With the temperatures rising and remaining steady, I went swimming on Sunday afternoon. The water was 'just right'. I remained 'poolside' for a couple of hours and read my book. The wind had started to pick up, and the threats of storms were on the news. I headed upstairs and found I was covered in debris. The dust that had been whipped up had certainly made a mark, literally, on me!Having had more exercise than I have been used to over the past few weeks, and not having swam through the winter, I was rather hungry when I had de-debris-ed. We looked online and found that the third barbecue place was not open on Sunday! What on earth were we going to eat? Perish the thought I might have to cook breakfast and dinner on Sunday. I know, I am a little bit spoilt, but in this arena I am trying to keep as near to normal as possible, while I still can. I looked at the nearer option, then at the restaurant that was closed last Sunday, and it was open! It is possible that they co-ordinated an Easter Sunday 'day off' for one, but little did I care! We picked up our 'take out' and brought it home. I am not sure whether they did not anticipate much custom or were just feeling generous, but the portions were enormous. Neither of us said anything until we were finished, and the comments were almost in unison. "That was a lot of food!" Having had the extra exercise, I felt somewhat content!
As it always does, Monday morning came around. I completed my housework, went to work, and came home. It was quite cool as there had been storms ravaging the south, and although we only suffered high winds, there were many that did not fare so well. However, the main news of the day was the announcement that from Midnight, (or a minute before, I believe,) our county was under a new directive. When out in public, we had to wear a face covering of some sort. I messaged our guys to make sure they were prepared. I then re-read the order for clarification. No, we did not need to wear it in our car, home or 'personal space'. We did not need to wear it when exercising (that's good, as I would find it hard to swim in a mask,) and we did not need to use it if we were the only person around the area. I could walk in the evenings without having to put it on. However, I would need to wear it when I went shopping, or to the post office, or to the taco place!
Having had my routine totally disrupted, I have found myself doing some odd things. In order to enter our building, as mentioned, we need to have a key card. In order to access our mailbox, which is on a stand at the end of a grass verge outside our building, I need a key. In order to accomplish the task of getting the mail, I have to take both keys. My key card is attached to a 'Me to You' bear key ring, that was a 'leaving' present from a young man whom attended the school where I worked (Matthew) before emigrating. The key for the postbox, sorry mailbox, is on a key ring in the shape of Texas. I have to take both key rings to check the post. (With me so far?) Not only have I been standing at the postbox, pointing the key card at our slot, waiting for it to automatically buzz open, but once I have remembered it needs a key to open, and returned to the front door of the building, I have been trying to get in using the post box key! The moral of the story is, never give me more than I can handle. One key at a time! Out of sync, my life becomes very complicated!
It was Tuesday. I had to send an email to one of our clients, who is currently working remotely from home. Does the word 'remotely' automatically mean from home, in this environment? She had called the previous week and mentioned another email I had sent starting, "Good morning, Happy whatever the day, who knows, could be any day as they all appear to run into each other". She found it amusing and said it had broken the monotony of constantly seeing her name, followed by a generic message, and her looking up to see the same patch of wall that she has seen for the last few weeks. Having her groceries delivered and not leaving her house, she has started to go 'stir crazy'. I decided to try and make her smile again. "I have decided to take up painting. I am going to get some large canvases, paint different scenes and put them in my window, so when I wake up each day, it will look like I am somewhere other than where I am!" I continued with the message, thinking perhaps that would be a fun idea! Like I have the time!
The wonders of the 'technical age' were never more wonderous. I received a message from a very old friend, Sally, to say that she had been trying to contact me. I spoke to her on Whatsapp. It was nice to hear a voice, rather than just type, and then she told me the reason for the call. Our mutual friends' daughter had been involved in a very bad accident, and was in intensive care. They wanted me to know. I said I would send a message. We discussed how hard this would have been twenty or thirty years ago. Phone calls were the only real voice communication possible, and they were prohibitively expensive. I was grateful for the technology today!
