Hi again!
Things are still weird and stuff is still closed and life is still taking place within the confines of these four walls… so it’s time for the next Quarantine Report!
Also, though. The grass is growing, and the sun is… kinda, depends on the moment… shining, and love from family and friends is still traveling the distance to meet each of us in our own little at-home worlds.
I still appear to be strapped into a rollercoaster that takes me all over the emotional landscape from day to day, but maybe that is normal because nothing is normal. This is just the ride right now. And on the upside, there are some fun things to report on this week.
Here’s the Quarantine Report List:
- Something Delicious
- Something Outside
- Something Connected
- Something Fun
- A Sage Photo
Overall
Overall this week was much better than last week for me.
When I say much better, please note that puts me at the top of the “Okay” category. It’s an Okay +. We’re not talking about best week of my life, just kind of… okay.
And okay feels really nice.
I don’t know if I can even really justify or quantify or rationalize where these feelings come from – I’m sure, like so many of us, things just hit us at different times and for different reasons.
I think having Easter this last week was a huge pick-me-up for me, even though Easter itself was weird and I didn’t cook anything and we didn’t even go outside because it snowed all day. But just having one small little thing to look forward to – putting Solvi in her Easter dress that I bought before quarantine, and making a little Easter egg hunt for her the day before with pieces of chalk in place of eggs because quarantine – I felt myself having actual fun, which hasn’t happened in a while. It was happy. And it was really good to feel that.
Something Delicious
Obviously the most delicious thing I made was date night rigatoni.
I was missing at least 5 of the main ingredients but I had variations or workable substitutions for each of them, so I went for it and it was just an ongoing glory moment for the 2-3 days that we got to eat through this big pot of saucy, luscious pasta.
Tied, of course, with this week’s new post: that incredibly fun and easy-to-make cauliflower gnocchi.
Something Outside
No, no, and NO. Nope. Goodbye.
During our one-hour Easter egg hunt, we saw not one but FOUR snakes, one of which I almost stepped on, which lead us to the disturbing realization that our beautiful new yard and landscaping appears to be housing a whole community of snakes.
We live in Minnesota, so yes they are harmless garter snakes, but OH MY GOSH NO! NOT SNAKES. Please not snakes.
Our backyard is pretty heavily wooded – we see lots of deer and other little forest animals, which is a dream come true – but then we also have this kind of loose rock landscaping that I think is drawing in all the snakes as a nice home base, from which they find their way into the yard, and onto the deck… I feel faint.
I cannot do this. I honestly cannot do this. I know, they go in houses sometimes, I KNOW. So we need to probably get our house checked and then also figure out what can be done with the landscaping to prevent them from hanging out in the rock crevices all summer.
HALP ME. If you know something about how to make snakes basically hate it here, please leave a comment. Sincerely, Despairing In Minnesota
Something Connected
Here’s how it happened:
Our friend stopped by on a bike ride to say hi from the front yard. We were planning to eat in the backyard – very fancy takeout Chipotle – so we said, hey Nate, why don’t you come join us for dinner but you’ll have to sit six feet away and we won’t feed you?
And he was like, sure!
So we had dinner together aka ate our burritos directly in front of his face while he sat in a lawn chair 6 feet away. It was weird and we owe him a burrito when quarantine is over, but also it was very wonderful to “have dinner with” a friend.
Something Fun
A fun thing we did this week: WATCHED A MOVIE. And made cookies, and you’re welcome for the picture of Quarantine Me Living My Best Life While Creeping on Bjork’s Phone.
Listen, I don’t watch a lot of movies. It feels like so much work. You have to meet new characters, you have to get invested in a new storyline, and most importantly you have to have a solid two hours of down time which seems really hard to come by these days.
But on Saturday, we got Solvi to bed early, we did takeout for dinner, and we didn’t have work to finish up… so WE HAD TIME TO ACTUALLY WATCH A MOVIE.
Bjork let me pick, and I (naturally) chose Love Wedding Repeat after watching about two seconds of the trailer. Chick flick rom com mindless funny cheesy perfection. It was exactly what the moment called for.
Plus popcorn and Easter candy and cookies. It was a shining moment from the week.
