Life Happens

Feeling Exhausted, part 2

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Pandemic Life

Yesterday’s post, Feeling Exhausted part 1, was therapeutic. Mixed messages drive me crazy normally and the last 2 years have been “interesting” to say the least. It was a frustration I didn’t realize was so strong until I started writing.

In part 1 I diverted into some of the unknowns of the pandemic and how we receive so many mixed messages. I touched on the number of people who have died of COVID in 2 years (almost a million at this writing). That sparked a weird grief sadness that was unexpected. We have had several friends/acquaintances die because of a COVID infection (yet no family members) but they aren’t the people I was thinking about.

So many more have passed due to non-COVID related illnesses and our grieving process has been very different than usual – dare I say interrupted? So many questions popped into my head and continued into the night last night.

Is grieving being put on hold by the population/world? Is this affecting community relations? Is this affecting my mental exhaustion? Is the pandemic affecting if people seeking medical care? When will we be able to honor them?

ABSOLUTELY!

Even without a pandemic, every one has a hidden “grief” they are working through – remember kindness!

We miss you Mom, Aunt Kathy, Cousin Bret, and Nephew Nico.

So, now what?

declutteringthestuff In the News, Life Happens, Pandemic Life, Self-Isolation

We are “fully” vaccinated, now what? The newest CDC guidelines say I am free to go maskless and our self-isolation can end.

Do I want to? Should I? And why wouldn’t I continue to wash my hands as a disease prevention method? I love (sarcasm!) how the guidelines mention safety precautions are masks, social distancing of 6 feet, and wash your hands.

Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People | CDC

I am still required to wear a mask at work since the 12-14 year old students on campus aren’t vaccinated and my district doesn’t want to make a change with 2 weeks left. Even if the students get their shot today, it will be mid-June before they are completely vaccinated and our last day on campus for this year is May 28.

Will many of the 12-16 year old students even get vaccinated? How many have younger siblings who won’t be able to get vaccinated? Will be see a weird “spike” in pediatric cases? How many anti-vaccinating people will stop wearing their masks now? How many are teachers I work with? There are even more unanswerable questions rolling around in my head regarding pandemic safety in my classroom.

So I guess my “now what?” answer is this – I will continue to wear a mask IF I go somewhere that I am unable to know the vaccination status of those around me. It’s not like I’m rushing to go do things.

I don’t miss shopping or eating out in restaurants. I really don’t miss going grocery shopping – the idea of ordering ahead and picking it up is so much easier!

I do miss the social aspect of eating out. Tomorrow we are going out to breakfast with friends – first time in forever (well, actually 11 months but who’s keeping track!) Our usual Sunday morning location has had outdoor dining since our last visit (June 2020). To say I was not comfortable is a vast understatement.

Will they maintain outdoor dining for a while? Will the employees be wearing masks? Will the wind blow in the right direction? These and so many more whirl through my head!

Hopefully my “stranger danger” will gradually subside and I can venture out into the world again without a heightened since of doom with every breath.

Back to Campus

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Pandemic Life, Work Life

I’m a little behind on posts – I’ve had to return to in-person teaching in the afternoons while still doing the virtual teaching for every student each morning. That has added a layer of stress to our household. First it was the uncertainty of whether we would be returning to worrying about what precautions will actually be followed to worrying about the time factor and what I’m supposed to do with the returning students.

55+ Coronavirus Memes — Funny Coronavirus Memes

Should I teach in the morning at home and commute during my lunch? We end morning teaching at noon. Initially the district wanted us on campus by 12:30. Now I can make it – we live just a few miles away with no traffic along the way. I plan for 10 minutes but it never takes that long even if I have to wait for a train. Just a day before we reported, they made report time 12:45 (when the students arrive and report to our rooms.)

I found they are actually taking measures to ensure the safety of everyone when I returned to campus! I was hesitant, to say the least. They installed contactless water bottle refilling stations and gave each student a water bottle. Each student was also given a cloth mask, a pencil box filled with supplies that will stay in my room, and a notebook if they need paper. They labeled the desks for the M/T groups and Th/F groups so each student has their own seat and can leave their supplies to minimize contamination.

Syndicated cartoon gallery: Back to school 2020 | Columnists | tulsaworld.com

The district has opted to have the afternoon session be voluntary – as of this writing I have 2 students on Monday and Tuesday and 3 students on Thursday and Friday. That’s not the stressful part – what am I going to do with them is! Should I have them catch up in their classes? do social emotional activities? All of the above? Something else I haven’t thought of yet?

Did you know I know how to play Among Us? I have a group of kids how come to virtual office hours so they can play Among Us and talk to each other while they play. I’m really not liking the new ship! With the return to class, my Among Us playing will be reduced significantly – whatever am I to do???

Flamingo Hat Among Us Gifts & Merchandise | Redbubble

COVID vaccine! And the week after

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We both received our 2nd vaccine shot on 19 Feb. We are grateful for the ability to get the vaccine as educators.

When kiddo #2 received her second Pfizer shot, she missed 2 days of work due to her immune response so we were expecting the worse and hoping for the best since we were getting Moderna.

John almost never gets sick – he must have a really robust immune system! I, on the other hand, catch everything that wanders into my classroom. I am basically fighting something from about week 2 of school until we finally end in May/June. After all these years, you would think I’ve caught every germ already! This last 11 months of self-isolation have been amazing from this standpoint – I’ve not been sick since last March 2020! I was dreading this second shot.

We finished teaching at noon on Friday and had the second shot done by 1:15. It was very organized for the entire process. We decided to skip Fancy Friday for this week.

Friday:

  • John – no symptoms
  • Barb – headache and arm soreness started about 5pm

Saturday:

  • John woke about 6 am feeling tired (not his usual!) and arm soreness but no fever. As the day went on, John felt feverish (99.5), took a nap and was feeling normal
  • Barb – chills started about 2 am, by 8 am fever was 101.7, body aches, tiredness – I basically slept all day. My arm now had a goose egg sized red spot. Tenderness doesn’t even begin to describe it! Took all I had to drink 8 ounces of water.

Sunday:

  • John back to normal with some arm tenderness.
  • Barb still running a fever (100.6), arm soreness, and fatigue. My immune response is still in overdrive. I was able to get up for a little while but after about 30 minutes on the couch, I had to go back to bed.

Monday:

  • John’s arm is still tender but only when he touches it. No soreness when moving his arm.
  • Barb on the other hand, still running a slight fever in the morning, arm goose egg finally goes down in size. Fatigue and sweating is driving me crazy! Finally feeling “normal” by evening. This has been like having the flu – I can’t even imagine what having COVID would be like if this is my body’s response to the vaccine.

Tuesday:

  • John’s arm doesn’t hurt at all – everything back to normal
  • Barb still tired. Arm still hurts to move it and swelling is decreasing. I have to sit through a district meeting – I really wanted a nap by lunch but can’t.

