About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Week 1 of shutdown in the Bay Area.
I haven’t written anything substantial about this because I’ve just been too busy trying to deal.
We had begun taking steps weeks ago. Around March 1st, PiC and I were adding moderate overage to our canned and frozen food stores.
A week later, I started cooking up fresh and frozen stores to make actual meals in case I got sick myself. (Not that PiC wouldn’t care for me but he’d also have JB and the two dogs to care for. That’s a lot for any one adult.) Traffic was noticeably light going to and from work this second week of March, many employees who could were already working from home. Unfortunately since we have no help, and we both had to work full time and on site (PiC), we weren’t prepared to make that shift. Still, it was in our future and I was going through our stores of supplies to create a Treasure Box for JB.
By March 14, I was on the verge of pulling JB out of school. We had planned to spend the weekend finalizing our stock up of our supplies and start to hunker down. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for us, and we had to spend the whole weekend fixing the house instead. That was frustrating but we were so (so so so) very fortunate to have a couple of friends who were available and willing to come help us with the repairs and with entertaining JB. I haven’t had local friends in a long time and I’m still stunned by their generosity.
By the evening of March 15, I couldn’t justify keeping JB in daycare even if they stayed open. I didn’t want to risk them being exposed to anyone who had been exposed to the germs over the weekend. We made the call when we went to bed.
By Monday when this post goes up, it’ll be Day Ten in calendar days but I’m only recording weekdays.
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
1. I’m so proud of myself. I had a list of five recipes I wanted to cook and freeze ahead but I knew it was a very ambitious list as they all required a lot more than my usual effort. I broke up the recipe across two days and made a magnificent vat of gluten free lamb stew. I filled up two containers for freezing, we had a smashing good dinner (PiC had three bowls), and I shared some with a neighbor.
2. PiC bought a medium tub of hot and sour soup from the local Chinese restaurant we like for me to freeze. It’s one of the soups I always want to eat when I’m sick, so if the day comes that I’m down with a virus, I’ll have comfort food close to hand.
3. JB’s preschool program has been closed indefinitely. Thankfully I had already been thinking ahead to that inevitable day so I already have a box of activities assembled and a few recipes ready for cooking and baking projects together.
Challenges this week: I’m baffled by the nonsense people are willing to believe about disease. People are saying: putting Vicks VapoRub in your nostrils will protect against germs – no, it will not. People believe that you can test for COVID-19 by holding your breath for ten seconds, and make it go away by drinking water – no and no. Some people were touting steaming as a way of killing the virus in your lungs – an epidemiologist said that would only work if it were hot enough at which point you’d be long dead.
Why, people, WHY.
Many counties here have been shut down through April 7 or longer. This is a surreal time.
4. My brain therapy session was tough but good. I didn’t feel emotionally flayed, I suppose one can only have so many of those in a row, but I did feel comfort in discussing my past and present and concerns with a professional. I’ve advised others to seek professional help in the past, I believe it can really help people, but this is the first time I’ve ever personally experienced what I imagined it to be.
5. Super grateful to Tanya for sending me this chicken salad recipe, it’s similar to a recipe mom used to make when I was growing up and I’ve missed it. JB liked the dressing but hated the salad. Go figure.
6. Shopping for our Lakota families is usually an exercise in frustration because so many household basics aren’t available for shipping to PO boxes or to that zip code even if the store is willing to ship to them. We’re now experiencing similar issues here with household basics because of COVID-19. Every reasonably priced detergent and heartburn relief, for example, are out of stock even if they would normally deliver to us for a fee. Both at Target and Costco. I’m both annoyed and recognize that we’re very lucky to normally have no problems getting hold of what we need. And we’re lucky that PiC is able bodied and can run to the store and try to find the goods if I can’t. Not everyone has such an awesome and able-bodied partner to pick up the load like that, nor does everyone have relatively easy access to stores that might have stock.
7. Parenting in the time of COVID-19 means we’re relaxing our standards on screen time. I will allow some on weekdays when I need a break and JB has been using up all their willpower. They have been surprisingly good about the isolation considering how social they normally are so far, but at this point it just seems like we’re having a long (looooong) weekend. They are sad about not being allowed to eat out at a restaurant, though. They enjoy the novelty.
