PNewL PNewS
Volume 28 Issue 1 “All the pnews that phits.” April 2020
Editors Note: Much of this was written in March. By the time you read this, it’s likely that it will feel like a different time and we may be into a new phase. What I have added since March is dated for my own purposes.
In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations
Eating & Drinking
• Early March: I bought 35 cans of bubbly water. March 31—that is not going to be enough. (A lot of the bubbly water was a new brand which it turns out is from Coke. It has some good flavor but I find a couple 8-packs in, I am over it. Just thought I’d share—it’s too much for my delicate palate, I guess!)
• I bought 12 rolls of TP purchased in panic shopping at Trader Joe’s. It was the last package. I should buy it. March 31: I am a single person living with a dog who doesn’t use TP and I have 27 rolls. I am ashamed of myself. Will deliver—within reason—should anyone run out. April 7th: May keep it just in case. (It took me several readings to realize this is not about eating…really. But it is staying here anyway.)
• My pantry tends to be well stocked but the longer we are invited to stay home the menus are going to get a little weird. (Blueberries and salmon w butter beans? The other night I had salmon and sweet potato pancakes! yum) Last night, I wanted something comforting. (I’d seen a NYT Cooking ad on Facebook for cheesy tomato and white bean bake, which seemed in the right vein but no white beans ready to go.) I started by chopping an onion and I noted I was willing to take the time to chop it more finely than I usually do. Garlic, jars of miscellaneous red sauces that “need to be eaten.” One was chipotle pepper related and the other was a sweet hot Korean sauce I made from a recipe I found online. At this point, I knew I had something pretty tasty but it all needed something to stick to—I was baffled. Chopped up some tofu and threw in some garbanzo beans. It was comforting and good and spicy.
• My Pinterest page has grown—the recipe folders are filling up.
• I am one who has a tendency to eat weird combinations so this is nothing new, but there is the part where I have half a grilled cheese sandwich, some red bell pepper and a handful of pecans for lunch knowing tonight I will have [insert restaurant food here]. Knowing that I am less likely to do that now, the period I spend standing in front of the fridge and sighing has lengthened.
• Early on, I asked the folks at the liquor store if they’d heard talk of closing them down. They laughed. Job security, essential employees.
• 4/6: I recognize now that the Baking Phase really needs to stop—as I keep saying: this is a marathon not a sprint. I never eat this stuff in normal times. Okay, there might be one thing but not all of them. The Freezer is full of scones and hot cross buns and sweet potato rolls and homemade bread. It’s.Got.To.Stop.
• 4/20: I have fallen for Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat. I had heard her on just about every NPR show around and liked her style but never followed up much. In this time of plenty of time, I paid attention and now I am a follower. Her HomeCooking.show blog is fun and informative. (I love that she is this successful chef with a tiny freezer. I guess in the old days we could shop whenever we wanted? I can’t remember.) I have made her Tahdig twice now. It’s rice of any kind fried til crispy. I was just thinking about how it is comfort food, which I have just discovered. Since I usually think of “comfort food” as something from a simpler time, I find it interesting how easily I have adopted it.
Living with a Dog in the Time of the ’Rona
• Roger hates screen time. He used to just hate the computer—now he is unhappy with the IPad and the phone. It is all okay if we are on the bed.
• In the “we have to find amusement somewhere” category, Roger sometimes comes into the bathroom when I am there and he will turn around and close the door. Then he tries to open it again. He seems to like the closing part but hasn’t figured out the opening part.
• I sense that Roger knows something is different, it just doesn’t bother him.
• The new game is he goes to my bed or one of his beds and then barks. When I come to ask him to please stop he is happy to see me – he got his way.
• His battered legs seem to be getting stronger as we take several short walks with rests in between. That’s nice.
• Amend the previous comment: his battered legs have moments of getting stronger and then everything falls apart and I think I will have to get the car to drive him home from across the road. This aging thing sucks. Thankfully he has better doctors than I do and he comes back to the new normal of Senor Limpalong. Just hang in there for a little bit longer little dude.
Me in the Time of the’Rona
• I haven’t even bothered to look at my calendar in a couple days—it’s probably not necessary, everything is crossed out though there are actually a few things I should be aware of—Zoom meetings, deadlines--it’s highly likely I could miss something. (And, oh, I have!)
• April 26th: I am going through the past month of emails. So many I can delete. So many Zoom meetings I wish I’d been to, so many articles to read and jokes to laugh at and emails I read three weeks ago but which are seemingly brand new on the second read. It's grueling this life of...leisure? Deleted approximately 200 emails in each of my email accounts and added 12 zoom calls to the calendar. Only registered for two.
• Peter’s recent email about how he is managing in this time of isolation spoke to me: “I find I've been singing a lot as a partial remedy for the covid protocols, and I find myself singing these parody songs often. Not to mention I've also been doing some reading on quantum time theory.” Okay, except for the quantum time theory part.
• It’s funny how easily it is to lose track of days and times and when I took my last shower. There is something to be said for routine.
