Dearest Rachel – Yes, I told you I was going to continue to make that pun every time the folks from Detail Kitchens work with me on the remodeling of the kitchen and the laundry room. Consider yourself lucky I didn’t make such a pun that time we went shopping for appliances. Besides, it’s aContinue reading “The Devil in the Details”
Tag Archives: quarantine
Up and Out
Dearest Rachel – You might remember the scene at the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where Willy Wonka presses the button marked ‘Up and Out.’ “I always wanted to press that button, but never had the nerve,” he says – and I may be paraphrasing. And for good reason, as the elevator smashesContinue reading “Up and Out”
Last Supper Here
Dearest Rachel – Just to set the record straight, I put the word ‘Here’ in the title because well, it is the last time I’m going to bother with room service, especially considering I’ve gone through basically anything on the menu that’s interesting (okay, I admit to debating about two entrees tonight, but we’ll getContinue reading “Last Supper Here”
They’re Trying to Confuse Me
Dearest Rachel – So, the word has come down; I’m cleared to move about outside, although I’ll probably have to have this letter available on my phone to show to the front desk: Of course, I still have to follow all the masking rules and so forth; don’t know if I’m still shedding viruses (evenContinue reading “They’re Trying to Confuse Me”
Still A Pariah
Dearest Rachel – This last day or so have, emotionally speaking, been like riding on a pendulum – perhaps on one of those cuckoo clocks this country is so famous for. Even as news begins to trickle in to me, suggesting that there might be a way for me to get out sooner than IContinue reading “Still A Pariah”
Still A Long Way From Hope
Dearest Rachel – I mentioned how earlier today things were beginning to look up. The Basel-Stadt Health Department have laid out a timetable for me to be able to leave my room sooner than I’d hoped or expected, and just an hour or so ago, I’d received a testing vial from the good folks atContinue reading “Still A Long Way From Hope”
Ringing Off the Hook
Dearest Rachel – Even as I was being escorted off the ship, I acknowledged to my host that, “well, as long as there is Internet where I’m going, I think I’ll be okay.” And so far, what events there have been succeeding that have pretty much borne that out. My Bible app, which requires anContinue reading “Ringing Off the Hook”
A Little Lighter Fare
Dearest Rachel – It seems I am being encouraged to continue writing about my meals as I go from day to day. So you can consider this a third in the series. It may not be the most exotic of food, but some of it is not likely to cross my plate if and whenContinue reading “A Little Lighter Fare”
Adapting
Dearest Rachel – No, I’m not talking about that EU-to-US plug thingamajig that got half-fried (and fried my surge protector in turn) by the desk-based plug. I’m talking about adjusting to life in stir, especially when you’d been expecting to travel abroad and see the sights. As I’ve said a number of times already, IContinue reading “Adapting”
It Could Be Worse
Dearest Rachel – It was one of those many inside jokes we used to have between each other. Any time we were in a bad situation of one sort or another, we would often encourage each other with Eye-gor’s line. Granted, if it was raining, the effect was lost, but still… I’ve tried to maintainContinue reading “It Could Be Worse”
A Traveler’s Nightmare, An Introvert’s Dream
Dearest Rachel – Morning in Basel, and as it would happen, my window is faced to receive the sun. And the sun, for once, is more than happy to come in. it’s a bright and cheery morning. Were I in worse straits, I might think it was mocking me. As it is, I am willingContinue reading “A Traveler’s Nightmare, An Introvert’s Dream”
A Very Different Travelogue
Dearest Rachel – When Alton Brown started his ‘Quarantine Qitchen’ online streaming program with his wife Elizabeth about a year and a half ago, you were tuning in every Tuesday to watch, and occasionally comment, as they tried to assemble dinner and drinks together, squabbling as (apparently?) married couples do. You seemed to find itContinue reading “A Very Different Travelogue”
What Tomorrow May Bring
Dearest Rachel – It’s been an eventful day. Every time the phone rings, every time there’s a knock on the door, I expect this to be the moment when I’m escorted off the ship. The last knock turned out to be one with my lunch. So I’m sitting here eating it, knowing I’ll have atContinue reading “What Tomorrow May Bring”
Letters to Rachel 