A Sage Photo
You knew it was Easter and you knew she wouldn’t let you down.
What About You?
Team check in. How we doin?
Are you…
Drinking water? Eating regular meals? Getting enough sleep?
Do you feel…
Overwhelmed? Sad? Lonely? Grateful? Peaceful? Actually pretty okay?
I would love to hear how things are holding on for you guys this week – what you cooked, what you did to stay connected, what’s giving you life and what’s hard. Bjork and I and our POY team – we are living these ups and downs right along with you. It won’t be like this forever – I’m reminding myself of this, too. There is more.
Sending all our love from our quarantine to yours! xo
I was just browsing on Zulily and saw this Snake Repellent and totally thought of you and your snake situation!! I don’t know if this stuff works, but it may be worth trying. Here is the link: https://www.zulily.com/p/snake-repellent-432982-84682880.html?tid=RetEm_LCMDaily_ET432982image_5ea86f7162c1450001b3590c
Loved this post, so funny and real and just classic POY 🙂
I am working from home and doing live pilates classes and cooking a lot, and just generally keeping busy. I feel a bit guilty about not using this time to do some really deep thinking or soul-searching or whatever, but right now passing the time and feeding my partner and me seems the sanest strategy… Lockdown measures are being loosened in Switzerland and so things will get better but also more complicated soon. I Don’t know how I feel about going back to work in this still-there pandemic. Oh well. Let’s go try a recipe 🙂
My sister has a landscaping business in Minneapolis, it’s called Walkabout Outdoor based in Northeast. They could help you with the snakes!
I also watched Love Wedding Repeat on Netflix and enjoyed it ☺️ I appreciate your comment about movies being hard to get into because you have to commit to new characters and pay attention and set aside time 😂 I really only watch TV in the background while I’m doing something else… working on my laptop, cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen. So sitting down for two hours with new characters and not feeling pressure to be productive is a big deal over here 😬 Hope you guys continue to do okay during quarantine 🙏🏻 Sending love and light from Central NY
I am from the South and we have tons of snakes. Use Snake Away and moth balls. Moth balls are not good for pets, so put them in a lantern or something on your deck to keep away snakes and not accessible to your pets.
We live in southern Minnesota. I actually kind of like snakes but my husband is petrified. We have had good luck with Ortho Snake B Gon granules. You just sprinkle them around the house where you see snakes and it seems to repel them.
Hi Lindsay! I use a device from HOME TECH to keep the bats away. I just plug it into an outdoor outlet. It’s supposed to work for rodents and other critters. And it’s safe for dogs and children. I got mine on Amazon. I have recommended it to my neighbors. It works! Good Luck!
I almost never watch movies either because of exactly what you described (I like to know my characters). But I decided to take a break from my Vernoica Mars Marathon and watched the movie, Britney Runs a Marathon and ate popcorn. It was a nice change of pace. I also made some POY Thai red curry sauce, which was delightful.
Well you know, even with a good attitude the restrictions with the virus are a little wearing. But I go visit my dad every night and walk his dogs. He’s alone, and my reward for walking the dogs, in his estimation, is watching an episode of Downton Abbey with him. No hardship there! You know what would be fun? If you did a tour of your new house. I remember when you did that with your cute little house and it was so very enjoyable. If you’ve already done it and I missed it, then I need to find it! Thanks. Have a great week!
Ps… about the snakes 🐍… soak rags in ammonia and put in unsealed plastic bags – leave them strategically placed around the perimeter of the yard… snakes hate the smell of it!!!!
Howdy from Texas! I’m still on the roller coaster! I’ve limited tv time and have taken to either jazz or Tammy Wynette radio on Pandora… I’ve had fun revisiting the memories of my momma canning in the kitchen listening to George Jones and co… is it me or were all the guys back then jerks!!! Lol… I have organized everything in my house… twice! Today I made a gift bag full of arts and crafts stuff for the kids next door with instructions for spring painted rocks (hey! They’re cute!). Work at the hospital is slowly coming back to life but for the most part everything here is still quiet… I know that I will miss that the most – its nice to jus sit and the world is still… I hate that there are people suffering and I feel helpless… so I’ve been focusing on making sure those around me are doing ok… sometimes I forget and then I see someone walking by with a mask on and I become … I don’t know… is there a new word for all these new emotions? Hang in there everyone!!! Thank you Lindsay!!! Your posts are such a light for me!!! Stay safe everyone and stay close to home 😷
Hi Shari–If you like George and Tammy, here’s a shameless plug for my oldest who can’t tour or play (except remotely) just now: Robert Henry Band on facebook, roberthenrymusic.com. Check out Storm the Gate and new release Usually Goes on all the places you listen to music. Stay safe and healthy!
