A day or two ago, my blogging friend Derrick posted a picture of the beautiful pie that his wife Jackie had baked. This, in turn, inspired me to make one of our favorite desserts, cinnamon pie knots.
It felt oh so good to doing something vaguely normal in these not very normal times.
It’s funny. Clif and I are extreme homebodies. Most of our time is spent in our own house working on our various projects. At night, we watch shows on a streaming network and then read before going to sleep. We are the opposite of gadabouts. And yet we feel the strain of sheltering in place as keenly as those who are used to going out on a regular basis. Part of it is because we have a daughter in New York City, the current epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. And, yes, we worry about her. But so far, so good. We also worry about our North Carolina children. So far, so good for them as well.
But we also wonder what the future will hold. How long will it be like this? Right now, we are ordering food online to supplement our stockpile. When will we feel safe about the once simple act of going to the grocery store? Will we have to stay secluded until a vaccine is developed? For a year? For eighteen months?
We have a book—Out of Time—that will be published this fall. We already know that because we can’t go to various shows, this will not be a good year for selling books. We’ve accepted this, and we regularly give thanks that between social security and a pension, we have enough to keep the household running. But when will we be able to get out and sell books? Who knows?
Finally, we watch the news and see the suffering of various folks, those who don’t have jobs anymore; the brave workers who must continue to go out into the world, thus increasing their own chance of getting sick; those whose loved ones have died.
Our hearts go out to them. We feel the pain of not only those in this country but also around the world.
As I wrote in a previous post, there is no them. Only us.
Coronavirus News from Maine
From Maine Public
Way up in northern Maine—land of my ancestors!—a good Samaritan, Hannah Lucas has come up with a unique way to deliver groceries to elderly folks who should be staying put. That is, by dog sled. Mush, noble dogs, mush!
From Maine CDC
Maine’s number of cases of the coronavirus: 432 (Monday’s numbers: 275.)
Deaths in Maine from Covid-19: 9 (Monday’s numbers: 0)
The News from All Over
From Wired Magazine
(Thanks to Tangly Cottage Gardening Journal for sharing this piece on her blog and bringing it to my attention.)
Laurie Penny’s humorous but sharp look at the coronavirus apocalypse:
I was not expecting to be facing this sort of thing in snuggly socks and a dressing gown, thousands of miles from home, trying not to panic and craving a proper cup of tea. This apocalypse is less Danny Boyle and more Douglas Adams.
From the New York Times
More than 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week.
The Latest Numbers
Global Cases: 1,026,974 (Monday’s numbers: 732,153)
Global Deaths: 53,975 (Monday’s numbers: 34,686)
My own take: It seems my hopes of the coronavirus being contained in Maine were merely wishful thinking.
Notes From the Hinterland 
Thank you very much for this, Laurie. Your daily routine is pretty much the same as ours. We are lucky. Keep well.
Yes, we are very lucky, too.
Love the links too. In some ways, it has brought us closer together, being confined such as we are.
Sure has!
We are in need of comfort food these days. 😉 Apparently, the sales of potato chips, wine, liquor, chocolate, etc. are skyrocketing!
No surprise!
My mom used to make those cinnamon rolls from leftover pie crust after baking pies. It was always my favorite part of pie baking. Thanks for the memory!
My mom, too. But my family likes them so much that I make pie dough especially for cinnamon knots.
The cinnamon pie knots look good, Laurie! The Knights are inspiring, aren’t they? I am hoping things are looking better by the time your book comes out this fall. Thoughts and prayers are with you and Clif.
I enjoyed that article on the dog sled food deliveries, too. 🙂
Thanks, Lavinia! Fun to think of how some of the food is being delivered at the top of Maine.
I’m pressing the ‘like’ button only because the pie knots look amazing. The rest of it just makes me cry.
Sigh. What a time for people all around the world.
Same. I’m a recluse when I can be and so staying home is ok, but it is vexing me greatly to not be able to go out and see the tulips I planted in various gardens. It will be a readjustment at first to even be comfortable in a restaurant, say, once we are back to normal. I won’t feel safe till I get a vaccine jab!
Same here! I’m wondering if we are pretty much going to be confined—that’s certainly what it’s starting to feel like—until the vaccine comes out. I’m beginning to think so.
Me too, ominously.
Sigh.
Well done you for doing something so practical as making those delicious looking cinnamon pie knots!
Thank, Susan!
I don’t blame you for wishful thinking, I imagine we all do quite a bit of it at the moment.
Yes, yes!
I hope you are way off on your prediction for how long we are going to be housebound. Please, be way off. 🙂 I’m not a big social butterfly, but this is too much isolation. I stopped at a very small farm store today and told the clerk how happy I was to just say a few words to her. I need people, not hundreds, but some. 🙂
Me, too, Judy! Me, too! Really, just repeating what I have heard might be a possibility. But it could end sooner. Fingers crossed!
I thought Jackie’s pie looked amazing, too. Cool that it sent you into creative homebody mode. Hang in there, my friend. xoxo
Many thanks! I am one of those who likes making pie dough, so the whole thing was a great pleasure.
Pie dough is one thing I never got the hang of – that and cooking meat. And knitting. And wind surfing. Actually, I could go on. lol
I hear you! The list of what I cannot do is nearly as long as my infinite list of worries. 😉
Baking is such a comforting act, both in the prep, the glorious smells and the finished product. I’m glad you’re finding moments of calm. I think forced isolation is different that voluntary isolation, and even homebodies need to get out to the market, the post office, etc.
It must be worrying having a daughter in New York. My nephew lives there now too, having moved there just this year.
I’m really sorry about the prospects for your upcoming book. That is disappointing. I’m glad you have income to cover your needs, but of course you publish a book for reasons other than income I’m sure.
Wishing you well, Laurie.
Thanks so much!
Yes. No them, only us. Stay safe, you two.
And the same to you and yours!
Yum! Your cinamon pie knots look delicious. I made two batches of mini-cinnamon rolls for our freezer last week. My thought that I would have them as an emergency snack. They are already all gone!
Well, this is certainly a time for emergency snacks. Bet they were might tasty.
Always nice to get your interesting posts, and I love the clip of Hannah Lucas delivering groceries for the elderly…she’s probably warmed up by the time she gets there.
What a sight to have your groceries delivered by those beautiful dogs!
I thought your little cinnamon pie knots were sausage rolls at first.
As for Hannah Lucas – what a brilliant way to walk your dogs whilst helping out at the same time 😉
Right? And northern Maine still has plenty of snow.
Those pie knots look delicious and I loved the wonderful video of the sled dogs delivering groceries! Over the last week we have been trying to adjust to the realization that we will be living a form of social distancing into next year with family members at high risk and how important it is to find those moments throughout the day that feel normal and make you smile. Thanks for sharing those dogs and making me smile!
My pleasure! So very sorry about the extended period of social distancing. How hard it is not to be able to visit the ones we love.
Yummm
The cinnamon pie knots look delicious. As for the rest, you summarized what Judy and I have been feeling and experiencing. I just try not to worry too much about what I cannot control and limit my exposure to the national news – it’s not good for my blood pressure.
Yes, yes!
Those cinnamon pie knots look delicious! ❤️
Many thanks!
I’ve accepted that because of my age, I will be self-distancing until there is a blood test to show I mysteriously already had Covid-19 or until there is a vaccine. Eighteen months is not beyond the realm of possibility. To miss that much of my grandkids’ development would be hard, but I was lucky to have so much of it before. My daughter’s mother-in-law in Sweden has not had weekly in-person contact with my.daughter’s family ever.
Oh, sigh! Sending virtual hugs your way.