Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 6/27/20

Happy Birthday to Us!

It's My Birthday! 
Today is my 61st birthday. It feels somewhat uneventful this year. Normally, Darrell (birthday is June 24) and I travel to some exotice place, or our regular fall back, which is Lake Tahoe. We've spent so many birthdays in so many special places, and I am so thankful that we did everything that we did when we did it. I miss being free to do whatever, whenever.

Because of COVID-19, we celebrate from home with brief visits to local Carlsbad Village locales that practice safety measures. We have been to local restaurants and bars that are doing a great job of keeping things safe.

Today, we had lunch at my favorite, "Pho Brothers" restaurant in Vista, had a visit to a local pub to play Keno, and later, visited our local, "Islands" restaurant to have a couple of martinis and a decadent birthday dessert.  It was a very excellent, low key birthday.

Let Us Eat Cake

Darrell Easter's Surprise Birthday

Surprise Zoom Birthday

My husband's (Darrell Easter) birthday was June 24th. I arranged a surprise Zoom party with his two sisters, Debby and Darcy and brother-in-law, Dennis, and brother, Don, sister-in-law, Becky, and Mary, my sister, and Dan, our brother-in-law. We wished him a happy birthday, told him funny stories, sang him the birthday song, caught up on life, and laughed so much about Don's antics, as well as Mary and Dan's Zoom backgrounds. Don, Becky and Debby Zoomed in from Sebring, FL, Darcy and Dennis from North Carolina, Mary and Dan from Milpitas, CA.  It was about an hour long party, and it was a blast! I recommend it for everyone.

Will Life Ever Be The Same?
I think not. We quarantine. But we still do little things, such as grocery shop, visit a safe restaurant or pub, and even with great care, we risk being exposed. It's so strange to be in what seem to be normal circumstances, yet knowing that this invisible virus may be hiding in any breath.  What a horrible curse this is that we cannot be close to and love one another in the ways that we want to, to hug, to kiss, to be close. It is so sad and it fills me with despair at times.

Strange Days

What We're Doing
I finally was able to get my hair done by my hairdresser, who moved to a new salon in Solana Beach.  She's moved to a little boutique salon, that has a nice vibe.  We arrived a bit early, walked around, texted her and she was ready to take me.  Upon entry, we had our masks on.  She took my temperature and then the overdue four month magic happened.  She colored, highlighted and cut my hair. I am now set for another several weeks, or longer, if we get locked down again. It felt so good to have my hair done once again.

Solana Beach is so awesome. We spent time afterward walking to the beach and had lunch at a very nice little socially safe pub. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the area.

Solana Beach

We continue to keep busy working on home projects, cooking, baking, drawing, playing games and working puzzles, reading, catching up on good movies and series, catching up with family and friends, and trying to stay positive through some of the darkest times of our lives.  Every day, it seems as though yet another challenge faces humanity, and I'm amazed that we are so resilient. I hope that we can endure.  As I write this, we are seeing a resurgence in the virus that threatens all of the progress that we've made. I continue to stay positive and to pray for us. Bless you!

#StayStrong #HoldFast #ItWillGetBetter

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 6/9/20

Summer Skies

At a Loss for Words
Over 10 weeks of self quarantine and the flood gates have opened upon new and unexpected events.  Another African American man, George Floyd, died at the hands of the police. This travesty piles layer upon layer of so many injustices and deaths that have happened for decades. Sadly, these crimes against minorities continue to go on and on for generations.

We are shocked and saddened, and we are angry; so angry for all of the travesties that have been going on for the history of humans, especially for people of color.  We can be such a mean, self righteous and judgmental society, as we hypocritically claim to be holy, peaceful and accepting.  I think this is America's shame.

Time for Change
There are many marches and protests every day. People are expressing their grief, concern, anger and passion about how much they want things to change. I understand how they feel and sincerely hope that we can bring everyone together for the better. We are WAY overdue for change.

Compare and Contrast
When you think about other difficult situations in history, our current issues may seem minor by comparison.  For us, it's been just over 10 weeks of turmoil from COVID-19.  By contrast, the Civil War and residual fallout lasted for over 4 years.  World War II lasted for almost 6 years. The Vietnam War lasted for almost 19 years. I'm not trivializing things, but in the scope of life, what we are experiencing now does not compare to these historical events. We must endure. We haven't ever experienced so much tragedy, in such a short time, in our lives. We are inexperienced, intolerant and impatient.  We are so used to the status quo that we had, which we will probably never see again in our lifetimes.  We needed to wake up and care about what is truly important.  We're getting a huge dose of reality, and it's painful.

