Dear Diary

Dear Diary, Day 315  and we are still trapped in the house by a tiny virus.    My hair now rivals Rapunzul, although my body does not.  I’ve spent so much time sitting, my body now resembles the contours of the  Lazy Boy. (that is not a good thing)   You can only stay busy with house cleaning and decluttering for so long until you just don’t care anymore.  

Although the first month or so started out with good intentions of getting everything in ship shape it wore thin rather quickly, apparently not having enough time was never the reason housework wasn’t getting done around here.  

We surrendered to Netflix, having seen everything in English we are down to the foreign language series.  If this pandemic goes on much longer we will be able to understand the Norwegian series without subtitles. 

Surfing the web I’ve discovered I really want a giant panda.  These guys are so darn cute and playful.  Last week we spent 15 minutes watching  a panda play with a snowman.  We were both laughing at his silly antics.  I’ve seen momma elephants helping their little ones across the road, and out of the pond.  Watching the giraffes in Kenya       getting a drink at the watering hole always makes me smile.  You’ll be happy to know the eagles in Decorah, Iowa have settled their nest building dispute and are taking good care of their eggs.

We’ve always used the library for our reading material.  But during the pandemic the library was never open for browsing, but sometimes it was open to pick up books on Reserve.  To save frustration we’ve moved to e-books on the I Pads.  I’ve lost count of the books I’ve read since this pandemic started.  I loved several of them, was meh about others, and some I couldn’t wait to click ‘return to shelf’. The clicking thing is not quite as satisfying as slamming the book shut but it works.    I  did discover some new authors I will continue to enjoy. I have to admit, I haven’t minded the excuse to just sit outside and read. (my summer tan is coming right along) 

Monty and I have assembled about a dozen jigsaw puzzles, that isn’t something we do in ‘normal’ times but it has proven to be enjoyable.  The last time we had company over to share a meal was sometime in January of 2020 so for most of the year the dining room table has been covered with puzzle pieces.  At lease that’s my excuse for not dusting. 

I’ve discovered a few new recipes we’ve enjoyed and although going to the grocery store used to be thought of as drudgery it has taken on a new shine.  Like yay, it’s Thursday, I get to go to the grocery store today,  there will be real people and everything.   Looking for coupon buys has become irrelevant if you aren’t spending money dining out or buying gas for the car you might as well buy what you want at the grocery store.  By the way, there are some gourmet delicacies to be found on aisle three.  

We had our first vaccine dose a couple of weeks ago so last week we took Miss Daisy to the vet for her shot updates. The sign outside said only one person allowed in the lobby. Since we were both standing there, Monty went in with Daisy and I waited outside, when Daisy was through, we changed places and I presented the Discover card.  

We made a necessary stop at the pharmacy and again presented the Discover card. Since we hadn’t filled the gas tank for a few months we decided to stop at the station while we were out.  Once again the Discover card was out of the wallet.  Before we got home there was an alert on our phone that there was  activity on our Discover card.  Had the card been stolen or lost or was it really us?  Apparently Mr. Discover couldn’t believe we were out running around like the good  old days. 

With that first vaccination we received a card with all the pertinent information about the vaccine.  When we return for the second dose later this week the card will be updated and as opposed to tattooing the information on our foreheads, it was suggested we take a picture of the card to keep forever on our phones.  Until then we are safeguarding that precious card. After all, it is our passport to freedom.  

After the second dose we should be pretty well protected from getting the virus or at least succumbing to it.  It will be nice to see family again and who knows we might even go out to eat. 

 I think we’ll stick to patio dining, just in case!