It’s been some time since I sat down to blog here. No, I haven’t stopped exploring the state of Vermont. No, I haven’t lost my love for the written word. Yes, I still care deeply for highlighting hidden gems throughout the Green Mountain State. I’ve just largely chose to do so through photos and quick stories on Instagram. But, I’m back now and hopefully better than ever.

During this unique time in our lives, my love for our community in Vermont has grown, as has my mindset, my ability to live in the present, and desire to see the beauty in every place and every moment. Life is ours for living, after all. There’s nothing like a virus like Covid-19 to reinforce this for us all. We have a conscious decision to make the most of it every day. So this is what we’ve done…

My Mindset Around Covid-19

March 6, 2020 will be a day that I always remember. It’s the day we started quarantining at home – with the world just starting to figure out Covid-19. We packed our freezer in the basement. Shelves in the supermarket were bare. My sister and I were FaceTiming and coming up with meal ideas from the random ingredients we could procure. I cleaned out drawers to frantically find half-full bottles of hand sanitizer from previous travels. We really didn’t have a sense at all what we were getting into, how serious this is or would be, or how our lives, businesses, and society in general would adapt.

Would businesses be forced to close? Would our economy take a massive hit? Would our tiny communities in Vermont be overcome with death? There were so many unknowns at that point. Luckily, Vermont has fared remarkably well – the best of anywhere in the US, really.

I’ve never had fear around contracting the Coronavirus. In fact, I would go just about anywhere right now – if it didn’t impact others around me or put others at risk. You see, I firmly believe I had Coronavirus in late December/early January. I had the worst illness of my life – with a cough that I couldn’t fight off. A doctor told me I had a mystery respiratory illness. I’m not worried about being sick, so I haven’t had anxiety there. I have, however, had to change my mindset in big ways due to our inability to travel and explore…

Living to Travel (Like a Local)

I live to travel – to stay at unique inns, AirBnbs, and resorts. I love nothing more than creating road trip routes to find highlights along our journeys. I have so much itineraries stocked up all around the country from this time… For someday trips. As much as I love having to cook, I so enjoy having meals prepared for me with local ingredients and in diverse cuisines. Travel is the one thing I always have to look forward to. I plan our vacations a year out – largely to commit to them and that I’ll earn enough income to support our life of travel and exploration that I’m curating for ourselves.

For 2020, we had an epic return trip lined up for Greece in May, following by weekend getaways for football games across the country, a weekend in Charleston, weddings in the Catskills and Michigan, and some road trips in New England. Needless to say, 90% of it was/is cancelled. Deposits returned. Plans cancelled. (On the bright side, I have some serious airline credits to use in 2021!)

Just likes local businesses have had to adapt, I’ve had to adapt my mindset. Hairstylists gave instructions for folks to color their own hair. Restaurants focused on to-go orders and cocktails to go. Restaurants opened small markets with online stores for hard-to-find grocery staples. Breweries are delivering to door steps. It was amazing to how businesses got creative – sadly out of necessity. I have really started to learn the benefits of slowing down, being in the present, and not always wishing I was somewhere else. It’s been a huge adaptation for me and something I work on daily to not constantly be yearning for a new adventure…

Spending Time – Covid-Style

Initially when I thought about spending four week, six weeks, 12 weeks at home, I had anxiety. I love being out and about, exploring, having new adventures. It honestly made me kind of depressed to think we would have to stay at home. But, I had to realize we are in a very privileged place and had to change my mindset to one of gratitude. Rather, I had to take control of my mindset. I was grateful for a house we love, a partner who I enjoy being with (even if four months of quarantine together is not something I would recommend for newlyweds. So, we binged television shows initially and completed so many puzzles that I had stocked up on around the holidays luckily. I worked really long hours, because, let’s face it, I had to pass the time.

Then, we made the choice to embrace this time as a blessing. And we made the most of it.

Here’s how we spent our quarantine time… How did you spend this unique time? What has it made you most grateful for?

We Adopted a Puppy!

With our two rescue pups at 11 and 6, we figured it might be time to introduce a pup to our pack. We have a fenced-in yard, and I couldn’t imagine a better time to train a puppy then with two parents at home, full time. So applied to be foster-to-adopters with Passion 4 Paws, and after one false start with an adoption, we rescued Miss Mona, a hound mix from North Carolina. We picked her up mid-April from her transport, and she’s been a ball of entertainment since. Much like babies I suppose, I had blocked out how hard puppies are! We got her potty trained pretty quickly and she became fast friends with our other dogs. Her chewing is still a work-in-progress. RIP so many chargers, two pairs of shorts, and countless pairs of TP (she has no idea the worth of that TP in our current situation.)

