May 24, 2020

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Seven Things :: May 2020

Written in Quarantine

Traveling

Around the block! Have any of you made it any farther? 

Making

About to start on another batch of masks since they seem to be in our future for a long time to come. I finally figured out the pattern I like the best, and spent two full days sewing back in April and distributed the masks I made to lots of friends and family. The Star Wars fabric was everyone's favorite. Besides masks, I have some linen arriving from Lithouania and will be hemming a new tablecloth in the days to come. Note: I think this blog post is going to be really boring. 

Eating

With my husband home, and all travel at his company suspended for the rest of the year, I am only eating two meals a day or I'd be gaining a thousand pounds right now. He loves to cook and share the food, so I have tea in the morning, a healthy brunch, and then we have a nice dinner in the evening outside on the patio. When quarantine started we were all worried, weren't we, that food might run dry? (I wondered if it might finally be the moment when we break into our disaster preparedness stash, which I refresh each September...) And yet, besides the lines to get into the stores, not much has changed. The American overload of stuff is still available. There was a part of me that hoped that some of our supply chain would be impacted so that we, as a people, could learn some new habits. Like not eating as many potato chips as we usually do. But maybe things are different where you are? I'd love to know if you're expericencing something different.

Gardening

With all the hours I've invested into the garden these last two months, you'd think our front and back yards would look amazing. But somehow everything is still a mess and I continue to wander the neighborhood looking at other people's yards for inspiration. Since we lost our giant cedar tree last November, many of our plants that were shaded by it are failing. I keep weeding our walkways just to keep my hands busy. Being creative right now almost seems impossible! I'm hoping I have some blasts of real originality soon. 

Reading

The Chronicles of Prydain. I'm on book four. It's a little adventure story for kids that I've read before by Lloyd Alexander. I read a chapter before going to bed so that I have fun dreams about quests and being brave and stuff.

I'm also reading two books on politics--. For a long time I've been trying to figure out how my values relate to the current political landscape. The more I try to figure it out, the more I realize I just don't relate to politics! Ha. And yet, grudgingly, I'll keep trying...

Watching

...My son do school with his headset on. I like to put cut veggies or nuts or fruit down next to him when he's on a school call. Cause he'll just eat whatever I give him mindlessly when his mind is busy elsewhere. I should try pickles--thanks for reminding me. Maybe he likes them now? 

...The dog lounge on the wood floor, no longer worried that we might leave him alone in the house for a few hours.

...The light filter through our Japanese maple tree that sits outside our bedroom window.

...Avatar the Last Airbender. Every night, two episodes, with tea.

Wondering

Re-reading all that's here, I suppose what's revealing itself is that I'm in a holding pattern. I'm moving from one task to the next, gladly, with an easy, quiet acceptance. I'm not anxious about what's happening outside my front door until I dig in and really read the news. Therefore, I don't read the news much. There have been few ups or downs these last many months, just a lot of work, a lot of laundry, a lot of weeding. I'm grateful that we've been healthy, and fed, and have been sleeping well (with crazy dreams!). Our life probably doesn't look like yours. If you're needing a boost, and see something that I'm doing that might help you, please send me an email (jane@jangemeyer.com).