A year ago today we were grocery shopping and stocking up on supplies, something we’d done off and on all week long. I remember remarking at the amount of people who were buying bottled water and lots of toilet paper and paper towels.The week before, we had dinner at a restaurant with Doug and Rick and then, a few days later, Don and I went out to breakfast where I remember talking to a lady at the next table. She was a scientist and spoke at length to us about Wuhan, the virus, what her scientist friends were thinking about all of it, etc. I remember wondering why she chose us to speak to. I guess worry and a need to share it with someone. We were all crammed together at tables, still no masks, and the whole thing felt odd. Much of what she predicted has come true. I’d forgotten all about that until we looked at Don’s 2020 planner this morning. That was our last meal at a restaurant, something we didn’t do all that often to begin with.
Gorgeous day yesterday. Another one is on the docket for today. The last remnants of snow up in the back forty have finally melted. But this is the Northeast and I don’t kid myself about the changes in spring weather. I’ve seen it snow during the first week of May. So far, except for one day in the thirties next week, it looks as if temps will be in the forties and fifties.
Puzzle status.
This one has been very difficult. I worked on it for a large chunk of time yesterday and finally made some significant progress. I figure I have about two more puzzles in me before spring takes over and I’m outside more often.
Hopefully. I love doing the puzzles, but I love my gardens even more.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
To Oreos is my one year isolating
We left Indiana Wednesday but because of my age and. Y daughter Brain Concussion. syndrome taking 1000 miles slowly
We both drive
First night Athens Tennessee and second almost a Ga
Today family
Those down here seem to forget we have a Pandemic and wait what are masks
We pick up food
We clean hotel rooms although they r immaculate
One bathroom stop when get gas and we clean
Daughter flies home Tuesday prayers please
Hope she gets vaccine ASAP
Indiana probably,y
Friends in WV still waiting
Son who is age of son I. Law waiting. Fl
Son in law had it in I day
Pardon typing as in car
Thank you for the best blog ever
Friend just mailed me my own copy of Hamnet
Safe trip, Brenda!
xoxo
Tomorrow
Not to Oreos lol lol
xo
Valdosta Ga not almost
xo
yeah; same here …
i am now crying, thinking about the days leading up to lockdown. all last winter going for daily after-work walks inside a mall with some family members as one of them recuperated from injuries, only to stop after the first case of covid-19 was diagnosed in our area (we then walked outside, as weather permitted, with me on the opposite side of the street). by then members of my family had lost jobs or were working strictly at home and i started getting groceries and other supplies for them as i was (and still am) working directly with people. since the last weekend in march 2020, i’ve had a total of six hugs on three days (father’s day, my parents’ anniversary and a day we watched a gingko tree shedding its leaves down the street from my place). after checking myself for symptoms and telling them about any close possible exposures, i put huge, unused lawn-and-leaf bags over my head and body (that meant i couldn’t put my arms around them or see them) and they came up and hugged me and we cried and didn’t want to stop the hugs. i am beyond ready to give them bag-less hugs forever!
and yell and cuss at people who haven’t taken all safety precautions … but that’s another story.
the puzzle looks great (and soon so will your garden!). hope your back feels great, too.
hope you can get out for a drive and have a nice day.
kathy in iowa
It’s all so sad. I’ve lost friends to this virus. I am lucky, though, in that I have Don, who is a good hugger. I can’t imagine how hard it must be not to get hugs.
Positives: We’ve learned how strong we are, and that we can weather this lockdown with grace. Don and I have learned a lot and much of what we’ve put in place here at the cottage is going to stay.
Stay safe, Kathy.
i am glad for you and don. :)
i want to hug my family every day, but we have chosen not to – except under rare and extra-special occasions – and i haven’t and won’t go into their homes until it’s much, much safer. i work with people (clients and co-workers … also am around people at stores) who have continued to treat this pandemic as a hoax, who don’t take precautions and who criticize those of us who do … still, even after all the losses (almost unbelievable). of the ones we know at work who had covid, i think a third of them have died from it. i cannot take such chances with my family and i won’t.
same for my family and me … precautions will continue and lessons learned and we are stronger than we may have known before the virus arrived. can’t say i’ve always handled it with grace because i haven’t. but i try and i ask for forgiveness and i try to forgive myself (not always good at that, you know).
sigh …
glad today is friday. lots to do this weekend (not just sewing … i might not get to that), but that’s okay.
hope you have a nice night and stay safe.
kathy in iowa
Meredith runs into much the same thing. Many patients that she visits shun masks. I’ve been worried about her from the start of this. Of course, she’s in Florida, which doesn’t help.
