Bridging Covid Self-Isolation

 We made it through our Covid self-isolation period. The 2 weeks went smoothly and the time passed quickly.

Upon reflection, we realize we were fortunate to have things to keep us busy. The old deck or bridge as they call it here on the Rock, was getting rotten from years of wet Newfoundland weather, and needed to be replaced. So, having done a redesign over the winter, the self-isolation period seemed like the perfect opportunity. More about that in a moment.

Marlene of course, had been creating new glass artwork over much of the winter, and we brought it with us in hopes of opening her Gallery, Covid permitting. So her self-isolation project was to assemble some new display shelves and organize her Gallery in preparation for a post self-isolation opening.

With Marlene wanting to open by August 12, the pressure was on to get the old bridge out and the new one in. I have to say, a bridge as they call it here should not be difficult, but the new design included stairs entering at an odd angle. In addition, the structure needed to be squeezed between the house and a rock outcropping. So with the ground contoured, and the old house foundation uneven, reference points were hard to come by, and numbers blurred in my head.

Construction was slow especially on some unusually hot days, but progressed none the less. The challenges taxed my mind and shook my confidence at times, but with the railing still to be completed, our self-isolation came to an end, and the gallery opened on time.

We now realize how fortunate we were to have significant projects to keep us busy. The days went quickly.

The Newfoundland Staycation travel motto has lots of Islanders touring safely close to home, and as a result, the Gallery has been quite busy and sales good.

As it turned out, the new bridge that brings folks into Katie-Lew Gallery was also my personal bridge over our 14 days of Covid self-isolation.

Postscript – a special thank you to those that offered to help us through our Covid lockdown, some dropping off things like water, milk, or fish, and thank you as well to those that provided moral support when they dropped by to say hi.