Sheltering- Mother’s Day, VE Day

May 9, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Empty Streets. Eerie Calm. No Celebrations. The 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe, WW11, passed without the usual crowds and with very little ceremony. Newscasts recognized the day and there were comments from our dwindling number of veterans. As one reporter said, “This might be our last chance to hear from WW11 veterans.”

This 1995 article is Mum’s recollection of the first VE Day

Twenty-five years ago, Mum took a tour that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of VE Day. As the article shows, May 8th, 1945 was to have been her wedding day. It was postponed until July 11th. My Dad was with the Canadian Army for the six years of WW11.

Mum died 14 years ago when she was almost 85 years old. Like everyone of her generation, the war marked her and my Dad. She survived the Battle of Britain and he, serving in an artillery unit.

When Mum was alive, (she was widowed at 53), I used to like to make Mother’s Day special. Usually it would involve a home-cooked meal with even a dessert. One year when he was 18 years old (or so) my son did the whole schmear for us both. BBQ and the trimmings. If it was nice, we’d eat outside.

Mum loved gardening and in particular, tried to coax tea roses to bloom in our harsh prairie environment. Sometimes she was successful but I never realized what she was trying to create until I saw their abundant tumble in English gardens. She had a green thumb and even once she had moved into an assisted living Lodge, she maintained hanging baskets and containers of flowers.

Each year, the local Flower Club organized a bench show (likely in conjunction with Stampede Association later on). I helped her with her exhibits in later years (and even entered a few categories myself). Mum won firsts and she, and a good friend, made a whole day of it.

This time of year, she and I would have gone to the local greenhouses and I could get both of our purchases in the car trunk. It was an afternoon of relaxed wandering through the potential of this year’s flowers. The year after she died, when I went myself, I was struck by nostalgia. Without Mum, the greenhouse lost some of its colour. This year, Mother’s Day, will be different for everyone but phone calls can help. I miss you, Mum.

Sheltering – Adapting Activities

May 4, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

May the force be with you!

I’ve been retired for more than a few years now but that doesn’t mean that before the pandemic I puttered around cleaning my house or maybe cooking great meals. There were other things to do. I am on the local library board, a member of the local arts council, and our adult learning board.

I am part of a painting group that meets at the Anglican Church in town. Everyone who takes part is of a certain vintage and the sessions were in the afternoons on a Tuesday and Thursday. Obviously, this has suffered the fate of so many pastimes and there have been no meetings since the beginning of April. However, one member set up a group text and we have kept in touch that way. Covid 19 has been tough on creativity for some, and there hasn’t been a flurry of texts with new paintings, but there has been contact to keep up with everyone’s news OR lack of. Why not a Zoom Meeting, Google Hangouts, Houseparty? I did say we were of a certain vintage. Still the texts work and some days my phone pings often.

My writing group meets once a month, usually on a Thursday that suits the 5 of us. We’ve missed a meeting and now, in May, we should be getting together. Despite the “loosening” of restrictions, it isn’t going to happen. Instead (with the deadline of May 14), we are going to email one another a new piece of writing- a poem, an essay, a reflection, a short story. With a little motivation, it’s easier to do some of the things you normally would, just in a different way.

So…even retired people of a certain vintage can find ways to continue with their interests. It isn’t the same but it’s better than not doing anything. When the pandemic calms down, we can go back to the meetings and gatherings. We’re not there yet so I will write something for my writing group and email it and I’ll try and produce a painting…stay safe. Find a way to do what you like.

Sheltering- First Covid Haircut

April 27, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

“I need a haircut.” Not on a protest sign, a desperate plea in our own home. Gary thought a cut was long overdue and yesterday he finally succumbed and allowed me to get the scissors out. It was with great trepidation that he sat in the kitchen, shirtless, while I wielded the scissors normally reserved for Scruffy. My little dog has no teeth and a fragile jaw so I “groom” him; and now I was going to groom Gary.

Knowing that Gary is particular and more than a little vain, I took care to clip only the back of his head. Then he had to check in the mirror. Next were the instructions on how he wanted the hair he combs to the side trimmed. After that and no major disaster, he described what must be done to the other side. Not too much later he was satisfied, no small feat on my part. Gary was actually delighted because he’d expected to look bad.

