That breakfast we skipped yesterday took us out of our isolation nest this morning as we got out early to ensure there was nearly no one else in the place. Being regulars, we know that customers don’t really start showing up until about 7:00, and we knew we’d be gone well before that. We tipped one of our favorite servers the equivalent of about six weeks’ worth of tips in cash so she’d have access to it right away instead of having to wait for payday. We told her we hoped to see her in a couple of weeks, but who knows? Before we left, she let us know that as a single mom with three kids earning about $18,000 a year and being notified a week ago that she was being audited by the IRS, which would delay her refund by six weeks to six months, she’s in a serious pinch right now. Our generosity brought her to the edge of tears.

Oh, how I’d like to share that we went directly home after this outing so we could get serious about planting ourselves, but of course, there were “just” a few other things I wanted. You may ask, seriously, John, were those raw pumpkin seeds really that important? I have this perfect balance of things in my head for making that granola I wrote about yesterday, and while I maybe could have substituted hemp hearts, I thought if we arrived at the store early enough, we could top up our pumpkin seed supply. You know that movie World War Z with Brad Pitt, where the zombies are trying to scale the wall? That’s almost what the scene at our local Winco was, as they opened the doors at 7:00. We were pulling into the lot as a horde swarmed into the store in about 4 seconds. So, while I knew what just happened, the parking lot wasn’t so full that I thought the store was overwhelmed yet, so we went in. No pumpkin seeds in the bulk section, so we grabbed some additional oranges, limes, lemons, tomatoes, avocadoes, and nail polish and remover so we could paint each other’s toes.

So we stayed home after that, right? Of course not. Caroline was helping a friend empty a storage unit and move its contents to another unit down the street. We left early so we could visit our local Balkan Bakery on Bell Road for some kefir and left with a beef burek and a chunk of some mystery smoked meat that is supposed to add a nice flavor to beans. With the wife getting a ride home from her friend, I was once again heading to isolation.

On my way home finally, it dawned on me that yesterday we had wanted to stop at the Euro Market on Cave Creek Road for kefir, but we already have some. What’s one more, especially if I dump the goat kefir that Caroline hasn’t been enjoying anyway? In this shop and seeing some interesting large white beans, I scoured the joint for some kvas but the lady didn’t even know what the stuff was. I know; I’ll try Misha’s on Union Hills. They don’t carry it anymore as they’ve changed their market focus by becoming Misha’s Kosher Food Market, but Misha recommended I visit his brother’s shop on 32nd Street called Yasha From Russia. Not wanting to leave Misha’s empty-handed I picked up some kosher stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, smoked sprats, and roasted eggplant in tomato.

At Yasha’s, I’m kind of tripping out by the Russian hipster guys with undercuts, seriously tight red pants, and tight red shirts talking Russian to me; maybe they think that by carrying a bottle of Kvas I’m some kind of Gopnik in the making. I try to tell them it’s for my wife, but they then ask if she’s Russian, “No, she’s German, but she’s serious about transforming into a Gopnitsa after watching too much Life of Boris.” They have no idea what I’m talking about. With that, I went home and arrived just after Caroline did.

We made it nearly an hour at home before it was time to go for a walk around the block. For the past few days, I’ve not been cleaning up the path of our walk as I had been since November 1st, as our 5-gallon bucket has been full of rainwater we collected while things were torrential here recently. The bucket of water has now been depleted after Caroline drenched her cactus and other plants. Over these previous four and a half months I’ve picked up something around about 1,000 pounds of trash. Lately, though, I’m seeing an abundance of wet wipes and tissues as people wipe down their COVID-infected surfaces and then toss the contaminated shit out of their windows.

The neighborhood is back in sanitary equilibrium, except for the constant dogshit that blights our walk. So it goes. Time to make granola. An hour later, my almond, walnut, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, flaxseed, oat groat, and oatmeal granola is mixed with eucalyptus honey, coconut oil, homemade vanilla extract and put into the dehydrator for the next two days.

On to making dinner, though by this time, I’m ready to go out and maybe get some Mexican food. Who am I kidding I’ll certainly not be heading into a restaurant during their busiest part of the day, but some Mexican food sounds really good right now. After dinner, you might guess that we will be out for our next 1-mile walk around the block, which will take us both over 6 miles for the day.

While I toil in the kitchen, Caroline doesn’t sit idly by; she’s been working on her sewing machine to finally make our new pillowcases. Last November, while in Oregon, we picked up some seaside-themed cloth, and now we’ll be sleeping on those so we can dream of one of our favorite places on earth. Our step and activity goals were similar to yesterday’s, with us clocking up just over 15,000 steps or just over 7 miles (11.4km) and 105 minutes of activity.

So this has been the blow-by-blow rundown of the majority of our day. Like clouds, we just keep moving.