Buckle your seat belts for a turbulent ride. It's not over folks. I feel that there is much more to come.

Safe at Home with Selective Outings
We still stay at home 99% of the time, and are blessed to have a great place to retreat.  We've had a couple of errands to pick up online orders, grocery shop and to take three of our dogs to the vet for essential check-ups.

The vet visit was interesting. I was able to get appointments for Sara, Brody and Bones, all the same day that I called. Prior to this, could only get in for sick or emergency. We were to stay in our cars, call and the Vet and Tech came out to us.  They took the dogs inside for their check-ups and came out to relay all information. It was like a drive-in vet visit, but it went very well and we are all set now, which is a relief after waiting 3+ months to see our vet.

Today, we went to Carlsbad Village to check how things are going.  There was a lock down over the past few days because of protestors and potential violence. Most of the shops boarded up their windows, and some are still that way today.  The protests here have been peaceful and soulful. Lots of police cars patrolling, but all peace. There are lots of tourists here to enjoy the perfect weather, ocean and beach. I can't blame them for wanting to get away from the extreme heat of the inland deserts.

Carlsbad Village Boarded Up

For the first time in over three months, we decided to have late lunch/early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, "Barrio".  Their staff is always friendly and welcoming, and the food there is great. We love their soups!  We spent a couple of hours there, enjoying chips and salsa, chicken soup, pablano soup and drinks. They are operating at 50% and following all of the State rules for social distancing and safety. It felt so good to be out again, amongst other people who felt the same way.

First Meal Out in 3 Months at Barrio

Everyday Life Continues

Our Poolside

We are living, "Groundhog Day" every day. When I wake up, I have to remind myself about what day it is. They are all melting together, and much the same.  However, we insert new things to mix it up and challenge our brains.  I work out, do puzzles, take ukulele lessons, draw, sew, garden, cook new recipes, including my first bread from scratch, spoil the dogs and enjoy being online.  Darrell always does the heavy duty housecleaning, extra yard work, home maintenance, laundry and so many other things for us.

My First Loaf of Sourdough Bread Made from Scratch

Time Flies

It is most interesting to watch the reruns of the various talk shows to see how much has happened and changed from month to month. While they are on vacation breaks, the reruns reveal how dire and how ridiculous so many things have been. In a nutshell, our Federal government has failed us in so many ways. Thankfully, our local and state governments have been strong and consistent.

The Future
With all of the close proximity protests, I feel that the virus will peak again soon.  The numbers may even ramp up to where they were a month or two ago.  I know that we are more prepared now with PPE, ventilators and other essentials, but what about our healthcare workers? Can they endure multiple rounds of deathly ill patients and death, yet again?

Exhausted Healthcare Workers

The Hope
Last week, I spoke with my Aunt, who just celebrated a significant birthday.  She has gotten through some health issues and is feeling much better. Her message is that while we are here, we all have work to do. As long as we are alive, we all have work to do.  So keep on doing your good work. #HoldFast #StaySrong. #StaySafe. And know that *ItWillGetBetter

Until next time, I wish you peace.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 5/29/20

Us!

Over Nine Weeks in Quarantine
We've been mostly at home and safe for over nine weeks.  I've lost count of how many times each day we hear the words, "Coronavirus" or "COVID-19". Some days, I have to tune out and limit my news and media exposure.  It's very stressful to not only deal with the virus, but also with the tragic and sad events of the World.  So many sick and dead, protests and riots in the streets, people out of work, families with hardly any means, no food and even locusts wreaking havoc in other countries.  So many people are angry and taking it out on others. And our Federal Government continues to pat itself on the back for doing, "Such a great job". Um, "No!" It is the saddest time that I've experienced in my life, and I do hope that it gets better.  I'll turn 61 next month, and I'm sure that life will never be the same for me as it was just a few short months ago. Maybe that's good? We took so much for granted. Didn't we?

What Happened to Us?

We claim to be the most advanced Country in the World, but we certainly haven't shown it.  At this writing, over 364,000+ people have lost their lives globally to COVID-19, and 104,000+ of those were in the USA.  We rested on our laurels as we saw that huge virus storm coming. We weren't prepared at all.  The tidal wave of Coronavirus/COVID-19 washed over our country with a fury that we never anticipated.  It took weeks (rather like days in virus time) to get ventilators, PPE, and the most simple of things, such as hand sanitizer and face masks, into the hands of our healthcare workers who needed these most, and then longer to get them to the everyday citizens.  It still grinds me that the CDC said for weeks and weeks that we did not need to wear face masks, which are now mandatory.  So many things are so wrong, and so negative. It is frustrating and disheartening. It makes no sense.

