemic in 1968, I could have made a mask out of it!

 

So, here’s my challenge.  Post a 2020 pandemic picture and an old picture that most closely resembles it.  Or, maybe an old picture that reflects how you’re feeling during these pandemic days.  Or, just post any old picture that will give us a smile.  I know there are some classic pics we haven’t seen in a while.

Looking forward to your posts!  Love to all.  ❤️❤️❤️

A Day in the Mostly Mobile Life of Cody Fischer

Now that I am walking, I have even less time to dictate blog posts to my transcriptionist. Being a one-year old is a lot of work. I have to do a least one dozen reps of stair climbing every day and run from one end of the house to the other with whatever interesting objects have been placed in the recycle bin. And now that I have shoes, my exercise routine includes carrying sticks up and down the block. This is an important job as many lazy dogs in the neighborhood leave sticks in the middle of the sidewalk. Where is their sense of civic responsibility? 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to my more rigorous strength and exercise schedule, I am also engaged in more activities to develop my mental acuity. I have realized that to truly understand any book, it must be read at least six times a day for three months. Occasionally one or two of my books – the ones that mom says have no plot – mysteriously get lost under the sofa. Good thing I’ve discovered this and check regularly to retrieve any missing titles. 

 

 

 

 

In part because I’m such a curious and active toddler, my parents have decided that we need a lifestyle change. So next month we are leaving the crowded, humid, city behind and moving to Bozeman! I’m looking forward to being an outdoor boy with easy access to skiing, hiking, fishing, and mountains! Hopefully you can all visit us out there sometime soon!

 

An addendum from the transcriptionist and editor:

 

Yes, it’s true! We are moving to Bozeman, Montana at the end of September. This was actually a pre-covid decision, but the day after we returned from a trip to out there and decided to move, Washington, DC shut down…. The pandemic and recession put our initial idea for a summer move on hold, but with both our jobs staying remote through at least the end of the year, we figured we may as well move now.

 

Why Bozeman? It ticked all the boxes. It’s not too big, or too small – we think we’ll be able to find a good community and jobs and every outdoor activity we enjoy is only about five minutes away. We have family in the area and it doesn’t hurt that the average humidity is about 30 percent. White precipitation is also known to fall from the sky on a regular basis between December and April.

 

It was a tough decision, as we’ve loved our time here in DC and being close to Don and Theresa, which has been particularly special for this first year of Cody’s life. But it isn’t really the lifestyle we’re looking for (some of you may be shocked to learn that preventing nuclear apocalypse is a little bit stressful), especially now that we have a child. We’re hoping to find a better work/life balance that is rumored to exist outside of DC! Having a larger yard for the next pandemic (and being on mountain time so we won’t have to stay up past bedtime to play Codenames via Zoom) will be nice as well.

 

Wohoo! West we go!

so.....this happened

Hi Family!

I hope everyone is well.  We are fine and wanted to share some up to the minute news.

What started as COVID quarantine boredom manifested into day trips to different local cities, way too much screen time and some re thinking of future plans.

Honestly we can't believe it ourselves...we're selling our house!

We know, We know...

We just made all the changes!

We love Gilbert!

This is where we raised the girls!

AND

We don't fit the demographic of the Islands anymore (young families)

We wanted to have a house with a LOT of space and a LOT of land

This is a first step in our retirement plan.

SO,

We found a perfect place in Mesa that checks all the boxes!

We have made an offer on and it has been accepted just today at 6460 E. Trailridge Cir. Unit 10.

Our inspection is Monday night.

We are set up to close Friday September 11th.

IN ADDITION

Our Sea Shell house has now been listed approximately 2 hours and we have 8 showings set up for tomorrow!

ALSO,

When this pandemic is over we are going to have one heck of a housewarming!!!!

FINALLY,

We are overwhelmed, excited, and in a state of disbelief.  This all started with a drive to just get out of the house!

Love you all

Kathleen and Charlie

July update

Today I had my final surgical follow up.  I think most of you have seen my xrays, but in case you haven’t, I’m attaching the after picture.  Doug thinks the screws look like lag bolts you would use to attach a deck to the house.

