Working Wednesday, April 29, 2020

~ Jenny

I got so hungry for normal yesterday that I went out for a Big Mac. I’m not a huge fan of Big Macs, but I just wanted to go through a drive-through and get a burger and fries like a normal small-town person who was too lazy to cook. Which meant I had to get in the car and drive into town, and it was a gorgeous day, really stunning with the sun and all the new green and balmy breezes, just Edenic. And because I was driving and happy and about to go face down in fat and protein, I relaxed and my mind wandered back to Lily and scenes started going through my head, bits and pieces, so much fun and then something occurred to me and I almost drove off the road. (I’ll talk about it on Friday in the Lily 6 notes.). I was so enthused I put a chocolate shake on the McD’s order, which knocked me off my socks–not supposed to have that much sugar–and I fell into a really deep sleep and had this incredibly detailed dream that gave me the end of Lily. None of the details or the hard work, you understand, I just know what happens at the end. It even fits in the whole “taking care” theme. I’m pretty sure the Girls ordered that milkshake. Also, I may be a genius.

So this week I worked by going to McDonald’s. What did you do?

103 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, April 29, 2020”

  1. You’re totally a genius. And I love that you counted Lily as work. Yes, I do want this not-a-book to be a real book, how can you tell?

    This week I’ve kept on doing exercise every day. Even a bit of a run on one of them, though only one. And I got my energy back a little and started to get a bit more on top of the housework and feel a bit more creative.

    Nothing but good times ahead.

  3. Yay! I’m always pro milkshake.

    I posted the 2nd to last chapter of my fanfic. I’m very proud of this b/c it’s the first fanfiction I’ve mostly written “on the fly” and posted as I was writing it. Usually I won’t post until I’m completely happy with something, which means nothing gets finished. And I’ve got a decent plan for the last chapter even if it may take a while to polish.

    I made a “challenge jar” for the boys. I wanted to call it “quests and boons” but my younger son is obsessed with inane YouTube challenges so I thought this would appeal more to him. I wrote out a mix of chores, exercises, small treats, and silly things on index cards. I also dug through our not insubstantial back catalog of Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids, and Ask magazine for some jokes and trivia. I tried to make something that would work for both children, which is hard with the oldest being on the more severe end of the autism spectrum, but it helped me narrow it down to quick and easy things that I wouldn’t mind helping with if need be. They each have to do at least one during screen break. It won’t fill up more than a few minutes, but it will help break them out of the afternoon funk. Anyone who completes 5 challenges by Friday gets to pick a dessert to have this weekend.

    It’s a beautiful day today. Fingers crossed for a family walk.

  4. I finished my three short proofs and posted them yesterday – and then sank into torpor instead of getting on with the million and one things I want to get on with – including editing the photos from Saturday’s marathon walk and posting them on my website. Woke up the same way, but the next proofs (‘Feline Philosophy’ – which oddly doesn’t look like a comic book) arrived a day early, so I’ve got paid work again.

    Also cheered myself up by finding a friend who answered their phone and was happy to chat.

    But I’m back to my familiar problem: how do I earn enough to survive and also do some creative stuff, plus the admin necessary for both. I need far more self-discipline and positivity than is natural to me. Or else for my state pension to start (just over two years now). My fear is that even then I’ll feel I must go on freelancing, and will never make headway with my real work.

    Hopeful I’ll be able to dig out the weeds and blackberries round the edges of my allotment at the weekend, once the rain has softened the ground. I’ve barely been able to get my fork into it for a couple of months now.

    1. I did it! Edited 120 photos down to 20 and actually managed to post a gallery blog to my website, which I hadn’t updated for two years. A bit of a bodge (I really do need to work on the site, and the gallery design’s a bit odd), but for once I didn’t give up before I started because it wouldn’t be good enough. It’s at http://www.janebirdsell.co.uk/blog

      The sun’s come out, so I’m going for a walk. The deep-thinking cats will have to wait.

