Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 4/27/20

From Our Backyard

Over Six Weeks of Quarantine
Here we are.
It has been 1.5 months and counting of being quarantined.  We are doing well with it, as we always remain hopeful that as the days pass, the virus can't easily get us because we are not flirting with disaster.  We mostly #stayhome to #staysafe, and it is working for us.

Our weather has been glorious, and that brings the temptation to get out.  We can't see, smell, taste, hear or feel this virus, until it hits those of us who are vulnerable  When we look out at our everyday lives, we feel like things are normal. But then, why are so many still falling ill and dying?

Mad World

Really People?

There are so many crazy events going on, and it's bound to get crazier, as increasing numbers of people are protesting, rebelling and refusing to abide by quarantine stay at home restrictions.  Locally, our news reports that many of those demonstrating aren't even locals, and lots of the local beach residents down right resent that people are coming to their beaches to protest in numbers, and to put them at risk.  As of last evening, our Carlsbad beaches remain closed -- officially. However, people have been flocking to the beach in spite the closures. 

We Took A Bike Ride
Last week, we took a bike ride to the Carlsbad Village and did a loop to the beach, then stopped by to say, "Hello" to a couple of nearby friends.

Observations: lots of people out and about because we live in a beach mecca, not much traffic - but drivers not obeying stop signs and driving way too fast, lots of houses and apartments for rent - strange because we live in an area that normally has very low inventory, lots of construction -- home and road.  If you were hunkered down, as we have been, you would never know that so much is proceeding as normal in the community.

Our Beaches are Still Closed

I wore a scarf, and put it on whenever we were somewhat close to others. We have electric bikes, which go much faster and are so much easier to peddle, so we pass regular bikers with ease. It kind of freaks me out to pass them, because you have to be somewhat close and in the road to do so. Good thing that traffic is lighter!

Feeling Like a Bank Robber

The two local friends and their families we briefly visited are doing well. It was so uplifting to see them. Made my day!

The Pool is Open

Great to be Back in Our Pool

My husband, Darrell, is always a Polar Bear swimmer, and has been in our pool several times over the past few weeks. I am a sissy. Water has to be quite warm for me.  Hooray! I was in the pool this week, and it is a real treat.  We are so happy to have this lovely home that is our dream, with the pool, hot tub and beautiful yard.  Quarantine is so much easier here, for which, we are thankful.

Let the Games Begin
I ordered several yard games to keep us entertained:  badminton, frisbee, ring toss, croquet and drink pong (for happy hour).  We have all except croquet. Playing some games in the pool and others in the yard. We have so much fun and we laugh, we laugh - it's a good thing.  We have taken to playing our table hockey as a chess game. Every day, we sneak up on each other to shoot the puck into each other's nets. We've become obsessed with making sure that the puck is not in our net when we check.

Costco Run and Deliveries
Darrell made another Costco run this week, which likely stocked us up for another three weeks. He has it down with the facemask and gloves, and has our list of regular items.  I think he could be a professional shopper because he makes excellent choices.

Outside of that, we've received our games and some other essentials this week via UPS and USPS, all very much appreciated.

The Dogs

I Rove Rou!

It is so funny to see how the dogs behaved when we returned from our 60 minute bike ride. You would think that we'd been gone for a week. They greeted us with a grand celebration when we returned.

When I go out to our sun room to do my exercise, if I open the door to the yard, the dogs come to visit me. They love it because I'm on the floor doing yoga, and they get extra love and pets.  They curl up on the futon and take their afternoon siestas, and love to look out the front window to see the neighborhood action.

Things are Opening Up
Very cautiously optimistic about the re-opening of businesses and places.  I do not want to see us have to start over, losing thousands of people and having to lock down again.  Read an article on the History Channel site that said that the Spanish flu resurgence happened because of troops being moved from place to place, and infected soldiers then infected their communities.  The numbers of dead for the resurgence were huge.

This is not over, folks. Let's continue to behave ourselves and temper our tempers.  It's not only about us, but everyone around us.  Just because we can't see, taste, smell, feel or hear it, just like radiation, it is toxic, and can kill us.

Keep the Faith and Hold Fast
We've come this far, and we can certainly see this to the end. We are strong. We must dig deep to get through the most difficult of times. We can do this!  Keep on keeping on and keep the faith. Blessings!

#ItWillGetBetter

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 4/19/20

Longing for Normal Times

Five Weeks in Quarantine and Counting
Over five weeks at home now.  This past week, it rained off and on a few of the days, but we also had some very nice sunny days. After working out, I like to sit in the sun in our backyard. It lifts the spirits and provides a good dose of Vitamin D.  We can see the Pacific from the yard. It's so tempting to look at that beauty and want to be there. We're not able to go to the beaches yet, so we stay put, admiring the beauty from 1 1/2 miles up the hill.

