My COVID-19 Diary 3: Spring Fever!

The daze drag on and on and on and ....

Janet and I have been stuck here in our Toronto digs for 6 weeks now. At first it was for 2 weeks of quarantine after we arrived back in Canada. Then followed another month of self isolation. With no end in sight. Not anytime soon. 

So far, we've survived the COVID-19 pandemic, if not the spring fever. Oh, to be back outdoors again, at the lake, as summer slowly but surely approaches.

Janet is our TV Queen, comfortably esconded for the duration of the quarantine, on the living room couch. We cuddle. Snooze. As the TV drones on and on and on, about the Coronavirus pandemic. In between endless shows and movies. Frequently punctuated by long chats with everybody and their mother, on the telephone.

It's more difficult for Janet. She's our social director. A real social butterfly. She loves getting dressed up to go out and about the city with the girlfriends, doing her Toronto thing. I can tell it bothers her greatly to just be stuck at home. One endless day after another, in ad nauseam, god only knows for how much longer.

As for me? I can take it or leave it. When we are on the road, I'm quite happy to be outside everyday. Endlessly wiling away my daze in the water, on the beach. But back here in Toronto, I'm quite happy to just stay at home, doing our own thing.

For a change of scenery, I'll retreat to the easy chair in my man cave. With my music, books, laptop and tokes. 

Yup! Mr. Grouchy needs some time out! Especially when the walls start closing in. And it all gets too much to bear.

But so far, we're still weathering the crisis amazingly well. Are thankful for any small diversion. As the weather outside gets warmer and spring fever sets in.

Luckily, it doesn't seem like that we caught the Coronavirus on our travels, but really -who knows?!? I'd like to be tested. 

At one time or another, I've checked off any number of the symptoms on the list. Janet too. 

A headache? Cough? Runny nose? All sorts of aches and pains?

Uh huh. You too?

It's crazy. Paranoia sets in. In my darker moments, I get neurotic. With a fatalistic tinge. 

Me? Die?? Now?!? OMG!!!

Then the panic attack passes and I'm fine.

Mostly, I quite enjoy relaxing at home. Just lounging about in my track suit. Or PJ's. With nothing but nothing we have to do. After the better part of a busy winter spent on the high road to Japan, Florida and Cuba. 

Suppose I'm an all or nothing sorta guy. Bottom line? Better safe than sorry! 

At most, we go out once every week or so, for groceries and supplies. Hit maybe one or two stores. Or we order online. Then sit around waiting for the delivery. Other times, our family will drop stuff off outside our door and we can all wave.

Afterwards everything has to be wiped down. Set aside a bit. Doesn't really matter though! it's not like we are going anywhere.

Safety first? Let's see -wait 24 hours for paper or cloth products. Up to 3 days for plastic and metal. 

Even opening the mail is an arduous task. 

I just need to remember to be here now. Relax. And go with the flow. 

Welcome to the new normal! It'll be okay. Like it or not, there isn't much any of us can do!

Some daze, I can't even be bothered looking outside the window anymore. 

Oh look -a car driving by! So and so is walking their dog! A noisy tin can is bashed about by the wind in the empty courtyard below. Then silence descends again. 

Spring fever? This is not the Toronto we love and know so well, come April every year. 

Mostly, it's just very dull and boring. Zzzzzzz.

With death silently lurking undercover amongst the city shadows. Spread by a friendly handshake. A sudden, unguarded cough. Uh, no thank you!

All things considered, why risk it? I'm quite happy inside. Feel safest when it's just Janet and me. Together alone.

Our granddaughter Hana is happy. She's 3 years old now. At home with mommy and daddy. All the time! Bet not much office work gets done. But they're happy too.

My mum's in a nursing home. My sister is a nurse. She keeps a close eye on her for us. Still, we worry a lot about both of them. So far, they've been fine. Though right now, it's the nursing and long term care homes that are getting hit the worst, here in Canada.

it's been a very cool spring. When the nice weather arrives, we can at least sit out on our 4th floor balcony. Have an outdoor toke. Enjoy the breeze.

Life in a high rise condo is pretty easy and carefree. Not much work. But it sure would be nice to have a backyard, at times like this!

With so much time on our hands, there's a lot of time for spring cleaning inside our place. Going through every closet, shelf, nook and cranny. Purging stacks of now useless files, from before we retired. Finally ending up in the garbage, their final resting place, where they belong.

