Monday Meander - March 30, 2020

Report from the blankie fort - Week 3

Yup, I'm still here. It's getting a little tedious at times, a bit monotonous, even a bit annoying. Motivation ebbs and flows. I do my best to ride the good waves and make the most of the energy by accomplishing big things. Last Friday's brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures ushered in a perfect wave. I spent much of the day outside raking the lawns and garden. It felt great!

The rhubarb is up - a full two weeks earlier than last year.

The next two days were less exciting. Motivation got weighed down by the blanket of grey dampness outside my door. I became much like my dog - wandering around the house looking for treats, napping, occasionally barking at stuff and then getting really excited about going for a ride in the car! Who knew a trip into town to do a curbside pick-up at the hardware store could be so thrilling?! We did have to keep an eye on the speedometer. It's hard to claim we're just keeping up with traffic flow when there isn't any.  It's a strange world outside the blankie fort.

So what shall we do for excitement this week? Another drive perhaps. A door-drop of groceries is due here mid-week, thanks to our city kids. It will be their big car adventure! If the weather is really nice, then we might even be able to set out some chairs, 2 metres apart of course, and have a visit. That would be lovely.

The really good news of the week though is that I have it on good authority that the Easter Bunny has immunity!

It's time for me to plan and then start baking because there is evidence that some hopping down the bunny trail has begun.

Take care. Be well. 

Escape for a car ride if you can, but otherwise, Stay home.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 26, 2020

As week two of the Covid-19 siege draws to close, I'm torn between offering humour or another virtual escape from the fortress in the form of armchair travel. I certainly could use both in generous quantity. A good pee-my-pants laughing fit would be truly wonderful as would a soothing stroll through the streets of faraway places.

That good belly laugh is not something that I can truly give to you because it is one of those things that bubbles up from a shared history, a story of family or friends that when told to someone who wasn't there, falls flat. So if a good long laugh is what you need today, call up a loved one, or three, and begin with, "Remember the time when..."

Sister Act - 1972: One had to be there...

A soothing stroll in a faraway land? Now that is a doorway that I can hold open for you.

Come wander with me beside the still waters along the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto, Japan.
It is Autumn along the path. The sun is shining and the air is soft and warm...

There are many temples along this path.
Bathe your hands in the purification fountains.

Breathe and bathe again in the soothing incense.

Hear the call of temple bells, great and small...

...and singing bowl.

Be entranced by Zen gardens

Take in simplicity

Be still.
     Be patient. 
          Be kind.

..and STAY HOME!

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - March 23, 2020

Report from inside the blankie fort - Week 2

It's very bright outside this morning, but it's not sunshine!

Nice one Old Man Winter - Not! On the other hand, the snow does give a nice white-wash over the dirty remnants of previous snowfalls.

Yeah, I know that doesn't quite cut it. It is supposed to be Spring and some warm breezes would be so very soothing in these uncertain times.






In my garden yesterday, there was just the reassuring comfort I needed. Fear not, Lady Spring is pushing her way into the land.

Even sitting inside looking out the window treated me to this beauty. The slight bulkiness of this coyote's back end suggests that she is pregnant - another sure sign of Spring.

And inside my opulent space station/blankie fort, spring cleaning has been happening. I've cleaned out two kitchen cupboards and inventoried the contents of fridges and freezers. Today's task is to do the same for the pantry. Based on posts from others, I'm given to believe we're all clearing, cleaning, and renovating. Stuff is getting done, stuff that has languished for eons. How can this not be a good thing?

I've found it helpful to set up a schedule. Meals for the week and activities. The activities schedule includes restricted social media time (10am and 3pm), and network news (9am and 6pm). I do take in our Prime Minister's daily addresses and occasionally the provincial. The radio station which has always been on in the house has been switched out for all music all the time (CD's, playlists, etc.) in order to avoid hourly newscasts. This helps keep me balanced.




We here are safe. We have food, shelter, warmth, and health. We visit family via Skype.
We can do this.

Take care, my friends.
Stay home.
Plank the curve.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 19, 2020

Time to activate the virtual emergency escape system...

... today's destination - the beach.

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - March 16, 2020

Report from inside the blankie fort...







Peering out through the tent flap, I am disappointed to see that so many arts and culture venues are closed and deeply saddened that our arctic expedition cruise that was set for mid-July has now been cancelled. This cancellation was a move by the Canadian Government to protect the indigenous communities of our north, communities that do not have the resources to respond to an outbreak. I fully understand and support this measure.






