Good to See Friends!

 

One obvious definite positive about having been vaccinated is being able to safely visit with friends. (*1) Bob and I- and I'm supposing most people- are suddenly enjoying the company of OTHER PEOPLE! On Monday, I delivered over-due birthday gifts to my sister and her partner (Hello Beatrice! Hello John!) and enjoyed a delightful luncheon on their back deck. I had not seen them in an entire year... you don't what you're missing until you realize an entire year has passed. Talking on the phone is certainly no substitute to in-person visiting. Thank goodness for Moderna! Pfizer! Even Johnson & Johnson!

And last night we entertained two other couples. It was almost overwhelming. I was tired anyway from not having well slept for two nights, and then seeing four other people in chairs! In our garden! On our terrace! I was shaking and twitching by 9:00 and slept the sleep of the overstimulated but very happy last night. We have more friends lined up in the coming weeks.... making up for lost time!

We've been lucky: Bob and I have weathered the pandemic and quarantine in fine form. We haven't run out of things to talk about yet! But it's nice to cross-pollinate with other people. I know we're all eager to create a new normal. We're still being vigilant about variants but seeing friends across the picnic table last night and allowing them inside (once the mosquitos and other unidentified flying offenders) descended was... weird! And good! 

(*1) All you anti-vaxxers out there consider this: you can safely visit with friends after what? Fourteen months?

Life In COVID World: Part 2 Driving Miss COVID

 

One of the strangest aspects of COVID/quarantine has been driving. Let me know if any of you have experienced how odd it feels to drive pretty much anywhere. What I used to take for granted and kind of enjoy- the simple act of driving- has become yet another alien sensation. Whether it was driving to work, or to the store, it was not a big deal. Now it feels exotic and almost forbidden.

This is especially true if you are going to a more distant location. I find myself ascending a highway ramp and having the feeling that I'm escaping, or running away or venturing into unknown territories; and we're not talking about crossing state lines or traveling to Canada. This happens on what used to be a mundane trip to Trader Joe's- a mere two towns over. An illicit adventure!

I've been out more than Bob. Here's his truck, with the windshield wipers up since the large snow event we had... last week. The truck hasn't left the yard since. 

And now we have more snow and even less reason to go out! One week, I realized as I motored off down the road that I hadn't driven in... about seven days. The whole foreign-ness of driving reasserted itself: is this how one steers? What is that third pedal for? Am I doing it right?!?!?

The upside is that we are consuming way less gas than ever before. I can't even remember the last time I filled the tank and it's still 3/4 full. We heard earlier on in the pandemic that the environment was benefiting from all of us staying home. Here we are, ten or eleven months into this quarantine and I don't for a minute think that most people are staying home anywhere near as much as they should. The parking lot for the gym is always full and I see plenty of cars on the highway...

I wonder if post-pandemic all of this falls away and getting in the car and taking off seems "normal" again. We keep talking about The New Normal; perhaps that consists of driving less. That would probably be a good thing!

Life In COVID World: Part 1

 

That's the centerpiece on our dining table. Gotta look at something when dining! The turkey head is gone, the log upended and the few remaining squashes hold court. I provide the picture as relief from the whiteness that surrounds us; more snow on the way today.

I have been considering, as we are almost a year in on this quarantine/pandemic thing just how odd our lives have become. I guess there are people out there who are dining and going to gyms and churches or something. But many of us have chosen to abide by restrictions and stay put. And something aout this last week or so has finally gotten to some of us.

To whit, friends I've talked with on the phone have remarked on inabilities to focus or be creative; even I (hardworking Calvinist artist that I am) have felt less-than-productive. (*1) I think the drain of worrying about mutant varieties of COVID, not seeing family and friends, not attending openings and in-person art events... it's hard! I find myself a bit out of sorts and stuck. Combine that with the weather, which has suddenly decided to play Winter and dump repeated snow falls and colder temperatures. 

And I guess I have to mention here the grim fact of over 460,000 dead due to the pandemic. The cosmic/spiritual/psychic weight of so many people dying is hard to fathom. I know that I have felt precarious when thousands of people perish in tsunamis or earthquakes; a strange sensation of that many beings suddenly gone. 460,000 is a lot of people; that's a good sized city vaporized. No wonder I- and so many others!- are having a tough time sleeping and concentrating!

I will end on a sunnier note. The days are getting longer, people are getting vaccinated and maybe by the summer some semblance of a new "normal" will assert itself. I sure hope so because we're all feeling a tad antsy. 

(*1) Fear not! I have a million ideas and am currently finishing up three pieces and starting three more, but these are occurring at a slower pace than usual.

