Monday Meander - July 27, 2020

Report from the blankie fort - Week 20

So it's the last Monday of July. Really? Already?? Or ONLY??? No matter, it's here and so are we.

The most effective antidote I have to a case of pandemic insanity is working in the yard and garden but the heat of these last weeks has kept me grounded in the house. I became highly reactive. All the negative emotions rumbling just beneath the surface, waited for even the smallest opening to burst forth. There were tears, there was shouting, there was anxiety+++.  By Saturday all that bad energy drove me out despite the heat to work in the garden. Intense weeding, perhaps even somewhat aggressive, ensued accompanied by a few hot expletives. I got the job done and I then mowed the side yard for the first time in nearly six weeks. I was chuffed, but now the garden and I both needed a good drenching.

While watering the garden, the hose pressure dropped to nil. I figured the hose was kinked and gave it few quick shakes. No effect. As I rounded the corner of the house, I heard a great hissing and saw water pouring out of the garage. Inside a mighty geyser sprung from the hose connection, straight up to the ceiling. I got my good drenching as I made my way to the shutoff valve. The garage got a clean out. And I got rid of all that negative energy! Magic!

You may have noticed that the bears in the window have been joined by glass canning jar. I have put the bears in charge of guarding the cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) as it mellows over the next months. Maybe by Thanksgiving, more likely by Christmas there will be something luscious to warm body and soul.

There is also the promise of good things coming from my garden...
The tomato plants are climbing the wall while underneath the branches, lovely round fruit is ripening.

The only place where going pear-shaped is a good thing!

The lilies are coming!

And that's the way it is as Week 20 of CoVID-19 clicks into place.

Good things are on their way.

Stay safe. Stay sane.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - July 24, 2020

A Thereabouts Day

The week got ahead of me, like so many of the weeks lately, so I thought that for this post I'd re-cast one from a year ago at this time.

It's all about doors.

                   So many doors...

frontiers of decision

thresholds of change

colourful, plain, weathered

closed, open, ajar

forbidding, inviting, curious

                 with evocative hardware...

                         

no-nonsense knockers, familiar two-tone chimes, angry bee colony buzzers

polished knobs, convenient levers, keyholes and peepholes

questions looking for answers

yes, no, maybe

May you find openings to daydreams, ideas, wonderings, and happy wanderings.

Stay safe. Stay sane.

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - July 20, 2020

Report from the blankie fort - Week 19

The beat and the heat goes on. I'm finding it hard to believe that I've been reporting from the blankie fort since March 16th! Really?! That seems like such a long time ago and at the same time just yesterday. Thinking over these past many weeks I wonder what I've actually accomplished. What do I have to show for it?  My knee-jerk response is to throw up my hands and bluster, "Nothing! Not a bloody useful thing!"

It's a good thing that I'm a lifelong scholar in the school of sober second thoughts because otherwise, I'd be lost in some dark sea of despair.

I've made of habit of taking a seat in the quiet classroom for the twenty-four hours between the sunsets of Saturday and Sunday. A kind of sabbath rest during which I abstain from all social media, email, and newsfeeds especially breaking news alerts. I'm not a slave to my sabbath observance. I do peruse the New York Times, BBC, and CBC news summaries first thing Sunday morning just to make sure the future still exists, but then I spend the day doing those things that bring me some measure of comfort, some satisfaction, and especially some joy. This takes effort! There are so many delectable morsels of interestingness, so may enticements lie just a mouse-click away...

The fruits of yesterday's sabbath time included lovely open writing time without an agenda or goal, the joy of just watching a thunderstorm without reference to weather radar, a guiltless nap, and the creation of a luscious blackcurrant sorbet.

I also thought about those positive things which I have done since the siege of CoVID-19 began.

1. The man and I have stayed well. And that's a big deal given that as of today, nearly 15Million have fallen ill and 610,000+ have died. In Canada, 110,00+ have been ill and nearly 9,000 have died. (source). 
2. I dragged out the sewing machine and taught myself how to make face masks.
3. I've learned to tolerate Zoom meetings
4. I've kept up reporting from the blankie fort each Monday, which I hope has brought readers some comfort and a smile or two.
5. I've kept posting a 10am check-in on Facebook® which I also hope has encouraged others.
6. I haven't gained any weight (I haven't' lost any either).
7. I've supported my gym and trainer with weekly workouts, first via Zoom but now in-person in the gym (which now begins with a temperature check, screening questions, hand sanitizer, & contact-tracing phone #).
8. I've stayed sane though I do have my moments of screaming frustration and abject despair.
9. I now know that I could not live the life of a hermit as I once thought I could, completely secluded away from the world. 
10. I am doing my bit to support the Niagara Wine industry, buying directly from the wineries.