I Sold (and am Selling) a Lot of Homes

Yes, it’s true. So many people are wanting to buy a home in Vermont right now. Let’s face it: You can’t travel. You might have well purchase a place you can make your own if you’re going to be spending more-than-usual time at home. I’m a part-time Vermont Realtor (but a full-time Chief Operating Officer for the #4 real estate team in the US – #shamelessplug for our amazing team, so I live and breathe real estate), and I have been my busiest ever during Covid. Homes are flying off the shelves. I’m grateful to have buyers from all over the US – Texas, California, North Carolina, Minnesota, Boston – wanted to settle in our great state. I feel very fortunate to be able to help them with their goals of homeownership.

We Built a His-and-Her Shed

My husband, Nick, doesn’t enjoy clutter. Things should be in their own spot. And with two cars and yard toys, our garage was filling up. So we started researching designs for a half-shed and half-green house in our backyard. Nick and his dad spent a few weeks of quarantine building the cutest his-and-her shed I could have imagined! I picked up a perfect antique glass door off of Facebook Marketplace. I scored some older windows off of Craigslist (yes, people in Vermont still use Craigslist!). And I found some amazing shelves and a make-shift potting table through an online estate sale. While Nick and his dad built it, I painted it a rich blue-gray color we love. Not only is it functional, but it inspires me to grow more and be more present in loving on our backyard and our space.

We Started Gardening

I don’t have the greenest thumbs, but I do have a father for a horticulturist and really enjoy plants and flowers. At my last house in Middlebury, I had a massive, massive garden that was much too much for me. This year, we decided to plant a few raised garden beds and grow our own herbs and berries. We started our seeds from scratch. It was so nice to see something growing at a time where so much seemed dismal and depressing in the world around us.

I Learned How to Make Bread

I am not a baker. I can’t follow a recipe (or rules, really). But, I found some highly sought after yeast and flour and taught myself how to make the most fabulous Dutch Oven crusty round of bread. I made one at least one a week, sometimes more often for us, and took pride in perfecting our craft.

We Smoked Meats

We put our electric smoker to heavy use and experimenting with different rubs and types of meat. By far the best was the six-pound slab of pork belly we got from Bob’s Meat Market in St. Alban’s. We used that for a week in everything from tacos to pizza to ramen to breakfast sandwiches to panini.

We Got Serious About Our Grass

This is the biggest project we undertook this spring. I learned so much about organic fertilizers and seeds and irrigation. I was determined to get the grass in our yard lush and

I Signed Up for a Flower CSA

Yes, a flower CSA is a thing! About a five-minute drive from our home is an at-home gardener who typically sells bouquets at farmers’ markets in the summer. She innovated and designed a 10-week flower CSA for fresh blooms throughout the summer. It’s something I look forward to every Tuesday now.

I Shopped So Many Online Estate Sales

As retail businesses got inventive, so did estate sales. Every Saturday at 9am I had a calendar invitation set for online estate sales in our area to see what items I could get my hands on the quickest. I became a game almost, but there was immense satisfaction over winning an item I had been pining over and then picking it up in person.

We Did Preventative Maintenance on Our House

You know those things you always put off when it comes to maintaining your home? Well, we checked them off the list, from gutter cleaning and septic pumping to mulching, weeding, seeding, pressure-washing, cleaning out of closets, organizations of drawers, etc. It feels good to have nothing on your honey-do list!

We Ate Some Serious Take-out

Prior to Covid-19, we would get sandwiches and salads from Three Brothers in Colchester every other week or so, but we rarely would get take-out otherwise. To support local businesses, we made a decision to order take-out at least once a week. And eat well we did! Burgers and tots from Railroad & Main, Chicken Tikka Masala from Sherpa Dahal, sushi and bubble tea from Asiana Noodle Shop, wings and boozy milkshakes from Wicked Wings, amazing pasta and a fabulous arugula Caesar from Jr’s Original, burgers and truffle fries and massive mason-jar cocktails from Burger Bar, and the BEST wings, clam rolls, cajun-shrimp caesar salads and frozen drinks from Rozzi’s.

We Spent (and are Spending) a Lot of Time on the Lake

If you wanted to buy a boat this year, you are shit-out-of-luck. Showrooms in Vermont are empty! So many people decided to purchase boats and spend time out on the water. Lucky for us, lake life has been a big part of our summers for many years. Now we’re more purposeful about shutting down work and getting out on the lake on sunny days.

Grateful For This Time

2020 might not be what I thought it would be… full of amazing travel around the US and abroad. But I am grateful for the slowing down (in some capacities and the charging ahead of others) and the ability to be more present and live in the moment. I am happy. I am healthy. My life carries on, and it’s a great life at that… We just have to choose to see the joy in every moment and strive to be happy along the way, even if our adventures are different than the ones we envision for ourselves.

How did you spend this unique time? What has it made you most grateful for?