Hang in there, Kathy!
xo
A year ago I went to my yoga class with my favorite instructor who had just resumed teaching. We hugged, happy to see each other, and before the next class we were locked down.
And grocery shopping suddenly became a nightmare!
I just commented to my husband a few days ago that I had found everything on my list when I shopped. The first time in a year!
I became a virtual school grandma for months too.
It’s a year I sure don’t want to repeat.
How strange the idea seems now to sit in a restaurant and eat.
I just heard May 1 to open up vaccines to everyone. I have hope that we are through the worst.
I’m going to check out my favorite walking areas today. We live on a busy road with no bike lanes or sidewalks. I drive about 5 miles to either the state park, or the bike trail nearby to walk.
Enjoy your day. Stay safe
We live on the same kind of road – we usually drive to the rail trail or walk for a bit down our road until we can veer off onto quieter, safer road.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
A year ago today, we were still in California, visiting our son. We were in vacation mode and busy doing things from the moment we got up until late at night, so didn’t know what was going on. Until exactly this day in 2020, where we went Walgreens to pick something up for my sister-in-law. The Walgreens was in a shopping center with Trader Joe’s. There were lines out the doors of both stores and we couldn’t even get our car into the parking lot. We had to park down the street. We were wondering what in the world was going on ~ so we turned on the news on the radio in the car. We then realized people were panicking. Brian got into Walgreens (after waiting in line) and told me that people were hoarding toilet paper and water and other food staples. The next day, the 13th, we boarded our plane to come home and several people on our flight were wearing masks. We thought they were being silly and over-cautious. By the time we got home late that night, we went to our local grocery store as we had no fresh fruit and veggies in the house from being gone all week. We couldn’t believe the amount of people in the store at 10:30 PM. The entire bread section was wiped out. There were no bananas, almond milk, bottled water or toilet paper. We felt like we were dropped on Mars. A day I will never forget.
Restaurants have been open here for indoor dining for at least a couple of months now. We have dined in a few times. Of course, we have to wear masks until we get to our table and we put them back on when any wait staff comes near our table. All restaurants have restrictions too, as to how many customers can be in the place at one time, tables are closed off and distanced, etc.
It sounds like your weather is still much like ours. We’ve been in the 50’s with sunshine the past few days, which is wonderful. Makes my daily walks more enjoyable. However, next week looks dismal and depressing – back to winter weather. Rain and snow most every every day.
xoxo
We don’t really miss eating out. I’m sure there will be times in the future when we do that, but we sort of like our routine here at the cottage. Although, we do love eating breakfast out.
Stay safe, Melanie.
Oh, trust me, we like our routine here at our house, too. But it IS nice to get out and about again. We need it for our mental health. The only time just the two of us dined out was breakfast out a couple of weeks ago. When Tim was in from California last month, the three of us went to lunch at his favorite diner. A few days ago, we had breakfast out with my mom and my aunt.
xoxo
Last night we were watching Biden’s address — such a stark contrast to the one we saw a year ago to that day. This one was articulate and full of hope. It also marked our 25 years together and 28 since meeting, so we’d had a lovely dinner and lots of sharing about the past year. What a year. I couldn’t help but think of the song “I’m Still Here,” from Follies and have started playing around with the words to reflect that. I wonder if anyone’s done that yet.
The puzzle is spectacular. I’m plodding along on mine. Too much to do and it’s too nice outside! Have a wonderful weekend.
Congratulations on your anniversary, Jeanie!
Stay safe.
We received our 2nd vaccination this morning. So very happy!! At our 1st one, they suggested to be sure to hydrate very well before the 2nd and following the 2nd shot, to drink Gatorade or Pedialyte for the Electrolytes. So, that is what we are doing. I don’t remember drinking Gatorade before, but the fruit punch is quite good!! Figure it can’t hurt anything, so hoping it helps if there are any side effects this time. We didn’t have any w/ the 1st, just a sore arm for about 36 hours or so.
Yes, so strange how our lives changed a year ago. I still can’t see myself going inside a restaurant for a while. Maybe later in the summer…. we shall see. Most restaurants now have outdoor dining, so can’t think of why we would go inside when the weather is lovely. Speaking of which, we have snow in the forecast for Sunday night. Back to reality, I am afraid. Hope you have a nice remainder of your day. Take care.
No one suggested anything to us re the second shot. But we’ll take your advice when our time comes, which won’t be until the 31st.
Stay safe, Chris.
