I think (I hope) the people who are pushing "herd immunity" don't understand the concept. So far about half of one percent of the US population has been infected. Say we are missing cases by a factor of ten - that would be a 5% infection rate. Say we actually reach herd immunity around 60% (A low estimate) - 12x as many people will need to be infected. If the death rate holds steady, that means over a million Americans die.

Nice job with your planting and vacuuming and pictures CM! I am rooting for you to find your bed soon.

Tatoulia, good luck with your project today. I hope it goes well.

Tillie, people who can just make up cakes impress me. My ds used to make cakes. One year he just decided he was going to learn to make cakes and he started deconstructing recipes and investigating ingredients and replacing things and he got really good! One of his friends invited him to his birthday party and asked "and for my gift, will you make the cake?"

He sent me a picture last night. Talk about hair! My buzz cut boy has sideswept bangs! Apparently his hair grows really fast. It will be good to see him tomorrow.

Yesterday Dh and I did yoga. I pulled some weeds - the garden is almost not awful, and I did my minimum number of evaluations for the day. I also ran the dishwasher and took out the compost. It was a gorgeous evening, so Dh and I took a drive out to the apple orchard - the apple orchard is closed, it's just a nice drive. I think about a third of the farmers have corn coming up. Most of it isn't planted yet because it's been so wet. The tallest we saw was maybe 6".

Dh picked up groceries again yesterday. He ordered me a lot of nice fruit!

More evaluations today. How I hate them.

I think (I hope) the people who are pushing "herd immunity" don't understand the concept. So far about half of one percent of the US population has been infected. Say we are missing cases by a factor of ten - that would be a 5% infection rate. Say we actually reach herd immunity around 60% (A low estimate) - 12x as many people will need to be infected. If the death rate holds steady, that means over a million Americans die.

Nice job with your planting and vacuuming and pictures CM! I am rooting for you to find your bed soon.

Tatoulia, good luck with your project today. I hope it goes well.

Tillie, people who can just make up cakes impress me. My ds used to make cakes. One year he just decided he was going to learn to make cakes and he started deconstructing recipes and investigating ingredients and replacing things and he got really good! One of his friends invited him to his birthday party and asked "and for my gift, will you make the cake?"

He sent me a picture last night. Talk about hair! My buzz cut boy has sideswept bangs! Apparently his hair grows really fast. It will be good to see him tomorrow.

Yesterday Dh and I did yoga. I pulled some weeds - the garden is almost not awful, and I did my minimum number of evaluations for the day. I also ran the dishwasher and took out the compost. It was a gorgeous evening, so Dh and I took a drive out to the apple orchard - the apple orchard is closed, it's just a nice drive. I think about a third of the farmers have corn coming up. Most of it isn't planted yet because it's been so wet. The tallest we saw was maybe 6".

Dh picked up groceries again yesterday. He ordered me a lot of nice fruit!

More evaluations today. How I hate them.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hello CriticalMass
No, you are not being snobbish.
It makes perfect sense that now that the worst shelves are gone you are now able to look at the ones there with a more critical eye.

Go ahead and snark away at decluttering/organizing websites trying to sell stuff.
I am extremely snarky at commercials & ads but mostly I just tune them all out.

Very glad you are looking into other places for vehicle maintenance.

WTG! and keep up with all this fantastic work you have been doing (((HUG)))

Hi Tatoulia
Sounds like a lovely evening after that long meeting. 🙂
Good luck finding bread.
I still have plain English muffins and corn tortillas, so I'm ok.

Sorry you have the smoke but glad you can't smell it.
It is a very sad sad smell.

Good luck reclaiming the coffee table! 😀

Another dark day here but.....
IT'S CLOUDS!!!
About noonish until around one-ish we had drizzle!
A beautiful air cleaning drizzle of RAIN!!!
When I look up at the sky it's gray with cloud formations.
The rain cleaned the air down here so I have the windows open letting in that fresh clean rain smelling air!
Real air! 😀

CM,
How are your little bundles of stuff going?

Tillie, how was town?

My friend's farm belonged to his grandparents. They had two children. The son was single and childless and left it to my friend - the one of his sister's kids who loved it. He knows he is lucky.

If I don't get other fruit, the blackberries will be in soon.

I caught up on the laundry. I almost caught up with the dishes, but then I made hard boiled eggs and cornbread.

I picked the first of the pickling cukes today, but they'll have to rest in the fridge until there are a few more before I can make a batch of pickles. Dh might eat them.

He ordered some mesh curtains and is putting them up to "screen" our back porch. Very fancy. Mr. kitty better leave them alone!

