Shelter
The three basic needs are shelter, clothing, and food. During our present state of quarantine, I certainly have the shelter part taken care of and have become more acquainted with my home. I strolled through the living room the other day; I haven’t visited there since Christmas 2019. House cleaning is not my strong suit, but with all this time on my hands, I decided to complete the Spring cleaning of 2001. I discovered thriving cities of dust bunnies on the pot shelves, five tablets of typewriter paper in the spare closet, and a 1978 telephone book.
Clothing
Clothing is not a problem. I have morning yoga pants and afternoon yoga pants. Shoes? Not an issue, flip flops and walking shoes. I have a closet full of cute shoes, oh my gosh, so many shoes, and nowhere to wear them. Perhaps this quarantine will serve as a pause in time so the new skirt I bought in January won’t go out of style before I get to wear it. Zoom is an interesting phenomenon. Men wear sports coats, ties, and pajama bottoms. I actually washed and styled my hair, applied make-up, and wore earrings and a nice blouse for a Zoom meeting, only to discover there were 2,000 participants, so we didn’t see anybody’s faces.
Food
It’s the food that has become somewhat of a challenge. It appears Hubby wants to eat breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. After Day 14 of the quarantine, I opened the freezer and noticed I was down to one fudgesicle, a bag of bread crumbs, and a vegetable combination of lentils/garbanzo beans/peas I bought at Trader Joe’s the beginning of the year for Meatless Mondays. Then I perused the pantry and discovered some cream of celery soup and a can of tuna. I was excited. Give me a can of soup and a crock pot and I can always whip up an interesting dinner. Hubby didn’t complain, probably because he knew he’d never have to eat that concoction again.
This brought me to the realization that I needed to battle the grocery store. I armored up. I put on some lipstick, snapped on my Sheer Energy black gloves (which coordinated nicely with my yoga pants), and positioned my ball cap. (The hat was more to conceal 2 inches of grey roots than for protection.) After struggling with the proper placement of my mask, I was ready for combat. (Apparently, I didn’t need to apply lipstick – you were way ahead of me on that one, weren’t you?) I advanced down each aisle, alert to the movements of every shopper. I held ground six feet away as a soldier tarried in front of the soup. She asked my opinion on a brand. I gingerly moved in for inspection, my mask fogging my glasses. I infiltrated the produce department. My gloved hands fumbled trying to open the plastic bags. Potatoes escaped and rolled all over the floor. Once the mission was complete, I maneuvered to the check out and stood in rank. One final obstacle remained – the card reader. Luckily Captain Cashier assisted by tapping the display. (Gloves, remember?)
After the skirmish at the grocery store, I needed R&R and an adult beverage. I rummaged around in the pantry and came across a package of Crystal Light left over from my colonoscopy three years ago. That’ll do. Vodka and Crystal Light; I should publish a cook book.
Book Sale
I hope everyone is safe and all your basic needs are being met. Perhaps reading is on your list of basic needs, so just in case you want to share picture books with the little ones in your life, all my books are on sale for $9.99 each when you order through my website.