April 10, 2010
It hardly seems possible that just one year ago today Scott and I were on a plane headed to France and our much-anticipated Bordeaux experience. The world has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 virus. Now, as with much of the rest of the world, we are staying at home with the exception of going to the grocery store, walking and when the weather is nice, sharing a glass of wine at a safe distance with our neighborhood friends. We are fortunate we live in a neighborhood where we have sidewalks and many places where we can walk. Our children in Seattle are safe and well. Our Minnesota daughters and their families are doing well too. We are blessed.
I have become proficient in Zoom and we have had many delightful virtual get togethers with family and friends. We have shared dinner, wine and wonderful conversations. We have connected with Megan and Julian our delightful Rouge Bordeaux B&B hosts, visited with our friends in Sweden and met with friends from all parts of the US. It is always nice to see a familiar face and hear a familiar voice. We have also connected via email with friends in Italy and France. We are thankful for the technology!
Scott and I have been invited to a wedding in August in Italy. We still have our Airbnb but have not booked airfare. Just waiting. We love to travel and have done so primarily in the US, Canada and Europe and have had many wonderful adventures. It is amazing that when you can’t do something you yearn to do so even more!
We know things will improve and we will be able to explore the world again. We will look at the world in a different way, appreciate the experiences and of course, wash our hands!
Love to all of you.
Mary and Scott
Meandering With Murphy 
Sending our love to you both (as always)! Looking forward to our online happy hour!
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Hi Mary and Scott, What a nice message to wake up to. Yes, it is such a different world than one year ago. Hardly seems possible how our lives have been turned upside down. We feel as if we are in a bubble here in Montana when we see on the news what is going on in other parts of our country and world. We are under all the same precautions, but don’t have the terrible numbers of loss. Our children are well, and we also had neighbors over for a distance drink on the patio.
How did the title “Meandering with Murphy” come about. Our 3yr. old lab’s name is Murphy so when I see that title I think it’s about him (at first glance.) He is such a loving comfort in our lives. We had been looking for a golden retriever puppy for quite a while, and were having no luck. One day Murphy appeared on my Facebook page saying his family needed to find a new home for him b/c the Dad was deployed and with 3 little kids, the Mom couldn’t manage to give proper attention to an active 8month old lab. Three days later we went up to Helena to pick him up. He is the dog we were always meant to have. He is a fox red lab, the color of a golden retriever. He is devoted to us and vice versa.
It was great hearing from you! I hope you are able to go to the wedding in August, and also wonder about the reunion in Sept. We hadn’t committed to going even before the virus reared its ugly head, but were going to consider it as the time got closer. You always have a place to stay in Montana if you are out our way. BTW, just wanted to let you know that I send you an e-card every Christmas with a little note. They probably end up in your junk/spam mailbox so you haven’t seen them. Stay well, you two, and let’s hope we are all out of confinement soon. Love, Sue and Ken
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Hi Sue and Ken,
So good to hear from you! Murphy was our wire-haired fox terrier. I had her before my divorce and she moved with me to Seattle and back! She was my confidant and she was so sweet. She loved Scott and he loved her too. She died several years ago at age 16.
Glad to hear you are doing well under these conditions. You live in such a pretty area. It is nice we can go out and walk. I’d hate to think we couldn’t leave our house at all.
To my knowledge, I did not get your e-card. I will have to check my junk/spam mailbox around the holidays. Maybe others have landed their too!
Stay well yourselves. Hope we can gather for the reunion but we will just have to see.
Take care, Love Mary and Scott
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Thank you, Mary. I enjoyed your message. I remember your journal from last year. Sometimes these trying times make us appreciate how fortunate we are to have supportive family and friends surrounding us. Our children and grandkids are well and we are hanging in there. Walking, reading, zooming and doing jigsaw puzzles. I hope this will be over soon so we can get back to hugging those we love. Stay well and I hope you will be able to visit Italy again. ❤️Barb
Sent from my iPhone
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