Ontario, and indeed all of Canada’s Covid-19 numbers, went from bad to worse over the last few weeks. Ontario went back into lockdown (or shutdown, or whatever Premier Doug Ford is calling it these days), so we’ve been holed up here at sis’s place ever since. But on the positive side:
We’ve all got our first shots!
This happened a lot quicker than expected for us. Based on our area code we were designated to be a “hot spot” when it comes to infection rates, so we were able to get our first jabs way earlier than expected. I always knew Kathy lived on the wrong side of the tracks, but this confirmed it đ¤Ŗ.
And now even Colleen got hers!!
states and provinces
Unfortunately what this really means is that the lockdowns that were supposed to end in May have been extended here in Ontario. And worse still, the places we’d like to travel to are all doing bad, or even worse. Newfoundland continues to say no to people like us, although there is some hope we might get an exemption. But now Nova Scotia is barring everyone from entry, so we can’t get to the ferry even if we want to. And of course Alberta is a complete dumpster fire đĨđĨ when it comes to infection rates. So we’re staying put for now.
But life is still OK. Despite not doing much at all, days slip by quickly. Days become weeks, which slide into months. I forget which month we’re in most of the time — sometimes I even forget the year âšī¸.
One thing, at least we’re eating and drinking well. And we haven’t killed each other despite living in rather close quarters here, so all is good! We’ve been watching good movies at night. The gals have been immersed in curling (as usual đ) while I play video games. We also get out for walks when it’s not raining, snowing or way too hot. We’re right next to a creek with a walking path, so we get to see a bit of urban life.
And of course there’s always Sunday Cacophony which keeps everyone on their musical toes.
One rather exciting thing that did happen is that Ann broke Kathy’s car âšī¸đ. So now Kathy has a new one.
OK, so it wasn’t quite as simple as that. The full story goes… when driving back from taking Colleen (and Connor) to get her first vaccination, Ann accidently engaged the air conditioning on Kathy’s car. It hasn’t worked for years, so when it tried to start up…, bad things seemed to happen. Bad noises, bad smells, bad times. The good thing was that Kathy and I got to see Connor (and Colleen đ); something we hadn’t planned on doing.
We got everyone back home, but a couple of days later the car still seemed unwell. Kathy took it into the shop, and it was indeed the defunct air conditioner. But this problem came short on the heels of another expensive repair. That was enough for Kathy to start seriously looking for new a car.
She wanted something small and reliable, and of course stunningly good-looking. So naturally a Honda Fit was at the top of the list đ. But finding a used Fit is hard to do. They just don’t come up often in the used market, and when they do, they disappear very fast. Luckily one did show up, so we went out “just to look đ.”
So now our old Fit has a new brother, or is it sister?
The old… 
And the new!
We are getting close to the end of May now. Ontario has extended its current lockdown till about mid-June, but trends are looking good. Vaccinations keep going up, and cases are trending down in both Ontario and Alberta. We still plan to head west as soon as we can. We still plan to come back to Ontario for our second shot in August, and then maybe, hopefully, a trip to Newfoundland to see if our boat-home is still OK. For now, we watch the curves, and hope…
