Monday, June 01, 2020

Six Feet Distanced

Snacks for our friends. Food shared -- but not shared. Bread, cheese with a clean knife,
a bowl of cherries, washed. All to be touched only by our friends. We had our own tray of snacks.
After a few months of isolation, we decided that in the beautiful weather we're having it would be safe to invite friends for a distanced but in-person visit. "Don't share food" is advice that appears when authorities talk about slowly returning to normal social life. I thought about it: sharing chips and dips is unsafe for sure. Sharing some peanuts or crackers means everyone's hand goes into the bowl. Sharing a salad involves touching utensils. We decided to prepare two identical trays of snacks, one for us and one for our friends who are also isolating together. First, of course, I washed my hands very clean!

Our friends sat over 6 feet away from us, at a separate
table with their own tray. We weren't too close, but it
was far more friendly than an e-chat.
We wrapped the bottles in a napkin to wipe them off after each pour.
And each of us poured our own wine in order to stay far apart.
Another not-shared snack idea: individual goldfish packs.

Together Apart

On a walk in the park we saw various examples of social distancing, like this couple.
Also 6 feet apart.
This group appear to be standing at the corners of a large square for their face to face meet-up.
Walking down the sidewalk not too close together?
Not quite 6 feet apart, though.

Besides maintaining my social distance on walks and participating in a family e-chat, I did a bit of reading this weekend: The Trespasser by Tana French, one of the Dublin Murder Squad series of mystery novels. I've enjoyed her books, but I find them somewhat longer than they need to be. This is no exception -- it drags in the middle though it picks up again at the end.

Tana French is adept at describing smelly places, for example: "The squad room has come alive. The printer is going, someone’s phone is ringing, the blinds are open to try and drag in the half-arsed sunlight; the place smells of half a dozen different lunches, tea, shower gel, sweat, heat and action." (p. 76)

Unlike in most mysteries that I favor, food in the Dublin police officers' lives is usually unappetizing. The woman detective narrator, for example, eats while doing several other things at home after work: "I should throw some dinner into me and crash out, but I hate wasting time on sleep even worse than I hate wasting it on food. I stick some pasta ready-meal thing in the microwave... . The microwave beeps. I take the pasta thing and my coffee to the sofa and open my laptop. ... The pasta thing has gone cold and slimy. I shove down the last mouthful anyway." (p. 167-169)

I really don't have enough to say about this book to write a real review.

Blog post and photos © 2020 mae sander for mae food dot blog spot dot com.

15 comments:

  1. Smart way to have a little get together. I think we are all in need to company. And I've never read any Tana French but she sounds like an author I would like. Happy June.

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  2. Glad you were able to get an in person visit in with your friends. You made it very nice for all of you. I'll pass on the novel.

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  3. It's warm and beautiful outside. You live in a very beautiful place, Mae. I am glad that you had some good time with your friends.

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  4. What a great idea for a day in the park....with friends!

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  5. Spending time with your friends is priceless especially now in the pandemic.

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  6. What an incredible way to share a meal while social distancing. I'm sure your friends were enjoying real time with you, too. You shared some great ideas for staying close, yet distant. And those people you saw on your walks. It's nice that people can actually get together and still stay separate. Hope June brings joy to you, dear Mae.

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  7. I am missing my friends! This is a good idea!

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  8. Looks like a wonderful basket of food with wine in the PARK!
    Cheers from Eagan Daily Photo

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  9. We've had the same sort of gatherings on our deck with friends, although we make it a BYO type of "picnic" with each household bringing their own food and drink (and glasses & utensils). It's nice to be with friends, but we miss the hugs! Stay well.

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  10. Will things ever go back to normal? Great images describing the times.

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  11. Here in Australia, restrictions have eased and we are finally able to host friends for dinner! It's been such a joy, I didn't realise how much I missed it! It's still weird welcoming our guests without a hug or a kiss though, I wonder if I'll ever get used to that...

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  12. Dave would skip pages of the novel dragged on. So glad you got to see friends. It makes a huge difference imo.

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  13. Bitter-sweet is it!
    Progress, too!
    And Goldfish we have here, also :-)
    We tried microwave-pasta. The bin said "hi". Brrr. And to top that we still have Carbonara for the microwave, do I even start the microwave???

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  14. I've seen her books but never read her before. The stack is so high. I won't start with this one!

    As for the picnic -- looks great and well planned. We're close to getting ready to do that, maybe with the kids. I'm hoping maybe Father's Day weekend. We'll see.

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  15. Oh the get together separTeky but together sounds perfect. Absolutely. ... oh my gosh, that book...what a n awful way to live, the way she ate.

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