March 16, 2020

After the conference, my housemates and I have been self-isolating ourselves as we all begin working from home. Thankfully, we haven’t had any issues with our internet connection. It’s been a startling change for many, but I am used to working under different and sometimes extreme circumstances.  Grab a lap desk (or a piece of cardboard), find an outlet and I am good to go. And I’ve been working hard on the project that brought me to Colorado, although most of my interviews have been over the phone.

I went to the grocery store to stock up for the next couple of weeks I’m in town for work.  I suppose this is going to become a normal sight for a while. And it’s only going to get worse.

 

March 17, 2020

My friends have taken our traditional Tuesday gathering to the virtual realm, and we chatted together over online video for over an hour this evening. I was so happy to see everyone, although it’s been disappointing to be home and not able to meet with the people I care about here. I’m just glad everyone I know is taking this seriously and doing what they can to stay safe and protect our community too.

 

March 18, 2020

Today’s the last good weather day before a snow storm rolls over Fort Collins, so Betsy and I took an afternoon hike. It shouldn’t have, but it caught me by surprise how many people I saw on the trails during lunch time on a Tuesday. Everyone is taking advantage of the beautiful day, and the beautiful spaces we hold dear.

I’m glad folks are taking the time to get outside to help relieve the stress of these turbulent times.

 

March 19, 2020

A snow storm, and our boy cat Joel had mouth surgery today. A vet visit earlier this week found that he had a few rotting teeth. Some kind of autoimmune issue that cats can have. I didn’t understand it, but it sure did look nasty when the vet showed me the lesions that were visible on his gums. So the vet took out 6 of his teeth, although they only charged me for removing four because two were already so far gone that it took them mere seconds to deal with. Oi.

Joel is now home and resting, his eyes wide as he’s still drugged and loopy from this exhausting day. Our girl kitty, Zelda, thinks she’s in the horror movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” because after having gone missing for 12 hours her brother smells different, so of course he must not be the same cat that has lived with her in our home for the past ten years. She’s throwing a hissy fit, he’s trying to say hello to my roommate’s overly excited dog, and I am exhausted from stress, anxiety, and the fact that I couldn’t sleep last night.

 

March 20, 2020

To distract myself from the global pandemic, I whipped up a New Zealand classic dessert – pavlova! A stand mixer makes this delicious mess so easy to make.  Fresh fruit complements the sweet sweet cream and sugar.

PSA – always make sure to say it correctly, “I’m eating a kiwi fruit.” Never say “I’m eating a kiwi” because New Zealanders take great offense at the suggestion that you would eat them 😛

 

March 22, 2020

My anxiety baking has produced a new delicious staple to cooking routine – pretzel rolls!

This will really step up my home-made burger game. And it was so easy! Well, we’ll see how easy it actually is once I’m back on the boat. The boat makes everything more challenging.

 

March 24, 2020

During my run around the neighborhood this morning, I noticed a dude with a chainsaw cutting on a dead tree. I walked by again a few hours later, and this amazing sculpture is what I found, so pretty!

 

March 25, 2020

Today, after much anxiety, I’m hopping on a plane back to Florida.

My work project is wrapping up nicely despite all the craziness in the world right now, and I want to get back to Eric before airports shut down completely.

But before I left Fort Collins, Harrison and I played pandemic. And we lost, due to multiple outbreaks in North America. This got too real.

I don’t think this helped calm down my nerves.

However, I left home to the view of this beautiful sunset on the mountains. I’ll miss them, but I’d miss Eric more. I don’t want to be stuck here for an unknowable amount of time, with Eric alone on the sailboat.

Once I’m back on the boat we’ll be self-quarantined for the foreseeable future. I certainly don’t want to spread the virus if I pick it up while traveling, so Eric has provisioned for us and we’ll be cruising and keeping our distance from society for at least the next couple of weeks.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and wash your hands!

Breathe deep, know that this too shall pass, and help your neighbors by keeping your distance while still letting them know that we’re all in this together!

Love you all.