We need a little beauty today. The tulips are doing that artful drooping that I love.
We made a mistake last night. We tuned into MSNBC to watch the primary results, but most of the coverage, sandwiched in between primary results, was of COVID-19. A lot of experts spoke and it was solid information, but way too much of it. What we heard was alarming; much of it I’d already read during the course of the day, but suffice to say this strange new world of self-quarantine, self-isolation, social distancing, whatever you want to call it, might be with us much longer than 14 days. It’s too overwhelming to take in. Though I slept, I woke up early and I feel edgy today.
So: No More. We will know what we have to know and the fact is, we already know it. We’ll do what has to be done. But I’m going back to the safe distance from the news that I usually maintain. A lot of figures and charts and ominous predictions are not something I want to take in or have in my brain. Fear is catching. Let’s not fan the flames.
Let’s help each other out here. But I ask you to try to refrain from dire predictions and lots of facts and figures. We don’t need that. I don’t need that. What we do need is love and support and tips and ideas as to how to spend our time at home and affirmations and prayers and helpful words for each other during this stressful time. Share your unease, share how you’re coping with anxiety, share thoughts and truths and we will reach out to each other as we always do in this little community. Share helpful podcasts and book titles and movies to watch. If you see the humor or irony in this situation – and it’s there – share it. Of course, I realize that is already happening in the comments because you are wonderful, giving people who reach out to others. The joy of this blog is, and has always been, the loving community we have created here. Thank you for that.
You know I believe this: We are all one. I can’t think of a time where this truth is more imperative, more profound. I’m praying for everyone, everywhere. Let’s send out positive energy to all the world.
Happy Wednesday.
Point taken. Beautifully ‘spoken’ words. Yummy yellows in the photo; cheery! I’m hoping for a sunny day after our blissful rain in SoCalif; more’s on the way; it is indeed our March Miracle for a state which was again reaching toward drought.
But feel free to share your worries, Vicki. And how you’re coping. I found the info as to groceries and freezing, etc., very helpful! Thank you for that. I love what you share here. xo
You can see by all my comments that I didn’t sleep a wink all night. Saw the same stuff on TV that you did; it’s too much. But we’ll be okay. Thank you for giving your readers the space to hug each other and you. Now let’s all have the best day we can today! (I’ll be sleeping of course… [ha!])
Sleep, Vicki. So sorry you had problems last night! xo
But we have beautiful snow on our mountain tops this morning; I can see them from my driveway!!! Wasn’t there yesterday unless clouds and ending rain shielded us from seeing it; snow is always a squeal-y (as in delight) surprise here. It was 39 degrees at 6am. You don’t always see that kind of low temp (low for us!) in mid-March, not in my SoCalif locale. I hope the snow doesn’t melt too fast; it’s really clear and sunny today.
Oh, how lovely! Enjoy your special view today, Vicki!
My home is my sanctuary. But I do enjoy positive posts of how others are doing the same. Maybe, you could post about how you can make one of those lovely dollhouses a sanctuary. I would so love to dream like a child again for just a few moments a day. I loved to play with my tiny little dollhouse so many years ago. Every time my mother made me a new piece of furniture out of matchboxes or cardboard, I was so excited. What joy there is in such delightful memories.
I don’t know if I can do a post like that now, but there are plenty of posts on the various dollhouses that you can read. Just go up to the navigation bar and click on Dollhouses/Minis – tons of info on how I decorated and designed the interiors.
Take care of yourself, Nancy!
I’m on day four of self isolation. I turn on MSNBC briefly several times a day, but like you said, it is too overwhelming. I think my apartment will be the cleanest it has ever been in a couple of weeks of this, but I am afraid we are in for a much longer haul than two weeks. I hope everyone will take this time to reflect on the fact that we are all one and that we need to rely on each other. It will be that which gets us through this in the end. xo Laura
You are so right, Laura. Take care, my friend.
Well said Claudia. I woke up at 3:30 and could not sleep. As a recent breast cancer survivor, a few things popped up recently and I need to get through an MRI one day next week and a biopsy on another day. No worry, I’m feeling guarded but optimistic. However, add the Virus and it’s hard. Like you, I’m backing away from information overload and self-soothing in my craft room. I must say that I do like your daily subject line and I find myself wanting to check in and “see how Claudia is today. “ Sitting simply meditating by saying to myself “breathe in peace, breathe out calm” often helps me when I’m feeling anxious and maybe it could help you also. Take care.
