Inside the Pandemic, Day 7

 Thursday, April 9, 2020

Yesterday was a hard day for me, so I didn’t write at all. I had to go to Walmart again, which I am finding increasingly depressing. On a walk this morning with my daughter and my dog, I looked around at the beautiful blue sky, the flowers blooming and the lovely drawings done by neighbors and realized how intensely lucky I am to live in the greatest country on earth. The fact that I can go to the store when I want, that I can walk outside, that the air is fresh--these are all blessings that it is only too easy to take for granted. I’m attaching pics of the sidewalk chalk art because I enjoy them every time I walk by them.

I have a rectangular flower bed that I’ve been working on since we moved to Hiawatha almost three years ago. It was completely overgrown with trumpet vine, weeds and some kind of groundcover--not vinca, but something like it. So, last fall I double-dug it, took out all the weeds and other plant matter and planted a bunch of bulbs. This spring--the pay off! The daffodils are just blooming and the tulips and alliums are getting ready to bloom. It’s far from done, but it looks so much better than it did. I’ll post a picture of it tomorrow. One of the primary reasons we bought this house is because it is situated on two lots and much of it is garden. The hardscaping is in decent shape, but it really needed a gardener to get it beautified. It will be a life-long project, but one I am up for! 

Finally, in my web-browsing last night, I found an interesting article about free courses that you can audit from universities all over the world. There is a gathering point called Class Central where you can search by subject, university, etc. I spent about 15 minutes on it and found almost 20 classes that I’d like to sign up for. There’s another blessing--free learning! Historically, learning has always been for the wealthy, but now anyone with access to the internet can invest in learning to their heart’s desire. Yes, sometimes the world is a big, scary place, but sometimes it is really fabulous.