This week, Moly Shea takes you on a journey of making a crazy quilt during the seventh week of social distancing in Indiana and keeping occupied with reading.
–Before I begin talking about crazy quilts — it’s important for you to know about the rumors that have been floating around that there might be a lifting of the restrictions put in place because of COVID-19.
In any event, there are some states where businesses have already been allowed to reopen. It’s said we’re going to have to observe the six-foot distancing guidelines.
Still, I’m not certain this is realistic. I’ve watched the construction guys outside of my house. They can’t keep a six-foot distance between them if they are going to do the job right. In most workplaces, this regulation is unrealistic.
In addition, It is one more rule put on workers by someone who has never done the job. Essential workers have already been exposed so many times over the past month they probably have immunity built up in their systems. It’s something the rest of us will have to do if we plan to reopen the world.
Day one of week seven of social distancing
The invaders showed up in full force at 8 am. with their helicopter sounds and back up warning beeps. They finished laying the section of pipe outside my window yesterday.
Rooster and I are glad the work moved further down the block, but we feel sorry for the neighbors. They will be the recipients of the sound effects from this point forward. The racket is similar to being on an action movie set.
The invading army of yellow-vested men confiscated my walking track. They have taken over the alley and sidewalks. I need to figure out an alternative place where I can get in my steps, or I will be trapped inside my house.
I spent the day editing chapter 11 and rewriting a short story. Also, the blog about social distancing during week six needed to be finished before I could start on week seven.
Furthermore, I worked on another short story from my NaNoWriMo project from two years ago for my writer’s group.
As well as discovering a new author during my social distancing experience.
I ordered a Mary Mills mystery boxset by an author named Willow Rose. I loved the storyline so much I ordered the fourth installment in the series. My next Stephen King will have to wait.
Day two of week seven of social distancing
I have a feeling today won’t be as productive as yesterday. Rooster and I got a late start. The construction guys are back. We hope they go home for the weekend. Rooster and I did manage to get work done on our separate projects.
By early afternoon, we knew it was time to stop. We met with our daughter and her family for dinner at a local park. They sat at one picnic table, and we sat at another. One of the men Rooster works with was there walking his dog.
We had a nice conversation with him while we made sure there was a six-foot distance between us. While we were at the park, the strangest thing happened. Two teenage boys were climbing on the roof of the Senior Citizen Center. It was like they knew the police wouldn’t bother to come after them because of the virus scare. Later that evening, we heard they were throwing firecrackers at people in the area of the park where we were sitting.
Day three of week seven of social distancing
Rooster and I spent the morning working. We wanted to get some words in before we went outside to play. In the normal world, we would have packed up our laptops and found a coffee house where we could write.
This adventure will not happen today because of social distancing. We did open the glass window on the screen door to allow the spring breeze to flow through the house. In times like this, you learn to appreciate the little things in life.
They have lifted some travel restrictions in our state. We climbed on the motorcycle and took a ride to a city about fifty miles from where we live. It was a wonderful trip. There is a little worry in the back of our minds. They say rural parts of the country might become the new hot spots for COVID-19.
The Tyson meatpacking plant is only thirty miles from where we live. They had one thousand cases over there. It makes us wonder what will happen here. Still, we figure a motorcycle ride is worth the risk. There is more to life than huddling inside your house hiding from a virus.
Day four of week seven of social distancing
For the seventh week in a row, I attended Pajama Church this morning. I’m starting to grow fond of this new form of normal. The construction guys didn’t show up at all today, which gave me my walking trackback for the day.
I haven’t walked for almost a week. I’m starting to believe I’m losing a little control over my social distancing physical fitness. I stopped logging my water, and it takes a lot of effort to go outside and get my steps in on days when I lack the motivation. That changes today. I’m making an effort to get back on schedule.
Rooster finally did it. The tandem bicycle tire issue has been resolved. The tube didn’t even explode when my husband filled it with air this time. It was a good thing because there was some sort of police action on the corner.
If the tire blew, we would have had guns pointed in our direction. We only rode a mile on our maiden voyage. There was a storm moving in, and we were using muscles we hadn’t connected with for a while.
We settled into our quarantine routine for the evening after we put the bicycle away. I put my New Orleans hat on my head to make the trip festive.
As a side note, Rooster and I have one claim to fame. A reporter was taking pictures of the opening of a comic book store a couple of years ago when we happened to ride past on our bicycle built for two.
The picture made the front page of the local paper. Of course, the photograph was taken from a distance, so only a few people in town even recognized it was us on the bike. In my opinion, anonymous fame is the best kind of recognition of all.
That’s one of the explanations on my long list of reasons I use a pen name.
