Last year was my year of voting with my dollar. I tried to be more conscious of how I was spending my money, spending it locally whenever possible and greatly minimizing my use of Amazon Prime and box stores.
This year is going rather differently, I’m afraid.
With the social distancing in profound effect even here in already socially distant Vermont, I’m finding myself using Prime for all sorts of things. I hear the call to mail order only “essential” items right now, for the sake of the workers. And I am trying to abide as much as I can within the framework of my current reality. But I have to admit that I am not always sure what qualifies as essential versus non-essential.
For instance, my kids desperately need pipe cleaners to make homemade kazoos. Essential or non-essential?
Unicorn workbooks that keep them busy for hours while I am trying to keep on top of my work. Essential or non-essential?
Novels — the only escape I ever get. Essential or non-essential?
Food-wise, I have been resourcing a few ways to shop locally under these conditions.
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My wonderful neighbors at Tapalou Guild have organized a local food buying club
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Wild Carrot Farm, one of my favorite summer farm stands in Brattleboro, has organized touchless ordering and pickup and is sourcing items from other farms as well, including produce, bakery items, meat, eggs and dairy
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Rebop Farm, another great Brattleboro farm, has been steadily growing their store out over the last year and now has a walk-in shop where you can get extremely high quality cheese, eggs, meat, and more — and they are keeping it extremely clean (the best way to find out what they have is on Instagram, I think)
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The Guilford Country Store — you can call ahead and they’ll hand you your order off the back porch. They have staples, plus delicious homemade food.
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The Brattleboro Coop curbside pickup — You call in the morning. They call you back when they have your total, and you pay over the phone. You have an hour to come get it. The caveat: you can only get 12 things. The perk: 12 of them can be wine.
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An actual garden! I have my seeds ordered and the garden planned, but waiting until we’re closer to the end-of-frost date here, which, as you can see, is quite a ways away:
Meanwhile, we are all adapting to life at home 24/7. (Except my hero husband, the RN.)
I think five might actually be the ideal age for a social quarantine, particularly if you’re an identical twin. My kids seem mostly unfazed by suddenly never seeing a single human outside of our quarantine pod. The big social issue we’re having right now is that Eliza needs more alone time than Phoebe. I overheard Phoebe begging her to play “silly babies” with her last night. Jon interrupted to helpfully say “I’ll play with you, Phoebe. How do you play?”
Phoebe: “You just say silly things like butt and poop but in a baby voice.”
The potty humor never dies around here.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What I’m reading:
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Everisto — won the Booker Prize last year, so far not grabbing me though
What I’m watching:
So many short yoga videos in an attempt to find one my kids will participate in with me.
What I’m listening to:
Classical music to keep calm and carry on
What I’m eating:
Deconstructed pasta
What I’m working on:
Ugh, does it even matter?
I admire your perseverance with the yoga practice given the previous not delightful sucker punch of your precious attempt.