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 5/24

* Slept in and did not attend Zoom church.
* A cousin I have never met sent some photos and information about a family home.
* Phil’s Icehouse burger for dinner.
* Stormy night.

Monday 5/25

* Memorial Day.
* Christina took some succulents home with her when she left. Birds are eating them! Finches, she thinks. I have never heard of this.
* Made some t-shirt yarn and tried it two ways for masks.
* Church group learned our asylee and her roommate are hungry. They are down to Cornflakes.
* George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police today. An officer held him to the ground with a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes while Mr. Floyd pleaded for his life, to be able to breathe, for his dead mother.

Tuesday 5/26

* I have such helpful friends! One brought a bunch of masks for me to take to TX Oncology. Love the colorful ear loops! And she was especially adorable in her mustache mask! Another had her daughter drop off some elastic. I didn’t get to see her though. I’ll add a few masks to my friend’s and I’ll be set to go.
* Dreamboat was vigilantly protecting the cookie he didn’t want to eat.
* Took my walk later than usual, but it was so pleasant! Almost cool!
* Zoom Book discussion of Me and White Supremacy.

Wednesday 5/27

* The country is devastated by the horrific images of George Floyd’s death. This comes on the heels of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging and Breonna Taylor, shot while sleeping in her own bed by police with a no-knock warrant who were at the wrong house looking for a person who was already in custody. In addition, the pandemic is far worse in the Black population, further exposing the systemic racism in our country.
* Zoomed with R to assess her English.
* Made bulgar salad, apple salad, and deviled eggs.

Thursday 5/28

* T’s birthday. We miss her!
* Taught ESL via Zoom.
* Made pesto.
* Protestors took to the streets around the country to protest the death of George Floyd. We have been glued to the news.

Friday 5/29

* Protests continue.
* Made more t-shirt yarn.

Saturday 5/30

* Completed 100 days of playing piano for 10 minutes each day.
* Made lots and lots of t-shirt yarn, which also makes a mess. Watched the news most of the day. When I needed a break from the news, I listened to an audio book.

I worry about the protestors and the virus! Wear your mask and keep your distance!

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.

Sunday 5/17

* Zoom church – took notes again.
* Read this as I was preparing for ESL Book Club: “Good picture books are portable art galleries.” ~ Phillip Nel, from his piece “A Manifesto for Children’s Literature; or, Reading Harold as a Teenager”
* Ironed fabric for masks.

Monday 5/18

* ESL Book Club – Paul Bunyan. It was a little long and difficult in our time frame, but still enjoyable and good discussion.
* Also, I messed up some of the links for book and discussion questions and it was confusing and I had to sort things out in a hurry this morning. Plus the exterminator showed up unexpectedly, setting off the dogs, battery in my mouse died, and one of the new students had lots of background noise and I couldn’t get him to mute. I was worn out by the time it was over.
* Cathy B. and I discussed the need to add a lower level class as we go forward. Talked to Pastor Cathy to get my head wrapped around the need to work on the assumption that we will be doing things online for a long time – that this is no longer temporary crisis mode.
* Really hot day.
* Started another puzzle.
* Zoom meeting with UMW Circle sisters.

Tuesday 5/19

* Met R (asylum seeker) and her friend and roommate on Zoom. Seem like such nice young women.
* A blue flamingo on today’s walk.

Wednesday 5/20

* Day 90 of piano challenge.
* Made chocolate banana bread.
* Long phone conversation with Dad and sister. This almost created a grocery disaster because I was sitting outside and didn’t hear the doorbell. Meanwhile, husband was working upstairs and assumed I was taking care of it. I thought to look just in time – gelato only a little soft. Whew!
* No photos from walk or of banana bread, but I did try a new Chinese recipe.