8. My massage therapist cancelled our session due to the three week shutdown of the Bay Area. I’ve purchased a gift card to get some money in her pocket because she’s still going to have to pay rent and I want to do my part in ensuring she can. I also cancelled our dogwalker but we’re still paying them because it’s not a ton of money but I’m guessing that every little bit will make a difference. I’m extra aware of these things because I have friends who own small businesses and losing lots of income during the pandemic. I hope their customers remember that people need to pay their bills and pay a little extra if they can.
9. I’m so grateful that JB has generally taken this in stride, aside from the occasional morbid ponderings (what if people die of coronavirus and they’re all alone?? Do you have coronavirus? I think I have coronavirus.) We’ve had some pretty non-scheduled days and rolled from day to day this week rather flexibly unlike my best intentions of having a set schedule. It’s ok. Next week. I wonder how long we’ll go like this with the statewide shutdown set for… Indeif
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
This was going to be the COVID-19 edition but I decided to make it awesome instead.
It baffles the mind that our administration is trying to find some personal gain with this COVID-19 situation – trying to grab the vaccine just for Americans?? What is wrong with y’all??
The Fioneers on panic and prep. I can and do both at the same time. I am suddenly (is it though) worrying about getting hit with a quake in the midst of the pandemic because hello California.
Skype a Scientist: Working in Zoos and Marsh Ecology with Corina Newsome
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Milestone birthday
WHO SAID JB COULD TURN 5??
I’m appalled!
364 days of saying “nope you’re not having a party” later and guess what? They didn’t have a party. Guess what else? They are just fine. We did special pancakes with whipped cream, and they got to wear a special birthday outfit, and off to school they went.
We did go out to dinner as a family that evening as well.
Responsibilities
We’ve been building JB’s stable of skills gradually. They should probably have set chores but since we don’t have set days for doing specific housework, I find it more helpful to have them have sub-chores. When I do laundry, they are responsible for bringing me hangers and putting away the clothes I’ve hung up. They are also responsible for hanging up clothes when called upon to do so. They clear the table before meals, set the table or help with cooking depending on the day, and clear after meals. Sometimes they are responsible for just finding an independent activity and leaving me in peace so I can work or cook. They are also still being trained to train Sera – working on appropriate reactions to doggy misgaps and using the appropriate commands to the situation instead of just yelling angrily. (more…)
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
1. I have put in the last orders for refills on all of Seamus’s meds so that we’re good for about 2 months on his medications and food. It’s so much money, and I’m so grateful that we are able to foot the bill, but we are digging a bit into savings.
2. I had my first brain appointment and we dug deep into some painful issues right away. Damn if it wasn’t also really good for me. I felt light for the first time in … I do not remember. It lasted a few days. It also left me with about a thousand more questions than I have answers to but that wasn’t entirely unanticipated.
3. I’m grateful that I decided to skip lump sum investing this year and to make a small weekly purchase on a set day of the week. With the stock market doing the dance its dance, I would be struggling to figure out what to do and when to buy and how much to buy. But a set schedule that I just execute? I can handle that.
Challenges this week: The spread of COVID-19, and the terrible way the US government is handling it, is really unsettling.
4. I’m working on focusing on the things I can control, like food. I’m looking at planning for treats and meals in case of self quarantine or actual illness. Like these keto sugar free donuts. There’s also my list of a mix of new and old recipes that I need to make in large batches for eating now AND for freezing for later. I’m hoping we can stage just one big grocery run this week and not have to go again for another couple weeks to reduce our social exposure.
5. We’re also talking about when to pull JB from regular activities (daycare, swim). There aren’t many cases here, many parents who have help have already pulled their kids and reduced the exposure for the remaining kids, so now we are working to make plans to keep JB engaged and learning at home when it’s our turn to take them out.
6. After 3 rounds of medications and 4 lab tests at $200 a pop, Seamus is FINALLY cleared of infection!!! HUZZAH.
7. I’ve got some hoarded Target gift cards for our essentials that I just dug into to send a big box of supplies to my baby relative working their butt off as a healthcare provider. They are in one of the frontline roles of treating people and I wanted to ease their day to day burden a little since they’re on their own and working all hours of the day and night. Thank goodness for hoarding gift cards.