This coming week, our weather will be absolutely gorgeous, in the 70's and 80's.  We know that many folks will not be able to sit things out in their homes and will most certainly venture out.  It is human nature to want to enjoy nature and to socialize. We yearn to have our lives back to normal.  We want to do what we want to do, as we've always done.  But we really do need to temper our feelings right now, for our own good and the good of others.  We'll have our days in the sun and we'll enjoy them even more than we ever did.  Let's be patient and see this through. We've come too far to mess it up now.

Fruits of Our Garden
Our orange and lemon trees bear fruit year round. We make fresh orange juice for breakfast a few times each week, and I use lemons in my cooking regularly.  We also have a grapefruit tree, which bears fruit seasonally. Right now, it has blossoms, promising fruit in the near future.  Our artichokes are ready and they are huge.  We had two tonight with our dinner.  Delicious!  Our mandarin orange tree has many blossoms and not-yet mature fruit. We're excited for the yield this year, as we didn't get much fruit from it last year.  We grew up in Michigan, so we never take it for granted that we can just walk outside and pick citrus from our own trees here in California.  Soon, our passion fruit, figs and pomegranates will have blossoms and then fruit.  More good healthy food to enjoy, right from our yard.

Bounty from Our Yard

Deliveries Have Become a Highlight
Before I go on, I want to thank all of the warehouse, shipping and delivery people that are working overtime and possibly in unsafe conditions to bring goods to our homes.  They help us #staysafe and stocked with what we need to #stayhome. Thank you forever!

Yes, it has come to this -- we are excited to hear the mail and delivery trucks arrive at our house.  This week, we received items from CVS, Vital Choice (superb wild-caught seafood and other organics), Farm Fresh to You (fresh produce), and Thrive Market (organic and healthy). We're pleased with all of our purchases, and making some of the best-ever recipes.

So true!
(Credit: https://kekememes.uk/)

The Dogs Have Become Our Entertainment
In our home, I think we are all attached at the hip -- Darrell and me and our five dogs.  It is true. Dogs love this quarantine at home thing. The pack is tighter than ever.  They follow me around all day. I can't even go into the bathroom without at least one of them coming to check on me.  They are going to be absolutely lost when we start going back out for errands and dinners.

Masters at Begging for Food and Treats

They say that dogs know us better than we know them because they watch us all of the time, knowing exactly how to push our buttons to get what they want (mainly treats).  Well I'm onto their tricks now because I'm watching them all of the time, and I am learning how to push their buttons. (But I'm still a sucker for giving them treats.)

Things that are Good
So many people are doing so many good things that are uplifting and restore hope and faith.  People are doing clever fundraising for excellent causes, concerts and performances from their homes, donating their time and money even though they aren't feeling secure themselves, and most are staying at home and only going out for essentials.  None of us were ever prepared for such times, and I'm proud to see that we are supporting each other as much as we can from afar.

There is so Much Good in Us

Things that are Concerning
We had a very tense few days last week when our healthcare provider messed up on our paperwork and said that we no longer were covered.  Can you imagine? Really? Right now? Never ever in our lives have we been without health insurance. I hardly slept last weekend, waiting for Monday morning, to call for the twentieth time to get things resolved.  This last time, I reached a very kind and helpful customer service representative who was able to get us reinstated on the spot. Thank God!  As I was thanking her profusely, she said that she understood my concern because she is expecting her first child in July and is very afraid.  Bless her and her baby.

While we are faced with the tragedy of losing thousands of people, we are doing a good job of flattening the COVID 19 curve.  But many people are getting ancy and down-right outraged, and they've been protesting and demonstrating in the streets because they want to be back out in society and they want to go back to work.

The Virus is Straining Our Society in so Many Ways

Understood. But what will the consequences of their behaviors be.  They could spike the curve back up again with their actions. All that we've done may be lost. I hope that this doesn't bring worse to an already dire situation.

We Don't Want to go Backward and Face Even More of This Suffering

Our economy is sliding into the most dreaded scenario of all -- another great depression.  A few stimulus checks will not save us. I trust that there are intelligent people out there working on this multifaceted problematic situation, trying to bring us back to somewhat normal lives, as we sit in our homes, helplessly watching it all happen.

How Do We Go Forward?
It's true that we don't know what we have until it's gone.  Now more than ever, we know how much we want our lives to be ours again.

Personally, I think that we have at least 1-2 more very critical months to get through. If we're going to open up some places, we need to test, test, test. I believe that the government should mail test kits to our homes to have us test every 14-30 days. The virus free and those past the virus can be deployed to safely work and socialize together. Those exposed and/or infected can quarantine until they test out.  Seems like the only way until we have a vaccine, which is looking like six months to a year out.

