Field Trip to Menard's

We returned from Florida four days ago, and although we haven't been in quarantine, like people returning from another country, we  kept to ourselves, even before Friday's stay-at-home order. Son Chris delivered necessities we had trouble finding, like Kleenex, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and coffee.

We're allowed to go for walks, hit the compost site, as well as shop for groceries and other necessities. Fortunately, permissible destinations include hardware stores. Yesterday, I tried, without success, to buy moving boxes from Menard's online store, so today Bob drove me over to the local Menard's, where I also picked up a few other items, including snacks and drinks.

Minnesotans are an obedient lot and no one in the store went beyond anyone else's invisible six-foot personal space. Disinfectant wipes were prominently displayed at the entrance, so I wiped down my cart.  The person ahead of me at checkout moved quickly and I maintained  my distance from the cashier. The employees were obviously well trained and the store seemed like a safe place to be.

New Normal

I really hope this so-called "new normal" doesn't last!I miss the daily social exchanges of what used to be everyday life, and laughter! I'm reminded of Cosmo Castorini's father in Monstruck: "Somebody tell a joke!"

Still, my routine is not really so different from my "normal" before we went to Florida. Then, I was decluttering and cleaning in preparation for our move, and I have to keep it up, since the buyers of our house take possession on May 1. Yesterday, I spent the day doing laundry, disinfecting the kitchen, vacuuming. I felt proudest of washing all my re-usable bags and anything from Florida and wiping down our luggage with Lysol wipes. Today I'm going to deal with my purses, shoes and incidentals I missed yesterday.

Friday's other projects:

• wash bed linens and blankets (almost done)
• drive by the new house
• do a little outdoor spring clean-up
• re-visit remaining work in the attic
• fill the trash barrel for Monday
• watch Frozen -- I made the phrase "let it go"  my mantra some time ago but have never seen the movie

For me, the isolation was worse when I was laboring alone in the attic and basement in the weeks before Christmas and during the month of February. However, I will soon begin to miss my lap swimming at the Y and a much needed trip to the hair salon. I did cut my own bangs a few days ago, not very well (no pictures, pease), but good enough for someone who will not be going out any time soon. The Governor's stay-at-home order takes effect just before midnight.

A Long Day Going Home

I was on edge for a week, worried that we would never get out of Florida. Before leaving for home on Monday, March 23, our friends from Wisconsin gave us a frozen cherry pie, barbecued chicken legs, unopened bags of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, a bottle of wine (which I drank all by myself over a couple of days).

I didn't clean the fridge until I was fairly sure our flight would leave on Wednesday morning. I left unopened items in the fridge and on the kitchen table. We dressed for Florida in shorts and left the condo shortly after 8:30 a.m. For the third time, we had to go through the Byway toll without paying the $1.00 toll -- the sign reads something like "Drive through without stopping. You will be billed.". If that happens, the rental agency Budget will bill us, I'm sure. A hassle.

The drive to TPA was a straight shot on 275, with only a little traffic. Smooth car return and check-in before the shuttle to the terminal. The skycap told us that 500, rather than usual 50,000, were expected at the airport that day.

Sure enough, there were only a dozen or so passengers at the gate. We'd decided to fly first class to ensure "social distancing", but it was totally unnecessary. Our flight left at about 12:30 p.m., only a little late. No drinks at all, except water. I really needed a cup of coffee, since I hadn't had time for one before we left. The snack box was pretty good (the hummus box for me; the salami one for Bob). I packed the uneaten snacks in my purse. We watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood during the flight -- great movie. Bob wore the N95 mask Chris had sent us UPS, but I had to take mine off, as I couldn't stand the feeling around my head.

Pouring rain at MSP. This usually busy hub was almost empty. We were the first fare for our cabbie, who had been at the airport for about 13 hours! Not ideal transportation, but we had to get home. With no traffic, we were soon in the door.  I immediately threw all my clothes in the hamper and changed.

So good to be in the door, doing normal things like changing the clocks to DST.

The Nanday Parakeets

I'd been trying to get a good photo of a Nanday parakeet since our first visit to St. Pete Beach over a decade ago. Until this year, I would see and hear them regularly at Passe-A-Grille and, later, across the street on the TradeWinds grounds. They are hard to shoot because they're mostly in constant motion. The noise -- which makes me laugh -- is awful!

For a few years, Passe-A-Grille was difficult to access because of extensive infrastructure projects that included roads, sewers and palm tree planting. The birds must have decided to move up the beach, because I haven't seen or heard one in that area since we arrived three weeks ago. They're all here, I think.

Several times a day, the flock travels around our building, screeching the entire way. Two of them seems to have decided to nest together, perhaps in the large palm tree under our condo. They are quieter, heads together, chattering cheerfully, looking totally smitten with each other.