There are Bright Lights and Hope

Sorry to be such a bummer, but this is how I feel.  Now for the bright side!

There are positive things that give me hope:

• Our San Diego County and California State Governments continue to move forward with sound strategies and plans to relax restrictions. All have very specific guidelines to follow, but it is good to see things come to life once again.
• Despite all of the bad news, our Carlsbad community continues to be vibrant and kind.  People are pretty much the same as always here - laid back. I don't notice anything that makes me wary.
• While the economy is absolutely nuts, our financial managers are keeping us safe. Being retired, that is a big concern.
• We are getting closer to having home tests and a vaccine.  This monster virus is going to be on Earth, maybe forever, so we need to have ways to fight it off.  Since we don't have a vaccine yet, we need to test regularly. I'm envisioning once a month tests that are mailed to our homes, or we can pick up, and we mail in or drop our tests, get results and know that we are safe to be around others. Once the vaccine(s) arrive, we will probably get them annually.   
• No matter what virus comes in the future, we have learned and 'should' be more prepared.  We should never again let our guard down.  How could such a thing happen in 2020?  This little monster changed the entire World, as we know it.  

We Have Settled into Our Quarantine Lives

Life is good for us here. We want for nothing, which we are grateful for.  We live in such a beautiful place.  We stay home pretty much every day, enjoying our home, yards and pool.  We cook new recipes every day, play games, do projects, classes, artwork and puzzles. It's good to work other parts of our brains. 

Outings

We have been doing outings once each week to drive to the Oceanside Harbor and Beach and then through Carlsbad Village and Beach.  The restaurants are opening to sit down eating, with modifications.  We still notice that almost no one under 25 wears a mask, and only about 30% of all we pass wear masks.  The beach rentals still seem to be thriving, but many places are up for longer term lease or rent.  Our Carlsbad Farmer's Market reopened last week, and there was a 20+ person line waiting to get in on Wednesday, all social distanced and masked, thank you.

We went to our Village Smart and Final and picked up a boatload of good, fresh grocery items again.  There is a young man outside the store who retrieves the shopping carts and sanitizes them for all of us.  All of the workers have masks and most have rubber gloves. I'm so thankful for this store because it's so close and has pretty much everything you would want, even fresh flowers and plants.

Wishing You Well
Please hang in there. Be safe. Be kind. We're all in this boat together, and we will sail through this virus storm into safe waters.  Keep the faith and hold fast. Until next time. Here's a sunset for you!

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 5/18/20

The Pacific Helps Us Forget and Raises Our Spirits

Eight Weeks of Quarantine and Counting
We've been quarantined for over eight weeks and counting.  In so many ways, it has been a very long two months, but in the scope of life, it is only a short time.

Truth!

At times, it feels as though time is standing still.  Most of us are mostly isolated in our homes, and the days blend together so much so that we sometimes forget what day and time it is. Since we retired, someone once told me that every day is like Saturday or Sunday.  I wish that we could be happy about that for everyone who is out of work, but it's a scary and stressful time for so many.  Most retirees have nest eggs (which are also volatile right now), but so many others have no savings to draw on. I pray that everyone in need receives their stimulus and unemployment checks to help them get by. Can't imagine how they are making ends meet.

Venturing Out:
Oceanside and Carlsbad
Last week, I took my first trip in the car in several weeks.  We had to go to a local store to make a return. Even that was a strange experience.  We drove up to the front door, called the store, then a young lady wearing a mask and rubber gloves, came out to our car and took the package out the back hatch. She took my credit card for the refund and returned it in a bleach wipe.  After that, we drove to the Oceanside Harbor. There were quite a few people out. The boating area was pretty packed.  Many of the restaurants are open, but only for take out orders.  From there, we drove through Oceanside, near the beaches. Again, lots of people out walking, riding bicycles and hanging out at the beach.  Then a loop back to Carlsbad and the beach. Same thing. Lots of people out.  We noticed that only about 30% of people are wearing masks, a requirement here in public places.  If you didn't know better, you'd think that things are normal.  But we know that they aren't.

Carlsbad State Beach

Carlsbad
Since then, we've taken two more trips out for cash and groceries.  We have a Smart and Final grocery store just one mile down the hill from our house, and an Ace hardware in the same plaza.  This was the first time in over eight weeks that I had been in a store, as my husband Darrell has been doing our shopping runs, or we order from delivery services. We put on our masks (beautifully made by one of our neighbors) and rubber gloves before we left the car.  Darrell did the hardware shopping while I shopped for the groceries.

