Waiting

As I checked my email for the hundredth time looking for a notification from the fabric store that the curbside pick-up order I placed over a week ago was ready for pick up, it hit me.  Through all of this we are learning how to wait.  In a world that had become accustomed to instant everything, we are all stuck at home waiting for the Covid-19 stats to decline, a vaccine, better treatment and for it to just go away.

Consider Amazon.  BC (Before Covid) I placed my order and in one or two days my order was at the front door.  I placed an order last week and still have not received it.  I got an estimate for one item of over 2 weeks for delivery!  It wasn't even toilet paper or hand sanitizer! It brought me back to the 80's when I would order things from a catalog and they would arrive a week or two later.  I just waited in anticipation.

Yes, a Zoom get together can bring this much joy!

While we have all been cooped up many of us have taken to Zoom for online meetings or chats with our long lost friends, family or co-workers.  For Zoom to work effectively only one person at a time can be talking otherwise it is nuts!  So....we wait our turn to talk.  This can be frustrating for some but result in more well thought out words than the "just blurt it out method".

BC, many people were using that new-fangled curbside pickup for their groceries.  Just order online and pick-up later in the day or the next day.  Not any more!  The wait time for curbside groceries is days not hours.

BC, I was a regular at my nearby grocery store.  I had gotten used to not planning ahead and just picking stuff up as needed or as the urge hit me.  No longer!  I have been waiting and planning ahead so I can limit my trips to the grocery.  (a huge mindset change pour moi!).  If I run out of cheddar cheese I will just have to WAIT until the next giant grocery run....or wait for a curbside pickup. 

Speaking of waiting....I will just be honest here but the truth is, every day I can't WAIT for happy hour, dinner and TV time. With so little to look forward to these days, I have been reduced to looking forward to the part of the day when I can do some of my favorite things.... eat, drink, watch some TV and stop trying to figure out how I am going to pass another day...at home.  What am I missing?  Is it just me or is everyone else out there feeling the same way?  I know there are families with parents working and kids schooling.  You don't have to think how to spend your days at home, you spend them just doing life and keeping your head above water.  You would probably be happy to trade days with me right now and have nothing to do for a while.  Here in the "near retirement home"....I am running out ways to entertain myself .  Ugh!  Even as a child, I needed a lot of outside stimulus to keep me going.  I was never the kid who could play alone for days.  I don't do alone very well!  Suffice it to say I can't WAIT until I can go somewhere....anywhere and be with people!

The Douro Valley in Portugal sits and waits for me.

Before all of this happened, I spent the better part of the late fall and a dreary January planning a trip to Portugal.  I spent days just looking at one beautiful place after another to include on our itinerary.  I made several reservations for accommodations and had finally settled on our route.  I must have looked at hundreds of potential places to visit, drives to take, historic locations to experience, and natural beauty to soak up and photograph.  We were very excited about our trip in June.  Alas, we have postponed our trip.  We will just have to wait...until the fall, if we are lucky...or next year if that isn't in the cards.  I have promised myself I will not obsess about this trip like I did in January lest I be disappointed...again.  I just have to wait and see how the world of travel shakes out through the summer.   The Douro Valley and I will have to wait until we meet each other.  There are countless other plans that were made in our world that are now waiting to be lived out by their planners.

The world is waiting to see what our new reality will look like after the virus.  Many can't wait to go back to work.  Kids can't wait to go back to school.  Everyone is waiting to see how our economy will survive.  There are thousands of people waiting to see loved ones again.  There are others waiting for their next breath to come easier.  There are exhausted workers waiting for a break. 
We are all waiting  (at home) for this to be over.

P.S.  I finally got my fabric order and spent a week making this....

It was worth the wait!

Cooking, Cleaning, Woodworking, Walking and Zooming

Today I thought I would share some randomness from our time "staying home".
 But first, a virtual vacation because we all need a little vacation and a "reason to believe"..to quote Rod Stewart.

Spring is proof that life goes on!
Brought to you by Texas wildflowers!

-I feel like we are living our farmhouse life in some respects.  Aside from the one time a week we order take-out to support one of the restaurants we hope survives this pandemic, we cook and eat at home... just like everyone else right now.  Every summer at the farmhouse I do a lot of cooking and eventually I get to that point where all I want is to go out for dinner and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a change.  Covid-19....I'm there...I want to go out to eat...with some friends.

-Has anyone else noticed how often the dishwasher needs to be run/emptied while we are cooking and eating all these meals at home?

-One of the side effects I have noticed while "staying home" is my sudden craving for baked goods.  What is up with that?  Yes, maybe I am eating away my anxiety and killing a little time but now I've added anxiety about the weight gain and the bad habits I am developing.  Why haven't I developed a salad craving?