I had to make a trip to the post office on Tuesday afternoon. I took my mask and headed out. "Hey sweetie. How are you?" came the greeting from my friend behind the counter. I replied that I was great! "What?" she said. "Great", I repeated. "Can't hear you with that thing on!" she announced. Great was said with a different tone. I have enough problems being understood at the best of times, (unless I put on the "I am your mother", accent level!) and with the sounds being muffled through a mask, this was not going to be easy! Eventually, she got it! "What can I do for you today?" said her colleague, as he was the next available teller. "Huh?" I would have to carry a notebook and pen everywhere! He worked out by the envelopes I had placed on the counter, what it was that I wanted. Was this the point of the masks? To improve diction? Dinner was rice and chicken, Persian style. I stirred everything up and put it in a ring. It came out beautifully. I have found that since I am not being taken to work in the morning, I am spending a little more time experimenting in the kitchen. True, this has made me slightly late, but as I keep saying, nothing is normal, or new rules for new normal. It doesn't gain me any Brownie points, but I am having fun!
I had to send an email to my client, again, Wednesday morning. I must say I tickled myself. "So, my painting project. I started yesterday. I painted scenes from my house; kitchen, bathroom, living room. I put one in the window and realised my mistake this morning! Have to rethink this". I sat giggling and hoped she would see the humour!
Sometime during the morning, I received a video call from Anita and David, the couple whose daughter had been in the accident. As they had visited a couple of years ago, I took them in to see Dana. "Birmingham. Yes, I know it well", said my husband. "I graduated from High School there", he continued. We had to explain that they were not in Alabama! When I finished the call, he said he had not realised who it was that I had been talking about, yesterday, and it had now made it more personable. Technology. A good thing?
Returning home, I dropped off some food parcels to my elderly neighbour (who said when this is over she is going to give me the hugest of hugs) and my next door neighour, who is nursing around the clock and, in my opinion, deserves more than a couple of home cooked meals. However, a medal would probably be more appreciated at the end of the crises!
Once again, although we all appear to be in the same boat so to speak, some are on different decks. I called my sister on Thursday. My mum had finally succumbed to the wishes of others and not gone on her weekly shopping trip. This meant that my sister would have to bear the burden of finding what mum wanted, and my mother is very specific. Firstly, however, I had to apologise for the butt calls I had made at two in the morning, her time, as my phone had decided to 'play up', and I facetimed her, unwittingly. Then when I tried to press 'end', it had actually ended, and called her again! I must sort this phone out! However, I digress. Whilst shopping on line for 'curbside' pick up has not proved to be too difficult here, it is virtually impossible to get a slot at home! I tried on my Sainsbury (supermarket) account and was unable. My mother has been 'signed up' as elderly, vulnerable and infirm, but apparently this did not make a difference. I said I would try to get a 'spot' during the small hours, their time. Suffice it to say, it did not work! I realised that it is still so easy for us to get a 'take out', of any kind, and our drive thru's are commonplace. Despite everything, life here seems to be easier here, and I am not taking it for granted!
It was rather quiet on Friday. Despite my efforts, I did the same thing with the keys! Thankfully no one was around to see, but then again, I am announcing it to the world! I drove home, went for a walk, and then we headed off to the taco shop. Dana's mask was slightly too small, and his ears bent forward making him look quite funny. "What can I get you?" asked the server as I got to the front of the queue. "Huh?" He pointed to the menu. I pointed back. It was impossible. As there was no one else in the shop, and I was behind a screen, and those behind all wore masks, I pulled mine down for a couple of seconds, and mouthed my order. I pointed as I went along the line, but the girls knew my order by heart! Do we go there too often?
