Three years ago today my kids (then 8 and 10) decided to treat my husband and me to a fancy dinner at home as thanks for keeping them safe and sane during that first month of the #pandemic. We had no idea how much longer life in lockdown would last. #Covid #pandemiclife

My best tip for dealing with social isolation: if you and your friends install Signal on your cell phones, you can make international encrypted phone calls for FREE. The app itself is free as well and includes encrypted text / voice notes / audio calls / video calls / group chat for phone plus Window / Mac / Linux desktop versions, too.

#PandemicLife #SocialIsolation

Lately I'm really missing my dad, who died a number of years ago. We were very close (and very much alike). We were great pals.

There have been huge deaths & losses in my life since then, it's not the anniversary of his death, I have no idea what the trigger is.

I'm telling random people stories about him a bit compulsively.

Is this a Pandemic Year 4 thing? Compound grief + compound loneliness? I don't know.

#grief #PandemicLife

Food in isolation:

Local friends drop off gifts of food for me sometimes, approx 4 or 5 times a year on average.

A friend asked me for a wish list last week, and very kindly stocked me up on pantry items I was running low on.

I asked for one container of a perishable item.

The friend generously brought three.

This is where it gets exciting...

#SoloIsolation #PandemicLife

As I talk to people with slightly more normal pandemic lives than mine, I realize that people who are not living in solo isolation don't have a clue of what it's like -- and if I want them to know, I need to tell them. (I am in total isolation: no roommies, no pets, no social bubble. Astonishingly little human contact except by text. No human touch in ~3 years.) I might start telling some solo isolation stories on here. I think people really need to know.

#SoloIsolation #PandemicLife

A conversation during #quarantine in #2020:

My Sister: “Any requests before I submit the grocery order?”

My Nephew: “A new life?”

My Sister: “Umm, yeah. I’m pretty sure Target doesn’t carry that.”

Me: “And even if they did, it would probably be out of stock.”

#pandemic #covid19 #humor
#pandemicLife #toiletPaper #life

Here's something I wrote about THE MAGICIANS, THE BRADY BUNCH and how TV and the craft of writing can help us build intimacy and connections, even from far away, even on a zoom call.

https://bit.ly/MagiciansBradyBunch

#TheMagicians #TheBradyBunch #TV #FilmandTV #WritingCraft #MagicalConnection #LitHub #WritingCommunity #PandemicLife

I've not had a haircut since the pandemic started.

At some point I decided to let it grow for the wig people.

Just a few inches until I get the ponytail cut off, send it off to the cancer wig people and get a haircut.

#PandemicLife #Cancer #hair

Wow. Sanitizing the delivered shopping, rotating the stocks in the pantry and freezers, then portioning and vacuum packaging the bulk meats took me 7 hours (with a couple of short coffee breaks). Admittedly I did also do a deep cleanse of the Kitchen and thorough clean of the refrigerators as part of this, but I'm glad this is an exercise we only do every few weeks... 😓 Thaksful we can get everything we need tho. 🙏 #pandemiclife