Bread during lockdown. I made it from a Paul Hollywood recipe. Quite yummy.

You’d think I had all the time in the world these days to write blog after blog, essay after essay for this website. Here I am, self-isolated and socially-distanced as strictly any old person ought to be. Seattle may no longer be the hottest spot for this virus to congregate, mutate and plan new attacks, but we’re still pretty darn warm. Our health department and all the busy virologists at the Fred Hutch and the UW Virology Department are telling us that we have about another month before the worst of it is over.

I’ve had “write a website entry” on my suddenly empty calendar for two weeks now. But nary a step have I taken in that direction. I’ve instead done exactly the same things as so many of my friends and relations are doing.

Here’s the list:

1. Figure out how to do online grocery shopping.
2. Clean out drawers and closets. Maybe even start to tackle the basement.
3. Bake!
4. Arrange and participate in skype video gatherings.
5. Take walks, being careful to cross the street or veer onto a parking strip to avoid other people.
6. Garden in the backyard.
7. Marvel at the quiet of hardly any traffic, on the roads and in the air.
8. Be alternately forgetful of what’s really happening and pushing down severe anxiety at what’s really happening.
9. Read the news or avoid the news.
10. Watch a lot of movies and old TV shows, either about pandemics or definitely not about pandemics.
11. Talk on the phone.
12. Chat with neighbors across streets and fences.
13. Read books, either about pandemics or definitely not about pandemics. Re-read old comforting books.
14. Think about people who endured years in prison without going crazy, like Nelson Mandela.
15. Think about your friends and family, and how much you love them, and how you want to stay in better touch with them all once this is all over.

What have I left out?