The highlight of the week was seeing my grandson Wyatt for an early Easter egg Hunt on Friday. I hadn’t been able to see him, up close and personal, for a couple weeks but since he was leaving for North Carolina the next day, to see his other grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins, A.J. decided it was silly for me not to see him. He arrived in his Sunday best, saying “This is the best day ever!” He had a great time finding the 11 hardboiled dyed Easter eggs and 30 plastic eggs hidden around our backyard.

I changed his clothes (he said he was uncomfortable), fed him Spaghettios for lunch and Zeke and I took him down the trail to look at the stuffed animals neighbors have placed in the trees for children to find during their bike rides. The trail is a couple blocks away from our house and Wyatt kept asking “When am I going to see the animals?”

I said “Wyatt, you have to be patient. Do you know what that means? Sometimes we have to wait a little bit for things.”

This made me think of all of us in the pandemic. It’s been so hard to be at home, to not go out as we used to, to not be able see our friends and family and to self-isolate. But, we too, have to be patient. Of course, it’s not the same when what you’re waiting for is within sight and a couple blocks away. We have no idea how long the pandemic will last and if the world, as we knew it, will ever go back to normal.

The other exciting news our family had this week was that Lauren, my oldest stepdaughter, got into University of Florida’s LLM program for getting her Masters in Tax Law! Yipee! We cracked open the proscecco (although that’s not been that different than every other night the last month) and toasted her acceptance. Now we have to adjust to the fact that we’ll have a Gator in the house. Zeke noted she’s graduated as a Seminole, soon to be a UM Cane graduate, and now UF. Go Gators!?!

I finally got up the nerve and stepped on the scale. I was relieved to find I was the same weight before COVID-19! About five pounds (at least) from where I want to be, but still! I consider this a minor miracle, given the stress eating, boredom eating, take-out food and excessive wine drinking that’s been going on.

When I mentioned this fact to Zeke he said:

“Well, then we need to cut out this” and pointed to his wine glass.

“Are you crazy?” I said. “You are NOT taking away my wine!”

I told him I attributed not losing weight more to eating ribs, pizza and pasta than my wine drinking. I’ve been mixing up the Pinot Grigio with Sauvignon Blanc, Rose and Sparkling, with a little Albarino thrown in for good measure. I get bored drinking the same wine all the time.

Speaking of wine, Total Wine has a great method for getting your wine. You order and pay online. They send you an email when your order is ready to be picked up. You drive to Total Wine, park in one of the designated spots and text them the spot you are in. They will then bring out your wine, stick it in the trunk and you’re set to go. No contact whatsoever and you’ve got a week’s worth of wine that will probably last you three days.

The other new thing we tried was DIY pizza. I had a gift card for Farinelli 1937 in Coconut Grove that I wanted to use. I called up and ordered one pizza special (Truffle pizza $30) and one do-it-yourself pizza (prociutto with arugula $14). Zeke picked them up and brought them home. They give you everything you need to make your own pizza, including the flour. We had a pizza stone which we heated in the oven, while we held the Truffle pizza on low. Our do-it-yourself pizza turned out awesome! I liked it better than the twice-as-expensive Truffle pizza. This isn’t as easy as take-out, since you do have to cook and clean up yourself, but it’s worth trying.

Another big hit was ordering the Family Meal Deal from Sports Grille. For $50, you get a rack and half of ribs, pulled pork sliders, French fries, Cole slaw, macoroni and cheese and Texas toast. It fed six of us with leftovers, so it was a good deal. The Mac and cheese, however, was straight up Kraft from the box. Pick-up was curbside.

Other DIY Miami Restaurants:
Eating House has Pasta Kits. Pollo Tropical has Citrus Marinated chicken. Nave in Coconut Grove has $25 pizza kits. Coyo Taco in Coconut Grove has a Family Pack from $25 to $34. Chug’s Diner in Coconut Grove has Meal Kits for $60.

