Hitting the Hump?

Like many of you, it seems, I have for whatever reason, seemingly  hit some bumps in the road lately.  I mean, in theory I have accepted for awhile that life will not be as it was, probably for close to a year. I've accepted that large group meetups, swimming in the heated pool at the rec center or taking an exercise class, in movie experiences, and over night day trips are a thing of the past. Just to begin with.

But all of a sudden, the at home thing has really hit me. Especially as I am among those who are committed to truly continuing to stay home by choice, as opposed to starting to hit the exit doors. While I appreciate that restaurants are open and my son's company will survive, I personally am not going to a sit down restaurant any time soon. Nor am I going to a hair dresser, nail salon or any one of a host of opportunities that are opening up. I'm still taking advantage of curbside pickup from my local small businesses, although I prefer delivery. And Instacart is my future, probably permanently. This feeling has just grown after my couple days of driving to recharge my car and driving in and out of local shopping centers to see what's going on. After seeing non family members maskless and shoulder to shoulder and growing crowds and how people make fun of those who wear masks, I'm avoiding that environment for as long as I can. 

Is it summer?  The changing seasons?  Does the close to seventy day isolation mark mean something (or however many days it is since 10 March)? I thought I was doing well, but all of a sudden not quite so much?

Today I left my bubble for the first time to drop off my car and get a new battery. I learned my lesson and will be driving twice  a week alone now to get out and about. If a swollen gum does not start healing, I'l be visiting my favorite dentist next week. Other than that, nothing will be changing that much that I can see.

I realize that I am better off than many, and in fact I have shared the lists of things I have to keep me "busy".  I have about fifty things that I CAN do anytime I want to inside this house. I have a VERY large yard filled with plants and flowers and trees. I don't live alone (something that I consider even as I remain commited to living alone in the fall in my active community in Texas), and my nature is to self entertain with little difficulty. Even so, more than my large social groups, I miss the chance to run to the library (even if it is to drop off a book), to take a drop in exercise class, To take myself out to lunch alone at the spur of the moment, to drop off a package at the post office, to partake in a local church group small group (see below).  

So what to do?  It would be easy to just make a list of all the things I could sew or knit to or paint or write get through the summer, and I'm working on a list of "creative" projects to make or finish, as well as ideas of a complete handmade Christmas that I can work on in my free time.

But I also need other things that will make me happy, busy, content, or all three, as I move through the next months. So I've begun a list, and I know that I am not alone in this, as I've seem something similar on at least four blogs in the past few days.. Some of these are things that must be done to put my life forward, most are things I want to do, and some I suppose are things that will challenge me. Like other lists, this list is ongoing and a moving target, if you will.

• Go outside for at least two hours every day unless it is absolutely pouring or hailing (my doctor would rather I exercised in house instead of walking, so this is my substitute for my two hour walk, and as I hope my photos show, the yard is worth it, no thanks to me). I have a huge need for sunshine, fresh air, and nature.
• Start ordering via take away or delivery at least once a week. I know many readers have been doing this. We have not, and while I am on the agggressive savings plan for Texas I am SO VERY tired of cooking. And as the mother of a resturant manager I want to support local businesses. This is a sanity saving issue.
• Find a summer online Olli or other type of class and watch it (I think my local Olli center has nothing till Fall so I may need to look further)
• Have brother and sister in law over to see the yard, give my notice and maybe have fourth of July cocktails (we have two large outdoor table and chair sets about sixteen feet apart so they could come in side gate and we could still distance)....edit: Yesterday SIL called and asked if we wanted to come over a week from Saturday and visit and social distance in their back yard so we could see their garden!
• See if there is a way to have a small group park meeting with my gals, or maybe in someone else's yard so we could see each other at least once.
• Join in a small group in my church. The plan is for these to be virtual now, but they would be less than ten people and by zip code. So as the groups felt comfortable, they would get together in person.
• I'm a road tripper. Take a drive that ends in a park or somewhere that I can hopefully get out and move around a teeny bit while isolating and then drive home.
• Eat the yummy stuff: No, I don't want to throw health to the wind. But an A and W rootbeer float is calling to me, as is the lemon meringue pie a certain person will make today. And I want a nice smore, like  yesterday.  Damned the ever lovin calories.
• Bake:  a custard pie, a family sized flan, blueberry muffins
• Wear the good clothes on occasion. And the perfume, earring and accessories. Even if it's just for me and those who live with me.
• Cook: explore a bunch of slow cooker recipes specific to summer
• Figure out some physical, active volunteering I can do as opposed to just giving money (which is needed during this time).  I actually have a plan for this that I will share.
• Take a virtual museum tour and/or watch a virtual concert or play on a regular basis (we have Disney plus and I am counting the loooong days until I can stream Hamilton which I was supposed to see on a train tour to Chicago).
• Take a virtual group sip and paint and other craft class
• Call daughter and son in law weekly (not sure I am driving down ahead of the move at this point unless I feel I need to do something with the Sequoia)
• Work on the Texas list, which includes room by room breakdown of take, sell, donate, give to son's apartment, research pods for moving, and about eighty other things which deserve  seperate post. This is must do stuff, boring as some is.
• Create some new music play lists on Amazon Music
• Play with old family photos and make a shutterfly like album or two.

I need more. Any ideas?