I'm Having a Good Pandemic

I know that sounds crass, as will my next comment - is this God's cull?  I know, these are our elders, blah, blah, blah.  I also know that the nursing homes were understaffed, with underpaid and underappreciated workers, and a national shame, blah, blah, blah.  But it is also true that we are keeping people alive who probably don't even want to be alive, and at huge expense.

I know, I know, this is not the way to do it.  But.....

But back to my personal experience, and perhaps yours.  I recently took the Province's survey about experiences of  COVID19.  One of the questions was, Name some good experiences which have resulted from the Province's response to the pandemic.  It made me stop to think about it, and there were actually several.

For one, I have discovered grocery delivery (thank you, Bill!!).  It has never been my favourite activity, grocery shopping, and during the pandemic, it is downright creepy.  And then there is the shlepping the groceries up from the parking garage.  On the other hand, InstaCart's web site is downright intuitive, even for someone as computer illiterate as I am.  And because they are delivering from the nearest low-cost provider, even adding the cost of the delivery and tip, it is cheaper than buying from the closer but higher priced provider. And, they deliver right to the door!!!  I might never go into a grocery store again. 

What else?  There is no traffic.  I actually verntured out the other day, to the newly reopened yarn store.  No, I don't need any more yarn, in spite of the fact that I have made two pairs of socks and three pairs of fingerless gloves in 8 weeks.  But I feel strongly about keeping yarn shops alive, so I wanted to give them a little business.  I needn't have worried; knitters will find a way, and their on-line business has been brisk.  However, I did go and buy some more sock yarn, and found that the usual 45 minute drive was now 25.  And there was actually parking right in front of the store.

The latest figure I've heard is that greenhouse gas emissions are down 17% because of the slow down in air and automobile travel.  Not such a bad thing. 

I've also found that I haven't forgotten how to cook.  A little rusty, maybe, but I'm really back into it, even just for myself.  So, that's a good thing. (Remind me to make you my mushroom chicken the next time I see you.  Or maybe my shrimp curry.  It's not like eating my favourite Chinese food, but not so bad...

And virtual bridge is in many ways better than the real thing.  There are fewer hands per session, less distraction, no food to eat, and the 7 minute per hand rule is strictly enforced (which real life directors are loath to do).  I'm playing much better, too, if the number of points I'm getting is any indication.  Well, I guess I should be playing better, I'm playing 7 days a week......

Finally, people are being much better about keeping in touch; between Scrabble games and bridge games and emails and phone calls, and meeting neighbors out on my now twice-daily 3 miles walks, and people coming to socially distant visit for coffee or a drink on my patio,  I am in touch with probably 4 or 5 people every day.

So, yes, I miss the gym, and zumba, and my hugs at the bridge club. I certainly miss the theater and all my musical events (I haven't been able to get into all the downloads available, although I appreciate the effort)  But all in all, I am faring very well.  I hope you all are feeling the same.

I have managed to read a bit.  One of the New Yorker articles mentioned Henry Houdine, and, in passing, noted that E.L. Doctorow's book Ragtime featured Houdini as one of the real-life characters.  I hadn't read that book for decades, and (are you surprised?) had it on my bookshelf.  I re-read it, and liked it even better this time.  I went on to another Doctorow book, Waterworks.  His writing style, although a bit dated now, reminds me of another favourite author, Eric Larson, previously mentioned in these pages.    While I was browsing, in my collection, I came across John Fowles, and have just read (maybe for the first time, I certainly don't remember reading it before) one called The Maggot.  A strange book; I must admit, I skipped some of the weirder bits, but was interested enough to finish it.  Then, I remembered the stash of books that friends brought over for my edification and delight, and am now engrossed in a thriller (a type of book I wouldn't normally read) called Cold Heaven by Brian Moore.  A strange book indeed, but again, I need to finish it.  And, as if I don't have enough bridge, I am rereading Victor Mollo's books, Bridge in the Menagerie, and Bridge in the Fourth Dimension.  If you are a bridge player and haven't read them, you should. 

All in all, I really have been mostly staying close to home though - the March 19th tank of gas for my car is still 3/4 full.  Below, the resulting photos of a lovely, if strange, spring.

....and as seen from my deck....

.....not quite the desert sky, but nice in a different way...

.....this is the foyer of my building.  I love it....

Our group of buildings is called Tugboat Landing (have I said?), and is full of, for want of a better term, industrial art like this...

.......keeping a safe social distance is not too hard these days (this path would normally be crowded, although not uncomfortably so).  Admittedly, it was 6:30 in the morning....

......and, of course, the flowers....

.......the egret has been more present than usual....

.....and the newest thing to keep (presumably) kids busy, painted rocks, randomly distributed around the landscape...

......and more flowers....

... these are all in the course of my local walks...

Well, you're up do date now (thanks for the prod, Carolyn).  Another walk calls....