On the snakes – I see lots of good recommendations in the comments for non-toxic/non-harmful products that you can try. I have also found them to work in keeping unwanted critters away (pooping Raccoons!). I also agree that the rock wall is the attraction, but it will be less so when summer comes. Right now it is still cold in the ground so the warm sunny wall is the ONLY option. I think when they have other options or when it is too hot you won’t see 4. But so long as the wall is there you will need to watch carefully ’cause they do love them. Also, I used to be TERRIFIED of snakes, and now I found I am pretty neutral about it all, so probably your fears will subside (or at least the panicky feelings that go with them) if you are able to work with the feelings and not obsess about them too much (not easy, I know). Love your rock wall though – so beautiful – sorry it has this unexpected down side for you.
I agree completely with you on the waves and rollercoaster from being fine to not fine to grateful and so on. We live in NYC and my husband lost his job but I am still working from home (as I always do – even pre Covid). It’s interesting, strange and admittedly a challenge to suddenly have 2 elementary school kids home all day and responsible for their learning- summer camps just got cancelled so no reprieve in the horizon.
My friend offered us her beautiful vacation home for our family to get out of NYC upstate and it was so lovely and comfortable for us to have the extra space and nature. Then last week the house caught on fire. Actual fire. With firefighters, fire trucks, hustling our dog and pajama children frightened out and watching the house be destroyed.
It really put things in perspective and for a bit I was not thinking about Covid or disease or all my colleagues that were furloughed or medical worker friends but this very dramatic awful thing we went through.
It reminded me of perspective. Especially when we realized the fire has started many times due to faulty chimney and we were just the ones that happened to be there at the place and time and maybe that saved my friends family by us intercepting.
What an insane journey this has been. I don’t think any of us will be the same again but as humanity tends to, we will come together stronger maybe love each other a little bit more.
Thank you For sharing your beautiful family and food with us. We love you!!!
We have rattlesnakes out right now in Arizona, on a lot of the hiking trails since they are more desert-y. I’ll trade you for your garden snakes LOL.
We made your Ang’s Tortellini Soup last Saturday. Easy to put together. Rich and comforting.
We just enjoyed your veggie enchiladas. Delicious recipe. Used canned enchilada sauce. Frozen broccoli, regular white potatoes, onions. Mixed with black beans and cheese, really good. Had to layer like a casserole because our corn tortillas were on the not-so-fresh side, but altogether a yummy pantry/freezer meal. With cold beer, made this quarantine Friday night special. Thank you!
You may try Snake Away. You can purchase it on Amazon. I live by the National Forest in Texas and it works wonders around our property. I do apply it twice in the summer months. Mostly because we get a lot of rain also. Protect Sage – snakes like to strike our fur babies – I know from experience! Best of Luck!
Maybe filling the cracks of the stone with concrete? I saw on Chris Loves Julia – the Design website that they did this to a fireplace. It’s really beautiful.
We have some garter snakes that live in our rock wall and in 14 years of living here we’ve never had one in the house. I don’t love snakes but the garter variety don’t bother me. I live in Colorado and we are coming up on rattlesnake season with the weather warming up and those do bother me.
I am very much on the up and down emotional rollercoaster like everyone else. Some days I’m fine, others I feel bleak. I love to bake and have a bunch of things I’ve wanted to try but just didn’t have time for so in between home school I’ve been making ciabatta, macarons, morning buns, and even tried some homemade naan. I’ve got babka next on my list. It keeps me occupied and the precision and order required for baking is appealing in this time of uncertainty.