      2. Fabulous photos, Jane! I was especially taken with the one with the magnificent old tree in the field of bluebells…

        1. I do love bluebells. When I was very young we lived in Sheffield (a bit further north), and they’d flower around my birthday in mid May.

      4. Made me want to go exploring too! Esp, for some reason, the one of the oak in the evening light. It looks like a lovely peaceful place to walk.

        I remember a while ago grumbling to a friend about how I was doing my job and some study and had no energy for anything else. He told me my job was stressful enough that he was surprised I had energy for *anything* on top of it. You’ve got the stress of finding work, plus doing it, plus your gardening. That sounds to me like you’re doing pretty well.

      5. These are gorgeous. Love the mystic stone, and the bluebells.
        I also first read “Looking back” as the caption for the shy sheep.
        Thanks for the views!

      7. Jane, those pictures brought tears to my eyes. Spring won’t come to Vermont for another few weeks. I hope someday to live in Brittain for a while, I love it so much – and your pictures reminded me of that.

        Thank you.

      8. Jane, have you considered getting a copyright and selling your pictures to a puzzle manufacturer? I especially like/ love the tree surrounded by bluebells and the collage of flowers at the San Francisco flower market. Yes, puzzles are on my mind.

  5. I’m just trying to get through the week. I’m very lucky to be a remote worker, but everyone I work with, including myself, is overflowing with stress/anxiety and it’s just exhausting, mentally and emotionally, to get through the week. I’m amazed that there are people who are creative during this time. I’m on the verge of tears (or actually crying) several times each week due to it all. I’m still meditating every day, and going out for one masked, smothered feeling walk in the morning. I have never enjoyed living in this city, but feel even more oppressed by the lack of nature than usual. At the same time, I’m getting phobic about leaving the house at all. Sorry. I know this is a cheerful blog post day here, but I’m pretty far from optimistic and creative right now.

    1. Diane, how you’re feeling is completely understandable. Do your best to take care of yourself and you’re in my thoughts.

    2. We don’t have cheerful days, so no worry. Well, we do have happiness Sundays, but I’m pretty sure it’s Wednesday, who, as I remember, was full of woe.

    3. I cry several times a day, usually during work hours. I will be the only one in my work group left after the end of June and I am thisclose to having a nervous breakdown. I now have agoraphobia and can’t stand to leave the house unless I absolutely have to and my neighbor goes out and hacks up a lung and coughs and sneezes outside every morning for hours. I’m with you there.

      1. I worry about the agoraphobia thing myself. I was thinking about the state opening soon and going back to work and was not happy about it. Seeing as I am not happy about the quarantine either, I have no idea what I think I want here…

        1. Oh no. I’m the opposite, I’m in the horrors for people in Spain who live in apartments and can’t go out at all. Our lockdown eased slightly on Tuesday, and it was a perfect blue big sky day and I felt I could breathe again. Would a photo help or hinder? I have no idea, but if it would help, to remember a safe outside, then https://www.instagram.com/p/B_mjxHBgJDQ/?igshid=zhbeaj1did1b. If it’s a bad idea, sorry, I can be clueless sometimes.

      2. Yep… I’ve battled agoraphobia for years and it’s winning now. But I’ll keep trying. I hope your neighbor will stop this behavior at some point. : (

  6. I’ve been continuing to work from home. I’m pretty easily distracted by the cats, and I have several photos on instagram of sleeping cats. Wendy in particular has gotten to sleeping flat on her back – it’s just adorable.

    I also have continued working on the virtual quilt show. We should be ready to go live this weekend.

    I took advantage of the beautiful weather last evening to start the task of pruning the azaleas. I figure if I do a bush a day, I should get it done without too much stress.

    And I started a new quilt. I’ve had the fabric earmarked for my niece, and now’s the time. I figured out the pattern, started cutting, realized I didn’t have enough fabric for the original plan, googled online and didn’t find any other of the same to complete the original vision, so I’m now on variation 1 of the original plan. It will all work out.

