Submitted by Noreen Steinacher
I’ll start this article by letting you know the Community Gardens in Tobermory has been allowed to open early under strict conditions. There are a couple of 4X4 tabletop beds open for residents who are interested in joining community gardens. These small gardens pack a real punch in terms of yielding produce throughout the summer. And, the community gardeners are a good group of like-minded people who help each other out. Call or e-mail The Meeting Place if interested.
Getting back to the question of what are people doing at home. You only have to look at the list of things ‘sold out’ on Amazon.ca to know what’s taking up people’s interest and time in the new normal. Some of it’s good and hopefully will last well past this crisis.
Lots of gardening seeds, equipment and other supplies are in demand and that’s good for our local nurseries and garden supply outlets. The seed rack at Peacocks has been almost empty for weeks.
What about all the specialty food items and cooking utensils? They are flying out the warehouse doors too. Thanks Rick Peacock for keeping all the baking supplies on the shelves for us; we even found rice flour the other day.
Have you noticed a real jump in the price for more selective DVDs sold on-line. Supply and demand for many things has shifted and sometimes not in a good way.
Making non-medical masks has almost become a new cottage industry for some and I hear it’s hard to get the elastic used to secure the masks. These type of masks may be in greater demand by the general public as we move into different phases of the pandemic recovery. Ask your neighbours about who is sewing what. We recently received a small bundle of masks that looked like art pieces. They certainly helped me to shift my mind to a greater acceptance of the use of masks.
There is music. No shortage of local and national musicians coming together and filling our phones, laptops and TV screens with living room images and pretty good sound. It’s been fun and different to tune in.
SPARK Project – Seasonal Workers (and Entrepreneurs) Sparking Ideas for Community
To finish up this commentary on things people are doing, I remind you the SPARK Project – Seasonal Workers (and Entrepreneurs) Sparking Ideas for Community is well underway and most participants have made the transition to working in Zoom groups. Many good ideas to benefit residents who are seasonal workers have been generated. Some project ideas are taking form and some are being developed into prototypes for testing. If you are interested in joining the Spark Project, it’s another thing you can do from home. Call The Meeting Place at 519-596-2313 or e-mail meetingplace@amtelecom.net
