SO HOW ARE THINGS AT STATELY INSTAPUNDIT MANOR? Fine. We cleared away a lot of essential errands — getting our taxes finalized, some medical appointments, etc. — a couple of weeks ago, and have largely stayed in since. To be honest, that’s not a huge change in our lifestyle. We still get out to run in the park, drop things at the post office, visit the ATM or the bank, but we generally hang out at home. The not-eating-out thing means I’ve painlessly lost a couple of pounds, and while I miss the gym I get an okay workout with dumbbells and a chinup bar along with pushups, etc. And we opened the pool so I can swim. I suppose some couples don’t like spending a lot of time together, but the Instawife is a delight as a quarantine companion. I’m teaching my classes online and while I don’t think they’re as good as the real thing — I like to walk around the classroom and interact with students one-on-one, and you really can’t do anything equivalent on Zoom — they’re not bad.

I had groceries delivered from Publix today, partly as an experiment as I’ve never done it before — I actually enjoy grocery shopping — and it went fine. They did a good job of picking the stuff and the delivery was quick. The InstaCart platform was groaning under its national load — I had to try several times, then wait for it to be down for maintenance, before I could put my order through. But I don’t think too many Knoxvillians are doing that yet. Give it time, as I hear grocery delivery in NYC is very backed up. Keep your larder well-stocked!