Greetings from Quarantine! My hair is wild and crazy, my mask rash is in full bloom, Ive never looked better! Hoping you and yours are all happy and healthy.
from the Italian word quaranta (40) is Cuarentena in Spanish cuarenta (40) but here in Ecuador weve been in isolation for twice that amount of time with daily 2 pm to 5 am curfews, permission to drive a vehicle only one day a week (based on the last number of the license plate), and requirement to wear a mask in public and disposable gloves in the grocery store. There are road blocks at either end of town and provincial borders are closed around the country, allowing only food supply vehicles to cross. As of this writing all domestic and international flights are grounded. Those arriving on humanitarian repatriation flights undergo a mandatory quarantine at a government approved hotel. My friends who just got back to Quito were not even given a key to their room at the Marriott to ensure that they didnt leave it for two weeks.
Since my rhythm of life had already more and unscheduled since the beginning of 2020, the lockdown routine wasnt an abrupt or difficult adjustment for me personally. I find that I now spend more time on facebook and allow
Alternating between my house and hers, Shana and I play at least games a Scrabble each day. Bliss for us word nerds!
myself to watch at least one movie or documentary per day; however planning, shopping, prepping and preparing daily meals for my 80 year old neighbor and myself keeps me relatively busy and provides some structure to my days.
The following personal musings about this bizarre and unusual time we are all living through will be divided into the following sections: What Im grateful forWhat Ive missed most What Ive enjoyed How Ive exercised my brain and body What Ive found most strange/unusual What is most different What Ive found most frustrating What Ive learned What I hope...
I am so grateful to be living in a place of incredible natural beauty. Every morning CiCi and I take a long walk in the hills just up the road from my house. the healing power of nature makes our daily walk a sacred time. Although my house is small, I have amazing views in every direction! Each day as afternoon turns to evening and the days light starts to slant in dramatic angles, I spend time hanging in
the hammock on my rooftop terrace. Breezes gently rock me as the birds twitter and chirp in the trees all around. For a different perspective I make my way to the small upstairs balcony of the little cabaa on the front of my lot, admiring my overgrown garden from above and watching the activity on the street below. From this vantage point I see the town below in the valley and I can hear the rush of the Bascun river, especially musical after a night of heavy rains.Today I was watching kids flying kites down along the edges of the river bed...no power lines there!
My dear friend and neighbor Shana and I are thankful for one We are both Scrabble enthusiasts and we play at least 2 or 3 games every day before and/or after lunch. We look forward to watching Greys Anatomy together once a week at her house when DirectTV shows a morning marathon. Knowing we will spend time together daily, either at my house or at hers, gives a steady regularity to these otherwise bewildering times when days run into one another.
Since we live in an agricultural zone, theres an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available. The towns one supermarket is fairly well stocked, except for that time I had to go chasing all over town searching for real butter in the small corner shops (most folks here use margarine but refer to it as butter so I had to insist and moo and explain that I was looking for dairy butter). Not so many different brands are arriving and the selection is somewhat limited, however we are filled with gratitude that no one is going hungry!
I am extremely grateful for a reliable online connection.
