LIFE
DURING VIRUS
We have
been stuck here in Collegeville Pennsylvania since the Coronavirus pandemic
started ravaging the world. Dutifully quarantining ourselves, exercising social
distancing and wearing masks whenever we are out it has been a hellish couple
of months. Incessant news reports on the pandemic was giving our willies the
willies. It is shocking to see the progression of this virus as it has run
through our society unabated.
Our world
consequently has gotten much much smaller. Planned trips to England, Hilton
Head and Texas have been cancelled. A summer rental in Ocean City New Jersey
that was big enough to host Janet’s family and mine has been cancelled. We
still are not sure if a trip in December to Jamaica is still on, or if that
will be cancelled as well.
Thankfully
now with the warm weather we are able to retreat to our jungle of a back deck.
Every year Janet creates another beautiful world with ferns and potted and
hanging plants. Lights along the railing create a peaceful serene enclosure.
The past few years we’ve expanded off the back deck with three Hosta plants,
wildflowers in a little garden and several pots of hot peppers and tomatoes. Last
year we had a lot of Habaneros and made everything from hot sauces to Habanero/Pineapple
jelly.
EXPANDING
WORLD
You would
think that because of this pandemic and cancelled travel our social life would
dwindle to zero, but it has had the complete opposite effect. Our world has
expanded to our neighbors. Not having to be anywhere has allowed us to enjoy the
life we’ve created for ourselves. To slow down and not travel has been
refreshing and rewarding. We’ve gotten to know our neighbors more, albeit from
a safe distance. We’ve watched the neighborhood blossom with parents enjoying
bike rides with their children also taking advantage of life and streets devoid
of traffic. As the weather has warmed some of the neighborhood kids noisily
splash in a blowup pool or carom down a slip ‘n slide.
 |
| ON OUR STREET |
We’ve
noticed that the traffic in the neighborhood was very quiet for a long while
and wild animals from the nearby wooded areas had become emboldened by the
solitude. We’ve had deer in the development, pesky racoons rifling garbage cans
and a very brave fox ambling about both during the day and night.
We’ve taken
to walking nearly every day, sometimes with the dog sometimes we invite the
little girl next door. We’ll walk, masks at the ready, looking out for other
people crying out “Mask Alert!” when someone nears. Often our walks take us up
to the vast stretch of property at Ursinus College. Students have been sent
home and there’s just a skeleton facilities crew working there so it’s as if we
have our own personal park. The gyms have all been closed, but Janet is good
friends with the owners and she was able to borrow some weights for workouts at
home.
IS IT
A PARTY IF IT HAPPENS EVERYNIGHT?
Sadly,
most of our partying is at home on the back deck. We do long to linger at an
outdoor café in Phoenixville, but we make the best of it with happy hours in
our jungle. Sometimes it’s a virtual party, sometimes we’re just waving to our
neighbors on the nearby decks!
We do
support the local brew pubs though. Many offer specials on their beer and all
offer take out menus. Down the street from us is a new place called Troubles
End. Unfortunately, Troubles End had their grand opening the week before the
pandemic went wild, so the name is wishful thinking. We’ve ordered take-out
food several times to show our support and also bought some Heady Topper beer,
a rarity offered in these parts. Iron Hill in Phoenixville has a great offer of
two pizzas and a growler for $25 and Sly Fox also has food specials for pick up
to go along with their excellent beer.
CHEF
OF THE FUTURE
Janet
thankfully loves to cook. We get meal kits often and that saves on traveling to
the super markets too often. All the ingredients for that meal come with the kit
so there’s a cost savings in not having to purchase every item. Currently we
are going with Green Chef, but she was on a vegan kick for a while and she was
ordering from Purple Carrot, but Janet often follows what has the best deal.
You know,
the thing about vegan meals… that tofu looks like it should come out of my body
and not go into it………….
BUY
NOTHING
Lately
Janet has been on a mission to perfect baking sourdough bread. It’s an involved
time-consuming process to first get a sourdough starter going, waiting and, well
it’s complicated for me. She’s not perfected it yet, but she has baked several
very interesting loaves.
The thing
is that when you create a starter, part of the process is to toss some away to
allow more growth. Instead of tossing the unwanted starter Janet instead has begun
to donate to others in the community who would use it to bake their own bread. She
reached out using the local Buy Nothing Project, which is a global network of
community-based groups that encourages giving and sharing and trading of goods
and services and sourdough starter kits. Janet was familiar with the Buy
Nothing Project already having donated various items like doggy dental chews and
a pegboard she no longer needed. In return she asked the community to send to
her daughter birthday cards for a recent milestone anniversary and they readily
complied. One of her starter beneficiaries dropped off a cache of savory garlic
and sage biscuits.
You can
find your local Buy Nothing Project group on Facebook.
Here’s
their website:
COOK
ALONG WITH JANET
For the past
five weeks Janet has been hosting a web-based cooking show for the Pilates
studio she belongs to in Phoenixville. TruFit Pilates has been closed since the
pandemic struck, and Janet was approached by the owners to host this show. A
natural educator and fabulous cook, Janet has made everything from vegan tostados
to a chocolate pistachio glazed cake, all the while drinking an adult beverage.
For me it’s a mini television production and a lot of fun. We arrange the iPad
and the lights in the kitchen for her to work her magic and I monitor the site
for questions. It keeps us busy and this past week we did the show on the back
deck.
All the
videos are recorded and can be watched anytime. Either go to my Facebook page
or TruFit Pilates page.
POSTCARDS
FROM COLLEGEVILLE
You know,
we’re having a lot of fun being quarantined. This almost makes us want to stay close
to home more often and rethink travel. It may be a big world, but there’s a lot
to see and do right here.
Thanks for reading.
Love, Janet and greg
© 2020 by GREG DUNAJ
.
No comments:
Post a Comment