By Thursday, my tiredness and headache is still lingering and my arm is tender. My immune response lasted a full week. Friday everything was back to normal but by Friday night I was exhausted! I was in bed by 9:30!

Moral of the story: John had typical response and Barb’s immune response went crazy – I keep imagining what my body’s response would have been if I had COVID.

Not COVID!

declutteringthestuff Life Happens ,

Hi everyone! It’s been a while and we are doing ok.

School started back up and we are CRAZY busy trying to effectively teach virtually. Challenging to say the least! This is one of my stressors right now so I’m not going to talk about it!

I came down with a few “sickness” symptoms Thursday. Fever, fatigue, headache. That evening, Kiddo #2, the pediatrician, wondered why I hadn’t called to arrange a COVID test. My response, which pushed her over the edge: “It’s not COVID. It’s just my normal back to school, run down, fever, body response.”

Kiddo #2 asked me to look at the COVID symptoms most likely to be experienced – fever, fatigue, and headache make the top 5 list.

So, I got COVID tested. The next morning at our clinic’s drive-though testing. Friday the results are in – NEGATIVE.

(I want to shout “I TOLD YOU SO!”)

By the way, I have Crohn’s disease and these are always my symptoms early in a flair and over the years. I’ve learned to listen to my body and take a breather.

Now to let my body relax a little. I haven’t done anything work related for the last 2 days. I think I’ll read blog posts all day today!

Day 106 of Isolation – new pizza

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

We decided to be wild and crazy with our pizza today.

I’m calling it Chicken Enchilada Pizza! I’m sure there are similar recipes online for this.

Ingredients:

  • pizza crust (gluten free using Pamela’s Baking and Pancake mix)
  • small can green enchilada sauce
  • grilled chicken breast, chopped
  • chopped onion
  • chopped tomato
  • Parmesan cheese
  • shredded mozzarella cheese

After baking the pizza crust, mix small amount of parmesan cheese with enchilada sauce. Put sauce onto crust. Sprinkle chopped chicken, onion, and tomato onto sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 350 F for about 7 minutes. Top with avocado if desired.

Easy and YUMMY!! 

Days 103-106 of Isolation

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Decluttering!

First, I attempted to take some boxes for donation. I called ahead and they confirmed they were accepting donations. Got there and was told “we aren’t taking donations today.” WHAT THE HECK! I just called. So the stuff from work is sitting in the back of John’s car. This was our second attempt to donate this stuff!

Maybe next week it can finally get donated!

2 boxes out of the house at least!

Second, I decided to declutter/organize my genealogy boxes. This picture shows the end result. I started with 2 boxes this size and reduced to one box. I confirmed every bit of information on every piece of paper I decluttered was also found in my Ancestry tree. I also made a spreadsheet for the birth, marriage, and death certificates I have. Needless to say, this led to rabbit hole “excitement” for me.

124 “items” gone!

Third, John replaced the storage cabinet in the garage with a shelving unit. He also purchased plastic bins to put stuff into. I used the label maker to put on the bins. Not many items decluttered but it sure does look better! The old cabinet doors couldn’t close anymore.

13 items gone!

139 items out of the house!!  Feeling accomplished!

Day 100 of Isolation – decluttering the extra closet

declutteringthestuff 2020 in 2020, decluttering, Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Since Kiddo #2 was home for 24 hours, we decluttered her bedroom closet. Yep it is still called her bedroom and kiddo#1’s room is still hers. Kiddo #2 left home 13 years ago but some things never change!

Kiddo #2’s room is set up with a bed and dresser.

Kiddo #1’s room has the extra TV, bookcase, and sofa sleeper. When she visits, that’s were she sleeps, even if Kiddo#2’s room is not being used. Silly girls!

Here’s the 117 items decluttered!!

Day 99 of Isolation – decluttering the bathroom

declutteringthestuff 2020 in 2020, decluttering, Life Happens, LiveWithLess, Self-Isolation

Kiddo #2 came out to trade cars again. She ended up coordinating and delivering over 5800 diapers to local shelters! WAY TO GO!!

She will be finishing her residency program next week and temporarily moving back in with us August 1st. Job searching during a pandemic has been challenging to say the least. She can save the money in her savings account for the move when she gets a full-time job. She has arranged for per diem work at a local clinic to hold her over until she takes her board exams in October.

Because of this, she wanted me to declutter “her” bathroom. Our Saturday afternoon fun was just that!

78 items were removed from the bathroom! Productive day!

34 items to a local women’s shelter! 

We consolidated the bandages.  There was an empty blood pressure device box.  Where’s the device?  Who knows.  The stethoscope is gone – kiddo #2 called it crap and said we don’t need one.  She also laughed at the diameter of the 80’s curling irons.

Items above going to the shelter.
And the other stuff leaving.

Tomorrow is her closet – imagine, she wants some of the stuff that we’ve been storing in her room since she moved away to college 13 years ago to go elsewhere! I’m hoping most of the stuff will be hers!

Days 96 & 97 of Isolation

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After working on the windows, I decided to declutter/reorganize the DVDs.

We had reached the point of more DVD’s than the shelves would hold. That meant going through the old VHS tapes and reorganizing the cupboard to make room for them. 21 items decluttered!

I also decluttered 10 old coupons from my desk.

A few other things we did over these 2 days:

  • 3 hour phone chat with a friend
  • chats with both kiddos
    • Kiddo #2 detailed her delivery of diapers from the “Diaper Drive” she organized at work for a local women’s shelter. 5300 diapers were donated over 2 weeks! Great work!
  • trip to the cemetery to “visit” John’s Dad.
  • John cleaned the rain gutters at his Mom’s house
  • did some DAR research for a prospective member
    • This is another rabbit hole for me!

We watched MANY episodes of the series “Yellowstone”. We are really enjoying this one!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, living the life, Self-Isolation

Today is Day 95 of Isolation and John’s Birthday!!

We celebrated at home – duh! It is the first time in YEARS thanks to the pandemic.

John requested bison burgers, baked beans, and chocolate cupcakes for his birthday dinner.

The ground bison was available at the local health food store. It made great patties and were cooked on the BBQ. Served lettuce wrapped.

I used the instant pot to make the beans this time. They tasted a little different but that could be the recipe wasn’t the usual one. I tried one I found online for the instant pot.

These are gluten free cupcakes I made and boy, are they yummy! I made buttercream frosting to put in and on them. Sorry, no pic of the finished product. Just trust me when I say I’m glad it only made 6!

It was a great day to turn 64!

Days 92-94 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff decluttering, Household Chores, Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Now that we have a TON of time to do all those wonderful chores we’ve procrastinated doing, we decided to conquer one accidentally!

