Since March, I’ve been a hard-core shelter-in-place, stay in my bubble-friend-group person. Perhaps I am misguided in my thoughts that I am doing my part to flatten the curve and not put my family or friends at risk by doing so, but it is the right thing to do until more is known about COVID-19 (you know the old saying an ounce of prevention….). It has at times felt isolating, other times liberating (who really wants to go to another rubber chicken lunch or gala post-pandemic), and at times I feel like I’ve become agoraphobic. Sheltering in place has felt like the right thing to do based on all the world news I read (please note, I did say world not U.S. news has become biased based opinion news and not fact reporting). Sure, like everyone else, I miss the freedom to travel, attend a concert, or go out to dinner without worrying about safety protocol and unknown transmission of COVID-19 because most likely there are people at the restaurant not following the health and safety guidelines. The Writer and me….partners in everything creative, especially when it involves wine & travel! (If you don’t believe me, look at your social media feed – friends are doing group selfies at social gatherings, posting photos of events where people are still grouped together like pre-COVID, etc. My first venture out of my home for an overnight stay, other than at The Artist and The Bankers house, was over the Columbus Day Weekend (or Indigenous People Day if you live in California). My best girlfriend aka The Writer, booked an Airbnb in Idyllwild for a creative weekend escape of writing, painting, cooking and reading.

Two jura my family tree