Quarantine 2020 and what it means for us...

 In a time of destruction, create something.
— Maxine Hong Kingston

Some excerpts from When Life Gives You Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan:

 "To Do:
1.  Spend more quality time with your children.
2.  Spread goodness.
3.  Execute numbers 1 and 2 without getting a brain tumor."

"Remember that people are more valuable than accomplishments."



On February 21st we returned from a fantastic 17 night cruise through the Panama Canal, from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego.  Bob and I were both ill though, he with a virus type cold and cough and me with acute bronchitis..  We were diagnosed on the ship toward the end of our cruise.  So when we first got home, we had to lay low and get better and it took me two more trips to the doctor here in Walworth County and 2 more antibiotic prescriptions to shake it.  My ribs were so sore from coughing hard.

Then the beginning of March things started to happen in our United States.  People were slowly coming down with Coronavirus especially if they'd been traveling in Europe or other countries or even just passing through airports.  Schools closed, first for a couple of weeks but then indefinitely.

Mid March was the end of normal life.  We were told to stay 6 feet apart from each other and no more than 10 should gather in one area together.  No hugging or shaking of hands.  Then March Madness was canceled.  We were being told to wash our hands better and more often.  Churches stopped having services.

Then the order came to stay home from March 23 to April 24th.  Bars and restaurants closed except for take out food or delivery of food.  More and more masks were being worn all over the world.  President Trump is on TV every day talking about this and answering questions from the Press.  Our Sentry store is open from 6-7 am just for seniors.

People started having game nights.

Then Zoom gatherings.

Then worrying about each other, so more phone calls.

"Health Benefits of Playing Games

Everyone knows that board games are fun and provide unplugged family time. But, did you know that games many games lower your blood pressure, grow you immune system, and strengthen your memory and cognitive skills? In fact, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study in 2003 linking the playing of board games to decreased incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Board games are also often used in therapy to build verbal and social skills. Doesn’t it feel good to play games?"

3/27/2020
Zoomed with our kids pm and played a game where we had to guess which celebrity or character we were.  It was fun and Bob gave me a very hard one "Olive Oil" from Popeye.  I failed to guess it.  I gave him Pioneer Woman/Ree Drummond and he guessed by question #10. Straightened out our spices that Bob messed up and cleaned underneath the kitchen sink.Bob made home made loaded baked potato soup and grilled cheese for supper.

3/28/2020
Started a 1,000 piece puzzle.  Finished binging on a couple of Netflix shows.  I made burgers for supper with frozen/thawed baked beans etc.  Texted and emailed.  Sent letters to grandchildren.


3/29/2020
Cleaned 2 cupboards and reorganized pans, platters and bowls.  Reorganized spices that Bob got all out of order.  Texted and emailed with kids and friends.  Made a new recipe of Amish Cinnamon Bread which was delicious and made the house smell so great.  Then roasted a turkey and made gravy, while Bob made potatoes and veggies to go with.  More great aromas in our home.

3/30/2020
Caught up on my blog a little, finished the book Winter in Paradise, made enchiladas for the first time, for supper.  Did one load of wash.  Sat outside in the lawn chair for a 1/2 hour.  Disinfected all of the groceries that Bob brought home from the store.  From the basement, put an old suitcase, bag of old papers, and black garbage bag of stuff out on the curb for garbage pick up tomorrow.  Watched TV and put 12 pieces into a 1,000 piece puzzle.  Texted and emailed with friends.  Bob went fishing on the piers.

Out of date order, but Bob made his first ever home made Apple Pie with homemade bottom crust and crumble top crust.  Delicious!

He also made yeast bread that turned out great. 

April consisted of staying home, watching the news, and hearing sad stories.  Did puzzles, watched too much TV,, but did go through several boxes of photos and organized my recipes.  Extended the stay at home rule to the end of May, but mid May Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that our Governor didn't have the right to close businesses so bars started to open and other businesses.  Unfortunately people stopped staying 6' apart and didn't wear masks.  They didn't practice safe measures.  This provided tons of anxiety (and I was very disturbed), plus the fact that so many tourists would pour into our county, especially with the nicer weather.  Each county it seemed was to decide on the stay home/open business rules.  Most people wear masks in stores, but also many do not!  I cringe at this.  I keep reading and listening to books.  Bob seems to like that nothing is on our calendar.  He fills his days with may things.  Going outside and working in the yard seems to be his favorite, besides walks in Kishwauketo or on the lake path.  He put air in my bike tires and I've gone on a couple of great rides in our neighborhood, I love it!

May 11, 2020  Chatted with Uncle Ed Roberts today.  He always makes me smile at what's going on in his life and this time tho he made 2 statements:  "This virus has brought our world to its knees" and
"I think China did it on purpose, they don't respect life or care how many of their own they lose".  WOW

Bob planting in our garden plot.

My strawberry/rhubarb pie.

Ate outside six times in May.

Our magnolia bushes are crazy beautiful this year, or did I just notice for the first time?

Bob has been experimenting on lots of new recipes. Love it.

