When I started this blog a year ago, my goal was to preserve a record of daily life during an extraordinary time. I based the idea on the Mass Observation journals ordinary people kept during WWII in Britain. In his…
Category: Uncategorized

Liberation Day
Yesterday, the day that marked two weeks since we had our second jab, my husband woke up and declared it “Liberation Day”. One of his favorite things has always been going out to restaurants, so this would be our way of celebrating. He woke up thinking about the crab and avocado omelette at Elmer’s, here in Palm Springs...
Wrapping Up
Writing has been a kind of saving grace for me throughout this pandemic. I have spent many hours focusing on a China memoir that I hope will be done before long. Other tasks like writing a Lenten reflection, keeping a…

Neighbor Talk
Like snowdrops emerging, the warming sun this week has drawn neighbors outside and allowed us to chat without freezing for longer moments than in previous months and weeks. I could not resist crossing the street and yard boundaries to see what was happening in others' lives.
The Miraculous Normal
We returned to the Rockingham County Fairgrounds for our second shot last Saturday, but this time there were no long lines. We walked in, they checked our names, we moved the next room, we each sat down at one of…
Time Is Flying
There has been mostly good news this year so far, like Mr. Biden reuniting families that had been separated at the Mexican border, and vaccines are being developed, produced and distributed at a greater rate. Time hasn't slowed down yet, but if we keep our seatbelts on and pray, perhaps this will be a less jolting year than 2020.
Good News
The news on the virus is getting very complicated to sort out. Once you are vaccinated, what can you do and with whom and when? What can we expect with new variants? A New York Times story today said there…
A Year of Lent
What am I giving up for Lent? This year, that question seems weirdly out of place like a pot of mud on a dinner table. It seems like an artificial exercise for those who are privileged. I would be ashamed…
What is Normal?
The pandemic and the previous administration have been braided together so tightly that it is impossible to talk about one without talking about the other. Our knowledge of the virus, its effect on every aspect of our daily lives, our…
It’s Really Starting to Seem Like Groundhog Day
It's been our tradition over the years to watch the Bill Murray comedy, "Groundhog Day" on February 2nd. This is the first year that we've identified so much with it. We have a lot of routines, and habits in this…