Thursday 5/21

* Read that you shouldn’t leave hand sanitizer in a hot car. Could cause a fire. Sure is hot here.
* Tump wants churches open. So glad our church leadership wants to protect us and not contribute to unnecessary illness and potential deaths.
* Soup with kale

Friday 5/22

* I was tired today. Mostly did family research in old newspapers and worked on puzzle.
* A couple of finds: Fairfield, IA influenza quarantine. A $500 fine in 1918 would be a big chunk of money.
Good news/bad news at the intersection of flu epidemic and war. No church services, but you will be trusted to buy sugar – on your honor not to use it extravagantly.
* I enjoy this lighted window every time I walk by. It has changed from white to red, white, and blue for the holiday.

Saturday 5/23

* Got our veggie box. Has a green I’ve never heard of – mizuna.
* Made pasta with red pepper, chard and bok choy leaves.
* More research for family history.
* Friend in Rhode Island called me out of the blue. Such a nice surprise.
* Trump says governors must open churches.

Wear a mask; keep your distance; stay safe!

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.

Sunday 5/10

* Zoom church. I find myself taking notes as I attend online church.
* A decided not to come over for Mothers’ Day. She said her gift to me is to stay home and not “murder” me. She would rather wait a couple of weeks to see how opening up goes.
* M called. He said he would have sent me flowers, but he didn’t feel comfortable doing so.
* Picked up Chinese for dinner and watched The Sound of Music.
* Martin tolerates us! C collected snail shells and I’m drying used tea bags. She is leaving tomorrow so it will just be me carrying on the weirdness.
* This evening’s walk was more to help me deal with sadness that C is leaving than for exercise.

Monday 5/11

* C left this morning. She made it home okay – just before heavy rain hit.
* ESL Book Club – Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
* Cut 200 face mask filters from paper shop towels.

Tuesday 5/12

* Rainy, stormy day so no outside walk today.
* Church book group started reading Loaded about the 2nd Amendment. Zoom discussion.
* Backgrounds of those participating in the Senate hearing about Covid-19 are interesting and telling. Lamar Alexander has a wonderful backdrop with beautiful dog sleeping on its bed as well as his lovely room. He obviously wants all of this in view as he has positioned himself to the very edge of the screen.

Wednesday 5/13

* Thunderbirds flew over Austin today to honor health care workers. Expected to see them from our neighborhood, but it was a bust.
* Grocery delivery
* Neighbor gave me masks to take to TX Oncology.
* Nice evening walk.

Thursday 5/14

* I told our ESL students today that meeting on zoom is like attending Hogwarts. We all gather in the Great Hall. Once everyone is there, the sorting begins. The sorting hat (zoom algorithm) sorts us into houses (breakout rooms). Sometimes I do a spell that makes someone disappear from one room and reappear in a different room. It’s magic!
* Matthew McConaughey has made some PSAs to encourage everyone to wear a mask as a badge of honor. All right, all right, all right!
* Flamingos on my walk

Friday 5/15

* Assortment of weird fungi growing in the olive tree pot.
* Made Peasant Stew – good!
* Stormy night

Saturday 5/16

* Doing some family history research.
* I’m trying to keep my head up and be hopeful, but I guess we are “OPEN” now, so all bets are off:
-Two days ago neighbors two doors down had a pool party for for their daughter.
– Husband has been to Sam’s a couple of times the past few weeks. He went today and the carts were no longer being wiped down, the hand sanitizer station by the door was gone, and masks not required for entry. He told an employee before he left that he would not be back. Then he tried to go to both Home Depot and Lowe’s to get a couple of plants – you don’t have to go inside the store. Nope! Lots of people not distanced and unmasked. He didn’t even get out of the car.
– Saw a couple of gatherings on my walk this evening. The most troubling one was 15-20 teenagers. Mostly in chairs in a circle, but not distanced, no masks, someone sitting on the ice chest – and that’s just what I could see from the other side of the street between the many vehicles parked on the street.
I am not hopeful. We have met the enemy and it is us.
* Zoom meeting about R, an asylum seeker some members of the church have agreed to help.

Wear a mask and stay safe!