This is the update for March 29.
I got up sometime after 8. I was about to just plunk down at a computer, but instead I decided to take a walk. I got dressed in workout clothes and grabbed some water and my camera and was out the door at 9.
I walked out of the apartment complex and down the street to see the cherry blossoms. Some of them were in full bloom and some of them were losing petals (just like the end of the school year in anime). It was really pretty.
When I got up to the big construction area north of our apartment complex, I walked in front of it and then alongside it to try and get a good view. It looks like dirt has been piled super high in some spots and cleared in others, so maybe something multi-level is going on? I know there will be something residential there, and one of Sean and my favorite restaurants, which closed for this new construction. Right now, though, the only thing built is a parking structure.
I decided to keep going down that side road, which was a great choice—I got to see beautiful flowering trees and pushes and a drainage feature that was actually quite picturesque. Eventually I passed through an area of new condo construction and came out at a large office building housing a handful of businesses; there was a giant fountain out front, and the cool breeze there was refreshing.
I checked the map in RunKeeper and found which way I should turn to get back to the main road, so I did that, going through more nice condos and coming out right in front of where Sean used to work. I turned right to go further up the road to see a redbud tree I’d noticed while driving, and then I walked even further to look at some new construction on the other side of the street.
Unfortunately it started raining, so I didn’t take many pictures of the new construction there. I have heard we’re getting a Super Kroger and I’m very excited about it. Of course, I have no idea when these construction projects will be completed, given coronavirus.
I headed back south on the other side of the road, which brought me close to some beautiful magnolia trees. I also saw some pretty shrubs. When I got to the first strip mall near our apartment, I walked in to pass in front of the storefronts. Several of them had coronavirus signs about changed hours and procedures. Jersey Mike’s said something like “please social distance.” By this point I had passed several people on my walk, and staying out of range of two of them had been impossible, but I always turned completely away from them as they walked by. Here, a guy got out of his car to go into CVS, so I walked out into the parking lot to go completely around the area he’d been in.
Beyond that strip mall was an office building with a lovely little green area, and there was a dogwood tree and some flowers. Then there was another strip mall, the one with Smoothie King in it. I went in and got a smoothie because I’m ridiculous. There were two other customers, but we all kept a good distance from each other and didn’t touch anything. (I used the edge of my credit card to type on the card reader.)
I did not pick up a straw; I took the smoothie home and set it down and immediately took a shower, and then I carefully put the smoothie into my insulated cup. It had gotten a little runny but not too bad. It was after noon by then but the smoothie was my first meal; I drank it while sitting at my computer in the dining room.
I ended up spending hours writing the post I put up yesterday. During that time I made myself a PB&J and chips for lunch and snacked on cheese. Then it was time to pick up the groceries, so I woke Sean and watched a few episodes of Haikyuu! while I waited for him to shower and dress.
The Kroger I chose to pick up from was 8 miles from here; our closest one doesn’t do pickup. When we got there it wasn’t too difficult to see what to do. There were parking spaces marked for pickup, and you pull into one of those and call a phone number. After that it was some time before someone finally came out. She handed us a receipt showing what they weren’t able to fulfill and what we had been charged, then put the bags in the trunk. For some reason, Sean had to get out and help her close it, which made me a little antsy.
We brought the groceries home and put them away, then made a list of what was missing and Sean went up to our local Kroger and got most of the rest of it. They didn’t have any toilet paper other than their house brand, so he didn’t get that, and they limited the amount of meat and eggs you could buy. But we now have the majority of the things we need for the next three weeks.
I stayed home for this second grocery trip since I am uncomfortable going into a store where there are probably lots of people around. Sean brought the stuff in and put it away and then took another shower before dinner.
While Sean was showering, I cleaned the kitchen, broke up the meats into smaller bags and put them in the freezer, and then made dinner. We decided to eat the last of the hot dogs, so I boiled those and some veggies, and we sat down together on the couch and ate while watching NCIS. By this time it was past 9 o’clock, way too late. I ended up staying up until 11:30pm. On a school night!