Living in the Time of Corona

Good evening my corona partners and hope everyone had a good day. It was a good day to be out and about, as much as possible and mask compliance was about 70% today.  Today I was delighted to find out this morning that it was Sunday and I could spend as much time as I wanted drinking coffee and mulling over my Boston Globe and New York Times, which only comes on Sunday. It used to be the first section I would pull out of the paper every Sunday was the travel section, as I loved to dream and learn about the places that I could aspire to one day visit. But how quickly the world has changed and they don’t even do a good job with this section any longer, I guess they are giving up as well. I believe it is a temporary setback and we will be back up and running again soon. I have had the wanderlust for the past few years, and just really wanted to visit as many places as possible before I was in diapers, and not able to move around as easy. This virus thing is cramping my style and I am not big on the armchair travel, so hopefully this time next year we will be on a trip, and could be anywhere. Today was a really great day as my roommate and I took a nice long bike ride but it was even more fun as our friends Howie and Lisa came by and we all rode off together. We took them on a nice long ride through different parts of the city, and because it was far less traffic, riding down Dorchester Ave was far less frightening than usual. Once we get to the bike trail it is all smooth sailing and honestly I almost felt normal like something you would do any Sunday, if it weren’t for that freaking mask, fogging up my glasses and I get so overheated. It can be very difficult to be compliant, but I will keep trying with different options. It was a really great afternoon and then it got incredibly better when we ended at the Barking Crab for lobster rolls. It turns out they just opened a takeout window during the day and there was a line, but we got our picnic packages and found a place along the Harbor walk to sit 6 feet apart and enjoy our picnic. I think you all may know that restaurants were granted the ability to offer take out drinks with the meals, and it occurred to me as we were sitting in front of the courthouse, that I guess public drinking has now also been granted. Everyone who was walking by was also carrying the lunch bag with a beer and it was all very civilized, no public intoxication, well they also limit you to two. It’s funny, if it wasn’t for the masks you could easily believe it was just another spring day in Boston. I am grateful that my friends suggested we do the ride as we are so used to being just the two of us, and you know what they say about to much togetherness? Well after that great afternoon we arrived home to find out new home delivery meal package from Hello Fresh had arrived, and what a thrill not to have to think of what to make for dinner. My friend Sarah recommended it and she doesn’t like to cook, Queen of take out, plus she and her husband may be the only ones I know who eat out more than we do. She warned me you do have to do some work but all the ingredients and measurements are all done ahead for you. Well lo and behold but Techie cooked dinner tonight, it comes with these big recipe boards, and he is very good at following directions. Also whenever he did by chance decide to cook something he generally made a super mess in the kitchen, so I kind of banished him to dishes.  Of course it is too soon to say this is going to be a game changer but we have two more meals for this week and ordered already for next week. I don’t know about anyone else but here we gauge the time passing, by meals and what we are going to look forward to helps the day go by a lot quicker. I wish I could be the Barefoot Contessa to my Techie and whip up these seemingly easy delicious dinners but lately it seems like another chore. This could be groundbreaking, and we could end up cooking this meals together but I don’t want the dishes back that stays in his column.  I guess the world has evolved to everything we need gets delivered to our door in a box, but at least this wasn’t an Amazon box.  I will probably find out later that they’re owned by Amazon.  Now if we could just put this virus in a box and send it off somewhere, guaranteed free shipping and no returns, final sale.

Just sayin…….

Good evening everyone and it is Saturday night. Hope we all had some big plans, even if it is movie night at home, and chances are that’s what most people are doing tonight.  Today was a beautiful day to be outside and it was also sad for us, as we saw our grandchildren off to Maine to the outlaws and not sure when they will be back. It was really hard as you can see that I get a lot of joy out of those kids, and now I don’t have much to look forward to, as I don’t know when I will see them again, but yes there is always Face time. Just not the same and because they are four hours away there will be no more Grandma drop offs of the junk food. Now they are back to eating Kale and Veggie chips. One thing I know for sure there is no cable where they are going, so it is a very safe place to escape the world as we know it today. I really wish I could go with them, but alas why didn’t I retire 2 years ago when I made it public, but damn I am still working. Well at least I am at the end of my career, and man oh man I do feel for this Class of 2020, and what the world has in store for you. I remember graduating from College back in the 70’s and we were in a recession and the prospects seemed dim, but at least it wasn’t life threatening.  I mean damn when you think of it, not just the economic damage, surely that is a big part of it, but the prospect of mingling in society could maybe cost your or a loved one their life is mind blowing. I have to say I have been very impressed with a lot of these young graduates for their positive attitudes for the future, once they got over Prom. I really had no idea that Prom was still a very big deal, but from all the reports I have seen it apparently still super important and we may see a lot of college kids having their own prom next year. I hope they can find a way and next spring Proms will be back in full swing.  These venues need to make up a lot of revenue, at least they had their dresses for the most part.

