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………………………………….

Good evening my Corona friends and foes, hope everyone is happy and healthy, and not terribly on edge because of a big event happening in ten days, and I am not talking about the cure for Covid with a release of a vaccine. I won’t even mention the big event by name as to get myself and everyone else fired up. There is enough noise out there to do it all on its own. I have taken to watching Silent Witness on BBC, and I have worked my way up to season 15 and there are twenty one, so enough to occupy my time to keep off cable news. I must say this is just the kind of show that really is uplifting, cutting up all those bodies in the Coroner’s office, and the most bizarre evil crimes, with a bit of romance, and no not with dead bodies, but rather the corners with the police detectives. The kind of show that really brings you to a lighter mood just before bed. It says a lot about the state of the world if I am resorting to blood and guts to lighten my mood.  Speaking of guts, I may as well spill mine here since I don’t mind sharing, as you may have noticed I tend to overshare sometimes.  It seems I have a bout of diverticulitis and as much as I tried to ignore it these past few days, I found I could not treat it with my usual chardonnay and Advil, just wasn’t cutting it. They say it could be brought on by stress and for those you have suffered through it, I can tell you it is very painful and I liken it to labor pains with no medication, I can’t tell how men would describe it.  I have a pattern here as I try and avoid doctor visits as much as possible and these flare-ups generally occur on a weekend, hence my primary care is the emergency room.  Imagine my delight today when I called the Doctor who said he felt confident enough to give me a prescription. Let me just say that never happens, as I would have to get a cat scan and hang around and 8 hours later go home with my medication. So I am going to give the covid a high five on this one and thanks for keeping me out of the ER.  I am already feeling much better, and my roommate has been taking very good care of me, although we passed on the dinner box this week, so a little Trader Joes mushy meatloaf for dinner, but no Vodka on the rocks tonight. I am thinking of maybe taking a break this week from my kettle, as I have to be totally on my game to convince those undecided voters. I voted last weekend in person and then I discovered as a Boston resident I could have voted at Fenway. My friends went and they even got to go in the bleachers, normally they charge about $25 to tour the park, do you think they are buying votes? I wonder if they would find out if I voted twice.  Covid has some bright spots as well and I don’t mean any disrespect but my nephew’s son had a Bar Mitzvah last Saturday and we watched it on zoom in our PJ’s, you know these things can stress you out about what to wear, especially since nothing fits with Covid 19LBS.  Anyway, we were able to do a little drive by that afternoon and get a picture with Jacob, so all was grand. His parents will just have to throw him an amazing sixteen birthday party someday, and hopefully, there will be no masks, 3 years and counting.  I was reading an article in the newspaper the other day that Thanksgiving will be a lot smaller for most people, people are ordering smaller turkeys and even turkey breasts. I guess I won’t be cooking my 25-pound turkeys I am sure even though Techie loves my turkey and stuffing, we can’t be eating it for two weeks. This is my lover’s favorite holiday and we have always insisted that my kids come to our home for Thanksgiving and the outlaws can have Christmas, but my Maxi, Alana, and Tilda will not be traveling from Philadelphia this year, oh wait we have turned a corner so it is still on the table. I have actually spoken with people who are really sad that their crazy old uncle and obnoxious sister in-laws won’t be joining them. It is a ritual that they mentally prepare for months in advance but now they have to concentrate on working from home, while classes are remote and you have to be sure to have just the right screen on Zoom and be careful not to appear half dressed. So ya, I can see that putting up for a day or two with obnoxious people would be preferred, but we are living in a new reality and that is the Plague of 2020. I don’t want to see at the top of my blog Day 788, so stay safe, social distance, wear a mask and avoid crowds.

When this is all over I just may start a food blog and my nephew who lives in Shanghai sent me some interesting snacks as his 40^th birthday gift to me, thank you, Michael.  I would crack them open now but considering my intestinal track I better wait.

Just sayin……………….

