life in the old lane

Begining my second week in “serious” lockdown.

When you are in prison, the worst thing that they can do is execute you. The second worst thing is they put you in solitary.

Woke up at about 6:30 AM and it promised to be a  nice sunrise. So, I popped the GoPro on the window sill and started my day.

It was a strange day. But all these days are strange. I sort of grumbled that the directions about what to do with the great big meal bags was confusing. Well, guess who ended up laying on the floor taking pictures of plastic boxes and paper bags.

Which yields this:

You would have to live here to understand why this matters. The sign will not win any design contests.

Then late this afternoon Bad Bunny from DIY Lockdown – day 11 of xx was reported MIA. Gotta make a wanted poster for him tomorrow.

Also on tap for tomorrow is plow through all the pictures I took (with the totally wrong lens) of a concert by ** news flash ** an R&B group. The concert was outside. And most likely violated the spirit of our state lockup rules. But, it was good.

The Orange One. Yes, he still exists. According to the NY Times just now: President Trump on Tuesday said that he planned to stop United States funding of the World Health Organization while reviewing its role in what he described as “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” I would like to withhold funding from The Orange One.

Incoming email. A staff member at our sister Asylum tested positive for Covid-19. Unfortunately, that staff member worked on their skilled nursing unit.

Gratitude

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My replacement credit card arrived early this morning. Grateful to have plastic again.

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Mālama pono

 

The day started out bleak and rainy. But, it is currently in the mid-70s with glorious sunshine.

I have been locked up so long that I have even started to bore myself!

My big event of the day was frying an egg. When it was still OK to do things like go to the grocery I bought 6 eggs. Today’s lunch was supposed to be a salad and they promised that it would have hard-boiled eggs. Also pecans, and tomato. Well, there were pecans and 1 cherry tomato. But no sign of an egg. Not to worry – I can supply my own egg. Ended up making my own fried egg sandwich. Picked the pecans out of the lettuce and ate them. Along with the single cherry tomato. Put some of the lettuce on my excellent fried egg sandwich.

I am not going to complain about the food. It’s not like I have lost any weight!

And this was rather sweet. Inside my giant lunch bag with the defective salad, was a smaller bag. It contained cookies and milk. Hello smallkidtime.

Gratitude

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Grateful the sun is shining. And I have my window open. Blue sky. Fluffy clouds. National Cathedral. Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Washington Monument. Capital. Air Force Memorial. And crows.

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Mālama pono

When I came in from the exercise yard, I found a Great Big Bag Lunch outside my door. Put it on a plate. Pulled out a fine craft beer – I fear craft breweries might not weather this storm too well. But, I intend to do my part.

I am down to my last 12 bottles of beer. I never thought I would be worried about my stash of beer. Actually, I am down to 11 bottles now. Because I drank one with lunch. I was considering rationing the beer. But, “Nobody is promised tomorrow” and we are supposed to be living in the moment these days – so – I’ll worry about beers farther down the path.

The big event today was discovering some miscreant has my credit card number. Yesterday I got a charge for a subscription to Noom – which I think is some sort of diet thing. And today I got a charge for a Conde Nast Magazines. Neither for much money. And not what I would buy with a stolen credit card number. But, I canceled the card. Now, I have to go to “everywhere” and reset credit card numbers when the new card arrives. Fortunately, I got nothing but time.  I might be time to tweak up my computer security too. I get a little lax about running the VPN and some of my passwords are older than dirt.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I am adapting to this new reality. Not everyone here at The Asylum is so fortunate.

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Mālama pono

Orchids are huge fun. This little guy has survived for over a year. Thanks to Carol who gave it to me and Sally who fostered it while I was gone. Also, thanks to Singapore that showed me orchids liked sunshine.

These are strange times. The airplanes are missing. For the last 10+ years, I have watched planes come and go from National Airport. Every 30 seconds during most of the day and evening one would be taking off and another landing. Now, minutes go by with no action.

The mystery of the day. How can an old woman, who gets room-service meals have totally messed up a tiny kitchen in 24 hours? Takes real talent.

These days, cashews are more valuable around here than cash. And if this whole thing ends really badly. Well, let’s not go there. Carlton called that “wreckage of the future” and I am running this lockdown using Carlton rules. One day at a time.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I haven’t gone batshit crazy, yet.

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Mālama pono

You know, if we had had digital cameras when I still had a body (and a love life) there might be a lot of nude pictures in my archives.

