I am so aligned with that feeling: something to look forward to is essential. I ordered a bunch of books from eBay sellers so I can have little moments of joy as they arrive in the mail. And I'm trying to plot how to either go visit my mom or take her on a trip later in the summer or early fall, if things re-peak and get under control by then. (You have probably seen my posting on the potential beach trip, so I'll say no more on that here)

I used to have one of the plushie microbes, but I finally just felt too weird about it and gave it to my friend who is a post-op trauma ICU nurse with a very droll sense of humor.

Kudos on the knitting/podcast thing to keep anxiety in check. It's good to have that level of self-awareness! (and I bet you will make some nifty things to boot)