August was Full Month #5 (going on 6!!) of life in the age of COVID-19. (How is it already September?? So much for summer...) Between the heat & humidity, the ongoing (NOISY) roadwork behind our building and, oh yeah, COVID, we hardly even had the balcony door open this month, let alone ventured out of the house. :( On top of dh's usual weekly forays to the supermarket for groceries and for takeout dinners on Saturday nights, we treated ourselves to gelato once, ventured into the drugstore once and to the bookstore twice. We celebrated Younger Nephew's 28th birthday at BIL's early in the month (on the deck outside, somewhat socially distanced -- although the birthday boy had to share the limelight with little Great-Nephew, who was clearly the star of the show, lol) and went there for coffee one other time, where Great-Nephew again provided the entertainment. :) We also got our second COVID haircuts (the usual six weeks after the first ones) and marked 22 years since the loss of our Katie by taking flowers to the cemetery.
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I feel like some of these answers will be repetitive from previous months, since not a lot has been going on... but here goes!
Reading: I seem to have rediscovered my reading mojo again this summer! I read 9 (!!) books in August (all reviewed on this blog & tagged “2020 books”):
- "White Working Class" by Joan C. Williams
- "The Weekend" by Charlotte Wood (for the Gateway Women book club)
- "All I Ever Wanted" by Kathy Valentine
- "Unzipped" by Suzi Quatro
- "Belabored" by Lyz Lenz
- "God Land" by Lyz Lenz
- "The Blue Castle" by L.M. Montgomery (for the L.M. Montgomery Readathon FB group)
- "Amberwell" by D.E. Stevenson (for my DES online group)
- "Katherine Wentworth" by D.E. Stevenson (ditto -- a re-read -- new re-review post coming shortly)
Current read(s):
- "Hoax" by Brian Stelter
A few recently purchased titles (in both digital and paper formats):
- "...And His Lovely Wife" by Connie Schultz
- "OK Boomer, Let's Talk" by Jill Filipovic
- "Sex and Vanity" by Kevin Kwan
- "Sweet Sorrow" by David Nicholls
- "Madame Fourcade's Secret War" by Lynne Olson
Watching: Too much news. :p Some documentaries on PBS & CNN (including a lot of mindless stuff about the British royal family, lol). Movie theatres are open again, but neither dh nor I have any desire to go there yet -- although we usually go to early Sunday afternoon matinees, which are generally not very crowded. (Eating theatre popcorn is half the fun of going to the movies, and how do you do it when you're supposed to be wearing a mask??) I took part in a couple of Zoom/Instagram Live events, including a lecture sponsored by the art gallery where I have a membership, and a couple of author interviews.
(Dh is switching back & forth between an NBA basketball game and NHL hockey game as I type, with no spectators in either arena. This may sound very un-Canadian, but hockey in August just does NOT cut it for me...!)
Listening: I haven't listened, because there are no full episodes yet, but (via Jody Day of Gateway Women) I just learned about a new podcast for childless & childfree women in Australia & New Zealand called (un)Ripe Community. I'm sure those of us living elsewhere will find it applicable too. ;)
Following: UNfollowing is more like it lately...! And I have a feeling I'll be doing more of it before the year/U.S. election is over... :p :( (Heaven help me if we wind up with an election here in Canada this fall too...!)
Buying (besides books, lol): I couldn't resist splurging on this stunning sterling silver Byzantine bracelet from my favourite jewelry maker. :) Now, to have somewhere to wear it!! (around the house with my shorts & tank tops really doesn't cut it with this one...!)
Eating/Drinking: Our takeout dinners this month included some of our favourites: chicken fingers & fries, rotisserie chicken, Chinese food, and wood-oven pizzas.
Wearing: Masks, more than ever. They are now mandated in all common areas of our building, as well as all indoor public places hereabouts. (Not that I've been getting out of our unit much, but...!) I am glad I got a couple of those multi-packs of masks from Old Navy (even if they took forever to get here...!). They have been well used.
Walking: I'm embarrassed to admit we didn't get out walking at all this past month. :( It was, for the most part, just way too hot & humid on too many days (& threatening rain or raining on the days that it wasn't). Maybe once the cooler autumn weather arrives, we'll get back into the habit?
(Fortunately (?), our annual physicals, which had been postponed from May to August because of COVID, have been postponed again -- I was told to call back in October to see if we can schedule something for November. So I still have a few more months before I'm subjected to an official weigh in and blood pressure check...!)
Wanting: Nothing much in the way of material things right now. A little more variety in the day would be nice, and it would be nice to see Great-Nephew a little more often -- but, pandemic, so beggars can't be choosers...
Trying: To be a little more "zen," live in the moment and not fret too much about the future -- things that haven't happened yet and things I can't do much about changing anyway.
Loving: The slightly cooler (more fall-like) weather these past few days (& thus having the balcony door open all day).
Missing: Little Great-Nephew. :( (Two weeks+ since we last saw him. :( ) My parents. :( Family & friends generally. Aside from BIL & his family, we don't do a lot of socializing, but when we do, it's usually in the summer. And summer is almost over...
Feeling: Somewhat claustrophobic at times. :p Less and less hopeful (as school reopenings under less-than-ideal pandemic conditions loom on the very near horizon -- and, judging from what's been happening already in the States, where schools have already started opening in many places), that I'm going to make it home to Manitoba to see my family for Christmas. :( It would be the first Christmas I've ever NOT spent with them (like, SIXTY Christmases!), and while it's not something I want to think about (and not something I thought I would HAVE to think about until both of my parents were gone), I feel like I have to start considering the possibility & imagining what a stay-at-home Christmas -- in the age of COVID & social distancing -- might look like... :(
I like reading your Right Nows because I like reading about your life and also reflecting on my own.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was going more stir-crazy at home, but I work for a school district that gave students a choice between on campus and online school. So I am on campus for the students I see that chose on campus. I am very uncomfortable with it, but I just try to stay 6' away from everyone and wear my mask. (Which obviously makes building relationships with students and co-workers more difficult) But I do enjoy seeing the students and I know school is a better place for a lot of them than at home while their parents work. I just hate this pandemic so much and that is a massive understatement.
That bracelet is gorgeous! I just ordered some books for the first time in a very long time. It made me think of you. I've been reading a lot online for the last couple of years, and I want to get back into reading books.
I'm with you on your feelings about thinking about the holidays. I brought up Thanksgiving with my boyfriend last night. It looks like we will make the whole meal but just for the two of us. Maybe we will drive 4 hours one-way just to see his parents for a driveway-to-patio visit, but it's really sad to think about not hugging them and eating and hanging out with everyone. (Did I mention I hate the pandemic?)
Thank you for allowing my long comment! Enjoy your week!! <3
Wow, that actually sounds like quite a lot of "getting out" to me. In the 6 months we've been locked down I've had 2 haircuts, the last of which was done at my stylists home because our county closed down once again, and she's a good enough friend that she did that! And I've seen my BFF, who is like family, 3 times- once for her belated birthday, and twice at socially distanced time at her mom's pool. That's it. I tried to take my dog to the vet on Friday, as the website says you can go in with them, but they said no. So she didn't go. Otherwise? I'm always at home. And, I'm going crazy. We both work remotely, always so that's nothing new, but not being able to ever leave? Is...challenging. My husband however is high risk and pretty much has a cow if I try to go anywhere. I really, really, really need out of the house. I need people. I'm pretty sure this is his idea of heaven. It's certainly NOT mine.
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