2020 ~ What A Year We’ve Had

2020 year

WOW 2020 what a year so far!!

Explosion in Beirut port kills more than 150 people and leaves many more injured. 

Plane crash in India kills 18 people and leaves many more injured.

Australia had massive bushfires.  Prince Harry left the royal family.

The U.K. had months of bad storms reaching up to 90 mph winds causing damage and flooding to properties and streets

THEN....

A worldwide pandemic happened supposedly started from bats in China 

The world goes into Lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.  Borders were closed.  People thousands are dying.  All travel is suspended 

We saw a huge super moon and nature took a turn as animals were spotted in towns.  We had lots of foxes.

The gyms are closed. All school sport and sport tours were cancelled...

The economy crashed even though petrol was the cheapest in a long time !  But we could not travel

Zoom meetings became a new NORMAL... having hockey coaching, ballet lessons and even simulating squash games and other sport over your screen ...

Some of us even had virtual birthday parties over zoom. And if your birthday was during level 5... creative gifting because just ESSENTIALS were allowed to be sold. 

Still don't know the reason behind some of the rules and initial regulations of only being allowed to exercise between 06h00-09h00? as if the virus was sleeping during those 3 hours.

And why prohibit the sales of flipflops

The 2020 Olympic games = cancelled.

Corona jokes started flying around to make us laugh at some of the absurdities...

Weddings were cancelled.

And funerals limited to 50 people.

No travel locally or internationally... except for business and repatriation during level 3. Our skies were empty.

George Floyd got murdered and all over the world there’s protests, riots and looting going on for the campaign Black Lives Matter 

In South Africa farm murders are an almost daily occurrence and everyone turns a blind eye.

No Sport on TV or on the fields/courts. Whole rugby super series were not played and not even Wimbledon.

You actually couldn’t write 2O2O and we are only half way through it ... it feels like everyday is a new event...

What is actually going on?

School and exams were cancelled, then put back, then altered and then all were confused. Go to school, close school.. Repeat. 

People miss hugging family and friends and sadly we start to get used to it in some weird way.

People get creative with masks printing on them and sewing funkey materials into masks.

Never have people been so conscious about washing hands while singing happy birthday (20 seconds).

We all learn how to bake bread and our culinary skills go up a notch because we have time. 

We hate to go shopping because shops only allow a certain number of shoppers in at any given time, then it takes hours more to sanitize yourself and your groceries when you get back home.

You have to send your car in for a service, not because it reached its service interval in kilometers, but because it has been a year since you last serviced it, being now mostly parked at home since you work from home

You carry paper towels to the ATM so you don’t touch the keypads with your fingers, then you come back home and sanitize the bank notes

We build puzzles play board games and card games and have great family time

Then during level 3 liquor sales were opened only Mondays to Thursdays 08h00 to 17h00 then abruptly prohibited again.

Lockdown since March 18 2020 the longest worldwide and still going)...

During Level 3 you can go to the mall visit with friends and family in a restaurant , with total strangers next to you all with their masks off (because, well, they're eating), travel in a taxi with 100% capacity with windows open 5 cm to supposedly allow the virus to fly out at speed, but you can't visit your family at home 

We get used to having an unknown form of antiseptic sprayed on our hands when we enter a mall... enter a shop and leave that shop again... while people with visors and masks😷measure our temperatures while we stand on marked 1,5 meters apart lines.

Working remotely (where possible) became a new normal  You don’t have to buy work clothing anymore because you work in your pjs most of the time.

You prefer spending 18 hours driving non-stop rather than flying for 2 hours because you are terrified of sitting next to some stranger on the plane and catching the virus.

Washing the soles of your shoes and your face mask on your return after your daily run has become the norm.

Sadly no one is allowed to visit Grandma and Grandpa 

By the third week of January 2020, the news of infections and deaths were starting to be reported by the media around the world but with little to no impact on what was happening in the travel industry. People were still traveling, brushing the news off as a one-time thing.

By February 2020, the coronavirus now had a name, COVID-19, a name that will continue to haunt me even today. During the second week of February, Europe reported its first death in France and a week later, Italy started to see a major surge in cases as officials locked down some towns in the northern part of the country.

By the second week of March 2020, the US started to block visitors from Europe and declared a national emergency while in Europe, France imposed a nationwide lockdown and the EU barred most travelers from outside the bloc from coming in. Canada called all her citizens back home.   Boarders closed and it only got worst.

