As there is such a thing as spring in this here place, I have been enjoying it as best one can when you can't go any farther than your town line. Fortunately we've discovered our town line is much farther than we'd thought. What we had always assumed was a separate community, a lovely little hamlet in the hills, we've realized falls under our city's territory. We've been walking up through farmland and woods and bucolic residential areas we've never before visited. Up and down all those small roads and paths we just drove by without a thought back in our pre-covid days. Vaccines are still far off in the future for us here. They've just opened up to the over 70 crowd and that is a very big crowd indeedy in this old, old country. Italy is now considering buying vaccines from Russia. There is no way that I am getting a vaccine called Sputnik V for Chrissakes! Nuh uh. Not gonna happen. Americans are flying back to the States to get vaccinated. I'll probably do the same.

So the only exciting news we have around here is the change in status of the upstairs neighbors. Dad (the singer) has taken an apartment elsewhere and mom (the vacuumer) and son (the irritating arguer) are alone above us. Except they aren't. Dad still comes by late every afternoon, watches TV and has dinner with them. But he no longer sleeps on the fold-out couch. He left and took the bedroom furniture with him. Now she sleeps on the fold out couch. Her old bedroom seems to be empty. I think the parents are stealthily moving out and leaving their gruesome kid behind. They're hoping he won't notice. Easter has come and gone with a quiet little lunch here with MIL. She's still thriving and at 89 is just getting her second shot tomorrow. We have had to stop her from cooking for us. Her concept of well-done is shot and we can't eat another dish of charred green beans. Easter Monday, called "little Easter", is traditionally a day for picnics. We made do with a cook-out and lunch on the terrace with our neighbors in covid fashion. Separate tables. Waving distance. That's about as social as we get. Should anything happen I'll be back. If not, it means restrictions still in place and I ain't doing nuthin! xxoo me