Sunday, March 15, 2020

I was out the door to do some grocery shopping first thing this morning. I had a list and wasn’t really looking for anything virus-related but I did pick up some extra meat and frozen vegetables for the freezer. I had potatoes, onions, and salad mixes on the list and I picked up a few extras in anticipation of two sets of guests during the week. I didn’t find the shelves particularly empty, but I didn’t head down the paper products aisle so I don’t know what the situation was there. I looked for hand sanitizer for the Hall but didn’t find any; I know we have one there but I anticipate it may “walk” over the next few weeks.

My plan was to make a Shepherd’s Pie for tomorrow’s guest and serve it with a salad. The cleaning was done (as much as I intended to do) for his visit. Next Saturday we had two guests arriving so the sheets and towels would have to be washed, the spare room bed changed and the futon set up upstairs. My plan was for another Shepherd’s Pie and a salad, but just to mix it up a bit I bought a different salad mix!

I finished my embroidery block at about the same time as Pat came home from Texada. We listened to a news conference from Ottawa and decided, based on what we heard, to cancel both of our shows. The warnings that came out of the news conference was to self-isolate if you were in the over-70 group (hard to imagine that is us) and most of the ticket holders were that age. They also said that non-essential gatherings should be avoided and that is what truly made us act. It won’t be easy dealing with the refunds but we both are confident we made the right choice.

While news of the cancellations spread through social media, and before the phone started ringing, we took a walk along the sea wall. There were more birds down there than I’ve ever seen – a result of the herring coming back this year. There were a lot of people as well; I guess they took to heart the news that walking outside wasn’t harmful to your health.

The cancellations mean I’ll have a “normal” week – sewing two days and computer work for three. I should have time for some sewing as well but I have a meeting to prepare for so I’ll have to see how that goes.

We’re off tonight to a local pub for pizza (best pizza ever) and to hear a bit of music. We’ll maintain a social distance (and the alcohol should help).