There is no doubt a good number of us have been spending a lot of time with certain people in these dark pandemic days. Sometimes, way too much time…we’re not “going out” as much, have watched unhealthy amounts of TV and streaming TV (curse you Hulu for being so cheap Black Friday weekend and having so much good stuff) and sometimes we just go a little stir crazy. When you’re tired of having to compromise about what to watch on TV, you’re tired of not taking frivolous trips to wherever…

Well, it’s time to regroup!

We have a fairly nice “rumpus room” in our basement. I have a real stereo receiver with real wired speakers (yes I’m a bit old school), a nifty adapter from Radio Shack (did I say old school) hooked to my laptop, and I’m listening to a ’80s alternative playlist on Spotify. All right, so maybe I’m not completely old school, right? The sound quality is quite nice!

But I’m not just “hanging out” down here! I have laundry to do, so I’m giving myself a shorter walk to the washer and dryer. I’m not fighting with my husband either – and we’re not even a little bit mad at each other. He’s taking advantage of my absence by watching “Battlebots” on the TV upstairs. I have zero interest in watching a bunch of Roomba vacuums on steroids! Seriously, why must vacuums fight with each other? It kind of offends my hippie sensibilities (LOL)! Just not my scene…but he loves that stuff!

In other pandemic news, bars and restaurants are supposed to open back up for indoor service Feb. 1 in my state (Michigan). That may be exciting news for some folks, but I’m still not going to be partaking of indoor bar/restaurant service for quite some time. It’s rough – my birthday is next month – and traditionally, my folks take me out to lunch or for dinner on my birthday. I’m not going to be comfortable doing things like that until they’re both fully vaccinated.

I’m handling being outside in the cold quite well. It’s a good thing I have plenty of cold weather gear! I have three pairs of leggings lined with fleece, a pair of leg warmers (I don’t care about whether they’re fashionable or not, they do their job) plenty of pairs of long johns, a couple of pairs of warm gloves, a very ugly yet well fitting warm wool hat, a couple of different winter coats, plenty of warm socks, and decent winter boots. I’ve actually become impressed with how hardy my fellow statespeople have become in their quests to get their drinks on at bars while being forced to sit outside – do not underestimate us Michigan folk! Winter ain’t no thang for us – and boy do we love to drink our beer! Drinking “local” is especially a popular thing in Michigan – some of the craft breweries in our state have been doing great business even in the pandemic by adapting to offer curbside pickup, delivery, heated outdoor seating, heated igloo seating, and much more. Other bars are adapting too – offering cocktails to go (something I plan to try out for my upcoming birthday cabin trip), amping up delivery/curbside services, etc. Sadly, not all restaurants and bars will survive the pandemic despite their best efforts. Nobody wants to see their favorite bars/restaurants going bye-bye 😦

Speaking of beer, I recently learned that the Michigan based grocery chain Meijer offers pickup service for their groceries – order online, then pick up at their stores – and that includes BOOZE! That just might be better than those quick “thief in the night” booze runs I’ve been doing at Costco where we stock up on booze for 2-3 weeks! On the last such outing, I bought two cases of hard seltzer, a case (plus four bottles) of Molson Canadian beer (I do love my beer flavored beer and have a thing for Canadian beers) and a half gallon of vodka.

I’m not going to lie. I am nervous about the new Coronavirus “variant” showing up (that is much more infectious than the garden variety Coronavirus). The first such known case has been found in Michigna, too. That will mean more nights at home, being more careful with the grocery runs (going at slow times mid week rather than on weekends) and maybe even signing up for the curbside services when possible. My local food co-op offers curbside orders when you order a day in advance, and my local brewery offers curbside and delivery, too (though they may not offer delivery anymore once the indoor service opens up again). That’s fine, they’re only about a mile away!

Obviously I can’t see into the future. I don’t know how all of this is going to shake out…all I can do is try to survive as best as I can – even if that means listening to alternative ’80s tunes in my basement rumpus room while I’m doing laundry!