Test, test, test

Stay Strong
I know that we're all fearful and anxious about our fate.  Please hold fast. Stay strong. Give of yourself to help others. Stay positive. Stay safe.

Wishing you peace.

Peace to You

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 4/10/20

The End of Another Stormy Week

Four Weeks of Quarantine and Counting
Like most of you, we’ve been in quarantine in our home for over four weeks.  It’s still very strange, but interestingly, we have settled into a new regular routine.  While so much illness, death and suffering is going on all over the World, we are so thankful and blessed to be here in our lovely home, with each other and our dogs, and we have resources to weather this virus storm for the coming weeks. By the look of things, I think we’ll be in our homes for at least one or two more months. When we are able to socialize, our norms, such as social distance, personal space, hugging, kissing and hand shaking will likely change for a long time. I wonder about the impact on societies.

Social Distancing- Things May Not be the Same for a Long Time

Thus far, California has not been hit as hard as many other States, like New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Michigan. We do not take this for granted.  We were forewarned, are watching, and taking heed.  We have strong local and State leaders who are making necessary preparations and ramping things up.  Our State is also able to donate or share critical supplies. Personally, we are giving what we can to our heart charities to help as best we can during the crisis.  Our hearts break for our fellow Americans and all others around the World.

We’re Pretty Boring These Days

Our routine is pretty solid now:

• Get up (Some nights we sleep well, others, not so much. How about you?)
• Open up the shades to see the day (Rain or shine, we have beautiful views here.)
• Feed the dogs (By 10 a.m. or else)
• Give the dogs treats (Of course)
• Watch morning shows (Good Morning America, Kelly and Ryan, The View)
• Check Email and social media (Mostly Facebook and a bit of Instagram)
• Make and eat breakfast (Great way to start the day.)
• Get dressed (Yes, we still do this, and we still wear pants.)
• Do chores, projects and crafts (Stuff you gotta do.)
• Work out (Elliptical and yoga)
• Make and eat lunch (Usually salads and soups)
• Happy hour (Woo hoo!)
• Watch evening news (Favorites are NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, BBC)
• Feed the dogs (Their tummy alarms are going off earlier each day.)
• More treats for the dogs (Of course)
• Make and eat dinner (Trying so many great recipes.)
• Watch movies or play games (Online and table games)
• Bathe/shower (Yes, we still do that.)
• Watch late shows (Noah, Colbert, Cordin)
• Get to bed (Are your dreams weird too?)
• Rinse and repeat (Wait. What day is it?)

Highlights of any given day include: US Mail delivery, ordering and receiving food and other goods from delivery services, and having brief conversations with our neighbors, as they do their daily walks.  Isn't it hilarious how people are dressing up to take their garbage out, among other entertaining things?

Taking Out the Garbage in Style

More Changes to Everyday Life
Our beaches and the Pacific Ocean are completely closed to the public now. Some local sun and sea worshippers recently broke this law and congregated at the beaches. They were all given citations. This is serious business, and it seems that the authorities have to protect us from ourselves. 

Beaches all Closed to the Public

We have to disinfect everything that enters our home. All deliveries are carefully handled with rubber gloves, left out for a time and cleaned before we bring them in. 

I find it most disconcerting that the CDC and Government have been telling us for the past few months that we don’t have to wear scarves or masks to keep safe. And now, these are mandatory in most public places. You can be cited for not wearing a face mask now.  Interesting to note that when you watch the reports from other countries that were hit well before and after us, they all are wearing masks as normal protocol. Why didn’t we do this sooner? 

The Weather also Seems to Weep for Us, While the World Heals in Other Ways
It rained a lot here this week.  Seems like the weather is weeping for us. Maybe it's a bit of a cleansing to help wash away this horrible virus that has stricken us.

Without us going about our usual business, the World environment is healing.  I think we have proof that we're our own worst enemy when it comes to ruining the environment. I hope that when things are back to somewhat normal, we will factor that into our thinking and actions.

Air Pollution Clears Due to Lockdown

Holy Week:  Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Passover
Whether or not you are spiritually inclined, no matter what your beliefs, I wish you happy holidays. For those of faith, let’s continue to pray for our loved ones and all of humanity as we face more suffering, sadness, uncertainty and strife.  Remember to #holdfast #staysafe #stayhome.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 4/2/20

The Lone Surfer
Carlsbad State Beach

21 Days Into Our Quarantine
Hope you're all well and hanging in there.

It's been 21 days since we decided to self-quarantine at home. As of two weeks ago, it is mandatory in all of California.  We've only taken a couple of trips out: for groceries (thanks to my Husband, Darrell), one car outing to see the Carlsbad Flower Fields, and last Sunday, we took a bike ride to Carlsbad Village and to the beach.