I do somewhat the same thing, although it’s “Let go. Let God.”
Take care of yourself, Susan. You have a lot on your plate right now. Sending prayers for healing and for good results on your tests. xoxo
Good Morning,
Your words are terrific and meaningful. Perspective just changed , there was an earthquake this morning. I thought there was a problem with the roof due to snow . Then I knew because of the shaking. Epicenter was 50 miles from where I live which is east of the Salt Lake Valley.
Things can happen fast.
Safe Well,
Kaye
Park City, UT
Oh no! I hope you’re okay. So unsettling. You’re right, things can change very quickly. Thank you Kaye.
I’m with you. When all this stuff enters your dreams you know it’s too much. Love seeing your flowers. Our landscape is covered with snow. Actually, I don’t mind as it is really is beautiful.
Keep safe,
Eileen
You too, Eileen. Give my love to Woody. xoxo
On instagram, subparparks is a good laugh–illustrations of the national parks with bizarre yelp reviews from visitors. Also on instagram, SandraBoynton. I’m trying to keep to some kind of schedule; having dogs to walk helps. It’s nice having this community to share with.
I’ve seen the National Parks account post some of the same things. They’re hilarious!
I think a schedule is essential. I need to be a bit more diligent in that area.
Thank you, Linda!
The media coverage of this thing is truly at saturation point, it’s all virus all the time. A cacophony of voices and opinions and speculations. If you don’t disengage it will do your head in.
It surely will, Deborah!
Dear Claudia and everyone else, Greetings from Florida. It is sunny here, and caterpillars are munching. Although my daughter and her darling children are only three blocks away, we are communicating by skype and FaceTime for now. She and her husband both work in a very busy restaurant on the beach. Although Fort Lauderdale Beach is closed (! during spring break!) there are already lots of revelers here from everywhere, who got here by plane and cruise ship, and they are hungry! so we are being abundantly cautious.
On a completely different note, does anyone have expertise with adjusting sewing machine tension? I have a one year old Singer machine, a very basic model. As many Singer machines as I have had, as many times as I have attempted to follow a manual, I always encounter this problem. This machine does not even come with a manual, but with a website that does not seem to be operational. As Charlie Brown would say, “Argggghhh!” Helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.
I can’t believe people are hanging out together at the beach! Oy.
As for tension, my Featherweight is currently not being used because I have no idea how to fix the tension. Anyone out there who can hlep Leslie? Take care!
Well, they WANT to hang out at the beach, but they can’t do it in Fort Lauderdale. The police won’t let them. I sympathize with people who have been looking forward to Florida sunshine, but “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
Exactly!
And Claudia, I’ve always meant to tell you how much I appreciate the quilt square signature assigned to each of us. It helps keep track of who is who. And I love my turquoise. (-:
So glad you like it! You’re welcome, Leslie! xo
there are some videos on youtube. Is that what you need?
Thank you Jan. I will check.
Hi Claudia,
I too am feeling the anxiety of this situation. In Michigan the schools are closed for the forseeable future. My kids and spouses all need to work, so we are caring for 7 and 10 year old granddaughters during the day. Having them here helps us stay busy and we keep the news off for the most part every day.
I worry a little about the food situation. I generally have a freezer pretty well stocked but I still need to shop for alot of other things especially doing kid lunches now. The panic buying is really out of hand.
Fortunately I have plenty of toilet paper for a couple weeks!
On the plus side.. schools are supplying breakfast and lunch packs for kids who rely on them. People in our community are reaching out and helping one another. My daughter and a couple of friends are sharing what they need but couldn’t find in the store and buying for each other if they see it. I pray that we will come out of this more united as a country.
Stay well,
Marilyn
This makes many of us anxious. I understand. It’s wonderful that you can be there for your grandkids, who are suddenly no longer in school. And I love your point about helping each other, hopefully bringing us all closer together. Take care of yourself, Marilyn!
hey, I am stuck at home (I’m old) with a severely handicapped daughter on the level of a one year old who yells to get things done and a husband! If I can survive that I am sure all the readers of this blog can survive this emergency time. If everyone in the country could just stay home and away for something like 3 or 4 weeks this thing would shut down.
I admire you more than I can say, Jan. Sending you lots of love and support.