In the day, people did things for themselves. I cut my Dad’s hair, I cut Mum’s, I even cut my brother’s in the late sixties, although the result gave him a distinct resemblance to Friar Tuck. The home salon experience didn’t end there. In our farming community in the 50’s and 60’s, home perms were beyond popular. I remember Richard Hudnut and Toni brand names and Prom may have been another. The one Mum favoured came in a pink box. She lent out her “perm rods” and was sought out for her skill in using them. Everyone looked like a poodle because the resulting “curls” were tight and their ends burned by the harsh ammonia. The “permanent wave” never loosened and needed re-doing in about 4 months.

Our neighbour, Julia, was a big fan of Toni.

I liked doing friends’ hair and it was an economy. The salon was for very special occasions. One of the last times I gave a “perm”, my girlfriend and I got into her husband’s gin. When he came home to the odour, two tipsy women, and a wife with hair like a frizzed Brillo pad, he was furious. Fortunately, when my friend’s hair was “set” and dried, it looked fine.

“I need a haircut.” Next time I hear Gary say this, I’ll be a little nervous. I shouldn’t have done such a good job; the bar is now set high. All the same, I was glad to see the we could still “do for ourselves.” It was a time honoured tradition that people are re-discovering as they stay home. It’s nice to be fussed over and looked after. Estheticians and stylists provide a service but in these times, you can “do it yourself.” Stay safe.

Sheltering…Another Covid Birthday

April 22, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Thirteen years old. It’s a big birthday; an entrance to the teen years. Only a little over a month ago, my big worry was what to buy my grandson. Something special? Or give him some birthday money?

The reality?? I texted his Dad to see if I should make an e-transfer. I could have gotten something from Amazon but grandmas and thirteen-year-old tastes don’t have a big overlap. In the end, I didn’t even send a card. My grandson may be thirteen but he’s pretty mature and his Dad explained that when the time is right, we’ll be together and we’ll get the gifts and have a belated celebration.

So…a thirteenth birthday can’t go totally unremarked. This morning, I made a video featuring me and the dogs. I sang “Woof, woof,” for them. I don’t think they get videos or singing. A bit later, Gary got his guitar and we sang Happy Birthday again. This time, me (not the best singer and the key was kind of high) and Gary, with the dogs nodding along. I kind of hope my grandson got a laugh. He texted a great thank you back…

Everyone needs a little humour on their birthday.

This afternoon, his Dad sent pictures of his birthday cheesecake, his birthday bbq, and the birthday hug from his nine-year old sister. The expression on his face is so long suffering I laughed aloud. All the same, his family made the effort to show him he’s loved and to make the day special as it can be.

Thirteen. My grandson is a teenager. During normal times we’d have gone to the city this Saturday, had a very nice home cooked meal, and stayed overnight. In the morning we might have gone to The Moose Factory for brunch. A great place for kids because there’s no waiting and thirteen is still a kid. One of these days, when the pandemic is settled, we’ll do it.

Sheltering – Covid Creativity or…

April 18, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

The theory of gravity, the theory of optics, the invention of calculus. For a year and a half in quarantine during the Black Plague, Sir Issac Newton used his time wisely.

Shakespeare, penned King Lear, Macbeth, and Cleopatra. Check your Facebook feed. People are using this time of self isolation to create wonderful things.

The pressure is on. If you can’t be at work, if you can’t meet with friends, if you can’t ‘go shopping’, then why aren’t you coming up with some unique insight into quantum mechanics? Perhaps if physics isn’t your thing, you’d like to write pandemic poetry or branch out into music and develop the covid chorus.

People have taken to cleaning. If these are our final days do you really want to spend them cleaning?? Or organizing your wardrobe? Or putting that spare room in order? The stories of these activities only increase my own anxiety.

I do have a novel, written a couple of years ago that is partly re-written and edited. Is it the next Great Canadian Novel?? Chances are, no. Could I use this time to make it as good as it can be? Yes. Am I? No. I could clean. As Anne of PEI said (and I paraphrase) “It doesn’t leave much scope for imagination.” Could I work on a bit of art? (I have started painting watercolours). But I don’t.