Lo Mein Chicken.

21.  The Retreat by Mark Edwards (a horror story)
22.  Little White Lives by Philippa East (I read it quickly - girl missing for 7 years)
23.  What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (2nd in a trilogy and a fun read)
24.  Fingersmith by Sarah Walters (old book, long, liked it a lot)
25.  Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr (Kathy Kolbe read on cruise, very good, but sad)
26.  When Life Gives you Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan NF (recommended by Kathy Larabee.  A very moving book that touched my heart and soul and was very good for my current anxiety in life)
27.  The Other Daughter by Lisa Gardner (her books are all good)
28.   If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now by Christopher Ingraham NF (family relocates to small town in upper Minnesota from Baltimore)
29.  China Star by Maurice Medland (Interesting about subs, boats, and China wanting to attack)
30.  The Getaway by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (An Audible Original so shorter & scary)
31.  The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley (timely pandemic topic but published years ago, suspense for  sure.  Good.)
32.  The Silent Daughter by Claire Amarti, just ok
33.  Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Joy's choice, very good)
34.  The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica (I loved this thriller, but then I'm a sap for them.)
35.  Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (loved this story about 2 women and a mural).
36.  You Can't Catch Me by Caterhine McKenzie (2020 thriller I enjoyed, but not theend)
37.  American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (very good and moving, but a hard to the heart story)
38.  Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic by Marianna Crane (interesting)
39/  Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (good but an Audible original)

My favorite author, Elizabeth Berg, posted this on her Facebook page today, 5/25/2020 Memorial Day:

" I zoomed with some friends yesterday, and naturally the "How are you doing?" question came up with the kind of earnestness that question carries with it these days. Silver linings, we talked about at one point. It helps to remember them.
Here's one: Yesterday, I was out walking and I saw a cardinal land on top of chimney and start going through his repertoire like a feathered jukebox. I tried whistling back to small effect. Well, to no effect, if you must know.
It was lovely, standing there listening to him and knowing that I could do that, that there was no invisible hand pushing on my back, exhorting me to hurry, hurry, hurry along. It's funny; it's only now that that sense of urgency is gone that I realize how much it was there. I was always in a hurry. If there is any lesson I hope I can keep from having been through this, it's the worth of slowing down. It's how a human can become like a flower, releasing the tightness of the bud into the loose glory of the blossom.
That bird sang and sang, and then he suddenly lifted off and flew right over my head and I got to see his underbelly like he was a little airplane. I watched him in flight for as long as I could, and then I started walking again, wondering how much the Wright Brothers owed avians. I also thought about a composer I read about who transposed notes from birds right into his compositions. Maybe a lot of composers did that. And there are the birds with no royalty checks in their mailboxes. But of course they are smarter than we and they don't care about money. In gifting others, they gift themselves. Sometimes I think they know it, too, all of them with their puffed-out chests, singing.
I see that the pink peonies have opened in my garden, those hussies. I can't wait to bring them inside. If it wouldn't kill them, I'd fill their vases with champagne. "

She expresses how I'm feeling this spring/summer.  I'm noticing all of our bushes and ferns and trees blooming, blossoming and growing to their hearts' content.  We are always gone this weekend Bob said.  The birds are crazy and we saw orioles twice, and some are living our bird house too.  The cardinals are singing tunes.  We rode past our beach and boat launch.  A policeman is monitoring traffic so that BIG boats being pulled behind big vehicles don't just park in the bike lane on the side of the road waiting their turn to launch.  Our bay was mobbed with party boats and others in the water, people just just sitting there embracing everything in life, whether wet or dry.  There is an urgency in these boat people...hurry, hurry to enjoyment.

May 2020
After my positive comment on "Will" Navis' Facebook post about the coronavirus, I called him Bill.  Someone else asked "did she call you "Bill"?.  His reply:

"

Will Navis Tim Linton Mrs. Schneider (out of respect I will never be able to address her by her first name) has known me since I was 5 or 6 years old, maybe longer. She's seen me at my best and my worst, heard me praised and scolded, fed me more times than I can possibly remember, and put up with my bullshit with grace. Her son was my best friend growing up, and while life has led us away from one another, I will always consider Greg Schneider-Bateman a brother. She can call me whatever the hell she wants.  "

OK, it's July 7, 2020 and I'm going to end this post and start a new one.  This is too long.  COVID is still heavy on our hearts and minds and so many things continue to be canceled.  NFL and college football schedules are hanging by a thread with the possibility of no fans n attendance.

I will end with my text back to the kids after the 4th of July weekend when we all hoped we were safe.  "You are all doing fine.  Yesterday dad and I were so hot, stir crazy and down.  We took a ride finally in the A/C Audi to Sharon, about 15 minutes away.  Drove thru farm country to this small town that has an amazing ice cream shop.  People lined up distantly and employees came out to take orders.  My supper was a kid size hot fudge sundae and dad had a strawberry shake.  Then popcorn later.  It's hard for all of us and we are all making good decisions to stay safe, happy and sane.  Bonus, we have some very happy grandchildren these days."