Good evening my Corona friends, hope everyone is happy and well, and enduring our time in this crazy world we are living in 208 days into the madness of this Pandemic. I can’t even joke anymore about “Twilight zone” because sadly I wake up every night to a new nightmare. How did we ever get to this place we are living in today?  We are so divided and the noise just keeps getting louder it is hard to shut it out. I want to go back to a time when I didn’t have to wake up every morning and check to see “what did the asshole do today?” seriously check it out, it’s a real google it.  I know I sound like a broken record but when you think you have seen and heard it all the shit really hits the fan. We have been living a totally different way of life, wearing a mask, washing our hands ad nauseam, staying away from crowds, not seeing friends and family trying to make this all go away, but then you have the non-believers who choose to get their facts from the darknet.  Yes, indeed, most people won’t die but more than a few hundred thousand have.  I say proof enough for me, so get in line people. We are not going to have the luxury of a helicopter whisking us away and having a team of ten or more Doctors leading our care. Believe me, it will never pass muster with your insurance provider, even if you have the “rally good insurance” that my brother Mike always refers to when he has had hospital stays.  I would always be amazed that when I would visit him he could walk down the hall and point out who was getting evicted that day because they didn’t have the “good insurance'” like the one he had.  Well, I am still hanging on to mine and Medicare will be coming soon but I am sticking with the “really good one” for the time being, has an airlift rider should I need it.  I did add it once when I traveled to Africa a few years ago, not realizing I may need it in my own country, I want what he got if I get hit with this “fake virus”.

Anyway enough about the batshit crazy reality we live in, and think of all the positive changes that have come about during this time. Traffic was about null and void for months but I am here to tell you that it is back and not quite to toxic levels yet but enough to make me curse other drivers out. People have been so used to driving on empty highways and city arteries like they were in the Grand Prix, people you need to slow it down and stop darting in and out at 70 miles an hour on the city street. CHILL!!! Generally, people were being much kinder and nicer to each other, but I sense a bit more shortness lately. I totally can be sympathetic to parents who are kind of stretched thin with work and now homeschooling, but I think just decide this was a Gap year for all and let them loose on the TV just don’t watch any cable news, they will have nightmares.  I was talking with my friend Davie today who recently moved to the other side of the country and he said he has lost 6 pounds because of stress and I get so jealous when people say they can’t eat because of stress. I am ballooning right now and have officially passed my  Covid-19, you have to understand, that I grew up with a Mom (best ever) whose philosophy was to have something good to eat and you will feel better.  Mom, we miss you and I can assure you all of your eleven of your children have followed through on your mantra, just some more than others. Of course, it doesn’t help that my favorite foods in the whole world are really crispy French fries loaded with salt or Regina’s pizza. I have been very busy sampling these culinary delights all over the city and right now I have grown to love the truffle fries at Lola burger, just the right amount of salt. I wonder if they are still open.

So a few days ago while cleaning out my office I came across a CD that was labeled Mom, in a bit of a chicken scratch, so I knew it was from my Maxi. Now I may have mentioned my technological inadequacies so not sure what to do with it and I thought it was a file of pictures. No worries because I live with Techie and I asked him to open it, he looks at me first like, are you serious?  Being the kind lover that he is tells me it is a CD that Max made for me probably twenty years ago for a Birthday. Several days go by and then I remember that I can play it in my car and I pope it in and the memories flowed out and I couldn’t stop crying. Rest assured they were pure tears of joy as I remembered each with beautiful and happy memories. I was on an Annie Lennox kick years ago and couldn’t stop playing the walking on broken glass and making my kids dance with me. Erica, Max, and I had many a dance party in our old house where we actually had a room big enough to host dance parties.  Let me just say I was flying down the highway that day, blasting the music as loud as possible, and remembering how wonderful life can be and all it takes is some dance music. So I suggest for the next few weeks, don’t listen to the news but break out your favorite tunes that remind you of when life was really great and will be again.

I am trying to get this dance party going with my grandchildren and so far they are very receptive, I know there is a short window before they think you are a total Dork.

Just sayin…………..

Good evening my Corona friends and for my Jewish friends enjoy the break fast tonight, even if you haven’t done the fast.  I guess no big celebrations with friends and family.  I am celebrating tonight with my roommate, lover, and techie as today was his last day of treatment. So he is currently doing the cooking from our dinner box, I decided it is not a bad thing because if one things he knows its reading directions, it all makes sense to him. I may even have to increase the box from 2 to 4, when the cold weather comes and we won’t be able to dine al fresco, but I am prepared to break out the long underwear and with some heat lamps I could go all winter, so please don’t close.

