My New Weekly Journal without a Name #2

I’ve wondered about a name for this new journaling plan.
The Week That Was
Monday Musings
Look Back Monday
Mirror Monday
???
Not sure what I will land on, but I haven’t decided and am open to suggestions.

In any case, I would love to have you join me! For now, just link your own blog journal post as a comment here so I can read yours and so can anyone else who comes for a visit. Or you can post yours on Facebook page or whatever makes you happy. There really aren’t any rules. You can just post a picture a day and maybe add a little text. Or just write a little summary of your week. Add a photo or two if you like. Just do it! Some of us research family history and we shouldn’t neglect ourselves. You don’t need to be as wordy as I seem to be! The plan is to post on Mondays.

Monday, August 15, 2022

* I have kept a bullet journal since I had terrible chemo brain about seven years ago. I’m much better now, but I find I still need to keep it going or I just don’t get things done. I stopped using the weekly chart I would make of daily tasks to do, and just made short daily lists along with brief journalling. You would think I would keep up with the ordinary tasks of life, but I don’t. So I put a chart back in the journal to get myself back on track. Day 1!
* R, who I teach English to a couple of times a week on zoom, is delightful. I love how she laughs at her mistakes.
* Practiced zoom stuff for ESL class – I always get a bit stressed, but it looks like what we want to do will work. Our plan is to offer concurrent zoom and in person classes beginning 9/19.
* Picked up 50 Get Out the Vote postcards to sign.
* First entry of this journal written and posted.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

* When I taught R today, she thought the concept of a mobile home was hilarious.
* Attended zoom discussion of Mediocre.
* T and I are slowly clearing out stuff. She uses Facebook Marketplace and I use the Buy Nothing group. Sold a wicker love seat we have had for many years! Why must I work puzzles from the closet before giving? I have to see if all the pieces are there, right?
* Thinking about our very hot and dry summer and the changes we have made to save the Texas electric grid. Will we continue to be diligent about turning off and unplugging nearly everything? Keeping the shades drawn to keep out the heat? Keeping the thermostat at 78?
A nearly bare tree in our yard and the “greenbelt” that has caused me to worry about wildfires.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

* Posted more stuff to Buy Nothing.
* Hot!
* Finished audiobook of The Patriarch, a Bruno, Chief of Police book. And started the next one – Fatal Pursuit

Thursday, August 18, 2022

* ESL book group finished reading Holes. All enjoyed it. I’m trying to figure out how we can watch it together.
* Took a Thundercloud sub to Pastor Cathy and then I helped her finish signs for the Pride Parade. I knew I wouldn’t be attending, but I participated a little bit.


* I left the church and had to drive home in quite a downpour. We have not had measurable rain for 51 days, so it was very welcome, but a little scary to drive through. Tapered off a little after I got home and took this picture.

Friday, August 19, 2022

* ESL book group reading Mystery Ranch. Always enjoyable. One more week.
* Took my friend to lunch for her birthday. She is the one whose party I missed last week. We had a lot of catching up to do.
* Then a long talk with T about some things she is planning which would not be close to home. 🙁
* Lots of talk about travel swirling around me. Pastor Cathy is encouraging to go on the Civil Rights trip in October. She and I made the trip before the pandemic to test out her travel plan before opening it up to a group, but the group trip had to be been postponed until this fall. Also, M ate lunch with some of his cousins who want to take a trip to Sicily in May. Since the Whipple surgery, I don’t have an amenable gut in the morning, so if I want to travel, I’m going to have to see if there is anything I can do to improve the situation. Decided I’ll eliminate dairy for a few weeks and see if that helps. But not until Monday! I’ll finish the gelato in the fridge first!
* Received a notice from the HOA about this recycling bin – which included this image as proof. It’s a long story. The city took our bin without our knowledge, so we requested a new one, and we ended up with two. They are supposed to pick this up!

Saturday, August 20, 2022

My goal for the day was to finish a blog post for Sepia Saturday. I’m stuck. Gave up before dinner, worked on the next puzzle from the closet and watched some James Taylor on PBS. Nostalgia!

Sunday, August 21, 2022

I was up and dressed and ready to go to church – if I were going. I just watched on youtube. But – I’m working on breaking the slovenly Sunday habit.
Still trying to finish that blog post! I know I am making it too hard. I did a lot of research, but I don’t want to write a research paper! This is supposed to be fun and easy, but … still not done! Argh!

That’s it! Have a good week and I hope to read about yours!

Pandemic Photo Journal June 7-13, 2020

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, 6/7/2020

* Zoom Church
* James Byrd. Tortured and murdered 22 years ago today. Drug behind a pickup in east Texas. Reading this, I am remembering that Rick Perry sometimes used to do the right thing. And that today, in 2020, some in the GOP do not want to vote for anti-lynching legislation unless LGBTQ persons are removed from protection provided by the bill. Of course, some in the GOP do not want an anti-lynching bill at all.
James Byrd. Say his name too.
* Still 91 at 8:15 pm. I’m going to have to start getting up early to walk or just use the treadmill. My post surgery gut requires me to stay home for awhile after getting up in the morning so not sure if I will beat the heat with that schedule either
* Late walk.

Monday 6/8/2020

* ESL Book Club – Last Stop on Market Street. Students really liked this book. Lots of good discussion. Again, a message for living during a pandemic. Gratitude.
* Requested photo I saw on findagrave
* Zoom meeting with team helping an asylum seeker.
* Too hot to walk outside day or night.