My weeks are flip-flopped with yours – this one felt harder to me than last. I think it’s mainly because I’m pregnant and the weight of not knowing what life will be like when it’s time to deliver is starting to hit me and make me anxious. But the sun is out today, and I’ll tell you – taking walks through our (quiet, suburban) neighborhood with my 1.5 y/o has been SAVING me!
Lindsay, I hear you about snakes…not my favorite reptile either….I grew up around rattlesnakes!! But garter snakes are a much more benign and beneficial snake. They are actually good for your garden and eat slugs….then clean up other pests as well. Please rethink having them in the garden…but do check under and in the house.
Man oh man, this year. THIS YEAR. I have no words for it. Before COVID-19 started I lost someone very very dear to me and afterward, I felt like I lost myself. Typically I have these goals and ambitions in mind and suddenly, I couldn’t make a decision or pick a goal. I was, and still am to some extent, just floating directionless.
The truth is, quarantine came at the right time for me. I needed that bubble of isolation to grieve, to feel all the feelings, and to slowly take one step at a time. I’m still torn between the “before” and “after”, if that makes sense. Like I want to do these things that I always did before, but it’s just not the same so I want to start a new norm but I realize I’m only staring a new norm because of my loss therefore I land squarely in the middle and choose nothing.
People ask me if it’s getting easier. I’m never really sure what to tell them. It hurts the same, but I’m able to walk forward. Is that getting easier? I’m not so sure I’d classify it that way.
So while in quarantine I’m able to sort through my feelings a bit more easily without the voices of others in my head. This is where the strong desire to write came from. I currently am an SEO content writer at my job, but I’m writing about the same subject day in and day out. I was feeling quite burned out on it. Last year I had started a blog about mental health to help with burn out. Buuuuuut the blog fell by the wayside after my loved one passed. I think I want to pick it back up, but holy moly is it hard. I haven’t been able to muster the strength yet. Honestly, Lindsey, I admire you so much for going back to your blog after your loss.
So here’s what I have been doing: baking, cooking, starting to freelance write, and start working on a novel I wanted to write. I really want to finish that novel this year so fingers crossed for me! But let’s talk about cooking and baking because YUM!
1. Air fried donuts. The dough was incredible. Do you like making bread and pastry dough? It’s one of my favorite things. The dough was so pillowy and marshmallowy and just felt good. But the donuts were only okay. A bit denser than they should be. I’ll have to go back to this recipe and see if I can make alterations.
2. Pizza. My husband, Jacob, and I decided it was time to find the perfect pizza dough. We have made about 6 pizzas, changing up the recipe or rise time each time. Believe it or not, I’m not burned out on pizza. Give me a slice right now and I would be happy.
3. Ang’s Tortellini Soup. Please give Ang a chocolate croissant for me because she lit up my life with this soup. So much deliciousness and comfort in a bowl that I can’t even.
4. Quiche. The only words for this are MORE PLEASE.
5. Sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies. So delicious and so addicting. I had to stop myself from making more right after we finished them. In fact, I may need to take a sugar hiatus after inhaling those cookies.
This comment is crazy long! I know it. If you get to this sentence, thanks so much for reading through it 🙂 Sometimes words just fall out of your head and onto paper (virtual paper?) as if they always needed to go there.
About the snakes…unless you are interested in getting rid of all the rockscaping you could look for something to control (aka…eat) the snakes. They make roosting boxes for owls, you could look into putting up a couple or you could get a cat. Just thoughts.
I love the irony of people moving to an area to embrace nature, and then not embracing nature. Garter snakes are harmless and beneficial, and like another poster mentioned, they’ll disperse once the weather warms up. If you’re really that freaked out about them, get some Safer Snake Away and be done with it.
Greetings from Canada
Like everyone else I have good days and bad days. The hardest is not being able to hug my grandchildren at Easter or attend Sunday service. But our church did have a live feed and was able to attend mass on Sunday. That was comforting. But I felt that there was something that I needed to do to stay connected to my neighbors. Being inspired by a message from Joyce Meyer I decided to act on an idea to stay in touch with the outside world. I started to place messages of hope on my lawn. Easter Sunday was : “He Is Risen”.This week the message reads:“Together we are going to make it.” As everyone drives by they will see this sign.
Remember keep safe. There is still to much living to be done.
God Bless