I did watch the Commencement of the Class of 2020 tonight and found it inspirational. I am not going to lie, but I literally starting crying when President Obama was speaking, finally a leader that can put sentences together, and asked them to do what they think is right. It wasn’t about him, but rather for these young people to go after their dreams and build a community that can work together.  The challenges are going to be difficult but honesty and hard work are going to see you through it.  If we had a leader in office today, that could inspire people and ask them to come together to win this fight against the virus, maybe we wouldn’t be in the place we are today. All I know is today we have an insane person, running the country. The latest deflection is Obamagate. Who dreams this shit up?  Must be the same writers who do Ozark or Goliath because I often wonder if these people are truly demented to come up with some of the scripts that they put out. I am sure there are even more that I haven’t seen. I stopped watching Criminal Minds because it gave me nightmares, now I just watch cable news to get my daily nightmare. It really was a very nice tribute to this graduating class and I even like LeBron James. I really didn’t know much about him, other than he is a very good basketball player. He has done so much to give back to his community.  He asked that the kids stay home or stay close to home, because they have never left home, and build their community. I hope these kids will rise to the occasion and recognize they have the power to make some changes and vote these old white men out of office.  I wish we didn’t have another old white man as the alternative. Here’s a quote on the topic from David Sedaris:

“On Undecided Voter​s: “To put them in perspective, I think​ of being​ on an airplane.​ The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat.​ “Can I interest you in the chicken” she asks.​ “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broke​n glass​in it?”
To be undecided in this elect​ion is to pause​ for a moment and then ask how the chick​en is cooked.”

I am going to end it right here tonight because I don’t want to get to riled up in a political rant, I will save that for tomorrow after I read all about OBAMAGATE and how he overstepped his bounds and spoke out about the President, well what is wrong with the rest of the retired presidents please speak out and save us, forget about protocol, this is a whole new ballgame, Stand up…