Ours were the windows. We spent DAYS working on them. Partly because I also vacuumed all the baseboards in each room as I worked my way through the house.

It all started when I was cleaning the bathroom. I decided I should vacuum the blind. Then that led to vacuuming the window sill. The window sill needed more than vacuuming this time so I had to wipe with a damp microfiber cloth.

That led to wiping the window itself. Once you do the inside of the window, you have to do the outside. This is where John comes into the chore! That means removing the screen and cleaning that. Before you put the screen back on, you have to clean the window track. Some of these were really YUCKY!

Even though it is not perfectly clean, it is so much better than before.

I don’t know about you guys, but this hadn’t been done thoroughly in our house for at least 5 years (assuming we did it during the 2015 Great Flood).

So one bathroom window means every window was cleaned inside and out! Every screen was cleaned. Every track and sill was cleaned. Every blind was vacuumed.

What pandemic chore have you completed lately?

Days 89-91 of Isolation – not what we planned

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We were supposed to be in Glacier National Park – instead we went to Prado Regional Park. Definitely not what we planned! COVID sure is putting a crimp in our summer plans! Not sure we are going to make our goal of 20 public parks and/or 20 nights in public parks during 2020. 3 nights of our 20 complete!

The National Park refunded our reservation money about a month ago when it was decided they would not be open this week for camping.

Prado Regional Park is in the southwest corner of Chino, California. It has full hookups (meaning we have water, electricity, and sewer connections), most are long pull-through sites with asphalt pad for parking. A concrete patio area with picnic table and fire ring is also at each site. Cost is $40 per night. The sites are pretty far apart. Good AT&T cell reception.

** 11/2020 – the lake is contaminated and no water activities are allowed until further notice. Please check their website for more information.

South view shows neighboring site and local mountains.
North view from same location, showing patio area and nearest neighbors.
West view showing location of closed bath house and distance of neighbors in that direction. Washer and dryer available for use at bath house.

From their web site: “This park is loaded with outdoor recreation and adventure offering, fishing, camping, hiking, biking and nature trails, splash pad, disc golf and outstanding picnic facilities are just a sampling of what this park has to offer.

A unique feature of Prado is that it has a meeting room that seats 80 people and is ideal for club meetings, parties and receptions.

Additional activities at the park include two 18-hole golf courses at El Prado Golf Course, an Olympic shooting range at Shoot Prado, an equestrian center at Prado Park Equestrian Center and an archery range by Oranco Bowmen Archery Club.”

We had a unique easterly view. Mid-afternoon on Wednesday a small fire started in the equestrian/hiking area. 28 acres burned. Pictures show progression and how close it was to us. Friday morning John saw a deer going towards the river in this area.

My only complaint about this park has to do with the bugs. It is near a wilderness area and has its own “lake” so the mosquitoes and other biting bugs are plentiful. I really don’t like to use bug spray but you really should at this place!

Now I’m off to do laundry – too bad “vacation” doesn’t include a respite from these kind of chores!

Day 88 of Isolation – wind

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Yard Updates

Yesterday was a windy day – average wind speed around 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 45 miles per hour most of the day. We enjoy watching our wind sculptures by Lyman Whitaker spin. We purchased them at the Renee Taylor Gallery in Sedona, Arizona. [We are providing the links in case you are interested in more information. We do NOT make any money on links.]

We have the Double Spinner, Nebula, and Lotus versions. Somehow we didn’t show you them when they were installed. Go figure!

All 3 are stainless steel. John installed them by securing the pole in a bucket of cement and then burying the bucket. This will allow us to take them with us when we move.

Day 87 of Isolation – skin care

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While Kiddo #2 was home on Saturday, we had a discussion about skin care since her surgery scars are still very visible. We went down a rabbit hole on the internet researching scar care which leads to overall skin care which lead to skin care for “aging” skin. [Some call it “mature” skin. Nice ways of saying OLD!]

This is not a typical topic for me to write, talk, or even think about. I rarely use makeup and haven’t really worn it much in my life. I always had acne breakouts made worse whenever I put anything on my face and gave up trying about 30 years ago. [Having 2 small children might also have played a role!]

Even mascara went since it made wearing contacts uncomfortable. I would rather see and not have glasses slipping off my face than have mascara on.

So here is my usual skin care routine for the last 30 years – wash my face (and body) with Dove Beauty Bar. {Link just in case you’re interested – I don’t make any money on my links.} When they came out with the Sensitive Skin version years ago, we switched to that. John doesn’t really care what soap I put in the shower. He uses whatever is there. I also only use the bar version – less environmental impact than the plastic bottles for the liquid body wash version. I added the Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate most mornings about a year ago. I also don’t use facial sunscreen unless I know I will be out for extended periods of time.

So now back to our “findings”. Apparently, vitamin C serum and retinol are the go to things for healthy “aging” skin. So I am going to perform a month-long science experiment.

Question: Will Vitamin C and Retinol products have a visible effect on my facial skin?

Research: Many sources – it was an internet rabbit hole! Vitamin C serum and retinol are the go to things for healthy “aging” skin.

Hypothesis: If I used Vitamin C and Retinol products every day for a month, then I will see visible positive changes in my facial skin.

Experiment: I will use CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C serum each morning after washing face with Dove Beauty Bar and follow it with my Clinique moisturizer. Each evening after washing my face with Dove Beauty Bar, I will apply Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer Fragrance Free. I’m not going to explain why I picked these brands, never having tried serums or night moisturizers before. Thank you Ulta for curbside pickup!

I’ll share my experimental results around July 8th. Both products first used on June 8th.

Day 86 of Isolation – another yard project complete

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I FINISHED TRIMMING THE ICEPLANT!!!!

This side took about 4 hours and filled our green and black cans, as well as 2 neighbors green cans. I’m very thankful our neighbors allow us to use their green cans (and they ours) when we have big yard projects.

I don’t listen to music or podcasts during these type of projects. I like having time in my own head. I feel so relaxed after having ruminated and thought through mental/emotional stuff while removing the yard stuff.

Anyone else notice that when you have yard projects like this, you declutter your mind as well?

Day 85 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

A relaxing day – Kiddo #2 came home for the day/night. She is feeling back to normal, is back to work, and needed to trade cars with us. As part of her advocacy rotation, she organized a diaper drive for the local shelter. They’ve received about $500 worth of diapers and funds for the shelter. Her car can’t hold all of it for delivery, so the Xterra is coming to the rescue!

We had our 3rd meal “out” tonight. Our favorite local Mexican food place does take-out. We ordered and John willingly went to pick it up. They’ve reopened for a limited number of tables – he said only one family was in the restaurant. They usually have a wait for dinner on most nights (and have about 25 tables)

Some of the changed he noticed:

  • he didn’t have to bag his own chips and salsa
  • the soda machine area was roped off – I guess they will bring you a new glass if you want more beverage
  • everyone working was wearing a mask

And our favorite server was working and healthy!