We’re in now and don’t plan on doing anything but take a walk or two. Thank you!
The daughter part isn’t hard.
xo
I am sewing face masks for the family doctor’s practice, reading and knitting.
There are a lot of ideas on internet.
I am sewing on a 45 year old Husqvarna machine.
The holder for the yarn spool ( think in english it is named a bobbin) on my machine has a very small screw which you can turn either way to loosen or fasten the tension. It also might help to use cotton thread instead of polyester which has too much stretch.
Thanks so much for this, Dorien. Stay home and stay safe.
In Ohio, with 11 year old who is not interested in the myriad online offerings of museum tours, Cincinnati Zoo live animal shows at 3 pm daily, so many things and yet, he resists. We take walks around block, noticing things we normally overlook. He and I both have cold and cough so staying inside mostly. We are fortunate to be able to be home. My husband has small machine shop with 5 employees, they continue working for now.
Taking a walk is a good idea for a restless 11 year old. This is a challenge, isn’t it? Take care of yourself, Jan!
Hi JanL, if you have a smart phone, try visit to the Pocket Penguins app. I’m downloading it again on my phone. They cheer me up sometimes when I am waiting for something to happen. It’s fun to see them swimming around, getting fed from time to time, reacting to each other. They are at the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. Although, I just looked at them today and they look like they are waiting for something to happen – like no one turned on the lights today. Oh, now they are being fed!
I am checking in with family much more often via text, phone and Instagram…makes us feel more connected. I am blessed with LOTS of outdoor space and I have been taking advantage of the spring weather and walking around, greeting the quail and even being a bit tolerant of the mole in the back yard. Times are calling for tolerance and kindness!
Tolerance, kindness and love. Agree. We have a lot of outdoor space, but it’s awfully cold here today! But it’s sunny, which is a blessing. Take care, Melissa!
Well stated, Claudia. My anxiety level (as one in the high risk group because of lung issues) is pretty high but I will feel better after the first few weeks of self-quarantine, knowing that I will be “starting fresh” and that my time in Canada or before didn’t yield anything. If it hasn’t come by then, good. Which doesn’t mean stop, but I think the anxiety level will lessen. I’ll still stay in, as long as it takes. Meanwhile, when I get too stressed, I pet the cat. She purrs. We chill.
Reading a new Christopher Fowler Bryant and May mystery — you’d love these wacky guys with loads of Brit history thrown in as they work out the case! And did you see the Sondheim section in the NYT Sunday? Big, happy sigh!
Stay well, stay up!
jeanie, did you get home from Canada already? I was thinking of you when I heard him close the Canadian borders this morning.
Stay in, my friend. I have three of the Bryant and May books on my shelf. I tried reading one and just couldn’t get into it. I’m sure that sometime in the future I’ll try again.
Love Sondheim. My favorite.
In the humor dept; one of my dogs picking up on our enhanced professional requirements and
erratic schedule decided to ” self-quarantine” under the love seat. Later he came out tail wagging and looked at me as if to say “see, I’m being a good citizen”. I needed and so appreciated the laughter brought about by a wonderful little dog. God Bless Every Single One of You and Your Precious Families. Stay Safe.
Love that story, R! Oh, I miss my doggies right now. They provided enormous comfort and a lot of laughs, as well. Take care of yourself, R. Stay safe.
Welllll…..I do have another one that believes she’s a princess, sit’s on a pillow all day, and requires actually seeing us wash her personal crystal water dish and filling it with bottled water from the frig…..for every single tiny sip (Lord give me strength). I’m thinking she might like to visit Claudia in NY for the duration…….no need to thank me ! HA
Sorry for this serious notation, but I called it a day at 2AM this morning and I read your blog to unwind yet did not have the stamina to remark.
I sincerely thank you for boldly enforcing self quarantining in yesterday’s replies. I know it easy or popular to do so but you were spot on. It is scientifically factual that quarantining is key to our best outcome. Thank you very much for speaking up.
She IS a princess, R!
Thanks for your kind words. It must be done. That’s the only way we can make a dent in this. Take care, R!
Obviously I’m stupidly tired but I cannot resist sharing one more tidbit.
There is a Pub in Illinois offering a roll of toilet paper with a carry-out order.
All I can think of is “nothing says YUM like toilet paper and chicken wings.”
Now I’m wondering if I dare push send……I think I’ll dare.
