My Corona Hideaway
Neighborly Love
Even in quarantine, my neighbors are keeping their sense of humor.
[Archived from spring 2020]
Nov. 2023 Update, as we prepare for Thanksgiving.
I debated whether to put readers through the awful COVID quarantine again, but decided that looking back on bleak times and on how we coped might make us appreciate our blessings all the more. There are even a few laughs here. I especially enjoyed some of the more creative quarantine song parodies. Enjoy if you can, and move to the next blog if you can’t.
I hope you’re staying safe and well and finding creative ways to cope with 2020. We are all in this together – that thought makes me feel better than watching the news.
The initial closings hit me hard. I was just crawling out from winter depression and about to launch my biggest lineup of poetry readings ever. I was also expecting three rounds of out-of-state guests. Bummer. I wallowed in my disappointment for a couple of days, then moved on to Plan B: Making the Best of It.
Even at my grumpiest, I knew I was more fortunate than most. When I moved to Kansas City, leaving everyone I knew on the East Coast, I understood the importance of looking on the bright side and trying to adapt. In some ways, that move was like a quarantine, since I didn’t know anyone to visit and had no job. I felt stranded. Now I really appreciate how email and social media make isolation easier to bear. Of course, “focus on the positive” is easy for me to say: being stranded with the World’s Best Husband is no hardship. In fact, he makes the quarantine way more fun. The cats aren’t sure why we’re ALWAYS here, but they seem to like it.
Musical Chairs is a favorite game. He who leaves a warm seat may not find it free when he returns. Watson left with head up. Darby on right.
Other big advantages for us: (1) we’re retired and (2) we’re introverts whose favorite pastimes are dining, reading, theater, movies, music, art, and reading. I haven’t written as much as I’d like, since my Muse slipped off one of those stranded cruise ships and is drinking piña coladas on a beach somewhere, but I’m reading more than ever.
I didn’t take a single souvenir photo of my 11-week old haircut, but put it into a poem, inspired by art on The Ekphrastic Review.
Self-Portrait in Quarantine
Day 20-something: can you believe
I’m growing paler? The raised-by-wolves
hairdo isn’t helping either, so I’m avoiding
mirrors. Instead, I’ll look inward, paint
a self-portrait.
I try cubism: no need to change
out of jammies or examine my face.
Replace my head with an open book –
a nod to realism. No arms or legs since
I’m frozen in time.
My heart flattened into a greeting card,
my torso a dressmaker’s form, parts of me
wired together with coat hangers.
My third eye wanders to my gut
and stares back without blinking.
© 2020 Alarie Tennille
Knowing people who contracted Covid-19 brought home the importance of being careful. Although disappointing cancellations keep happening, they’re no longer shocking me. We even survived the death of our water heater. I wouldn’t have done a staycation last year if I’d had any idea… Fortunately, the quarantine has also brought some happy surprises.
New Skills
Chris and I were supposed to give four more workshops on how to write thank-you notes at Amethyst Place. It wasn’t nearly as much fun to make a video, but I’m glad I figured out how. It’s a skill I expect to use again.
I’ve also learned how to Zoom. It was NOT easy for me, but I’m delighted to be seeing poetry readings again. Better yet, I was pleasantly surprised by an invitation to star in a Zoom meeting with the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Host Jimmy Pappas invited me to talk about my experience as a pioneer coed at the University of Virginia and then read a few of my ekphrastic poems.
[2023 update: I now know how to operate Zoom and have my own Zoom subscription, which allowed us to welcome a new member to our critique group who lives half way across the country.]
Food Adventures
Chocolate Ganache with Bourbon-Caramel:
Curbside Pickup from The Belfry
You probably know that Chris and I are foodies. I love to cook, and he has also been whipping up some new dishes. That doesn’t mean we don’t miss our favorite restaurants, too. I had a birthday recently and would have preferred dining at Story, but Chris picked up my favorite dishes for me. We’ve also enjoyed meals from Summit Grill, The French Market, Café Provence, and Governor Stumpy.
I miss going to the grocery store myself, but we appreciate the convenience of home delivery. Thanks to Eating Well, I made the best egg salad I’ve ever had this week. I use most recipes as suggestions and ad lib, so I added minced red onion and a few slices of smoked salmon. Using avocado in lieu of mayo makes the dish both healthier and tastier.
Entertainment
Just as Zoom is allowing some poetry events to happen (B.Y.O.B.), there has been an explosion of movies online, ballets, concerts, song parodies, etc. to pass the hours. Over the past few years, we’ve seen stage productions from the National Theatre in London at the Tivoli. We had tickets to see James Corden in One Man Two Guvnors (sniff!), but learned we could still see it on YouTube. It’s no longer online, but you should check to see if other shows might interest you. A lot of ballet companies are also sharing performances online.
Have you caught any of the quarantine song parodies? Here are a few of my favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdcS0Nbo7Ng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5azNpTwVk8
John Krasinski, whom you may recognize from his roll on The Office, has launched a YouTube Channel/Program called Some Good News. He shares feel good stories from around the globe. In this episode, he gives students a mini 2020 graduation ceremony where they get to ask advice from favorite celebrity role models: Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Malala Yousafzai, and Jon Stewart.
Books, Books, Books, Books, Books!
It was unfortunate that the libraries shut down, but my Christmas and birthday gift books have kept me well supplied with reading. Another nice surprise was picking up face masks made by a friend and getting an extra bag of books on loan. We share her love for WWII literature. You see this blog is about to end, so please stay tuned for my next installment with book recommendations.