    Nothing but good times ahead!

  7. Regular work went on as usual this week. We have a busy period every quarter, and last week and this week are the busiest weeks.

    I’m an introvert, so all this staying at home has been fine, but even I am getting antsy. Luckily I have a few outlets. I share a community garden plot with a friend (her plot, I just “help”) and my herbs are going gangbusters. Plus a few radish seedlings are popping out. Does anyone else watch Gardener’s World (BBC; I get it on Britbox)? I find it aspirational. My list of British gardens to visit is getting longer by the week.

    On the creative front, I made my first-ever no-yeast sourdough bread. The loaves were beautiful! It turns out that once you have a vigorous starter, the rest is just time and a little bit of effort. I let the hype intimidate me.

    I mostly want to bake all the time, but that means eating too many baked goods, so I try to keep it to once a week.

    Back to the paying gig…

    1. I love Monty. He’s having to film himself, of course, at the moment; but it’s wonderful to relax and watch him in his garden. They’re asking people to film two-minute segments in their own gardens, and I might possibly have a go later on.

      1. You should do it! I really enjoyed those segments last week.

        I would like them to do a story on what they had to do to make all this work. And I want them to check in with all the other gardeners.

    2. I bake treats for my dog. That way I get the joy of baking but none of the calories.

  8. Like KarenB I have no problem staying home except yesterday I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up my meds. So I created a list of all the lady things to get also. And batteries it seems every time we have a heavy rain the power goes out. It was my first time with a mask and just to say Mike Pence is an idiot. How many tests is he and his staff taking away from the people who need them just so he came be the public face of the administration? Doesn’t compute!

  9. In the ZA lockdown McD’s and Nando’s and EVERYWHERE are shut down. I had to get fresh produce on Monday and it was sad walking past
    Nando’s and not being able to think about get anything.

    I bought baby bak choi, Jenny. How must I cook it?

    Coconut milk in place of milk in a roux works only if the sauce is going to be heavily flavoured with herbs and spices. Bland does not diffuse the coconut flavour. I cooked it yesterday and it’s hashtagged for Working Wednesday.

    1. It’s great in stir fry, you sautés the white parts first and then chop the dark green parts and add at the end, just to wilt. Or you can just sauté the whole thing on its own. Tons of recipes. I think people eat the baby bok choy raw, too, but I’m not sure.

    2. It’s great in soup. There is nothing more comforting in my world than a bowl of udon soup. It’s bright and fresh and nourishing and full of wonderfulness…

    3. I will slice the baby bok choy in half lengthwise, lay them on the flat side, and saute with a little water for steam, with a little oil for browning the flat side. Quite good just like that.

      1. Blockquote>What’s next?

        I’m finishing up the grossly overdue You Again, a romance/murder mystery set in an old house on the banks of the Ohio River, that’s probably the hardest book I’ve written, mainly because I’m not really good at plotting and a mystery needs a very tight plot, but I really love it because it’s got such a great collection of characters in it. Some of whom die, but only the ones we can spare.

        What book was this?!? I thought I read all your books. I don’t find this one in my library.

        1. Work in progress Country house mystery, I remember there were some drafts of some guy forced to drive his crazy relatives to his family home in the country and mentions of a mexican folk art bird, a girl in a polka dot bikini and her friend was a cook. Cookbooks, a glamorous aunt and more famously a character who was awesome, but Jenny cut, who compared herself to a famous art figure. It was a great line. I should just look this up, instead of trying to remember this

          1. No, it’s still You Again. Maybe This Time was always Maybe This Time (except its working title was Always Kiss Me Goodnight). VERY impressed you remembered that line, Kay.

  11. We decided three weeks ago, after being cranky with each other at dinner, that once a week we will get take out. I make most of our meals in normal times but I normally shop more than once a week. And between all the planning and cooking that I do and he has to do more kitchen clean up because of all the cooking, we were getting bored. Last night was our chinese take-out night and there was so much that I don’t have to cook today. So much for working Wednesday.

