Costco Shopping
Last Monday, before I started my CMO diet, knowing I needed lots of fruits and vegetables, I decided to go to Costco. And I would take the three day isolation afterwards. Costco opens at 9 AM for seniors and I would be very careful. But after sleeping on it for one night we both had our doubts, because the death count in North Carolina is still going up, and I decided to instead go shopping with Instacart. Great service, I had a carload full of all the items I ordered two hours later. I could barely store them in the refrigerator, but it worked. Except for one watermelon. When I put a watermelon on my list, I envisioned a little one. But coming from Costco I could have expected what I got: a huge one! The driver put it in the chair by the front door so that I didn’t have to pick it up from the ground, but carrying it inside was almost impossible for me. I dumped it on the counter and rolled it into a corner. I could not even take it to the sink to wash, as my daughter suggested, before cutting it. Cutting it? I don’t have a knife big enough or a board large enough, and my poor hands already went into hiding, like the dog when I mention the car in the garage. She hates riding in the car. Anyway, I thought for a few days about whom I could ask to cut this thing for me, then finally decided I should ask my son. He promised that next week he would sneak in through the front door to the kitchen and bring tools to cut my watermelon. I promised him he could take part of it home, because the two of us could never eat it all.
I also ordered frozen vegetables, peaches and mangoes, a supply for a month. Coming from Costco, they are big and beautiful and delicious. But I had so many! I should give some away! So the next afternoon I took one large peach in each hand and walked over tone of the cottages, where the neighbors sit in front of the garage every day as soon as the sun is behind the trees, but still in 90° weather. They had to make so many trips to different doctors, that they had to be in isolation for I don’t know how long and their patio in the back is too small and too dark to sit outside. They were very happy with their gifts. The next-door neighbors must also be in private isolation, because I haven’t seen them at all for two weeks. I should give them two of the large mangos, I thought. But then it dawned on me that my supply had to last me for a month, and if I would keep giving fruits away I would not have enough left for myself. I needed to give one more gift though. The lady at the front desk had loaned me her umbrella when we came out of the dining room and the rain was pouring down. I had an umbrella in the car, but I had forgotten to bring it inside. So she loaned me hers and I gave her a box with some mandarin oranges the next day.
Exodus
Because we are not living in he main building, we do not know much about what is going on there. So one night I called Bella, a very friendly lady who knows everything and everybody. We talked for 45 minutes and she gave me an update of people in the hospital, in rehab, people that have left because their son or daughter took them out, people that were going to leave, people who were in isolation because they had gone off campus, and two people who had passed away. I was flabbergasted! No wonder I had not seen many familiar faces when I walked the dog or dropped something off at the Club. Indeed, the new Resident Directory shows 20 vacancies in Independent Living alone. I have no idea what the situation is in assisted-living. Day after day the Crabtree Moving Vans stood at different exits of the main building, and then at one of the cottages. Waltonwood is allowing only one moving company to take stuff out or bring stuff in. Let’s hope that we will get new people in soon, and that we then sit with more than two people to a table.
No Air-conditioning in 95 degree weather!
Last week we heard that, because of the high temperatures, the air-conditioning was frozen. That sounded strange, but tonight the hostess told us that this happens every summer. We don’t remember that from the previous three years, but hey, if nobody can do anything about it, we’ll have to suffer through it. Last night we had a table by the window and it was so hot that we decided that we should order in as long as it will be this hot. Our air-conditioning is working well, or so we thought. But when we came home last night the temperature in the house was higher than we had set it. So it didn’t freeze but it could not pull the temperature down as low as we wanted it.
The beauty shop is open!
All the ladies are getting haircuts and color and new perms. One by one they are looking pretty again, and it gives them an incentive to put on some more colorful clothes, it seems. The stylist can only have two people in the salon at a time, so everybody needs to make an appointment, but it works. Even some of the men get themselves on the list, and everybody is happy. The atmosphere seems not so gloomy anymore. My own hair is growing steadily. I cut the bangs once in a while, and I still have color for one month. But when we can go out again I will have to make the decision to wear it short again or leave it long. To cut or not to cut will be the question!
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny