As another week of COVID-19 "sheltering in place" unfolded, Debbie began to feel her normal again. Meantime, our daily routine remained roughly the same … breakfast and the newspaper, walking with the now far smaller group (trying to maintain six-feet, or here in Florida,
distance from one another),
Gopher Tortoise living under one of the park model homes we pass
then back to our motorhome for a second cup of coffee while I dive into the daily newspaper puzzles
and Debbie pulls out her knitting.
Two to three days a week I wander down to the lake to sail sometimes alone
When I never lose a race
and at others racing against one or two other boats … when winning is far more challenging.
After lunch, we pretty much "hang loose" for a couple of hours, although Debbie has an mid-afternoon get together with Traci, the young gal across the street, while I generally work on editing photos.
Meanwhile, in an effort to find something additional to keep me occupied (or perhaps challenge my patience), Debbie went all out and spent one whole dollar to buy jig saw puzzle for me. Once started, I found it difficult to ignore it.
However, eventually …
As, under the governor's recent edict, we're supposed to stay at home … for us that boils down to staying put at Sun N Fun (other than for occasional grocery or drug store runs), even heading out alone to do some photography in the area has taken a hit.
Fortunately, two nights ago, I was able to capture the recent "pink" (Paschal) full moon.
The Old Farmer's Almanac says the name "Pink Moon" was given by some Native American tribes after a wildflower known as herb moss pink phlox, or "wild ground" phlox, that grew during this time.
Yesterday, our Rotary Club (back home), whose weekly meetings have been curtailed, held its first "virtual" meeting on Zoom. It seemed to work surprisingly well and a lot was accomplished … particularly as it related to raising monies to help veterans who are suffering economically from layoffs and their families and finding a way to continue our scholarship program for a graduating senior at the local (Neshaminy) high school.
Today's weekly three-mile round trip to grocery store meant my suiting up, as we've decided only one of us will make these trips.
Frankly, I was amazed that well over half of the shoppers, and clearly more men than women, were actually wearing masks … and many gloves (I actually wore a smaller pair than shown).
One wonders what America's "new normal" will be when the current pandemic has run its course. It is, however, clear that medicine and science, not politics, have and will set the country's social and economic agenda.
We continue to be asked when we plan to head home by friends still here, those who have left and others back in Langhorne. Our planned departure is still around May 1s but as that date gets closer, we will reexamine our plans based on the status of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and state sheltering guidelines both there and here in Florida … where the weather has been predictably warm and with hardly any rain, allowing us to spend a lot of our time outdoors.