Just sayin …

Good Evening everyone and TGIF, hope everyone is doing well and has big weekend plans. I see here in my fair city Of Boston the curfew has now been extended to 9Pm from a previous 8Pm.  I personally don’t know if anyone is paying attention to these curfew mandates but I can tell you I can’t remember when I have been out of the house after 7pm, maybe yesterday when I walked down to Smoke Shop to pick up our BBQ for dinner, and I only saw one other person on the street. I mean where are you going to go?  The supermarkets all close by 7, the take out places are all done by 8pm, and God knows all the bars are closed, so home is where I will be with the rest of Bostonians. I am sure there are some out there that are hosting some house parties and breaking the rules, but I hope you are keeping 6 feet apart and wearing your masks. We are in a routine here, I do all the cooking and my roommate does all the dishes. Today I came home to a clean house, as Techie decide he would do a cleanup since I have been leaving the house to go to work, the last few weeks.  I know it is only one big room and one bathroom, but you really need to get at all those hard to reach spaces, under the tables with all the dust kitties, the dining table which now serves as both a spot for meals and the other half Techies computer and office. Good thing it is a nice big table, but some nights I want it cleared, so I don’t feel like we are eating at our desks at work. Roomie is really good he puts it all the bench or chair and tucks it under the table, almost like a roll top desk, all good. Today I got up and out of the house very early as I found that a Costco was having senior hours at 8am, and was much psyched to find out about this, as not all locations are doing this time frame. Honestly I felt like royalty when I strolled right in the door with no line, and greeted by a young man who asked if he could sanitize and wipe down my cart. Now here is the thing I know they are open for essentials, and the theory is that is what we should all be shopping for when we venture out but I immediately find myself drifting as I walk around the bins. They had all kinds of clothes stacked up for the browsing and Kirkland is my favorite designer label, I found myself distracted from my mission of Clorox wipes, hand sanitizers, Tp and paper towels. Kuddos to Costco as they had a nice big sign on the way in of what they were out of. TP, and limit on the chlorax wipes and meats, sounds a bit weird doesn’t it?  Makes you kind of wonder what are people doing with the Clorox and the meat?  Anyway I was shocked to see so many of the elderly out and about in a food warehouse and somewhere pushing their walkers. I haven’t been in one since February and quite frankly was a bit leery of even going in but was pleasantly surprised to find it very empty and as it turns out when I was in the parking lot the lady next to me asked me how I got in and out so fast, she was surprised they opened an hour earlier than she thought. I told her let it be our little secret.  It just wasn’t the same as I always like to go when they are giving out all those free samples and if you time it right that for sure is lunch or dinner, now it is doubtful we will ever see Chez Costco operating anytime soon, just another casualty of Corona.  They did however have their Pizza and hot dog counter open, not many takers at that hour of the morning. I did get one of my Clorox wipes taken away at check out as I didn’t pay attention to the limits on certain items. I do believe the young lady at checkout was chastising me in a very polite way, but seriously it’s not like I was trying to sneak some extra booze it is Clorox. But as we all know these paper goods and sanitizers are now the bitcoin of this pandemic and can be part of an underground trade. I seriously thought the TP thing was over, but I did hear sighs of disappointment today at Costco when they found there was no TP. Cheer up even the CVS has it now as well as Trader Joes, although I am sure I would rather not use theirs, I don’t know why just got a bad feeling about it. Well I provisioned my cart with all the main staples and delivered them out to World Headquarters, the shelves were bare as it has been almost three months since I restocked the Snack kitchen. We are not Google or Facebook but we do offer some of the best free snacks. We have plenty of Ramen noodles, Ritz crackers, Mini brownies, Mac and cheese, Doritos and string cheese. I do entertain requests and when the marketing team is in house I get almonds, and seaweed crackers. I noticed today that no one has broken into their stash and as I surprise I got them some ice cream bars and don’t know long that will be before someone opens the freezer. Usually all the good stuff disappears in a few days but we do have a lot smaller crew on site so I give it a week. Seriously it is hard to compete in today’s environment of the High tech companies providing all free meals, laundry pick up, happy hour with a stocked bar of beer and wine.  Luckily we love the Ramen noodles all year and sometimes some mini frozen pizzas. Doing our part to stay competitive, and now most of those other offices aren’t even seeing any people since they are all working from home, so I guess we could add this to a list of our benefits package? These people are essential as they have to stage for deliveries, and receive the goods just can’t be done from home and we appreciate them very much. This Corona Derby 2020 was sent by a friend tonight and I think it pretty much sums it up as to what is next.