Tuesday 6/9/2020

* Zoom English lesson with R didn’t work well due to technology and language barriers.
* Church group book discussion of Me and White Supremacy on Zoom. Good.

Wednesday 6/10/2020

* Got an early start on chores for once!
* More bumps trying to teach R, but finally got in most of a lesson.
* Roasted some wrinkled tomatoes.

Thursday 6/11/2020

* ESL class
* Covid-19 cases sharply rising in Texas
* 45 said that a 75-year-old man pushed down and injured by police was a member of Antifa. This opinion humor piece inspired me to come up with a few of my own signs that your grandparent is an Antifa agent:
She goes for “walks” wearing a handmade mask, large sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat to avoid identification on camera.
Think Granny needs that walker? It’s part of her cover as an in innocent bystander. Plus, she can make those wheels spin when she darts down a side street.
(I’m sure I wrote at least one more, but I must have deleted it from Facebook… something about grandpa carrying ketchup packets in his pockets so it looks like he is bleeding when faking a injury.)
* Robert is so gonna vote. Be like Robert!

Friday 6/12/2020

* Worked on blog
* Cooped up with dogs while cable guy was here
* Band-Aid finally decided to make bandages in a range of skin tones.
* Birthday zoom for cousin Dorinda.

Saturday 6/13/2020

* Beautiful morning
* Cleared out some weeds and must have thrown a pen over the fence?
* Used some of the roasted tomatoes to top baked fish. Yummy!

Please wear a mask and limit your time away from home. We are seeing an increase of infections. 

Pandemic Photo Journal May 31-June 6, 2020

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.

My journal entries primarily come from my Facebook posts and notes I have jotted in my bullet journal. I’ve gotten behind. Playing catch up!

Sunday 5/31

* Zoom church. Prepped Book Club
* It seems like the country is on fire. Protests taken over by anarchists and far-right folks. Why can’t we let Black people have their voices heard in protest and demonstration without hijacking them? POTUS pours fuel on the fire and then hides from responsibilities.
* Rally at the Capitol sponsored by Austin Justice Coalition was cancelled out of caution.
* Offered some of my books as a lending library for my Facebook friends. There are a couple that I haven’t read or finished. A couple are from high school/college and the yellowed pages prove it. Found more stashed away in other places – Just Mercy! Plus kid lit books.

* I had to get out of the house and walk off some of the feelings. I found so many little signs of joy and care and beauty to lift my spirits.

Monday 6/1

* ESL Book Club – Ferdinand the Bull. Always good!
* Having completed 100 consecutive days of playing piano for 10 minutes, I decided to try memorization. My brain is not on board. The first day my brain was completely confused by what I was asking it to do. Day 4, my brain is still out of its element, but has agreed to try. I chose something that I can play with music and that doesn’t have way too many notes. Or so I thought. In fact, I think it may be something I was required to memorize for a recital and ended up walking off stage in humiliation when I was unable to find my place and continue. Memorization has never been my strength.
* Ready to Wear Orange June 5th. And maybe write a note.
* Listening to voices of church leadership regarding Trump’s photo op today.

Tuesday 6/2

* Late night hosts doing the best they know how. James Corden interviewed Eric Michael Dyson (Tears We Cannot Stop), then it got so emotional as he was talking to one of the black musicians from his show. And the pandemic means there is no adequate means of consoling.
* Glad to see a list of local Black owned businesses to support.

Wednesday 6/3

* Former Defense Secretary James Mattis finally broke his silence.
* Two people have made me laugh out loud today. One by text and one on Facebook. I’m still laughing about one of them. Thankful for the laughs!
* First real outing that wasn’t to a doctor appointment and I got to see the fabulous Cathy! David too! It was like real life. Empty building except for us. Foyer filled with manna bags, food items, books – all there to continue ministry to unsheltered neighbors who arrive for “breakfast in a bag“ twice a week. The church building is closed, but the church is active. I was afraid I might not make it because my rarely-driven car was flashing warning lights all the way there and back. Is my car upset that I have been ignoring it?

* This cracked me up. I walked by this house a week ago and saw a sign for an elementary school student. A few days later, another sign was right next to it, brother evidently decided to be recognized as well. Next time I walked by, the brothers were socially distanced at about 6 feet. Tonight I walked by and had to cross the street to get both signs in the camera frame. 😂  I wonder how they are getting along? 🤔

Thursday 6/4

* Freaking out about the singing at the memorial service for George Floyd. So needed and restorative … but we are in the middle of a pandemic and attendance is already putting them at risk.
* Drew Brees under fire for comments about kneeling during the national anthem.
* Group from church got on Zoom to take a picture of us in orange for for National Gun Violence Awareness Day. We will post the photo on social media tomorrow.

Friday 6/5

* Wearing my orange shirt – at home …
* Trying a much easier piano piece to memorize.
* Worked on masks.
* Dreamboat wants broccoli!

Saturday 6/6

* Got veggie box
* Travis County May 30-June 3 – Testing increased 4%; infections increased 10%. Too early for this to be related to protests. More likely Memorial Day and opening up.
* Finished puzzle. I’m sure M will be happy to have it off the table!

Please wear a mask and limit your time away from home. We are seeing an increase of infections.Â