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!!)

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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.

 

 

Quarantine arts and crafts

Hello family,

Hope you are all continuing to be healthy and to practice social distancing.  Aside from our walks a few times per week, we are staying home and keeping busy with some arts and crafts.

Last week I painted a “barn quilt”, or I guess I should call it a shed quilt, since we don’t have a barn.  Anyway, it’s kind of fun...

I’m having some trouble with my shoulder right now, so I’ve had to take a little break from quilting.  So, I picked up a knitting project that I started ( no exaggeration) 10 years ago.  I probably last worked on it 5 or 6 years ago.  I have about 3/4 of a sweater done, so decided now is the time to finally finish it.  Unfortunately, the skill level suffers after not doing something for several years.  I’m sure no one will  notice the 8 rows I knitted incorrectly before I found my stride...😀

Our most recent arts and crafts project was for the garden.  Pretty fun, huh?  Anyway it was a diversion that made us laugh...and keeps startling us when we glance toward the garden and wonder who is in our backyard.

Speaking of arts and crafts, who would like me to make them a cloth mask?  It won’t be anything fancy or medical grade, but it would be something you could wear if you have to go to the store for some reason.  I have oodles of fabric and they are easy to make, so just let me know if you want one or more.  You can either respond to this post or send me a text.

I have also been doing a lot of reading and would like to suggest that you read “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande.  The author is a surgeon who looks at how we deal with end of life issues and how we can do it more thoughtfully.  It’s not an easy read, but it is an important one.  I think in particular it could help us frame our conversations as to decisions we will have to make regarding mom/grandma in the not so distant future. 

Finally (and sadly) we see no choice but to postpone the reunion.  Those who responded thought next summer was best, and we agree. We are super disappointed, but we want everyone to stay healthy - and that means keeping your distance.  

On that note, I’ll leave you with a picture of some ducks who decided to “social distance” from the hundreds of other ducks at the park across the street.  It made me laugh.

Love you all..would love to hear how you’re doing!

Spring in Sequim

Hello all, thanks to everyone who has posted.  It’s reassuring to know you are doing ok.

I’m guessing some of  you are obsessively reading coronavirus updates and others have stopped reading to reduce your anxiety.  I’ve been reading about it quite a bit, and I read an article this morning that I’d like to share.  How the pandemic will end.  It’s informative as to how we got to where we are and the likely scenarios going forward.

As there is very little chance that the situation will be resolved enough by June for us to have a family  reunion, I’d like to know your thoughts.  Same time next year?  Try for later in this summer?  Christmas?

We are continuing to do well.  Keeping busy and doing lots of reading.  I’m sure most of you are already aware of this, but for those who aren’t  - If you have a library card, ebooks or audiobooks are a great option.  No need to leave your house, no cost, and immediate delivery.  If you don’t have an ebook app, there should be a link to one on your library’s webpage.  Of course you can also purchase ebooks, but I prefer the free version.😊   Those of you who are more tech savvy, feel free to share other entertainment ideas for the housebound.

Weather in Sequim was beautiful yesterday, a little cooler today.  Spring is gradually arriving. A couple of our fruit trees have blossoms, and check out our gorgeous ornamental plum.

Hope you all continue to stay healthy.  And remember:  don’t touch your face 😱!

Colorful Colorado Quarantine

Checking in from Denver, everyone's second choice of where to live (kidding! sort of.)

"I can't work like this!"

We are good here, Coop and I have been partying on my "extended spring break" Spring break was supposed to be this week, but we started it a week early. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, we have teacher trainings on how to do remote learning, and then we start that for the kids on Wednesday, April 1, which feels appropriate. Right now we're only supposed to be out of school until April 17, but we'll see once we get closer to that date.

Jim is working from our guest room, only occasionally interrupted by a little loud dude who knows NOTHING about satellites. His company got an exemption from the shelter in place rule in the Bay Area as it turns out it is hard to build a satellite from home.

Max is super excited that everyone is home to pet him all day, but super disappointed that the only one who actually wants to pet him all day is Cooper, who is still working on "gentle." Max is a great excuse for us to get out of the house and so is getting lots of long walks and runs.

This past weekend we decided to get out of our neighborhood and head to the mountains for a hike. We went to Dinosaur Ridge, with some dino footprints and fossils. I've never been there before, but understand that it is usually pretty crowded. We had the place to ourselves, and then connected to a ridge trail nearby for some good views. The weather has been pretty great here (about 70 today), minus the 5 inches of snow we got last Thursday, which then knocked our power out for an hour. The snow is all melted now, and we are all good.