That Quarantine Life

Unlike most people in quarantine, we don’t have any streaming service subscriptions. Nope, no Netflix or Disney+ for us. We have had Netflix on and off over the years, but we never seemed to regularly watch it. So just as we have tried to streamline and minimize the physical items in our lives, we’ve also done the same for our digital items. But now nearly two months into quarantine, and having watched a new movie just about every night for the past month (and run out of TV shows), we’re starting to reconsider. Either we need to sign up for a streaming service this weekend, or the Hallmark Channel needs to run another Christmas movie marathon. Clearly my vote is for the latter.

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I’ve definitely heard of journaling, and even of people doing morning pages, but I’ve never given either much thought or consideration. But after reading this article, I’m starting to think that there might be some value in the freedom of writing solely for myself.

When we stopped by Home Depot a couple of weeks ago to pick up our third round of dirt for my fourth or fifth attempt at gardening this year, we noticed something. The garden center, specifically the seeds, were cleared out. “What, is everyone gardening in quarantine now?” I exclaimed to Ryan. Well yes in fact, it seems that they are.

We’re just Aunt Katie and Uncle Ryan for now, but even so, I found this article very thoughtfully written, “5 Ways Parents Are Getting Their Kids To Talk About COVID-19 Feelings.” We’ve been spending a lot more time connecting with our nieces and nephews the past few weeks, and helping them cope and navigate this difficult and strange time is definitely something that is on our minds.

I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about Jessica Simpson’s memoir, “Open Book.” And although I really love listening to a good “self-improvement” audiobook while we walk (currently “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer, which I am absolutely loving), I’m thinking about switching things up and going with this more lighthearted listen next.

After becoming just slightly obsessed with the “sparks joy” concept from Marie Kondo (which by the way, I am currently reading and really enjoying “Joy At Work,” which she co-wrote with Scott Sonenshein), I’ve now found myself drawn in by joy triggers. Yes, joy triggers. I first read about them here, and am currently working on incorporating them into my life.

Before quarantine gardening was even on anyone’s radar, apparently bread was. It was just a few weeks ago when we found ourselves perplexed at not being able to find a single online retailer to purchase our favorite Italian yeast from. We naively assumed that it was some sort of importing issue. But when we couldn’t buy any brand of yeast at the grocery store, we knew that something was up. I’m pretty sure that I said something along the lines of, “what, is everyone baking bread in quarantine now?” with the same exclamation that I had about the surge in gardening. But yeah, apparently sourdough has really become a “thing” in quarantine.

And speaking of bread, banana bread has also become a hallmark of this pandemic. And yet another thing that I am guilty of jumping on the bandwagon about. Although in our defense, we are regular banana bread bakers. But there’s no denying it, it hits the spot. Especially when you basically have the best recipe ever. Yep, I dare you to try and find a recipe that even comes close to Nana’s. Definitely quarantine approved.

Reading articles like this one get me super excited. As I’ve written about and shared multiple times, we’ve been making our own homemade cleaning solutions for about two years now, and we are obsessed with it! And truly nothing would make me happier than for more people to be doing the same. Trust me, the proof is in the pudding. You will never go back! (And just in case you are interested, here are the recipes for our All-Purpose Cleaner, our Glass Cleaner, our Granite Cleaner + our Alcohol-Free and Kid-Safe Hand Sanitizer.)

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Continue to stay strong and patient. I know that we are all ready to be phasing out of this quarantine life, but just remember to stay diligent. It is our commitment to stopping the spread that is giving our communities the strength to reopen. Stay home + stay safe!