Day 9 Covid Chronicles and I am beginning to appreciate having Leftovers.
The photo above shows the food items I bought while travelling in 2019 and didn’t consume. One picks up a lot of little things as presents for others (pasalubong) and also for one’s home (souvenir).
On the third version of community quarantine guidelines, only one person per household can go out to buy food, go to the bank, or gas up. So having a little extra is much appreciated especially when you have to make sure that all the rations you bought need to last 21 more days. Some communities began implementing a 24 hour curfew. With all the stress (flatten the curve, the hammer, the dance, Italians on lockdown), one hungers for a little stress relief in the form of sugar. I tried breathwork but it only worked for an hour.
I am actually beginning to like fresh vegetables now that we will consume our last batch and only canned goods are left and our leftovers. Like many people, I followed the government’s advice not to hoard. Unfortunately, this means we need to make another grocery trip this week.
Just yesterday, we finished the tikoy, Nian Gao or Chinese New Year cake I was given last January. Corona virus announcements came around the Lunar New Year and it didn’t feel like we could celebrate. Luckily, it was a big cake and we got to share half with security and admin staff who could not return home because of the checkpoints and curfew.
The leftovers are much appreciated as they are a concrete form of my memory of having the freedom to travel the world without fear. They remind me of the time I had my fill, to the point of having bounty on reserve. Most of all, they remind me that I have a treat for the next 21 days.
Living On Gingham Lane 
Every meal is more than enough for one time so we’ve been having lots of leftovers, some of which are better the second time around.