Stayin’ at home..Stayin’ at home Ha Ha Ha Ha Stayin’ at hooo-oh-oh-oh Stayin’ at home.
April 30
Ben’s birthday is on the 29th and Bonnie’s is on the 30th so HAPPY BIRTHDAY BenBonnie.
Ben made that birthday card for Bonnie and Bonnie sent her ‘Bonnie on her Birthday’ photo to add to the fun. 73. How can this BE?! Lookin’ good Bon!
b&b.
April 28
The garden designer came over today and I won’t go into my litany of issues again, let’s just say her replies, of course and who would expect otherwise, were to tell me what I must be doing wrong.
My no-maintenance, run-the-automatic-irrigation-and-go-travelling landscape turns out to be not that at all. Too much water, too little water, spray this, fertilize that, cut back this, that will grow, you have to wait for those, etc. ETC.
At least I know now she’s not going to do anything more than replant the trees. So I’m going to have to pay my gardener more to deal with all this, and I’m going to have to learn what needs to be done..and go shopping for product, and for replacement plants. My gardener is happy to do whatever I ask but he has never once made a maintenance suggestion.
Ok, onward!
April 27
Windy came around and we saw each other (from a totally safe distance..) for the first time in about 8 weeks. Yikes!
We masked up for a walk to the drug store, passing by we ordered some take-out from the Thai place and picked it up on the way back from..
..the drug store where Windy got what she needed and I finally got Easter Chocolate! Ten cents each. I’m going to pop them in the freezer and be happy just knowing that they are there.
It’s certainly not that they are good, oh no! It’s just a ‘thing’.
April 26
This was the last Sunday for the zoom Conference of the Birds reading group, written by Attar and led by the translator of this work, Sholeh Wolpé, and organized by Hilda. There were 16 participants calling in from at least 4-5-6 different countries, I’m not sure exactly, but it was quite the international crowd. And although it didn’t turn me into a spiritual person, still I enjoyed myself entirely.
I also had another Sunday skype visit with Lill, Knut, and Brigitte. Everyone is fine. Homes full of light. Washing our hands. Not touching our face.
Saint Johns Hospital, down the street, at 11pm. Staff was out here demonstrating a few days ago due to lack of protective gear.
I like to walk at 6am or 11pm when it’s quieter out there in the world.
April 25
Alex and Carol from another day, but they came over today, the first time anyone has been in my house or yard for almost seven weeks.
Alex helped me (I made a list and he did the work..) for so many things getting ready to rent the studio, and also ‘we’ did a few chores around my house too.
Thank you, it was MAGIC! Wash your hands don’t touch your face…
Neither Whole Foods nor Trader Joe’s carries these two name-brand items, and I’ve tried so many others, to find a substitute, but no. A trip to Ralphs might be in my future.
April 24
My tenant Olivia made us cocktails tonight. I sat on my back porch and she sat in the Adirondack chair 6+ feet away. The evening was cool and refreshing, the cocktail was delicious, and I’m putting it here so I don’t forget.
The Negroni!
Stir equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet or semi-sweet vermouth in crushed ice. Strain the cocktail from the shaker into chilled highball glasses with ice in the glass. Garnish with a nice twist of orange peel. The double ice treatment keeps it nice and cold for sipping. Maybe they make all iced cocktails this way?
April 23
This is me talking to me, so when it’s over I can remember, remember a little anyway. You can skip it!
What Do I do all day? How is this ok? Since between brief episode of fury and despair, I am quite ok. And I’m not so much consumed with ‘am I ever going to make it to Uzbekistan’, or even ‘back to New York’. I seem to be quite ok just sitting here for now. Maybe because I am so grateful for my circumstances and for the well-being of my family.
What I do every day:
Listen to the radio, read the newspapers, do the daily puzzles
Correspondence (phone, email, conferences..)
Mess around with photos and my website
Prepare food, eat, and clean up
Update my to-do list and do what has to be done that day
Oh yes, there’s plenty of tv/movies in my life
What I do most days:
Pull some weeds
Go for a neighborhood walk (6am or 11pm) and/or do exercises in the house
Work on one of my self-improvement projects (read, study, cull possessions..)
What I do from time to time:
A little housekeeping, laundry, paperwork (bookkeeping, bills, organization..)
Walk to the grocery stores or to take-away restaurants
Manage tenant/property situations and now I have a vacancy
April 22
Here’s another thing I’m giving up on. Getting this picture. I’ve been wanting to walk down to the pier at night since Day One and here we are at Day FORTY-FOUR.
I’m not going to be walking down there because from here, there, and back, it’s three+ miles and there are no rest rooms open along the way. I could drive, but look at this perfect picture. The world doesn’t need another one!
latimes.
Oh how delightful, the Hawaii family sent me a care package! You guys are too sweet!
April 21
Ok Ok, finally, some twisting growth on the fence! The lantana is still a lost cause but at least this is something!