If I don't get some store fruit, there should still be blackberries soon.

Fun to hear about everyone's hair. This time is perfect for me to see what's really going on with my hair. Also, since I haven't been using a blow dryer, my hair is just so soft right now.

Tillie your cake sounds delicious!

Today I had a good day at work. I worked hard. I'm not exactly where I want to be on the papers and I have a big project to lead tomorrow that is confusing to be and far beyond any comfort zone I've ever had. I finally looked at what it is I'm supposed to be doing but I still don't understand. I'm hoping my team will be much smarter than I am.

Ok I'm going to do a few things. Hope everyone is hanging in there.

SubC what is going on in the courts is terrible. I don't know when or how they are going to be able to accommodate jurors. Maybe do the selection on line? This way only the 12 plus alternates need appear in court? Hard to imagine how costly this will be. But of course, the true cost is the time for people awaiting trial.

Just a stray thought or two...and a few ramblings

As I'm extricating these "rickety" shelves (and some of their contents) from my storage unit, it has crossed my mind that these are the "good" shelves I had consciously saved when I moved from the storage unit across town in 2017.

I gave my mechanic several of the REALLY rickety or at least ugly ones. Metal shelves with generous amounts of rust, super light Parsons table plastic ones, shelves that had been store displays including one garish yellow one that may have held Mountain Dew soda at one time. All these were SO inadequate and/or ugly that I guess the ones I kept did seem much nicer by comparison.

Maybe I sound like a snob, but I'm raising the bar on both aesthetics and sturdiness now. And as for the stuff that occupies whatever shelving, usefulness and joy sparking are newer, tighter criteria.

I went to glance at the KonMari website and y'know, I don't know how to feel about the fact that they have merchandise for sale. Doesn't that in a way contradict the aims of her method? Aside from the books that is. However, I do think her method is useful. Thinking in categories, spark joy, and other concepts are relatable for me. I'll just ignore my snarky thoughts about the merch, LOL.

Speaking of my mechanic - I've not heard from him for another couple weeks or more. But I started brainstorming new ideas, because I think that's going to have to be the wave of the future. This lovely van cannot be allowed to deteriorate because of a misplaced loyalty to that man. We can still be friends, and if once in awhile he can do a lower priority task, fine.

So anyway, I'd called my friend who had gotten me the new van and she and I we were talking about other things. It occurred to me to ask if she and her husband were coming into town anytime soon, and if by any chance her husband might be able to change my oil. I already have the oil and filter. Turns out they were planning to come next week. And that most likely he can do it.

Once he gets the blue dye out (it went in with the oil and is to check that the valve cover gasket that was replaced is doing its job, but the dye can harm the engine if left in >3 months or 2,000 miles) I'll be good. After that I can start taking it someplace else for oil changes and such.

Hi Tatoulia, good to hear from you. Glad you had a nice dinner with your friend.

OK

I went into town, came back home and did a bunch of chores.

The Nevada governor said that all people must wear masks when in any public building.

Yeah, right

It's a free-for-all out there.

The hospital auxiliary thrift shop posted the formal government order on the door and STRONGLY urge EVERYBODY comply.

I looked around and asked some people about masks in other stores/businesses and they all said NOPE.
Some people wear masks because they WANT to and all the rest don't care about anybody else in the whole world.

OK, so here is my plan...
The numbers here are going up and will continue to rise over the next several weeks.
I plan to go now to get at least 2 or 3 weeks of supplies, stock up as much as possible on fruit & veggie but not so much it goes bad before I can eat them.
Will see about getting some frozen fruit too.
Then I will stay home for as long as it takes.

If I wait any longer to shop there would be even more virus so I will shop while the virus is not as bad as it will be.

Hi Tillie! *wave*
And Tatoulia and SubC!

I'm on my laptop. It's getting so annoying to type on touchscreens, I make so many typos. But the laptop still needs some tweaking, as it tends to freeze. Someday I'll get it looked at. Right now I just can only do so much and then it balks. And I have to shut it down, so then I hate to reboot it until I'm going to have enough time to make doing so worth my while. It's all a big Catch-22.

Tatoulia, so sorry about the loss of your friend's sister. And for your family member and friend's dad, SubC.

I haven't actually checked where KS is re the reopening. There was some kerfluffle with the governor the other day changing her mind about how to proceed, and I didn't follow up. I already know I'm going to want to continue to take precautions, and am going to be observing what other people do and not hanging around those doing stupid things.