Doug compares my doc to the surgeon in the ATT commercial (Guess who just got reinstated?).  If you haven’t seen the commercial, here’s a link.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IZ6U/at-and-t-wireless-ok-surgeon

The good news is that the fracture has healed and i have no activity restrictions.  The less good news is that the pinching sensation I’m feeling is possibly a torn labrum (which seems to be another name for cartilage in the hip joint).   Anyway, he just kinda blew it off - saying he has one too, and you just learn to work around it.  That because I’m over 50, they wouldn’t do arthroscopic surgery on it.

Not really satisfied with basically being told to live with it,  I did a Google search.  Evidently an MRI is required to diagnose, and they don’t do surgery for folks over 50, because it doesn’t seem to provide any benefit. The articles did all recommend PT.  I’m going to give it a few weeks, do some exercises and see how it feels.  If it isn’t better, or gets worse, I’ll ask for a PT referral.  In the meantime, I’m excited to get back to walking and hiking and working in the yard.  Golf and biking I hope to get back to in the not too distant future.

We finally have summer in the Pacific Northwest.  It’s only been the last few days where our temps have been over 70 degrees.  Today we got up over 80, which is sure to generate news stories about dealing with heat stroke 🥵.  Folks are not much used to temps over 70 degrees up here.

Now that the weather is good and I’m mobile again, we’re going to start getting out a bit more.  Today we took a short walk on a rocky beach in Sequim bay.  Later in the week we plan to pack a lunch and head out for a drive and a hike.  After 7 weeks of being housebound, I’m anxious to be out and about a bit more (while practicing social distancing, of course)

The Covid numbers in our county are pretty low.  Seems like the most recent cases were related to July 4th parties.  The state has a mask mandate and people here are pretty good about it. Then again, the average age in Sequim is over 50, so that might have something to do with it.😀

The yard and garden are looking great.  We’ve been eating home grown lettuce, peas, carrots, chard and potatoes.  Blueberries are just about ready - although, there aren’t enough for a pie.    Now that the weather has warmed a bit, I’m hoping to see some growth with the beans, tomatoes, cukes and squash.  Our fruit trees are looking good, thanks to Doug’s hard work, but it looks like the only fruit we’ll be getting this year is a few apples.  Not too surprising as the trees are only 3 years old - but i’m hoping for a big harvest next year of pears, plums, pluots and cherries.

This is Doug harvesting our peas.  We have never had plants this tall before!  Next picture is of our orchard.

During my convalescence - since i was basically chair bound - I did a lot of reading.    I just finished “The Warmth of Other Suns”.  It’s about the migration of blacks from the south to the north and west from WWI through the ‘60s. Really interesting and (in light of recent events), a reminder of the desperate circumstances they endured and how many obstacles they had to overcome.  I highly recommend it.  I’m currently reading Ella Minnow Pea (say it out loud), which I mainly picked because of the title.   I’m not that far into it, but I’m liking it.

Speaking of books - is anyone interested in a family book group?  We could have a zoom meeting once a month to discuss a specific book.  Just another option for keeping in touch since it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing each other anytime soon.  If you’re interested, let me know and we can decide how to proceed.  I’m not envisioning anything particularly structured,  just the opportunity to share our thoughts.

Hope you all are doing well and staying safe.  Love to you all!

DiNolfi update

Hello Family and Greetings from Arizona where COVID cases are on the rise!

We have been meaning to sit down and create a blog for a long time.  We have had a lot going on in our lives lately!

We'll start with Mother’s Day.  We had a great/ “regular” Sunday.  Charlie made an excellent egg casserole and we spent the day by the pool.  We listened to good music and played a game of HORSE in the pool that I actually won! We ended our outside day about 5 as we always do and went inside for our regular game of dominoes, and we played an hour of Tripoley.  I forgot how fun that was! Everyone spent the night (it felt like Christmas eve)!

As you know, on May 11th, we added a doctor to our family!  Her graduation was nothing like we planned but was still a wonderful celebration. Thank you to all of you that tuned in to watch.  After the virtual ceremony, Jocee's best med school friend, Dr. Amber Sandoval came over with her roommate Megan, for a champagne toast and a game of HORSE in the pool. (Brian won!)