Holy Crap it has been more than a half a year since I started this blog, that I thought would be over in a month or so, but here we are still under siege by a Pandemic that just won’t seem to go away. It has been a really tough these past few weeks, with the passing of one of my heroes RBG and the shit show that followed.  I think we are all way passed anything surprising or shocking us, I know I laughed out loud last week when a friend shared something that was on her mind. She was shocked that I would just laugh at loud when she was surely a bit troubled. Why are you laughing she says and I don’t know it was just a reflex that nothing can shock me anymore and I fear it just is not going to end the craziness will continue, but I keep putting off the date that we can all sit around, inside with friends, with more than a few people, maybe a celebration or a wedding, and laugh and joke about our crazy memories of this time. I know it is coming but right now I won’t even hazard a guess as to when because I have been so off on my predictions.   “Abundance of Caution” seriously how many of us have grown to hate that phrase and want to kick its ass to the curb?  I feel like every time we get some bad news or a delay it starts out with “Abundance of Caution”, why don’t they just say because half the people feel it is a Hoax so now the spreaders have ruined it for everyone else and it is going to take a bit longer. Please people even if you are not a believer just give it a shot and see if it makes a difference because what we are doing right now is just not working.  I know my grandson Charlie just wants to go to school and he is in the first grade and we all know there is a limited time when there is excitement about still loving school and not, so please cooperate.  I hate to say this but I could almost root for the “good old days” in Catholic school when you had to hold out your hand a get a good whack with the ruler if you stepped out of line. I have to say that I was privy to more than a few whacks.  I wish I could say it worked but it never changed my behavior, so let’s just scratch that theory, unless I am the one delivering the whacks to the grownups. Who knows what is going to come out of this remote learning, but I already assured my daughter not to worry because Charlie still loves trucks and UPS and FedEx are two of his favorite so I am pretty sure a job is secure for him in the future, even if it is just programming those self-driving trucks. I did purchase him a battery powered jeep this summer and he loves driving it and I love the fact that he doesn’t care that it is Pink because it was the only color they had left, he wanted the black one but when I said all that was left was pink , his response was I love Pink.  Somehow I could have never seen my brothers going for a pink Jeep under any circumstances so we have made some progress.

Yesterday I  told my roommate that we have to get out of town, I just couldn’t do anymore bike rides or walks around the city and I needed to see something different so we drove to Provincetown, for those not from Massachusetts it is the very tip of the Cape.  Normally we would spend some time there every summer after the Pan Mass Challenge but like everything else this year it was disrupted. We stopped at a few different beaches along the way as I was looking for some big waves, hoping for one last chance to do some body surfing.  Well although I didn’t get any rides in, just being in such a beautiful place was good for the soul, even if there were signs of a shark warning. Heck the ones in the water are probably a whole lot better than the ones on land lately, at least they are not under disguise and they are what they are, just willing to take a big bite.  We got a nice reprieve here on the weather as it was late September but the temperature was definitely an Indian summer. Which is another thing I am not sure if we can use that term any longer and not sure where it came from, but we always referred to temperature coming back in the fall to Indian summer like a little added bonus. I just googled it and I don’t believe it is offensive but I am prepared to amend it should it be offensive. Because I am all about spreading the cheer that will be my new motto, till it’s not and believe me I have a short attention span. So for today I wish you all a Good Evening, Happy New Year, and maybe a bit more of this Indian summer.

