It's been almost a month since my last post. Daughter is still residing with me and finished her self-isolation after arriving from Vietnam. She dodged the bullet and didn't have Covid-19. We are enjoying having her here and have been reconnecting. This has been a lovely silver lining in a time of uncertainty and worry.
I continue to keep myself busy with knitting, gardening and reading to my 90+ year old friend over the phone. I planted my seeds and they sprouted. I've transplanted some of the seedlings into bigger pots to help them grow stronger. In the last month, I've knitted 2 pairs of slipper socks and three therapeutic hand muffs. The hand muffs are becoming works of art as I continue to use up leftover yarn and reuse other materials from my sewing kit and "bag of rags". Some of the muffs have tiny pockets. One muff has a nautical theme and the most recent one that I've finished has a musical theme. The one I've just started will have a fishing theme. I might knit a boat and a fishing pole hanging out of it and then when I'm finished and adding bits of tactile interest, I think I'll sew in a long piece of yarn and attach a fish at the end of it. I think I'll use up some squares of denim to make the fish and then stuff it. I'm thinking of using a variety of blues and greens in the yarn as I knit to give it a "water" look. The boat will probably be made with a brown yarn or maybe 2 shades of brown. Who knows.....that's the joy of creating the pattern as I go.
Hubby, Daughter and I had a lovely Easter although we missed Son....he is unable to come home to visit until this pandemic is deemed at an end. But after our turkey dinner, we connected with Son through technology and enjoyed a visit of our family of 4. It wasn't ideal but it was the next best thing to having him home with the rest of us. I think of him every day and can't wait until I can hold him and see him in person.
The knitting has been helping me deal with some anxiety. I am due to go into the hospital next week for my first 6 month check up with my oncologist. I assumed that this would be cancelled due to the pandemic but I haven't heard anything yet. However, I did see an update yesterday that indicated locally we have no people hospitalized due to Covid-19 and there have only been 3 new cases in the last week. The self-isolation seems to be working. I must say that Hubby and I have gone out for a walk twice in the last week. We make sure that if someone is coming towards us on the sidewalk, we quickly turn off that street or we move off the sidewalk and walk in the middle of the road. These 2 times have been the only time that I've gone out. Daughter does my groceries for me every 2 weeks and Hubby makes our bi-weekly trip to Costco if it is needed. The two of them always make sure that they use the hand sanitizer in the car and then also wash their hands in hot, soapy water when they get home after they have unloaded the groceries and put them away. Hubby has taken over the cleaning of the bathrooms but I continue to do the laundry in hot water. I make sure to change the towels daily and I launder the towels every other day. I still do the dusting and the vacuuming as well as the cleaning of the kitchen.
On top of all this, our furnace needed to be replaced immediately. We had a local company come in and they were very good with using masks, gloves and wiping all surfaces with Clorox wipes before they left. So we now have a new furnace and air conditioner. I have to say that I had a good chuckle when they were installing the air conditioner outside........in a flurry of heavy, white snow flakes! I saw the irony and enjoyed a good laugh with the installers but from a distance. It sure helped lighten my mood.
So I am still here. I'm still self-isolating. I am "still". I start my day with reflection, meditation and prayer. It keeps my inner sense of well-being and helps me be still. Reflection with total silence is so refreshing for me. I end up being rejuvenated and less stressed. This morning I woke up feeling anxious and restless. I had my morning cup of coffee but couldn't settle. I was up pacing in front of our living room windows while looking out. I was looking up the street. I looked down the street. I looked at the street across the road from our driveway. I paced some more. Then I realized that I felt like a caged tiger walking from one end of the cage to the other while looking out at the people. So I forced myself to sit. I knitted. I still couldn't settle. So I read my book. I still was restless. I picked up my copy of The Friendship Book and read today's entry. It did nothing for me. Then I picked up a daily reading book that my cousin-in-law/friend gave me that is filled with a scripture reading and then a reflection. It was just what I needed. I read it. I prayed for peace of mind and body. I finally felt an inner stillness that has stayed with me. I think it is very important for us to just be......or just be still.