I am thankful that I have Darrell/Ted and our five dogs to keep me company. I can't imagine having to go through this alone. Even so, frankly, sometimes I do despair. The news is pretty much bad or horrific, and things continue to get worse every day. The USA is now getting hit very hard by this virus, and it is frightening. So many people falling ill and so many dying. It seems to at least double every day. It is just incredibly sad. We've had the advantage of seeing what tragedies have happened in so many other countries, yet we have faltered, and we are paying a tragic price with thousands, if not potentially millions of lives lost every day. God help us!

Sunday's Bike Ride
On Sunday, we took a bike ride to the Village to get out, get some money from the ATM, and to see how our locals are faring.  There were many people out in their yards, enjoying the sunshine and doing chores. Lots of other folks walking, bike riding and running.  They seem to be abiding by the six foot distance rule pretty well.  But at the beach, on the sidewalk trail, people still walk much too close together, and cannot avoid doing so, when they pass each other.  We were surprised, once again, that the roads and sidewalk areas were still quite packed.  The lifeguards, Coast Guard and police were all out watching over things and blocking off beach parking lots.  There were still a few surfers out, but they were well spaced apart.  We noticed that most of the Village businesses are closed, but it was surprising to see one local hot spot restaurant had a line of people, very close together, waiting for take-away orders. Since Sunday, things are even more locked down.  We are now at the point where beach roadside parking is completely closed, and anyone out and not safe distancing can receive up to $1,000 ticket and/or time in jail (where you don't want to be for so many reasons right now).

Yikes! Our Sewer Drain Blocked Up
We absolutely love our home here, but we have faced issues with our main sewer line from the house to the street becoming blocked, both times in the Spring.  Great timing, eh? We are staying home most of the time, and this would have to happen now.  I called Mr. Rooter on Sunday, because we had just recently received a coupon from them.  They came on Monday afternoon, tried to clear the drain, did a hydroblast, which cleared the line and revealed that we had tree roots blocking the pipes, and then came back Tuesday to put a camera down the pipes to further diagnose the problems.  They discovered that we had two big issues, the old clay and cast iron pipes had separated, allowing water to leak and tree roots to block it up. We paid a pretty handsome amount of money, for it, but they fixed it right, and they did give us a discount. They ran new, better pipes and they replaced and sleeved our existing pipe, all the way to the connection to the main street line.  The service workers worked so hard, did a great job and very quickly.  I so appreciate them providing this service, all the while, likely risking their own health. Thank you so much!

Mr. Rooter Workers Doing Such Hard Work to Fix Our Drain Pipes

Keeping Busy, Staying Entertained

We keep up with our routine and try to add new things here and there.  Enjoying our hockey table game. We even have our own Detroit Red Wings Zamboni now! BTW - Darrell wins most of the time.

Trying lots of new, healthy recipes, which is fun and mixes things up a bit. Darrell did a Costco run on Wednesday, and we are well stocked, for which I am grateful.

Still working out every day -- elliptical, yoga, walking and biking.  Really enjoy our sun room, off the garage. It's peaceful, sunny, bright and a great place to work out.

The Internet and television are keeping us up on current events.  We try to limit how much news that we watch because it is -- well -- depressing.  On the other hand, I am really enjoying the live talk shows, being webcast from the stars homes.  They are refreshing, and I think they should all do one show a week from their homes, after this blows over.  Special shout outs to:  Kelly and Ryan, The View, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and Late Night with Stephen Colbert.  Hard to be serious and/or funny without a studio audience and high-tech television production, but they are doing it.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, at Home in a Bubble Bath

Also heartfelt thanks to our entertainers, whether they be famous professionals, like Joan Baez, Jon Bon Jovi, Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, among many others, or very talented not-yet-famous musicians and singers, such as my friend Marie, a brilliant pianist who lives in Aachen, Germany and is recording daily songs to share on Facebook. You are all amazing! You make us happy.

My Heart Breaks 

My heart breaks for the sick, those who are dying and have died, their families, who can't be with them or even honor their passing, the healthcare worker (angels walking among us), those who clean up after us (janitorial, housekeeping, garbage workers, street cleaners), mail and delivery service staff, the jobless, the impoverished, the homeless, the mentally ill, the frail senior citizens, the children and those who are expecting children. This is so hard, and yet somehow we are doing it. We need to hold fast because we probably have months to go before we see brighter days ahead.

Fasten Your Seat Belts

The virus tidal wave has arrived.  New York is our 'canary in the coal mine' and it feels so awful to watch it all happen there and around the World, feeling so helpless regarding what to do.

Folks, it is here, so #stayhome, #staysafe and remember #stayhomesavelives.  We'll continue to pray for all of us.  Hold fast, take care and help others as much as possible during this strange and catastrophic time.

Blessings to you and yours.