Living in the Time of Corona

Good evening my Corona friends and I hope this finds everyone well and covid free as we are experiencing a spike. Apparently, we will see what kind of super spreader will be forthcoming from our Holiday celebrations. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and once again we are adjusting to that “new freaking normal” with smaller tables and Zoom family visits. It is getting harder and harder to be upbeat through these trying times. Not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with all those you are accustomed to, really pisses me off. It happens to be our favorite Holiday, just for the pure joy of eating, and not be associated with any religious ceremony, but apparently, we are beginning to recognize that it may not be a celebration for all. Like all things in 2020 this may be the year for change and do what we have to but just keep it as a day of overeating and recognize our founding fathers were not always the nicest people.

They say the darkest days are coming up in the next several weeks but if you ask me I see the darkest days in the rearview mirror and I can’t wait for 2021. It’s mind-blowing that a quarter of a million people have died this year and people still won’t wear a mask, and I think we should be sure they have an identifying mark on their forehead so when they get sick and need to be admitted to a hospital healthcare workers won’t waste their time or endanger their own health to save them.  Ok, I realize that I am going to a dark place here so enough said about that.

Tonight there was no dinner box and my roommate has decided that he has learned something from all the cooking he has been doing and wants to do his own recipes, in other words, I cooked.  The one thing that I miss most of all from the suburbs is my gas grill out on the deck of the kitchen. I pretty much cooked most meals on it all year long, just unburied it from the snow every once in a while, and good to go.  Tonight grilling some fish for dinner, techie trying to eat healthier, just smells up our one big room. Oh the things you do for love, I miss the outdoor kitchen. Today I drove a half-hour out of the city to visit my favorite grocery store, Sudbury Farms. It was nostalgic. Imagine you can pull right into the parking lot and plenty of spaces, not like Whole Foods in the south end of Boston where you have to jockey for position just to get in line on the street to be granted a spot. You can enjoy pushing your cart around and don’t have to worry about all those Amazon shoppers dodging you to get those carts filled very fast, it is like an obstacle course sometimes. Especially the days leading up to Thanksgiving they had a lot of orders and they were flying around the store. They would do well on one of those supermarket sweep shows. I never quite got accustomed to knowing where everything was in that store and I just don’t want to develop a relationship with this place, I just can’t get the vibe and no I don’t have an Amazon prime number.  I am one of those wackadoodles who refuses to get a CVS card or a grocery card, as I don’t want them knowing what I am buying. I mean seriously who am I kidding, I look something up on the internet and in minutes I am bombarded with information on the product. This past week my son had me convinced that my phone heard us talking about something and I started getting hits on it and I think I believe him. Anyway, I had a very nice shopping experience and I do like their prepared products so much better, as I am a big fan of Sandra Lee semi-homemade so anything that helps in meal preparation I am all for it.  I did notice a disturbing trend and probably has been around a long while but I just never paid attention to it, but what is with this cauliflower bullshit?  Looking at frozen pizzas they have some with cauliflower crusts, and also cauliflower rice, seriously that ain’t rice, but there it is right in the frozen veggie section. I am still bothered by the idea of the crust made of cauliflower and just would rather not have the pizza if that was my only choice. Anyway, I enjoyed my shopping adventure and realized you can find joy in these outings, as sometimes this is the only place you can go and I make sure they have a clean bathroom.  I just got Ina’s new cookbook comfort food and it is the only non-fiction I like to read, so I am studying it pretty heavily and will work my way up to a recipe soon or maybe Techie, he only reads non-fiction. Anything can happen as there is a full moon …………….

Good evening my Corona friends and once again wishing you all happiness and health. I don’t know about anyone else but this has been an exceptionally long week for me, and so happy we are on to the next. I had a couple of vaccinations this week that not only left me with two sore arms but a tad feverish. God forbid we find ourselves a little under the weather and I have to break out the thermometer and oximeter to test for the plague, it’s always on the back of your mind, especially since we are spiking once again. We had perfectly glorious weather. Now tonight it is coming to an end with intense weather warnings with heavy wind and rain. I think we are coming to an end of all our lovely Alfresco dining in my neighborhood, plus we are in the midst of another spike and curfew in place. I had to break out the down jacket for the first time since Corona started and have to admit it was kind of weird. When we were first in lockdown and adjusting to life in lockdown Techie and I would wander the streets on our daily expeditions exploring all over the city and I wore this down jacket.  I got this coat at Costco a year or two ago for about 35 bucks and I like it because it is very lightweight. Now I have deemed it the Covid coat and I am dreaming of the day I can burn it. Well, I actually won’t burn it because I am sure it would be useful to someone but I dream of the day it won’t be on my coat tree.  We are approaching giving up a year of our lives to this pandemic and I am regretting all the things I didn’t accomplish in my downtime. I was going to learn Spanish and signed up for Babel but soon decide this is ridiculous and I need to live in a place where people only spoke Spanish but since there is a travel ban, It is not going to happen anytime soon. I have cleaned out my spice cabinet but haven’t managed to complete the other cupboards. I am saving my linen closet for a snow day, albeit just a few shelves next to my washer and dryer, because of my limited space. Managed to frame a few additional family photos but most went back in the storage container because I ran out of space to put them and may need a project later this winter. There has been an upside I mean I have my roommate cooking some lovely meals out of a box and the other day says he is ready to break out on his own and use a recipe. This is great news but I can’t imagine what kind of mess will be in the kitchen when he is breaking out more than a few pots and pans, right now it has pretty much been contained to a frying pan and a baking sheet. I did just pick up one of my hero’s new book, Modern comfort food, by Ina Garten, and have been staring at it lovingly on my kitchen counter. I loved the forward about instead of reaching for a pint of ice cream or cold martini she has some recipes to satisfy your cravings and warm your soul.  I have sipped a nice cold martini while browsing the book and I think there are a few things here that even techie can make to perfection. The week after next will be our favorite holiday. I think it is also the same for most people but this year will be quite different, notably by the size and by who is absent.  We all will probably gain some time but not traveling and stressing over this holiday and just remember this is a one-time pass, as I am declaring that next year will be totally different. This may be the year you and your partner or small circle decide to order Chinese takeout instead of waiting till New Year’s, or if you are Jewish Christmas Eve.  I think the path to surviving the next month or so is really changing it up and not relying on what has always been because nothing has ever been like this in my lifetime. I am lucky haven’t been kicked to the curb yet as I stay up all night watching TV and he can’t hide from it just has to learn to sleep through it. I may have mentioned I have been binging on Silent Witness. I am on season 18 and there are 21 so getting to the end.  I don’t know why I find it as addictive as it is so macabre in so many ways that when I do fall asleep my dreams are really bizarre. I have brought so many of the people in my life into these episodes, I mean the cashier at Trader Joes showing up in one of the homicides. I am beginning to question my sanity, is it because they were out of the mini cones last week?