Day 84 of Isolation

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Today represents the completion of our 12th full week of self-isolation due to “Safer/Stay at Home” orders. My, how time flies (is there a sarcasm font out there?)

Kiddo #2 “graduated” from her Pediatrics residency program tonight. She doesn’t actually finish until June 30th. Usually they have a big celebratory dinner and invite the families. Instead, they did a small virtual ceremony earlier than usual. We are so proud of her!

2 more steps are required – pass the Pediatrics board exam and find a job. Many places are under hiring freezes, even for doctors. Since the kids aren’t in school, they (and their families) aren’t getting sick! Add to that the people losing their health insurance due to layoffs and you have plenty of uncertainty. It seems weird to think we are in the middle of a PANDEMIC and some medical professions are not “needed” at this time.

On the home front, John played with the sprinklers (again and still!). Things are looking so much better. Can’t wait to post a picture of the grass actually growing!

I moved to the middle drawer to declutter it. Here’s the stuff that was decluttered and the before and after pic. We have no idea where the rest of the Cuisinart mini is. Maybe decluttered earlier? Most of the paper pile was recipes torn from magazines and newspapers along with a BUNCH of recipe empty recipe cards.

Stuff decluttered from the middle drawer. 149 items!

Day 83 of Isolation – Decluttering

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Today I decluttered a bottom drawer in the kitchen.

17 instruction booklets, 2 bags, 4 chair leg plastic caps (these just won’t stay on our chairs)

23 items decluttered today and a much neater drawer.

John worked on the sprinkler system in the back yard. We now have a drip system for the patio plants and planters and it is on the timer! Thank you hubby!

Day 77 of Isolation – Decluttering!

declutteringthestuff decluttering, Life Happens, Self-Isolation

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that we had 14 rolls of undeveloped film just hanging out in the desk drawer. Feeling inspired, I took the 14 rolls of film to get developed in January 2020. The drugstore initially said it would be about a week. Several weeks later and only 9 rolls had been processed and returned. After a couple more weeks, the other rolls were processed and returned.

When we picked them up at the drugstore, I quickly went through them and realized MOST of the pictures were worthless. $322.36 later to realize maybe one roll of film worth of pictures were kind of usable. I put the pictures back in the envelopes and said I would deal with it later.

Later arrived.

I’m decluttering 14 envelopes, 10 cds and 541 pictures (due to duplicate printing.) Some of the date stamps are from 1999, 2000, and 2001. Just a few years hanging out in the drawer!

565 items gone!

Day 76 of Isolation – end of the school year

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

Today was my (Barb’s) last unofficial day of work. I had my last virtual class meeting with my science students, my AVID students, and our last staff meeting. I also “attended” our last virtual staff happy hours in the early evening.

Tomorrow is my day to get grades turned in (done!) and close out our virtual/digital classrooms (done!) John’s grades were due today but has a staff meeting tomorrow morning. He is almost done!

We have had 11 weeks of virtual/distance/remote learning. My students missed more than a quarter of the year. Everything assigned to my students was optional “enrichment” activities for both our districts. We were also directed not to teach any new concepts and to limit their academic activity to no more than 2 hours per week per subject with a maximum of 12 hours expected per week for middle and high school students. Elementary students were limited to 2 hours per day with a 10 hour maximum per week. (This might have been a state directive.) While I understand this, it sure did make it difficult for educators.

Parents had to learn how to manage working at home or working outside the home with limited childcare as well as “homeschooling” their students with the uncertainty of the pandemic on the livelihood on their family.

Many teachers went overboard on assignments at the beginning and turned off the overstressed parents. Some parents just gave up and let their child do what ever they wanted to do academically, others “enforced” 2 hours per day of “academic activity”, and then some expected their child to do everything listed for the week from every teacher.

I worry about August when we will be requiring a minimum of 5 hours of work a week from students, either in class, at home, or a mix of both.

I will miss the virtual meetings with my students. They have shared so many small personal details of their lives, more so at the beginning of all this. Some have shared insightful realizations about how they learn and what they enjoy doing now that they have time to pursue these other interests. Surprisingly, they are wanting to limit screen time (phone and computer) and prefer playing video games on the television screen. Maybe it has something to do with the closeness of the screen to their face.

Goodbye 2019-2020 school year. May we NEVER have to have a school year like you again!

Day 75 of Isolation – new lights

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“We” (it was definitely not a joint effort!) finally got around to installing these extremely bright LED lights in the garage. The box says 300% brighter – I’m going for about 1,000,000 times brighter!

They really are beyond bright!

John spent most of the day working on it, between going back to Home Depot to get the actual electrical fixture and wiring stuff, assembling the wiring stuff and installing onto the rafter.

I am very grateful – no more darkness in this corner of the garage! Our electrician friend also ordered LED bulbs to go in the other fixtures in the garage. They should arrive tomorrow!

It looks like we need to declutter again now that we can see in this area!

Day 73 and 74 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Yard Updates

We continued to work an the yard. It seems like progress is slow. Here are a few pictures showing we have made some progress. This post shows the before picture of the front curb/gutter.

I’m not sure what this gardening tool is called, but John has spent more time with it in the last couple of days than with me!

And I’m not crazy about this “new” version of WordPress editor!

  • Torture Device
  • Side yard almost ready for grass seed
  • I can see the bricks along the walkway!
  • There is a curb and gutter!

Day 71 and 72 of Isolation – More Yard Work

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Yard Updates

Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were devoted to yard work. John has hit a snag in prepping the back for planting grass. The large tree outside the fence has MANY roots just below the surface that need to be removed. Some are quite large in diameter. This is slowing down the progress in planting the yard.

Barb worked on trimming the ice plant in the front as well as trimming a couple of plants in the back.

Here’s my before picture. When it’s done, I’ll post the after. I can finally see the curb and gutter again for most of this! Hopefully I can get the entire thing done by the end of the week. We are due to hit 100 F for a couple of days, also slowing down progress.

Since we live on a corner, this continues for about twice the distance on the side street.

Day 70 of Isolation – Classroom Cleanup

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

School is almost out! Just one more week of “enrichment” lessons!

I went this morning to prep my room for summer. We were given a 4 hour window. I completed everything in 1 hour! I signed in at the office at 8:55 am and signed out at 9:58 am. I assume the 3 minutes was walking to and from my classroom.

I normally do everything the last day of school while my homeroom students are watching a movie while the 8th graders are having their promotion ceremony. Here’s most of what I accomplished in an hour.

