From MessiMimi...a fill-in.

One of my readers (perhaps others) is not happy about how 'dismissive" my posts seem to be during this time of death and danger.  I try to write light-hearted because there is way too much depressing information out there.  My life is not all sunshine and roses, but I do not want to share the hard stuff with readers, as I am still a bit private even though anonymous.  I also do not want to brag about the things I am doing because I have the privilege of being upper-middle-class and can afford to assist.   So I like to make reading the blogs a break from reading the news.  I also avoid politics (I do give in now and again to try to convince others) when I can.

Below is an exercise from Messimimi's blog.  Simple and a nice distraction.


1. I can’t wait for _______ to reopen after the quarantine.

2. I am in no hurry for __________ to reopen after the quarantine.

3. These days, ______ is my default mood.

4. Have I ever told you ________?


You can play in the comments and then perhaps I will repost with my answers.

Here is a course from Yale on happiness you can audit for FREE.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Apologies as I have not been around to read my Bloggers (you folks) as much as I would like to. I have been busy cornering the market on milk, ricotta cheese, eggs, spreadable butter, real butter, and coffee creamer. On the odd chance you might be interested in how to do this I will explain.

Last week on Tuesday I ordered the above through an online service called InstaCart where local people who have a car and need income go to the grocery to shop for you. Once the shopping has started they ping your phone when they want to substitute a product for something not on the shelves. These shoppers can be teenagers who have never shopped in a grocery store or others who have experience and will map out the aisles to be the most efficient.  I got two pounds of strawberries on the last order, which I do not remember selecting!  Anyway, you are looking over their shoulder sometimes when they send a photo of the partially empty shelf with alternative products. You can tip up to 25% for the driver. I do that and also leave money in an envelope on the porch where they deliver as cash is probably more important to them. You are instantly messaged to your phone once the order is on its way. The first order came fine even though it was missing a few items and had the strawberries.

My second order, I needed dairy type products. I made my order online and waited for a few days and never got any response. They do not guarantee a short or quick delivery. Usually, you have a four-day delivery window and they can deliver as late as 9:00 P.M.  This tool to avoid the virus requires patience.

Since some times had passed, I was concerned the order was not completed, so I went in and ordered once again. This time I got thrown off the internet as we lost electricty due to that nasty front that came across the East Coast. By afternoon the power came back on and I went through the whole process again ordering my dairy stuff.

I know my brilliant readers are waaaay ahead of me on this. I got the order two days later. Then the very next morning after that I got the same order again! And the morning after that I found the same order on my front porch! For elders this ordering online is a little crazy.  I will pay for it all, as it was my fault, I guess.  If I do not go to the store, I will be much more careful.

Now I have reached out to provide this free food to my friends.  I managed to get rid of one dozen extra eggs to a friend who is in her 80's and confined to her retirement campus. She is a former nutritionist and probably one of the best bakers I have ever met. She left me a little surprise of her culinary talents after I dropped the eggs off.

I finally had to freeze some because everyone I contacted was stocked!  My freezer is now also overstocked.

Next hubby Instant Messaged our gardener fellow who lives with his mother and I told hubby to tell him he had to take all of the order! He is coming today to get it, I hope!

I was going to make an Italian cheesecake with the Ricotta.  Can you freeze ricotta?  By the way, do you need anything?

Deal With It

It is a roller coaster ride, is it not? Some days I can be very Zen and so thankful that spring is abundantly showing off everywhere in my area. I am truly happy that I am ahead of the curve on weeding, frozen foods, paper products, chocolate, and phone calls. This is the valley in the ride.

Then I get to the start of a hill. I had my first Zoom meeting today with a volunteer group. I actually had to change out of PJs (at least the tops), wash my face, put on some make-up, and brush and blow dry my hair as it is getting heavy and missing its haircut! Then I had to figure out how to link to the meeting. I started 5 minutes early and FINALLY after multiple missed attempts did some corrections in the mass list of ID and Password and other entries that would not validate and logged in only 5 minutes late! The damn meeting was an hour and a half long. It was very productive and I managed to get volunteered for only one or two things to do.

This is what I use to cut hubby's hair and he looks great!

Now, this introvert is exhausted from just that, BUT this afternoon I have to get in the car and mail some face masks to my son, pick up the mail, and drive my car around in the country to charge the battery.  It does not like sitting idle for days.  Hubby is thrilled to go for a car ride.  Does he remind you of your pet?

Since hubby has been outside working more, he is creating more laundry.  He did a wash yesterday and is folding it today.  I am holding my breath and letting him fold clothes...egad.  That is the downhill, cannot-keep-up side of this ride.  Relearning PowerPoint to convert to a .jpg to put on the gardening FB page is also much more challenging than it seemed to be years ago.  And what I have to post is time-sensitive.

I am totally bored with my cooking.  Totally.  And we have a larger variety of foodstuffs than most.  I just want some salty fatty food from a restaurant.  My next job is to call the restaurant and place a take-out order.  This is exhausting for me and a little nerve-racking.

