Coping with Covid

On a recent walk I saw a house with characters of a variety of ethnicities on the lawn holding signs that say, "wash your hands", "practice social distancing", "we're all in this together" etc. Each character was at least 6 feet apart from the other!

Wow! Here we are just a couple of weeks into the Covid 19 outbreak here in Canada and we have been experiencing a gradual shutdown of facilities and businesses, as well as restrictions that are both mandatory and recommended. A few weeks ago I texted my friend, who I was planning a trip to Ireland with in April, to wish her a "bon voyage" for her trip to Cuba. I half jokingly remined her to bring her hand sanitizer. I mentioned that I was still experiencing sinus issues and she responded that I had better get it cleared up before our trip in April. By the middle of that week I knew that we would not be going!

Our reality a few short weeks ago was very different from our reality today. 

Earlier this year we heard about the corona virus in China and Iran. Then we saw images of tourists trapped on cruise ships due to quarantine. Eventually the news told us of how the virus was affecting Italy and other parts of Europe. When I heard about shops and restaurants in Italy being closed I was surprised but never thought it would happen here! ….. Well here we are! Social distancing and Self isolation are new terms that are now part of our everyday vocabulary.

Today's reality is: STAY HOME! 

As a retiree, I am used to having lots of free time and having less interaction with people than when I was working. Therefore I have strived to find activities, volunteer work, and even a part time job to fill my days and keep in touch. Now that most of those "outlets" to the world outside my home are cancelled it will be even more of a challenge to stay busy and fit.

Fortunately I am a project seeker and a "jack of all trades …. master of none". I like drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, felting, gardening, walking, yoga, reading and of course blogging (although I've been pretty slack with that lately). My interests are varied. I should choose one thing and throw myself into it until I am really good at it, but my attention span is short!

….… So, to keep me motivated and to force me to pay more attention to my blog, I plan to post one "thing" every of these self isolating times. It may be a craft, an social distanced outing, a garden project, book or movie recommendation, recipe or whatever I've been doing to fill my time these days.

Today's Post: Pumpkins

 I've been working on these little knit pumpkins lately. I had some nice orange yarn in different shades and started creating these little guys in a variety of sizes. Wouldn't they look cute in the fall as a little decoration on a table or window ledge? There are lots of free patterns on Pinterest for beginners like myself. Just search for knitted pumpkins!  My heavens …. I think you can learn to do almost anything on either Pinterest or YouTube!