I’ve been cleaning religiously every morning, the countertops, knobs, light switches etc…

“You know I read this article on MSN,” Zeke told me, “You’re supposed to let the spray sit on the counter for at least 10 seconds before wiping it off. And, when you wipe with paper towels, you need to keep folding it over for every knob, so the germs aren’t transferred from one to the other.”

“So, do you want to start doing the cleaning?” I asked.

“No, I’m just letting you know what I read,” Zeke said.

Yeah, thanks. Likewise, when I’m cooking, he has a tendency to look over my shoulder and make recommendations. When I boiled salted water to put asparagus in for Easter dinner, he pulled out the steamer.

“Steaming is a better way of cooking asparagus,” he informed me.

“Do you want to cook then?” I asked.

No, he didn’t. He just wanted to tell me how to do it.

Easter was a small affair, with just Zeke, Lauren, Rachel, Emma and myself. We had a Publix spiral-cut ham, biscuits, asparagus with lemon sauce, sweet potato soufflé and fresh pineapple salad with raspberries. No one had room for dessert, but we have plenty of leftover ham.

My big outing this week was to CVS for my medicine. I know I should’ve had it delivered (since medicine is an essential need, CVS will deliver it) but I didn’t get my act together in time, so I just went to pick it up. There were signs posted at the entrance saying customers were required to wear masks. I had my mask on and surprise!, so did everyone inside, from customers to staff. In Miami, this kind of compliance is a minor miracle. After picking up my medicine, I ventured into the hair coloring section to look for a tip kit for my hair, which is getting darker by the day. None of the kits looked familiar to me, from when I used to do my hair, so I gave up and went to check out.

The cashier was situated behind a plexiglass window, with a narrow slot in which to slide items. This made it hard to scan some of the bigger items, like my Epsom salts. I had a question about a BOGO, so the manager came up to check on it. He had gloves on, but no mask and stood inches away from me. Likewise, a customer in the checkout lane next to me had no mask on.

“Aren’t people supposed to be wearing masks?” I asked my cashier.

She couldn’t understand me, because of my mask, but finally told me, yes they were.

They are calling these people covidiots and I’ve encountered more than my fair share, like the skateboarder who passed Zeke and I on the sidewalk when we were walking, then doubled back and passed us going the other way. We were near Epiphany Church and hopped up the hill to evade him. He almost seemed amused at this, like he was getting his jollies out of scaring these old people. Some millennials are calling the coronavirus the “boomer remover”. Thanks millennials.

I’ve been looking around my house and noticing things that need to be fixed up and organized, so I ordered a drawer organizer and rubbermaid storage containers for my kitchen and hangers for my closet. My housekeeper has a very specific way of folding my underwear, so I took out a pair to figure it out so I could replicate it. It may be a Marie Kwondo thing, I’m not sure.

Besides that, I REALLY miss my housekeeper Isa. Big, fluffy orange hairballs from our cat Eloise have started accumulating around my house. These, Isa normally took care of with her huge, industrial strength vacuum cleaner. I don’t even have a vacuum cleaner, so I’ve been trying to make due with my dust buster, which I recently ordered on Amazon.

Speaking of Marie Kwondo, I haven’t read her book but did read an article online that said to start with organizing your desk, specifically with your pens. She said, oftentimes, pens we have on our desk are just junky, give-aways, not pretty or fluid pens that “spark joy”. I looked at mine, and sure enough, my pen holder was filled to the brim with crummy pens I’d picked up from one place or the other. I went through each one, testing how it wrote. If it didn’t write easily or hold a good memory for me, I tossed it into a pile for the Vets of America.

They aren’t collecting items now, but I will have a big bag when this whole thing is over. One thing I was going to donate, but decided not to, was a white cotton tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother. It had a lot of rips and holes in it, but I decided I may as well sew it while I’m watching T.V. As I sat in my rocking chair watching The View, the lacy tablecloth draped over my lap, it reminded me of a doll of a little old lady sewing lace, my grandmother had brought me from Brussels.

