The Scoop

Hey Gang! It’s been close to a couple of months since I last posted and boy has the world changed. I am in a complete daze as I am sure most of you are also. I know what I’ve been going through is inconsequential compared to others’ stories but I wanted to check in and let you know I’m still here. I hope you will let me know how you are doing.

The Daze

I’ll try not to go too long but here’s how things have been going for me. We were spending the winter in Arizona but saw the writing on the wall and came back to Idaho and started staying home at the beginning of March. Soon after we got back to Idaho my mom who lives in Missouri and had been sick for a very long time passed away. I knew it was going to happen but it still hit me hard for a couple of reasons. I was 1500 miles away and due to the Corona virus unable to travel back for her funeral. By then funeral homes where not letting more than ten people attend and I couldn’t risk catching the virus while traveling and spreading it to my dad and other high risk family. So I had to watch my mom’s funeral on Facebook Live. I hate Facebook and did not even have an account but created one for the funeral. The saddest thing I have had to do in my life was sit alone in my office at my computer and say goodbye to my mom. I have not even completely processed it yet so will stop there.

A couple of weeks after mom passed I was in my kitchen making dinner and watching the evening news. They were saying that every three minutes someone was dying in New York from the virus and my heart was heavy. Suddenly I heard a boom above my head and then several consecutive booms and then is sounded and felt like the house was coming down on me. I started out of the kitchen as my husband ran down the stairs. I asked what was going on and he told me it was an earthquake. I had never experienced one but he had several times in his life. We picked up our dogs and went outside where neighbors were already congregated. It was over by then and nothing seemed severely damaged but my nerves. I just broke down for a while. Later we straightened pictures on the walls and picked up things that had fallen but overall everything was fine. Idaho had just had it’s second biggest earthquake ever, a 6.5 magnitude. It was felt in five other states and originated about 75 miles north of us. We haven’t had a chance to check our house in the mountains but the cameras show nothing seems disturbed. We are so grateful no one was hurt.

At this point I am on my guard as it seems the world is in a state of confusion, stress and sadness. All I know to do is keep on keeping on.

My Routine

I try to stay in a routine because is seems to help me stay positive. I get up a 5 AM everyday, my normal time for most my adult life. I have my coffee, walk my dogs and then go for a two mile walk. I come home and try to do projects around the house. I do routine cleaning and then spring projects like organizing closets, cabinets, etc. I plan meals and cook them. I am snacking too much so I do a two mile walk in the afternoon too.

I wear exercise clothes most days because I am always moving. I do four miles of walking, five days a week and I do weight lifting and yoga three days a week. I don’t have M&Ms in the house but if I did I would eat them all the time. I can’t wait to get my hands on some. Ha ha.

We use Walmart and a couple of local grocery stores to order online and pick up essentials. And we use Instacart.com to get our Costco orders delivered to us. We have a staging area in the garage where we put things for a few days before they go into the pantry and we have a refrigerator in the garage where we put the cold things for a day or two plus we wipe everything off with wipes or Lysol spray. We basically see no one except neighbors out walking or in the yard. We have amazing neighbors and enjoy chatting from a distance. We’ve done this for four weeks now.

I was able to get my hair color ordered from Walmart (not sure that is essential) and was able to freshen my color. I had a good tan going while in Arizona but it is now fading. We are starting to have nice days here in Idaho and I’m planning on planting some garden vegetables and have already been filling my pots with flowers.

Next week I plan on painting my front door. I picked a pretty color called Starless Night. I also ordered a gorgeous wreath with Hydrangeas to hang on the door when I’m done painting. Spring flowers are coming up and some even blooming so at least we can count on that. It’s the little things that mean so much right now.

So that’s how things are here. How’s things in your neck of the woods?

Peace!

Cheryl