We are ordinary people living in an extraordinary time. I am thankful for the roof over my head and food on my table. Wearing the same clothes for too many days (weeks?) is a minor inconvenience. I won’t list the things I miss. Everyone else has done that.
Hubby and I decided to “shelter in place” at our house in Dallas and temporarily forgo our weekly trips to our farm north of Dallas, at least for the near future. I decided to document my days at home by photographing the simple, usually unnoticed, things in my surroundings. It was a good exercise is “noticing.”
Spring arrives in Texas early, sometime in March, about the same time we received the stay at home order and my local gym closed. About five minutes from my house is the Preston Ridge Trail, a mixed-use trail that goes on for miles and is never crowded. A four-mile early morning walk became my daily aerobic workout (mask included). The absence of people was striking.
At home there is more cooking than usual which is O.K. since I like to cook. Maybe not quite this much. So much food prep meant more “noticing.”
Plus, a bit of early spring to brighten up the table.
I am a solitary person by nature, enjoying my alone time in my art studio. As an artist I am used to having large blocks of uninterrupted time, so the forced isolation was not as much of a problem for me as for others. I missed everything that filled my non-working hours, family, friends, dining out, cultural outings, travel, etc., etc. There is extra time for hobbies, one of which is knitting. I’ve been a knitter since I was eight years old (thanks, Mom). There is always something on my needles.
The house is quiet, inside and outside.
To be continued (Part 2).