Other projects I’ve been doing: I made applesauce out of apples that were getting wrinkled, made quick pickles out of a cucumber and made more homemade ricotta. I’ve also been saving the bottoms of Romaine lettuce, celery, scallions to grow in the kitchen and the top to a pineapple to plant. My garden’s looking good and I had a UF Journalism student (Carla) come over to film it for a student project. I talked about how it’s been comforting to have gardening as therapy in the pandemic, as well as a practical source of fresh food for my family.

Alcohol sales are up a lot, Tiger King has a new episode and people apparently are having weird dreams during the pandemic. I had a dream the other night that I went on a cruise with my sister Kelley and sister-in-law Becky. As we got on board our cruise, we were surprised by some friends that had come along for the trip unexpectedly. I’m not the Dream Doctor, but I have a feeling that means we’re all on this crazy ride together. We thought we were going for a three hour tour, but it turns out we’re all stranded on this desert island, for who knows how long? But it’s nice to be here among friends.

Up Next: What to do with Easter Leftovers and Foods to Fight Viruses

Tiger King

Yes we watched it. Yes it’s good, crazy good. It’s definitely a case of truth being stranger than fiction. You can’t make this s**t up! If you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for? It’s the wild Binge everyone’s gobbling up while sheltering in place.

Banana Bread

People stuck at home must have a lot of bananas going bad on the counter because Banana Bread, that easy-to-bake favorite, has been everywhere in the coronavirus era. It has been an era already, right? Chrissy Tiegen traded her homemade banana bread for Romaine lettuce, which she couldn’t find at the grocery store. I’ve made some and a couple ladies I’m on text threads with, have as well. Banana bread is nice to have around when you have a house-full of people, which I do these days. This recipe is from the Serve it Up! cookbook and was contributed by my former tennis teammate, Kelly Glascock. I also like to add a little vanilla to the batter and fold in toasted nuts.

Kona Inn Banana Bread

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup softened butter

6 ripe mashed bananas (3 cups)

4 eggs, well beaten

2 1/2 cups cake flour (if you don’t have cake flour, remove 2 TBL flour and put in 2 TBL cornstarch)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. With electric beater, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add bananas and eggs, beating until well mixed. Sift together dry ingredients. Blend with banana mixture but DO NOT overtax. Pour into 2 lightly greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until firm in the center and edges begin to separate from the pans. Cool on rack 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Family Togetherness

Some friends of mine who have been missing their adult children, got their wish answered when said children flew home to the coop. How said togetherness and family bonding is going I cannot say, but it seems like an endless Christmas vacation at our house. There’s lots of drinking, overeating, family squabbles, followed by long walks around the neighborhood. Be careful what you wish for.

Cleaning!

My theory is you’re either a cleaner or a cooker (aka chef). I definitely fall in the later category and don’t enjoy cleaning unless I’m stressed or angry. But lately, I’ve been cleaning all surfaces, handles, light switches and knobs first thing in the morning with 409. My house- at least the handles- has never been so clean. When Kim Kardashian starts having to do her own laundry (as she’s claimed), you know things are bad!

Tik Tok

I’d never heard about this app, but Emma explained to me it’s like Instagram but with only videos that last 15 seconds, no still photos. A lot of them are dance videos but trending now on Tik Tok is a frothy coffee-making video that Emma is obsessed with and making every day (and night). If I get bored enough, I may have to learn a dance and post it on Tik Tok. Kids, get ready to be embarressed.

Zoom

I’d never heard of Zoom before (only Face Time and Skype) but it’s become a super popular way to have meetings, classes and Virtual Happy Hours. My husband Zeke is in a Zoom Happy Hour with a bunch of men who normally meet at Riviera Country Club, called the “Table of Knowledge”. Ahem. He was able to join the Virtual Group last night and they all caught up with their lives and how they’ve been dealing with life in captivity. It’s so important to stay connected to our support groups at this time.

