Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Woke up to a message that another upcoming yoga training had been cancelled.
Coffee.
Husband brushes the dog. Husband put hat on dog. Dog is not amused.
Dog waits patiently (his version, at least) for me to putter about, trying to cancel train tickets, Airbnb stay, etc. for multiple cancelled yoga trainings.
Walk in the forest, and find it is teeming with people. Downside of the pandemic is that Atticus and I no longer have the forest to ourselves. We will see what happens when it is no longer sunny, of course.
A little girl asked if she could pet Atticus. In my head, I thought, I should say no because little kids are literal petri dishes. Of course I said yes because this was one adorable child and how can you say no to any child asking very sweetly, “Est-ce que je peux caliner votre chien, madame?” I mean, come on! Mom was sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of large white sheets of paper and an enormous palette of paints.
I promptly gave him a bath as soon as we returned home because I had been seeing CDC articles that say the virus can stay alive for several hours to several days on surfaces.
I was very excited to find the pigeon stamps I ordered from the Belgian post had arrived in the mail as well. I only needed one stamp, but of course when I went onto the Bpost online shop and saw an entire set of stamps devoted to the Pigeon and its history I had to buy this set (to frame, clearly) in addition to the regular world stamps.
I am finding that I roll my eyes at the ridiculous actions people are taking (RE: stocking up on toilet paper rather than food), and then I go and do the same thing.
Took a trip to the neighborhood grocery store in the afternoon to find entire sections of products completely out of stock. It seems people have moved their hoarding tendencies beyond toilet paper. Of course, there was plenty of fruit and vegetables. It was the snack aisle that was completely empty. To my horror, they were completely our of Bugles!?!?
Staff the store were wearing gloves and masks. There were signs saying only bank cards would be an acceptable form of payment. Periodically, a recording would play over the loudspeaker in Dutch and in French, explaining safety protocols for shoppers.
Many empty shelves. The previously restocked toilet paper shelves were completely empty. I was also dismayed to find that bugles were sold out as well. At least, people have been branching out in their hoarding choices.
Had my husband and I been thinking of still trying to return to the United States, we would not be leaving a very well-stocked kitchen behind (just a note to any potential looters in our neighborhood wondering where to go first).
Husband spent one afternoon of lockdown, cleaning the mold and moss buildup off of the roof and scrubbing the mold off of the skylight windows. This afternoon, he took a break from reflecting and writing about complexity for his dissertation to prune the trees on our back terrace.
I set the stuffed animals recovering from surgery (see earlier Life in Lockdown posts) to look out the window and then posted a photo with accompanying stuffed animal dialogue.
Tell me again why we have to stay inside?
It’s too dangerous out there. We do not yet know the effects of the virus on stuffed animals OR the imagination.
Oh. Well, at least we have each other.
Yes, and it’s a good thing the husky removed your eyes so you don’t have to witness the suffering in the world.
Yes, thank goodness for small blessings!
I have been receiving many emails from different companies with updates for the pandemic and also promotions (because I imagine many companies are freaking out and trying to find ways to stay in business). Some I save for posterity. Most I delete. I did finally cave and buy a bunch of essential oil rollers from a company called Yogandha, which I discovered when I went to a yoga nidra training in Amsterdam last year. Essential oil anything is pricey, and they are currently offering 20% off with the code WELLNOW….just saying. In the midst of rising panic, why not treat yourself to something to ease your stress? And no, I do not receive a commission for this infomercial digression.
One of the emails I received was from an online company that ships different liquors, including so many types of whisky….so, clearly I spent some time perusing their collection. I kept seeing different whiskies and seeing the names quite differently, however.
Auchentoshan whisky, for example, is not Auschwitz whisky.
Bruichladdich is not Berchenau whisky.
I mean, I know I make a lot of Jewish jokes (which I can do because I am Jewish), but this was just weird.
My cats don’t seem too concerned, so maybe I should follow their lead?
How are you holding up?
Good night, and good luck, dear friends.
life of m 