Oh my heavens! I’m glad you dared, R. xo
Wise and encouraging words, Claudia, as always!! I think all of us feel a bit better when we see your posts. And even more, thank you for letting us speak to each other in your posts. That means so much.
I am spending some time today setting some bunnies, etc out for Easter. I thought they might brighten the surroundings. We woke up to snow this morning. ugh. But it is pretty much gone already, and supposed to be 55* tomorrow.
Hope everyone is feeling well today, and doing all we can to follow the rules. (Although the rules change several times every day it seems.) Take care & stay safe & stay home if that is at all possible!! Each one teach one. Leading by (good) example is always a good thing.
Absolutely. I echo your thoughts.
I wish it was warmer outside, I’d like to get to work on garden cleanup. But it’s quite cold today!
Take care, Chris.
I too found myself sucked into cable news for a bit and have happily switched to music. We still get the newspaper and I’m going with that for a while. I don’t need up to the second info. If things get that dire my phone will alert me! I cut forsythia to force a week or so ago and it is blooming now on my table. It’s nice and sunny today so I hope to get in the garden even though it’s pretty cold. No news for me for a while. If I want to make myself miserable I’ll just look down from the pretty forsythia at the mass of receipts on the same table waiting to be put together for the accountant. Taxes! Ugh. Life goes on.
Same here. I’ve been hearing rumblings that the due date for taxes might be delayed. I’m trying to get an answer from our accountant. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Take care, Deb.
Yeah, I sure could go for THAT. We have a check in limbo that we were counting on, so we could pay (what is to us) a sizable amount of money to the IRS this year. My husband is kicking himself in the behind because he sat & sat on it, not wanting to fill out the paperwork for the dispensation (has to do with former job/pension). Now, because his former employer was somewhat good-sized with an employee force of about 500, and nobody is working (I should say fewer are), trying to get this check in time is going really, really slowly, as in molasses (lots of red tape and having to go to too many people for signature, so how do you do that when so many aren’t there although of course some are working from home, yet still also trying to work out the bugs of connecting all the dots, when everything happened so abruptly. Seemed like HOURS on the phone from then to now, Point A to Point B to Point C, trying to avoid our forms/request getting put on a back burner; we NEED that money for Uncle Sam. I’m sure there’s a zillion dilemmas like ours, with companies rallying to the call and reorganizing with a virtual workplace (but it sure can be hard to get business done that would have formerly gone a lot faster).
Exercises in patience; part of the new norm…
And, man, we tried to set up mail-order drugs with our pharmacy yesterday via their call bank/Customer Service ‘hq’ and although the people were nice and doing their best (obviously inundated with calls like ours), my goodness what a laborious process. It took ‘forever’ for my husband to set up his account with a ‘live’ operator (when the online offerings were nothing but problematic); however, my list of meds is six times the amount of stuff he takes (so; much more time-consuming). Wouldn’t you know, RIGHT when the service person was ready to start on my part, the phone connection was lost, and then we stayed on hold for almost 90 minutes thereafter, before finally giving up for the day. Gonna try again tomorrow (but it’ll definitely take the stress off of having to go out, once our small ‘stockpile’ of RX drugs runs out…as they will, since the nest-in-place is gonna likely be longer than any of us were prepared for; but, you know, we’ll all adjust). My husband is SO frustrated when ‘holding’ on the phone and I just looked at him and said, “What else do you have to do this afternoon? Catching a train somewhere? The people on the other end of your call are all having their stresses right now, too.”
We might come out better in a lot of ways, any of us, after the threat passes and over the months. For instance, maybe I’ll finally learn to cook; I’ve gotten very interested in how to cook with cans and packages in the pantry (casseroles!). It’s not that we eat out in sit-down restaurants but we DO do ‘way too much takeout, which is expensive now that we’re on fixed income.
Speaking of, ‘sheltering at home’ … means I’m not shopping/spending; I haven’t touched my pocket money for a couple of weeks now!
With determination to fine-tune a good daily schedule for ourselves, and looking at ‘going outside’ as a gift, even if I’m just walking around the yard each day, but ever mindful of being shut in with too much inactivity, we might get in better shape than before. (Oh dear, I just got this image of prisoners in a jail being let out to get air and exercise once a day in the prison yard…where did THAT come from? Must be from some old movie I once saw! We are not prisoners; we are just people learning a new routine!)
