Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Quasi house arrest--good or bad?

 Since we're all under some form of lockdown, we appear to be sharing more of the minutia of our lives, and somehow, I like that.  I'm starting to feel closer to both of you, with having a glimpse into your daily lives.  I wonder if we're not all starved for some form of human contact, aside from those we spend all of our time with. I'm certainly concerned about how much I've settled in to my isolation.  But somehow, I manage to get my Starbucks coffee just  about every day. So all's right with my world.  However, I'm finding that I appear to be declining physically.  Certainly my walking tolerance, even with my cane is diminished.  Less than two weeks ago, I walked outside, down the block, and covered about 900 feet.  Yesterday, I had difficulty managing 300 feet.  That's 3 houses down the street and back--not good. Now, I'm dedicated to walking every day, and trying to increase my distance.

Last weekend, I purchased, on line, some fabric from a fairly large quilting store close to home.  I don't usually patronize this shop, as they carry a different brand of machine from the one I prefer. But I do keep track of them, via their website, as a couple of times I've found some interesting events and sales that are just too good to miss.  They have been closed for most of the past year, but still operate on line.  Once I had purchased my fabric, they acknowledged the purchase and asked me to choose a pick-up time from a calendar, which had been divided into 1/2 hour appointments.  Mine was at 9:30 this morning.  We had to set an alarm, but were up in time and arrived at exactly my scheduled time.  There was a big Rubbermaid tub on a table outside the entrance, and my package was put in the tub, for no-contact pick-up.  There was someone in the shop, who opened the door and verified my name--at a distance.  Pretty slick.  But, there was another fabric that I need, and I'm sure they had, but I couldn't remember the name for ordering.  I would have had to have been able to match a sample, which was impossible with this system.  So I guess it's going to be a trip across the city, when the time comes.

David was out to the nursery, way down St. Mary's Road, yesterday, to return the Hydrangea we bought last year, that had done very poorly, and didn't survive the winter.  They had  given us a guarantee, and we had been smart enough to save all the paperwork, just in case.  They were very helpful in choosing a different variety of the plant, that is more hardy in Manitoba.  He also bought some fertilizer that they recommended.  However, on the way home he stopped at Home Depot and picked up a bunch of soil, two tomato plants to plant in our tubs, and two hanging baskets.  This means sacrificing one bird feeder.  But after discussion, we ordered another pole, from Gail.  She had told me about acquiring several poles, some time ago, and still having them in stock.  Evidently they are custom made for her of good quality metal and well made, but they were painted, and the paint turned out to be poor quality, and it chips off quickly.  But we'll have the pole without yet another store visit. Wouldn't you know it, freezing temperatures were predicted for last night, and again tonight.  So the poor plants are in the garage and will be staying there until things warm up.

That's about it from the Findlay household.  Things are humming in the studio, and I'll document that on the other blog.  Stay safe.

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