I was six during the Hong Kong Flu, remember it being mentioned though nobody my family knew got it. I do believe those of us who've ever had one of the really bad influenzas remember the experience vividly, as I do my bout with Beijing in '93. Which is why I stay away from people who reduce Covid-19 to an abstraction.

Won't say much about the "herd immunity" concept or the protestors, as I'm trying to keep my cussing in check these days, LOL. Don't get CM started! 😛

Never thought I'd say I'm fortunate to be a poor churchmouse on Social Security Disability, but I'm glad I have more options about where and when I go. My roommate and I have gone a few places, cautiously, doing social distancing and wearing our masks.

Yesterday we went by Braum's which is an ice cream burger joint that has a small grocery area. I just wanted some of their non-hormone butter. And it was lunchtime, so seeing one could order takeout at the counter, we thought okay. But then they put it on a tray. I was surprised, though I had wondered why the tables were not roped off although no one was sitting down right at that time.. Asked for our food to go. The gal seemed slightly nonplussed.

I bought two Sudoku books at the Dollar Tree when the lockdown was first starting. I do Sudoku in the bathroom. Crossword puzzles stump me; I'm not up on all the cultural references. But I can call out answers when I occasionally watch "Jeopardy" all right. Used to amaze my mom. Their clues tend to contain more hints than crossword clues do.

Yesterday I got my bedding plants planted. Two shades of pink geranium in one pot, vincas, rose moss, petunias, and ageratum. We've had a rainy spell that is breaking up over the next couple days. It was a really nice evening for the dog walk.

Today I did the vacuuming since my roommate still can't lift >10 lbs. for another couple of weeks. I realized I'd meant to clean off the ceiling fan in the kitchen. I've been keeping a to-do list of these random chores and gotten some of them done.

Also took that one painting that my friend had had out of the frame I didn't want it to be in. She has a new boyfriend and is going to be moving to where he lives next year, and I doubt she'll ever have a moment to wonder about the painting. Even if she does, I'll explain my aesthetic regarding frames with my artwork, how I prefer gallery mount, etc.

I bundled the frame, mat, and glass so I can paint a watercolor-ish picture (using thinned fluid acrylics) of a bunny in some grass and flowers. Then it can be auctioned online, or later on in person depending on the quarantine situation, to benefit the bunny club.

It felt good to check even those small items off the list.

My bedroom remains a disaster, unfortunately. The other night when I posted was after a day when I'd had a nap and caffeinated tea. I ended up staying awake till 5:00 a.m. before coming in to sleep on the living room sofa, just to get away from my bed that (sadly to say) has STUFF in it again. I so wanted that not to happen after the last time I got it cleared. 🙁

Last night, the girl kitty came flying in to escape boy kitty's pestering, and was walking around and I thought she was going to come up to lie on the bed with me. But she wasn't sure, and then she started to sit on some books that I knew were stacked precariously. More mess, sigh.

Well, it is what it is, and I do intend to fix it, it will just take time. Some of these household and garden things just need to be done, in the run-up till the radioactive iodine treatment for roommate. Some are one-time tasks, others repeats. When I do get the bed cleared again, we will have to have a celebration here. I know I'll feel terrific!

Green iced tea clinks!

Hi Tillie! *wave*
And Tatoulia and SubC!

I'm on my laptop. It's getting so annoying to type on touchscreens, I make so many typos. But the laptop still needs some tweaking, as it tends to freeze. Someday I'll get it looked at. Right now I just can only do so much and then it balks. And I have to shut it down, so then I hate to reboot it until I'm going to have enough time to make doing so worth my while. It's all a big Catch-22.

Tatoulia, so sorry about the loss of your friend's sister. And for your family member and friend's dad, SubC.

I haven't actually checked where KS is re the reopening. There was some kerfluffle with the governor the other day changing her mind about how to proceed, and I didn't follow up. I already know I'm going to want to continue to take precautions, and am going to be observing what other people do and not hanging around those doing stupid things.

I was six during the Hong Kong Flu, remember it being mentioned though nobody my family knew got it. I do believe those of us who've ever had one of the really bad influenzas remember the experience vividly, as I do my bout with Beijing in '93. Which is why I stay away from people who reduce Covid-19 to an abstraction.

Won't say much about the "herd immunity" concept or the protestors, as I'm trying to keep my cussing in check these days, LOL. Don't get CM started! 😛

Never thought I'd say I'm fortunate to be a poor churchmouse on Social Security Disability, but I'm glad I have more options about where and when I go. My roommate and I have gone a few places, cautiously, doing social distancing and wearing our masks.

