28 April: Tuesday

Lyons, Oregon: High temperature today in Indio was ~106°. Hottest it has ever been on April 28th since 2013. The average temperature on this day is 85 degrees. 106 is really hot. We know of three RVs leaving tomorrow morning. The Ghost Town gets ghostier.

We rose early enough to exercise (we both rode our bikes today) and didn’t accomplish much else (finished the left-over soup from last night for lunch)... and today is my “stay-at-home” day = washing/ironing the linens. Woot!

Another visitor today! But sadly no photo. Remember a few weeks ago when we saw a huge turtle sunning on the bank of a pond along the golf course? Today, DT saw an even larger (is it possible?) phylum chordata swimming in the water near our dock. He tried to alert me, but the reptile had already gone down into the depths. Now we know there are at least two turtles in our resort. I wonder how many are here... and how the heck did they get here?

We also spoke with Mary & Captain Jim when they stopped for a few minutes in their golf cart to wave hello. We are keeping a good ten-foot distance, but can’t wait until we can share an evening with our Dear Friends.

Speaking of Dear Friends: Dave’s college roommate, Red, sent a text message today to arrange a Happy Hour video call between Red & Marcia’s house in Chicago and our campsite in Indio! It was so lovely to see them (maybe they would have been visiting us this week if times were different). We video-chatted for 50 minutes - and even had a momentary glimpse of their eldest girl, Jessica. Bonus coverage! We should have video cocktail hour with friends more often. Lock-down or not.

So I know I am not posting anything except dinner photos... because we are not going anywhere and we are not doing anything (because it is the law), so tonight I am posting (above) a photo of Lenny & Lisa’s dinner. They had a surprise burrata ball-o-cheesy-divineness delivered in their CSA box today. Lisa put the cheese on a slice of rustic bread with tomato, and served the toast with scrambled eggs and green beans.

Obviously garnished with parsley. She comes by that garnishing gene naturally.

Our meal this evening was also vegetarian. Fettuccine with asparagus, lemon (zest and juice), topped with a bit of Parmesan. Super easy. One pot. Toss the asparagus into the boiling pasta a minute or two before the pasta is finished cooking. Drizzle with olive oil (or butter), toss, garnish with Parmesan, and serve. Make it vegan by omitting cheese/butter and garnishing with chopped nuts (pistachios?) or herbs. Mint would be nice.

The romaine DT purchased last Wednesday (Costco) is looking a bit weary. I salvaged enough of a head to make a nice “Caesar-ish” salad. It was Caesar, but with cherry tomatoes and olives... and without croutons, nor shaved Parmesan. Crunchy and cold won-out in this heat.

Every time I eat asparagus, I think of my godfather, Keith. He grew the most amazing vegetables in his massive garden in Lyons, Oregon, and his asparagus was legendary, and quite a rare vegetable in Oregon gardens in the 60s. Keith was a photographer for the Navy and was stationed in Hawaii when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Many of the photos you have seen from that horrible day where taken by him. Keith had sons, so doted on me, and my sister (his great-nieces). On my 6th birthday, he gave me a vanity set: brush, comb, mirror. No idea what happened to the brush or comb, but I still use the mirror - nearly 60 years later. It is pink, with a white cameo glued just-ever-so-not-quite-straight to the back-side of the mirror. It has lived in Oregon, New Hampshire, the Philippines, and Taiwan. No doubt, my oldest possession.

Well, that was a trip down Memory Lane.

Until my next update, which will be probably as boring as this one, I remain, your reflective correspondent.