Just sayin…

Good evening everyone and hope you all got to spend some time enjoying this glorious day. It seemed the weather did turn our way for a beautiful spring day. That is one of the most positive things about this outbreak or virus lock-down, how much a difference a good weather day can be.  Just the fact that we don’t need a down jacket or gloves. Now that I have been cooped up inside for so long, I guess I can understand how people want to be in a warmer climate. Just so much less of a hassle if you don’t need to layer yourself when you head out for your daily trek. I have had a nice little set up outside my apartment door for the past several months with a little bench that I could change my sneakers or bike shoes, and not bring them inside. I was even hanging my coat on one of the beams. Well as it turns out the condo rules don’t allow for anything outside your door. Even though I knew this, it still really pissed me off when I got busted for breaking the rules and threatened with a fine.  I know this younger yuppie couple were making a big deal about it a few years ago, didn’t like the floor mats or baby carriage outside  the door, but as soon as they were having a baby they moved out.  But not before they stuck us with this ridiculous new security system for guests to ring up to your apartment, or open the door with the app on your phone, half the time it is broken.  Apparently there was a move afoot to try and be a bit more upscale as we were the poor relation, in regard to all the new construction in the hood, but we sure have much more charm, and our fees are quite a bit lower.  I am sure there are plenty of you out there you have lived in a condo and understand the Board and the rules, but this is my first time. I am not much of a rule follower. As a matter of fact, it is surprising how little complaints I have had in the five years we have been here but all it takes is one asshole to get all hot and bothered.  You see we live on the second floor which is the only floor that has an open atrium so we have a big open hallway, the other floors are all closed up, hence not much outside your door space. I find it very helpful when late at night if I hadn’t finished the required steps for the day I would just do a quick 30 laps around my open hallway. Now there are two buildings, and the nasty bitch who called me out on my bench lives in the building across the courtyard.  I don’t even know who she is but she has to be a major A hole to get all bent out of shape over someone’s bench that has nothing to do with her, when today we have a lot more fish to fry than breaking a silly rule.  I miss my bench as I am one of the elderly, I do get to shop at preview hours at the market, and it is nice to have a place to change my shoes.  I am not going to dwell on it too much because only gets me super angry and that is not going to serve me well today. Besides I will just give it a while and just put it back when no one is looking, and stay out of our building Miss Busy Body. Techie is back to doing his meditation in a bigger way and tells me Patience and tolerance is the way to go. Ya let me think about it. No. Patience is never going to be my thing, and there is no way I can meditate my way there. I am trying to be more tolerant of people during this time of Corona, and most times people are being pretty reasonable, but not all are wearing their masks. I hate to say this but I am going to call out the Millennials. They don’t have full compliance and especially running or jogging around the city. We don’t want your spray so get with the program. They are pretty good about getting out of your way. I sometimes feel like Moses parting the sea when I come upon a group that just spread out till you pass. I kind of feel like I have some super power. Now if that could only translate to making that happen for those in the left lane who aren’t passing anyone, it would be awesome. I know we are all driving a little faster than usual since there is so little traffic on the highway, and I often get pissed off at the guy ahead of me and then I see I am going 80. I noticed today they have signs on the highway about keeping the proper distance from the cars in front of you, being clever about telling people don’t get on my tail. I noticed a lot more state troopers hidden on the side of the road today, so I must be more careful so as not to get a ticket adding to my frustrations with the lock down.  My roommate and I noticed on our daily trek today that almost all conversations we could over hear while we past them on the street were all virus related. When are we going to end the shutdown, he had no symptoms, he’s back in the hospital, when will I see my family. Today we were reminded that Covid is not the only game in town. Cancer can sneak right up on you. I may have mentioned that my whole family rides in the PMC, Pan Mass Challenge every year and we raise money for Dana Farber Cancer center. Well we ride on team Flames and we found out our little pedal partner Zachary is back in the hospital and his leukemia has come back. We all were stunned as he was doing so well and had been in remission, and what time to be admitted back into the hospital. Tonight we had a Zoom meeting with a lot of our team and shared our stories of why we ride and why we have to continue and raise money to find a cure. I wore my bike shirt from just two years ago tonight and I am in big trouble because I could barely squeeze into it, no more carbo loading.

Just sayin

Good evening everyone and hope you all had a very good Wednesday. Remember when this used to be referred to as hump day, and only two more days to the weekend?  Now most of the time it doesn’t matter, because there will be no activities on the weekend, it’s just another day. No soccer or baseball games, trips to the Museum or aquarium, and worst of all no brunch. Brunch was never a big thing when I lived in the suburbs, and maybe it was just me, but here in the city people love to brunch. Especially when the weather gets warm and you are able to sit outside. They love to dawdle over their eggs bennie or raspberry stuffed French toast and yes a Bloody Mary or Mimosa, or more.  So far no worries because this is New England, and we haven’t been told yet that it is May, and we had a frost today, but no problem that sun comes out in the afternoon and it can be 50-60” and we think it is beach weather. Besides it keeps the work from home crowd focused, because who wouldn’t want to go outside when it is a beautiful day, and it is not like anyone in your office would notice if you did. I did go to work again today and I love that I can blast the music so loud and dance like no one is watching, it is kind of liberating. I don’t know what that will be like when we actually get to open the doors.  I guess I will have to turn down the volume and maybe lose the moves. I really miss all my coworkers and interactions with other adults in person, besides my roommate everything else has been on Face time and Zoom.  But we are preparing for the “new normal” freaking hate that phrase and that includes a very stylish face mask, forget about those hospital paper ones.  I got a beautiful very stylish face mask today from one of my colleagues Cindy, and I love it. She was all tricked out in a very nice mask that seemed to match her outfit and I am betting she will be doing a very nice job coordinating a stylish wardrobe to compliment her masks. I do believe we are going to have to embrace this mask thing, for a very long time so we had better get on it and start getting them made to match our wardrobes, if it ever comes to actually getting out of our yoga pants and dressing a bit more professionally. I have to say I never thought I would go out in public in my yoga pants but yet I find myself leaving the house every day in them and I don’t even care about all the rolls and bulges, a I always told my daughter I am Rubenisque. I know from what I feel and what I read that we are all embracing comfort foods during this time of isolation and hibernation, and you know what that means a lot of Carbs. Screw the Atkins all that protein is not going to do it for most of us, we need to bake bread, eat lots of pasta and down a king size bag of Cape Cod chips in one seating to feel good. I am doing my best to drink the potato vodka and trying to cut down on the chardonnay. I don’t know about anyone else but wine seems to have a trigger for me to want to eat after drinking a bottle. Last night I said to Techie no snacks tonight, which have become a bad habit for late night, which we never did before lock down. I blame it on Trader Joes with those mini sandwiches and Nutty buddy cones. You don’t feel bad about having a mini but then you can’t stop at one and then becomes two then three and the beat goes on…  I stopped buying them but that doesn’t stop me from continuously looking in the freezer, for my best friend who seems to have left town with no forwarding address. I was in the store today and hesitated for a moment in front of the case but pushed my way through and you have to follow the arrows in the store so no going back, dodged that bullet. Tonight I prepared a spectacular Taco dinner once again from the yellow box, but I set a very nice table with all the ingredients in very attractive little bowls so it was a kind of build your own Taco. My roommate was easily impressed and not sure if he even noticed the attractive table setting but he seemed to enjoy it and the rule is he does the dishes so no complaints. I guess I will have to think of something really exciting for tomorrow night but doubt it will top this dinner that my lover served me the other night.