    1. We try to do that too. I was so set on ordering Chinese takeout that I didn’t bother to check on the restaurants. I was 0 for 3 calling to order. I had to make do with something less satisfactory.

      1. A lot of the restaurants in Portland have established pick-up at the curb, including some of the really good ones. Unfortunately for them, if I want food from a great restaurant, I also want the whole dining experience that goes with the high price tag. But there are lots of places that I don’t mind picking up and taking home: Chinese, Mexican, ribs, pizza. So I am good. And we don’t have the problem with noise levels that we have in a lot of restaurants these days.

      2. We have one Chinese place open. And they built a plexiglass wall. I think that it is hard being Asian in a redneck area at the best of times. We ordered last week and gave them a big tip.

    2. Helps the local places too. Plus, California has relaxed the rules so we can buy beer and wine. At our fav French and Italian take-outs, wine is half off.

      1. We live too far out to have much choice in take out, and what we’ve tried isn’t very good. It’s a challenge for a restaurant to supply something that can be reheated and still taste good. Our favorite fancy restaurant is having a special Mother’s Day meal, and we shook our heads when we looked at the menu. I would rather eat what I make myself.

  12. The day job has been busy (yay telehealth!) but the Great 2020 Poop Scoop is done! The snow in the back yard melted surprisingly fast, and I was able to get it cleaned up in about a week. This is something no one wants to contemplate but I’m sharing it with you because I’m mean: 16 bags of poop. I do not want to think how many pounds that was. Now it’s just daily clean up. Honestly, some days I wonder why we feed them.

    We took the last batch to the dump yesterday. While we were out we also took the recycling, did our shopping, got the mail and ordered take-out. When we went back to the restaurant to get our food, I told Paul we had spent so much time together outside of the house it was almost like a date! The bar is low, people, the bar is low. It may be on the ground.

    After supper last night we went for a drive to look for bears. We were on our way home and saw 3 grazing on the side of the road. I got some good pictures with my camera and I will get them on Instagram later but here are some Paul took: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_i-z2vFhRq/

    This video was taken a few blocks from my house.
    https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/alberta-family-is-in-awe-of-this-giant-visitor-in-their-yard/sharevideo/6151334966001

    This morning I managed to get some of the Christmas decorations down from the front of the house. This afternoon I’m going to put on my tall winter boots and get the rest. Made it before May! Whoo-hoo. There have been years when we’ve not been able to get to parts of the front yard until May so it’s Christmas at our house for 6 months or so.

    This afternoon we are meeting a friend who has some wood for Paul to turn. It will be a very distant meeting as his girlfriend is a dialysis tech and so he’s careful about interacting with people. Still, it’s an outing.

    Paul has to work vacation coverage this weekend and he will be working days so if my plan works out I’ll be doing laundry and cleaning the house. It will be nice to put some music on and just go to town on things. The forecast is for bright sunny days so I’ll be washing bedding and hanging it on the line if that pans out.

    1. When we used to have cold and snow in the winter, my husband was always pleased with the people who left lights up outside because it was cheerful and the dark didn’t seem so depressing.

  13. I finished one cross stitch and designed and started another. I am back to doing the Arne and Carlos knitalong again. And I found a “Hamster Play Set” on knithacker.com so am going to make myself a pet hamster and water bottle, carrots, etc. so I can finally say I have a pet at home 😛

    So craftingwise, I am doing well. For work, see above.

  14. My first accomplishment of the morning was to finally hang large curtains across the entry to “my” room as a kind of ‘do not disturb’ signal. I love my partner, but sharing a small house 24/7 during a global crisis is challenging (to say the least!). My hermit’s heart is a lot more peaceful now.

    My second accomplishment was to clean the squirrel pee off the window. Feel like I’ve earned a nap, but alas, must attend some meetings first.