Yesterday we went by Braum's which is an ice cream burger joint that has a small grocery area. I just wanted some of their non-hormone butter. And it was lunchtime, so seeing one could order takeout at the counter, we thought okay. But then they put it on a tray. I was surprised, though I had wondered why the tables were not roped off although no one was sitting down right at that time.. Asked for our food to go. The gal seemed slightly nonplussed.

I bought two Sudoku books at the Dollar Tree when the lockdown was first starting. I do Sudoku in the bathroom. Crossword puzzles stump me; I'm not up on all the cultural references. But I can call out answers when I occasionally watch "Jeopardy" all right. Used to amaze my mom. Their clues tend to contain more hints than crossword clues do.

Yesterday I got my bedding plants planted. Two shades of pink geranium in one pot, vincas, rose moss, petunias, and ageratum. We've had a rainy spell that is breaking up over the next couple days. It was a really nice evening for the dog walk.

Today I did the vacuuming since my roommate still can't lift >10 lbs. for another couple of weeks. I realized I'd meant to clean off the ceiling fan in the kitchen. I've been keeping a to-do list of these random chores and gotten some of them done.

Also took that one painting that my friend had had out of the frame I didn't want it to be in. She has a new boyfriend and is going to be moving to where he lives next year, and I doubt she'll ever have a moment to wonder about the painting. Even if she does, I'll explain my aesthetic regarding frames with my artwork, how I prefer gallery mount, etc.

I bundled the frame, mat, and glass so I can paint a watercolor-ish picture (using thinned fluid acrylics) of a bunny in some grass and flowers. Then it can be auctioned online, or later on in person depending on the quarantine situation, to benefit the bunny club.

It felt good to check even those small items off the list.

My bedroom remains a disaster, unfortunately. The other night when I posted was after a day when I'd had a nap and caffeinated tea. I ended up staying awake till 5:00 a.m. before coming in to sleep on the living room sofa, just to get away from my bed that (sadly to say) has STUFF in it again. I so wanted that not to happen after the last time I got it cleared. 🙁

Last night, the girl kitty came flying in to escape boy kitty's pestering, and was walking around and I thought she was going to come up to lie on the bed with me. But she wasn't sure, and then she started to sit on some books that I knew were stacked precariously. More mess, sigh.

Well, it is what it is, and I do intend to fix it, it will just take time. Some of these household and garden things just need to be done, in the run-up till the radioactive iodine treatment for roommate. Some are one-time tasks, others repeats. When I do get the bed cleared again, we will have to have a celebration here. I know I'll feel terrific!

Green iced tea clinks!

Good Afternoon Everyone

HI CRITICALMASS 😀

Since I had such a good time yesterday using up random ingredients making the soup
Today I decided to use up the other random ingredients.
I made a cake.
Had 2 over ripe bananas I'd put in the freezer so decided to make the banana cake recipe.
But I added a LOT of diced up dates and some dried cranberries that I'd added some lemon zest to and let marinade a while.
Chopped up a whole bunch of pecans.
Added some cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and a touch of clove.
Have lightly dusted the top with powdered sugar.
It weighs a ton and smells heavenly.
Plan to cut it up into small squares, wrap and freeze.
Figured it would be a healthier snack whenever I really need a snack than something else.

Quick check in! Keep taking good care of yourself, Tillie. We have some of the smoke here, The sky has been a milky color for most of the week, It's high so we can't smell it. I worry so much about everyone out west. This is so terrible.

SubC I love to hear about your life. I love the story about the bed! And they ended up together!

CM I am bursting with pride! You are amazing!

I am focused now that my dining room table is clean and clear. My coffee table is still suffering.

My cleaners came yesterday instead of Wednesday. I was in a zoom meeting the entire time. When they were near me and working behind me, I would cover up my video feed and put my mask on.

Then last night I had dinner with my friend at my favorite restaurant. So tasty. We were out til about ten. We were going to park here and walk down together, but neither of us had eaten very much and we had both been in the zoom meeting from 1 to 5PM so I had her pick me up and we drove to the restaurant together. We then walked a bit after dinner and we were out til 10 so that was nice. I dropped off some raisin bread for mom on my way home. The store didn't have any fresh bagels and their regular breads were out of date so I'm going to have another rough food day unless I can get out.

Got my garbage and recycling out last night and cleaned the kitty's box.

Back to work!

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

GO! CriticalMass!
You CAN do this!!!
😀

Hi Subclinical
Very relieved the poison ivy is starting to heal (((HUG)))

Yes, I too have other food to eat but being out of the fresh produce is hard.
Especially the Summer fruits.
Hope you get some soon too.