Just sayin….

Hello everyone and hope we are all doing well this evening. I know I am and there is nothing a nice bottle of chardonnay won’t solve, at least till tomorrow. I know I went off on a bit of what some may construe as a political rant and I make no apologies.  I can assure you all from my perspective it was tame.  For all intents and purposes let’s just put it out there Orange is my least favorite color and oddly enough red has always been my favorite.  What pains me most from someone who has embraced color so much in my world and design aesthetic that now Orange is dead to me, and that is all I am going to say about it. This from someone who embraced orange and pink in my own wedding years ago and then again when my daughter got married orange played a big part of her wedding party. Now one person has ruined it for me forever.  How could this happen? How could one idiot disrupt my whole color pallet to what I hold sacred and how do I allow this to happen? Well the truth is I don’t and I won’t. I am now reclaiming the true color pallet of orange and not the cheeto, brand of orange. I am reclaiming my orange and I hope the other one fades away, and the sooner the better.

Today I decided that I am on a path to relaxation and wellbeing, so will have to let the discord fall by the wayside. I am going to to wake up every morning and decide on the five things that really matter in my life, and then get out of bed and perform like they do really matter. Maybe we can’t do our jobs they way we used to do them but now we have a new opportunity to do something innovative. Let me just say the fact that I just wrote we can do something innovative is amazingly fucking innovative. You all know that I am something of a Luddite when it comes to computer lingo and for me it doesn’t much matter because hey, my techie, will fix it for me. Today one of my girlfriends confessed that  not all her secure rants and raves are completely private and I would love to share with you but the time is not right, but I can assure when the time is right it will be such a good read, you won’t be able to put it down. SO GOOD.

Today was a great day to be walking around the city and a lot of people were willing to share, so I hope you enjoy some of the first neighborhoods in the city to open up.  I think we are on the road to spring and it may be apparent to some but definitely not to all, and I was only looking for the bright spots today in my walk around the city that I love and adore.  I am sharing signs of coming to life in one form or another.

