Covid-19 Journal: June is busting out all over.

Covid-19 Journal: June is busting out all over

            I don‘t quite know where to start with this one. We are now into June, and the weather should be nice, but instead I’ve had to break out the long sleeves and long pants again, as it has turned cool and nasty. Last week, it was very hot, with temperatures in the high 20s °C (the 80s °F), but it is currently 10°C (about 50°F) and looks like rain yet again–just like the last few days. It’s more like early April weather than June. This is more than a little disappointing for those of us hoping to spend more time out of doors after being cooped up all winter–not to mention the lockdown, which has kept us inside even more than usual. However, one upside of the rain is that when it ends we can get some spectacular views. Two days ago, we got an almost full-arc rainbow with only the top being covered with clouds. Here’s a composite image of the two sides of the arc that we could see. (Again, figure numbering continues from previous posts.)

Figure 9: Rainbow over Lake Couchiching. We were unable to locate a pot of gold.

            Things continue to change. Although the Province has started to allow more businesses to open up, most are only open for curbside pick-up and the selection of available items is often much smaller than before. Today I took my lawnmower in for repairs, and was told that it might take some time as the repairman was having difficulty getting parts–everything is very slow. The other side of this is that some businesses are nervous about reopening because of all of the sanitization and cleaning procedures that they will now have to follow. It’s all very new for everyone.

            My children are still doing my shopping for me, and everyone hates it because the lineups to get into the stores can be quite long and it’s usually raining. Also, because of supply chain issues, the selection of available items can be a little odd. There aren’t really shortages, but there are temporary delays in availability due to the abovementioned supply chain issues. I still make out detailed shopping lists, but we know that they are guidelines only, we won’t get everything on the list.

            The other issue with shopping is that if one has to go to more than one store, there’s a line-up outside of each store and as a result, each shopping takes much longer that previously. It can take most of a morning or afternoon to do a couple of routine tasks and because of that, some get left undone for quite a while, or at least it’s worthwhile to wait in line to do it.

            Matt and David have been busy. They’ve invented a 3-D printed flow-meter for beer kegs that will allow bar owners to be able to tell when a beer keg is about to run out and that can be monitored remotely using a SmartPhone or computer. Matt (the engineer) did the physical design and 3-D printing and David has been doing the web programming (as well as having history and teaching degrees, he has a web programming diploma.) They are hoping to market these to local bars and taprooms so that their operations can be more efficient. There is an old saying in computer science circles to the effect that, “Anything that can be automated will be automated,” and that proceeds apace. 

            Daughter-in-law Vicky is working hard at her online courses and seems to have very frequent tests and quizzes. In the morning, she disappears down to her nest in the basement (it’s finished and quite nice,) emerging from her Fortress of Solitude only to eat and bathe.

            I have been busy working on various aspects of reopening the Orillia Museum of Art and History. As mentioned above, many businesses are finding the concept of reopening daunting because of the strict new measures that need to be in place, and for us, in a three-storey century building, complete with jail cells in the basement (from when it was a police station,) there’s quite a lot of complex stuff that has to be done. For example, one question that will probably arise relates to whether or not we can use UV light to sterilize the galleries. We certainly can use such a system–hospitals do–but will they be too expensive and will the UV damage the artworks and delicate history exhibits? How many people can be allowed inside at any one time? We have two large galleries, three smaller galleries and a gift shop. Then there’s the issue of plexiglass screens for the cash register desk, hand sanitizer stations, etc. The list of things to consider is quite long, so a committee is being struck to work on it.

            That’s all for today. So far, this is one of those years when we might look back and say, “Summer was nice this year. It was a Thursday.”

[This is part of an ongoing series of journal posts about my life during Covid-19. Suggested by a museum colleague, it is intended to eventually be a minor historical document–an account of how life changed during the pandemic. I make no claim to drama or interesting detail, just life as I am living it.]