“Battle map has been drawn,” wrote our enthusiastic meteorologist who hails from Florida. We’re expecting heavy snowfall by mid day and continuing until morning.
I plowed the driveway yesterday, so the concrete absorbed heat from the sun and will melt the first flakes. After that, as always in Big Grove Township, we’ll see what happens. We are in the middle of the red zone she mapped out for us.
Staying inside was the plan all along. People are talking about the end of the coronavirus pandemic with hope in their voices. Now that people we know are getting vaccinated, there may be an end in sight. A University of Iowa epidemiologist wrote yesterday it won’t be over until cases of COVID-19 are minimal in our community. One hopes public health professionals will instruct us in what that means.
Thus far in January, I wrote 54,175 words, more or less. That includes three categories of writing, blog posts, rushes (first drafts), and a final draft of the book that follows the outline. I’m rapidly learning the quantity of words is less important than their quality. With so much output, I need a week to catch up on editing. It does appear this autobiography from the contagion will proceed to a finish. With seven more days in January and a snowstorm in the works, I should be able to focus on the work.
We cook all of our meals and have been since the pandemic began. Saturday I made a batch of chick pea salad, one of my favorite dishes. Our meal rotation includes spaghetti with tomato sauce, pizza, chili, stir fry, soup, sandwiches, oatmeal, tacos, quesadillas, and various small plates intended to break down and disperse our daily eating over a longer period. In a nod to southern cuisine, we make a “meat with two sides,” although our meat is typically a veggie burger with two different vegetables. With both of us retired until after the pandemic, home cooking will continue.
Seven more days of living this January. I’ll take mine one at a time.
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