Fast approaching my 67th birthday, I am a card-carrying member of the most vulnerable demographic to this pandemic virus. At times these past days a sense of invincibility has arisen within me. I can take care of myself! But COVID-19 is not like a car that I can see coming and just step out of the way to avoid, so I am happy to comply with the recommended social distancing practices. It is the only way to protect myself, my family, and my community. It is my duty.

Ontario as of 10:30am March 16, 2020 (source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-novel-coronavirus)

My childhood blankie fort was not as opulent or equipped as what I'm today calling my safe space. My whole house is now the "hidey-hole", more akin to a space station than a blankie fort, that I can tuck myself into to get far away from the madding crowd. There is access to any number of blankies, pillows, crayons, and crafts along with two private bathrooms, fully equipped with towels, soap, shower, and of course toilet paper. The electronics at my disposal for communication and entertainment are numerous. There is also a fully stocked and appliance-equipped kitchen to supply my nutritional needs.

I can even hop in an escape pod, aka car, to explore the universe, and today, pick up a few essentials on the home planet.

Today's quick grocery stop - apples, squashes, cabbage, and some heirloom carrots. Good food! 

I am fortunate to live in a rural community which means that I can go for a walk and not see a single person and anyone I do see is well far away from me. Yesterday, I corraled the Christmas deer into their three-season pasture and checked out the gardens.

I choose prudence, not panic and I am happy in my blankie fort/space station.

Take care, my friends.
Follow the advice of Public Health officials.
Practise social distancing.
Be well.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 12, 2020

An Abundance of Comfort

Well, the world is a scary place. The truth is it always has been. Most of the time I'm quite able to go about my business with little more than a cursory nod at the risks that are part and parcel with where and how I live. But there's a new bully on the block and this one requires more focussed attention not just to protect me but others around me, my family and my community.

I don't need to buy toilet tissue - nowhere does it say that Covid19 causes endless "poo-namies" and besides I've been a camper and a mom of small children. I know how to cope with toilet emergencies at inconvenient times and locations.

I don't need to buy bottled water - nowhere in the advisories does it even remotely suggest that the municipal water supply will be cut off or infected. In my house, there is a reverse osmosis purifier but only because we rely on well water. In my part of the world, tap water is just fine. Please, don't get me started on the over-consumption of bottled water!

I have the facts from reliable sources, (not social media, no advice from someone's wife's brother's uncle who had a friend who said...), and I'm washing my hands with soap and water often. There is a small bottle of hand-sanitizer in the car for those few times when I can't get to a sink. No gallon drum of the stuff tucked away in the basement, and I am wearing gloves when I'm out. NO, not the latex variety, but the typical clothing variety.

Mom, 1958

As I slip my gloves on, my late mother's words echo in my head, "Where are your gloves dear? A lady never goes out without her gloves on."  Only in the heat of July and August did my mother go out without gloves on, unless she was going to church, then the lacy fish-net like cotton pair encased her hands. In the shops, she only took off the right-hand glove at the checkout to open her wallet and take the money out. My Dad also wore gloves when going out. Gloves were a fashion essential in the fifties and sixties. Maybe gloves are due for a comeback...








Because my love and I are both over 65 years old, we are modifying where we go. A concert at the end of the month (the Bach St. John Passion I adore) is on our watch list and likely to be canceled. As far as travel plans go, fortunately, we do not have anything booked until mid-July. Fingers crossed that by then we are all in the clear.

What I do need today is an abundance of comfort. A walk in the forest in search of awakening spring, then an afternoon curled up in the sunny living room with an old favourite book, a pot of fragrant chai, and soft music.

"...but all shall be well, and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well."

Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

Take care, my friends. Be well.

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - March 9, 2020

Emergence

As I sit down to write this post it is a warm 11°C (52°F), outside my door. Puddles decorate a  driveway already squishy with the longed-for annual thaw.

And the sap is running in the maple trees.

At the local shops in town, bright containers of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths decorate the entrances. An invitation to buy that I could not resist.

The labour to birth Spring has begun. The heartbeat of this awakening can hardly be heard but it is there, a throbbing that rises and falls, rolls and flows beneath a still winter-wrapped countryside, a season aching for emergence.

Mother Earth is stirring.
Just below the horizon, her greening has begun.

"Spring drew on... and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night and left each morning brighter traces of her steps." — Charlotte Bronte

Tis a grand day!
Take a deep breath.
Smile.



©2020 April Hoeller