      1. Reflecting squirrel pee…

        Reminds me of the joke about a boot camp sergeant telling all the new recruits that how they dressed, ate, folded their clothes, etc. was a reflection on themselves and the great country they served. The next morning, at inspection, he yelled at a recruit because his boots “Looked like sh*t!” The recruit replied, in a clear voice, “Must be a reflection, Sir!”

    2. When we were shopping to buy our first (and so far only) home, we went into a house that was perfect on paper. And it smelled very bad. But we thought, “well, a good cleaning and airing out, and it could be great!”

      We then walked into the master bedroom and realized that the north side of the house was covered with ivy, and that there were squirrels nesting in the ivy, right on the outside of the master bedroom’s north-facing window. We stood there amazed staring at the squirrels. We instantly realized “this is not the house for us.” I guess the former owners liked nature up close and really visible.

  15. This is the greatest excuse for eating “bad” things I have ever heard! So looking forward to hearing more about it on Friday.

    Don’t feel I have accomplished much since Sunday, but at least I am walking every morning. And enjoying “visiting” with Argh folks.

  16. I’ve been doing the tiniest possible amount of work for my communications differential at my school. It’s such a minor job, but I’ve really been dragging my feet this whole year over writing press releases. And, they don’t really take time. And this one just needs the notes to be pulled together into paragraphs. It won’t take time, but it’s telling me that I need to focus my energy elsewhere.
    But I had successes:
    + Aside from logging into work for daily training modules, I had a final transition IEP meeting with a SPED team. It’s not the end of senior year we’d anticipated, but it was still full of successes!
    + I enrolled in classes for my teaching certification. I will be taking two classes this summer to finally settle the “what if” question.
    + I ordered groceries yesterday. Then we ordered pizza for supper anyway, but that was a success because everyone was happy overall with their order. 😀
    I’m off to reward myself by reading a mystery and day dreaming about writing one.

  17. Today, I’m LISTENING to work. The roof guys are here, and it sounds like a troop of balletic elephants above me! And they’ll be here tomorrow and Friday, as well. Oh well, we’ve lived in this house since 2003, and it’s the first time we’ve had to have the roof done.

  18. I just got called back to work starting May 11 and I am kind of panicking. I mean, I haven’t put on real clothes in over a month… But it is good and will be fine. I am also beating myself up a bit for not using this time more wisely, which I know is mostly silly.

    On a more positive note, yesterday and today were both pretty and warm and I did things. The potatoes are planted. The raspberries are pruned. My partner and I picked up wood to build a raised bed. He designed it and it is relatively tiny (4 by 16 feet, which sounds big but won’t hold as much as you would think). I don’t have the heart to tell him that we spent money on something that is less than ideal, but I am going to go ahead with the original plan of pulling up the grass, building a border of rocks, planting veggies and hoping for the best. Now I am tired. Wood is heavy. Woof.

    1. Don’t forget you can space things closer in a raised bed. The soil should be more productive due to being warmer and better drained; and more intensively improved. I haven’t tried it, but ‘square foot’ gardeners are especially inspiring.

  19. I turned 60 yesterday, which seemed like enough work for one week. Today I did some cleaning and reorganization, which is more therapy than work, although shockingly, it still made me tired.

    1. I find reorganization both physically and mentally exhausting because once you figure out where you think the stuff would be more convenient, you have to figure out if it will fit there (NOT my strong point) and then you have to physically move it. If you are moving books, filing boxes or canned goods, your muscles can definitely scream.

      But I vote for turning 60 as the culprit. I deliberately told everyone that I didn’t want a party because I didn’t want to see it as a big deal and wanted to pretend that it was like any other birthday. I was only partially successful, but, it wasn’t the big downer I had feared.
      After a few days I began to feel more like myself and decided that a party for some other occasion would be a good idea. In the meantime, especially since all parties are off limits, a few extra treats at home might help.

      1. Ironically, I normally don’t pay much attention to my birthday. But this year I was actually going to go all out and have a big party. HAHAHAHAHAHA.