WTG! finishing up the Baby wipes!
YEA! for clean dishes and sheets!
I know how hard it is to do even simple tasks when you are suffering with a horrid rash.

Your Friend is so fortunate to have a farm and is able to work from there.

Masks are ordered for the entire state of Nevada but there's so much resistance and little enforcing.

Hi Tatoulia
YEA!!!! The quilt has gone to the home of your choice!!! 😀

It's almost 8am here.
I am waiting to go into town when there will be more places open and people milling about at around 10am.
Better way to see if they are following the rules.

Curbside pickup is alright for most items here but not at all for fresh produce.
If you order something and what they have in stock is old, wrinkled & wilted, bruised, unappealing, inedible, starting to mold, that's what you get.

Fun to hear about everyone's hair. This time is perfect for me to see what's really going on with my hair. Also, since I haven't been using a blow dryer, my hair is just so soft right now.

Tillie your cake sounds delicious!

Today I had a good day at work. I worked hard. I'm not exactly where I want to be on the papers and I have a big project to lead tomorrow that is confusing to be and far beyond any comfort zone I've ever had. I finally looked at what it is I'm supposed to be doing but I still don't understand. I'm hoping my team will be much smarter than I am.

Ok I'm going to do a few things. Hope everyone is hanging in there.

SubC what is going on in the courts is terrible. I don't know when or how they are going to be able to accommodate jurors. Maybe do the selection on line? This way only the 12 plus alternates need appear in court? Hard to imagine how costly this will be. But of course, the true cost is the time for people awaiting trial.

Now for the Extended Director's Cut Version, as promised... 🎥 🎞️ 🍿

Last couple of days I was kind of tired and at times out of sorts. This morning too. I'm wondering if I need to start having a cup of coffee in the morning or else drink iced tea with caffeine the first part of the day. I try to get more sleep yet still wake feeling unmotivated sometimes, which can quickly devolve into irritability. 🦖

Things picked up in the afternoon today, though. I called my elderly friend from church, the lady I used to "babysit" pre-Covid. Her daughter is still working from home. Both sounded upbeat and chipper.

Then I went over to the storage unit and got more things out. I had one partial load from earlier this week in the van - consisting of the 2nd set of plastic shelves, and odds and ends. Today I added a rickety metal shelving unit, a little 2-drawer plastic thingy, odds and ends, notebooks, jigsaw puzzles, and a few books. Then hauled it off arriving at the thrift shop minutes before the donation dock closed! 🚛🕔

I think I made just enough progress to feel better again about the direction this whole project is taking. The other day I felt doubt and a touch of overwhelm. Today I was dealing once again with things that were easy to decide about. Finding out what was even in some boxes that have sat a long while - and that most of it was stuff that could go away. So that was nice. 🙂

I have a couple more metal shelving units that have books on them. These are less rickety, if I was to put them up along a wall instead of perpendicular to it (I was going for a "library stacks" approach but it didn't work that well).

It's possible that those two shelves would be stable enough to house my kitchen stuff. There are books in another area of the unit. All the books need to eventually be in one area, and culled RUTHLESS-ly.

So much information is available online for nonfiction topics, recipes, etc. My religious books, children's books I still love, some of my cat mysteries, sci-fi, artsy books, and such I will keep if they still feel relevant - the best ones anyway. They'll be stored neatly, the ones that make the final cut. 📚📒📕📗📘📙📖

If I can get those two metal shelves away from where they've been, I'll have reached the Family Memorabilia area - oboy! But I'll also have access to sturdy shelving that got blocked early on. By that point, the whole place will be getting more open.

I've been working my way down the East wall, the South is the back. That'll take some time what with memorabilia. The West wall is mostly crafty stuff. Loose stuff, the stuffed animals, etc. are here, there, and everywhere, too. All will be dealt with in due time. Breathe, CM. Breathe.

Catching up on everyone's posts...

SubC you are really going to town making cheese and other wonderful things. My roommate's tomatoes all got stolen by critters this year. 🍅🦝 She put up a holographic silver fake owl (Disco Owl!) 🦉 but I don't know if it has helped.

Sorry about dh's spine... hope the pt and exercises will help.

Kitchen prep and cleanup is sometimes overwhelming to me even for large meals. I remember once making Sand Hill Plum jelly with my mom. It was a busy day but our batch was not that huge.

Now when I was taking Wilton cake classes, cake "homework" could be rather exhausting. At my storage I had gotten my Wilton pans out from the two big tubs and gotten rid of the tubs the other day.