Just sayin…

Good evening everyone and as usual I ask and hope that everyone is happy and healthy, and more importantly surviving sanely. I know it is insane for us to live through something like this Pandemic but what is really fucking insane, is that we have a certified unequivocally mentally ill person who is in charge of our well being and the future of this country. Why aren’t we out in the streets demanding that he be committed?  It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I have a very limited, well let me say no affection, for our failed leader and I have been trying to remain neutral in my daily discourse but the gloves are off. I watched a briefing today, generally avoid them, and when they mentioned the latest on children getting this new affliction, he said  not aware they might die. Seriously that is your best answer?  Yes we can say some people were irresponsible and didn’t follow precautions and may have had the misfortune to get the virus, but children not dying?  My generation has raised our kids and now that are grandchildren may be in peril, the gloves are off, you a much uninformed moron.  Why are we even listening to someone who is orange?  I mean we have red states and blue states, and if you mix them up you get purple, and there is no formula that brings us to Orange so that should be our first warning. I mean think about it they do use Orange flashing lights, when they rig up the caution signs on the side of the road that should tell us something about the danger ahead. I wish the lame stream media would stop going to these press conferences and just report after, and do the fact checking. The people who will remain, are going to believe no matter what he says, so let them have it. They all know if they wanted a test, they can have a test, because Cheeto says anyone who wants one can have one, just haven’t told us where we can get one. Apparently you have to have one of the those Make America Great Again hats, with the secret handshake to get one, but you don’t need one because it is a free country and you are free to spread the virus.  I have news for all you people in the MAGA hats, we didn’t need to make America great again, we were already great, but now it is going to take years to gain some credibility in the world and here in our own country.   Just think it only took a Reality TV star, and I use Star loosely, after never having seen the show, a very short time to put us all down in the gutter. He can grab them by the pussy and shoot someone in central park, without consequence, so of course he thinks he can maneuver himself right out of this big doozy he finds himself.  The really sad thing he has the support of so many people who are more than happy to hold their nose and look the other way, no matter what he says or does.

Ok this was going to be a more uplifting rant as I was visiting my grandchildren today and experienced the sheer joy of having a swing/play set installed in their backyard. You know all our parks have been closed for more than two months and it has been so sad to walk by all these places and not be able to use them, but hey its China’s fault or what Cheeto would have you believe.   My grandchildren are the lucky ones as their extended family could give them this gift, while the parks remained locked up. I was so happy to push Maisie on the swing, and watch Charlie go up and down that Fireman pole just made my day.  I should have never turned on the news, but I would have read about it sooner or later and for my children and grandchildren I will not keep quiet. I promise I won’t refer to our President as Cheeto, if the shoe fits, and I will do as my Mom always said if you cannot say anything nice don’t say anything, but I will call out the untruths and hope for better days ahead. Hoping to get back to America loves you, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses Yearning to breathe free………. Can we get back to what really made us great?

Just sayin…

Hello everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate I was super happy to see that the Florists could open, so we could be sure there was a nice centerpiece on all the Zoom celebrations. I believe this holiday is one, if not the busiest day, of the year for restaurants and because of Corona we are once again denied our usual celebrations. I noticed this past week a lot more restaurants that have been shuttered were opening for takeout, probably because of Mom’s day, and anticipation of maybe one day returning to normal. They all seemed to offer a special package, complete with flowers or a special gift. I’m just glad the box didn’t come from Amazon. We had a special dinner ordered from the UMass Club here in Boston, and we were able to deliver to my sister and daughter as well.  My roommate did a very nice job and managed to heat the dinner properly and set a very nice table, even some nice music. I did my son in law a favor and he didn’t have to plan and even though he is a proper cook, this time just reheating was required. This time last year we had a lot of friends and family travel to Boston, for a wedding celebration for my son Max and Alana, thank goodness for those Facebook memory reminders, although I am sure I would have remembered without it. It was such a great weekend, meeting our new Aloha family from Hawaii some for the first time, and the sun actually came out that Saturday, after a month of cold rainy weather. How could we have imagined that was the last big family celebration, we would have for a while and if we do have another soon will we be masked, will there be tape on the floor marking the spot for each person not to get to close?  I am hoping we can dance again and even in a big open space outside. Today we were going to stroll around and find a nice spot where we could safely distance and have a picnic, but the weather didn’t cooperate and then it was naptime. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way, but to see my six year old grandson coming down the street with a mask on, as well as Mom and Dad just about unhinged me, but luckily I was also wearing a mask.  Hey if this is what we have to do to keep us all safe especially my grandchildren I will wear a full size body condom when I go out. I noticed that some states are slowly reopening and find it funny that Nail salons and massages were in the first phase. I get the barbers and hair salons, and no one wants  a Pedi more than me but what about retail that doesn’t require a lot of touching, and can give you space to distance?  Believe it or not in Thailand one of the first thing that reopened were the pet grooming places and they have been overbooked. Apparently pure bred dogs are the favorite, and often the ones that do better in a cold climate, now it is 100 degrees there and these pooches need to shed some fur. I am not sure what the first thing I would do if I woke up tomorrow and found that this was all a hoax or fake news, and we could resume were we left off. I can tell you one thing for sure this cooking thing every day, is the first thing to go and when I go down to my favorite bar, will they make the drinks as strong as I have been making them at home. Doubtful unless Jared is at the bar, he knows how I like them, otherwise I will continue with my own heavy pour. Techie has even managed to have a drink or two this past week, which is not his nature, especially never at home. I may finally be getting to him and he has had enough with this constant tech support and is turning to the bottle, well that would be a switch but a few drinks in more than a week is too small a sample so I will keep my eye on him, we can’t have two booze bags in the house.  May 11^th was going to be the end of our quarantine but now we are pushed out a week and I am sure it will pushed out further and before you know it its Memorial Day, and there will be no day at the beach. Damn good thing because I have a monster truck spare tire for a gut right now and keeping me locked up is not going to make it go away. I keep watching the workout videos and nothing changes, going to have to try something different.  Biking doesn’t really burn calories and this gunt is getting in the way big time, so going to have to do some hills. My roommate and I take a lot of walks around the city and try to explore different neighborhoods and we were down near the shipping docks a few days ago and came across these Ducks and their ducklings, so adorable but at the same time thinking of Make Way for Ducklings in the Boston public garden and then these in the yard looked like they had been through pandemic.

