I am trying a weekly photo journal of my life during this stay-at-home pandemic. The idea is to post on Sundays and include one photo for each day of the week with some text. I may not limit myself to one photo because I have a hard time with rules like that. It seems a perfectly logical thing to do on a family history blog. This is certainly an historic time.
Sunday, 3/29/2020
* The day started with ZOOM Sunday school hour: Resisting Racism. The pastors hosted a short time together at 11. So good to see faces. Emotional for me as prayer requests were named in the chat box.
* Two more bearded iris in bloom as #1 fades.
* ZOOMed afternoon tea with two sisters and dad.
* Phil’s Ice House take out for dinner
* After dinner walk. Chalk art. Christmas display.
Monday, 3/30/2020
* Hosted a successful ESL Book Club on ZOOM. 18 students participated. Reading The Legend of the Bluebonnets, by Tomie dePaola in the middle of a pandemic is very different than reading it during a “normal” spring. New ways of thinking about sacrifice, selfishness, famine and drought, and caring for the earth.This time together offered the students a chance to share how they are dealing with staying at home and understanding the new vocabulary this has meant for them. Then I learned that Tomie dePaola died today. 🙁
* Rainy day
* I drained my last carton of Tazo chai latte. The grocery delivery doesn’t have it available. Nor does Amazon. What will I do tomorrow? And the next day? And the next?
Tuesday, 3/31/2020
* Ray Benson and Chris Cuomo have COVID-19. The list of musicians and public figures keeps growing.
* Five bearded iris blooms
* Early evening walk and found this chalk art on a fence.
Wednesday, 4/1/2020
* April Fools Day canceled due to Coronavirus Pandemic – except in the newspaper comics.
* Worked on decluttering the kitchen. A big part was sorting/tossing/organizing recipe clippings
* Co-facilitated last session of small group discussion of White Fragility. ZOOM, what else?
* No pic today.
Thursday, 4/2/2020
*We had a lovely ESL class via zoom this morning. Our Asian students are as anxious as we all are because of the pandemic, but they are also carrying the burden and worry of being blamed, targeted, and unsafe. Some no longer go for walks in their neighborhood or would never venture out to the store. This toxic atmosphere started with the president and has been fueled by his continuing use of the term “Chinese Virus.”
* Blessed with an abundance of blooms today. I’ve never had so many at one time before. My husband moved them to this spot and they seem happier here.
* Risked taking a walk between rain showers. Unfortunately, there was lots of loud thunder for the last part of my walk. I walked as fast as I could to get home! The dogs were driving my husband crazy – he was on a conference call for work.
* I enjoy hearing my husband laugh after a hard day of work-at-home. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Last week it was The Kominsky Method.
Since I had no pics for Wednesday, I get to double up for Thursday. Took these before the thunder! I love all the wonderful things to look at in this yard. Today I noticed the art on the utility box between the sidewalk and the curb.
Friday, 4/3 2020
I wanted to return to Neill-Cochran House to spend more time with the art of Ginger Geyer, but ‘Rona shut down that plan. I was happy to get an email from the museum yesterday with this virtual tour, narrated by the artist. The artist went to seminary, so many of her works incorporate religious themes – sometimes in unexpected ways. In our house, she has been known as “the pie lady” because my daughter has worked with her on her website and the first time they met, she told us about the ceramic pies and other things placed around the artist’s home, looking very real. You can take the tour too! If These Walls Could Talk
* My husband worked 12 hours today with essentially no breaks for meals. His working at home is longer and harder than his usual work day. This is why I am having trouble fitting in my 10 minutes to play piano.
* Stormy afternoon, so I spent a lot of time holding Dreamboat, the scared-of-everything dog.
* Finished puzzle #2
Saturday, 4/4/2020
I spent yesterday making a space to sew in my daughter’s room upstairs because my sewing space is so cluttered, there was no room to sew. I carried a small folding table up the stairs with difficulty, but the sewing machine was too heavy and my husband was working so hard, that the project didn’t get finished. This morning, he was working again, so I used the time to clean up my designated sewing space enough to use it. And washed some fabric and found a pattern for face masks that I plan to use. This one has a pocket for adding a filter and the nurse who posted it said she used an AC filter that is rated high for allergens and also filters out some viruses and bacteria. I hated to do it, but sent my husband to the store to pick it up for me.
That’s all for this week. It has been a week of many ups and downs. Friends in the hospital and hospice, friends with good news from the oncologist, and news, news, news about the virus and that was mostly bad news.
Hang in there! Stay home and stay safe!