Coronavirus Panic

When we arrived on March 1, we were a little concerned about Coronavirus. By yesterday, after listening to the President's rambling press conferences for a week, we and others are feeling very uneasy.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz closed schools, bars, restaurants, salons etc. early in the week. Most places of worship cancelled public events and made streamed services available. Archbishop Hebda of the St. Paul Minneapolis archdiocese issued a letter in which he explained the suspension of public liturgies.

In Florida, action seemed to take a little longer. As COVID-19 cases increased in Miami, the jitters became apparent here on the Gulf Coast. Restaurants began to offer curbside pick-up and delivery, but bars and restaurants weren't closed until yesterday. Beaches in Pinellas County closed at 11:59 p.m. yesterday, but I noticed a few beachwalkers this morning.

We haven't been inside a bar or restaurant for at least 10 days. As someone with a "compromised immune system", I am particularly aware of how easily I seem to come down with any kind of virus or infection -- so I began to "self isolate" earlier than most. I was ready to book a flight home at least five days ago! I didn't care about the "sunk costs" for our vacation rental (not cheap, no refunds).

In the end, we decided to leave a week earlier than our planned April 5 departure. After an uneasy night's "sleep", we changed that March 29 departure to Wednesday, March 25. Our Wisconsin neighbors are clearing out on Monday, about 10 days ahead of time. Delta promises some kind of credit for our cancelled flight, but that will take at least 7 days. We dropped $600 for 1st class tickets -- I really didn't like the idea of being squished into a standard seat, where I am always stuck in the middle, usually between two very large people (and I'm not exactly small myself).

The great thing about this is an empty swimming pool! My 7:00 a.m. swim has nearly always been solitary, but even our afternoon dip is quiet, with no more than one or two other swimmers. Yesterday, Bob and I had the entire pool to ourselves for nearly an hour.

These are different times.

Hoarders - Everywhere!

My first stop in St. Pete Beach is always the Dollar Store, where I pick up paper products and cleaning supplies, including splenty of disinfectant. This year, I couldn't find toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, or hand sanitizer for my purse and the car. Apparently people all over the world are hoarding stuff, including toilet paper.

Publix was short of lots of items too, but Norman's Liquors was well stocked. The Sunday farmers' market on Corey Boulevard is closed until April, at the earliest.

The situation became progressively worse as the weeks progressed. Now, at the end of Week 3, we're not even trying. I improvised with baby wipes soaked in Mr. Clean disinfectant spray, which seems to work reasonably well on most surfaces. I have liquid hand soap for every sink. The place has a vague, not unpleasant disinfectant smell.

House for Sale

2048 Goodrich Ave., St. Paul MN  55105.  Since last summer, the plan was to list our house for sale on March 1. In late February, we signed the paperwork with our realtor, Lynn Ault. Lynn soon had pictures taken by her superb photographer and she gave us clear directions on how to leave the house. More cleaning. By the time we closed the door at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, I was spent.

Lynn had an open house that very day and we had three offers right away. By the next day, we had accepted the very first offer we received, from a young couple planning to be married at the end of May. We liked the letter she wrote, and the fact that they plan to raise a family in the house. Seemed like a good fit.

A week later, we had a signed purchase agreement. And so, just like that, the "house for sale" became "sale pending".

No 2020 Florida Blog

Most years I publish a Florida blog, but somehow I just couldn't get my act together after creating the basic design. January and February were rough months: I came down with a bad cold shortly after Christmas and missed almost an entire month of swimming. By the time I recovered, I had fallen far behind in the big decluttering project.

My goal had been to be done by the end of January, but I was nowhere near finished. In February, Bob got on board with the effort and started on the workbench area of the basement. He has lived in that house for 55 years, so there was much accumulation, including an ancient sander (so heavy!), a lot of unused tools, and repurposed kitchen cabinets that were built with the house in  1919.

Too much to deal with for two people! As I evaluated the many items on three floors that we didn't want, I spent a couple of sleepless nights wondering what to do. I couldn't deal with the idea of trying to sell it off piecemeal, so I decided to get pricing rom a couple of junk collectors.

Junk360.com  gave me a good bid. A few days later, a couple of guys arrived and spent several hours hauling out a huge corner desk in the office, a heavy loveseat hide-a-bed, an elliptic machine, and a basement full of wood, steel, boards and everything I pulled down from the rafters. The removal gave me a huge lift -- I realized we could indeed get the job done.

We cleaned, pitched, and made many trips to the Goodwill, right up until our departure for Florida on March 1. By the end of February, I was hardly sleeping at all and was, predictably enough, quite manic. Had at least one major meltdown over nothing.

I was too jumpy and unfocused to write anything at all ... until now. And, of course, there is much to report.