Things are starting to open up in Maryland. And also in Howard County. For a while, the Howard County executive, Calvin Ball, was refusing to open the county even when the state was opening — in spite of the fact that our county has far fewer cases of Covid than some other counties (whether counting total numbers or per capita). It didn’t take him long to figure out he got a lot less criticism if he just followed the governor. Now he’s making small adjustments to the governor’s plans. I think it’s a head game with him. Anyway, many businesses, including restaurants and barbers, are open with restrictions. A few are still closed, including malls, movie theaters and mini-golf. Our church is having outdoor services this weekend with a limit of 250, who must socially distance and wear masks. They sent parishioners a survey asking when we would feel safe coming back to services. Both Danita and I said “after there’s a vaccine”. We’re both over 65 and both have underlying medical conditions. So we’re pretty much hunkered down for the duration. We go to the grocery store, and wash our hands, and order two carry-out meals a week, and wash our hands, and social distance, and wear masks, and try not to touch our faces, and wash our hands.
In spite of that, we participated in several high-risk behaviors this week. We let a contractor in to talk about possible new doors to the deck. We let a plumber in to replace our busted garbage disposal. We let an exterminator in to get rid of some carpenter bees. (I asked him to walk around when he came, but before he was done it was raining. I couldn’t ask him to walk in muddy ground in the rain.) And we had a party! Our neighbors the Jones are as careful as we are. They have an extra good reason to be careful because her 90 year old mother lives with them. We invited them to our back porch Wednesday evening. We sat in chairs placed 6 feet apart. They ate their cookies and drank their wine while we ate our pretzels and drank our wine. Not sharing wine is easy. They drink only sweet white. Is that even wine? But we both felt a little funny not sharing food.
I wrote earlier about how hard it is to find cleaning products. I ended up scoring bathroom cleaner for free! I saw my favorite brand available at Walmart online and ordered 4 bottles. They were to arrive Wednesday. I got an Email from FedEx saying they couldn’t deliver the package because it is damaged. I couldn’t ask for a refund online because I had nothing to return, so I called Walmart. 20 minutes later they called back and told me they were out of stock, but they could refund my money. The next day FedEx delivered 3 of the 4 bottles. That was another call to Walmart to let them know to charge me for 3 bottles. 20 minutes later, they said I should just keep it. Pretty good score, if you ask me.
Danita and I have participated in several video presentations — talks, cooking shows, concerts. We’ve pretty much decided WebX is the most unreliable platform available today.
This should be an exciting week. Monday we have a virtual meeting with a contractor about deck doors. Tuesday I have a 1:00 neighborhood meeting to discuss speed bumps with an expert from the county. I’m not sure why I’m in that meeting, but I was invited. I like speed bumps. If there’s a few inches between the bump and the curb, they’re easy to skate around. Even if I go over them, they’re just about the only thing I can do faster than a car. That’s followed by a 2:00 neighborhood meeting to discuss opening our pool. I’m in that meeting because they might want an online reservation system. Then Tuesday evening it’s a condo meeting, which will mostly be about repairing water damage to houses. This might total up to more excitement than I can handle all at once. I might need a little wine Wednesday evening to calm things down. And maybe some Doritos. Or pretzels. Not that I’m anticipating.
I hope this finds everybody doing well.