Life in the Time of Covid-19

It was inevitable: the scent of baking bread always reminded her now of isolation. She noticed it as soon as she entered the still darkened house where she had hurried when she received the call that her lover had come down with Covid-19.

Have you read or seen the movie, “Love in the Time of Cholera”?

I was moved to think about it again given the times we are living through:

“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. Dr. Juvenal Urbino noticed it as soon as he entered the still darkened house where he had hurried on an urgent call to attend a case that for him had lost all urgency many years ago.” – Gabriel García Márquez

Death and sickness, upheaval, isolation, and then finding ways to go on with life.

I often get ideas for my blogs far ahead of time, work on them and finally post them. Sometimes I get a topic and change my mind. I was going to do a review of “Fifteen Dogs,” by André Alexis, which I quite liked, but decided not to.  If you like dogs, you’ll probably enjoy it. Now is a good time to read.

One of the things I like about reading fiction is the truths it tells us and helps us probe; really good books stand the test of time and are relevant in the future as they were in the past. “Love in the Time of Cholera” is one such in that it deals with the difficulties of love, and how the various people react. It is a novel of the past, though it was published in 1985, but despite the times being different, I can relate to it.

Imagine what it would be like to conduct a love affair now. Would you meet initially online in a chat room or facebook group or through an on-line dating service? Certainly, you could phone each other, video chat, etc. But no first kiss, no hugs, etc! I’ll leave the rest to your imagination!

I’ve been taking photos as I go for my physically distanced walks (PDW’s) and have been posting on facebook a photo essay called 'Signs of the times.' I’ve included a few of those photos here.

I’ve also been pursuing my private water colour learning. Nothing earth shattering, but I’ve been enjoying it. I got a book called 'Everyday Watercolor' by Jenna Rainey. It's supposed to teach you watercolor painting in 30 days, but I've spread it our over time. I may break one lesson into two or have taken breaks between lessons. One of the things I've learned is that it's not easy! Still, I'm learning various techniques, filling my watercolor sketch book. I plan to continue, am half way through the book, and look forward to trying some projects on my own as spring comes and my garden starts to grow.

I’m also writing, of course. I finished a revision of a fantasy novel, and while that rests, I’ve done revisions on a couple of short stories. Next, I’ll go back to a tween novel that I’m working on. Then a return to the fantasy.

In the meantime, if you’d like to read a review of the 3^rd book in my fantasy series go to:

https://reviews.skbooks.com/companion-of-eagles/

This and other books are available to order from SaskBooks and Amazon. McNally Robinson and Indigo in Saskatoon also have copies of the fantasy books, and I believe you can phone them for pick up of books.

It’s both a strange and an interesting time. Who will we be when the threat of this disease diminishes significantly?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/love-in-the-time-of-corona-1.5538895