But the biggest thing after we all get past this edgy slump and hyper news-awareness, is the opportunity to do so many home projects which often get waylaid by other things; whereas, now, no excuse, we’ve got the time; we’re in the house. I’m sitting in this half-remodeled old one, with basically only 4 functional/usable rooms other than the bathrooms (and I’m tell’in ya, ’tis CLOSE quarters for us two), doubly aware of how my husband and I miss our things/possessions which have been packed for too many years now (such that they’re out of the way during the work), often saying to each other, “Yeah, where is that? Remember we have the so&so. If we could just get to it.” SO tired of that conversation; now’s the time to really make some headway and, then, by warmer weather, we’ll be ready to paint and do some other bigger improvements for our abode. And really just GET DONE. Tie us down to it; we’ll move more quickly on it! So much on blogs and web articles about our continual quests to reduce clutter and organize. Now’s the time!
And those 4 smallish rooms when two people are on top of each other (personal space!), who are also complete opposites in most everything? Well, with no distractions of the outside world now, we’re ‘closer’ than ever but in a really nice & comforting way … not feeling our usual oppositeness … talking more … chatting; reminiscing; reading things to each other; a whole lot more compatible than I would’ve thought, united in protection for ourselves, glad to share in the good & bad; ‘in it together’. A better division of chores; more jointly-planned endeavors in the flow of the day. We have each other’s attention (this is new, although we’ve been married a L.O.N.G. time); whereas, before, especially when he was still working even just a few months ago, we had considerably separate lives. I’ve just been observing some reduced tension, when I figured we’d have more. (Nice surprise.)
Then ask our dog who has never been so excited that BOTH of her humans are in the house 24/7 without all the coming & going (of, ‘oh, they’re leaving me again’ – – nope, nobody’s getting in the car and taking off), and we love that she’s the center of our small world; she loves it, too! She’s got some new pep in her step.
Positive feels MUCH better. Helps me roll with the negatives more successfully.
Positive is good! Yes, take control of the renovations and use this time to get it done. Then you can finally get the house ready for the return of your things! xo
The due date for filing (April 15) has not changed. The payment of taxes due for that filing has moved from April 15 to July 15. CPA organizations are not happy about this for their clients. Therefore, if you do not hear from your CPA, file an extension on your own by April 15 with your guess based upon what you know or last year’s filings.
Hope this is ok to say here. Above all follow Your CPA’s advice.
Well, that sucks. How are people going to get to their accountants if they’re used to doing that in person? Glad you posted this. I haven’t yet heard from our CPA, so I’ll go ahead and forward all our stuff to them. Thanks Martha.
I like your point to “refrain from dire predictions.” No one knows. It’s hard enough with everyone’s routines disrupted to figure out the new path within the limitations we have.
Nice photos yesterday. Doesn’t look like that here, so I took a mental walk through your neighborhood. lol
It’s a pretty neighborhood, but I’ll be very happy when I can see some more green things growing. Take care, Lynda.
Last night I did what I often do on St. Patrick’s Day ; I watched “The Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. I hadn’t planned to, but I am glad I did as it put a smile on my face. . . It was like seeing warm, comfortable old friends. 😷
Such a lovely movie. I saw it for the first time last year. Good for you, Janice. Take care!
And…that’s why I can’t listen to too much news. Yesterday it felt so Spring-like, the sun was out…the birds were chirping incessantly. But, this morning I woke up to snow…at least it’s melting now.
We’re making a list of house projects that we are going to start tackling. Some are exclusively Jim’s…others will be mine. And there are those we can work on together. We have the supplies already, previously bought on sale, but ran out of time, at the time, to complete them. Now…all we have is time! So, maybe some good can come of our self-isolation.
Thanks for continuing to write…your blog has been a great place to connect with friends. ;)
Good idea! I was thinking that maybe – if there’s a brief break in all of this – Don and I can buy the lumber to put those bookshelves up. We’ll see. But right now, we’d have to go out and get everything and that’s a no no!
Take care of yourself, Donnamae!
What I really want to do is clean up the gardens….but it isn’t warm enough…hence, the snow. Well…maybe in two weeks you can sneak out to the lumberyard and get some wood for those shelves. Until then….we have to stay vigilant. You take care, too! ;)
xo
This will surely be a test of people’s character – I cannot believe how badly some (thoughtless) people have behaved today. My work is staying open unless ordered to close and we are presently besieged with requests for Powers of Attorney and Wills. I am grateful to be able to keep working, but seem to have hit a bit of a low today. So thank you for continuing to provide a “good place” to visit!