        I did get some drive-up gift drop offs, a singing phone call from my parents (in very bad harmony), and ate lobster.

        1. I was planning a big party for my birthday too, Deb. It’s still three weeks away, but I doubt a party will be happening. Sad me. Sad you too.

    4. Happy birthday, Deborah! Do you need a reminder to indulge in dark chocolate? I didn’t think so.

      1. Happy Birthday, Deborah! I turned 65 two days ago. Snow was forecast — in late April in Massachusetts? Really? — but didn’t happen after all. Yay!

        I finally figured out how to attach the ripped-off-metal-strip-from-the-bag-of-coffee to my facemask with two paperclips so that I can shop without steaming up my glasses, sweating, and getting a headache. Yay!

        And, Jenny has figured out Surprise Lily. All is good.

    6. I really hope wished you a happy birthday on Instagram yesterday because I meant to but my mind is a sieve and my concentration non existent. If I didn’t, happy belated birthday!!

        1. Happy Birthday! With quarantine as an influence, we’re all getting rounder every day.

  21. Working Wednesday. Hmmm. Last Thursday, I complained that my refrigerator had expired, and taken the contents with it. I’m sure it died the day before, but since the light inside still worked and it made refrigerator-like noises, I didn’t notice. I have several refrigerator thermometers on order from That Place.

    Yesterday, Lowes took the dead fridge away. Then they took my door off its hinges and rolled in the new one. 18cuft is a lot bigger than 10. I leveled it, plugged it in, and stocked it with all my beverages, they being the only things requiring refrigeration.

    I can drink liquids off the shelf, But when the dotter borrows my diet root beer, she prefers it ice cold. Then I sat down and tried to convince myself to make a list for a grocery run. I had a little trouble concentrating. Next thing I know, it’s pushing 8 pm and I haven’t shopped and I really don’t want to heat a can of soup or chili. Also, the Tuesday block on my calendar is empty. So I got up, weighed myself, checked my blood pressure, and did a fasting blood sugar finger stick. 51. A bit low, explaining my lethargy. Drank a can of pineapple-orange juice and felt better immediately.

    I shopped. Food Lion was nearly empty. I think I got some essentials, but I hadn’t made the list, so some things I’ll get next trip, like butter.

    Today, I mostly kicked back and read until time to go to work.

  22. Cleaned the bathroom. Started making strawberry tarragon shrub syrup. Bonus project was getting the lawnmower out of storage. I won’t mow the lawn until next week but the mower is now ready to go. I should finish making the granny squares for the afghan and go back to making some more masks for my sisters. Maybe tomorrow.

    And the zoning board meeting for May 11th was canceled. Too early. Can’t say I’m upset about that.

    The good news is my favorite family-owned farm and greenhouses is sort of open, enough to start getting some annuals and herbs.

    Maybe all of the people sewing masks should each mail one to Pence. What a putz.

  23. I have been unexpectedly recalled to work, starting on Friday, which is exciting. I’m a little worried about how things will have changed, because air travel is an uncertain business at the best of times, but it will be wonderful to have a reason to leave the house for several hours at a time. The only potential problem is my left ankle, which the physio tells me I have sprained despite not quite knowing how. So I am working on my rehab exercises, and also my knitting for the rest and elevation periods.

    I had moved on to the final colour stripe of the never-ending shawl and was greatly annoyed to realise that I had ordered the right colour in the wrong weight. So it’s going on hold, and I am teaching myself to knit a beanie. We’re about to go into winter, and my newly shaven head does not approve of the weather. This was going pretty well until I realised that my wool was making smaller stitches than called for, and I had to recalculate the gauge. So of course I did it wrong, and have had to rip the entire thing apart about four times now, trying to figure out the sizing. It’s a process.

  24. Wow, that’s a powerful milkshake! And yes, Jenny, genius all the way.

    Work is picking up a bit this week, though all my clients are having their employees work shortened weeks.