Olivia’s new job: farmer! It’s true, she’s working for a company that installs urban gardens and she stages her plantings here, outside my back door, on their way to her clients.
You too can have food fresh from your garden and someone else will do all the work! How first world is This?!
April 20
Here they are, my ex-tenant John and his sweet dad John who will spend two and a half days pedal to the medal, driving from Santa Monica to Davidson, North Carolina, straight through on I-40 for 2400 miles.
John decided to leave his twelve pack of TP for anyone around here who needed it. Nice!
April 19
From when I used to live here, an awesome 280 square feet. The most recent tenant left today, he’s going back home to North Carolina, home to his near and dear where he can hang with the fam and have a more normal life.
I wish him well!
Of course my To Do list just doubled.
April 17
Finally, finally, I got myself out of the house before 6am, a necessary timing because by 7:30-8 the narrow sidewalks are buzzing with dog walkers, stroller pushers, joggers, and folks out just to take the air.
It was lovely!
So I just clicked away because it was So Much FUN. This house is on my street and the closest to mine in design. Three more years and we can have a 100th birthday party for the houses.
There must be plenty of kids on this block with chalk drawings all down the sidewalk.
April 16
Big Day Today! I went out in the car!! I realized much later that I should have put some miles on the highway since I’ve driven 5-6 miles total in the last 6 weeks.
One of my neighbors sent me an email about a place that was giving away masks so I hopped right in the car to get some – they had made up little baggies of five to hand out at the door. Now I can use the scarf that I was using for a mask as a scarf again.
April 15
I wish I could be more cheerful about this. I am going to complain now.
They planted the trees wrong (a kumquat and a persimmon), too deep according to the arborist I hired, because all the leaves are yellowing, and he said this would impede fruiting too.
The fence looks so pathetic and ridiculous. It’s supposed to have a vine winding through the top and lantana peeking through the bottom. Nothing!
The roses in the pots are not happy either, and there’s more…but these are the big things that I can’t get out of my eye.
Deep Breaths! All things in good time! Say I to me.
April 15
This is a picture of our mother’s last birthday party and today is the 13th anniversary of her passing. She was quite a gal as everyone who knew her would attest.
April 14
This is a picture from last year, Kauai in April. I would have been in Kauai except for Sharon’s detached retina, after which I would have been in NYNY except for the corona.
And instead of Kauai or NYNY, I’m In My House.
April 13
I didn’t go to the store today so no Easter brunch for me, and no chocolate, and no crafts. Maybe tomorrow.
I did run across this book and decided why not try again, start from the beginning again, as I have so many times before. The videos are online and I think the farthest I ever got before was chapter 10.
Day 1 of Week FIVE!
I’m letting go of the study of Japanese. If I ever find that I’m going back to Japan I’ll do my best to reignite my sushi bar language skills.
I’m letting go of my efforts to memorize songs on the ukulele. I can play ok but I can NOT sing not even one single note, not now, not ever. I sound so terrible I make myself shiver and it’s not good, not good at all.
I am redirecting myself to achievable goals and that feels great!
April 12
I got this from Lona in Hawaii. That’s Beth and Charis. The family made an Easter Lamb Cake ‘free hand’ and it’s adorable. It must be acknowledged that if you thought ‘oh that’s so cute, a poodle’ no one would blame you.
Christa and Charis sent a sweet Duo video with a chicken filter. I added the peeps.
So it’s Easter in the time of coronavirus. I failed to realize that I would want the two essentials: Brunch and Chocolate.
Tomorrow I’m going to Old People’s Hour at Trader Joe’s and acquire the necessaries for Brunch and Chocolate. I’m pretty flexible when it comes to the timing of any celebration.
And crafts, I forgot about that. I do like making things around Easter.
April 11
Ann sent these pictures of her garden roses. You can imagine what that rose garden looks like – fabulous!
ad.
And here is some lantana from around the corner. Bright, light, and cheery. And check out those Easter egg colors. Almost like a party.
April 10
This makes me happy. All I have to do is do it and it’s a highlight of the day. There are of course days when I succumb to inertia. Usually on those days I can crouch out in the yard pulling weeds.
Also I modify 4 of the 12 exercises. I modify the last two by not doing them, I just stretch. I modify the two chair routines with a similar idea but not messing around with a chair.
The 7 Minute Workout from the NY Times. You can download the routine with guided timing which is super-helpful.
April 9
It’s been raining all day, here where I’m inside the house on Day 25. Twenty-Five!
internet.
The unemployment line, and I’ve been so uneasy .. so many more people than ever who don’t have any money. One of the most stressful places to be I think, without money.
Tomorrow it’s back to finding at least one cheerful thing!
internet.
April 8
Oh goodie, another video call and this time using Skype Meet Now. What fun! Ingalill and I made a date with Brigitte and Knut in Belgium and after a silly amount of time getting connected we did enjoy ourselves entirely.