This is what I did today. Only my friends at the asylum will be interested in this, and they have already seen it.

It is a PSA for our in-house website to try to get the residents to wear facemasks. And, it kept me busy taking pictures and putting them together in a slide show.

Gratitude

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Grateful dinner arrived. Cheesecake for dessert.

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Mālama pono

Today’s adventure was: Figure out how to keep the t-shirt masks clean. This is what I came up with. Put mask, a squirt of soap, water in a bowl. Put the bowl in microwave and nuke until it boils. While this is going on, make a nice French press coffee and peel an orange. Remove bowl from microwave. Drink coffee and eat orange while the mask soaks in hot, soapy water. When the coffee is pau, rinse mask. Wring. Hang in the window to dry. And after about 6 hours – you have a nice clean t-shirt mask.

This is my view of the world at about 8 AM. I got up shortly after this and went for my aerobic walkabout. Did 2.5 miles. Think I was averaging 2.7 miles/hour. I am not the fastest bat in the cave!

I don’t have to worry about this. But when I came back from my afternoon stroll – the front (only) door wouldn’t open. Yikes! was there yet another new rule? Nope, it was apparently the wind.

We did get another new regulation today. We get an assigned day to use the laundry facilities. And, we got an explanation about yesterday’s “No grocery deliveries”. They intended to say no grocery deliveries from family members. Which means I will still be able to get quail eggs and caviar delivered from Balducci’s.

This was what came in my Big Bag of Lunch. Well, actually only the salad came. The roll is from my squirrel cache. It just tastes better on real dishes. And not out of a green plastic box. Besides, I may not have a stove. But, I do have a dishwasher.

Gratitude

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1. 1. Nice cosy home
   2. Plenty to eat
   3. Beer and coffee to drink
   4. Friends coming over tonight via Zoom

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Mālama pono

This might be the last photo-op from the aphid infected tulip that I cut on Sunday. But, I learned something. Tulips can actually have a scent. Guess I never had one of the scented ones indoors before.

When I went out for my morning cardio walk at 10 AM, it was an all-hands effort getting great big bag lunches to 400 or so residents who are not on the nursing or assisted living floors.

When I got back to my room, I had a great big bag lunch.

Well, I saved it for dinner. Lunch being a sandwich. Think of this as an airplane meal about 30 years ago. But, hey, these are trying times.

Management added a bunch of new draconian rules today. They essentially cut off all outside delivery of food either from groceries or restaurants. Also, if you leave the grounds for any reason except a medical emergency you will be quarantined for 5 days.

Fortunately, I have PLAN B. My freezer which is chocked full of things that will sustain life. Bacon, muffins, sandwiches, soup, slices of tenderloin just ready to become part of a steak salad, And, I have beer, coffee, and chocolate enough to last a month. More if I act moderately. And, the Asylum does deliver from the liquor store. Amazon sells coffee. The old bat might just make it.

I think they are getting closer to locking us in our rooms. That will be hard.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I got my masks made in time now that I must wear them every time I step out of my apartment.

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My primary purpose is to stay alive and not endanger others.

Mālama pono

My tulip seems to have aphids.  They are welcome to stay. As long as they stay on the tulip. But soon they will be off to the composting works.

It has been a week since our governor said “Stay Home”. And, I have been largely confined to my apartment. I am a little concerned. I am starting to like this total lack of responsibility. My primary purpose is to stay alive.

Took a shower this afternoon and realized that I could go directly from shower to jammies. Never mind that it was 3 in the afternoon. Dinner tonight doesn’t really make me want to go wait in line for my box-o-dinner. And tomorrow, we get “room service”.

This is breakfast.  It seems like elder abuse. Not breakfast. My idea is simple: Management should get this for breakfast. And they shouldn’t be allowed to get anything before they come to the office.  Notice the absence of prunes? We almost had a riot last summer when they ran out of prunes for a week.

I have made alternative plans for breakfast. Oh, yes, and tomorrow’s menu includes “root vegetable and yucca” soup. One of my friends wrote:

There are not many choices and are obviously chosen to simply keep them alive…barely. One item is a soup made out of roots and a cactus….can insects be far behind?

I have another plan for tomorrow’s dinner as well. Just because they bring it to my door doesn’t mean that I have to eat it.