My version of
California roll salad
(sans rice)
for lunch.

With a banana coffee cake chaser!
Highly recommend!
The house smelled like
bananas foster!

-While trying to make the hours pass and the days go by faster so this can all be behind us, many of us are using this time for our hobbies.  TJ is in the process of refinishing every piece of wood furniture we own.  He refurbished an old (I mean really old, like on its third life) wrought iron park bench.  The wood was all rotten and broken and the wrought iron was peeling and rusting.  He did the woodwork and I painted the iron.  We also relocated it to a more prominent location in the yard since it was no longer an embarrassment.

The "new" bench in its new location.

Broken slats replaced and a fresh coat of varathane
just in time for patio season...at home.

The next target of TJ's woodworking-keep-busy spree.

-I have taken this time at home to go through my closet and wear some of the clothes not in my regular rotation.  You all know you have your "go to" favorites and then there are all those clothes that you haven't gotten rid of but haven't worn in a while either.  I am wearing them and if by the end of the day or a couple of hours I just don't like it anymore, to the donation pile it will go.  These clothes are going to have to earn their way into the closet.  If it isn't good enough to wear while we "stay home" it isn't good enough to keep.  The pile is growing!

Fancy Friday....this top is trying to earn its spot in the closet!

-One of my neglected hobbies is sewing.  I am beginning to wish I was one of those people who hoarded fabric.  I am not and therefore I have no fabric to smock or sew....moving on to the next hobby.

-Things are almost to the point that I am seriously considering beginning a home improvement project.  The dated wall paper in the bathroom upstairs is starting to peel off the walls.  I am thinking of tearing it all down and painting the walls.  I figure if it is already peeling off the walls it can't be that hard to take down at this point...right?  I am afraid...very afraid to begin... for fear it will turn into Pandora's box!  Stay tuned.

-I had an interesting dream last night.  In the dream I was hosting a meeting, but was totally unprepared.  I was wearing workout clothes, my hair had that post workout disheveled look, I had no make-up on and had just finished a run.  I had no idea how to make coffee using the percolator in the dream. FYI, being a tea drinker, I can't make coffee in real life either! The coffee looked like clear, slightly brown water.  I could not find a decent mug for anyone to use.  The house in the dream was my house but was not my house if you know what I mean.  The people at the meeting were a mix of my book club, my golf friends, and my bunco friends.  You do not have to be a professional to figure this one out!  I miss my friends, I miss book club, I even miss LGA board meetings!  Plus, I am losing my hosting skills and should probably get out of my workout clothes!

-Walking down the street to our mailbox has become a very big event in my day. So much so that I am starting to do some online shopping, for clothes that I will have nowhere to wear. On the plus side, I am making room in my closet for some new residents.  You know...just doing my part stimulating the economy and giving myself something to look forward to in the mail.  Its the little things!  I walk down hoping to see one of the neighbors outside and share a brief conversation...from a distance.

-My feet have a new Covid-19 "look".  My bi-weekly pedicure is two weeks overdue.  This has resulted in my new minimalist clean look which is accented by the lovely sock tan I am sporting as a result of my daily mental health walks.  Not complaining, my nails could probably use a breath of fresh air...plus, who is going to see them anyway?!

-I miss church!  I find myself just a bit disappointed every Saturday night when I go to bed and catch myself having to rethink my Sunday plans.  I feel like my battery recharge has been taken away.  My weekly reset button has gone remote.  My Sunday ritual has changed from going to church to taking a four mile walk, listening to mass being streamed.  There is something to be said for inspiration in my ears, nature in my eyes and fresh air in my lungs.

-Speaking of the virtual world.  I never knew how satisfying a Zoom happy hour, trivia night or family chat could be until now!  Just seeing other humans and sharing this madness brings comfort and perspective.  We are all in this together and everyone else is just as tired of "staying home" as we are.

-My daily walks, runs or bike rides are my sanity!  I have added more miles just to pass the time and offset the baking habit I've developed.

-At the end of each day I say to myself,  "We've made it through another day!  We are one step closer to it being over."  This is not necessarily a great mindset to go through life with but for now it is all I've got.  What are we going to watch on TV tonight?

-So life goes on down here.  We don't necessarily like it but we are doing it.  Most days are fine, as long as the sun shines and I can get outside.  My attitude will change if it rains for more than two days in a row or the unrelenting heat and humidity of Houston eventually descend upon us.  I pray every day that the medical professionals dealing with this virus can stay safe and treat their patients as they need.  I pray for those trying to find a vaccine and treatment for this virus to be successful.   I pray for those who have the virus, that they recover.  I pray for Covid-19 to go away and I thank God for my family, my friends and for life.
Stay home and stay safe!