  • Took down all my bulletin boards and stuff on the walls and put stuff into cabinet
  • Threw away graded papers that didn’t get handed back to students
  • Put all the recyclable bottles into the large trash bag for recycling. Moved them next door to the teacher who handles that for the department.
  • Defrosted my mini frig freezer (with a little help from my hair dryer!)
  • Put away all the pencil boxes and letter trays
  • Moved the butcher paper roll to the closet
  • Moved the printer paper and graph paper to the closet
  • Put the desk top stuff in the drawers.
  • Moved my teacher editions into the cupboard.
  • Brought home to recycle all the extra copies of assignments.
  • Brought home the stack of one-sided paper for use at home.
  • Put the DVD player into the closet.
  • Unplugged the TV and frig. Totally forgot to unplug my document reader and projector – oops!
  • Brought home my sweatshirt and coffee mug for cleaning.
  • Gathered up a few resources for reference for next year planning.

I’m sure I forgot something on this list! I am so glad I started decluttering the stuff in my classroom a few years ago. It gave me more space in my closet and cupboards so when I have to prep for the end of the year, it goes quickly and smoothly.

Grades were submitted this afternoon. It sure is easy when every student gets Credit/No Credit as a grade. Only 10 No Credit students! Not a single one of them did any of the “enrichment” activities to earn extra credit for their failing class grade.

I’ve also become very minimalistic in my class decor. Have you?

Day 69 of Isolation – Work Computer Cleanup

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Today at my department meeting, we were reminded we have to go in tomorrow to clean up our room for the summer and turn in our keys. Hopefully that won’t take me more than an hour or so. I’ve decluttered plenty of stuff and have become very minimalist in my classroom decorations over the last couple of years.

John has to go to his school for end of the year cleanup next Thursday. He hopes it doesn’t take him long. Knowing my husband, he has way more stuff out than I do and it will take way longer than he thinks!

We were also reminded to make sure our “My Documents” items are moved to our Google Drive because the district is changing how our documents are stored and accessed. Anything on the district server is at risk of deletion.

So I spent the entire day (ok, I did have a Google Meets with my students and department, talked to Kiddo #2 for about 1.5 hours, fixed dinner, text with Sister-in-law) making sure everything was moved to my Google Drive.

On my school laptop, I have the virtual “My documents” which stores on the server, “Documents” which store on the computer hard drive, and Google Drive for my documents. They told us several years ago this would happen eventually – I guess eventually arrived! Most of my stuff is in Google Drive, but I am find some things that need to be moved/removed. How many years of sub plans should I keep? I really don’t think I need every sub plan I’ve written since 1997! These were the kinds of things still in “My Documents”.

Since I was moving files, I figured I would remove everything from the laptop hard drive and the virtual drive to my Google drive – finally put it all in one place. I cleaned out my recycle bin before I started just to see how much was “moved/removed” from the laptop folders.

How many items in my recycle bin when I finished?

16,163 files (25.6 GB) decluttered

How much is now in my Google Drive?

41.7 GB Unfortunately you can’t easily see how many files your drive has.

Guess I need to do some Google Drive cleaning next.

Days 67 and 68 of Isolation

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Is this 10 week experiment of remote/distance learning just about finished?

I’ve seen some people posting on Facebook about their virtual classrooms. I “played” with Bitmoji and created a virtual classroom using Google Slides.

It took about 5 hours to make. I had to watch a couple YouTube tutorials, search for the stuff I wanted in the room, crop the images, find what I wanted to have the images link to, and make my Bitmoji. The Bitmoji wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be BUT I had to download the app and then install the extension onto my computer. My work computer wouldn’t allow me to add the extension, so then I had to transfer to my personal computer.

Here is what it looks like so far. I don’t have a link yet for the filing cabinet. The hope is to put the documents the students will need in a google drive folder that the students can access.

Now where do I put this virtual classroom? Do I start using Google Classroom? Do I make a Google Site for it? Do I embed it on the Haiku/PowerSchool module the district has us use? Suggestions from fellow teachers would be appreciated!

Day 66 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Yard Updates

Today was a “relaxing” day around here.  John transplanted/propagated several trimmings of a Rose of Sharon.

Rose of Sharon are easy to grow and propagate elsewhere in our yard.  You just trim a branch and plant the trimming!  We’ve never had an issue with growth.

These plants are from a set of plants his grandparents had in their yard.  Grandpa died in 1965 so they’ve “survived” at least 55 years!  Trimmings from their yard went to John’s parents yard then to our yard.  We should get a set ready for Kiddo #1’s yard.  4th generation of them!

IMG_0506

This area used to be where we planted tomatoes.  We are filling in the space with Rose of Sharon to help cool the kitchen.  The shrubs should provide a nice barrier from the afternoon sun.

Day 65555555555555 of Isolation

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Or at least it feels like it today.

This afternoon we did a socially distancing visit with another couple.  They put out their RV awning and we pretended we were camping in their driveway.  We maintained our distance, wore masks, and didn’t eat or drink anything.   We even took our own chairs!

While the visit was nice, it did have an overarching feeling of abnormal and some anxiety for me.

How long are we going to need to socially distance and wear masks?

What are the long term psychological risks of socializing like this?

What about all the Zoom burnout?  How is this going to affect society?

Will someone call the police on us because we aren’t home or the friend has visitors?

So many questions, so few answers.

Day 64 of Isolation

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We took Kiddo #2 back to her apartment last night.  It is really quiet here!  Even though she is 31 years old, having her around increases the noise level in our house considerably!  We also don’t have to worry about waking her up OR interrupting her TV watching or book reading.  And I still miss having her around!  We realized yesterday that of the 9 weeks of quarantine, she has spent 4 weeks with us – 2 recovering from surgery and 2 for her “vacation”.

Of course the shoes she ordered from Rothy’s showed up today.  [sidebar: Rothy’s is giving 50% off if you are a teacher or medical worker.  Kiddo #2 got her 50% off pair, loved them so much she ordered another pair!]

At some point next week we will take her the shoes.  She also put in a request for lentils, pinto beans, q-tips, bleach, and the Yeti she left behind.  Thankfully, we have plenty extra of these items!  Maybe she knew that and that’s why she put in the request.  She (and her sister) also know if she asks for something, either I or John will make sure she gets it.  Maybe our Kiddos are spoiled???  Thankfully they ask for these kind of things!

Speaking of things the Kiddo’s want:  sanitizing wipes arrived!  [Recall that Kiddo #1 was jealous I received some for Mother’s day.  Kiddo #2 ordered her some.]  Costco had plenty to ship to our house but they weren’t available to ship to Kiddo #1’s house.  What’s up with that??  I made a trip to the post office and mailed her 4 packages of wipes and a rash guard shirt for Grandkiddo from her Sissy (Kiddo #2).

Today was a work around the house day.  You know the stuff – inside: laundry, vacuum, changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms, etc;  outside: getting rid of the last of the weeds!  John is hoping to get the grass seed spread this weekend in the back yard!!  I’ll need to do a yard update post if that happens!  Sure hope I can find the “before” pictures!