Social Isolation, Week 5

I am still surprisingly content.  I've developed a routine, as one does.  Unlike some, I do get out of my pajamas first thing.  Still making my bed and tidying up before I sit down with my coffee and bagel.  Then, having had bagel and coffee and read for a bit, I check in to the game with that day's bridge partner.  (Believe it or not, I am playing 7 days a week, with 4 different partners.)    After checking in, there is an hour before the game starts, during which I usually knit while listening to updates on CBC.  The game lasts two hours and a bit, then time for lunch and a nap.  Later in the afternoon, I'm usually on the phone with that day's partner, going over the hands of the day.  (Technology has its uses; it enables one to review all the hands, and to compare how you did with how everyone else playing did.  Computers were made for this sort of shit!) 

Then it's time for my 31/2 to 4 mile walk, dinner, some more reading, and bed.  And in between, there is on-line Scrabble, emails, phone calls, chats with neighbors from the patio.  Perhaps because I'm not supposed to be anywhere, I don't know, but I am happier than I usually am in Vancouver.

Srill missing my Chinese food, though.  I could order in, I suppose, or pick up at my local restaurant, but just haven't changed my routine to do it.

And the car has only been out of the garage three times, for my grocery shopping excursions. 

Actually, haven't read much except for my magazines.  I am re-reading the Hilary Mantel books (Wolf Hall and Bringing Up The Bodies), in anticipation of reading the third of the trilogy, which has just come out and which I have ordered.  If you are not familiar, these are the books on Henry VIII, Katherine, Anne Bolyn, and Cromwell, the last of whom is the narrator, I period about which I have long been fascinated. 

So, still living in my head.

I suppose this is working for me because I am not anxious about my finances - my pensions seem to arrive at the beginning of the month regardless - and because I am confident about Canada's handling of the pandemic (my condolences to my American friends, who must feel as though they are living in the twilight zone...) and because death holds no terror for me.  Yes, I am following the rules, no I'm not going to hurry it along, but I'm pretty fatalistic about it, in the end.

So there you have it, my update for now.  Hope you all are well, and using your time to love and be loved.....

A Theory

So, apparently, the medical sleuths in the US knew about this thing since November, including the Sceptic in Chief.  In Canada, they've had inklings since January.  But really, how can you blame them?  The numbers from Canada, according to CBC:  as of March 10, there were 12 confirmed cases; as of today, there are 21,000! 

So here's my theory.  Some of you may know that I visited Egypt arounf 5 years ago with (deceased) friend Hank.  (How I miss him, especially in these interesting times.) While I was there, I got very, very sick with MERS, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, which I apparently caught from a nasty camel in Jorden, visited as part of our travels there.  As a result of tender nursing by our friend Ted, I recovered.  But MERS is a Corona type virus.  Is it possible that I have developed an immunity?  Not to worry; I'm not going to test the theory by putting myself in harms way, but it's an interesting thought....

More good news.  I am loving the contact - via email and Messenger, of course - with friends and family I am not in regular contact with.  (Not estranged from, but just not in regular contact with....)  Just about everyone has checked in, some more than once, and I think that this might continue.....

Just finishing The Nursing Home Murder, the last of my Ngaio Marsh trilogy.  I've had enough already.  I still want to know what happens, but the style is starting to wear.  Time for something else.  I'm spoiled for choice, so I will certainly have a new book to report on the next time we talk....

And I've saved the best news for last.  My bridge club in Palm Springs has reopened!  Virtually, of course, but still.  I can now play on line, in my own club, with my own friends, five days a week.  I've already played in two games.  It's not the same, of course, and I do miss my hugs and the friendly chatter, but it is a welcome addition.  Thanks, Scott, and all, for making this happen....

....still walking, sometimes twice a day (for a total of 6 miles a day), so found a few more hearts for health care workers.....

.....and I have been told by reliable sources (i.e. the CBC) that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are considered essential services, and will continue to work.

...and, pandemic or no, spring has still arrived....

...as has Easter, Passover and Ramadan.  A time for renewal for all....

Interesting times

Indeed.  So, on Saturday, armed with plastic gloves provided by my neighbor, I went grocery shopping.  In Vancouver, at least, that is not my favourite occupation in the best of times.  I'm not sure why, partially the extremely high cost of everything here.  In any event, the closest (although high price) provider opens at 7 A.M., an hour earlier than normal, for seniors during this pandemic.  This was good on all sorts of levels.  To start with, I could find a parking space within walking distance of the store!  Secondly, there were only a handful of people, so social distancing was easy.  However, this was my first experience shopping since I got back from Palm Springs.  I was so appalled by the prices that I couldn't bring myself to buy staples.  For that I went to the Great Canadian Superstore.  Plenty of parking there, but by this time it was 9:30.  People and their carts were lined up for half a block.  However, once again, seniors got priority; I walked right in, and, as always prices were good.  (No problems at all with supply, by the way...)  Nonetheless, by the time I got home, ditched the gloves, washed my hands, and stowed everything away, I was exhausted!

So, the worst of times and the best of times.  Apparently, some people are behaving incredibly badly (I personally have seen no evidence of that, but then I have always lived in rarefied air).  On the other hand, I heard this morning on the CBC (my only source of current news; most of you who know me know that I don't have a television....) a company in Ontario made educational supplies.  They had 3D printers, however, and within 3 days had gone from doing that to making 100,000 face shields a day, from 10 employees to 80.  A company in Alberta that was in the business of painting lines on roads and parking lots started using their spraying equipment to spray sanatiser around buildings.  Not to mention the distilleries making hand sanatisers.  This is all without government request, much less orders.  You've got to love capitalism!!!!