I do think in my own place, and perhaps even here to some extent, I'll be using some of those again. From what I feel, they still spark joy. I won't try to make the next royal wedding size cake or anything at this point! What I had gotten was mainly sets of basic shapes for versatility - and I have a bunny pan or two (surprise). But I didn't try to collect oodles of specialty shaped cartoon character pans or anything.

Tillie, I too had wished I could send you ibuprofen! But glad if the other pain relievers and heated throw are working. Hope soon you will be all recovered. The sky was hazy here I'm assuming from the smoke in the atmosphere, and the sun going down was orange. 🌅

Yeah, I was probably getting ahead of myself re what to do with fabric.

My firm goal will be to clear the bed. There are a few little bundles of stuff I placed on it a couple days ago to sort, since there are literally no other surfaces on which to sort things in that room.

But that led to some purging and I'm almost done. I'll wrap that up and turn my attention to the bed, the whole bed, and nothing but the bed till it's done! 😉 Stay tuned.

Good Afternoon Everyone

HI CRITICALMASS 😀

Since I had such a good time yesterday using up random ingredients making the soup
Today I decided to use up the other random ingredients.
I made a cake.
Had 2 over ripe bananas I'd put in the freezer so decided to make the banana cake recipe.
But I added a LOT of diced up dates and some dried cranberries that I'd added some lemon zest to and let marinade a while.
Chopped up a whole bunch of pecans.
Added some cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and a touch of clove.
Have lightly dusted the top with powdered sugar.
It weighs a ton and smells heavenly.
Plan to cut it up into small squares, wrap and freeze.
Figured it would be a healthier snack whenever I really need a snack than something else.

Coffee clinks!

CM, I hope your lady's family recover quickly.

I'm glad your computer is working.

I also agree with Tatoulia about the fabric. I was able to work on mine because I had something I needed to make, but just trying to make decisions outside of a new challenge or information is too hard.

Maybe you can focus on your bed? Or if the bed things are too hard, you could choose an easier spot and try to make space on it for the bed things?

Tatoulia,

That was great luck on the bedspread!

Good luck with your table!

Tillie,

I hope you get your fruit. I am almost out of fruit too. I am out of a lot of things. We need to do a grocery pick up soon. (Well, not need, we have eggs and milk and vegetables, but it would be nice.)

Keep being careful! Things keep getting worse here. Our governor finally made masks mandatory in 7 counties - the ones my daughters live in and the one Dh office is in are included, plus another nearby one.

Dh is still out of the office though. He has agreed to stop playing golf for a while. Dd says if we stay with just essential curb side pick up, we can come see the baby when he is born (and home, hospital will only allow dsil)

I froze the ice cream yesterday, but did not make more or cheese. I was too tired and didn't get my nap. The poison ivy is finally starting to dry out today. It will probably take about a week to heal, but the swelling is down and I am not feverish - I am very allergic.

I did catch up a little on the dishes, and my bed has clean sheets. I also finished all the baby wipes.

One of the chicks did not make it, so I have 16. Plenty if they are hens.

I got a note from my best friend. He has moved his family to a farm he inherited in a rural county that has to only had one case. He and his wife can both work from home, and he doesn't know when or if they will return to their college town house. The farm is his retirement plan.

Good Morning Everyone

Dark brown with white at the temples is a good look. 🙂

Your poor Friend, my sympathies go out to her. (((HUG)))

Good luck getting through your evaluations.

In 1968 at the age of 14 I had the Hong Kong flu and almost died.
My friends said I looked like a Holocausts survivor.
One big reason I really do not want this new virus.

Woke up at 4am but managed to eventually get back to sleep.
The rest of this week the temps are to be upper 90s.
Planning to just putter around inside today.

Good Evening Everyone

Still resting my back with slow gentle movements when I need to move.

Today was just dark and kept being darker and darker.
Could not even see the sun through the thick smoke cover.

With it being dark day after day is it has not been very hot.
Highs of 80F so the garden plants are not all withered and shriveled.
There has been absolutely no wind or even a small breeze for days now.
Can barely see down the road even a little way.

But I have honestly never seen it this bad ever before.
The air inside is not bad and the ceiling fan feels good.
I am not coughing a lot and Scooter's eyes are not doing too bad.

WOOHOO!
WAY TO GO!!!
That's FANTASTIC! CriticalMass!
🧨🎆🎈🏆

I like your plan, Tillie. Cm forgive me for not expressing my sorrow at the news of the family falling ill. I forget what I read but I feel the emotions at the time.

Quickly, a bit of good timing. I was turning the little indoor antenna , trying to get the news when I saw my original cleaning lady out front, picking up the woman who does my upstairs neighbor's place. And she was dropping off dinner for that apartment and for me. So I quickly grabbed the satin bedspread and said, it's been professionally cleaned and she was thrilled! So it's out of my house!! And to think I almost took it to my car today.