Just Sayin

Good evening my Corona friends. I thought I would check in with you all since today is Labor Day and an official end of summer. It has been a while since I last put pen to paper to pontificate of all my meanderings of my boring life during a pandemic that I try to believe is a bad dream and not our reality. OK you get the picture I may be going over a dark edge so let me try and right the ship before I get too scary.  Yes, it may be the end of summer, although not sure if anyone is thinking it, as long as the weather holds up since there are no school openings till later this month. Techie and I were fortunate to escape up to Maine and be with our grandkids and kids for five days, and happy to report on this trip we were upgraded to another family cottage that had a 21st-century coffee maker, that could dispense at least 10 decent cups at a time. Amazing what a decent cup of coffee can do for you when camping out with all your family who is up at the crack of dawn.  Don’t get me wrong I am most often up at that hour but it is generally me and my beloved cable news and coffee, not diaper changes and cereal wars at that hour, but happily will do it for the short week. Happy to report that I went off the cable news for the week, after all, I was in Maine and our cottage did not have the requisite satellite dish, or if it did there was no telly. OMG, we had to settle for the sound of nature and the relevant silence interrupted by dueling two-year-old cousins staking out their territory. Charlie is six and he had to be the referee of these two and I must say he was just the best of doling out his wisdom. I heard him say to his two-year-old sister you are not the boss of Tilda, his cousin also two, brought me back to when my kids were young. “You are not the boss of me” and “you are not invited to my party” were the fighting words.  Now it is where is your mask and please don’t stand so close to me, and not by the Police. I can’t imagine what I would be like if I was a parent in this day and age, and thankfully I don’t have to find out. I can be sure that I would never be as patient as my kids are today with their kids. Imagine coming into a Pandemic when all of a sudden you have to school your kids remotely and also work from home at the same time. Now imagine even worse that you were one of those parents that were pretty adamant of limiting screen time and never used the TV as a babysitter?  Seriously I am pretty sure a lot of this has gone out the window and if it hasn’t how are you all coping?  The screen time that you fought so hard against is now the primary source of your child’s learning and who knows when they are going off-script to video games during class time?  I know I am going to date myself but way back when we worried about the “new math” and how were we supposed to help them with homework when I didn’t know shit about it in the first place. We had to send our son to a private school and pay a lot of money so he would get his homework done. Seriously we were ill-equipped to help him navigate learning with dyslexia and I feel for those that are trying to figure it out during this insane time in our history.

I say to techie what happened here we were supposed to be retired by now and here we are still working?   I suppose it is ok since we really can’t travel, which is what we love to do but now no one wants us, and borders are closed. Forget about the wall we don’t need one, as most people don’t want us as guests but hoping that changes soon. Basically, we haven’t been out of New England this summer, and our biggest worry on these road trips is where am I going to pee?  I am not going to lie in the beginning I was peeing on the side of the road rather than enter a highway restroom because who knew where Corona was lingering, but now I have given in to indoor plumbing. I have been looking at those Winnebago type of vehicles but have to admit what I really want is a Glamped up airstream. This is coming from a person who always thought Holiday Inn Express was the closest thing to camping that I ever wanted. Granted there were times in my early days when a pup tent on the side of the road was just fine but along with my youth that is long gone.  I always loved those road trips with my roommate because he could always handle anything that came up and fix anything on the spot, hence MacGyver. So I was thinking I could get my airstream and be ready to hit the open road this fall, once we have to wrap up the beloved boat. If we had this and we had to go into lockdown this fall or winter we would have another room to go to when this place shrinks.  During my research, I found that Walmart will let you park in their lots, as we certainly have no place to park it. I haven’t found any Walmarts in the city of Boston that are close by so may have to wait on this new venture.  We just have to be prepared for what may be coming as it is starting to get dark earlier and nights are getting cooler, in another month we will be getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark. Oh wait a minute we will still be working from home so won’t have to worry about commuting in the dark.  Things have been going pretty well here in the city and the state as a whole with the plague so let’s hope it can continue because I don’t want to go back to jail again.  I really can’t believe that I have 170 days in on this Corona thing and I honestly don’t want to give it another day, but I guess we will see what tomorrow brings. So please don’t leave home without your mask and keep your distance, now is the time you can avoid a lot of people you always wanted to and blame it on the Pandemic.

Just sayin

Good Evening my Corona friends. I trust you are all doing well and enjoying what is left to the summer. Funny isn’t it that for so long we never knew what day of the week it was and now that we are coming to the end of summer we are just chasing those last days like nobody’s business.  During these crazy times, we thought we had all the time in the world and now we have to scramble to get in all that we had planned for the summer. We are doing pretty well here in Boston and they are letting some college students come back to town. We all hope they do better than those down in North Carolina and Georgia who didn’t play by the rules and now all have to go home. There was a young group of young ladies down near the waterfront on my walk this afternoon and they were new freshmen taking photos of themselves in a group without a mask. I snapped a picture as I walked by and said I was going to post on social media and they would probably be sent packing, surprisingly they didn’t even give me the finger. Please don’t let us lose this opportunity to go wild in College, is what I saw on their faces.  Seriously I know that the college-age me would not be able to follow the rules, hell it’s hard for this old lady to follow the rules.

