Up until now, we've been able to go to grocery stores and most retail stores (not in malls) and order take-out or pick-up food from restaurants. We certainly don't order out often (a couple of times a month), but we have kept that up.
I was pretty excited to actually use a bookdrop to drop off some library books (I guess that was two weeks ago).
And then I went ahead and made sure that my book holds were in order as they started to gear up for curb-side pick up of books (but no general browsing inside the library!). Unfortunately, the closest library won't do reserved pick-up (only drop off), but there are two others that aren't that far away (by bike). It took a while but I have three books ready to be picked up and I reserved a slot for Thurs. after work. I do appreciate the feature where you can plug in other library cards, so if any of my daughter's holds are in, I can pick those up as well. On the flip side, I really do need to finish up a few books so I can return them, as the libraries begin to return to normal. I was able to wrap up Carrianne Leung's That Time I Loved You and probably have just one more hour to go on Camus's The Plague (aside from being too on-the-nose I've enjoyed it when I found the time to sit down and read).
The major thing for my wife is the closed down hair salons. For me, I think it is missing going to the gym and swimming pool. In the grand scheme of things, I would say I miss live theatre and music more, but I know that is going to be the longest to come back, so I'll focus on more concrete goals first, i.e. going to the gym. It actually sounds like outdoor pools might open fairly soon, though I have no idea how they'll handle crowds, but the Regent Park Aquatic Centre is probably a long way from reopening (particularly as people were notorious for hanging out and blocking the ends of the swimming lanes).
I actually was walking down the street (Jones near Strathcona) and saw an open barbershop already, though my wife is waiting on her beautician to give her a call to reschedule. Supposedly, this Sat. the ferry to the Toronto Islands will reopen (at half capacity) and masks will be mandatory (just as they will be on the TTC starting in July). It's not that high on my list of things to go, though I am glad it is reopening, and perhaps I will consider making a trip out there at some point (but only if I can bring my own bike on the ferry). Apparently, food courts can also reopen in Stage 2, so I will be very curious to see whether the Union Station and/or RBC Plaza food courts open up this week (nothing says that they or any other business has to open but the possibility is there at least). I will likely be downtown this Sunday, and, if the food court is open, I will certainly throw some business their way.
Gyms are in phase 3, so it could easily be another 2-3 weeks (or more if we get an unlucky break and the new cases start going up again) before I can start getting back into a routine. I can say that the Royal Conservatory of Music has a fairly thought through plan for limiting capacity to only 30-40% of Koerner Hall and ensuring sufficient spacing. This means of course that most interesting concerts are already sold out, and I joined the wait list for a couple that interested me. I was a bit surprised that the Kronos Quartet dates in late Jan. were still open, but I went ahead and snatched up some tickets for that. Now whether I really will be able to bike (or will break down and ride the TTC) in the winter is a very open question, but I can't worry too much about something that is so theoretical at this point (potentially the concerts might be rescheduled to the spring). I haven't heard nearly as much forward planning at the TSO, and I hope they are busy figuring out something behind the scenes. Most theatre companies can probably figure out spacing issues, but the finances will not work if they can not sell out any shows more than 30-40%. The financial side is something that really cannot be ignored for much longer, though I certainly don't have any easy solutions.
Museums and small art galleries will definitely be easier in figuring out the reopening (and indeed there are included in Phase 2). The AGO has announced it will reopen starting July 2 for members and donors, with quite a few restrictions (including no check room and no large bags, which is good to know in advance so I don't bike over and then cannot bring my pannier inside). The current exhibits (including the Diane Arbus exhibit) get extended through mid fall. I've actually seen that exhibit and may not be rushing back, certainly not that first weekend. Then the Warhol exhibit gets pushed to spring of 2021 and the Picasso exhibit is fall of 2021. I was really hoping to see the Picasso this summer, but I am glad it was not cancelled completely! MOCA is going to open July 12 for members, donors and first responders (who get in for free). It looks like the general public can go starting July 16. I'll have to see if tickets need to be booked in advance (probably). I did email them and they were pretty confident that the Mirvishes would extend the loan of the Sarah Sze piece, so I will make it a priority to get to MOCA around the 16th. Finally something tangible to look forward to!**
* A slight misquoting of Ernest Hemingway, but I couldn't resist as it is so apt.
** I'd actually kind of forgotten about the post-Impressionist exhibit in Montreal, though at one point I was really looking forward to it. This will be running through mid November, so I have plenty of time to get there if I can figure out a reasonably safe way to do so. I think I will not be flying anytime soon, and 4 hours by train (wearing masks the whole way) may be a bit uncomfortable, though that is probably the most realistic. I think renting a car won't happen for a variety of reasons, but I guess I can't rule it out completely.
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