Back from the dead

Yes, it's been a week since I posted here last, and I do wish I had more to talk about!  Today I suggested we dine on pizza, only to find the corner pizza shop has closed for now because of you-know-what.  Then I went to McDonald's, only to find that you have to place orders through their mobile app!  So we had omelet again.

Brother John's almost finished renovating the kitchen.  All that's left is some shelves and a new counter top. The other day we moved our new refrigerator in there, and our dining room feels less cluttered.

Today my memoir group had a phone conference call where we all recited memoir pieces we'd written.  The subject I chose was anime, and I talked about Sailor Moon.  Too bad I moved the phone away from my mouth at times!

I finished watching the first 47 episodes of One Piece.  The Arlong Park story is great, climaxing in a big four-episode fight with the horrifying fish-men.  Even if you aren't into anime, I highly recommend episodes 35 and 36.  Those episodes show the backstory of Nami the navigator and explain why she's been robbing other pirates. (All the crew have superb back stories starting in their early childhood.) It's emotionally powerful and shows what a deep writer Eiichiro Oda can be--this isn't just another adventure yarn.  Her foster mother Bellemere is a great character for someone who only appears briefly!

I've started watching the new anime Cardcaptor Sakura.  It's from the "magical girls" genre, and the title character is a schoolgirl, about four years younger than Sailor Moon, who has to retake spirits from these tarot-like cards that escaped from an occult book she carelessly opened. (In the first two episodes she recovers Flight and Shadow.) Her sidekick is the spirit Kero, who looks like a teddy bear with wings. She also has a rich girlfriend who makes her fancy costumes to fit her function--remember the Strawberry Shortcake dolls?--and videotapes her heroics. (After each episode Kero spends a couple of minutes displaying Sakura's clothes!)

It's a pretty cute show altogether.  I'm impressed by its low-key tone in comparison to more conventional slam-bang anime, well suited to younger kids. (I remember how my mother admired the low-key tone of Captain Kangaroo.) I have a feeling I'll be checking out quite a few anime before this crisis is over...

Strangely, I have a feeling that overall society may actually benefit from this forced solitude!  Maybe what we most need is time for greater self-reflection and more learning.