Day 63 of Isolation

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We are getting close to the end of the school year!!  Just 2 more weeks!  Then a summer vacation of planning for the “mandatory for students distant learning” that may or may not happen in some form.

3zpowe

We were both reminded that the 3 days after Memorial Day are still school days.

Normal school year:

  • John would give finals.
  • Barb would have 20 minute periods after a REALLY long period 1 for 2 days of promotion practice and promotion ceremony day.  These days are usually minimum days – students on campus from 9-1 including a lunch period.

Neither of these are happening so what to do – find something for the students to “complete” even though nothing is required of them.  I guess we will have “special” Google Meet for the students.

Day 62 of Isolation – Vacation?

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I really need to use the schedule feature for posts!

At this point of the school year, we would be crossing items off our to do list so we can escape for 9 weeks the moment school gets out.  Not this year.

There is no to do list since California is still on Stay at Home orders.  We are assuming we shouldn’t/can’t leave home.  Glacier National Park sent us an email that the park is closed until June 30.  Our camping reservations were for the middle of June.  Thankfully, they are giving a full refund.

Figuring out Recreation.gov cancellations was tricky – would you click “Cancel” on this to cancel the reservation below?  I went to “Modify” thinking “Cancel” meant cancel this screen.  Go figure!

Capture

Our trip to Monterey is in limbo.  We are fairly confident that the Monterey Bay Aquarium will be closed when we planned to visit around the 4th of July.  The campground is also closed at this time since the state is on Stay at Home orders.

We were scheduled to go to Hawaii the last week of July.  Hawaii extended their 14 day mandatory quarantine to June 30.  What are the odds they will lift that on June 30th?  Do we take a chance?  We are leaning towards cancelling.  John’s mom is using her travel points for us to go – both Kiddos were going to join us!  We even purchased 1st class tickets for us and Mom (our first time!) as a special splurge.  We should get at least a travel credit if we cancel the flights.

Anyone know about getting refunds instead of credits from airlines?

 

Day 61 of Isolation – Student Loans & College

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All of our Parent Plus Loans are paid in full!!

Because of the pandemic, all federally backed student loans (and Parent Plus Loans) have been modified to a ZERO percent interest rate for 6 months.  Since we are not spending as much as usual, we had enough left over in April to make a final payment on the last student/parent loan for Kiddo #2.  We received the official Paid In Full notice today!!  Talk about excited!  Our kids college experiences are finally paid for!

How will this pandemic affect the next group of college students?  What about this generation of people?  Will college going rates change because of this?

The California State University System announced today that Fall 2020 classes will be online with a few exceptions.  It looks like certain “lab” based classes will occasionally meet.   8 of the campuses also moved their deadline for deposits from May 1st to June 1st.  It looks like the University of California system will be adopting something similar.

As a parent, would I want my kiddo to move away?  Is it worth the money to go “away” to just have your courses online?  With the global financial uncertainty of the pandemic, is it worth the debt?  More people are saving and paying things off because of the uncertainty – more than in the last 40 years!

If this pandemic had happened in 2007, Kiddo #2 probably wouldn’t have gone to college on the east coast.  Heck, Kiddo #1 probably wouldn’t have gone 150 miles away.  There would have been serious discussions about staying close to home with the possibility of transferring.  We have a UC school about 10 miles away.  It was considered their “safety” school just in case something happened and they couldn’t go away.

How many students will be attending closer to home?  There is going to be a massive federal debt because of the pandemic.  What are the long term ramifications of this on their career prospects?

Day 59 & 60 of Isolation – John’s Data

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John’s spread sheet tracks the number of infections and deaths worldwide – so far he follows 21 countries.  His metric is when a country hit 30,000 cases.

He also tracks the data for 30 states in the US – added when they hit 8000 cases.  He uses the Johns Hopkins website as his source.

As you can tell, we look at this pandemic is very different ways – he is big picture while I am more locally focused.

As you can tell, the US is a primary contributor to the world count of cases.  We haven’t reached the flat part of the curve yet.  Italy seems to have flattened.  Russia looks like it is having dramatic increases in cases, confirmed by news reports.

Capture 1Capture

Day 57 of Isolation – Barb’s Data

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We’ve been tracking the Coronavirus data for quite a while.  Once we realized that most news sites just update the same page over and over, it was difficult to see trends.  The news organizations try to put it into the simplest form (understandably) but being science nerds, we want to play with the data ourselves.

My spread sheet has 3 components:

  1. Our community data since 3/27 when the first positive case was identified.
    1. Looking at this data, our curve has not hit its peak.  Why would our county rescind the mask order? data
  2.  Our community data showing the daily increases in confirmed cases and the 14 day average – the standard for “reopening states” was that the 14 day average needs to decrease.
    1. Does this look like it is decreasing to you?data 1
  3.  This 3rd page was started because I was unable to find data showing increases by state on a week to week basis.  It was sparked because I did a screenshot of the US map showing county infections on CNN.  When I looked a week later, they had changed the scale for the various colors!  How can you make a comparison when you keep changing the scale???  Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate that and did not include the scale on the first one (4/20/2020).  Second one was screenshot on 5/8/2020.  If you look at Colorado, some of the counties decreased in their color intensity.  WHY?  Because CNN changed the scale!  How can I really see a spread and increase if you make it look “mild”.  Also the scale doesn’t make it obvious you are looking at cases per 100,000 of population.
    1. COVID county map 4_20_2020COVID all counties 5_9_2020
  4. I only started my 3rd page on 4/28/2020  You’ll notice I added Los Angeles County to the sheet.  Did you know Los Angeles County has more people than 41 other states?
    1. Interesting when you look at this data based on population.data 2

Day 56 of Isolation – CoronaVirus Test

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Our county is offering free CoronaVirus diagnostic tests to any resident.  All you have to do is call – yep, you have to actually call them – and make an appointment.  It will only tell you if you have the virus currently in your nose/throat – depending on which test is administered.  They make sure you know this many times!

When we called to make the appointment, they first ask if you have symptoms.  If you have any, you get moved to the front of the line, usually tested the same day.  We called last Friday and got our appointment for Tuesday.

So on Tuesday, we took a drive to the testing parking lot.  When we finally figured out how to access the parking lot, John rolled down his window to talk to the first person we encounter.  She was kinda rude about telling him to roll up his window.  They tell you to place your government ID on the dash.  They check it and find your “medical file” and place it under the wiper blades.

We then proceeded to the next stop – that person rechecks your ID and makes sure the medical file/paper matches.

Third stop is for the actual test.  The nurse rechecks everything and then has you roll down your window for the test.  We got the throat (oropharyngeal) test.  It was kinda uncomfortable!  Imagine gargling and having someone jab your tonsils at the same time.  Yep, that’s what they do!