Claudia — great progress on puzzle — ‘Piano Lesson’ remains my favorite !! I well remember starting to read about the virus in China w/their military lockdowns, etc, began buying extra canned veg and fruits, pastas — not alot but some each time at grocery — glad I did b/c during the worse times could avoid the store, of course, this before pickup began. really did not need any govt official/agency to convince me the virus would miss USA — b/c I believed the disease would be in all areas even the smallest cities/burgs across the nation. did not even fathom the destruction of so many lives — so many have suffered so much — hoping 2021 will bring some healing to those families. stay safe.
I wish for the same, Linda.
Stay safe!
This year has been so long in so many ways and has flown by in others. I never dreamed it would be this long quarantine. I’m so glad to start slowly getting out more.
I’m ready to go in a bookstore and an antique store. I’m ready to relax a bit (but I’ll still mask for quite a while.)
Stay safe, Linda.
A year ago today I went to the supermarket for some last minute items. Something was coming, not sure exactly what, but I wanted to be fully stocked. A year ago yesterday, I met a friend for coffee. Beforehand, I stopped into the hardware store next to the cafe for something – spackle, maybe. There was a big sign on the door that they were sold out of masks. I asked the cashier if people were masking up because of the virus. She nodded. We just kind of stared at each other, not sure what to say or think. When I told my friend, she was exasperated, sure that people were making a big deal out of nothing. A year ago last weekend, another friend and I went out to dinner. The restaurant was filled to capacity, with barely enough space to squeeze through between tables. Any one of us in that crowded, noisy, happy room could already have been infected. It’s terrifying and humbling to understand the enormous role that sheer dumb luck plays in one’s life.
I don’t think any of us knew just how devastating it would be or how long it would last, Di. I sure didn’t.
Stay safe!
Oh…a year ago…what memories. We had heard somewhere about things shutting down around the country, So I remember making a list and going to our local grocery and Costco and stocking up on a few things. And, I was certainly glad we did. That grocery trip lasted us for a few weeks, and greatly eased our minds.
The last time we ate out? March 8th of last year. It was my BFF’s birthday…and we had gone out. A lot has happened and not happened in this past year. There have been countless tears shed for so many souls lost. So many jobs lost…so much heartache. We’ve been fortunate in that half of our kids have been able to work from home, and no one has lost their job. We’ve had a Zoom wedding, and spent countless hours organizing. We’ve watched more movies, and read more books than we ever have before. But…I miss our friends, and extended family as I’m sure you do as well.
I am curious…do you know how many puzzles you have completed during this time? This last one is so pretty….I don’t know how you can take them apart.
Enjoy this beautiful weather…and stay safe! ;)
I don’t know how many puzzles I have done – last year and this year. A lot!
Stay safe, Donna!
Yes, I remember when the lady in the restaurant was going on & on about all things VIRUS and it was uncomfortable for you and Don. Wasn’t like you’d solicited the conversation, and we were, any of us, already starting to get on edge. Fast forward to now, with more and more people not having to keep wondering about the vaccine; having responsible leadership in The White House so that our faith can be restored in government and we can ratchet down the worry about our democracy; won’t happen immediately, but I know for myself that I’m already allowing myself to relax after too many tense months and life-altering behavior which was necessary to stay safe from getting Covid. Can’t happen overnight, and we’ll still be careful away from the house, always masking up for a long time to come I’m sure, but I’m feeling more secure. Like, if I’m at the medical clinic and I have to get in that elevator with a couple of other people, maybe I won’t panic as much. And my husband, one very wild-haired old guy, can finally/safely get a haircut by first of April, or so we plan!
We still have the second shot to go and not until the 31st – for some reason there are four weeks between our shots. So once we hit mid-April, we should be more relaxed. It’s good to know that we’re on the path to a full vaccination. In that one week where we heard from Walgreens, we also heard from the County and from our friend via a community group reaching out to 65+. It seems that a whole lot of vaccs came into stock.
Good to hear from you and good to know you’re relaxing a bit.
Stay safe!
To my memory, and it seems a lifetime (as a friend of mine says, we’ll never forget these days as we tell our stories of what-was), a year ago today, March 12, was the last time I was out in public until the following late August of 2020, and it was only because I could no longer put off medical appointments (which are STILL the only thing in public I do to this writing); we then did the total stay-at-home again, from October to January (and, again, for me, only medical visits as we started this new year).