Red 'n Shiny: Part 2

Hey! there's our truck! Also shiny and red... but not so new as that spiffy lawn mower. This is the BAD part of the story. (Although the truck is shinier than usual because Bob carefully hand washed it before our trip.)
Bob needed to go to Vermont to install two sculptures; one at the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show (or NBOSS google it) and another at the Bennington Museum. Despite COVID 19 throwing monkey wrenches into travel plans (like not being able to stay at the motel we typically stay at due to our hailing from a "restricted" part of Connecticut), we decided to go up for the day. Just an efficient whirlwind tour up Route 7, drop the sculptures, maybe eat some lunch and motor home. There are people we like to spend time with in Vermont and other attractions we like to visit (like MassMoca) but many are closed and humans are socially distancing. So it was going to be a no-frills sculpture install.
I drove us up as Bob is The Maestro and I wanted him relaxed and fresh for moving his sculptures. The truck ran like a top and deposited us in front of the North Bennington railroad station, where Bob's entry into last year's show was placed. Bob dismantled his (old) sculpture, unloaded his new sculpture and was going to move the truck across the street... when it wouldn't start. No noise, no nuthin'- just silence. While attempting to maintain a semblance of rationality (and inside screaming, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! How can this be happening?!?!?!"), Bob called AAA and tried to read off a 15 digit number and explain what was up with our truck while a huge freight train rumbled past (great timing! Lots of railway crossing clanging and that long lonesome wail of the train's whistle). I meanwhile jiggled some wires and Hey presto! The truck turned over and we drove it across the street to the new location for Bob's new sculpture. (*2)
At this point, we were still awaiting AAA. Bob had the sculpture to install and our friend Andy (another sculptor from Connecticut, also in the show) arrived and between him and Joe (the curator of the show and a big fan of Bob's) they made quick work of setting up Bob's piece. I bought lunch somehow hoping that refueling us would magically cure the truck, or at least temporarily lift our flagging spirits.
AAA arrived and pronounced our starter a non-starter but managed to pop the clutch and get the truck started after Andy and Bob pushed the truck with the AAA guy driving (*1). The AAA man helpfully told us, "Don't turn it off. Just keep it running." I'm thinking, "Let's just get in the truck and fucking drive home..." but Bob had yet to load the old sculpture and install the one at the museum. I for one was not having a good day.
But we did eat lunch and Andy and Joe graciously suggested that THEY would take Bob's sculpture to the Museum and install it (apparently that show was on a hill in a field behind the museum. There was no way we were going to drive up there, risk stalling the truck and have to call AAA to some outlandish hillside pasture location). So good friends to the rescue! Three cheers for fellow sculptors!
I told Bob that I'd drive home, thinking that my nerves were so bloody frayed that at least driving would focus me and maybe I wouldn't completely melt down.
Long story short is that we made it. We didn't stop for anything (luckily, we needed neither gas nor a bathroom break) but I didn't breathe easy until we turned into our driveway. The truck is now at the garage for repairs. Guess what? The truck started on the first try this morning so it's probably not the starter, but a wire or connection. Hahahahaaha!
And if you're squeamish, skip the picture below, because it's not just lawn mowers and trucks that are red and shiny. How about my festering flesh?

Yuck! I look like the village leper but I guess it serves me right for "playing" in the poison ivy. You know me: live dangerously. (It actually looks worse than it feels.)


(*1) I myself became expert at doing this when I drove Triumphs and MGs all those years ago. This is one of the many beauties of standard shift vehicles.
(*2) The further irony here is that Bob had taken the ruck to be serviced the day before. He had had an oil change and an "all points check". Battery good, truck seemed fine and ready to go, so this wasn't some kind-of-expected "oh we should have maintained it better" episode.

Quarantine Day ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Between Quarantine in general and the dark, cold, rainy days in particular, I'd just as soon crawl back into bed. Or stay in bed once it reaches something called "morning". I need sun! And flowers! And... trips to nurseries and garden centers!!!!!
I remarked to Bob that I'm sort of a junkie. I started itching and scratching and twitching and generally behaving in unpleasant and unattractive ways because I (and I'm assuming many others) am experiencing a spring in which I can't do one of my very favorite things: go to nurseries.
So I called around. Many garden centers/nurseries are open- but only if you pre-buy and pick up at curbside. This really cannot work in the horticultural arena. I need to look at and mentally combine combinations and colors. Also, I need to pick out my own plants; how can anyone else know which
specimen I think is best suited to my purposes?
I did locate one garden center in the next town over that said as long as you wore a mask and practiced social distancing, you could wander around and get your fix. Needless to say I was in my car and barrelling towards nirvana in a matter of minutes...

And here's Bob (and one of his new sculptures) proudly displaying his mighty row of garlic. He's done a fine job of organizing and weeding and mulching the vegetable garden. Bob is also displaying a more stoic approach to the cold wet weather and seems more inclined to spend time outside. Just yesterday, I got all excited and gathered tools and tarps only to find that the clouds had rolled back in and the sun had retreated. I retired to my studio.