Saturday started early. It was overcast and I took my umbrella when I headed out. I put the back seats of my car down flat, so I could arrange my shopping in the most efficient way. The queue was long, but I had my Costco card, and my mask. There were various different varieties of face covering, from the surgical type, to the DIY, to the cutesy, (such as mine,) to a bandanna, and the "I can't be bothered", t-shirt pulled up. They all conformed to the order of nose and mouth coverings! No one complained. I walked around the barriers, and had the urge to sneeze. "Please. No!" I thought to myself. I had sneezed last week, in the middle of an aisle, and almost sent the entire area into panic. It was just a sneeze, and it just came on, as sneezes do, as something tickled my nose, but I could sense the fear. I had visions of the loudspeaker emitting, "Clean up on aisle 7", and me being carried away, like Meryl Streep, in Silkwood! Who was fearful now! However, I managed to suppress the sneeze! I picked up some toilet paper for my friend, Cyndie, as she has a six year old in her household who doesn't quite get rationing and they had her preferred brand. I got some milk for Samantha's neighbour as their communication efforts had been thwarted by technological errors (aint it grand, when it works!) and their messages had not gone through. I got some essentials for 'my' homeless guy, and headed to the check out. The 'community spirit' was very evident. As I got to Walmart, I heard the same conversations that I had in Costco. "Okay, I can get that here, can you get '....' there?" Networking on shopping! The shelves were pretty full, and apart from one item, I got everything I wanted. Then again, the 'one' item is only on the shelves rarely, in normal times. Cyndie would check her Walmart for me. There was a strange sense of fun. I remember many years ago, going on holiday with our neighbours (who became close friends of my parents, and their kids, who are still friends of Elise and mine, Stephen and Leslee,) and an evening when the 'grown ups' drinking coffee and singing 'wartime' songs. Frances, the mum, said "They were good times. I would hate the kids to go through what we went through, but the camaraderie was great". As I remember it, this was almost verbatim. I have thought of this a lot recently. In a crises, most come together to make it good!
Samantha and I arranged to meet to swap some thing. "Meet us at Target. We are going to Michaels after". I headed south, after dropping off some food to Jake. (Yes, 'my' homeless man has a name!) Just before I turned off the highway, I called to ask her to look for my 'one' item that I could not get. "Where are you?" It appears that when she said to meet her at Target, near Michaels, it was in Round Rock, not Austin. Interestingly, the store are almost next to each other there, too! I turned the car around and headed back. I have heard many people refer to 'Groundhog Day' during this current crises, and I was in my very own. Instead of doing a 'u-turn', I had inadvertently crossed to another highway. Then, inadvertently, I took the wrong road. There was 'no outlet' to the other highway, and I found myself driving around this very pretty neighbourhood, in circles I kept seeing the same people. The same people, who were oblivious to anyone else in their neighbourhood! No one moved out of the way, from adults on bikes, with kids next to them, to people walking dogs. "You don't belong here, you don't use our roads!" It was all very reminiscent of the Rockdale trip! Eventually, I found my way out, and took another winding road back to the correct highway! Whilst I had my goods piled beautifully in my car, I had to make room for three boxes of paper, for the office. Everything was now higgledey piggledey.
Thinking Dana might still be at the office, I went there first with the paper. He was not there. Yes, I should have left it in the car but I did not. Yes, it was a mistake! I am suffering today! However, it is doubtful I will ever learn that I cannot do what I used to be able to do! The paper was heavy!
Dana and I spent the afternoon watching a 'made for television' serial, which turned out to be very good. We then ordered our dinner, which we collected from (thankfully) a very busy restaurant. It took longer than anticipated for them to bring it out, and whilst waiting, we agreed that it was wonderful that they were so busy.
Sunday morning saw me making breakfast, again.
It is a beautiful afternoon, once again, and I may head down to the pool again. However, despite the lack of 'normal', Austin's weather is not going to be 'put out' by anyone! The promise of a 90 degree afternoon seemed hopeful at six this morning, and after the fog, came the warm temperatures. From low sixties to mid-seventies by midday, and up to the low eighties by one. It hit 88 at two, and then dipped to 70. I am currently waiting for a rebound. If it happens, hopefully, there will not be the allowed amount of ten, but these are strange times, and although there almost never has been more than six, never say never!
Another week, and another round of new adventures. No one knows what will be announced during the next seven days, but I am currently quite confident that I shall be sitting here, ready to write ...... another story!
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