Since there are no meetings or many happenings in the Plymouth Area am thinking that this is not a good title right now. Perhaps “Sharing my Thoughts” or “ Musings with Joyce” might be more appropriate.
Want to let you all know that Bob Kessler, across from Rhode’s Mini Mart in Plymouth, still has vegetable plants for sale. Bob told me he sold out of flower plants before Mother’s Day but I got nice tomato plants from him this week. They are planted and doing well.
Seldom does Illinois have to worry about hurricanes but that was not true this week. The end of the path of a hurricane came right over the Plymouth area. Several inches of rain were predicted but we only got about an inch and that was fine. For the most part, the rain came gently and was needed.
The strawberry gods have been kind this year. My small patch has produced way more than I thought possible. Have eaten a lot of smashed strawberries with sugar, shared some with neighbors, made strawberry short cake, fed some to friends and even frozen some. Appreciate the abundance.
This week I had the thought that I have not touched or been touched by another human since March 15th. That was the day of our Collectors of Illinois Pottery and Stoneware Board meeting. Shortly after that Illinois largely closed down. I did not grow up in a touchy or hugging home, but somewhere after that I became a hugger. I have read that it takes seven hugs a day to keep a person emotionally healthy. Guess we should all be “basket cases” by now. Surprisingly I am not. Mentioned this to a friend in a text this week. She said reach out to others via texts, emails, face book and phone calls. Well phone calls are out-I hate talking on the phone! But do all the others. I have several benches in my yard and enjoy talking to friends while maintaining a safe distance. The last time I went in for a hug, the recipient offered an elbow instead. I have been more careful since that incident. When this is all over, you may want to keep your distance as I probably will be running up and hugging complete strangers. We will have a lot of catching up to do to get in those seven hugs a day.
As you know, I have kitties. Mostly I take in kitties that someone else tosses out. Most turn out to be really nice members of the family. Kitties bring a lot of comfort and joy. I think that they can bring companionship to people who live alone or who do not have close family and friends. Last night I read a story in the Quincy paper about robotic cats. When given to depressed or persons with dementia, a marked improvement was shown. The robotic cats both reduced depression and dementia loss. Find that interesting but think a real kitty would do more than a robotic one. I know that some nursing homes now have kitties or dogs in residence. It does not take much effort to feed and water a kitty and scoop a litter box once a day. I am sure there are many animals in the shelters who need a home. If one cannot care for a live pet, then the robotic one is probably a great idea!
Never have watched much news except the local news at 10 pm. There is so much on face book about looting, burnings, tire slashing, cutting police forces, people guarding areas with automatic rifles and more that I am not inclined to watch more. In my opinion, there is never a reason good enough to loot and burn. Do not judge all police by a few bad ones. Do not judge all politicians by a few bad ones. Do not judge all people by a few bad ones. I have some shoplifters, but also have thousands of shoppers go by my booth at an antique show without losing a single item.
Am going to change my weekly thought for this week. Perhaps “all men (people) are created equal” but it is what you do after that counts!