Charlie's work from home COVID project is a batch of California style zinfandel wine he began on May 12th.  The bottling will commence later this month.  Stay tuned...

That brings us to K's birthday.  What another wonderfully perfect day we had as a family! Prior to May 24^th Charlie purchased 5 rum cakes (my favorite and a birthday staple for me) for our friends. On the 23^rd, we delivered 4 of those cakes to our friends the Curtis’ Joys, Jourgensens and Zadonowicz’. We kept our social distance intact but were so happy to see everyone that we hadn’t seen in such a long time. On the 24^th, the 5 of us gathered again at the house and spent the morning in the pool.  We have been having unseasonably hot temperatures here so the pool in the morning is actually very refreshing!  Charlie made amazing hamburgers and black bean burgers for lunch and then we went inside for my virtual birthday party. Everyone joined in using the Zoom link that Adriana set up.  We all ate the same cake and shared some joy. After that we had killer games of Tripoley and dominoes.(pictured are, the zoom party, a domino picture that we think would make a good puzzle, signs that Corinna made for the party and cards from my 4 favorite little girls!!)

.  

6 days later on 5/30, we packed up our cars plus a U-Haul and drove to California. We arrived in SB at 2 and as we all had pre assigned color coded jobs, we got to work! In addition to the U-Haul, we all had our cars to unload and then Sande arrived with a bed.  We put beds together first for obvious reasons and then Brian and Charlie really kicked into gear on the kitchen. Brian divided all her “drinking devices” appropriately (mugs, tumblers, glasses, glass mugs (what category are those???)) and concluded that J could run a coffee shop out of her condo! If your name starts with J and/or you are a fan of the TV show FRIENDS or University of Arizona you will enjoy the cup selection!

Sunday J and I did our last crossword together for awhile and with Brian’s help, we crushed it!  Charlie, J and I went for a walk on the beach which is 3/4 mile away! We did some more exploring and then picked up some wine from local wineries that Charlie had previously checked out online. We ordered from a local Greek restaurant and played dominoes.  We had a great conversation with Molly on the phone too!  

Monday, Charlie and I headed out about 10. We waved goodbye to our 3 knowing that our Sundays are going to be so different for awhile and we will miss them terribly. All was fine until Palm Desert, when what turned out to be the serpentine belt that was put on 4 days prior, failed us.  Making lemonade out of lemons and trying hard not to make vinegar out of wine, we got a room in the desert that had air conditioning and went searching for a wine opener and an Italian restaurant that would deliver. We learned something new...hotels won't let you in anymore in this new COVID world unless you have a room key so that was weird.  Italian food was late but tasty, room was cool and comfy and the Santa Barbara wine was most delish.  The next day we learned the truck would not be fixed for a couple of days so we rented a car and headed home to complete our trip of moving Jocee.

Charlie drove back on Thursday to swap rental car for our truck and it runs better than ever.  Shout out to Pete Valdes from Pete's Automotive.  If you ever find yourself broken down in the Coachella Valley don't go anywhere else!

In other news, we completed binging Ozark, which we give 5 DiNolfi stars...totally recommend. We use the comedy of Life In Pieces to offset the intensity of Ozark and we'll complete The Defiant Ones this weekend.

We miss you all and think of you often. Looking forward to when we can be with you in person.   💜

Love, Kathleen and Charlie

A Day in the Life of Retired Dougie Lambeth

Author’s note:  For several months I have asked politely, suggested strongly, and cajoled sweetly,  and have been unable to coax Doug into creating a blog post.  So, here’s his story in my own words. You may wish to consider me an unreliable narrator - or maybe a hostile witness?

Retirement is GREAT!  I am living the dream!

Mornings no longer starts with a blaring alarm.  I wake up gradually with the sun and the sound of the birds, or with the sound of our cat Boo squeaking at the bedroom door.  Once Sue lets Boo in, the time for sleeping is over. Aggressive head butting, a purr with a decibel level of a jet engine, and a propensity to bladder stomp, encourage me to get out of bed.  

I like to start my day with a shower (as opposed to Sue who likes to stay in her bathrobe for an hour or two before showering).  I take a quick look at the headlines on my computer and then head outside to put out my bird feeders.  I used to leave the feeders out, but last summer a bear came into the yard and destroyed them, so now I keep them inside the shop at night.

