A List Meme for the Plague Times

Book I'm currently reading.

When we passed day 200 of our personal pod isolation,  I made a meme list of questions for the occasion and actually posted on my blog for the first time since January 1 (end of Holidailies last season). Now that we have passed the 250-day point I thought I'd update it.

• Day 1 of serious isolation behavior: March 15
•  First trip you had to cancel. A driving trip to Ft. Worth and Dallas. Missed getting to see my aunt (the last of that generation I have).
•  Other trips canceled. A trip to New York with a pop over to Amsterdam in the middle. A trip to Portland and an Oregon beach and other points Northwest. (It might have been smoky.)  A trip to Paris to see the Christo Wrapped Arc de Triomphe. (Which was, itself, postponed until 2021. Also, Christo died, but the event was planned and will allegedly still happen.)
•   Last trip out of town before isolation. San Antonio. Spent two nights in a hotel and saw Bill Charlap perform at Jazz Texas both nights. Met up with friends for lunch and saw their home. Met up with friends for one performance.
• Have you been out of town overnight since isolation? Nope
• Furthest from home since isolation. Maybe 10 miles.
• Last Plane Ride in the before times. Return from NYC in January.
• Ridden plane since? No, see above.
• Last Meal sitting in a restaurant before Isolation. Fixe, March 14. With another couple.
• Have you eaten a meal in a restaurant since isolation? No.
• Inside a restaurant? No, see above.
• First event you didn’t attend due to virus. March 12---Austin Film Society Film Awards Gala.
• First event you cancelled due to virus. House party on March 15 bought in a charity auction (with agreement from charity and owners of the house but we were very much in favor of cancelation).
•  Date and event of last over 200-person event. March 7, Delbert McClinton at the Paramount.
• Last live music event. March 13, Butch Miles Jazz Express at Parker Jazz Club
• Things you are eating more of since isolation. Pasta, rice, anchovies, lamb, canned tuna, eggs, everything salads, caviar (the cheap grocery store stuff). We are eating a lot of cheese, but we always ate a lot of cheese.
• Things you are eating less of since isolation. Amazingly chips and nachos; organ meats (because I got them in restaurants).
• Non-perishable things you have purchased in isolation. A portable blue tooth speaker (which has already quit working), a laptop, a portable hard drive, a blue tooth mouse, an HDMI splitter and cable, masks. FFP bought an oximeter and a gadget to sterilize his phone and such. Since Day 200 we also bought a new cheese grater, a mincer, a square cooking pan, and books. (Actually, I might have conveniently forgotten that we ordered books before day 200, too.) 
• What restaurants have you gotten take-out meals from? Fixe, Jeffrey’s, Wink, June’s, Cipollina, Fonda San Miguel, 68 Degrees. Since Day 200 we have gone back to FIxe and Fonda San MIguel and Cipolina. All these are more or less 'local' spots. 
• Have you found yourself bored in isolation? No. Anxious, but not bored.
• Have you gained or lost weight? Lost five pounds maybe. And maybe gained it back. Still on that yo-you now.
• Do you feel you are in better shape or worse shape? Better. Maybe. Wish I could play tennis. Gave it up to not be around so many people at my club.
• What exercises are you doing? Walking and stretching. Some arm exercises with a resistance band. I feel like I'm falling down on this.
• Do you drink alcohol? Yes! 
• If so, more or less in isolation? About the same? Maybe more. Some days I don't drink. Most days I do. Had one beer last night because...Mexican Food.
• What kinds of drinks have you had? Branched out a lot using up the bottles sitting around the apartment gathering dust. Manhattans, Vodka Gimlets, Vodka Tonics, Rob Roys, Rusty Nails, wine, wine, wine, Old Pals, one I made up called High Rise Iced Tea, port, brandy, cognac. I haven't had a lot of beer because it seems wasteful of frig space and curbside pickup. Have been opening old (and I mean old) bottles of red wine and, if they are good (or passable) drinking them up.
• What entertainments have you explored? Streaming lots of series shows especially British; old movies; documentaries. Listening to jazz and live stream jazz. 
• Gotten into anything new? Watching NYPD Blue episodes. That’s really old, but watching old TV is new to us. 
• What are your sources of entertainment? We seem to have all the streaming services except the one for the latest show mentioned somewhere. Seriously we have Hulu, Roku, Prime, Acorn, Criterion Channel, HBO, Showtime, PBS, other junk on the satellite and Disney+ (which we have only watched one thing on and that was the original Dumbo movie). Recently we watched "Hamilton" on Disney+. I didn't think I would like it. And I didn't. Back to jazz live streams!
• How many books have you read? Four of five. Finished a couple more. Reading one now called "Flaneuse" by Lauren Elkin.
• More or less book reading than usual? About the same. (I only read books, generally., right before falling asleep. Read newspapers and magazines during thee day.
• Have you done crosswords? A zillion.
• Played board games? Scrabble and Monopoly. We only have those.
• Done jigsaw puzzles? Yes, two and working a third which is so hard we won’t finish by Christmas (which is the only time we usually do one). Recently we finished the hard one. (Which was custom-made from a photo of a painting that used an iPhone photo I took out of a plane window as the reference.) We received two as gifts. We started the easy one and will finish by Christmas. The harder one should carry us through the new year. We don't work too assiduously on them.
• Have you cleaned out some cabinet, drawer, closet, etc. thoroughly? I cleaned out some OTC and prescription medical and first aid caches. I sorted through the pantry and refrigerator for obvious reasons. Since Day 200 I have spent a little time sorting through liquor and mixers but I really, really need to start the drawer and closet and cabinet and storage sorting everyone seems to be doing! Before my year in isolation is up, maybe.
• Did you find anything interesting? Found a metal aspirin tin and a metal Bandaid box that are ancient. Also found the (mercury) thermometer I rescued from my Dad’s things and used it to verify we didn’t have a temperature a couple of times.
• Are you spending about the same amount of money? More? Less? Definitely less unless you count contributions to hopefully worthy causes?
•  Done Zoom, Facetime, etc. meetups? Sigh, yes. I am kind of over these especially galas. We do have a Zoom wine tasting coming up this month.
• Done outside walks? Many. We often drive and walk somewhere. I miss being able to walk from our apartment and stop for snacks or drinks (and a bathroom). I usually record my outside walks on Facebook.
• Kept a paper journal? Since April 1 I think. I'm still doing this even if I just write "December 2, 2020 (Wednesday), Day 263." I do it first thing in the morning after getting a cup of coffee, retrieving the newspapers from the hall, copying the NYT crossword for my husband, and checking the computer backups. This ritual grounds my day. (Which usually starts around 7. Unfortunately, I don't usually do anything more productive until ten or so because  I get absorbed in the NY Times puzzles and reading the Arts section.
• Followed COVID information. Yes, a lot. I'm not liking what I'm seeing today!
• Sources? New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Local Dashboard. USA Facts Dashboard. Oh, and I also get an email from the Washington Post. (We have an online subscription.)
• Had a social occasion with a small group of people you consider safe? Yes, a virtual gala dinner with two other couples in another apartment. This felt thrilling! But...we have not done it since.
• Did you vote? I added this one and the next now that the election is past tense. Except for runoffs. Yes, I did.
• In Person? On Election Day? I voted by mail as those over 65 are allowed to do in Texas.