Life Taken For Granted

7:34

8:20

Looking out at the lake this morning, all seems normal, nothing changed but everything has.  We, like millions of others, are locked in our small space, realizing maybe for the first time how fortunate we have been to live in our small world of Lake Chautauqua.  If nothing else, this virus makes us appreciate the normal, our boring old life and how privileged and lucky we have been.  We should wake up every morning with gratitude, with kindness towards all.  Enough.

It's a gray windy morning, cold enough to have snowed if there was any precipitation.  It's 25º and will not get much warmer over the next couple of days.  I can see a couple of buffleheads playing in the water along our shoreline, oblivious to what's going on in most of the world.  I am listening to CSPAN, always interesting to hear what Americans think.  Most are sensible but filled with certainty, whether from the left or right, and a few are scary ignorant.  It's now 8:15 and I am listening to our NPR station.  At the moment, there are 47 cases of COVID19 in Buffalo and surrounding areas, none yet in our county probably because of lack of testing.  New York State has the most infections in the US, more than 8,000 and we are put on a statewide quarantine except for essential services as of 8:00pm Sunday.

Yesterday was a bit different because Evie had a test downtown Jamestown, so we were off by 9:00.  I dropped her off at 9:30, stopped at CVS and picked up a Lysol knock off, then picked her up at 10:00.  While I waited, I talked on the phone with Paul, a college teammate and all is well with him and his family. We then drove to Wegman's, not as busy or empty as we thought but we were only able to get about half we wanted.  Check out was slow as they wipe down the counter after each customer.

We were home earlier than usual,  put everything away, then, unfortunately, we realized the Trump Comedy Show And Rally was back on TV.  He cannot help but put himself in front of the Nation, spew disinformation and attitude and meanness before letting the medical experts speak.  At least he is now acknowledging the seriousness of Covid19 after spending weeks downplaying it. I can't watch for more than five or ten minutes but Evie remains glued to it, popping Xanax every 15 minutes, just kidding.  For lunch, Evie got creative, making some chicken broth then dropping some store-bought tortellini into the broth and heating up some frozen Buffalo chicken egg rolls she had frozen. So I had different lunch, always good, always appreciated as I started a new series from Prime Video, again, about the drug trade.

After lunch, I did the usual, read some and took a nap.  Afterward, I decided to get some things done so I got online and filled out my census information.  It took at most ten minutes so I would suggest everyone get it done because it's important for all kinds of reasons.  I also paid some bills online before deciding I need some exercise. I got out my yoga mat and cushion and practiced for 35 minutes.  It was still early by the time I finished, so I put on a fleece and went for a half-hour hike through our woods, wet from the rain overnight.  As always, walking in the woods is salubrious, worth the effort to get outside.

5:15

Fallen Leaves, Leafless Trees

We then relaxed with a glass of wine after Evie talked with our daughter Jill for a half hour.  All is well with our families, by the way, all three practicing self quarantining.  Around 6:30, Evie made the rice, roasted the salmon after marinating in soy and maple syrup, sauteed the spinach and made a salad.  It was a good dinner, just right, and we were happy.  We watched 10-15 minutes of CNN but nothing changes despite the mantra 'breaking news' so we switched to Amazon Prime and finished up Season Three of The Americans and started Season Four.  Paige has just confessed to Pastor Tim that her parents are Russian spies.  Why in many of these series are daughters always the ones to cause problems, whether 24, Homeland, or now The Americans?  Just saying.