Day five of week seven of social distancing
“I don’t even know what day it is,” Rooster moaned from the other side of the room. His statement mirrored my frame of mind exactly. We need to take control of our social distancing routine.
For Rooster and me, social distancing is a dry run for retirement. We need to establish some positive aspects into this undertaking to keep us motivated to stay living a life of adventure.
The first thing I did this morning was to clean. There is nothing worse during social distancing than a dirty house, and our place was starting to need some dusting and vacuuming.
Still Walking.
All the outside construction has stirred up a lot of dirt. I found another place to walk. The church parking lot down the street makes the perfect short track. (The building wasn’t always a church. It was once the roughest red-neck bar in town.)
Then I was able to get all my steps in before Rooster had to make a trip to his doctor’s office to get his vitamin B shot. He passed his COVID-19 test, which was a good thing. They wouldn’t have given him his injection if he hadn’t.
In addition, I finished piecing the blocks on my NYC memory crazy quilt. It is far from finished. It is sort of like writing down an outline of a story. Now I need to fill in all the details to make the memories I want to put in the quilt fall into place.
I have about a million stitches to sew before it is finished. It gives me a nice way to spend the evening.
Day six of week seven of social distancing
I had a thirty-minute training with WordPress this morning as part of my new plan. It was so informative, and my blog is looking and functioning much better. I spent the day categorizing all my blogs.
I’m glad I have work to do on my computer because it is so rainy and cold outside. It saves me from thinking about all the weirdness in the world. It appears they have found some sort of murder hornet somewhere in this country.
I’m expecting killer zombies to show up at my door any minute. If they do, I’m out of here.
Day seven of week seven of social distancing
Rooster said, “We’re going somewhere this afternoon because I have to get out of here.”
In all honesty, I know what he means. I’m experiencing some of the same feelings. The emotions run a little deeper than a case of cabin fever. It goes beyond not knowing what day of the week you are living. Incarceration for the crime of having a compromised immune system doesn’t seem fair. In other words, for being old people.
Rooster and I fear we will be stuck at home while the rest of the world goes out to play because we are old people. COVID-19 seems to stalk folks over sixty. It is bad enough we suffer from arthritis, but now we have to hide from a virus.
I never thought we’d have to carry masks in our car or wear them every time we went into the grocery store.
Stuff I’m doing to cope,
Firstly, I made chili for the third time over the course of the past seven weeks. It will be the last post I make until meat shows up on the store shelves again.
Secondly, I’ve run out of hamburger unless I find more hidden in the bottom of the freezer. This meal is easy to make. The canned goods I have in the cabinets have come in handy during the COVID-19 crisis. However, Rooster and I are tired of eating it so often.
Thirdly, I started reading Stephen King’s novel Hearts in Atlantis. It’s a little different from the way he normally writes. I’m two hundred pages into the book, and I still haven’t decided if I like it yet. I think I do, or I would stop reading.
Progress on the New York City Memory Quilt.
I’ve almost finished the chicken scratch on the New York City memory quilt. This method of stitching is sometimes called depression lace because the sewing is done on cheap gingham material. It is fancy and inexpensive. I use it as one of my signature stitches in my crazy quilts because I am the Henhouse Lady.
In fact, businesses are starting to open up here in Indiana. We can now travel from city to city. Hence, it’s confusing for people to know what they should do now. Are we are to stay home or reenter the world to spend money? To tell the truth, the reopening center on the economy,
What’s a person to believe?
The hardest part of dealing with this crisis centers around the conflicting information spewed out by the media. Firstly, we’re told masks won’t stop the spread of the disease. Now a person shouldn’t go out in public without one. One second we’re told to shelter in place, and the next, we’re instructed to get our nation’s economy moving again.
Hence, Rooster and I have decided the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. We’ve decided to turn off the news and live our lives to the fullest. I’m tired of writing about sheltering in place. The subject is starting to get monotonous. I long to go on a real adventure.
On a more positive note.
One positive note on the Murder Hornets, I heard praying mantises can kill them. It looks like the city where I live has us all covered.
We have a giant mantis guarding our downtown against an invasion of this next natural disaster. The metal monstrosity makes me feel so much more confident about my chances of survival of a possible Murder Hornet invasion. (And everyone thought our city government was stupid for erecting the giant green bug to attract tourists.)
When will the Zombies come to town?
I’m still waiting for the zombies. Rooster has a shotgun that will take care of them if they knock on our door.
If you’ve enjoyed reading about how I enjoy the art of the crazy quilt, please feel free to read about some of my other adventures and short stories.
A special thanks to Lynn Anderson who allowed me to use the t-shirt she designed for my feature image,