Breaking News!! (only interesting to those who know us)
DH and I finally bit the bullet and ventured out of our self-imposed (but common sense called for) isolation. We both have some 'issues' which could make us possibly more vulnerable to Covid and it's lasting effects. So... we have been exceptionally careful to remain isolated this past year plus.
But since we are both now totally vaccinated we felt safe being around our children who are also totally vaccinated this past Easter. Now just recently we started doing 'take-out' again - which we have avoided in the past year due to not being comfortable about those preparing the food for take-out. But since it seems that the virus isn't transferred by food, we decided it was time to regain this luxury which we have missed (and besides as much as I love to cook, after a year plus of home-cooked meals, it was beginning to be a bit much).
And now today we took a step further and actually went to the Mall to walk. This is something we used to do twice a week pre-pandemic, but have avoided it since the 'shelter at home' started. I have to say that it was crowded... which made us a bit nervous... but we persisted. We were double masked and needed to walk (and to be around people).
And truth be told, almost everyone was masked. The Mall had a sign out front requesting masks be worn (and there were a few - very few - who didn't have them) but almost everyone did.
We visited a new store that apparently opened during the pandemic. It is called "Eat-aly" (like Italy - but basically all food related). It is a fantastic store - 2 stories of everything you can think of from Italy - coffees, wines, breads, pastas, confections, jams, chocolates, etc. - rows and rows of food items from floor to ceiling as well as 3 restaurants and countless counters for sitting and eating or drinking. I had an espresso con panna from their coffee bar which was excellent.
Only problem was that the store was so packed with people, it made us a bit uncomfortable after all this time of isolation. They were all masked and both a sign and a person out front was checking on this, but still...
We walked through, got the lay of the land, bought my espresso and left. But we will return next time we walk the mall and hopefully it won't be so crowded, so we can spend more time checking it out.
You can google Eataly Dallas - and check out the photos!
Thanks for letting me share this bit of news... which may or may not be that interesting to anyone else. But it's amazing that such a little thing could do so much for boosting one's morale. I'm not that much of a people person, but it was nice to be out and about again.
I'm sure all of you have your own stories to tell concerning how this pandemic has affected your lives. I'd love to hear some of them if you care to share.
Hugs (still virtual - unless you're vaccinated and masked),
Rian