Hello again!

First things first: the formatting on this site doesn’t readily show hyperlinks, BUT if you hover over words they’ll turn red and you can see the links! It’s like a seek and find!

We’re still doing well here, all told. The numbers are climbing worldwide and also in our sweet city and it’s taken my breath away more than once.

If you’re elsewhere in our beautiful country and haven’t considered cutting out all extra activity and gathering some staples for a week or two at home with your family, may I suggest doing so?

Please don’t be afraid to set your own shelter in place rules — for the safety of your family, those whose immune systems are compromised and for society as a whole. Since we can carry germs around everywhere it’s quietly spreading faster than you can even imagine. And as a sweet, wise and dear friend said to me

“it’s so much better to be prepared, and you’re not just thinking about whether you get sick, but whether you’re spreading it to other people who might have worse immune systems.”

Today I went outside for the first time since Monday. Definitely too long a stretch for sure. But I wasn’t feeling super well last week and spent a lot of time resting and drinking a lot of fluids. I’m feeling much better today, and I also got to take in the sunshine and walk with Echo at Sunset Park!

The empty playground is a stark contrast to a normal Sunday afternoon.

I also made an over involved breakfast casserole but since all we have is time, I figured why not? Sure I’ll roast potatoes first! Why not caramelize onions?! I told Lance that I thought the point of making a casserole was so you could just throw everything in one pan and be done with it. But, like I said, I had plenty of time.

I also made some chicken salad to have on hand. Also defrosted a pork roast for tomorrow AND IT LEAKED ALL OVER THE BOTTOM SHELF OF THE FRIDGE. THE NERVE! Doesn’t it know that I have more important things to do with my CLOROX WIPES in these times?!

It’s been nice to text or call or FaceTime or Marco Polo or voice record on WhatsApp with many people whom we love dearly. I do love that this time has reminded us of the importance of hearing each other’s voices. I WOULD like to get back into the norm of just calling people out of the blue. Something sort of slightly stresses me about scheduling phone calls. I’d much rather anyone call or FaceTime me anytime!! Let’s bring that back! I’ll answer if I can! Also, I do understand the importance of scheduling things — I’d never catch some loved ones without it — so don’t be afraid to ask to set something up!

Yesterday I started watching “Little Fires Everywhere” on Hulu while I cast on another baby bonnet (my favorite yarn!) LFE was the best novel I read last year. (Let me know if you want to talk about it!!) At first I thought it was like a BBC special — three episodes, one hour each — I kept checking the time on each episode to see how many minutes they had to bring things in. After the third episode I found out that there are EIGHT episodes total. Whew!

Lance hosted his writer’s critique group online yesterday morning and I participated and read my post from last week! He also hosted our Third Saturday on Zoom. Since the governor all but ordered a “shelter in place” on Friday we cancelled our separate-but-at-the-same-time picnic:

This morning I finished “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” while drinking some tea. It was lovely and breathtaking and there were passages I could’ve nearly recited by heart, I’d read the book so many times as a child. It’s hard to describe but it was nearly like singing along with a song to which you didn’t know you knew the lyrics. I knew which word was coming next and could recall the times I’d pictured these scenes when I was a young girl. I tried to imagine how many times I’d read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and I do think it’s far too many to count.

I also watched the last episode of Downton Abbey tonight. I have this thing where I don’t want things to end so I just avoid the ending, like I can control it. Seriously, I haven’t finished the last chapter of “Lethal White” OR “Oathbringer”. Lance can’t believe me.

I think I’ll try to do some crosswords this coming week. And now that I’m feeling better I’d like to tackle some clutter and dust that’s lingering around this tiny apartment.

♥️ Tara

PS: Lance reconnected our internet! It took a few hours but thankfully we’re set for the foreseeable future of sheltering in place/working from home/being introverts.