Once the bird feeders are reinstalled, I wander down our road for a couple hundred yards to the main road to pick up the local paper.  Once back inside, I make myself a single cup of coffee with my French press and settle down with my computer to find out what’s happening in the world.  I eat my breakfast standing up and surveying the view out of the living room window and feeling so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.

After breakfast, it’s time to read the local paper and then do a little more surfing on the computer.  Around 9:30 or 10:00, I’m ready to start my day.  Typically that means I head out into the yard. However, since we got a Roomba last week, I’ve spent a lot of time just watching it roam around the house (strangely compelling).  Perhaps it will lose its appeal after a few weeks...

Eventually, I make it outside.  It doesn’t matter if it’s cold - I just bundle up.  This winter I built the greenhouse and all the raised beds for the garden.  Now that it is spring, I spend most of my time outdoors, mowing, edging, weeding, and anything it takes to try and keep the dozen or more planting beds looking as good as possible.  Last week I installed a drip irrigation system in the very large bed in front of the house (I did the fruit trees and vegetable garden last month).  It’s a lot like Tinkertoys for  adults.  I had fun doing it.

Lunch is usually between 12 and 1:00.  If the weather is nice, we eat outside on the deck.  After that, it’s back outside or into the shop.  There are also critters to care for.  Last month I made some bird houses for the yard and this one is now occupied!

Also, the hummingbird feeders need to be refilled regularly, and now I have new critters to care for.....bees!

Got my box of bees the last weekend in April.  I got about 10,000 bees and one queen.  While they have begun to forage, I also need to supplement their feeding with sugar water so the hive can grow to its expected size of 50-60,000 bees.  Just watching the bees around the hive and coming back with pollen is also compelling.  I may have to move a chair down near the hives so that I can observe for longer periods of time.  It will probably be a year or more before I can harvest any honey, but hopefully the bees will help in the pollination of our garden.

Quitting time is somewhere between 2 and 4 p.m.  The earlier time is when  I just can’t resist the urge to sit in the lounge in the garden or in the hammock chair under the deck.  After I finish my work for the day, I pour myself a cup of hot tea, some cold, artificially sweetened, reconstituted juice-like like product, or a beer.  I sit down with a book and read until my eyes start to get heavy.  I may close my eyes for a minute or 30, but I don’t actually take a nap. (Sue disagrees) Sue curates book recommendations for me, so I always have something good to read with very little effort on my part.

I was supposed to attend a week-long class at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in April,  but that was cancelled due to Covid.  I’m hopeful it will be offered again soon.

While we haven’t done a lot of activities outside of our yard, we usually go for a walk on the Olympic Discovery trail a couple of times per week.  Last week we drove to Fort Flagler and took a nice hike.  We’ve taken a couple of bike rides and hope to do more now that the weather has gotten warmer.  Golf courses are now open, so that’s on the agenda as well.

We usually watch a bit of TV in the evenings.  While I’m a fan of everything dark, Sue likes to occasionally view something that’s not scary or creepy.  In that vein, we both recommend Upload (10 episodes on Prime) and the movie Incredibles 2.  We also both enjoy The Voice, even though my favorite - Zan, did not make the finale.  Another series we just found is called Friday Night Dinner.  It’s a British comedy on Netflix and it stars the woman from Episodes (another great choice if you’ve never seen it).

I go to bed exhausted and sore, but I love every minute of it. Next day I get to do it all over again.  Ahhhh...life is good!

I’m Doug Lambeth and I approved this message! -DL

A Day in the Socially-Distanced Life of Cody Fischer

(as transcribed by mom and edited by dad) 

I have been remiss in posting during the first nine exciting months of my life. At first I was busy training my parents. Then, once mom went back to work, I had to pitch in to help save the Iran nuclear deal and it just snowballed from there... I soon realized that in a baby’s busy life, the gap between intention and implementation seems to grow ever wider. 

Unfortunately this means I missed sending out important life updates, such as my adventure in Phoenix with Grandma (although I left Kathy and Charlie and excellent review on Baby-bnb because their house has great baby vibes) and my exciting excursion to Denver where cousin Coop taught me to eat pancakes and climb a mountain (more like how to ride to the top of a mountain while the parents do all the work). Aunt Julie and Unc’s house will also get a five star Baby-bnb review!