I’m trying to break the habit of trolling in social media to see if the pandemic is breaking or if we are all facing the end of the world. That leaves me in a peculiar state of lethargy. Sitting here, imagining all the things I could accomplish, yet not motivated to move.

Newton and Shakespeare were geniuses, people. Cut yourself some slack. These are extraordinary times but it doesn’t mean you have to accomplish something phenomenal. If the laundry piles up a bit, if the floor gets a little sticky, if the rug could use a vacuum, don’t worry. It’ll wait for you. If you, too, have the great Canadian novel waiting for an edit. Relax. When the time is right, you’ll get to it. Not everyone is going to come out of the pandemic with works of great creativity. And that’s okay. Stay safe.

Sheltering – A Date Afternoon

April 16, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Movie? Romantic Restaurant Meal? Friends Over? The options have narrowed; all but essential businesses are shut down and restaurants are curbside and takeout only.

Stay home. Hunker down. Self-isolate. But a drive and a walk in the country? Allowed and when you live in rural Alberta, there are places where chances of running into another soul are slight. Yesterday we did just that and it was a date afternoon that the dogs could take part in, too. A quiet walk in the country.

Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Not to discourage anyone but the excuse for the walk was to scout a possible wilderness site for a lunch when the weather at last warms up. Yesterday the wind was strong and bitter. Even the 0 to +1 temperature felt cold. We wore out winter coats and were glad of them.

Our drive took us into an area of “heritage rangeland.” It is an arid place where trees are twisted and dwarfed. The wind has scoured the land, scooping out depressions in the sandy soil. The snow and ice persist and the ground is rough. We park and head out, Gary scanning for the best lunch spot that might be out of the wind and exposed to the sun.

Our Jack Russell runs eagerly over the rugged terrain, casting for the scent of gophers or mice. There are none but she is not discouraged. My little guy (under 10 pounds) picks his way gamely through the ground cedar, short shrubs, and dead burr plants. Gary spies 2 or three possible sites for our next date afternoon and asks which I prefer. In all honestly, they’re equally bleak. We get back to the truck and the decision is left for another day.

Glamourous? No. Exciting? No. Costly? No. Date afternoon despite the chill, the desolate landscape, and the wet feet (mine), was still a success. That bitter wind? Cleared the cobwebs and made the cab of the truck warm by comparison. Brown, depressed scenery? Made you appreciate the tenacity of the wildlife that survives; there was plenty of tracks. Sooo… no movie, no candlelit dinner, no visits – but one day soon, a romantic al fresco date lunch. A simple outing to anticipate.

Easter Sunday- Sheltering Version

April 13, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Stay home. No family gatherings. No big Easter meal. Corona virus and unseasonable cold combined to make it possible to descend into deep funk.

Instead, I decided those of us sheltering alone (me, Gary and the two dogs) should have a nice meal anyway.

“I’ll roast that other chicken,” I said.

“We ate it. There’s no chicken in the freezer. I can get another one.”

“No. There’s a pork roast. We’ll have that.”

So yesterday the menu was pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw, peas and carrots. As I mentioned to my son (who made a spectacular meal for his kids), “Your Dad likes boiled vegetables. The peas and carrots will be a hit and I can’t handle a lot of spice and heat myself.”

The apple pie featuring our own backyard variety was labelled 2017 but I baked it anyway. It looked good and smelled good.

Time to eat. And of course, the critique.

“The roast is dry,” said Gary.

Well, yes, it was. We tend to overcook pork. A hold over from the days when trichinosis was a danger. But the meat was still tasty.

The peas and carrots? (Boiled and buttered)- pronounced “Delicious.” Can I call it???

And the pie? It may have been less juicy, but honestly, there was nothing wrong with it. I was glad the three year old label didn’t put me off. As you can see, I dug out a candle that had resided in a cupboard for years, too.

So we stayed home and there was no family gathering. We did have a more simple meal but I paid more attention to its preparation than I would for an ordinary supper. It made Easter a bit more normal in this serious new reality. And the dogs?? No they didn’t get to sit at the table. That’s something I’m contemplating but I’m not there yet.

Happy Easter.