Another week down where we haven’t been farther than ten or so miles from our house, and rarely even that far. While in some ways, things are starting to feel more normal (less surreal and more “real”), having that reality sink in isn’t all great. In some ways, it is better, because it means I’m not high alert anxious all throughout the day, and I am sleeping better. Though, I am also seeming to need ten hours a sleep of night, so I’ve swung from too little sleep to too much.
And what all three of us would really like to do is go on an adventure. My father and I were supposed to be getting ready to go to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha at the end of next week, and we had made plans with multiple friends for weekend camping trips. Clearly, none of those things are happening, at that reality of not going anywhere for the immediate future is really clear. We go out for a weekend trip every month or two at the very least, which very clearly isn’t happening now.
While not getting to go on adventures is not a big thing in the grand scheme of what’s going on right now, it’s still a bummer. We really want to go to Leavenworth, among other places both near and far. And missing out on the small things – and the bigger things – right now is okay, and something I have to keep reminding myself. We may be in a pretty darn good spot compared to may right now, but life is hard all around. And we aren’t competing for who has it worst. And there’s still a lot of good, even now.
Friday’s Frugal Five
1. My mother sent us with a box of toys she’s packaged up from her house, since the kiddo isn’t getting his regular weekday with her right now. She told me to save it until I needed to focus extra, and we opened the box this week. It was full of army guys and other small figurines, and the kiddo loved it.
While those were toys he had played with at her house, it’s been long enough since he’s seen them that they made his day. While it clearly doesn’t even come close to actually getting to spend his days with her, it matters a whole lot that she’s sending what love she can right now. We miss you, Mom.
2. We spend Earth Day this year… not driving. Surprising, I know. And eating leftovers. All in all, it was a pretty unremarkable day this year, which felt a bit off considering it was the fiftieth anniversary this year. Though we definitely as an Earth had lower emissions than normal, so there’s that (though that doesn’t feel good in light of the why emissions are so low right now).
I did, however, hop on with Harlan Landes and recorded a Facebook Live on the Plutus Foundation page. It was a fun chat, and it’s been recorded if you want to listen to it now (and eventually it will be shared off Facebook for those of you who don’t have an account).
3. I did a virtual yoga class with the one neighbor I do see a couple weeks ago, and it reminded me how much I do love practicing yoga. I never seemed to have the time to go to classes, and now that everything is virtual anyway, the hour long session seemed too much to commit to very often, so this past week I decided I would do a twenty minute video every day instead.
While I’d love to do an hour class more often, twenty minutes is much more doable, and for the last six days running, I’ve done exactly that. Because it isn’t that long, I find I can always squeeze it in, and it feels amazing. If you have a favorite (short) yoga video on YouTube or elsewhere, please send it my way! I’m trying to figure out which I like best, and I enjoy the variety.
4. I’ve continued to spend more time out in the garden, and it’s clear that spring is really here now – the asparagus has finally poked through the soil! I’ve also set up a few more small pots and planted some more carrots as well as Swiss chard that was given to me from a neighbor.
Beyond the planting, I’ve been harvesting spring garlic and other bits of produce a few days every week right now. While we aren’t exactly in full swing yet, it’s obvious that the garden is ramping up and becoming a larger part of our daily meals.
5. I finally made pho from scratch again this week. I’ve made it plenty of times in the past, but it’s been a while. I used up the last of the soup bones from our local bulk beef purchase, and they make the broth (and the meat added back into the soup.
If you’ve never made your own pho, I loosely use this recipe, and it’s totally fabulous. Not that hard to make, really cheap, but it does take time as the broth cooks most of the day. We sent the meal down to our neighbors, saving them from having to cook that night, just like they had done for us the night before with a different meal. Between them, our roommate, and ordering take out, I’m finding that we only cook dinner a couple times a week right now.
Exercise Update
The biggest change to my exercise this past week has been my daily yoga practice, which feels awesome. I also ran Friday and Tuesday, and while I wanted to run more often, I’m still trying to take it easy on my heel. I can still tell when I’ve run the previous day, but it’s getting (slowly) better. And then of course, I’ve taken a daily walk as well, sometimes with the dogs and sometimes by myself and an audiobook.
How are things going on your end?