Monday, March 23, 2020


The first day of the rest of our lives… See Tamar’s comment yesterday. My main problem today, a trivial one, was waiting for deliveries. They have all arrived. I was expecting a box of Encore cat food and one of Weston’s Vintage Cider, both from Google Prime. One had arrived by the time I sat down to my lunch of squashed avocado on toast. I thought it was cider, and opened it hungrily. It was cat food. I had a moment of feeling less than loving towards my furry house-mates.

Since then, the cider has turned up, and also some Mindful Chef meals.

And knitting goes forward well. I am doing row 34 of the Cameron Shawl borders – 37 was the one where the Trees of Life were at their maximum. The tentative plan had been to finish this first piece of Cameron Shawl and then polish off the Oak Park scarf to wear, in an insouciant sort of way, on my cruise. May can be cold. Now that there is no such cruise, I need to think again.

And I need to devise a schedule, and keep to it. Exercise, an outing, Italian. I think I am allowed to go out: Drummond Place Gardens are right here, and we all know to keep away from each other. 

A favourite Times columnist, Libby Purves, currently emerging from chemotherapy, writes today: “…For some of us, a kind of neurological hunger sets in: a sense of brain areas unused, restless, anxious. Something missing in those of us without a craft skill. People who knit, sew, paint, cook creatively or fix things in sheds are comfortably in touch with those brain areas all the time.”

It’s worth remembering our good fortune.

Here’s the promised pic of the Oak Park scarf:



Less than half-way.

And here’s unabashed evidence of panic buying:




There is lots in yesterday’s comments that I would like to comment on. Good for Cuomo! And: how it must add to the discomfort of these extraordinary days, not to have leadership from the top. Maybe I'll say more tomorrow.

8 comments:

  1. "....not to have leadership from the top." I just listened to part of his daily presser about the virus - supplies are plentiful, shipments of all that is needed are being made, yada, yada, yada. Just following that was the nightly news reports from ERs all across the nation, and in some places the medical staff are wearing the same masks all day!! I have long ago decided that if his lips are moving, he is lying and the current situation just reinforces my belief. I hope all who read this blog will be safe, and all of your loved ones too. Buy red, Jean.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:37 AM

    Well, we all knew lockdown was coming, so lets make the best of it. Knitting, gardening and walking my dog for permitted exercise should help keep cabin fever at bay. Lots of fields, he'll love it.
    As Julie said, best wishes to all and your loved ones.

    Sarah.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jean, I didn't go quite as far as you but I picked up two boxes of cat litter or as I am calling it cat toilet paper. Sometimes it is almost as hard to find as the people kind. Anyway, all the best to all of you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, we're going out tomorrow to set up a 94-yr-old friend with litter for her two cats, before our state of emergency here in Ontario closes all "non-essential" stores at midnight tomorrow. We'll learn tomorrow which stores will stay open - grocery stories and pharmacies for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We've decided that the allotment counts as our exercise trip; it certainly should, given how heavy some of the work is. I am on light duties of course, resting my broken wrist, but I was able to harvest rhubarb and leeks for tonight's supper.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Syd T4:48 PM

    Oh dear, that is not panic buying, that is being prepared...I too made sure my cats have litter and both the dogs and cats have food for a spell. I do make sure there is more left on the shelves for others. Heaven's knows I have no need to buy yarn but so worry about our craft shops and independent yarn dyers/producers that I am picking up a bit here and there.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The scarf looks lovely and the colors work so perfectly. It seems like soothing knitting for television or times you don't want to concentrate. Even if you don't go on the cruise for a while, it will be nice to have finished.

    ReplyDelete
  8. =Tamar4:51 PM

    The oddest part of isolation for me has been realizing how much of one's daily routine is done for other people's sake. Self-observation might - perhaps - lead to changing some habits. But probably not. [wink]

    ReplyDelete