Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Quarantine 20, A day with a golden lining


A day with a golden lining.
After over a month of intelligent lockdown, I have been thirsting for normal contact with people, friends, fellow human beings. Today was a good day! The weather was again beautiful, sunny with a blue sky, as blue as one can imagine. My cupboards were empty, so I needed to restock. First of all I went to the farmers’ market for fruit, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, and cheese. Then on to the butcher’s for meat to make Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef is half price on Tuesdays, so a good opportunity to buy a larger piece of beef and make a nice stew tomorrow which I can then freeze in batches. But I could not avoid a visit to the supermarket either. I stocked up so that I had enough for at least a week. The open air market doesn’t seem threatening at all, but the supermarket does. The aisles are too narrow, and it is difficult to avoid one’s fellow shoppers.
All those things took almost all morning.
After a mug of freshly ground coffee and a sandwich I went to see friends which I hadn’t seen for two months because of the lockdown. They have a sunny garden and plenty of space to be able to sit well apart from each other. It was great at last to have a drink with somebody! I spent some time there, enjoying catching up with things. Since a nephew has bought a house just round the corner which he has completely stripped and built up again, I paid him a visit as well to see how he is getting on. It is a project which has kept him busy for 3 years now, but he hopes to move in with his family in summer. It is going to be a beautiful house! The project has taken far more time than expected, but with both he and his wife having demanding jobs and two children, plus the unexpected surprises, it has almost become his life’s work. I bet it is worth it.
Those two visits filled the afternoon completely. I came home very happy. Two visits with real people! Who could believe it after so many weeks of being deprived of “normal” contact. This was almost normal, because no kissing, no hugging, no touching, and keeping one’s distance. But it was at least a beginning. Amazing how we always take “normal” contact for granted and do not realize how wonderful that is till we are cut off from it.
Very contentedly I proceeded to prepare the lovely fresh asparagus, and even forgot to listen to the speech of our prime minister in which he announced some relaxation of the lockdown rules. No haircuts or visits to dentists yet, or other medical services. We all have to grow pigtails I am afraid. But schools will gradually open after May 11th. All restaurants and cafes stay closed. This is a tragedy, particularly for beach restaurants which would have done a roaring business because of the fantastic weather. And they have to make their money during the short summer season. We will all have to make do for some time to come yet.
But today was a day with a golden lining!
A day as golden as these flowers which I found in a wooded area within walking distance of my house and almost part of my daily routine

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