There have been minimal studies done comparing the accuracy of the throat test versus the nasal test.  Both can yield false positive and false negative results.  Preliminary studies are very limited.  It seems like the throat test yields more false negative results than the nasal test as more time passes after infection.  More studies definitely need to be completed.

We got the robo-phone call this morning saying we are CoronaVirus negative.  Knowing the testing limitation possibility, we are assuming it is accurate but what if it isn’t?

  • We don’t think we’ve had COVID but the weird dizzy/fatigue issue could have been a mild infection weeks ago.  No way to know unless we have the antibody blood test.
  • We don’t think we are asymptomatic spreaders of the virus if we cough, but what about sneezing?

How much longer are we going to have to maintain Stay-at-Home?  We are both “older” with other conditions that increase our risk of complications.

How much longer are we going to have to wear masks?  Our county still has a mandatory order.

Any one else have the screening test without symptoms?

Days 53, 54, 55 of Isolation

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We spent Tuesday and Wednesday nursing Kiddo #2 back to health.  She is starting to feel back to normal.

Thursday was a long work day for both of us.  These darn reports we have to complete are driving us crazy!  We both have to document weekly what each student is doing.  When you have 150+ students, this takes FOREVER!!  I think it is worse because the work is “optional” for the students, so they are very sporadic at completing assignments, and they will turn stuff in weeks after it was assigned.  You never know what they will complete and turn in to the wrong assignment link!  I’m also frustrated with the emails – they don’t use their school email account and don’t bother putting their name on the email.  Parents are just as bad “my son is telling me he did the work.”  Great!  Who is your son?

I received 2 deliveries today from both Kiddos.  Kiddo #1 is jealous of the gift Kiddo #2 got me.  Guess which one she really wants!!

UNLN1816

Day 51 & 52 of Isolation – Getting Kiddo Home

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Yesterday and today were spent worrying about kiddo #2 and wondering when she gets to come home.

She had emergency surgery yesterday morning (Sunday).  The doctor called about 10 am to say everything went well and she should be able to go home in a few hours.  His recommendation was to call back about noon and check her status with the nurses.

We called at 12:30 and found out she was still in recovery.  Nurse said she was having a rough time with the after effects of anesthesia.  Her recommendation was to call back in a couple of hours.  When I called Kiddo #2 about 3, she talked about 30 seconds and then had to hang up.  Her stomach was unhappy!!  That continued until about 11pm.  She sent a text and said she was finally able to keep a sip water down!  She was feeling sort of human again!

This morning she called about 7:30 and said the surgery team had put in discharge orders but to give it a few hours before we left home.  We left about 10:15 to trek into Los Angeles.

When we arrived, the valet parking attendant said to pull forward to the pharmacy line.  The hospital doesn’t normally have a drive-through pharmacy – it was a pop up canopy with someone who takes your information and then goes in and gets you the prescription so you don’t have to!  Since we were picking up a discharging patient, we didn’t have to pay the $16 valet fee.  By the time Kiddo was wheeled out, the pharmacy tech was at our car with her meds!  Win-Win

Now getting her car from the parking structure wasn’t as straightforward.  When we got to the structure, her ID didn’t activate the gate – the drugs prevented her from remembering that she can only access that one during the weekend!  So John jumps out and hikes up to the 3rd floor.  Only to find he left her car key in my car!  This “quick” diversion ended up taking us 30 minutes!

A quick trip to her apartment to drop off her car, pick up a few things and then ride home.  The highways in California SUCK!  Road construction is always happening.  Every bump had her moaning.  About an hour later we make it home.  She is currently drugged and sleeping.  Hopefully she feels better tomorrow!

Day 50 of Isolation – Medical Drama

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Today started just like every other Saturday.  A little bit of yard work in the morning with plans to have a relaxing afternoon – that is until Kiddo #2 calls about 1 pm.   Kiddo #2 is currently working nights so a call during the middle of the day is ODD!

She is crying and telling me she was awakened by severe right epigastric pain and thinks she should go to the emergency room.  “Will you stay on the phone while I drive there?”  Of course!!

No matter how old the kiddos are, they are still your babies.  We live about an hour away (assuming there is no traffic!) but it might as well be 3000.  With Stay at Home orders in place, we could go get her and take her to the emergency room.  Unreasonable since she lives 3/4 of a mile from the hospital where she works.  Visitors are not allowed to stay with patients and they even have eliminated you from waiting in the emergency room waiting area unless you are the patient or the patient is a minor, then only 1 parent/guardian may stay.

She made it to the emergency room with mommy on speaker phone the entire time she was getting dressed, driving there, and checking in.  She said there were no patients waiting!  They took her immediately to the back.  She called about an hour later and they had already taken labs (and she looked at the results online with her work phone) and that looks normal.  They said they were going to take her for a scan, thinking it might be her gall bladder.

Sure enough – it’s her gall bladder with gall stones and fluid around the gall bladder.  Recommendation is gall bladder removal surgery.  After talking it over, she is going to have the surgery tomorrow.  If she waits and has it as an “elective” surgery, it could be up to 6 months before they get to her with the backlog of elective surgeries.

On a positive

  • we will go pick her up tomorrow afternoon and she will be with us while she recovers.
  • she will get a rapid Coronavirus test and will find out if she is an asymptomatic virus spewer

Why do our kiddos have medical emergencies at the most inopportune times?

Day 49 of Isolation

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I finally woke up about 10:30 this morning.  We decided to do a grocery shopping trip – ol’ mother Hubbard cupboards were looking a little sparse.

Our local market is still out of toilet paper, paper towels, and anything resembling Lysol with a sanitizing/disinfecting property.  All of the cleaners were limited, including dish soap and dishwasher soap.  There was no toilet bowl cleaner.  They did have 1 bottle of Lysol shower disinfectant, so I picked it up.  If we get desperate, I’ll use shower cleaner where ever we need it!

Most food items were starting to look closer to normal.  The meat section was looking a little sparse – there were no chicken breasts but plenty of thighs.  Plenty of steak but limited ground round.  The soup aisle was looking pretty sparse – a very limited amount of canned soup and ramen packages.  There was no yeast, minimal flour, and no granulated sugar – thankfully we needed powdered sugar this trip!

The produce section looked normal as did the frozen section.  There were plenty of ice cream choices.  We did pick up a few frozen premade meals – just in case we don’t want a sandwich.  There were plenty of bread choices as well – it looked normal to me.

There was also plenty of hair dye.  A few weeks ago this was a hot item!

The dairy section looked normal except for the butter section.  Butter/margarine choices were limited.  We usually buy 3 different types:  for spreading – Smart Balance light with Flaxseed oil;  for general cooking – Smart Balance original;  and when you must use it, real butter.  They only had the original Smart Balance in a supersized container.  No butter or the Light Smart Balance.  Eggs were normal.