Bear Hunts

Neighborhoods all over the country are scheduling bear hunts (after the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt), with stuffed animals replacing the real thing, hidden in bushes, trees and windows. Our neighborhood had one yesterday and I had, what I thought, was a brilliant idea. Emma had a HUGE (53 inch) Teddy Bear an old boyfriend had given her. He actually wanted her to take it to college (she didn’t), but my grandson Wyatt loved going into her room and getting scared by the bear. Emma came to hate the bear and wanted to donate it, so I asked her if I could put it out for the Bear Hunt. She agreed and I wheeled it down the street in a wagon to a busy corner. I made a sign that said “I Love You”, to show the kids on the bear hunt my support. I went to retrieve it around 6 p.m. and ran into Emma, who was walking away from the bear’s spot. “Someone took it,” she said. They did, however, leave my sign. I hope the bear went to a good home. Sigh.

People Who Need People

I’m in five different text threads with friends and acquaintances. One is just a fun group (Coronavirus Go Away) that sends jokes, memes and practical advise like where to find toilet paper. Another is a spiritual group with inspirational quotes and postings and the occasional cute Italian yoga instructor video. My Book Club Wats Ap group tends toward more intellectual articles and information. We have a nurse in that group that keeps us informed with practical advise and current CDC guidelines, but we also share movie, TV and book recommendations, word searches, photos of our organized spice drawers and uplifting videos from China, Italy and Spain. My garden club has asked members to post photos of their gardens and projects as a way to keep in touch.

Gardening and DIY projects

Apparently Home Depot is one of the economic winners in this pandemic, with some people taking the opportunity of their time off to start or complete home projects and gardening. My 82-year old mother has been out in the yard “for the first time in years,” according to her. “You wouldn’t believe to what length these yard men will go to avoid hauling stuff away,” she said of her backyard discoveries. She’s also painting pots and light fixtures around the house and had the foresight to buy Netflix, Amazon and Clorox stock when this whole thing started.

Puzzles, Board Games and Paint By Number

The 1500 piece puzzle is finally finished! Yipee. Apparently, puzzles are a hot commodity right now. I’ve also dusted off some board games- Scrabble and Scattegories- to have a Game Night this week. Lauren is anxiously awaiting the Paint By Number kit she’s ordered, but it’s been delayed. Everything seems to be taking longer to ship these days. Thank God for Amazon Prime.

InstaCart

I’d heard about InstaCart before Corona and had an account, but had never tried it before last week. I was most excited about it originally, because the stores they serviced included Cotsco, thereby eliminating that trip. I ordered via InstaCart from Publix. My first order was a bit of a fail, the second one was better. They give you a time frame they will deliver. Mine said between 4 and 6 pm. They actually came at 7:20 pm and left 4 plastic bags outside the front door (instead of the bench where I’d requested). They do keep you updated re: your shopper and replacements they have made, but I just noticed I got charged for a head of cauliflower I didn’t get. You get a receipt at the end so check it closely. Also, I ordered a buy one, get one free (BOGO) cans of refried beans and since they were out of the 16 ounce cans, my shopper substituted a HUGE can (31 ounces) instead. Not exactly what I had in mind. Better light a match!

Working out at Home

The walks, walks, walks! I’m lucky that I ‘m already set up at home with free weights, an exercise ball, jump rope and exercise bands, but when Lauren tried to order some weights, they were all sold out. With people not being able to go to the gym, they are turning to working out at home. I’ve never so many people in my neighborhood walking, biking and roller blading than in the last two weeks. I’ve also been doing yoga videos on You Tube called Blissful Yoga Flow for Unsettling Times by Boho Beautiful.

Take-Out Food

One can only cook so much, especially when one’s cooking Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. We are lucky that in this day and age, our take-out options aren’t limited to pizza and Chinese Food, like in the old days (when I was a kid). During the coronavirus pandemic, is the perfect time to try those restaurants you never got around to dining at. Of course, the atmosphere and presentation won’t be the same, but you will get to sample their food, drinks and dishes. Pick it up yourself, if you can, as the delivery services cut into the restaurant’s bottom line. See my earlier post for recommendations and information.