I have hit a bit of a low today, too, Barbara. I understand. Glad you can keep working, but make sure to get rest, too. Take care.
Please accept my gratitude for what you are doing. I so fully understand that POA’s and Wills
are not the most uplifting work but are especially important at this time. Personally it is now essential for us to review these items and a caring person such as yourself working on our behalf means more than I can express.
One thing that may help lift you a bit through this time is to know that many people actually feel they’ve gained a sense of some control in their life by designing these documents. Rather than
it being a negative you are helping others find a bit more security at a time when they feel otherwise powerless. Thank you for sharing your experience and all of your efforts.
Thank you for your kind words. “Helping people is what we do” is our unofficial office motto. My employer is doing a lot of pro bono work this week assisting the elderly. He can be grouchy at times, but he can also be a bit of an unsung hero!
You are always wise Claudia. No dire predictions coming from me.
In February a local grocery store had a great sale on paper products so I am set that way for a little while anyway.
I think the secret behind this is to not allow panic to set in. Do what you need to do for yourself and you family to be safe and to remain healthy, but don’t get greedy about it.
Families could learn to make use of family game night more often than once a week now.
For myself? I’m content to wait it out. I have the internet, the phone, some yarn, my Kindle, and my cat. What more could I need?
Panic is not helpful and it just makes the fear worse. I’m glad you’re home with your yarn, some books and your cat. Sounds perfect! Take care, Trudy.
Amen, Claudia.
Last night I went in search of milk, tried at 1pm, but the grocery store parking lot looked like Thanksgiving shopping and left. As I was leaving home, I looked out and saw a large gleaming white object in the distance. It turned out to be the Grand Princess sitting in the middle of the Bay. Wow! It must be huge. I mean, I have seen photos on tv, but, in perspective with the city of Oakland behind and the Oakland Bay Bridge next to it, the hugeness was so much more obvious.
TikTok app is a fun time-waster of silly videos.
All for now. Best to all and thank you, again, Claudia! XOXO
I’ve seen these cruise ships in NY Harbor and the mind boggles at their size! Take care, Martha.
Hi Claudia,
Well, OB has mostly closed down for now. Newport Ave is like a ghost town! We’ve got an order of food ordered from Vons’ for Friday to pick up. Our daughter just returned with a bunch of stuff…so we’re good for now. I guess this is a time to enjoy what we DO have & think about the not so lucky in the world. The sun’s trying to come out here after lots of rain & our garden is singing & gorgeous!!! Hopefully another nice walk today to see the waves.
Be well..keep staying in touch as it’s always good to “talk”to another!!
Exactly. We have said over and over that we are fortunate to have a roof over our head, food in the pantry and the freezer, and the luxury of not working at the moment. I’d love a walk down to the beach right about now. The sound of the waves would relax me immediately. Thanks, Priscilla. Take care.
I will say yes to that.
There have been such bigger things to try to absorb, but we’ll all begin to think of things we can’t do as are our habits & traditions at this time of year, at least for a while I guess.
Such serious things going on, I think I shelved it to the back of my mind … but it’s gonna be a real craving, such a tug at my soul, for me not to get over to my ocean beach because I am one dedicated beach person and I’ve lived near one of the oceans or a deep-water port always, my entire life, never more than an hour away (but more like 15 minutes or less for the majority of the years … the best was when I lived in Santa Barbara and the street where I lived dead-ended at the sand). Proximity to the sea is in my blood. My mom grew up a beach kid in Los Angeles; I grew up a beach kid in the burbs. I have a sepia-toned photo of my grandmother on the SoCalif beach in the funniest bathing costume and floppy hat, early 1920s; Mom’s just a baby in her arms. Mom said Grandma would boil potatoes in a big pot which they’d take to the beach (pot & all) in The Great Depression to have a little family picnic. Food scarce; make the best of it; good steaming-hot potatoes when the cool ocean breeze came up in the afternoon. (The Pacific is always a cold ocean.) My grandfather was a fixture at the L.A. piers, contemplating and fishing, fishing and contemplating. (Before immigrating, and having grown up in The Netherlands where his family was rooted for over 200 years on their farmland reclaimed from the sea; he couldn’t get it out of his blood either.
