My COVID "Vacation" ...so far

I've been quiet here. I've been in sort of a funk. Not actually depressed, but sort of stuck. I'm sort of blaming my all-around doing nothingness on COVID. So, this is a "what have I been doing during COVID" post. 

When sheltering in place first came about I took several online courses. I found them on Creativelive (in case you are interested). Some of the classes are pricey...but sometimes they go on sale. A lot of classes are very reasonable ($29) and a few that are free. I've spent several evenings watching some of the free classes. The courses got me excited about a few creative projects. At some point, I burned out on classes. 

Yoga studios also had to close. There are streaming classes, but that is not the same. So, the thing that I planned on getting back to is put on hold. I'm not pouting (exactly). Before COVID I was working out very regularly, with either treadmill or yoga. Now the workout rooms are also closed. (I know I'm whiny...but it gets better.) So I changed out my treadmill for an actual trail. I tried to do that as regularly as I did the treadmill or yoga thing. 

Fast-forward to today. I haven't walked the trail in over a month. 

I did have a nice week in Wilmington. I stayed at two B&Bs and then stayed the weekend with my daughter and her darling baby. That baby is pure joy. 

Here's a pic of Alister and Jacob, my two warm buddies. They are getting bored too. 

One of my friends is so creative with socializing with Social Distancing. She had a really fun 4th cookout. The set up is inherently socially distanced. It's such a treat to actually "hang out" with other people.

I've also enjoyed my fair share of television. My favorite show that is on a regular channel is Mom. The characters are snarky enough that I feel they are my people. 

I binged both seasons of "Dead to Me" and "The Politician". I highly recommend both.

I finally watched season two of "Ozark". That was a great big "meh". I've heard season three is better, so I'll probably watch that one soon. 

I also loved the movie "Lovebirds"... I loved it enough I watched it twice (but not on the same day).

That's "What I Did On My COVID Vacation",

Mid-Town

It is six months since I've been in my new place. And I still really like it. My bedroom needs a "redo". I need to get rid of the credenza/filing cabinet. It's a beautiful piece of furniture. It feels like it has been with me forever. It has a pretty versatile look. I've realized my place doesn't really have room for the piece. There are a few pieces that I will be moving out. 

I've found a crew that will hang my pictures in the second week in July. I need to clear out the bedroom so that we can get things hung and everything starts to really feel like home. 

My new apartment (the one I'm in now) is in "Mid-Town". Here is my view when I'm walking the dog. I love the little bit of urbanness in my view. It's nice that it is so different from my previous places. 

Not much going on in my neck of the woods. Just thought I'd share what my Mid-Town looks like in my complex.

What I've Not Been Doing

I'm still sheltering in place, at least basically. I'm at home now. I ventured out for dog and cat food, but I still didn't replenish my own food supply. I have done the bare minimum of housekeeping the past couple of weeks. I don't know what happened.

When I lived in my place in Durham, I usually cleaned every Saturday morning. Really cleaned. I mopped, I dusted, I cleaned the bathroom (in all its glory). It was just something I did. I didn't feel I could relax until I did it.

A friend called last night and I paused Netflix to talk. While talking my eyes landed on the space behind the television and all I could think about was it needed to be dusted. But, it was lateish...so when we hung up I went back to Netflix without another thought about dust.

Remember how I innocently thought I would learn to cook during this forced "Stay At Home" movement. I started out sort of strong. Breakfast was a hit with eggs and bacon or eggs and sausage and twice I made myself a delightful french toast.

Perhaps I got too ambitious. You know it takes a lot of pots and pans to make just a simple something for me. Why is that? Then I'm annoyed because I'm not sure the food was actually worth the effort of cleaning.

Last Sunday I found another trail to explore. The trail is on an old country road near where I grew up. When I was growing up it was just an "old country road", now it's a fairly busy connector between Chapel Hill and Durham. I took my camera again. I hope to make taking the camera an automatic part of all of my tiny adventures. Anyway, I didn't want to go to the grocery store all sweaty from my little hike.

May is one of my favorite months. Of course, the wonderful Mother's Day is in May, but more importantly, it is my birthday month. You'll recall for the past two years I took a little vacation on my birthday. The first birthday vacation was Costa Rica! Which was pretty incredible. I'm so glad my daughter and I took that time for ourselves. Last year I spent the weekend and a Bed & Breakfast in Wilmington. I had it in my head that I may do that again. I was considering that before the Pandemic. The Governor has now implemented Stage I of loosening quarantine restrictions, which went into effect yesterday at 5:00.

I suppose I could call to see if the B&B is open. Although, I'm not sure it's what I really want to do. I've got my dog and cat to think about...when and where to board them, etc. It's a whole thing.

I'll keep you posted on what (if anything) I decide to do this year.

Meanwhile, Happy Mother's Day!!!!