Turn up the heat

Local temperatures went from mid 60s to high 70s last week. I was the happy recipient of more food generosity from my neighbours, and I finally figured out a decent set up for taking online ballet classes. I've been working from home for 6 weeks now.

I haven't gone out for a walk much this past week because I was getting bored with my previous mile lap and the masks that Mei made are quite thick. Great for public places but not great for breathing. 😂 I received one of my online mask orders so now I have some slightly thinner ones and I don't have to ration my mask usage as much. 

My neighbour made smoked salmon this week. He's bored and taking on long projects! He surprised me by texting me at around 5p one day that there was a packet for me at my door. 🤤 I'm pretty particular about my salmon and I have to say this was the best smoked salmon I've ever had! I had it with a slice of Edie's sourdough, some goat gouda and a chunk of pomelo. So good! 

At the end of the week, we all got together spaced out in our back area. At first it was just the Kuehnerts, Gorens and me. But then Bryan brought the babies down! Since they are almost 2 and don't understand 6', we all got our masks. The kids were a real spirit lifter, so joyous and inquisitive. Sophia was a little more cautious, Ethan more outgoing. When Gil brought out some salmon for them Ethan started shoving it into his mouth like a chipmunk. We all really needed the boost. At the end of the evening, the Gorens gave me a chunk of the chicken they made for dinner, which was delicious and juicy. 

This weekend I took on the project of colouring my roots with the kit that Sandra sent me. The instructions were quite clear and it worked out really well. I'm still sore from crouching by my tub to rinse all the colour out, though. 😓 

There were some fun things to watch this weekend. I dipped into the Met Opera online gala. Broadway stars put on a Sondheim celebration as well, I caught this after on YouTube, so I missed the 'live' debacle. 

Back to another week of work.

Endless unchanging days

The 5th week of WFH is over and the weather is getting nicer: sun is out, temperature is rising.

Work drones on. I have meetings on Teams, but in between I worry about being completely disconnected from so many co-workers and not feeling like I'm part of something. I've got a couple of small groups I chat with that helps to keep me sane. Many vendors are putting out webinars and other online learnings which helps to break up the week.

Over the last few weeks, I had been avoiding going out because of the challenge of my make-shift masks. I received the two that Mei made for me on Friday which was very exciting.

Then I tried to put them on and I still had challenges keeping them on which makes me wonder if my head is strangely shaped. :/ I decided I probably need to have either a pony tail or half-pony to help keep the straps on my head. In any case, I took one of my new masks out for a walk. It was suitably hard to breathe. I'm going to try and go out for a walk more regularly.

The weekends drag on now with nothing much to look forward to aside from not having to log onto work. I tried ordering some dinner on Saturday from Postmates and not only was the delivery ridiculously slow, but when it finally arrived, I got someone else's food. I find I need to order in one or two times a week so I have some variety in my meals. I had a Zoom meeting with a few friends who I hadn't seen since this all began, which was really nice, and on our family Zoom, the kids had more to contribute which I enjoyed hearing about.

Isolation wears on a person

I found this past week to be difficult, on top of being dreary outside due to lots of much needed rain. Each day drags on in the same way as the last: different faces on the Teams meetings, figure out what to scrounge together for lunch, can I be bothered to change into work out clothes and take an online dance class, turn on the TV and veg out with some mediocre dinner.

We are now supposed to be wearing masks when we go out. Mei is making me one (so thankful!) but until I receive that one, I'm making do with various things around the house. None of them stay on my nose very well. Plus with all the rain, that just made me not want to leave the house, even when it wasn't raining. If the mask slides down your nose (which it will) and you then fiddle with it to keep it up (which I will), it kind of defeats the purpose of the mask. It's such a small thing, especially compared to the struggles of many other people in this disaster, but it's easy to let little things drag you down when you live by yourself.

A couple of very bright spots in this dreary week were provided by my neighbours. The Gorens, Gil and Christie and their daughters, celebrated Passover but had to do Seder via Zoom with Gil's family. They invited me to join them via a table in the hallway. They supplied a photo of the Seder plate taped to the wall and the requisite food items for the rituals, including an extra cup for Elijah. I brought my own chair, utensils, water and wine. There were small tables just inside the open door for plate passing with distancing. They provided a book with the readings and songs translated to English and I could hear what was going on via the family's laptop inside their condo. Eventually I jumped on their Zoom call so I could meet brother and sister and families, and his mom. The meal was delicious (Gil is a great cook): nut crusted salmon, hasselbeck yam, carrot ribbon salad. After the final part of the ritual, Elyana's flourless chocolate cake was served. I took home leftovers. There was something particularly significant about this ritual this year.

I had the day off Friday and I couldn't get myself to do much of anything. I was up too late watching a British murder mystery the night before and it was another dreary day outside. In the evening, Jasmin, who lives upstairs with her husband Michael, texted me about Mexican food, as they were looking for takeout. She asked if I wanted to go in on an order, but I'd already eaten. I had actually been craving a taco all week. So she threw in a taco for me to save for the weekend. I had it for breakfast on Saturday which was such a treat.

I managed to get myself out the door on Saturday for a walk, after our family Zoom meeting. I had a chat with Tricia and some of her friends over Teams, and a Zoom chat with Amy later in the afternoon, which picked up my spirits. On Sunday Andrea Bocelli did a free YouTube concert from Milan's Duomo which was very moving. I decided to stay in and wait until Monday to do my grocery shopping. I'll figure out the mask situation and hopefully it will not be crowded. This is going to be a slower week at work, which will make it challenging to feel like I'm relevant. My physical and financial situation is good, relatively speaking. It's the psychological situation that is challenging.

Face masks

End of week three. Work gets more exhausting as I'm in constant meetings. It's much more tiring than meeting in person and several of my colleagues mentioned it on a joint touch base Teams call. On the other hand, I worry if this keeps going, am I going to run out of work, will our company have any money issues? I was not feeling well on Wednesday and started wondering if I was getting sick, but it was just being tired and stressed about this whole situation. We are now being told to wear face coverings when we go out where people gather.

There were several bright spots later in the week. I found out that The Rose Venice sells cocktails for delivery. I ordered one with a gnocchi dish for Friday 6' HH with the neighbours.

I got a phone call from Tegan who I haven't spoken to in years. I cleaned my carpet and wood floors and deep cleaned the lower shelves in my bedroom (didn't want to get carried away with the upper shelves 😁). We had a Zoom family get together which worked out well. Got in a good walk to the Farmer's Market. I've got 2 Zoom get togethers with friends and virtual book group tomorrow.

Must look for the silver lining where we can.