Cheers! Sláinte! Cin cin! Prost! À votre Santé!

Many thanks for traveling with me these many weeks.

Together Apart - keep on keeping on.

Stay safe. Stay sane.

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - July 13, 2020

Report from the blankie fort - Week 18

The bears and rabbit are still at the window, looking out on sultry summer days, just watching the world go by. They are wonderfully oblivious to all the news - pandemic and otherwise. They are both in the moment and above it, present but unmoved. I think I'd like to be like one of the bears this week, probably more like the rabbit because I do wear a mask when it's important to do so. I'd like to spend this week as a disinterested spectator. All I have to do is pretend that I don't know what I know and pretend that I don't care. Some days, forgetting what I know is a slam-dunk for my vintage brain, but not caring? Yeah, well that's not happening. So, now what?

I think Sandra Boynton's cartoon for today hits the nail on the head:

I still don't know what am I going to do with this week. But here's what I do know: if I keep watch on the world with gentle eyes and ears, if I reflect more with heart and soul than with head, there will be more than enough to see, to learn, and to do.

And that's the way I see it here in Week 18

Wishing all a Care-Full week.

Wash your hands.

Watch your distance.

Wear a mask.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - July 9, 2020

Down Memory Lane

It's too hot for my brain to create words of any depth or breadth, so I took a surf through my digital photo archive. Here's what I found - well honestly just a bit of what I found. You really don't want to see it all. It would be like one those travelogue slide shows of old that I recall having to endure all the while thinking if I ever see another picture of a church it will be too soon! No churches in these snapshots of Julys gone by.

1959 - my older sister and I in the backyard pool

1972 - me chillin' in the backyard pool

1996 - Family in the mountains above Innsbruck

2010 - Hanlan's Point, Toronto Island 

2012 - raspberry tarts ready for baking

2013 - strawberry jam

2014 - the forest was lush and green

2015 - sisters toasting summer

2016 - Happy day lily bloom

2017 - Cool Cake!

2018 - Lerwick in and with the Shetlands

2019 - the test pilot

Stay cool. Stay safe. Stay well. Eat ice cream!

1990 - my daughter

And one more thing - practice the 3 W's: 

Wash your hands.

Watch your distance.

Wear a mask.

©2020 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - July 6, 2020

Report from the blankie fort - Week 17

Are we there yet? Nope. But we've been told it's somewhat safer to venture out of the fort and beyond the property line. Some restrictions have been eased. I was able to see my massage therapist last week. It was a very happy reunion and unlike my usual visits, I chatted away the whole hour. I guess I was a little desperate for real conversation with a real person really in the same room as I! And, we hadn't seen each other since mid-March.

In preparation for more forays more often into the world outside my door, I spent Saturday afternoon making more face masks. The man and I now have nine reusable, washable cloth masks made from scraps of old cotton shirts, a few tea towels and receiving blankets, sufficient for a while at least.


And it will be a while, probably a very long while before I will be found in any indoor space without a mask. I'm thinking perhaps the St. Nicholas Day (December 6) parcel of goodies will include festive masks along with the usual Christmas socks and candy canes.

Even with an ample mask and hand-sanitizer supply, it still doesn't feel comfortable to be out and about, at least not to me. I still tense up. I still meticulously plan my outings then rush through my shopping. No time for browsing. No room for spur-of-the-moment adventures. And I feel like calling out "Home free" when I set foot back in the house. Back inside, I go to the wall calendar by my desk the one that used to only denote the supper menu plan, to write down where I've been. The calendar also now records any visitors to the house.

A restaurant in the city that the man and I quite like sent along a promo for Sunday brunch on their newly opened patio. My mouth watered at the prospect and the man noted that we even have a gift certificate for the place. Score! But then the school of COVID-19 second thoughts shoved my eager anticipation out the door. I'm not ready to have dinner out even if it is at an outdoor patio with tables 2m apart. It requires me to trust that too many people are as diligent as I am with virus protection. I'm not there yet. Take-out will have to do me for the time being.

Meanwhile, back on the homestead heat and drought have made the grass brown and crispy...

...but my-oh-my aren't these blooms are coming along nicely?

And that's the way it is for Week 17.

Together Apart

stay safe, be well.

©2020 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - July 2, 2020

Canada Day All Week Continues

The beat goes on, as does the heat, but there are pools for that and even a kiddie pool in the shade will do.

Today I'm taking a quiet day to reflect, renew, and rejoice. This tribute anthem for Canada Day 2020 from Calgary's Revv52 touched my heart in these days of struggle, anxiety, and anticipation. 

Have a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7_ZUBjuTi4

Be safe. Be well.

Keep your distance.

Wear a mask.

KEEP WASHING YOUR HANDS

©2020 April Hoeller