Day by Day

Lately I've felt that our days are like the large expanse of sunflowers which I often see on my neighborhood walks.  In a mass they are beautiful but indistinguishable, so like my days in this time of the Coronavirus.   

The threat posed by the pandemic has forced us to eliminate many activities these past four months.  We aren't in a total "at home" mode, but that's just about the case.  I've lost quilting meetings and sew days, the casual pleasures of spontaneous walks downtown on summer evenings to favorite restaurants and bars, the occasional large party with friends, visits to art exhibits and galleries, and the excitement of travel within the US and abroad.  Without these activities it's harder to find the differences in the days and weeks and to record them.  

The challenge is made more difficult by my increasing anger at the lack of a coordinated federal response to the virus.  Cases are growing across the country at an alarming rate and although I believe Colorado's response is well managed, our hospitalizations are ticking upward.  The party-loving CU students will return next month, and Arizona and Texas, with their high case rates, are close by.    More and more I believe that we are going to face a long, hard and boring winter, and that's assuming we don't actually get sick. 

Recently Ben has started saying each night "I'm looking forward to getting up tomorrow for another day."  At first I thought it was a funny thing to say but now I'm replying "Me, too!"   It may be harder to differentiate the days, but the threat of the virus makes it more imperative for me.  Let's enjoy what we have while we have it. 

So, for the record, here's a few things I'd like to remember about the past couple of weeks. 

We just had a week of 95+ degree weather.  That's hot for sure, even when the humidity is low and you spend a lot of time in the shade.  We have no air conditioning, but do have one attic fan, six free standing fans, three big trees that shade the house, and many windows providing cross ventilation, so we manage.  Oh, and the temps do fall at night so we can count on all that lovely cool air to help us sleep.  We can also count on Ben's wonderful gazpacho which we like to top with crab meat.  It's a delicious summer staple for us.    

Yesterday the heat broke, and this morning it actually felt cool as a little front moved through leaving a bit of rain.   I loved seeing the mist moving in over the Flatirons when I walked Turbo in the cemetery.  

Speaking of Turbo, he turned one year old on July 11, can you believe it?  Happy Birthday, happy, fun dog.  You've brought a lot of joy into the household. 

And speaking of Turbo of course reminds me of his good buddy, Paul.  I don't know if I mentioned here that Paul dislocated his shoulder three times in the past year.  So on July 2nd he had surgery to reattach a torn muscle to a bone. He is recovering nicely but won't be back to "normal" for about three more months.   Here he is playing with Turbo a day or so before his surgery.

Our friend's big 4th of July party was cancelled this year due to the virus and we ended up enjoying crab bombs with Ray and Paula and That Handsome Dog Gus outside on their patio.  We got them from Goldbelly's, a food purveyor who got them from Jerry's Seafood, a restaurant which was 15 minutes from our house in Maryland.  We sure missed those crab bombs when we moved here, so it's been a special treat to get them shipped in every now and again.

As I said, we've mostly stayed home, but one pretty evening I couldn't stand it anymore and took Turbo downtown for a walk.  The west end of  Pearl Street has been closed so restaurants can expand their outdoor seating into the street, and lots of people were out enjoying themselves.  I didn't join them but for our anniversary the first of July Ben and I did get reservations on the rooftop patio of Corrida's,  a fun place with unusual and delicious food that we had been to right before the shutdown began.  The social distancing and safety measures were perfect and we felt comfortable and relaxed there, so it was a great treat for a special occasion.

This photo wasn't taken at Corrida but at at our house at dinner the other night.  We've been cooking at home a great deal and drinking wonderful wines, and I think I look rather happy, which I probably was.  Luckily for me, I do like being at home and enjoy my family, my friends, my house, my garden, my sewing, my dog, and my neighborhood!

Like a lot of people, Paul and I anticipated watching Hamilton over the July 4th weekend.  It was great fun as we both knew all the songs but hadn't seen any of it onstage.  I had tickets to see it on Broadway with my sister and our friend, Janice, on a trip we had scheduled for June, but that trip had been cancelled when the virus hit NYC so hard and Broadway shut down.  What a treat to see it so beautifully filmed and presented on our screen right here at home! 

I also really enjoyed reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, a real page turner which I zoomed through in about two days.  I haven't been "captured by a book" in a while, and it was wonderful to escape into a good book.   

Linking to my friend LeeAnna's "I Like Thursdays" at Not Afraid of Color