CHANGED CONDITIONS AHEAD

And do they ever keep changing…

I left off my last blog waiting for the steroids in the epidural to take effect. They have & I’m returning to normal with physical therapy & the resumption of bicycling & walking/hiking. Unfortunately for Nomi, I was useless for quite a while. The first time I stood at the kitchen counter & helped with a meal was a cause for celebration. There had been a lot of meals planned, gathered & prepared without my help.

We took our first long walk, five miles, since the onset of my symptoms at the end of May. It was a nice to start observing our surroundings again while the world tries to heal.

Our son, daughter-in-law, 7 y.o. granddaughter & 4.5 y.o. grandson arrived in California at the end of May, from Brooklyn. After two weeks of quarantining in Hopland, they joined us for 3 months in Kentfield. They returned to NYC almost 2 weeks ago & we are returning to our former lives. While they were here, we dealt with COVID 19, my back healing & the remodeling of two bathrooms. Good food was very comforting & helped us all bond.

Today the sun is shining, it’s warm, the sky is blue, Mt. Tamalpais is more visible & the air quality is improved; “Moderate” and coming close to “Good.” We went out for a walk along the Corte Madera Creek. It was so nice but there were too many Marin Catholic H.S. runners without masks.

Sit back, relax & take a little trip with me through a most unusual Summer that’s not yet over & hopefully holds no more surprises the likes of which we’ve been experiencing.

You could say that again & again & again...

We were fortunate to have a nearby friend offer the B'klyn contingent her house for two weeks until we had all the bathrooms functioning.

A traveling office.

During the first two weeks, the family came to us each day for lunch through dinner. We were fortunate to have a pool during this time of COVID 19.

Both grandchildren quickly learned to swim.

Low flying helicopters, enroute to Marin General Hospital were unfortunately common for a time.

Father's Day Breakfast.

A good read recommended by Nate & his French in-laws. Plus, a birthday present movie to while away the time while the steroids helped me recuperate.

Following a lull due to the onset of the pandemic, remodeling of the bathrooms recommenced.

Luca tries to join the Old Spokes for the Paradise Drive Loop.

"good morning!" mug by Eloïse.

Deserted downtown San Rafael.

One of many runs to the dump & the Hazardous Waste Facility.

I was riding on the bicycle rollers as soon as the surgeon & P.T. said "go for it!"

I started taking walks & quickly noted that College of Marin was undergoing a transformation. And so was our greater neighborhood with many big projects underway.

Nate finished illustrating his first RPG (role-playing game) Destiny Dez-Drum of Destiny, right before the deadline &...

...shared it with us.

The door with hinge was played with by kids for years in my office.

It now was a stage for a puppet show.

Many a delicous pizza was obtained here for the weekly pizza & movie night.

On "D" St., San Rafael.

Crows were an annoyance for a while but they're finally gone now.

Tony Tutto Pizza. Many a delicious pizza & movie night was picked up here.

I was getting better & kept forgetting where I left the cane because I'd get up & move around unaided. The Tile present from a pal helped us keep out sanity by making the cane retrievable.

The Giving Shop. This was one of many pop-up shops that appeared in this space.

July 4th.

Learning to ride on dirt.

The Bon Air Bridge reconstruction. Seems like it's taking forever.

One of many arts & crafts projects. Note the use of a dental instrument.

Got my first harcut in weeks when we noticed Tony's Larkspur Barbers was doing cuts on the side of the shop.

Disappearing.

We took a drive to the East Bay to deliver some birthday presents. This is Berkeley.

A wonderful read for the Old Spokes Book Club. Zoom gatherings have kept us going. Here, we're delivering a birthday gift to a friend.

Bon Aire Bridge...

Still captivagted by the work on the Bon Air Bridge.

A birthday present of a virtual cheese tasting supplied by Pt. Reyes Cheese Co.

Our first long walk. It was a five mile round trip through Ross to MHBB in San Anselmo to buy some loaves of their wonderful bread. Plus we had an outdoor visit with friends.

Does anyone know what that style of roof is called?

New construction in Ross.

There's a huge estate up there.

One might think, Italy.

We're getting accustomed to waiting in lines. This was at MHBB.

A delightful backyard for a visit with friends.

Now that's one clean garage!

I wondered what was under here & a few days later... .

..found out.

Our favorite.

So far I haven't found out what's under this tarp.

The owner of the new Vespa said the MARTIN'S box had been her dad's.

Eloïse asked to see some photos of when I was young. It was fun going through old family photos with her.

While doing that, I stumbled across this one. The baby is Alan Dershowitz. Yes, that one. My mom's friend, on the right, was his aunt. My mom's on the left.

One last walk around the neighborhood & saying goodbye to neighbors before returning to Brooklyn.

The stage crew readying for a farewell show.

This is the morning after it all started. That night, into the morning, there were ferocious winds, rain (it never rains here in August)...

…& lightening strikes igniting wild fires in our surrounding greater SF Bay area.

That evening. Our air still hasn’t fully recovered.

That evening we saw the beginning of the incoming smoke not having any idea of what was coming up.

Two sunsets later.

We escaped to hiking in fresh air at Ft. Cronkite GGNRA & Rodeo Beach.

The Brooklyn contingent was gone & ...

...we went into completion mode of the remodeling & other projects. There were 8 trucks here, not counting delivery trucks, before the day was over.

Orange full moon. The moon captured by my friend George Osner. You can follow him on Instagram: @gosner.

And the beat goes on with the Bon Air Bridge ptoject. I didn't mention the construction of a new wing for Marin General Hospital, that's almost complete. It's hidden to the right in this photo.

Continued construction as the remodeling of Sir Francis Drake Blvd. continued day & night.

A visit to San Francisco for a dental appointment was a dreary excursion.

The air was already smoky & so many shops were boarded up & closed for business, forever.

Murphy's Pub on Claude Lane.

Across the lane, a favorite spot of ours, Cafe Claude was also shuttered.

I never thought this shop would ever close.

Chinatown, along Stockton St., was bustling.

The air kept getting worse & worse from the wild fires surrounding the greater SF Bay Area.

And the temperatures rose to record levels.

To paraphrase Paul Simon, I sure hope "...the worst is over now The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball..."

But, it kept getting worse. Mt. Tamalpais was barely visible in this view from Larkspur. Then we awoke to see this...

Over looking Phoenix Lake's dam.

“The orange skies this morning are a result of wildfire smoke in the air. Strong winds over the past few days transported ash from fires in northern California and the Sierra Nevada into the region. These smoke particles scatter blue light & only allow yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface, causing skies to look orange. If smoke becomes too thick in a certain area, most of the light will be scattered & absorbed before reaching the surface, which may cause dark skies.” Bay Area Air Quality District