I was amazed! That grocery store had pretty much everything anyone would want. It was a Tuesday, and I'm guessing that they received their truckloads of goods that day or the evening before. They had every type of fresh produce, bakery goods, dairy, meats and even boxes of toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  I'm on a quest for yeast, which they did not have, nor can I find it anyplace on line.  So I've made my own sourdough starter instead (first time ever).  All of the patrons and workers had masks and most had rubber gloves.  People kept a safe distance and everyone was very polite.  We returned to the same store a few days ago to pick up a couple of small things.  It was such a relief to see that at least one of our local stores is still very well stocked and with fair prices too.

Our Local Grocery Store Has Almost Everything

We stopped by the local credit union to take out some cash from the ATM. There was a guard at the door, as there always has been.  It felt weird to go to a bank wearing a mask and rubber gloves.  Must be a bit scary for the workers.

We always swing through the Village and by the beach to check things out.  We noticed that even some of the hotels seem to have a few patrons. Makes me curious.  We stopped by the local flower stand to pick up some fresh flowers and a few new new plants.  The proprietors have been able to keep it open because it's completely outdoors.  I'm happy for everyone who is able to keep their business open during these times.

Fresh Flowers Brighten the House

A Generator, Just in Case
We also stopped by a gas station to pick up a gallon for our new generator.  Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it struck me that while we are going through such strange times, we are very vulnerable in many ways.  A few years ago, I attended a work conference where Ted Koppel was the keynote, talking about his book, "Light's Out". He said that hackers from other countries are already in our power grids, and it's just a matter of time before they take one or more down for days, weeks, or even months. Thinking that through, we decided to purchase a good one from Home Depot. We are now set for any outages.

Ted Koppel's Book

Daily Life Continues

Me and Darrell Enjoying Our Pool

Keeping busy enjoying our pool, playing games, catching up with family and friends on the phone and online, experimenting with new recipes, listening in on financial advisors webcasts, taking a Audubon class on how to draw birds, house cleaning, reading and other projects.

My First Bird Sketch from Audubon Class

Still exercising on the elliptical and doing yoga.  I have two new exercise partners (my dogs) who come to visit our sun room while I work out. They generally steal pets, hugs and kisses, watch me and siesta.

My Exercise Partners Aren't Getting Much Exercise

Hope

A lot of things are moving forward toward testing and a vaccine. Every day, it is more promising. But it will still take longer than we'd like.  We have to learn how to live with this virus until we can effectively find a vaccine. Testing is finally becoming a bit more available for those who need it.  Today, a research company in Massachusetts has come up with a potential vaccine, and there's another in Oxford who also has a break-through candidate and many others are racing to help us.

Many places are beginning to open up. There are still a number of protesters clambering for things to open and for going back to work.  It will take some time, but we will get there.  As things reopen, there will most certainly be resurgences and more deaths.  There's a notion that we can't go on hiding from this invisible killer and that we must open things up again, while also trying to protect the vulnerable.  We most certainly are more prepared now than we were two months ago, and we've learned so much. Yet, we have so much more to learn.  I remain cautiously hopeful for all of us.

#ItWillGetBetter
Let's stick together, help and support each other, and we'll get through this.  I wish you all good health and peace.  Until next time #StaySafe and #HoldFast.  I leave you with tonight's beautiful sunset.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, 5/7/20

Quarantine Sunset View from Our Backyard

Seven Weeks of Quarantine and Counting
It has now been over seven weeks of quarantine for us.  We persist.  We are thankful that we've remained safe from the Coronavirus thus far, have a safe place to live, financial resources, food to eat and mainly, that we have each other.  We pray for those who have lost their loved ones, are sick, depressed, jobless, broke, alone, hungry and in need. Every day, it seems as though the news becomes darker, and it is crushing. We won't wake up from this nightmare for some time, but we do see some glimmers of hope.

Perfect Weather

Enjoying Our Home

The weather here has been gorgeous and very warm.  We're spending more time out in the yard and in our pool, which always brightens our days.  We're starting to see more butterflies and different types of birds.  Most nights, I've recorded our Pacific Coast sunsets, using my iPhone in Time Lapse mode.  It looks like one minute of real time equals one second of time lapse.  It's so beautiful to watch the differences each day, when there are clouds, when the marine layer moves in, and on the perfect days, the reds, pinks and yellows are breathtaking.