Just sayin

Hello everyone and I hope we are all breathing a sigh of relief, we made it another week. TGIF.  When I look back at 48 days and I started this about a week or so in to the shutdown, I can’t believe I have made it this far considering I am shut in this one room, albeit a nice big room, with my roommate.  It’s amazing of what we are all capable of even when the thought of being shut in for two weeks a few months ago seemed insurmountable.  You do realize how truly lucky and loved you are, when your lover still thinks you are beautiful and awesome to be around, of course I have mentioned that I do prepare just about every meal, every day, so you don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, in other words beggars can’t be choosers.  Well I choose to be with my techie and today I celebrated that I successfully copied and pasted, something on my own today. I know that is just routine for everyone else but a major step for me, and I am taking the win. I have kind of refused for years to embrace any technology and only learned the parts of our software system that were relevant to my job, today even Techie was very proud of me. Secretly I think he likes it that I have to yell across the room for assistance, even now I yelled for him to ask what you call copy and pasting, and he walked over and said yes that is what it is called. I completed one week of back to work today, and for that time away I almost felt normal, but it is a long way from normal and counting the days.  Good news is they opened up the golf courses today, and I am not a golfer, more of a bowler,  but I know a lot of people were just so anxious for this to happen, and I am so grateful for our beloved JB to get back on the course, he needs to have some joy. He is our most treasured person at work and if it makes him happy, we are thrilled, and love to celebrate the wins.  I understand you may have to walk the course but he has been doing evening walks so he may be ok, but I don’t think there will be the beer cart guy travelling the course but baby steps, soon enough. Just be sure to keep six feet apart and enjoy the winter weather that will be experiencing this weekend. Don’t worry better weather is coming even though they are predicting snow tomorrow, maybe an inch and it melts quickly. I hope we are all stocked up on our favorite snacks for the snow day and I read today that we are all resorting back to some old time favorites.  Forget about the baked brie and veggie chips, bring on the Cheez-its, got to love these I have always kept big boxes at our office because whenever you were feeling stressed you might need an alternative to chocolate. Chex Mix was also mentioned as one and I can almost remember when this was born with those bugle chips thrown in at every Tupperware party, never a big fan but good salt content. Pringles this is one I liked because it kept the chips in perfect form, but pretty sure we only ever ate them may have been on a cross country road trip or when visiting islands in the Caribbean back in the eighties, when they wanted to be sure they would have something their American friends would eat. Pizza combos, I don’t even know what this is but apparently they have a following. Cheez balls, I love these you can buy them at Costco in a huge jug and has it all over that skinny pop that is so popular and tastes like Styrofoam. Lastly Hot pockets, which all I know about is the heir to Hot Pockets is part of the Varsity Blue Scandal, cheaters on college SAT, and she is going to jail. I know they must have been immensely popular because she apparently is an heir to millions, so just have to add up how many they sold. Well Techie and I are sticking with the Trader Joes version of nutty buddie mini cones, and yes now that I think of it, could be just like the skinny pop, tomorrow just going to go back to Ben and Jerry’s. Enjoy the weekend and I hope someday my grandkids will not hold it against me for what I share but Maisie is just following in her Grandma’s footsteps.

Just sayin