What Can I Say?
By Owner: Bonnie Meier
Just one month ago this newsletter was filled with excitement about the Tulip Festival. I told about the Straatwinkel and the Dutch stuff that we would be selling plus the disc golf discs that are
collector's items. Who would have guessed that in just a few weeks (actually just one week) our whole world would have changed so completely?
In this issue I was going to go into more detail about the schedule for the Tulip Festival. However, at this time we are not sure there will even be a Tulip Festival.
Pella has already cancelled theirs. Ours is a little bit later and we are still all hoping for a miracle and that we can still have ours. However, it looks more and more
like we will be in our special circumstances for longer than we had hoped. Governor Reynolds of Iowa declared a Medical Emergency until the end of March.
Until that time all parades, festivals, and meetings of more than ten people are forbidden. At this time there there are 45 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Iowa,
but no deaths yet. (Probably by the time this letter goes out, there will be more). As of last evening, however, there were no cases in the 1/4 of the state
that makes up the northwest corner. I think we probably live in about the best place to live in the world right now. We have five hospitals in Sioux County
serving 34,692 people or 6,938 people for each hospital. We are 6th in the State (out of 99 counties) in hospitals per square mile - and that includes places
like Des Moines and Iowa City. The Orange City Area Hospital has been ranked as one of the best in the nation for small communities. We have over 30 doctors
in Orange City alone and I suspect Sioux Center (ten miles away probably has as many). I feel very lucky to be living in a community of a little over 6000 people with so many good care providers.
At this time commercial interests don't seem that important. The important thing is to get through this period of our lives with a sense of hope, a sense of humor,
and a sense of well being. I'm sure the financial hit that so many of the people in our country will suffer will linger probably longer than the virus.
However, at this time, money doesn't seem that important.
However, I did just send for eight new puzzles (along with several I have on hand). These are all 1000 piece puzzles that are quite challenging.
Three of them are mysteries that you can't solve until the puzzle is completed. They will be a real challenge because you don't know what the picture is. One is
called Murder on the Titanic, another is Foul Play & Cabernet, and the third is called Recipe for Murder. If you get bored and want a challenge, pick up one of the
puzzles. We also have a lot of good books. Many are just priced at one or two dollars each. I had been planning a big book sale when Orange City had their big sale
day, however, I suspect that will be cancelled now, too.
It is just hard to know what to plan for, but both Lee and I will be at our little in-home store everyday if you want or need anything. There won't be more than ten people here, so
you are not breaking any rules by coming over. We still have some Christmas letters available (at half price). We usually run out of them in March and it looks like we will again this year.
If you have sewing projects we still have Gutermann thread available and also Clover knitting needles. I really don't have any more yarn left, though.
I do have great discs available and you could still play disc golf on the course in Alton, or just make a little course in your back yard by designating certain trees, etc. that have to be hit.
This will be a short newsletter because life is not normal right now, but, hopefully, by April we will have some of our freedoms back.