Must run now.

My hair is dark brown with almost white at the temples. I like it.

I was reading about the influenza pandemic of 68 that killed 100, 000 Americans. I asked my mom about it because I was a baby. She said "what?" "Where was that?" "I have no idea. I was just worried that they were going to send your Dad to Vietnam."

My friend's child is still in custody waiting fir a trial that has now been put off until July - A year after the arrest.

Last night her Dad died.

Tatoulia, I like your job and my dd1's job.

Today evaluations.

Quick summary - full report later

I think I got rid of 12 Cubic Ft. or so of stuff including 2 more sets of rickety shelves. Got to the DAV dropoff right before they closed!

Good Evening

Hi CriticalMass
Thank you for the cyber fruits 🙂

I was thinking the same thing as Tatoulia concerning the fabric.
I think trying to decide on fabric right now you will just fall down a Rabbit hole of too many hard decisions to make.

About the time crunch when doing tasks.
Set a timer/alarm and come up for air after an hour of organizing.
Breathe, stand up straight, stretch, have some water.
Then you can set the timer/alarm again if you still want to or not.

Happy you went quilting!
YEA! "fingers crossed" the computer continues to function!!!

So sorry that family has the virus and will keep them in my thoughts (((HUG)))

Good luck and best wishes for you getting the stuff off your bed and put up.

Hi Tatoulia
Your bathroom is going to be so very lovely!
I love picking paint colors. The right color can make a space wonderful to be in.

I have seen documentaries about that kind of tour.
I want to do the tour where you visit Edgar Allen Poe's places.
Have a BLAST hanging those witches. 😉

How wonderful that the table has a lot of actual trash on it.
That makes it so easy to decide keep or toss.

OK, this is my plan...
Tomorrow I will go into town to fill water bottles.
The filling kiosk is outdoors in the open air.
I'll scope out the situation in town.
Are people wearing masks? Are people keeping apart?
Do I feel like I could safely get in and out of the store?
If so then during old people's hour on Thursday I will get fresh food.
We shall see :p

Outside with social distancing should be great for Dd1 and all of you.
Happy you will be seeing your kids 😀

Why anybody would have a wedding party is beyond me.
Sure, get married but save the party for next year or whenever we have the vaccine.

Tatoulia
When my hair first started turning white I got a white streak just like "The Bride Of Frankenstein".
It was just what I had always wanted! 😀

I am very grateful your company and BF's work are taking measures and not moving fast to get back to "normal".

Have the soup all put away.
Brushed Twinkles until he ordered me to stop.
Spent some quality time with Cowgirl Kitty.
Scooter went outside with me this morning while I watered Lilac bushes.
This afternoon Jack had a cool nap in the garden catmint patch then drank water from the Apricot tree well as I watered it.

Steven's rant today was about melting glaciers and dinosaur viruses and how even those viruses won't hurt us???
Have no idea where that came from. "?"

Good Afternoon

Today is just as smoky bad as yesterday.

Been taking it easy & moving slow.
So much I really want to do but won't till my back is better.

House is all closed up tight to keep the smoke out.
It's a pleasant 72F in here and I have the ceiling fan on just to make the air move.

🐺

Cm thanks for the nice newsy update! Good to have a visit with you. May I make a suggestion? Don't worry about the price of cloth or whether you should donate some. That is a harder decision to make. Make the easier decisions first. I know you know this but this is a gentle reminder that the easier decisions will help you to feel accomplished and successful.

Tillie the bird prints ate my fabric for my new shower curtain. So pretty! The paint chips came today (my designer had suggested a couple of colors) and I've ordered three samples of the paint. The one I thought would be my number one choice probably won't easily support the fabric, but it may be nice in my hallway.

Okay I'm about to start a tour of Salem, MA and the witch trials. Haven't taken this tour since a teenager. I have taken a few "walking" tours since lockdown and so I know it's an experience I enjoy. And it will help keep me mentally stimulated. I miss my concerts and lectures!

Take care everyone. I've worked more on the table. A surprising (ok not a surprise) amount of it is trash.

SubC I am so sorry for your loss. What a terrible time this is. Sending you strength. You are doing a great job and I'm thrilled you'll have your family over.

We do now know the hair color. BF even asked me what is its natural color, so I said I'm assuming dark brown with grey and how happy I would be if there were a grey streak.

Tillie I'm glad your soup was tasty.

I haven't done anymore clearing. But I've showered and have the dishwasher set to start in an hour.

