flowers — Page 88

Day Forty-Three

April 25, 2020 at 9:48 am by Claudia

I feel like we’ve done a marathon the past couple of days. I’m ready to get back to my routine!

Yesterday: After I finished my blog post, we pulled on clothes, donned our masks and gloves, I wore a wool hat – let’s face it, I looked like a bag lady. I hadn’t showered or washed my hair. It was raining and cold. But we needed fresh vegetables and I wanted to see what was out there at the nursery, because I need to start buying some plants and seeds.

We drove separately, met in the parking lot, and went in. This was the first time since we began self-isolating that I had been out in the shopping world. Don went inside to get produce. I grabbed a cart and walked around the nursery. There was one other person there, but I stayed away from him. I couldn’t take photos because it was so dark and rainy. They didn’t have as much stock as I had hoped, but it’s been very cold around here. The delay in stocking certain plants may be due to the weather and/or deciding to order less because of the virus. I’m not sure. So I got about half the things I wanted; 2 big bags of potting soil, three hanging plants (the same that I buy every year,) a flat of pansies, and some seed packets. I still need plants for the secret garden, the funky patio, and a flat of impatiens. But I was so determined to get in and out of there quickly, that’s all I bought. I’ll make a second trip in a week or so.

We met back at the cars. I headed home. Don had to stop to get gas. And then began the endless washing of produce, with potatoes and sweet potatoes and bananas and asparagus and broccoli and apples drying on paper towels on the counter. Then we showered and dumped our clothes in the washer, using the last smidgen of detergent we had left.

I had an anxiety attack later, so I guess it was more unsettling than I thought.

This morning: We needed laundry detergent, dish soap and several other items – we didn’t order online this week – and Don decided to go to the store at 7 am. We had a list of things we needed. Three items were essentials: laundry detergent, disinfectant wipes (hoping that there might be some in stock because we only had one left) and dish soap. When Don pulled up in the driveway, he brought two bags to the porch. He got wipes! He said it was the first thing he asked about when he got there and he was told that there were about 12 left in stock and he should get them right now. Huzzah! And he got everything else on the list. Once again, we were out there wiping everything down, leaving it to dry on the picnic table, showering, etc., hauling it all inside, and now, finally, I’m drinking my second cup of coffee.

This is friggin’ exhausting. Not just physically, but emotionally.

We’re in now and we’re not venturing out for several days. I’m still feeling some anxiety – in fact, I just had to take some deep breaths while writing this post.

I didn’t get to it until late in the day, and I was really tired, but I nearly finished the puzzle yesterday. This morning while Don was at the store, absolutely sure that I didn’t have all the pieces, I started to finish it. One piece was missing. I was so disppointed. But when I looked down at the floor under the chair – there it was!

Ain’t she purty? It’s so satisfying to finish one of these. This one has 1000 pieces and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I started it last Saturday and finished it today. Now, we’ll keep her on display for a few days – until a new puzzle arrives and I start the whole thing over again. (I’m a bit of a control freak so I’m grateful that Don has not interest in participating because I want to do it all by myself, words my parents must have heard more times than they could begin to count.)

By the way, I received a comment on the blog from Janice of Galaxy Puzzles:

I just wanted to drop by as the owner and say thank you for mentioning Galaxy Puzzles and also for your purchase. It is a very small woman owned business dedicated to, you guessed it, mostly jigsaw puzzles. You are one of many either discovering or rediscovering the love of puzzles during the pandemic. They are great distraction and anxiety reducer. Galaxy Puzzles is still shipping quickly although there are increasing courier delays. More inventory has just arrived and even more is expected next week. Please feel free to drop by, add to a wish list, explore or join the email list. Now I’m off to spend a few minutes exploring your site!

Thank you, Janice. She also mentioned that they have fresh stock. Let’s support a woman-owned business! Plus, part of your payment goes to charity. Galaxy sent me a notice saying my puzzle had shipped and I had just placed the order the day before, so I’m quite impressed by their customer service.

Today? I’m going to plant some pansies in some of my pots. I can’t wait!.

Stay home. Stay safe. Wear masks if you are out, even if your state does not require you to do so. Ours does, and I’m ever grateful to Governor Cuomo for his strong and steady hand during this crisis.

By the way, I went through the entire day yesterday thinking it was Thursday and when Don informed me it was Friday – right before we went to bed – I was sure he was wrong. Oh boy, I’m losing it.

Happy Saturday.

Day Thirty-Nine

April 21, 2020 at 9:24 am by Claudia

The day dawned with sunshine all around and now it’s cloudy. Apparently, we’re getting thunderstorms this afternoon. Darn it. I was all set to do some work outside. I did get out yesterday afternoon to clear some more garden beds. I have a long list of things to do out there. I’ll run outside after I post this to try to get some of it done before the rains come.

