EMERGENCE – Notes from Life during the Pandemic

With this first post after many months, I want to report that we are well. For the past 18 months we have self-isolated and paid attention to recommended guidelines for staying safe and healthy. We are so fortunate and thankful that we have not lost any family or close friends because of the pandemic.

Many of my posts on this website are about art, exhibitions, and art and architectural travels. This series of 5 posts (Emergence A – E) is more diaristic and shares some of what we did and how we participated in cultural events during this time of “stay-at-home.”

On the eve of the pandemic, we were visiting family east of Seattle on the day the first cases were announced in Kirkland and broadcast on the evening and national news. On our way home, as we were waiting at the stoplight to enter the freeway, we looked up and saw that we were at the very hospital where the first Covid-19 patients were being cared for.

The following week, on March 6, 2020, I went to what would become the last public event I would attend for the next 15 months. Even as the news of the pandemic was becoming widespread with some public events being cancelled, the Portland Art Museum was still open. I went to the opening of  APEX  – Ed Bereal comprised of selected works from his recent retrospective Continue reading →

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, 0 comments

CoVid-19 Vaccination

Happy to report, I got mine; and I continue to mask up and follow CDC health guidelines.

Two doses, and two weeks have passed since the second dose. Confirm too, no side effects. Looking forward to when we call all meet again.

This link takes you to the CDC for current information  CoVid-19 Tracker

 

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, 2 comments

Honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Honoring RBG

On September 29th, Olympia Indivisible sponsored a peaceful rally to honor the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Friends and neighbors masked up and social distanced on Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia. Our signs said RUTH SENT US:

To Protect the Supreme Court
To Flip the Senate
To Win the White House
To Phone Bank, Text, and Donate
To Save Democracy
And Vote Early! Use Ballot Boxes
Learn How: OlympiaIndivisible.org

A set of photographs on my Flickr account document some of the rallies of the past three years as well as this group.

 

 

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, 0 comments

Under the Summer Sky

The comet Neowise and the Big Dipper

Have been able to locate and see the comet Neowise several nights during July and track its location as it moves further from us. The sky has been brighter recently making it more difficult to see, and the window of opportunity from this location is diminished and it will soon be obscured by the trees.

The NASA app has been very helpful with when, and where to see the ISS and how long it is visible.

Additional photos from the series can be seen on my Flickr album Night Sky

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, 0 comments

Today’s Post is Brought to You by the Letter P

We Need PPE, Not Federal Tyranny! Olympia Indivisible Rally Stand with Portland, BLM, Wall of Moms

A non-violent protest to Stand with Portland in support of Black Lives Matter, Wall of Moms Portland, Wall of Vets, Wall of Dads, organized by Olympia Indivisible on Saturday July 25, 2020. This was one of the dozens of rallies organized by other Indivisible chapters throughout the Pacific Northwest.

PPE, Parking, Palpable, Pandemic, Peace, Persist, Portland, Pragmatic, Protest, Power to the People

Photos from this event can be viewed in my Flickr folder: Indivisible – MoveOn – Women’s+ 

Posted by Thomas Alix Johnston in Blog, 0 comments