To be continued…

2020 ~ Scary first few months

Covid 1 Year later

May 26th, 2020 • We are at 72 days of social isolation. 72 DAYS. • The CDN dollar is worth $.71 US. • Gas costs 83.9 cents per litre at the pumps in our area . A tank of gas is lasting a lot longer these days. • Schools have been closed since March 16 and kids are learning remotely on-line. This will continue for the rest of the school year. • High school have cancelled all exams; grade 12 students will graduate with their last mark...what they had before March Break...and without needing to complete their literacy test and their 40 hours of volunteer work. There was no prom, nor graduation ceremony. We're hoping graduation will be re-scheduled for the Fall. • Restaurants are only open for home delivery & pick-up orders, although many people are afraid to order take-out because we aren't 100% sure if Covid-19 can be spread through food. Some stores give their take out orders with a small alcohol wipe to wipe down the bag and containers inside. • National and Provincial Parks and Conservation areas have reopened, but all playgrounds will remain closed. • All sports competitions have been canceled. • All festivals and entertainment events have been banned (Canada Day celebrations in some cities and Calgary Stampede canceled just in the last few days, ND state fair, Estevan Fair and Rafferty Rumble) • Weddings, family celebrations, birthdays and funerals have been canceled.  • Gatherings are limited to no more than 5 people outside the same household while social distancing.  • People are doing drive-by parades to celebrate birthdays, baby showers, schools staff to see their students and show appreciation to front-line workers. • Hearts and rainbows in the window began as a way to show love and appreciation during a time of self-isolation and lock-down, and has spread worldwide. • Churches are closed or online. • We have to stay away from each other by at least 2 meters (6 feet). These are the new Social-Distancing Rules that most everyone adheres to, without thinking now. During jogging or cycling, it's advised to stay 20 feet away. • When out for a walk (basically the only outdoor activity we are still allowed to do), people will step off the curb and wait while another person passes. • Old Age and Retirement homes are experiencing high rates of outbreak among residents and staff, and in some cases there are 1/10 of the staff working. Many of the deaths are attributed to these outbreaks. • Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has been doing daily press conferences from Rideau Cottage. • People are using their home 3D printers to help make PPE like face shields and clips (to save health care workers ears and hold back mask straps), and even ventilator pieces that are in short supply • People are wearing masks, some places now REQUIRE that you wear them to enter! • People are sewing masks & gowns. Others are crocheting or knitting bands to help save people's ears who have to wear them for extended periods. They are donating them to group homes, medical facilities and people who need them. Disposable gloves are also widely worn when out in public to get supplies. • Toilet paper, yeast, hand sanitizer, flour, antibacterial wipes and anything Lysol or Clorox is in short supply and limited per person.... IF you can even find them!  • Chicken wings are also getting hard to find, as is beef, because 2 of Canada's top 3 beef suppliers have been hit hard with outbreaks. Things like milk were limited up to 2 per person. Prescription medications are limited to just one month instead of having multiple months. • Stores are closing early to disinfect everything. (24 hour stores are even closing by 9pm). • Store check outs, pharmacies and even fast food drive thru windows have added plexiglass between employee and customer. Have to reach around or under to pay! • Online shopping and grocery delivery services are at an all-time high. • There are lines taped and even painted outside the stores for people to line-up to enter with max #'s allowed in a store at a time. There are lines and circles at the check outs to keep people 6 feet apart. There are taped arrows in the aisles to keep flow of traffic one-way as you shop. • Canada has closed the borders to all non-essential travel. • No visits or respite/relief allowed for any children in care. • On April 19, Canada was devastated by the largest mass shooting in our history, 22 lives lost in Nova Scotia. A virtual vigil was held April 24 for the victims, as Canada mourned. On May 1, the PM announced an official ban on assault-style guns. • As of May 19th, some provinces have chosen to slowly start re-opening businesses in an effort to restart the economy. (Even some of the hardest-hit provinces, like Alberta and Quebec). Some provinces (like Ontario) have chosen only a few outside businesses to open. Taking their time as it is far too soon to lift the full lock-down. Not enough is known yet about the virus and we are still in the middle of the peak. It is still being spread easily and there are still high numbers of deaths. We expect a second and even third wave to hit and the pandemic is expected to last 18-24 months before it is over. • Air and water pollution are at an all-time low, and animals have been seen going through areas not normally occupied by them.  • The world has quieted, a large hole in the ozone has closed. Our Earth appears to be healing. • We stay in our homes and make the best of the time we have to spend together with those who live in the same household. People are trying new things, learning new things, playing games, taking the time to read, and we can thankfully stay in touch with loved ones through technology like phones, texts, emails, FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom. Window visits are also on the rise, as people find new and creative ways to show their quarantined loved ones that they are loved, thought of, and cared about. Although this is a different way of life for now, and many things are missed, it's teaching us not to take those things or people for granted when we do finally reach some sort of "normalcy", whatever that looks like from here on out. • People are becoming much more careful and conscientious about hygiene and how it affects not just ourselves, but others. • People are also realizing there are a lot of material things that we are used to having, that have now become unimportant - we are realizing the difference between need and want, and how unnecessary certain things are in times like these. • Covid-19 has shown the world what's important, and that it is indeed possible to come together (by staying apart) for the greater good. It's teaching us that it is indeed possible, and important, to help more vulnerable people, like the elderly and the homeless. I can't remember a time when people worked so hard to provide shelter and food for the homeless. Or a time when long-term care residences were in the forefront and it came to light how much more they need from the government and the public, in order to properly care for their residents. It is also teaching us who the real heroes are; it's not the movie stars and the highly-paid sports stars in all their fame and glory. It's the front-line workers, the delivery workers, the grocery store clerks, the garbage collectors, and all those who continue to risk their lives to keep the communities fed, clean, housed, healthy and connected. • May 17th we lost one of our Snowbird representatives (the Public Affairs Officer, Capt Jennifer Casey), on the cross country tour called Operation Inspiration, to lift the spirits of Canadian's. Life is so precious.  Why have I reposted this? Next year & then every year after, this status will appear in my Facebook memories feed. And it will be an annual reminder that life is precious & that nothing should be taken for granted. We are where we are with what we have. Let's be grateful ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖

2020 March ~ They Call This The Corona 19 virus. The World Shuts Down

We now have this very dangerous virus going around and everything has gone in shut down.  Except grocery stores and pharmacies.  This is a very scary thing.  They are trying to get a vaccine for it but that takes a lot of time.  Collecting data, etc.  They have labeled it as Covid -19.   The Government of Canada and the CDC is asking everybody to stay in your home, mask up sterilize everything you touch, wear gloves.  Borders are being shut down.  Flights are being canceled.   You just never think it will continue for as long as it has.  I need to post this for myself so we remember what happen.  To be continued…

2019 October 5th ~ A little bump in the road

Well a lot has changed since September and we had to