To put things into a bit of perspective, 60,000 people died last year of the flu in the US alone.  (That is according to the Economist, which is my other source of news.) Speaking of the Economist, it has been fascinating reading the old ones.  I read them in date order, and the reporting on the pandemic is instructive.  There is no mention of it until January 15, and at that point, even they were calling it the Wuhan flu.  The Economist never gets what you might call hysterical, but you can feel the reporting getting more and more concerned as the weeks roll by.....

They are saying that only 2% of the people who get the virus will die.  I wonder what the stats were for the black plague?  By the way, did you know that Shakespeare wrote King Lear when he wa in quarantine because of the plague?  Put your time to good use, folks!!!  Although it does go to explaining how dark that play is....

And speaking of plays - and on happier note - in reading a book review of a new biography of Tolstoy (in the ever-reliable Economist), Tolstoy didn't like Chekov's plays.  And neither do I.  Smart man, that Tolstoy!!!

Finished the second Inspector Alleyn mysteries by Ngaio Marsh, Enter a Murderer.  Already the characters are starting to develop.  And I love the - admittedly dated - banter (these were written in the 30's).  The anthology had a brief bio of Marsh, and it was interesying to find out that her first love was the theater.  Looking back, a lot of her tales have theatrical settings......

.....hope you are all in good spirits.  Personally, I am quite happy not to have to be anywhere.....

Quarantine, Day 15

Huh? Apparently, I lost a day.  I could have gone out today, to do shopping at least!  Since I thought today was Thursday, though, I didn't.  Oh, well. 

Actually, I am a bit relieved.  I will go out first thing tomorrow - I can't let other people do my shopping forever, after all - but I find myself amazingly anxious about it.  Strange.  (I never used to be anxious about much of anything.)

So, there is bad news and good news.  The bad news is that I seem to be perfectly okay with being a total layabout.  I have just spent 14 days doing pretty much nothing and seeing pretty much nobody, and I seem to be okay with it.  The good news is that I can concentrate on reading.  It was not my concentration, it was the book.  So I put down Everyone Brave Will Be Forgiven (it will remain half finished, since I don't care enough about any of the characters) and picked up A Man Lay Dead, Ngaio Marsh's first Inspector Alleyn mystery - and finished it in less than a day!  There are two more in the collection, and several more interesting books in the pipeline, so stay tuned.

Otherwise, as to be expected, nothing new to report.  More pictures from my daily walk...

.....this is my patio....

.....and this is the view of my building....

.....this is a neighboring building, still part of the Tugboat Landing complex (I love that name....)

.....more examples of the hearts I mentioned the other day, to honour the essential services workers...

 

......and one of the (many) aforementioned tugboats...

I know I've shown you my place before, but for any newcomers....

This sits over my bed.  (I know, a glassed picture right over my bed.  In earthquake country.  Pretty dumb, right?).  For those of you who don't know, it is Fragonard's Girl Reading, which I did in needlepoint about 40 years ago.....

.....that old radio in the corner is a tube radio.  As a 7 year old boy, David heard the announcement of Pearl Harbor on the floor in front of it.  It is one of my prize possessions...

...and over the fireplace, another prize possessions, a tapestry woven by friend Barbara, which I have had for 45 years...

....looking out over my patio from the living room.....

....and the Murphy bed with your name on it, when all this isolation stuff is over.....

....and that's all for now.  Grocery shopping tomorrow.  I'll keep you posted.

Quarantine, Day 13

Okay, the other day was a bad day.  Sorry about that.  Yesterday, went for two three mile hikes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon (don't worry, I am not planning on making a habit of it).  Saw some of my favourite people out walking their dogs, including some I hadn't seen since I have been home. Wonderful chats, albeit at a distance.  And most people have been very good about keeping their distance.  As for the others, well, sometimes I despair of the human race; people are so incredibly stupid!!!

It's all very fine to point to Singapore and Japan and Korea.  These are countries with homogeneous populations, not to mention populations who are accustomed to obeying orders.  Canadians are better at obeying orders than Americans (think Wild West vs. the Hudson's Bay Company), but still....

Friend Brian made a surprise visit and dropped off some books - at a safe distance -  so maybe I'll be inspired to read today.  But somehow, between walking and listening to CBC and knitting and reading magazines and talking on the phone and sending emails and messages and playing games on the computer, the days pass by.  And I haven't gotten around to cleaning yet (imagine!  What a shock!!).

Some photos from my walks....

My neighboring building (I will try to get one of my building today....)

....spring is still springing....

.....people have been asked to put out hearts to show support of our front line workers....

....bumped into (not literally, of course) my friend and neighbor John, out for a run (I missed the opportunity to get a picture of him in full biking gear the other day.  Next time....)

Next off to make lunch, then reading and then my walk.  Interesting,  Now that I have all the time in the world to nap, I can't seem to do it...)

Till next time....