SubC thank you for looking at our infection rate here. I do think that we are trying hard. My state rep is also an emergency room doctor-Jon Santiago and he is amazing. He gives updates after doing a shift in the ER and I am grateful for him.

I think my company will play it smart and not reopen, even though I think in Boston offices can reopen on June 1. We are definitely closed through June 15 and they will give us a two-week notice before re opening. Still, I think it will be August or later. I don't see my company making bad choices at this juncture. They've worked really hard to keep us safe and I don't think that we are safe to go back.

BF is being vigilant. He is not relaxing his standards. He is very careful. He checks his oxygen and his employer's oxygen every day. He has plenty of masks and gloves and has put up barriers and other things.

I do want to get back to normal but I'm grateful for all I have. I am just so grateful.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Subclinical
So happy you all went to the orchard.
YEA that Dsil wants to make apple sauce all together!

Sounds like they are enjoying taking Bean on these family outings.
Apple orchard and soon the pumpkin patch for bean 😀

Last time I went grocery shopping I looked for some apple butter but there wasn't any.
Enjoy yours. 😉

Yeah, you will have to do the math for how many guests will be eating there on occasions and add that number to what you & Dh need.
Don't worry, you will get this all figured out but it will take a bit of trial & error.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Good night Mr. Kitty 🐈

Today I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
Didn't do that yesterday, weren't many, mostly my drinking glasses.
This evening I got the grass watered.
Now I will take a shower & lay in bed.
I am tired.
The sun never broke through the smoke today and when I could see the sun it was a big orange blob I could look directly at.
Walked out to get the mail (sample voting ballots) and looking down the road visibility was very poor.
Saw that the air currents have carried the smoke all the way to New York.
I think I am able to hang out laundry on the line but not with this much smoke.
It would just smell terrible. :p

It's going to be over 100 some days here way too soon. Already pretty hot. We got rain Sunday and yesterday, making it nice and muggy. 😛

Hi Tillie - I too wish I could send you fresh fruit.

Tatoulia, your picture is what I deal with entire roomfuls of... I want it different but it's difficult. I'm starting to dive in though.

SubC, I hope the poison ivy lets up. My roommate is having another bout of torturous hives. Hers last several weeks. She's been through all that stress of the treatment, different prescriptions, not being able to take her helpful supplements until it was over, etc.

I'm sure the unhatched eggs were roosters.

Mmmm, homemade ice cream. Childhood memories!

The days really time-crunch here lately. I have the motivation to dig in and deal with my disastrous bedroom, yet with other daily tasks it just has to be fit in or all of a sudden I'm like "How did it get to be 5 o'clock?!" So I've only gotten little bits done.

It's time to go back into my bedroom from the living room at nights, even though I like the couch. I'll find some way during the transition to get the junk off the bed so I can really be comfortable.

Sleep has been okay if my back and sides and hips behave. The pillow between my knees is a good thing. Some days I get a post-lunch slump that makes me really sleepy. I'm trying to resist full naps because I'll inevitably want to stay up too late.

Went to quilting at church today. I think it is safe, like SubC's studio. Nobody but us quilting hens comes into the quilting room except for the breaker boxes or electronics for internet and/or security I presume. We wore masks and sat apart enough. It seemed to work.

At some point I'll resume assembling quilts I have the plans and fabric for, go to the church to sew them when I need lots of room.

One lady told us that she made 500 masks early on! I'm so envious of her efficiency and the space she must've had in her HOME to spread out and get things cut and sewn together. Want that.

Fabric is getting hard to come by at inexpensive prices these days. I could donate some of Justin's stuff for either mask making or quilts. Need to think about it.

Heard from the younger daughter of my elderly lady I sit for. The older daughter has Covid and is in the hospital. She's in a vulnerable population with several serious chronic health issues. Her husband awaits his test results and I hope their daughter and grandchildren are okay.

The younger daughter's work isn't reopening till September so she's been with her mother, or one of a handful of family have (fortunately not the one with Covid). I suggested when the current crisis lets up (favorably I pray), we have a Zoom get-together. She said her mom has done Zoom with other family already.

Good news, I think - keep your fingers crossed - I've been typing this on my "new" laptop with the Linux, and since I got that extra RAM installed it has been behaving pretty well. I can actually get my work done!

If this continues, I shall be doing more creative writing, etc. The only drawback is that I have no real desk and have to work awhile then shut down and stash the laptop, then pull it out again next time and boot it up - but maybe when I get some things moved... we'll see. And at least it boots up fast and works.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment - stay cool, stay well.