Back in the Swing of Things

A couple of weekends ago, my stress was at a high. Not only was I fully dealing with past trauma and everything we deal with related to Covid-19, but my country is at a breaking point. I was feeling some anxiety (which is rare for me) so I took a much-needed social media break last week, only logging in occasionally from my desktop. 

Fortunately, while I spent last week taking a break from the world, my own little slice of it started to regain some normalcy. I was able to go back to my office and work from 8 to noon every day. This was significant for two reasons: I can do my job more successfully from my office than from home and it was great for my mental state to have a bit of routine again. I have to admit that it's nice to get up in the morning, get ready, put on makeup, and walk to work every day. 

A pegasus statue at Soaring Wings keeps watch out over the vineyard.

After the end of a successful week of going back to the office, I noticed that one of my favorite wineries, Soaring Wings, was back to having their weekend live music in the evenings (with restrictions, of course), so I got a hold of one of my best friends, Rebecca, to see if she wanted to go. She was on board, so we packed up some food, chairs, blankets, and our masks, and headed out.

Here you can see the vineyard from my vantage point (the place was absolutely packed by the time we left) and the stage is partly seen on the right.

We each picked up a bottle of wine to share and this was Rebecca's pick. It was delicious and went great with the vegan cheese and crackers I brought.

A Madame Talbot print of a Plague Doctor.

On Saturday, I had the day to myself so I spent the entire morning being lazy. By afternoon, I was ready to get out, heat be damned, and check out a place I had been wanting to go to, Voodoo's Odd Shop. I had never been to an oddities shop before but have always wanted to, so it was a cool place to check out. Housed in an old funeral home with three hearses sitting outside, it was almost as interesting outside as it was inside. 

Inside was a treasure trove of oddities that I spent a good amount of time browsing. The owner, Derek, and I struck up an interesting conversation and talked about many an odd thing. I ended up purchasing this cool poster of a Plague Doctor (a Madame Talbot print) and while I waited, I was treated to some magic tricks by Midwest Magician that included a card trick (of course) and a nail he hammered into his sinus cavity via his nose. He let me pull it out, which I thought was cool as hell, and I even got to keep the nail.

After I left the oddities shop, I drove down to the old market and hit up Ted & Wally's for a scoop of vegan ice cream in a cone. The flavor that day was Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mint, my favorite! 

Later that evening, I spent a few hours at my best friend Libby's house. We hadn't hung out during this whole pandemic, so we really enjoyed sitting outside and catching up while having a few drinks.

I slept in on Sunday and woke up feeling well-rested. It was going to be the hottest day yet this year so far, so I decided to hit the trails before the heat of the day reached its peak. I went to one of my newer favorite spots since I hadn't been out there for a while, and, man, was it ever beautiful.

I love this path because it almost feels like you're going to find something magical at the end of it.

After a nice three-mile sojourn, I stopped at the one shelter with picnic tables this place has to drink my water and just relish being outdoors in nature. I went home and relaxed the rest of the day, falling into bed that evening feeling the most positive, happy, and peaceful I have felt in months.

It was wonderful to experience life again in a similar way to the way it was before this whole pandemic upended our lives. I know I'm not alone in saying that this pandemic has affected me terribly. While I know it will be a long time before we go back to normal if that's even possible, it's nice to know that I can have a little of it back, and that is enough.

I'll be back this weekend with my regular posting schedule. Until then, have a great week!