I don’t have to change for dinner these days. Or, after tomorrow noon when room service starts ever get dressed at all. But I do need to be sure I look ok on Zoom. This is a strange world, isn’t it?

Gratitude

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Grateful at so far The Asylum remains Covid-19 free.

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Mālama pono

Coming to the end of seven days of following the governor’s orders to “Stay Home”. It was sunny and warm today. And, mentally I am doing better than yesterday. I tried really hard to not go clicking around looking for “news”.

It is sort of a dilemma. Am I behind the fence? Is the rest of the world behind the fence? I tell myself that the fence is to keep me safe.

Thanks to Trude for the heads up on this one.

Yes, boys and girls. New Jersey’s unemployment insurance system is 40 plus years old and is written in COBOL. Which the good governor pronounced cobalt. Where the hell are you Adm. Grace  Hopper? Oh yeah, right. In Arlington Cemetry.

Gratitude

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Grateful for friends.

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Not too shabby for a bunch of old women just trying to stay alive. And sane.

Mālama pono

I am not having the best possible day today, mentally. Everywhere I go in the Old Bat Cave, I find myself looking for “news”. News of what for goodness sake? There is no news. And if there is news the news will find me. Why do I have to keep looking for it? Hoping it will change.

I am approaching this period like I believe Carlton would have. One Day At A Time. So, it was time to pull out one of Carlton’s  AA sayings and t-shirt slogans.

If my brain didn’t need me for transportation, it would have killed me a long time ago – AA According to Carlton

I put all of my devices except my Kindle and the computer which I disconnected from the internet in the closet. And closed the door. I may not let them out until morning. Gotta reconnect the computer to the internet to post this and I am having a Zoom session with friends this evening. But, for now, NO MORE NEWS (fake or real).

What is about this time that has turned me into a squirrel? This morning I stashed half of my scrambled eggs and hash into the freezer. For what? For some future famine? Sooner or later The Asylum will institute “room service” for all of our meals and we will get “whatever”. So, my squirreled away stuff might be pretty darn tasty. If not, after this is over, I’ll have lots of lunches and snacks on tap. When this is over, I’ll be fat as a pig. Better a fat pig than a slim cadaver.

Our chaplain is trying hard to keep the faith.

Gratitude

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Grateful to be out in the sun.

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Best time, so far, today was spent working on the WildChild garden box.

Mālama pono

Yes, made it to another sunrise. And though another day. Got my outside time in today. Almost 9,000 steps.  And, as a bonus, I had a nice socially distanced walk with a friend.

Just so you know that we are not all sweet little old law-abiding ladies. The Asylum has taken to Super Gluing the bottles of hand sanitizer to heavy (if you are a LOL they are heavy) ceramic floor tiles.

Got this advertising mailer this morning. Somehow, winning a trip to Iceland doesn’t seem like such a great deal right now. First Prize 3 nights in Iceland. Second Prize 6 nights in Iceland.

Gratitude

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Grateful anytime I accidentally run into a friend when out of the Old Bat Cave on “authorized business”. Also grateful for “my” dog run.

The Asylum has a dog run. There is a bench in the dog run. 3 elderly little dogs live at The Asylum. Two of the dogs belong to ladies who wouldn’t be able to get to the dog run. And the 3rd dog wouldn’t be caught dead in a dog run. So, it is my little personal outdoor space.

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Mālama pono

It must be OK because I woke up another day. Very windy outside, so I stayed indoors. Went downstairs to get breakfast, but I had leftovers for lunch. Also, leftovers of dinner – tonight’s offering does not interest me enough to do 11 flights of stairs.  (196 stairs)

Today’s project was to make a face mask. Two face masks to be exact. I sacrificed a Fredricks of Hollywood T-shirt to the cause.

Sharp-eyed viewers might notice that I am using my cooktop as my work area. It’s not like I use it to cook. But, I might as we get farther into the siege. And elderly computer hacks will recognize a Moore Business Forms Ruler from the mid-1960s. Back when we were going to the moon. Not making masks out of t-shirts in a vain attempt to save our sorry asses.

The finished product.

If I can make one so can you.  Easy directions.

Gratitude

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Grateful for a really good laugh. In Virginia, one buys booze from our state-owned liquor stores aka The ABC Store.

Today the Asylum put this announcement on our website:

The Asylum will go to the liquor store for me.  I am really at a loss for words. I can only laugh. Too bad we don’t have a state cannabis store!

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Mālama pono