Here’s a picture Knut took a week or so ago of Brigitte getting ready to go to the store.
ka.
And speaking of the store, today I took an inventory of my supplies on hand and cooked a few dishes too.
I was so cheered by how the food turned out, I’m looking forward to eating again tomorrow. Well, I look forward to eating again any dang time.
I’ll certainly be able to avoid the store for another week, more if it has to be.
This is ‘the pantry’ containing all the rest of my supplies – cans, dried goods, paper supplies.
This was a choice when I remodeled the kitchen, not to have any upper cabinets and to have a pantry here. After three years it’s still pretty make-shift, but it works so I don’t have a lot of motivation to re-do it.
April 7
I’m writing this on the 8th and I don’t entirely (at all?) remember what else happened on the 7th but I did have some fun with Roger and his Project, going on 50+ years now. WOW!
He had a zoom meeting and one of the participants opened the meeting with 5 minutes of guided breathing – that ball moves along the wave for breathing in and out. It was good! You can check it out here: Breathe!
Here’s Roger’s Project. You can join in too! Voice of Humanity.
Sandy drew the picture. She has been making her way for so so many years with Parkinson’s and yet she continues to create art. You go Sandy!
April 6
Day 1 of Week 4. Yikes!
I e-visited with a colleague from my old cruise ship days who had moved to Florida. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is feeling it particularly as the home base for so many cruise ships. She said there are usually 7 out there that she can see from her balcony.
Cruise ships: vacation paradise or petri dish of infections?
lb.
Another Monday Night Cocktail Hour. We’ve done it a few times and it’s good fun, this is the first time I remembered to take a screen shot. We are nine in total and here are the six who made it to the Houseparty.
Lourdes, Becky, Alicia, Marsha, Ann, me
April 5
Happy HAPPY Birthday! I got to call in with the fam on Houseparty, it was FUN, like a party! ‘Blowing out the birthday candles’ in the time of coronavirus. Thanks for the photos Angela.
ak.
A few hours later I was on another call, Zoom this time, with a group Hilda organized to hear Sholeh Wolpé talk about her translation of The Conference of the Birds, a classical Persian poem by the Sufi poet Attar.
It was very interesting to hear her vision and for her to take questions, and it all went very smoothly. Good job Hilda!
Then I talked to Rupa and Anil in India on WhatsApp and they sent this picture of their handsome dog Sheru. They are hoping to re-open their factory on April 15th and I’ll hope along with them.
am.
I’ve been writing some back and forth with Yas in Japan and Michael in Sarasota, colleagues from the Really way back days at my first computer job.
Since I was bemoaning my cancelled trip to New York and that I wouldn’t get to do Hanami again this year, Yas sent several pictures from a spot near his home.
ys.
April 4
I know this doesn’t look cheerful on the face of it but for me it is Fabulous. This represents hours and hours over days and weeks of shuffling things around.
In order to keep my house neat everything not in use ends up out here. So miscellaneous everything gets piled up without a real home.
And my method of tidying – pick it up put it away – only works when there is an ‘away’ to put it. This is a vast improvement from January BUT…
…there’s still this.
I have three weeks to muddle along before the first chance to get back to real life, so Fingers Crossed for me.
A place for everything and everything in its place! Which doesn’t mean just chucking ‘things’ in the garage or the studio…
April 3
When I opened the front door this morning at 5am the moist, fresh, and sea-foam-fragrant pre-dawn air swirled around me and I thought, oh wow this is so great, what a delicious smell, so I don’t have the corona.
Later in the morning I went to the garage and passing the orange tree, a soft breeze brought that intoxicating aroma of an orange blossom cloud.
So I decided while strolling around the block this afternoon I’d take some pictures of the smells.
There are three different kinds of lavender on the block, and my next door neighbor grows a spectacular wall of jasmine on the fence between our front yards.
Everyone’s got rosemary because it grows like a weed and geraniums of many types.
April 2
Old People’s Hour at Trader Joe’s. There was a line, it took only a few minutes to get in to the store, mostly empty of people and entirely stocked with food. So much food.
Everything I usually get was there with the exception of whole wheat fusilli pasta. There was tons of pasta, just not that particular flavor. Dried food, frozen food, fresh food, it was all there. I saw people going out with paper goods but they were gone by the time I got in at 8:45, not that I need anything.
These are oranges from my tree, and kumquats and lemons from Sharon’s trees. I picked a few more oranges and took a few hours to make marmalade.
It was so fun, I felt like a Granny out of Little House on the Prairie except…
…I only got this much. That’s a two cup bowl. Those prairie folk would not have got far on two cups for a day’s work.
April 1
Beginning Monday March 16 I’ve been out in the car twice, both times to take Sharon to have her eye checked after her torn retina surgery. This time I had to wait in the lobby with zero other people as the office was only allowing the patients in to see the doctor.
Good news! She doesn’t have to go back for two months, and she can resume normal activities, such as they are in these end-of-days.