8. I got to thinking about kids in school and college right now. If this pandemic had hit when I was a kid or in college like this one is hitting now, we couldn’t have made rent, paid for gas, groceries, or utilities. We were once so incredibly precarious. It’s a minor miracle that I made it through college without more than a major medical mystery hanging over my head. I wish there was a way to see the students who are scrambling to survive because of this and give them a helping hand.
:: I hope if you’re reading this, you’re healthy and will stay that way, but what precautions are you taking?
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
I adore Gina Torres and I love this bit from this interview with her. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t know about Pearson on USA because we haven’t had cable TV for so long. “What would you say to your younger self now?: The messaging is the same, which is: What is yours is yours. It doesn’t matter the road you choose to get there, you’re going to get there. You can get there quick, or you can take the scenic route, and that’s all about choice. I firmly believe your blessings are yours, and we get them when we’re ready. We get them when we’re supposed to.”
As an immunocompromised person, I’m very much irritated by people choosing to do all their normal things and not caring if they are disease vectors because “I’m healthy so I’ll be fine.”
Tanja (ONL) over at MarketWatch cautions us to maintain our cash as we watch the market do its thing with regard to coronavirus. I fully admit that I’m inclined to buy this dip but I’m sticking to my plan for this year’s investing: small weekly purchases. I’m also seeing the sense of the advice. I’m already spending a big wad of cash upfront to stock up our supplies. We’re buying the household supplies we need and a little more like we usually do, but I am stocking up a few months out on Seamus’s meds, and that costs a LOT. I would have had to do it anyway but it’s a little earlier than usual and in one lump rather than spaced out across a couple months.
Angela’s Prepper FI post. I wish Life Straws were around when I first started getting our prepper kit together ten years ago. Back then, I picked out some gravity filtration bags, but Life Straws seem a lot more convenient. It just seems wasteful to add Life Straws to the packs when we already have (unwieldy) filtration options and still need other supplies. We also have a bunch of Mountain House meals but none of them are really good for me, nor are some of the other foods that I’ve laid in. I have been thinking of stock up and activities in case of a precautionary self quarantine, I foresee spending a fair bit of time baking with JB to use up the wheat flour that I can’t have. We should be able to share baked goodies by dropping off boxes of uncontaminated baked goods with the neighbors that we like. But now that that is mostly covered, I am thinking about preparing for a quarantine where one or more of us are actually sick. First and foremost, I am starting a list of recipes to make ahead and freeze that I would be happy eating if I were sick because I won’t be cooking then: curry, soup, stew.
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Seamus
This pupper continues to be our beloved buddy of many veterinary woes. He’s suffering from moderate arthritis, chronic eye problems, incontinence, and his usual dietary and/or environmental allergies. He’s on a mini-pharmacy of medications to keep him as comfortable as we can: 6 medications.
We’re washing his bedding 2-3 times a week some weeks because his bladder is so unpredictable, so we have to add yet another medication to his pharmacy.
His attitude has backslid quite a bit. He’s so grouchy when he doesn’t get his way now! He’s also restless randomly at night sometimes, waking us up at 2 or 3 am to go out for a pee. I’m constantly watching him like a hawk for any stumbles, he has taken us by surprise a few times falling on his face or falling over sideways without warning.
Sera
Training her has been a roller coaster of many stomach-twisting drops.
It took us several months just to find a treat that she gave half a hoot about (Beggin Strips of all things) after several months of trying to find anything that she cared enough about to even notice when she saw other dogs. I thought we were on the upswing and then she had an incident where she totally misread the situation thinking a dog was a threat and freaked out.
From that point, she was so reactive, so upset at the mere sight or sound of other dogs that I was straining with my entire body and soul to keep her restrained on our walks. I was a walking stress case, constantly worrying. It didn’t matter if they were barking at her or just running past, she was fearful and that made her aggressive. Her manners were all shot to hell again, too. She’d meet small humans and leap at them in her excitement. (more…)
Week 1 of shutdown in the Bay Area.
This was going to be the COVID-19 edition but I decided to make it awesome instead.
Milestone birthday