Things are Beginning to Open Up
Our California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has a multi-phase plan for opening things up here.  This week, our Carlsbad beaches opened, as did many other California beaches.  People seem to be following the social distancing rules pretty well.  The police, lifeguards and others who protect and preserve order are out monitoring for safety.

Our Carlsbad Beaches Opened on Monday

Many Have Become More Angry and Desperate
There are still many protests in our State, Country and around the World.  Some are demonstrating and not taking the proper precautions for their own health, nor for those around them. Some are packing guns and rifles, which is frightening.  There are thousands of people who face not being able to feed their families.  Lines for the Food Banks are sometimes miles long.  My prayer is that we can continue to help people get by, and that things don't become so dire that crime and violence rises.

Some people still don't believe that the virus exists, and that so many are sick and have died.  I'm not sure where they are getting their information, but hope that they can recognize that this is real.  At present, globally over 270,000 people have died from this silent killer, and if people don't take care, there will most certainly be resurgences, which may double or triple that number.

The other disconcerting thing is that, in a few places, protesters are threatening, pushing and even spitting on healthcare workers and police officers.  I will never understand this.  Just watched an interview with a nurse who stood her ground against protesters.  She said that no matter what these people would do, she and her team would kindly take care of them, if they did contract the virus. People, why are we so angry and why are we threatening others? Isn't this virus enough of a threat to us? Why are we not working together to help each other?

Protestors Clash with Healthcare Workers

People Sharing Good Things
Some people love social media, and some despise it.  I genuinely enjoy it, and see it as a bit of a lifeline right now.  People are posting and sharing the most uplifting, positive and inspirational words, images and videos.  There's one that my friend, Kelly, told me about last week called, "Some Good News". It's a weekly YouTube series created and hosted by actor John Krasinski.  If you want to raise your spirits, watch this series. It is amazing and completely positive.  I think you will love it!

A must-watch, "Some Good News"

And here's another ray of hope:  The Great Realisation

Another must watch, "The Great Realisation

We Would have been in Spain Today
The virus shut down our big trip to Spain and Portugal. A couple of months ago, I knew it was looking worse, so I wrote my volunteer friends who were to meet and travel with us.  We all held out as long as we would, but it became obvious that we would have to cancel.  I was hoping to go in the Fall instead, but it looks like Spain won't allow visitors until at least Christmas, so it's more likely that I won't be able to go until next Spring.  We were just talking about what we would have been doing on our trip today.  Sad.. Oh well, another day.

Wishing We Were in Spain 

We've had a Few Visitors at Safe Social Distance
We had two fun visits with local friends in our backyard.  We kept a safe distance and followed other safety practices.  It made us all feel normal and alive again. We had the chance to catch up and share experiences.  I sure do miss socializing with others in person, don't you?

We Bought a Ukulele!
One of my Facebook friends, Bernie, posted photos of two stunning hand-made ukuleles that he recently crafted. I mentioned it to my husband, Darrell, and he wanted to know if he would sell either of them. We both think that it will be fun to learn to play.  Everything worked out, and Bernie and his wife stopped by yesterday to meet our dogs and deliver the instrument.  He gave us a case, a tuner, some songs to begin with and links to sites with helpful tutorials.  My goal is to learn to play Steve Martin's, "Tonight You Belong to Me", from "The Jerk". It's going to be fun!

Our Gorgeous New Hand-crafted Ukulele

Little Things that are Keeping Our Spirits Up

Cooking has been a blast!  I've made so many new dishes, and change it up every day.  We have fun themes, such as: meatless Mondays, taco Tuesdays (Mexican food of all sorts), throwback Thursdays and we still have happy hours out in the yard and pool.  I have an air fryer now, which we love. I think the french fries are comparable to In and Out Burgers.  My latest idea is to have at least one international dinner each week, where we'll visit Spain, Italy, Thailand, China, India, etc. by preparing recipes from those countries.

Every night, I do a turn-down service for us in our bedroom. No chocolates, but an inviting and cozy welcome to beddie bye each night.

The dogs are pushing our food buttons and trying to get us to feed them earlier each day, as well as pressuring us for treats.  They are truly masters of manipulation!

Masters of Manipulation

We play table and outside games, as well as mindless online games. Our favorite is still our table hockey game.

Still working out most days each week on the elliptical, doing yoga and swimming. Our sun tans are blossoming with the great weather.

I hope that you have some new simple things to brighten your days!

Keep the Faith
Until next time, I wish you all of the very best.  Please stay safe and keep the faith.  #ItWillGetBetter. I just know it!

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