Photo Credit: Unc

After my Denver-Bozeman trip, I had barely settled back into my routine at home and Kiddie University when daycare closed. So now I get to spend all my time at home with Mom and Dad (both of whom are working remotely; or trying to, as much as one can with an energetic 9-month old and, in mom’s case, when trying to collaborate with a lot of old men who can’t figure out how to use Zoom.) 

I’m taking full advantage of the time at home to perfect my crawling and standing techniques and figuring out how to scatter my toys around the house as widely as possible. I view this as a valuable service – Mom and Dad would never have realized just how dirty it is under the radiator if I hadn’t lodged a book under there. I’m also learning some of the fundamental tenants of architecture by impersonating a wrecking ball to demonstrate that dad’s block towers are not structurally sound. 

Most afternoons mom and I get out for stroll around the neighborhood. I’m embarking on an ambitious survey of the area’s sidewalks – there is definitely some infrastructure stimulus that DC can take advantage of post-COVID-19. (Don’t people realize that most strollers don’t have shocks?!) I take this surveying responsibility very seriously and do my best not to smile when I’m out and about. This is also meant to discourage random people from coming up and telling me how cute I am and trying to pinch my cheeks. We all have to do our part for social distancing!

While my life may seem all fun and games, it isn’t just crawling around and playing. Recently my parents have been leaving food on my tray and they seem to expect me to feed myself. I stared them down the first few times and refused to touch the food. Finally I took pity on them, relented, and picked up a piece of banana. In retaliation for this new responsibility I make sure to throw some on the floor, smash it into my chair, and smear it all over my head. I can’t make it too easy for them. On the upside, I now believe that sweet potato is an excellent addition to any skin care regime. 

I also still try to do my part helping Mom with her work. I ate a report assessing the international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program the other day and tried very hard to get quoted on North Korea’s recent missile tests, but sadly my contribution didn’t make the newspaper. So much for the adage “from the mouth of babes….”

For anyone looking for book recommendations, my current favorites are “Pig the Pug” and “Llama Llama Red Pajama.” But if you’re looking for more than two minutes of entertainment and prefer a greater text to picture ratio, my mom is currently reading Erik Larson’s “The Splendid and the Vile” detailing Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister. She describes it as “an interesting, but slightly romanticized, read full of fascinating anecdote’s about the UK’s response to the Blitz.” She also recommends “The Spy and the Traitor” or, if you prefer fiction, “A Gentleman in Moscow.” Dad is reading a book on baby sleep (snooze fest! and unnecessary because I am an excellent sleeper) and a lot of news. 

Life Update

Hello family!

As you have read in the news, many schools are graduating the fourth year medical students early to join the workforce during the pandemic. While AZ is not as dire as NY or other states, University of Arizona encouraged early graduation for those who were eligible (those who didn't have any required rotations scheduled in the final blocks). I was initially uncertain about applying to graduate early as there are many logistical difficulties, but decided to go for it anyways.

As of today, I'm officially Dr. Di Nolfi!

As mentioned, the situation in AZ is not as dire, so we are not being asked to work in the ED as new interns (interns tend to slow everything WAY down anyways). I am also not being asked to start residency early as the residency accreditation body has strongly advised against this. My final months in Phoenix will be spent working a COVID-19 hotline at Banner University Medical Center. Essentially early grads, displaced residents and others take COVID-related calls and direct people to either be tested, seek immediate attention, etc. Residency will begin as scheduled June 17th and I will be moving to Santa Barbara June 1st.


Fortunately Nani is an EXCELLENT impromptu graduation photographer and snapped some photos today to document the day. Tams off to you, Nani ;)

Finally, my school will still be hosting a Zoom graduation on the original graduation date - May 11th. I'll send more info along for those who are interested. We will likely do something similar to Match Day produced by Hummingbird. Stay tuned!

Hope everyone is staying healthy, safe, and sane

- J MD, MPH

WAIT WAIT WAIT. Unrelated by equally important - I have played a few rounds of online Codenames with my friend group during this quarantine. Let's get that going.