Just sayin………….

Good evening my Corona friends and hope everyone is happy and healthy tonight. Well, what can I say I am more than ECSTATIC about the results of this ongoing election. Can we please just say it’s over? Anyone wanting to contest the results there is a meeting at the Four Seasons Resort in Siberia and if you hurry you can catch a ride with Rudy on the Siberian Express.  It is no secret that I have never been a big fan of the current occupant of the Whitehouse but just the fact that I won’t have to see him or listen to him speak is ever so comforting to me. I am so tired of people making excuses for his rhetoric and dismissing it as “locker room” talk or just the way guys are, well they are not, and if you think it is ok if your husband, sons or family communicate that way then you are just an asshole. I have never been known to be politically correct and I am not going to start today. It has been a very tense few weeks around this household and for more than 72 hours I had the cable news networks on just waiting to hear the results. I was sure it could go either way. For the record I did not watch any TV Tuesday day or night, in fact, I left it with my friends to text me when it was over. Imagine my anxiety when I was checking my phone all night and it was deadly silent and I was freaking out. I did watch 4 episodes of Silent Witness to take my mind off the election. Like I said blood and guts do the heart wonders and waiting for results can be painful. I spent Tuesday with my Grandchildren and like all really great grandmothers, I tried to teach Charlie to be open-minded about the election, and by that I mean Joe Biden had to win by a landslide, and he was very upset Wednesday morning when there was no landslide and no winner. Note to myself I have to remember that he does take everything to heart and is way too serious for a 6-year-old, plus he worries about me imploding. Techie gets a bit annoyed with me when I yell and swear at the TV so he has taken to wearing earphones in the house, maybe now he can take them off.

Yesterday was an amazing 75-degree day in Boston which made it a double treat because 1 week ago we had 5 inches of snow on the ground, so we headed to the ocean. New England is a place like no other and we are very fortunate to live here, we have mountains, ok they’re small, but more importantly, we have the ocean. We heard the news while we were driving to walk some trails along the ocean, so it sure made it for a very serene day. It couldn’t have been more beautiful. My girlfriend Donna and I climbed out to the edge on these flat rocks and we were admiring the beauty. I turned to her and said I have never felt this euphoric and then a big wave came and knocked me right on my ass. If it was only my ass that got a bruise but I knocked my head pretty hard that I thought I heard a crack. Sure enough, I had a bump the size of an orange on the back of my head and was soaking wet. Well, I dried fairly quickly and we stopped off later to get some frozen peas for my head and continued on for some outdoor dining. My roommate was worried and wanted me to call the nurse hotline but I was coherent and no blurry vision so still standing. Woke up this morning thinking it was groundhogs day but a quick check on the telly and yes we still had a win, so a little headache I can suffer. I have to say that the city of Boston was alive and kicking right onto the night and don’t ever say the cities are dying because you just don’t get this kind of humanity in the suburbs. People were dancing and singing in the streets and of course, it didn’t hurt that the weather for November was amazing.  Now can we please take down all the Plywood and save it for our winter campfires?  I don’t think anyone on either side wants to continue this unrest, I think we have way bigger fish to fry in getting rid of this Corona thing. I want to put this Living in the Time of Corona, to living without the latest fashion accessory of masks. I know it is getting worse again around here so mask up and behave people. I want to give the biggest shout out to our new Vice President, Kamala Harris. I can’t believe in the year 2020 we have to acknowledge this as a first, we are not as progressive and cool as a country as we would like to think. Well look out world I have two incredible feisty Granddaughters and they are ready to take on the world. Tilda was dancing in the streets of Philly last night and Maisie continues to dance as often as possible, and no one is going to stop them from doing what they want, especially their Grandma.

Just sayin………………………………….