Then it will be puzzle time.

The flowering quince is in bloom.

And the lilac buds are coming along. Some sun would help! I can see the peony shoots coming out of the ground, as well. And the clematis is leafing out.

Spring – you’ve been very slow this year. You seem to be taking your own sweet time. I can’t wait to smell those lilacs!

I worked a lot on the puzzle yesterday. I started A Gentleman in Moscow. And what a sweet sigh of happiness it brings. It’s such a joy to read Amor Towle’s words again. I’m taking my time, savoring each and every page. Maybe I should just read it over and over until this pandemic is no more?

One of the vintage Penguins I ordered arrived yesterday – it took three weeks to get here from England – as well as a John Prine T-shirt that Don ordered, but both things are currently inside the red bench in the kitchen where all mail sits for 24 hours. It forces us to delay gratification. Let’s hope it’s character building.

We also had to order coffee directly from Peet’s because it was inevitably out of stock on our grocery orders and we couldn’t risk running out. That arrived via UPS late in the afternoon. We had to wipe it down, of course, and then wash and rewash our hands. I know it’s the new normal and most days, I’m fine with it. Yesterday was not one of those days.

Once again, we fell asleep while watching Cheers – that makes three nights in a row. Lately, it seems we can’t make it past 9:30 pm!

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Tuesday.

Day Thirty-Five

April 17, 2020 at 10:11 am by Claudia

Day Thirty-Four. Governor Cuomo has extended stay-in-place, lockdown, self-isolating – whatever you want to call it – until May 15. At least another month. This isn’t a surprise, of course. But it does overwhelm.

I’m not in a very good mood today and it is what it is. I’ve been feeling under the weather for a few weeks and though I’m much better now, it was a pain in the tush. The weather has turned cold. Tonight, we might get 2 – 3 inches of wet snow. That little bit of news sort of set me off this morning. I started to worry about my plants that have buds and flowers, I felt resentful (how dare Mother Nature?!!) and the ‘Overwhelm,’ which is the best thing I can call it, took over. The temperatures around here are 20 degrees less than normal for this time of the year. This is the time of year I love to be outside working and the combination of the cold weather and not feeling well has kept me from doing that. And then, of course, there’s the self-isolating.

Anyway, I’ll pull myself out of it. I’m a strong believer in letting myself feel whatever mood I’m in, not apologizing for it, and then moving forward. I’m betting we’re all battling this kind of thing, especially during this pandemic.

Life seems to be reading, eating, doing dishes, doing the laundry, trying to grab a slot for grocery delivery, watching old reruns – on repeat. I know I’ll feel better when I can get outside and accomplish something. Don mowed the front lawn for the first time on Sunday, which is something I always look forward to doing.

Okay. No more feeling sorry for myself. It’s very cold out there but it’s sunny. I can hear bird song. I have to clean the bathroom. We ordered a few more groceries – we start a new list as soon as we’ve had a delivery – and couldn’t get a delivery date, but to my surprise we did snag a pick-up opening, so we’ll drive to the store tomorrow with masks and gloves on and pick up our groceries. And then maybe we can take a break from it for a while.

By the way, I called the main number for this grocery chain to ask a question about our bill and in the course of the conversation was told quite firmly that drivers are not allowed to take tips. Hmmm. I suggested that, given the circumstances, it would be nice if, during checkout, we had the option to add a tip, as we all know we are not dealing with “business as usual.” He said he would pass on that suggestion.

Then I called our local nursery to see if some sort of protocol was in place for plant shopping. The nursery is connected to the farm stand I mentioned earlier. There is a protocol in place for the farm stand, which is indoors, but not for the nursery, which is primarily outdoors but is also in three different greenhouses. So far, plant buying traffic has been quite low, given our crazy weather, but in a couple of weeks it will increase. Since I don’t plan on buying anything for at least another week, she suggested I call back as they will probably have to come up with a plan by then.

Obviously I’d go there in a mask and gloves, with hand sanitizer. (Governor Cuomo has an Executive Order requiring anyone who is out in public to wear a mask.) I’d be armed with a list and would only get those items on my list, with no wandering around looking at things. That makes me sad, as it’s one of my favorite things to do. But efficiency is a must. Both Don and I would take our cars, so we could load everything at once. I’m very clear on what I need, having done pretty much the same thing for years – plants for pots on the porch, the funky patio, and in the secret garden. Two big bags of potting soil. Three hanging plants.

If I can make my porch the haven it usually is for us, I’ll feel much better about things. I’ll feel a bit more free and certainly more at peace.

Thanks for being patient with my clearly meandering thoughts today. Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Day Forty-Three

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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