We just went through a three-week lockdown with my roommate, who had some ups and downs but happy to report that Techie is doing very well and anxious to get back on his boat.  I did have a week of dinner from the box and yes I did my homework every night and just longed to go to one of our outdoor cafes, but did my June cleaver routine. This week and next our daughter has sent us dinners from a private chef that prepares dinners as her full-time job. I know I am going to sound ungrateful here, but she was just rubbing me the wrong way. My dinner box just lets me check it off and shows up on your doorstep. She insisted on a 45-minute interview to get to know us and had to answer about our likes and dislikes. I mean she could have sent us a form and we could have just checked off likes and dislikes about the veggies, but know we had to go down the list and say yay or nay, beets?, Onions? Peppers? Bok Choy? And on and on, I said we just don’t like tarragon or liver but we eat everything else. Anyway, I think I was just not in a good mood and just didn’t want to bother. Just give me some Cape Cod Chips and some pickles and booze and say good night. But we have to take good care of Techie so we soldiered on and yes we did have two nice meals so far this week and one more to go, no cooking or mess just heat up in the oven, so that part works for me. This is a good week and we are doing some walks and noticing that there are a lot more people in our hood and of course, a lot more “Corona Puppies” and tell me this just isn’t a bit ludicrous but more and more Puppy strollers. I kid you not they are strollers made specifically for small dogs and they can be quite extravagant, these dogs are surely living a charmed life. Have you noticed how many more commercials there are on TV for dog food that comes out of the gourmet food section in the supermarket?  I remember a few years ago being stunned when I saw pet food in the cooler section at whole foods, wow these dogs are eating better than a lot of people.  Here I am complaining about my interview with the chef and these dogs and their owners have probably interviewed many personal chefs for dog food, wouldn’t put it past anyone. Most of the strollers I see have generally been being pushed by someone in the latest Lululemon outfit, and the proper running shoes. These dogs could never keep up on a leash with these CrossFit culture types.  I know that when we had a dog we just sent her out in the backyard to do her business and maybe catch some dinner.  We were spoiled out in the burbs with a dog door and electric fence and Lucy was the best dog ever. It was only after she passed that I could convince my lover to move to the city, before that he said he would never have a dog where he would have to pick up poop in a plastic bag and carry around with him, just call him old fashioned. I have even entertained for a few fleeting moments getting him a small dog so he could have someone to get excited when he walks in the door, but like I said it is a fleeting moment. Well, tomorrow marks a big day for me and Techie. We will celebrate 42 years of being married and considering we spent the last five months living in a one-room loft, and he always returned when he said he was just going to CVS to get half and half for the morning, pretty big accomplishment. Of course, I was a child bride and he did have that cute little Triumph Spitfire that made him even more adorable, I am so lucky that I decided to sail away with him forty-two years ago on that Sunday afternoon in Boston harbor. Sometimes things just work out.

Just sayin………………….

Good evening my Corona friends and I hope everyone is surviving the heatwave we have going on here in the Northeast. Let me just get this out of the way right off the bat, I am thrilled with the pick of Kamala Harris to be on the Presidential election ticket, of course, the only thing better would be if she were at the top. I mean seriously people, has this whole Pandemic thing not shown everyone that WOMEN know how to get things done, all the while multitasking. This whole new layout of working from home, schooling from home, and managing all from home, it’s not like most men could have done it, just a fact.  I am not saying that most wouldn’t have tried but just can’t do it because they haven’t had to, whereas women have had to do much of everything and get paid less. Oh man, a change is in the air……we should all demand a raise.

