Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Sheltering in place

Like most of us, I've been slowed down a bit the past week or so by the chaos and disruption of the coronavirus, but I hope to get back to posting more new authors and some recent reading soon.

As some of you will have seen on the news, San Francisco has been ordered to "shelter in place", effective yesterday evening until April 7, meaning streets and sidewalks are becoming eerily quiet and we are more or less housebound. Andy and I are working from home, which is taking some adjustment, but we are very fortunate in that we will therefore continue to be paid as usual. Andy has been joking that if the virus doesn't get us, being confined to our apartment together might! We are, however, allowed to go for walks (gyms are closed), fetch food from restaurants (carryout only) and grocery stores, and go to medical appointments and other necessary errands, though we must keep a distance of six feet from anyone we encounter along the way.  I suspect we're all dealing with something similar, or if anyone isn't you may soon be...

I'm cheered, though, by the news that by the end of the week some new films, including Emma, which we have been looking forward to, are apparently being released for rental via streaming services (at least in the US, hopefully elsewhere as well).  So there's at least one evening's entertainment taken care of--has anyone seen it yet?  

We are both healthy and crossing our fingers we remain so, and I hope all of you do too.  Please take good care of yourselves, both physically and mentally.  A fellow introvert at work joked that she hadn't realized it but she'd apparently been preparing for a pandemic her whole life, social distancing and all, and I have to say the idea of staying at home for a few weeks doesn't cause much alarm for me, but I know that for others it will be quite difficult.

I find that in the past week I've been thinking often about the folks in London and other locations during the Blitz who stood air raids all night long and still showed up for work the next day and then went and stood in lines for their rations. For the most part, we're not in anything like that kind of crisis yet, and I very much hope we won't be, but that period always provides me with some very useful inspiration and perspective.

Stay well, and more from me soon!

19 comments:

  1. As you say, it's been (and will continue to be for a long time, I suspect) an interesting exercise in gaining perspective both about the things we take for granted and the things earlier generations went through. Take care and enjoy the extra reading time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Last Saturday evening at sunset my husband and I were out in our car and the streets were extremely empty, and those few that were out were scurrying home. it suggested to me of how it may have been during the blitz when all were heading to a tube shelter or to the Anderson shelter in the back garden before sunset and the siren sounded. stay safe and shelter! I am working still from the office but my husband is working from the house for now on. Now's the time to read something yummy, perhaps a binge on Connie Willis' Blackout/All Clear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really kind of feels like living in history for a bit. Yes, Willis would be a brilliant re-read right now. I hope you're able to work from home soon too!

      Delete
  3. I saw Emma just before all "this" began, and thought it an absolute delight. It will certainly lift your spirits.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have seen the trailer for the new version of "Emma," and looking forward to the movie itself. My next door neighbor saw it and liked it, but said the story if hard to follow. I, rather smugly, simpered, and said, Well, I have read the novel, and so...." Oh, you like that stuff, he said. Sigh.
    Speaking of books, I have at least four or five hooldsa t the library and cannot get them. Including at least two movies for which I have been waiting for a long time. Sigh. I did fill out my census form, and do keep washing my hands! Church has been cancelled (except for streaming) at least until Easter (if then) so today's big excitement is driving to the UPS store to return the really spiffy linen blazer I had bought in anticipation. OH, and I can wave to the gardener - from a distance.
    Tom
    Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You simpering, Tom?? I can't believe it! Sorry about your library holds. So tantalizing!

      Delete
  5. I saw Emma before our big shut down. It was totally delightful! The costumes were wonderful. The acting was great. Miss Bates was especially good IMHO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great to know. I'm hoping it's available by this weekend.

      Delete
  6. Well said, a lovely post. My son is in London and he is frightened for his children, the fact that they have to live with parental fears. I do what I can from a distance. I have taken to watching a TV channel here in the UK which shows black and white films from the 40s and 50s, somehow they provide the escape I need. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cathy, yes comfort films and books are certainly the order of the day! It's good to know that kids seem mostly not to get it very badly, but certainly much better to avoid it altogether. Stay safe and healthy!

      Delete
  7. I had a date to see Emma the weekend it came out, with a friend who lives a 2-hour drive from me. But I had to postpone it.

    So now, we're going to watch it online together when it becomes available, and text each other with our ongoing comments...."Ooo, look at that dress!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may be watching with you too Susan! Hope you're somewhere comfy and safe with lots of books!

      Delete
  8. Take good care Scott. Look forward to blogs resulting from your extra reading time. Here in Vancouver Canada similar circumstances. I was lucky as the four Furrowed Middlebrow books I ordered arrived at my office last week before we closed. Bronwen

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh and Emma which I saw several weeks ago was wonderful! Bronwen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bronwen. Hope you enjoy the FM books and thanks for ordering! Stay safe and healthy!

      Delete
  10. Take care of yourselves. I am fine working from home because that's what I do, but now I have my husband in the house, in fact since our holiday 2 weeks ago so we got a week's head start on everyone else. I am trying to see the positives and as someone without dependents etc. am volunteering in our street's team to support those who are self-isolating. Take care of yourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've also been drawn to WWII fiction. I have an anthology of short stories by women called "Wave Me Goodbye" that I've been dipping into, and a nonfiction book about a remote French town that hid hundred of Jews during WWII.

    If nothing else, the current situation will behoove me to read books off my own shelves. . . so I can make room for more!

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: The comment function on Blogger is notoriously cranky. If you're having problems, try selecting "Name/URL" or "Anonymous" from the "Comment as" drop-down (be sure to "sign" your comment, though, so I know who dropped by). Some people also find it easier using a browser like Firefox or Chrome instead of Internet Explorer.

But it can still be a pain, and if you can't get any of that to work, please email me at furrowed.middlebrow@gmail.com. I do want to hear from you!