I painted my kitchen cabinets

Last week I went to two bars. Yes I had to sit under an umbrella outside but I still got to go to real bars. I have been looking forward to this time for months. In a week or two I'll even be able to sit in the bar indoors. New Jersey did its penance and soon we will be rewarded with the pleasures of hanging out in bars. Unlike Florida which refused to do its penance and now has rising cases of the virus. Like the ants and the grasshoppers, us ants get to enjoy our new found freedoms and the grasshoppers have to suffer. I feel like the kid who did his Catechism and is rewarded with ice cream while the kid next door did not study his Catechism and has to eat spinach. 

I knew people would be bragging about all the projects they took on the past few months. Newly painted living rooms. Kids who can now speak Latin and play the piano. I knew I needed something to say I did, besides growing a beard. I figured painting my kitchen cabinets would be a nice project to take up. Painting took me four days and I dedicated an average of four hours each day to the project. I used lots of masking tape and moved very slowly. Old wooden cabinets sop up paint so they needed multiple coats. I did get some droplets on the floor but I'm planning to get new tiles in the next year anyway so it all worked out. 

One  thing I did learn. Plastic drop cloths suck. The old fashioned cloth drop cloths worked much better. 

Editor's note: The governor of New Jersey is delaying the opening of indoor dining and drinking.

Returning to normal

It looks like things may be starting to get back to normal soon. It will be a readjustment for many of us. The once a week shower will have to be replaced with at the very least a thrice weekly event. We will be able to eat in restaurants, albeit in limited circumstances, ie dining in the parking lot of our favorite place. People we have been able to avoid because of covid19 will want to see us again. Volunteer commitments will have to be re evaluated. 

I drove to Delaware to get a taste of the new normal. I went to the  Christiana mall off Route 95 and walked around, bought a book, and even ate a burrito in the food court. It was a thrill. 

The biggest decision for most men will be what to do about the beard. Millions of men throughout the world have answered that timeless question "I wonder what I would look like with a beard?" with the shaveless option. Of course when no one will see you except your doctor and the liquor store clerk it is easier to sport a goatee than when you have to visit friends and relatives who know you and will have opinions on the topic. I have taken a poll to see what my Facebook friends think. It would be easier to have a wife who would make an non negotiable decision. 

Aunt Agnes on shopping

I went to the supermarket today. I had to wear one of those silly masks. I haven't worn a mask since a Halloween party I went to in the 80s. I went as the lone rangers's wife. I looked like I was going to rob a bank, but I guess I didn't look any worse that anyone else. 

I noticed everybody was real polite in the store. Soon as I got anywhere near to a shelf all the people cleared out of my way. I no longer had to shove my way through to get to the salad dressing. They had toilet paper this time. Is it just me or did they double the price? 

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a special line for people over sixty. That's one thing I'd like to see continued even when things get back to normal. It's a shame that man ahead of me was so slow and had so many problems. It would have been faster to get on the line with the teenagers. If only I could figure out how these barcode scanner things worked. 

When I got home I washed my hands. Now it's time to cook dinner. The bars are still closed. Good  thing I have some cooking sherry in the closet. Don't want to go out past curfew!