Musings on a Small Life

Tomorrow will be 10 weeks, 70 crazy days, and counting, since we've been under lockdown of varying degrees and working from home. I actually don't think we'll all be back at the office until next year unless there's a miracle vaccine before then. May 8 and 9 we had snow and ice, as you can see below. My poor bleeding heart! I lost about 1/3 of it, but it's now in full, glorious bloom. Now we're having a heat wave and my air conditioning is on. From winter to summer overnight, almost. I've been taking lots of walks down to the swamp, which is where most of the following snapshots were taken. One of the paths to the water, below. The geese families like to hang out here, so I'm very careful when they're around, don't go close, since they have their babies to protect now. In the distance, below, you can see two large apartment buildings under construction. It's a busy area, usually quite noisy with tr...

Week three of working from home begins today. I'm glad to be able to work remotely*, it gives me some structure and focus to the week days. The weekends are more challenging, as those typically are the days I would run errands and shop, even if only for necessities. I find that while I now have the time, I actually don't have the motivation to learn a new language, take up some sort of new exercise routine, make inroads on my stack of books, or, ugh, deep clean the house. Really, all I'm doing, like most of us I suspect, is taking it one day at a time and just trying to survive as best as possible. I'm continuing to walk as much as possible, rambling around the quiet streets in the area. The big positive for me is that this year, at least, I feel like I'm able to appreciate my favourite season, Spring. I'm not rushing out the door to catch the bus, not rushing to get to the office or rushing to get home after a long day. So I...

It feels like 12 weeks of "working" from home and self-imposed isolation, except for groceries and walks in the neighbourhood. By chance yesterday, I found a package of 50 disposable gloves tucked away in one of my bins under the kitchen sink. A dollar store purchase from a year or two ago, maybe longer. It was like finding buried gold! I'll be using them when I go grocery shopping or to the drugstore, as I don't like to touch anything with my bare hands. I'll wash them when I get home, to reuse them as much as I can. I wish I could find masks; that's the real treasure these days. It's getting harder to be motivated to get dressed and make myself presentable. Yesterday I actually wore sweatpants out for my walk, hair a mess...and didn't care. And yes, I already know that no one else notices or cares, but typically I care, at least enough to dress in slacks and a sweater. In another week or two I'll be sitting at my dining table and typin...