a mid-may cocktail hour during corona-time

Here we are, another week of stay-at-home orders, the second Wednesday in May. Welcome to my seventh cocktail hour, a virtual world where we STAY HOME and enjoy a beverage. I offer you Cheers! À votre santé!  乾杯/ Kanpai!  Saúde!  Salud! May we all remain healthy, safe, financially afloat, and hopeful despite the barrage of bad news.

Here’s my Covid-19 diary for the last week.  I’m still doing my project for May, which is to take a different walk every day, draw a map and write my thoughts for the day.

Wednesday, May 6:  A little bird is living on our doorstep now, pecking away at our storm door, landing on the handle, and pooping all over our front porch.  Wildlife is getting bolder!  Foxes are all over the place.

I chatted with my friend Jayne today by Zoom; she lives in Jersey, England, and has gotten financial help during her time of unemployment.

Thursday, May 7:  Today is the Flower Moon, named for the flowers that bloom in May. It’s also known as the corn planting moon, or the milk moon.  I felt worse today than ever, now that I’ve finished my round of Prednisone. I felt like I was having anxiety attacks, my heart was out of control, and I felt afraid that whatever I have is a chronic condition that will never go away.  I called my doctor to ask for a specialist, but she didn’t know which kind of specialist I should see.  She asked me to go to INOVA Medical Center, similar to an urgent care, for evaluation.  She can’t see anyone in person who is exhibiting upper respiratory symptoms.

At INOVA, they gave me the COVID-19 test; the nurse practitioner there really didn’t think I had it, but she wanted to rule it out.  She also gave me a chest x-ray, which came back clear, and an EKG, which was normal.  I did have a slightly elevated fever, 99.3, and high blood pressure, which is unusual as I usually have such low blood pressure that people comment on how low it is. I won’t know the result of the COVID-19 test for several days.  Her final diagnosis was allergies, so she told me to take over-the-counter XYZAL and Flonase.  If my symptoms don’t improve in five days, I should fill another antibiotic prescription.

Friday, May 8: Today, I started taking XYZAL and Flonase.  When I walked today, I ran across a kids’ birthday party, with a large group of kids running around in a front yard, and parents standing around.  I saw balloons up for a graduation from Vanderbilt.  I feel sorry for the kids and young people who don’t get to celebrate their milestones.  I’m also happy I don’t have small kids at home.  I think I wouldn’t do well.

It was so cold today, and especially in the evening, that Mike built a fire in the fireplace.

Saturday, May 9: It is another cold day, 46ºF.  I wonder if it will ever be warm. Mike and I walked around Lake Thoreau and the edge of Lake Audubon.  We got take-out from Cafesano: pizzas. I am feeling slightly better today.

Sunday, May 10:  We had a Zoom call with my daughter in Richmond and my eldest son in Denver; they wished me a happy Mother’s Day and caught me up on their lives.  My daughter is working on a story for Richmond Magazine, which is keeping her busy, and her restaurant is opening for take-out only.  My son gave two weeks notice at the butchery where he’s worked for two years; he plans to work gig jobs and try to get a personal training business going.  He also plans to take classes in Kinesiology.  My youngest son missed the Zoom call, but FaceTimed me from Ometope Island in Nicaragua. He is now staying at a hostel there, where he sleeps in an open air hut in a hammock.  He’s made a group of friends there who are of like mind with him, and he said they would love to form a kind of commune there. It was good to talk with all of my adult children. 🙂

I got the COVID-19 test results, and, as I thought, they came back negative.  However, I’m still not feeling good; I have the same symptoms as always, endless congestion.  It feels like I have a constant pool of snot in my throat that I must keep clearing.  It is there 24/7 and has been the same since March 5.  It’s getting discouraging to know even the allergy meds don’t have any effect. I doubt the round of antibiotics will help, but I’ll start taking them (again) on Wednesday.  After trying those, I will see if it is possible to see an allergy specialist.  Heaven forbid you should be sick with anything other than COVID at this time.

Monday, May 11:  It is the land of the walking zombies in my neighborhood.  People I’ve never seen before are walking in big family groups.  I think they must be going crazy with being cooped up with their kids.  I would be!

Tuesday, May 12:  So far, I haven’t had to repeat a walking route; it will be more challenging in the second half of the month as I go through my typical walks.

There were signs today warning of a red fox that was found to have rabies.  Also signs warning of copperheads on the trails. I really do think wildlife is having a heyday.

I love the lyrics to this song by Brett Dennen: “Ain’t No Reason.”  – “I can’t explain why we live this way, we do it every day.”

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In the midst of all this, what can we do to make the most of our stay-at-home orders?  I’ve created a page where I’ll share different ideas I’ve come across of ways to cope during the coronavirus.  It is here: how to make the most of a staycation... or how to cope during the coronavirus #Stayathome orders.  If you have any positive ways to get through this, I invite you to share: bits of humor, projects, what we can do to help others, how to keep our sanity, TV shows or movies to watch, books to read, exercises to do, etc.  Please feel free to express your emotions during this trying time as well.  I’m sure we can all relate to any and all emotions you are feeling.

I wish you all the best during this crisis.  Stay at home, and stay safe, healthy and always hopeful.

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I’m going to write a cocktail hour/diary about this challenging time either weekly or bi-weekly on Wednesdays, depending on how much I have to share.  I invite you to share your own experiences with what we’re going through right now, either in the comments below, or in your own blog post, which I invite you to link below.  I’ll try to keep writing this as long as we are suffering through this together.  I hope that we will get through it unscathed, sooner rather than later.

• Indra, of TravTrails, wrote a journal of her time in Pune, India during the April and May (so far) lockdown time.
  • Pune Journal… May as well….

Thank you to all who shared a journal of time during coronavirus lockdown.

Peace and love be with you all!