Above is an odd meal I cooked the other night.  Kentucky BBQ chicken, Boiled Japanese Daikon radish with ginger and oyster sauce, and some curry-flavored stir fry vegetables.  I order bi-weekly veggies and must find ways to use these.

My dreams stay with me longer.  They are odd and usually involve me trying to keep up on some trips or meet-up with others in some tight time frame.

Then we reach the valley once again when I read an article that says this virus was probably in China in mid-November as they had an unusual uptick in flu cases.  (You may remember that we left China the last week of October!)  So I can be thankful for that dodging of the bullet. 

Now that I have erupted in verbal chaos, just exactly how is your day going?

A Harump Followed by Something Worthwhile

Learning to live in the time of Coronavirus is not easy for those who are inflexible or sorta-flexible or just plain privileged. 

While commercial fishing is allowed, our governor has banned recreational boating. This has resulted in a 15,000 signature petition for him to lift it if boats agree to stay 50 feet apart, only family members on board and no parties on beaches. It is hard for good old boys to give up such a hobby and I can understand why. I am sure the state had images of beer parties and boats rafted together, or remote beach parties, etc. Also, they did not want their DNR officers spending time on drunken get-togethers on the water when they need to focus on other stuff.

Hubby can canoe and kayak as that is considered exercise, so he is not totally dismayed. Our governor survived cancer and has a good knowledge of medical science, but elected by the GOP, the Trumpers are getting mad at him for taking away their 'rights'.  (The right to infect the nation if they want.)  I have learned that many (at least those on FB, Twitter or the media) conservatives are ALWAYS suspicious of science and think scientists are members of some dark-state cult. Pray for those scientists that stand behind the President at each daily briefing and manage to not strangle him while subtly contradicting what he says to keep us alive.

We also learned that we can no longer work in the children's garden to raise food for the free pantry. It seems that the University will not allow volunteers (Master Gardeners) to work on their own. The property is owned by the museum and they do not mind, although they have pretty much shut down their offices. The director of the museum told us yesterday that she is now employed at one hour a week!! Other Master Gardener projects can continue. One is run by a church and its volunteers are not part of the MSG program and the garden is on church property. A larger food garden is run by an environmental organization and pays its staff...so that is considered agriculture which is exempted from the Shelter in Place edict, even though MSGs are part of it. Hubby is bereft that he has planted seedlings in trays and cannot transplant to the children's garden! I have begged him not to chance it because there is a 5,000 dollar fine! I am pretty sure they would waive it, but still.  How would he weed and water weekly anyway?

My online grocery orders arrive with about 70% of what I order. The only things missing are the things I really need like milk and butter! I may have to mask up and go to the grocery,  now that the CDC is recommending masks...after all this time...!  I dropped off the larger portion (10) of my N95 masks to the local Fire Chief in a dash grab process, but retained a small supply in the event we do get sick.

My freezer is full as is my fridge and I cannot complain if I run out of necessities like coffee, chocolate or wine.  I will grow in character...some people have run out of shelter, food and the ability to see their loved ones.

But, having written all of this, I have an excellent uplifting video on the virus. Please watch this doctor and I am sure your tensions will ease:

Short Version
https://youtu.be/Qwx3JMRTz8U

Longer Version
https://vimeo.com/399733860

Notice a Difference?

Yes, the parking lots are emptier if not totally empty in front of our favorite restaurants.  I can order for pick-up, but I am still a little worried about germs for all that.  The photo below was the last time we ate out...March 17...perhaps we were pushing it?

All our meetings have been canceled (which is driving my extrovert husband bananas in trying to find stuff to do.)

We are elderly but fairly active and do not see ourselves as elderly...this has been a strong reminder of how few years we have left on this earth.

Every news report we fall into the "vulnerable" category.

I am close to my children, but we do not talk sometimes for months and that has changed to texting and phone calls several times weekly as they check up on us!

My husband's fishing buddy (in his late 50's) who calls maybe twice a year is stuck at his condo in Colorado and called to make sure we are doing well and to remind us his son, who lives near us, can be called upon for any assistance we might need. Then he tells us his wife's father passed away last week due to the virus...

My next-door neighbor (newly moved in) also offers us assistance if we need it. He is in his late 50s.

Our intermittent helper (gardening and such--the man released from prison last year) calls before he comes to help with mulch and asks if he can bring anything from the store for us.

My own brother ( a real introvert) who never calls me unless we are on travel together and trying to coordinate something or pick a place for a meetup, called to see how we were doing!

I am ordering expensive frozen dinners online as a break to cooking. When I say expensive...it is like eating out without all the ambiance and wine but the same bill. I also think the serving sizes are much like TV dinners and not going to satisfy hubby.

I spend much of my time washing things...not clothes or dishes...but mail, food packages, prescription bottles, and of course, my hands.

We worked in the children's garden today and I discovered that you have no impulse to touch your face when your hands are covered in dirt. Try it.