    I also worked on my picture book, which will keep me busy for years.

  25. Today’s work was weeding. We have a flagstone patio in front of our house (house is actually an “L” shape, so it sits in the inside corner of the “L”) and it had gotten bad. We had (for CA) a ton of rain in March/April, then last week was impossibly hot, and the weeds went to town! So I spent a few hours today on that and the meditation bed it faces, leaving me the entire front yard to tackle in little chunks over the next week.

  26. I have to weed but dread going out there. Rained today so the ground will be quite soft. Muddy job. Took the day off instead of working.

  27. After weeks of struggling to do any work at all, I realised the problem was the internet. Big revelation, haha. So on Monday night I turned off my wifi and promised my cat that I would not turn it on again until I had done a solid morning’s work. And it worked beautifully. So that’s what I’ve done each morning this week, and as a result I’ve actually started to get somewhere with the new book. Bloody internet! It’s not a productive way to start the day.

  28. I’m getting frustrated at how difficult it is to post here. Wonder if it could be linked to the new-style like buttons, since they’re hanging quite often too?

    1. I’ll ask Mollie. Is anybody else having problems?
      When you say “hanging,” do you mean long delays in posting? The buttons are in the wrong place?

      1. Sorry for the delay: almost every time I post a comment, it fails to load and I end up with a blank page. I have to hit the back arrow and then ‘post comment’ again – often three or four times before it loads. The like buttons work more often than not, but they do frequently just go round and round instead of updating/recording my like. (I have tried quitting Safari and relaunching. I’m on an iPad.)

        2. She’s going to be switching some things. If you still have troubles on Monday, come on back and let us know and we’ll try Plan B. Whatever that is.

  29. I feel very lucky to be able to continue working through this crisis, but I do missing teaching in an actual room with people sitting in front of me. On-line teaching is not ideal. The bluebells are out in force this year, and I live near a few large patches of bluebell woods, so I have been for a few long walks. During the lockdown, I have been doing a series on my blog called Lockdown Flashbacks in which I link to old posts – I’ve been blogging about knitting for almost 10 years, so there are a lot to choose from. Its been kind of fun to read through some of these old posts. (If you are interested, you can find them here: https://knitigatingcircumstances.com/tag/lockdown-flashback/.) I have been rubbish at doing anything else, however. I’m feeling anxious and not concentrating well.

    1. That makes two of us. I’m completely disoriented and retreating into Lily and Nita at different times while things I have to do here just hang.

  30. If I didn’t have to do actual work every day I think I would just be sleeping all the time. This miserable rain is not helping me. And I have hives on my hands which happens when I’m stressed. I have very little to be stressed about so what the heck?

    I saw a black bear up the road last evening and wondered if it was the one who was trying to get my hives. The last bear I saw at my house a few years ago (under my window where the birds had dropped seed) was scrawny, but this bear looked fluffy and healthy and possibly young. Very pretty bear and I was glad I was in my car because he/she seemed curious about me. I was driving up to visit a friend who lives up the road. Not to worry, we stayed far away from each other, and I picked up some cushions I’m recovering for her.

    In exchange, when the covid disaster is over, her husband will come help me with some small household repair type things. It’s a good exchange.

  31. I am having one of those weeks where it feels like I have nothing to do with the real job. My type of work tends to come in waves, and I can see a tsunami on the horizon in mid-June, so I’m hunkering down and keeping quiet about my temporary low work load.

    Last week I wrote a 31,000-word novella. Early this week I finished the first draft of the novel I started writing in March. Today I am probably going to add some words to a new draft novella. I need to stay at my desk (eyes on the real job), but in between fielding emails, nagging attorneys, and updating my calendar there is quite a bit of time to write.

    Not sleeping well and have found that five minutes a day on FB or looking at news is about all I can take. California is not being as egregiously stupid as a lot of other states, but some people I care about live in stupid states. 🙁

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