Here's a shot of the lettuce row. The cover protects the tiny seedlings against too much rain, sun or even spatter after a quick rain shower. Bob is going to transplant the seedlings soon; I can't wait for those first tender little shoots! One of Spring's great pleasures!

Here's another view of the seedlings. It's so important in this time of death and uncertainty and lack of leadership and tragedy to have a hopeful outcome to look forward to. Great organic things to eat! Not having to run to the store for picked over produce! Yay!
This is why I'm craving warm, sunny weather: I need that time outdoors to move plants around and remake and remodel garden beds that have become chaotic and weedy. Just to dig in the dirt. Even our perpetually sunny dog Robin the Good has been melancholy and not sure she really wants to go out. (Lots of standing at the door but not moving when the door opens. Sigh.) My mission today is to cheer her- and me!- up.

Day Something Plus 2: Stay the Fuck Home Edition

We're doing our part! I haven't been to work in a week, self-deeming it a "non-essential business". We hadn't gone out in a few days but ventured out this morning to the local Stop & Shop for "senior hours". Don't ask me how it was; I was truly half asleep and it was snowing. But at least we scored 2 rolls of toilet paper (rationed!) and a lovely pork roast. Bob's got that in the crock pot and it smells great! Something to look forward to for a few days at meal time!*
So it's been strangely quiet here. Very little traffic and no one outside. That I don't understand: it's not like radiation where you can't see it and it will kill you. As long as we social distance, being outside is really healthy. The sun kills the virus and fresh air is good for almost everything, including respiratory ailments. (Re-read The Magic Mountain) And as a friend pointed out, the air is probably much cleaner as so many people aren't driving and therefore not going anywhere.
But the quiet has been filled with animal sounds and movements. The hawks are especially screechy and most likely mating. Last night- when I couldn't sleep in a panicky sort of Corona-induced anxiety attack- I heard coyotes singing. I thought the  radio downstairs had been accidentally left on but then realized the chorus was outside. It was lovely!

Animals don't need to worry about COVID 19. They can't catch it or are immune as we can hope one day we will be, too. Robin the Good (seen floating though space) is so happy that we're at home ALL THE TIME! Hooray! she says... as it should be! The frogs and peepers are singing and Maggie is thrilled to be fed her green slops (soaked alfalfa/timothy pellets) at regular intervals. They notice no difference in the world. All is right. Take a tip from Jane Godall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOkBBMFlTpM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3lzrCIj9TUtrPdLkw4EeoUGmHwTfCawoM_Xv3QnUdLtFf_Vv2KLr3reNQ

*But one weird observation is that people were not making eye contact. I guess there was a Fox news report that making eye contact could turn you to stone... much like the gaze of Medusa.

Day Something in the Mass Quarantine

The empty chairs obviously symbolize the lack of social interaction that we're all currently experiencing. I took this picture a few (more innocent) days ago yet thought it appropriate to our present plight. But... hi everyone! We can still blog and talk on the phone and text and send Facebook greetings!
I wasn't kidding with the title: I wasn't sure if today was Friday or Saturday. Bob set me straight. But in all honesty, Bob and I frequently aren't sure what day it is. Bob works from home and I work a shifting schedule so I'm often saying to Bob, "Is this Monday? Am I supposed to be going to work?" Go with the flow! And because I'm now out of work, hopefully temporarily, that time driftiness becomes even more vague.
Other than that, we're doing well and our spirits are relatively high. Bob admits to liking the quiet (eerie in my book!) that has settled over our neighborhood. Much less traffic, fewer airplanes; you can hear the peepers and birds. Lots of spring birds!
And speaking of "high spirits", when Bob informed me that non-essential businesses were to close as of Monday, I changed my clothes and drove to our local big box package store to buy big boxes of wine. I mean, if the fucking zombie apocalypse is coming, I may want to have a glass of Pinot Noir under my belt. Hell, I have my priorities straight! But then, ironically, package stores are deemed essential services; I guess our governor has HIS priorities straight!
So here we are living but not certain what is coming next. Don't get me started with how the present administration has mismanaged a horrific situation that could possibly been better contained. There was a report in this morning's news of two utterly disturbing facts: 1.) That there was a study done last year of how entirely unprepared for a pandemic we as a nation are (ya think?!?!) and 2.) that The Orange Menace was warned by intelligence agencies back in December that this pandemic was looming because of what was being seen in China. Fake news! It's all a hoax! Until it isn't...
So I'll keep checking in on my family and friends. It's been good to communicate with several people I haven't talked to in a while, and really nice to laugh with (and scare the shit out of) friends with whom I interact with on a regular basis. Stiff upper lip!