For some, the sea is a magnet. (They are people who simply MUST live near a body of water. In my case, if not, I’d wither.) My husband and I usually get over to the beach twice a week, so this is not a happy development with shelter-in-place. Again, seems wrong for me to complain; my ‘hardship’ with this pandemic is nothing compared to what some others are dealing with (critical illness or worse from effects of the virus itself; job loss; etc.). If I could just be out in the car, though; I’d be able to see the water line far in the distance a few blocks from where my house is located; but, of course, have to stay home. I don’t think it has set in yet that I don’t even know right now when I can go to the beach. I hope I don’t have to miss the yellow mustard growing on the cliffs above the water; the rain is starting to bring it out in the hills. Well, when I ever do get to go to the beach again, the reunion will be sweet and the places will be more meaningful than ever.
I was thinking too, how with our SoCalif rain such a boon to spring growth, I may miss the wildflowers in our meadows and foothills, too. Darn. The orange poppies and blue lupine; I may miss that special treat because April would be the right month for it. I am also very partial to blooming jacaranda trees, so purple and gorgeous; I planted one on my hillside but it’s just a baby and is struggling with its growth; may not flower this year. May and June would be the best bloom for the jacs now; makes me feel wistful … but I saw a video clip of a couple whose big vacay plans got altered due to the outbreak, so they spend some time watching TV with a travelogue of where they would’ve gone (maybe something from Rick Steves, when armchair-travel has to be the alternative); good for them to make lemonade from a lemon! I can always thumb thru our Picasa and look for times when my husband photographed some lush jacs. The pink silk trees don’t flower til Fall/September…so, maybe…
And it’s begun to bother me that I can’t get to the serene and scenic cemetery to put flowers on my loved ones’ graves, which I do fairly regularly. I glanced down at Mom’s callas this morning (Easter lilies if you will) and they look like oversized trumpets, so creamy-white and sturdy. I did take an armload to her gravesite a few weeks ago; she loved her lilies; they’re hardy; I enjoy seeing them unfurl and open. Maybe, now, Mom would just as well want me to enjoy them in her yard (I’m in her house/my childhood home). Her birthday next week, Mother’s Day, Easter… all coming up soon; I think she knows what I can and can’t do right now; she-herself never got much solace at the cemetery and probably would be just as glad that I try to make her famous potato salad for my husband on Easter Sunday. I’m glad I got to see the dogwood in full flower; explosion of white all over town (but I have none in my neighborhood); we had a very, very early bloom here. (Weather had prematurely warmed.)
We have to keep reminding ourselves, for however long this all lasts, that it’s temporary, temporary, temporary. We’re adults; we know this. Nothing stays the same forever; life is all about change and cycles, just like the seasons. As is repeated, ‘This too shall pass.’
Hard not to get to the ocean. As for me, I would give anything to be able to take one walk on the beach right about now, just because I know I would feel my shoulders drop and get some perspective. Hang in there, my friend. You’re doing what you need to do.
Finding thing to do that have been put off for too long. Did go out and stayed on the stoop a while. The fresh air felt invigorating.
Marilyn
I know – some fresh air is needed on these days at home. Take care, Marilyn.
Hi Claudia,
I thought I was coping quite well, texting occasionally with out of work sons, getting used to husband working from home (he pretty much stays back in his office on conference calls all day long), and listening to music and knitting. But today he spoke with a board member of his non-profit who is in daily contact with the top administrators of the CDC. He was trying to be helpful, I realize, but gave an awfully dystopian view of what the CDC thinks the future might very hold for this country and advised us steps we need to take now to prepare for it. It just upset me awfully. So, no more news tonight and we’ll watch some mindless HGTV.
I love to escape into Instagram too. Lots of the indie yarn dyers I follow are being so kind to their fellow dyers advising their followers if their business is more of a hobby and they don’t depend on it for their main income. They’re saying if you want yarn to buy it from those who DO depend on the revenue. Isn’t that something? Also, got a email from the grocery store I use the most that they are reserving 7 – 8 a.m. every day for shoppers over 65. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how kind people can be.
There’s such a sense of community developing on Instagram, from knitters and yarn dyers to book lovers, artists, singers, dancers, everyone is reaching out to others and I love that. It’s the best of who we are. Thank you, Kay. Take care!