March 2020 – Rebecca Floren Photography

Grounded

Foster Beach. FYI – this was taken several weeks ago before all this coronavirus chaos hit.

The weather in Chicago has been exceedingly dreary. Chilly, rainy, sometimes snowy, and cloudy. So when we had a beautiful, sunny, warm day on Wednesday everyone went out. During a quarantine. Where did they go, you ask? The lakefront. (For the record, I did not go outside. I have been stuck for 12 hours a day in front of my computer working).

Mama Lightfoot was not having it. She shut down the lakefront and the parks the day after since we can’t be trusted to practice social distancing on our own. She grounded us.

For those of us in Chicago, we’re finishing our second week of quarantine though the statewide shelter-in-place order didn’t go into effect until last week. Nerves are starting fray. Yesterday one the kids below me was having a meltdown and I could hear his dad yelling and cursing at him.

I suspect I’m faring better than most because (a) I live alone so there’s no getting on my nerves and (b) I’m keeping myself entertained. Here’s a brief list of what I’ve been watching for the past couple of weeks.

Schitts Creek on Netflix. It’s hilarious and I love all of the characters. (But, if I HAD to pick a favorite, it would be David.)
Eugene and Berenice – Pioneers of Urban Photography. A documentary about Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott. I will have probably seen all of the photography documentaries by the end of this.
The video of the guy who had his own cocktail party in the bathroom. It’s cute and clever and I can’t stop watching it.

Chin chin!

This hilarious video that my friend Anthony sends me every couple of days. Because you never want to forget this….

Let’s goooooooo!

You’re welcome.

What are you doing to stay sane through all of this?

Cheers,
Bec

Quieter

Things seemed a bit quieter yesterday. I popped out in the afternoon to pick up some skin care supplies and checkout the grocery store situation.

Thankfully not a lot of people were out so it seems that they are taking the shelter-in-place order seriously. The grocery store was eerily quiet for a Sunday. The shelves were still pretty bare, but a few staples had been “stocked”. And by stocked, I mean there were two or three of certain items on the shelf. I was able to pick up a carton of eggs, 2% milk (there was no skim or 1%), off brand mac & cheese, crackers, pasta sauce and a frozen pizza. It took me 4 days to get the basics. Patience is the name of the game these days!

I did notice an increased police presence while I was out. That’s unusual for this neighborhood. There were squad cars parked a few blocks a part and one in the grocery store parking lot.

Cheers,
Bec

Shelter-in-Place

Gov. Pritzker issued a shelter in place order that went into effect Saturday at 5:00 pm and goes through April 7th. This means that all non-essential business must shut down and residents should stay home. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. The list of businesses that can still operate is broad and people are allowed to leave their homes to get supplies, take care of family, friends or pets, engage in outdoor activities like walking, running, hiking, etc. (no playgrounds though!), and going to the doctor.

Bike shops are considered essential businesses.

Front doors to the Neo-Futurist Theatre.

I hope you’re staying safe and healthy and 6 feet away from people. This won’t last forever.

Cheers,
Bec

Give Me the Wine and No One Gets Hurt

I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things for lunch. I was running low on bread and cashew butter and I’d been eating PB&J (well, CB&J) sandwiches all week. I’d also been having CB&J toast in the mornings. It’s one of my comfort foods and frankly, I think we all need some comfort food right now.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that there was no bread. I headed to the pasta aisle thinking if I couldn’t have my CB&J, I’d settle for my other favorite – mac & cheese. I wasn’t too excited because I was at Whole Foods and Whole Foods would NEVER carry my beloved Kraft Mac & Cheese. I’d have to get their organic, non-GMO, quinoa super special mac and cheese (blah, but beggars can’t be choosers). But there wasn’t any of that either. In fact, there was no pasta at all. The shelves were completely bare.

I started going up and down each aisle, curious to see what else the store was out of. It would have been easier to make a list of what was left.

I left the store a little annoyed, but not worried or panicked. I figured that I’d just make my own bread. Thank God I learned how to make it years ago when I went through that phase of not eating food with preservatives (I know, I kinda want to punch old me t00).

Tonight I went to the Jewel after work to pick up whole wheat flour and brown sugar so I could make bread this weekend. This time I was dismayed to find that there was no flour or sugar of any kind. NONE. Again, I went up and down the aisles out of morbid curiosity. The store didn’t have ANY basics – no eggs, milk, flour, yeast (YEAST! When was the last time a grocery store sold out of yeast?!), sugar, bread, dried beans, rice, pasta, pasta sauce, canned goods like veggies and beans, (although they did have a few cans of stewed tomatoes, which validates my opinion that stewed tomatoes are disgusting), butter, etc. There were no frozen pizzas, frozen vegetables, or TV dinners.

Since I couldn’t buy basic food, I bought ALLLLL the wine and the weird snacks that no one else wants. So really, I think I’m the winner here.

These aren’t half bad. They were the only thing left in the snack aisle.

Tell me how you’re handling the pandemic. Are there food shortages? Are you drinking wine for breakfast? Do you have toilet paper or have you resorted to using paper towels?

Cheers,
Bec

P.S. Randy bought a bidet because there’s no toilet paper in Chicago. I don’t know why, but this makes me laugh. I have a feeling he’s going to have the last laugh on this one though…..

WFH

I’ve started and abandoned several posts about what’s going on in the world right now, but I’m struggling with making sense of everything. Sometimes things seem normal and at other times things seem so completely surreal.

Right now the biggest change for me is that I have to work from home so I have a new coworker. She’s super chatty and doesn’t take the hint that I don’t have time to socialize.

I apologize to my coworkers and clients for my delayed response. As you can see, I was indisposed.

I can’t really reach my computer, but as long as she’s comfortable…..

She wants to be held, but I need to work.

If my hand isn’t being used to pet her, its being used as pillow.

Tell me about your most annoying co-worker.