Well, it has been week two for us here with my roommate and lover, and I am still trying to take proper care of him.  Today we had the dinner box and I decided to make it for lunch instead of dinner, and then we had sweet green salads for dinner.  We are very fortunate in that so many of our friends want to feed us, and I get to be the recipient of all that goodwill as well, so very grateful. Our friend Cindy delivered us the most delicious dinner the other night on a beautiful platter and the best part of it was a small jar of homemade hot fudge. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving, we had sundaes again tonight after those salads, turns out it was good planning on my part. Today we spoke with a personal chef that my daughter decided to offer to make some meals while in the shutdown, I guess she thought Dad needs more than the box.  Well, I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but man oh man, was she a bit of a pill. She had to interview us live, couldn’t fill out a questionnaire. She ran down a list of vegetables and fruits that we could give a yay or nay, and not sure we ever heard of all of them. She wanted to know about medications and cholesterol, did we want only organic and how much protein do we eat at a meal?  Hey, I thought this was about comfort, just dish up the meatloaf and mash potatoes already, and a nice apple crisp with some vanilla ice cream. I really shouldn’t be making fun of her because I am sure she has a lot of happy customers, and I have dreamed of a personal chef, but I don’t want it to appear as medicinal. Ok I am sure I am overreacting and she is a week or so out, so I will wait and reserve judgment, as we are always open to new experiences. Especially during the time of Corona, when we really don’t get to do anything or go anywhere. I wish I was one of those people who was crafty and started a new cottage business, but I rather park my ass on the couch watching Law and Order with a bag of Cape Cod chips. I know it has been very popular to do jigsaw puzzles but really we only have one table so can’t even begin to think of spreading out on that one, plus it has zero appeal to me. One thing that happened tonight was I was pouring myself a nice Ketel One over ice, with a bit of soda, and decided to add this Cosmopolitan mixer just because that pink bottle was so cute. Well, I was enjoying my nice cocktail over a huge mound of ice and noticed that I was getting a buzz way to quick. Well, when I finally read the label that half of glass of mixer was actually a readymade cocktail.  I go for the straight vodka, Lite beer, and sometimes my beloved Chardonnay and I don’t believe I ever bought a drink in a bottle or a can that was premade, so there you go you learn something new every day. I believe I am going to stick with mixing my own drinks without the help of one of these premade, that way I really know what I am getting, and it won’t be a weak pour…………………..

Just sayin

DAY 139

Good evening my Corona friends and as always I hope you are healthy and somewhat sane.  We made it to another Friday and now the summer is going to fly by, not like it will matter because we don’t know what another season will bring, but I hope an end to Corona. Today we made it through a week of my roommate getting his treatment and happy to report all is well and June Cleaver has been doing an exceptional job, Mom are you up there in heaven, finally happy that I am cooking for him? Tonight I cooked freestyle, in other words, all from scratch and I think it was pretty dam delicious if I don’t say so myself. Last week at my friend Jon’s house he shared how to whip up some sweet potatoes fries, I know seriously so easy but so delicious, you just have to break out another pan, typically I only allow 2 to come out of the cupboard.  I had the pleasure of crossing the river into Cambridge today, and aside from 99.5% mask compliance, and more cyclists than you could ever see in Boston, they apparently are taking this dining Al Fresco more seriously than most. I had to stop and snap a few pictures of a few places that did a beautiful job making their space nice and inviting.  Now I know this is no small feat and another added expense for already hard-hit restaurants but with a little ingenuity and design, it can make the world of difference. There’s a lot of this DYI going on during this Pandemic and I am sure there are a lot of people on Pinterest offering their ideas and opinions on how to pull it off, and more power to those that do it. I want to share a lot of the spots I snapped today and spoiler alert one of the most barren, or boring spots was probably one of the most expensive.  First prize goes tonight to LOLA burger with their creative sandwich board, they had me, and I thought it was a two for one. The Barking Crab as always doesn’t mince any words, order some food, your time limit, or go somewhere else. The modern-day version of Durgin Park, which everyone was going to miss badly, when they announced closing a few years back, glad to they didn’t live to see where we are now and trying to survive. I love seeing people out and about so please people wear a mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance. I want my favorite bartender, to come back to my favorite bar, still closed and no opening in sight. Maybe we will toast the New Year but nothing is definite, but like someone said eventually it will all just go away.

I hope to be back next week.

R.I.P. Jerry…….

Just sayin