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Estivating in Place Continues
Mar. 30th, 2020 12:58 pmAnd it turns out not to be too different from my normal life except that I am talking on the phone with friends and family now and then (so actually having slightly more social contact than usual). All the talk about how stir-crazy everybody is already just makes it clear that I am apparently not very normal. Other than solitary walks and one tentative bike ride, I have only been out of the house twice since we flew home on March 17: once to Cub Foods and once to Walgreen's. And that doesn't feel especially unusual. I AM impatient for nicer weather so I can get outside more without endangering my rather fragile respiratory apparatus, but that's normal for me this time of year.
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The big shopping trip we did when we got back from Oregon lasted about 10 days (not in danger of starving to death, but pretty much out of fresh food) so Richard and Thorin made a grocery run last night. Okay, that was kind of exciting, even just waiting for them to come home and bring me stuff. In normal life I apparently go shopping more often than I go out and See People and I kind of miss that.
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Mostly because I was worried about Richard missing his gaming and singing groups I suggested having Family Game Night twice a week, with takeout food from local restaurants. We've done it twice now and it was fun. It means that I am now seeing the son that lives in my house at least twice as often as I usually do. Clearly, if there is a person in this family with normal social instincts it isn't either of us.
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I sent a group email to my far-flung siblings to try to stir up a little family conversation, and got back a soupcon of minimal news. Brother Brian never responds to email, so I called him last night. He's also seriously Staying Home out in Oregon. And... oh btw, his son Ben (a theater person who lives in New York) had the virus! OMG, Brian, how could you not have let the family know? Well, because Ben didn't bother to call and tell his parents until he was on the mend and now he's apparently doing okay, so Brian never really had time to worry. Detecting a systemic problem with family communication here? We actually all get along just fine, we just don't stay in touch. Sometimes I regret that. Maybe I can stir up another round of family news and small talk while we are all bored at home. It seems like the right thing to do.
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The only Big Homebound Project I've tackled so far was cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, which was satisfying. If we really get rid of that box of old cookbooks, that will free up quite a bit of usable space, thus making it possible to see the food we've stockpiled. I found a box of Flan Mix and tried it out - it came out surprisingly good. I clearly need a little more practice caramelizing sugar, but there's another box so I can try again.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The big shopping trip we did when we got back from Oregon lasted about 10 days (not in danger of starving to death, but pretty much out of fresh food) so Richard and Thorin made a grocery run last night. Okay, that was kind of exciting, even just waiting for them to come home and bring me stuff. In normal life I apparently go shopping more often than I go out and See People and I kind of miss that.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mostly because I was worried about Richard missing his gaming and singing groups I suggested having Family Game Night twice a week, with takeout food from local restaurants. We've done it twice now and it was fun. It means that I am now seeing the son that lives in my house at least twice as often as I usually do. Clearly, if there is a person in this family with normal social instincts it isn't either of us.
~~~~~~~~~~
I sent a group email to my far-flung siblings to try to stir up a little family conversation, and got back a soupcon of minimal news. Brother Brian never responds to email, so I called him last night. He's also seriously Staying Home out in Oregon. And... oh btw, his son Ben (a theater person who lives in New York) had the virus! OMG, Brian, how could you not have let the family know? Well, because Ben didn't bother to call and tell his parents until he was on the mend and now he's apparently doing okay, so Brian never really had time to worry. Detecting a systemic problem with family communication here? We actually all get along just fine, we just don't stay in touch. Sometimes I regret that. Maybe I can stir up another round of family news and small talk while we are all bored at home. It seems like the right thing to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The only Big Homebound Project I've tackled so far was cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, which was satisfying. If we really get rid of that box of old cookbooks, that will free up quite a bit of usable space, thus making it possible to see the food we've stockpiled. I found a box of Flan Mix and tried it out - it came out surprisingly good. I clearly need a little more practice caramelizing sugar, but there's another box so I can try again.
