Things I Cannot Live Without

In this time of Covid-19, where I often feel like a caged animal – and by the way, why should I be different from anybody else – I know I have the essentials of food, shelter, air, water, a Tempur-Pedic mattress, and warm and reasonably stylish clothing. Okay, so let’s move on to my serious first world needs:

Starbucks Dark or Peets coffee pods along with a Keurig single cup coffee maker. I don’t feel like I’m really awake until I have that first jolt of caffeine. I love my particular coffee pods so much that now that I can drive instead of fly to visit my daughter, I travel with my own special stash. One day when I happened to be in line at Costco, a woman behind me swore up and down that Costco’s house branded pods were great. But as that Tareyton cigarette ads from my adolescence used to say: “I’d rather fight than switch.”

The New York Times Spelling Bee. This is a game I play on my iPad, and unless I’m in a big rush to leave home, I typically start it while sipping my first cup of coffee, with food to follow when I’m ready for my second cup. Ironically the Spelling Bee isn’t really about spelling because I consider it cricket to check spelling on Google, but about the breadth of one’s vocabulary. I like to think this keeps me sharp in retirement, especially because when I go over the words with my husband, he tries to give me hints that allow me to surpass “Genius” and reach “Queen Bee.”

All four of my Apple devices: iPad, iMac, iPhone and Apple Watch. They all work in tandem. For example, I can text messages from my nearest and dearest on all four devices. I love that when I use my iPhone for driving directions, my Apple Watch makes a clicking sound when it’s time for me to make a turn. The watch is also great for monitoring my heart rate and active calories burned when I exercise. As for the iMac, its big screen makes it my preferred mode for shopping and blogging. 

Exercise. Today I’m elated, because for the first time since Covid-19 necessitated stopping the indoor spinning classes at my health club, I have learned that the club is offering an outdoor spinning class in the parking lot this weekend. This comes just in time for the end of my rowing season; lest I belabor the point, I will tell you that rowing my single on the Charles is my passion.