To spice things up, we'll get dinner delivered once a week, usually on Saturday night. This week we were hankering for some good old-fashioned junk food. 

We decided on KFC's stay-at-home special. They royally fucked it up. And it cost way more than we thought. Or quite frankly, would want to pay for that crap. 

Get this -it cost almost $50 for 8 pieces. That included 2 sides which were supposed to be included, but were not.

Thankfully, the "Skip The Dishes" delivery service was quick, convenient and they pretty much followed the proper safety procedures. That only cost $5, the best part of the "deal". 

Nope! We won't be ordering KFC again. Beware. it's total BS. Despite what the advertisements say, like so many places, they simply just don't have their act together!

And so, back to the stress free safety and seclusion of my man cave. Listening to my favourite tunes. Lots of British invasion of late. The Beatles. The Stones. The Who. The Them. The Troggs. The Yardbirds. And The Kinks.

I've started pulling out the jazz again too; Miles Davis. Bud Powell. Monk. And Lena Horne too! 

No new stuff. As of late, I like my oldies. Very reassuring, tried and true.

I'll create playlists and mixes. Can do so for hours, late into the night. 

Or I just read. Daniel DeFoe's "Journal of the Plague" is currently on my Kindle. I finished Camus' "The Plague". Both are about the Bubonic Plague, not the COVID-19 virus. But the similarities are amazingly. In the reactions. The way it plays out. Truly, there's nothing new under the sun. Both books are definitely very timely -well worth a gander.

Or I write on my laptop. You might've noticed that I'm a lot more active on my blog. Been adding lots and lots of updates to my Teacher Free Speech and Oh Cannabis News and Views blogs. Am even starting a second edition of Teacher Free Speech, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.

I won't repeat the latest news stories here. Except to say, that we are very relieved our government isn't planning to reopen the Canadian/US border anytime soon. It's been very worrisome, even depressing to watch as the American COVID-19 Zombie Apocalypse spirals out of control, just south of our border. 

Compared to up here -it's sheer madness and chaos. Don't get me wrong -Like many Canadians, we too have friends and family living stateside. We usually go there a fair bit. Of course, we are very worried about our southern neighbours. But also ourselves. It's a real horror show throughout the US and just way too close for comfort!

Sadly, April 420 was a bust this year. So much for puff, puff, pass! I just sat around and got high at home. Like the day before. Or the day after. Or for that matter, most daze. Only without the homies and all my good buds, here in the flesh. 

This year 420 lasts all month. But who knows? In our household, it'll last a lot longer then that too!

These daze, I prefer getting high on edibles. Had about an ounce of leftover sift, I'd been stashing away. So I cooked up a great, big tray of very potent and mind expanding brownies. 

Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.

Also, am smoking the last of the Catatonic in my Shatterizer. Along with a few jeebs of this and that. Very nice, while I'm waiting for the brownies to kick in!

I tried going the legal route again. Janet was worried that we were almost out of CBD's, so I placed a medical cannabis order with Aleafia Emblem; a bottle of 20 gm capsules and an 1000 mg oral spray.  

The selection was very limited compared to what we were use to in Florida. Or for that matter at Toronto's unregulated High 5 Green Market. Was far too expensive too, especially with the tax and delivery charges. 

Plus we had to wait a whole week for it to arrive in the mail. Compared to a few hours home delivery via Weedmaps. So much for that.

Canada's licensed producers seem to be getting a bit wiser. Emblem has lowered some of their weed prices to $4 a gram. So I tried a few grams of Nebula. Tiny, dried out buds. Kinda icky. But citrusy and smooth. A pleasant enough, if not very light buzz. Sadly, with a much lower THC count than I'm used to. 

Otherwise? Am firing up some leftover Pink Kush and Tom Cruise. Both still got a nice kick. Mostly been smoking them in my Pax vaporizer. Better for the old lungs these daze ....

And so, I lie back in my easy chair. Sufficiently stoned, nay fortified, against all that ails. With spring fever on hold for now. Still trying to go outside as little with possible, and succeeding quite well.

As I take a toke, it feels like I'm floating in my kayak. I'm out on Lake Mississaganon once again. Moving too and fro with the ebb and flow of the gentle current. The  eddies. Drifting through time and space.

I wanted to head back to the lake, as early as possible this year. Get a good head start. But now that looks less and less likely with each passing day. 

In my mind's eye though, I'm still dreaming of happier daze ahead.

Be Well!

David C

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