35: Month Two

It’s hard to believe, but it’s the beginning of my 5^th week at home. In some ways it feels like I’ve always lived like this and I can barely remember how things used to be, but there are also a few things I miss a lot.

I had to look at my day planner and count the weeks to figure out how long it had been, and it was hard not to notice all the crossed out events that have passed.

At this point, I’ve missed at least 10 swing dancing events (either social dances or live jazz shows) and 5 Pearl Jam concerts. (That’s not an average month in my life, it’s just that this all happened at the worst possible time, event-wise.) It’s sad to think about, but I optimistically expect that I’ll get to make them all up eventually.

In the meantime, I’m just puttering along like everyone else, trying to take things as they come.

This past week, Michel was on vacation so my routine was different than it has been. I pretty much didn’t do any of my regular activities, but it was a good week and we got a lot done. The weather was great, so we spent some time every day working on the yard. We finally finished cleaning up the leftover mess from the renovations, and we started working on our deck.

The deck itself is in decent shape, but the railings were rotting off (and have been for years) so we went to Home Depot and bought the supplies to replace them. Eventually we’re planning to add a roof as well, but since we drive a hatchback, it makes more sense to buy the materials in phases. We also don’t really have anywhere to store extra supplies, so I like to only buy what we can use up in a reasonable amount of time.

I can count on one hand the number of places I’ve gone in the past month where I actually entered a building that wasn’t my own house. It made things feel kind of normal to go to Home Depot. There were a lot less people than there typically are, and we had to wait in line outside for our turn to enter, but other than that it was business as usual.

Michel did most of the deck work, while I spent a lot of time in the garden. I feel like I have a handle on the front yard for the first time ever. It turns out that all it takes to keep things under control is unlimited free time.

Generally, my gardening experience is pretty limited, so if I can plant something and water it a few times and it survives on its own from there, then it stays. Almost everything I have planted has come from friends or neighbours over the past couple of years, which makes for a really good success rate because the plants are already established and acclimatized to this area.

On Saturday when I was working in the front garden, I looked around and could see people working on their yards at every single house within my visual range. And now that we’re all staying home, everyone is interested in making plant trades, which is great! I hope this is a practice that’s here to stay.

This week I’ll be back to my usual activities, but if the weather is nice, I do plan to add gardening into the mix. Even though the front yard has started to feel manageable, it still needs a lot of work.

Another plan for this week: Eat less carbs. I’ve gone overboard on baking, and Michel has been experimenting with sourdough, so our diet has been pretty off balance lately. It’s been delicious, but I think we need to rein it in a bit, at least during the week. When we finally get back to social dancing we’re going to be winded after one song.

To help get some back cardio into my routine, I’ve also ordered a jump rope online. Currently, it’s somewhere between here and China, but when it finally does arrive, I’m planning to get fit!

I was a member of 30 Minute Hit for a number of years (many years ago now) and the first station in their circuit is 2 minutes of jumping rope. The first time I tried it, I was amazed at how hard it was, as an adult. I had childhood memories of skipping all the time for fun, and I didn’t remember it being difficult at all. Turns out it takes a lot of co-ordination and it’s exhausting.

I did manage to improve quite a bit during the time I was doing that circuit, but I have no illusions that I’ll have retained my skills in the meantime. At least I am aware of the challenge that awaits me so when I get started I won’t be too sad about how bad I suck at skipping.

Side note: The skip rope is item #2 on my list of ‘things’ I’ve bought so far this year. I am still doing my personal buy no things challenge, and doing pretty well. Based on the Depth Year guidelines I made for myself, I am also tracking, but not counting, things that are supplies required for projects like stained glass. The jury (me) is currently still out on if yarn counts, due to knitting not being a Depth Year topic, so depending on that determination, the skip rope might actually be item #3.

In other news, my pile of unread library books is starting to dwindle. Apart from the apparent scarcity of certain grocery items and paper products, lack of library books was one of my biggest concerns as everything started to shut down. I know it’s kind of silly, especially since I was planning to only read books I already had on hand this year, but I am still hoping that the library is working on a way to reopen in a format that is safe for everyone. If I have to leave my books on the front porch for 2 – 5 days, I’m happy to do it! (And yes, I know: e-books are available. I just prefer real paper books.)

I think that about sums up my life right now. I hope everyone is doing well out there. Stay safe!