This week we asked one of our US Ambassadors, Bethany to write the blog - to highlight what it has been like over in the states for the last 6 months. Bethany and Dave live in Roswell Georgia and sometimes work on our behalf out in The States.
We were sent home from our jobs on March 17, and I haven’t been to my office since then. Like the rest of the world, we stocked up on the essentials (including a lot of junk food, beer and liquor) and hunkered down for what we thought would be two weeks in our home. We even adopted a puppy! Two weeks came and went, and here we are six months later trying to find the balance between living our lives and staying healthy.
LIVING IN A PANDEMIC
Georgia was one of the first states to start reopening after the mandatory lockdowns, but we are far from what normal used to look like. Sure, there are some people living like there’s no pandemic, but most people are just trying to adapt like we are. Like many states, cities and towns, small businesses and local restaurants around us closed, and many others have had to find new ways to operate safely.
All kinds of events and gatherings, including all our local Highland games and favourite whisky tastings and festivals, are cancelled, many well into 2021, because there are restrictions on just about every kind of gathering. During the spring and summer months, people flocked to outdoor activities, like camping and hiking, anything to get them out of their houses! We’ve tried going to our state parks several times for hikes only to be turned away because they were at capacity.
FINDING THE BALANCE
But not everything about life during the pandemic has been negative. We have all had to find new ways to connect with friends, family and each other. In our house, we have a few new and refreshed social traditions.
On Fridays, we often order curbside carryout or delivery from our favourite local restaurants, and we do cocktails. Sometimes it’s our favourites—like old fashioneds' and Manhattans—and other times we experiment with something new. Either way, we don our masks and head to the liquor store to stock up. Because we aren’t going out as much, we will splurge more often on a nice bottle of what we are looking for, and we try to make it fun by using our different bar glassware and our Angel’s Share Glass Stirrers.
Sundays are our whisk(e)y and cigar nights. This actually started before the pandemic, but those nights seem to be even more important these days when there’s a blurring between work from home and our private lives. Like cocktail night, we have fun on Sunday nights with our Angel’s Share flight staves and water droppers. We mix it up with drams of bourbons, ryes, Scotch and whiskeys from different parts of the world.
And lastly, we do a lot of virtual meetups with our friends and families, which almost always involve a cocktail, whisk(e)y or a beer. In fact, we both agree that we have gotten better at keeping up with people now that we can’t see them!
We are certainly looking forward to when we can all gather safely in our favourite pubs again, but until then, Sláinte, y’all, from our house to yours.
Bethany and David Wegner met the Angels’ Share Glass crew at a whisky tasting in Chicago, and they help out ASG with events in the U.S. They live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their puppy, Lemmy, and their two cats, Lugosi and the Beast.
They will be at the upcoming NY Now Digital Market.