Masks

First we were told you didn’t need a mask unless you were sick. Now we know that up to 25% of people with coronavirus don’t show any symptoms and those that do fall ill with symptoms are contagious up to 48 hours before they realize they’re sick. They are coming up with new mask guidelines as we speak, but it appears it certainly will help stop spreading the virus if everyone wore them. Of course, that’s if you can get your hands on a mask. We don’t have any, but I do have a plethora of bandanas. So if you see me out and about, I am not the Frito Bandito, I’m just trying to save my self (and you) from infection!

Toilet Paper

AKA “White Gold”, it’s got to be the hottest commodity right now. Our family’s tp of choice is Charmin (“Love the Go”), but we are making due with some toilet paper Zeke rescued out of his office building. It’s not Charmin, but at least it’s 2-ply. This crisis has brought out the best and worst (hoarders) in people and has also shown how particular we are about our brands of toilet paper. Sushi Maki in South Miami is giving out toilet paper rolls, with their sushi rolls and luckily stores are now limiting the amount individuals can purchase.

Hand Sanitizer

Purell is the brand of choice and I gave my last two small bottles to the girls. Luckily, my sister Elise gave me the heads-up that Ace Hardware had some and I was able to get some more (off-brand) hand sanitizers. It’s still best to wash your hands with foaming soap and hot water while singing Happy Birthday for 20 seconds, but since that’s not always possible (in the grocery store for example), hand sanitizer is a life-saver (literally). I just saw a video demonstrating how flammable it is, so keep it away from flames. You can make your own, if you have Aloe Vera Gel and rubbing alcohol, but I haven’t been able to find alcohol.

Self-Care

It was a buzz word before the Corona s**t hit the fan, but now we all have a lot of time on our hands and can no longer rely on our salon, mani/pedi spot, facialist or masseuse to go to due to: Stay at Home orders. I’ve given myself a mani and am contemplating which color nail polish to use for my pedi. My sister Kelley gave me a box of facial masks as a Christmas present and I hadn’t gotten around to use them, but now I have nothing but time on my hands. I like to put one on, lay down and meditate for 20 minutes.

Meditation

My friend Sumita made a beautiful video on Instagram telling us to get our MEDS- Meditation, Exercise, Diet and Sleep. My Guided Meditation I planned with the family was a bust (no one showed up but me), but it’s more important than ever to calm the mind, breathe and relax. I have an app on my phone “Simply Being” that I use, but other apps are “Calm” and I’ve also done “Headspace”, which is good for beginners. There are also guided meditations on You Tube. I’m worried about my family, my friends, our country, our health care workers, people out of work, the hungry and suffering, our economy, our future, the world. But when my mind jumps ahead into worst case scenarios, I have to stop myself and just concentrate on this day, this moment and trust we will all get through this. And meditation helps.

Inspirational E-mails and Texts

I’ve been invited to a Women’s Virtual Table of 8, which is where you invite 8 women you admire to sit at your virtual table, via email and text. Another email I received was asking each participant to send an inspirational quote to the person that’s #1 on the list, move #2 up to one and put your name as #2. Like the dreaded chain letter of our youth, or those friendship breads of the 80’s, you might wish you didn’t get tagged on this, but it is trending. So far, I’ve only received one quote, but it was a good one.

“Today is a Difficult Day,” said Pooh.

There was a pause.

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Piglet.

“No,” said Pooh after a bit. “No, I don’t think I do.”

“That’s okay,” said Piglet, and he came and sat by his friend.

“What are you doing?” asked Pooh.

“Nothing really,” said Piglet. “Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don’t feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either. But goodness,” continued Piglet, “Difficult Days are so much easier when you now you’ve got someone there for you. And I’ll always be there for you Pooh.”

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs, he thought that his best friend had never been more right.

A.A. Milne

Coming up: How to Shop and stay Healthy at the Grocery Store and Foods that Fight Viruses