On that long-ago March 12, we drove to the post office in early-morning hours to pick up the mail, hoping to not run into other humans so early in the day; husband sat in the car, I went in; and I have never been inside the building since (he always does it now; I’ve been such high risk pre-vaccine [the post office run was formerly a near-daily thing with me]). Afterward, we dashed into the ‘eye doctor’ office to get my new pair of glasses, first patient of the day before things got busy, everybody there was uneasy, I didn’t even have them check for frame fit but instead just scurried out.
I feel like I remember getting groceries in-store on the 18th, with much trepidation (husband doing it, not me) but then we totally locked down. And it felt really, really weird and scary and bad. Doesn’t bring back happy memories, and our friend who’d been on the Diamond Princess cruise ship (world cruise, once-in-a-lifetime trip) off Japan in January-2020(?), which was an early incubator/sardine can for the virus, was by now at the biocontainment unit in Nebraska, far from home, and he was so, so sick. I wish I could tell you he’s well this whole year later, but he’s a Covid long-hauler; he’s not doing great. And he only just turned age 70. The virus has unleashed hell and caused so much grief and hardship to so many people/families; it’s indeed a tragedy of epic proportions.
I’ve often wondered how your friend who was on the cruise ship was doing. Thanks for the update, though I’m so sorry to hear he’s a long hauler.
xo
He’s in a wheelchair now. Can only stand up for short periods; no strength in the legs and also loss of feeling/touch. Something to do with the nerve endings. It’s the saddest thing. He tries to do physical therapy quite regularly but he can’t catch his breath, so feels he doesn’t make much progress; the lungs and airways are so greatly affected, more than a year later.
On Brian Williams’ MSNBC show Friday night, he interviewed a gal who’d been a teacher; said she got Covid at Penn Station on March 4 last year, or that’s as much as they can figure. Was on a vent in an induced coma for 16 days at, I think she said, Massachusetts General (Boston?). A year later, same thing; she can’t stand on her legs for too long; said she can’t stand at the stove and cook her family’s dinner. Also said that she can’t breathe. In this case, too, it seems to have affected her blood pressure. She can’t work. She has to have a lot of rest; take naps in the day. And she’s young; didn’t look to me to even be age 40.
We’ll hear more and more of this, long after there’s a handle on the virus. You have to wonder about teens and people in their 20s, if they can ever fully recover from the long-hauling; will they die prematurely; will medical doctors and researchers know what to do with these people who just can’t improve and get well. It’ll have an affect on the whole medical system because these dear people may require a lot of expensive care for a really long time. As the woman in the interview said, to anybody out there who might be listening, and I’m paraphrasing, but the gist was: Nothing is worth getting Covid; not a meal out at a restaurant, not a drink at a bar, not hugging your loved ones if it isn’t time. And Brian Williams ended that segment by saying, yes, we still need to exercise so much caution, keep staying home, wear the mask. (‘Cause we’re just not ‘there’ yet.)
Was cautionary and sobering; left me at bedtime feeling, I dunno, empty. Just hard to know that so many people are suffering who’d been otherwise active and healthy, productive and purposeful in their lives before Covid. And, now, each day for them is an exhausting struggle for the most basic existence. They’ve been robbed. Of course they do HAVE their lives when others didn’t make it with Covid. You can pick out the silver lining. But this long-hauler journey is extraordinarily difficult.
I’m so sorry about your friend. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and you’re right – we don’t hear enough about the longterm effects of this.
xo
HAD SECOND SHOT OF MODERNA VAC. ON MONDAY. HAD A COUPLE OF DAYS OF MILD FEVER, CHILLS AND SORE ARM. I AM 100 PERCENT BACK. MY HUSBAND HAD A REACTION MUCH THE SAME AS MINE ONLY HE DEVELOPED A RASH OR HIVES ON HIS NECK AND ARiMS. hE IS MUCH BETTER NOW. THIS RELIEF I FEEL MORE THAN COMPENSATES FOR A COUPLE OF UNCOMFORTABLE DAYS. TWO MORE WEEKS OR SO AND I WILL BE SEEING MY KIDS AND GRANDKIDS IN THE FLESH. IT HAS BEEN A YEAR.I CAN’T WAIT. BY THE WAY….I AM ALSO WATCHING (A FRENCH VILLAGE). WONDERFUL.
Happy second shot, Maria!
Stay safe.
Reached condo
We left Wednesday but took Long time
Boys sonexcited to see Nana in person
A dream come true
Lots to do
I was aggravated in Tenn And Ga with no masking
So far Florida ejerwnwe fot has and
Food take out of course seemed to be masking
We will
Love the puzzles
Yay! You’re there!
xo