• March: When things started getting concerning—news was dire far away and it was getting closer and we are led by someone I do not trust--I went to a Deep Dark Place. My concern for so many people made me feel like I was carrying the weight of the world. I felt like I needed to fix things, take care of all the people. I knew this wasn’t the case but it felt that way. I finally heard from someone that I was not responsible for everyone. Somehow it took a lot of weight off.
• One day, I started baking. Then, I reached a new phase in this experience. Everything is so funny, it brings tears to my eyes. Yesterday, I was active. I found stuff I couldn’t find, I mowed, I brushed cobwebs. Today I have done paperwork and need a nap. Can't wait to see what the next phase is. 4/19: I dropped following phases. Went quiet. Wondering how I will learn to converse again. I don’t feel depressed, perhaps a little numb. People are getting stuff done. I am in full on Adult Onset ADD with half-finished projects everywhere. I’ve planted but not everything, I’ve weeded and cleaned (hell hath frozen over apparently) but only a few places. Not good at completing.
• April 2nd. This morning, I was listening to Ruth Reichl’s memoir “Save Me the Plums.” I decided to make “Easy Blueberry Scones” from Bon Appetit, ironically, Reichl’s competition when she led Gourmet. I had bought some of the ingredients before…and they needed to be baked. I do not feel like I have gone back into a Baking Phase. I just hate wasting things like heavy cream. Despite the “easy” part, I struggled a little with the recipe. I dirtied a lot of dishes, wondered what the hell a microplane was (fine grater), and there was another glitch I don’t recall, and right then Ms Reichl started telling the story about what it was like to be heading Gourmet Magazine on 9/11. Wow. Timing. Her family got away safely and then she realized she had all these kitchens and cooks and they could make food for first responders. As I finally got a pretty nice looking pan of scones into the oven, I had tears streaming down my face as I listened to how grateful the recipients were to receive the food. One guy said thank you for reminding me of home. It was chili she said, just chili. And she has made that chili on Thanksgiving ever since. It makes me wonder…you know. What our memories will be. What will we take away. Will we learn anything?
• April 6th. Today I finally got brave and tried to start the riding motor. It turned over pretty quickly and once I gassed her up and pumped the tires (with the bike pump, Peter!), she did a fine job of the first mow of the season. My neighbor Susie said, doesn’t it feel good to get that done? I said I wished it felt better. I’ll work on that.
• Speaking of the bike pump—it’s one of those things I always have to search for. I need it a couple times a year and then it goes missing in between uses. Fly swatter—same thing. Today I found them both AND I got the mower started. It was a red-letter day. I had said to Sydney yesterday that the days are all kinda the same. I will work on appreciating the differences.
• I fear we will all come out of this with some form off PTSD, or maybe agoraphobia. I hear children on the radio talking about fear. Kinda hard.
Knitting and other Distractions in the Time of the 'Rona
• I finished a sweater in the early days of shutdown and I really love it. It was fast and it is so cozy and warm and of course the weather has shifted and it’s not likely I’ll wear it any time soon but it was very satisfying.
• Next up, I started several projects, almost forgetting that I had started something new already (there are already 20+ projects in bags surrounding my chair). It’s a bit out of control but I don’t really care. I have bought several skeins of yarn from young women independent dyers who are struggling. I can’t fix everything but I can support them. And I buy patterns. Everyone has patterns on sale. I have enough yarn and patterns and other stuff to get me through this and my next lifetime.
I am now knitting potholders because I can finish them quickly and that will feel good. I also have a couple of the 20+ that are almost done. I can finish those. Bigger projects feel too big.
• Books feel too long—reading articles. Attention span is shortening noticeably.
• I am finding Netflix and YouTube are my close friends. Instagram too. I have been watching Mary Chapin Carpenter on Instagram and after she plays a “Song from Home” she says Stay Mighty so I offer that...
• I am reading a memoir by Madeleine L’Engle—well I am trying. She is smart and writes well. It is a different time. Most nights after reading, I have no idea what she wrote about it, but it is somehow comforting.
• I just finished listening to Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21stCentury by Jessica Bruder. She follows several folks who moved into vehicles after 2008. It is really interesting (and a good audiobook). I wonder what will happen after this—more nomads on the open road.
• I just loaded the washing machine: one pair of jeans, two pairs of sweatpants and two sweatshirts, three pair of socks and ~10 pairs of underwear.
• The PNewL PNewS is now 28 years old. Not bad!
Well, I have been compiling this for five weeks or so and on occasion wonder if I am finished—
how will I know, what does that mean? Today I decided I should put this out there and start fresh tomorrow. So here goes. I hope this finds you all safe and sane. And I hope you are enjoying a Spring that is as beautiful as the one we are having.
As my Dad used to say, Keep smiling!
Two quotes this time, because, why not?
“I hope the United States of America is not so rich that she can afford to let these wildernesses pass by, or so poor she cannot afford to keep them.”Mardy Murie
"I say simply, ‘Learn how to be useful.’ It’ll take a lot of the mystery out of life.” Harrison Ford
