Covid-19 Life: Snow Days

I love this photo of the grandpup Sunny. She discovered the seat gave her a nice view of her domain. 

We are still waiting to be notified for a COVID vaccination. Meanwhile, winter came and left us a whole lot of snow. We are lucky; unlike some parts of the country, we did not lose heat or power or water. The stories are heart breaking.

We have a battery snowblower, which could be problematic if we lost electricity! It is light and easy to use, but not really up to tackling a heavy snowfall. 

The early robin hangs around the yard for the heated water bowl. I don't know why they return in the middle of winter!

I get the winter doldrums, which is amplified by the pandemic's necessary social isolation. The bitter cold temperatures keep me indoors, and this winter we can't go to the fitness center or mall to walk and exercise. When the temperature rises to 28 degrees, I bundle up and take a walk.

 Consequently, I am watching more television. Thank God for PBS! Right now we are enjoying Miss Scarlet and the Duke. And of course, the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small. We loved The Good Place which we watched earlier this winter, an now are watching Mr. Mayor which also stars Ted Danson with Holly Hunter. I am winding up The Good Wife, into season seven. And we are revisiting Chuck and The Gilmore Girls.

That's a lot of tv for me, and I don't even have a quilting project prepared as an excuse. Today I have to buckle down and layer the Water Lilies quilt for hand quilting.

A quilt friend gifted me a preprinted panel to make an apron. The pattern is called the Nancy, so she knew I had to have it. I am sewing it up.

My Goodreads win  Infinite Country by Patricia Engel arrived in record time!

Our library book club had a marvelous Zoom with Angie Kim to discuss her novel Miracle Creek. We were scheduled to read it and Skype with Angie a year ago. Then came the lock down and the library had to adjust and turn to Zoom meetings. Angie was a gracious, lovely person. We learned how the book was based on her own experiences and heard about her upcoming book, which we are eager to read.

My brother spent the long weekend at his cabin. The roads were bad, the snow storm caused a white out, and he discovered the propane had been left on and the tank was nearly empty! He returned home to discover the local deer had taken over the yard in his absence.

I did the taxes yesterday. And ordered more tea from Simpson & Vail, and a delivery from the drug store, and chose food for our weekly order from Imperfect Produce. 

I had a reprieve from cooking for two days; we order the $50 family special from a marvelous modern Italian restaurant in town and the food lasts us three meals. We have pizza and salad the fist night, and the pasta, salad, rolls, and green beans/broccoli the second night. And for lunch we have left over pizza and more salad. And, it comes with deserts! I had tiramisu and hubby the almond cake. The owner said in a news story that these deals have kept them open over the shut down. They do have the best, homemade pizza ever, everything is from scratch and amazing.

And so, life goes on.

My husband bakes bread and enjoys computer gaming and reading.

I keep busy with reading, quilting, writing, and reading social media and the many email newsletters I received. The quilters Zoom every week, and the book club every month. I order online for grocery and other deliveries. And like everyone else, miss family hugs and yes, I am even beginning to miss going to a store. 

Spring will come. And it will be so freeing to be able to sit outside and watch nature return to life, and take walks around the neighborhood. We can social distant visit outdoors. And, if we ever get that vaccination, we will don our double masks and venture into a store, perhaps to the bakery whose coffee cake we miss so much, or to the take-out place that sells the best pasties in Michigan.

The longer days bring hope of spring and rebirth and growth and healing.

Stay safe. Find your bliss.