So after an exciting trip to spend $425, we are basically set for the month.  We should only need a trip in about 2 weeks to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables.  It shouldn’t cost nearly the amount we spent today.

How are your markets looking?  Any weird shortages in your area?

 

Day 48 of Isolation – Paying Bills

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Super Lean Spending Month

I got paid today!!  John gets paid tomorrow.  By the time his check hits the checking account, mine is basically gone – I try to leave about $100 in the account just in case something happens during the night and we don’t get his check.

Our budget seems to be doing ok – we aren’t eating out at all or spending any money on auto gas.  Our savings account sure did seem happy to get a little extra!

piggybank-2913293_1280
Wishing we had a stack of $100 bills like this!!

 

April was a costly food month all the same, $1400 for the 2 of us and kiddo #2 for 10 days.  We had a big trip to Costco, a big shopping trip to Stater Bros, and several trips to Walmart in March that I used the Walmart card for that needed to be paid with April’s budget – oops – that explains the extra money in March.  We are now getting low on stuff and will need to make another big trip this weekend.

I sure hope people follow the mandatory mask order.  Our county extended the mandatory mask order to June 19th.  I’m assuming this date was picked because that is when the no school, no gatherings order is currently set to expire.

Hopefully everyone is doing ok financially.  Can you believe over 30 million people have filed for unemployment?!?!

Day 47 of Isolation

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wheres-the-stimulus

We received our stimulus check deposit!!   Gotta love the cartoon – I feel like all of them!!

Of course, it will probably need to be paid back at tax time next year.  That’s what happened last time we got stimulus checks.  They “give” you money (your tax dollars), and then when you do your taxes a year from now, you need to indicate this amount as having been “refunded” in advance.  Last time, we owed the stimulus amount and about the same amount we paid the previous year.  Not much help when you spend the stimulus check for essentials.

This time we are putting it into savings and hoping we don’t need to use it.  We’ve been pretty diligent on saving for summer this year – maybe saving more than we will use if we can’t leave home.  In case you didn’t realize, when teachers are off for the summer, they don’t get paid.  Many take on summer jobs to make ends meet.  How many are going to be able to do that this year?  This is such a unique time with so many uncertainties.

We hope everyone is doing ok with all this.  Stay safe!

 

 

 

Days 45 & 46 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

I really need to use the schedule feature!  I start the post and then forget to go back and hit publish!

Days are really starting to blur together for me.  In the old days, different mornings had different activities, even if it was stopping to get breakfast on the way to work.  It made each day slightly different.  Now, every morning seems the same.  At the beginning of all this, it had an ending date 3 weeks away, sameness was ok.  Then it shifted to 6 weeks, sameness is ok.  Now, will this ever end?

The current morning routine feels just like a typical Saturday.  If we have work obligations, the meetings aren’t early in the morning so there is no need to set alarms or rush (now that I don’t sleep beyond noon!)

Some might think that since we get 9 weeks off every summer, we would be used to this.  We aren’t!  Our usual summer time off doesn’t have this sameness.  We are going from place to place and doing different things in different places.  If it is a driving day, you get up and prep the RV for travel.  If it is a relax day, you relax.  If it is an outing day, you do the outing.  Every day isn’t planned out in detail but you have different routines depending on the day and usually know before that morning what is generally happening.

I need to figure out a way to shake things up.  Any suggestions on how you have modified your mornings to make each day a little different during this uniquely different time?

 

 

Day 44 of Isolation – Violating Orders

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Today was a day of “violation”.  Our friends, “K” and “N”, called and asked us to join them at the indoor shooting range (air conditioned!)  When we arrived, the range was only putting people into every third stall so John and “K” shared a lane and “N” and I stayed outside to talk (we weren’t allowed to hang out inside.)  Usually we are able to get 2 lanes next to each other and the 4 of us go between the 2 lanes depending on which gun you want to shoot.

The range has been open to law enforcement all along and recently opened to the general public – like the golf courses and beaches!

I’m not sure why the guys could share a lane and be closer than 6 feet but walls between lanes aren’t enough of a barrier to use more lanes.

So we had multiple social distancing violations as well as the stay at home order violation.  Since this is the first time we’ve violated the orders in 6 weeks, I’m only feeling a little guilty.  We did wear our masks though so no violation there!

 

Day 41 and 42 of Isolation – teachers gotta work

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

Thursday and Friday’s have become major work days.  Between meetings with colleagues, students, grading, generating distant learning “optional” review lessons, and tallying which students submitted work or looked at your webpage for admin, and doing the write up admin wants, there is little time for anything else on these days.  The other days of the week are a little more relaxed with few meetings, etc.

I wish there was a way to encourage student learning when everything they do is optional.  I really wish the district hadn’t put that out there.  Of course, some teachers told their students about the optional status – what were they thinking?? Wouldn’t it be better for more of the students to stay engages intellectually?

John’s district is still having them do their official weekly PLC (professional learning community) meetings virtually and submit the meeting minutes.  Thankfully, my district said all of these type of meetings are cancelled and my union negotiated a weekly limit on meetings – I have never been so happy!  I’m on the District Science Committee as a curriculum writer and was having major anxiety that they were going to have us work on making distant learning modules for every one.  My school site has an awesome 7th grade science team.  We share all the time BUT making a few of us modify everything we’ve worked on over the years for distant learning would be unreasonable.  Again, thankfully, my district realized this is a unique situation that would need more time and thought to implement.

I’m assuming we are not going back on August 6th with normalcy.  I was pondering the 6 feet social distancing rule and the seating arrangement in my room.  That would allow me to have 9 students in the room at a time.  How would I sanitize desks during passing period?  What about lab equipment?  Goggles?  Pencil sharpener?   How do you do group work?  It would also prevent me from: wandering the aisles while they work; greeting them at the door; having “private” conversations with individual students; and working individually with them.  How will the district handle this??  WHO KNOWS!  Another reason I am so glad I’m not an administrator!

Have any teachers out there heard their district plans yet for reopening school?

And now a meme:  Only thing missing are face masks!!  Dated picture but …

social-distancing-at-school-71524533
from https://me.me/i/social-distancing-at-school-1dd7a09ccdcd4683ada530fddf10f745

Week 6 Isolation Watching

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Movies

food snack popcorn movie theater
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

  • Frozen
  • Ghostbusters – 2016 version
  • Gone in 60 Seconds – Nicholas Cage version
  • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
  • Almost Famous
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet

 

Shows

  • Current episodes of:
    • Survivor – last week’s episode as well
    • Bless this Mess – last week’s episode as well

      IMG_0495
      Our TV!
    • Killing Eve
  • Naked and Afraid
  • Band of Brothers
  • Last Man Standing
  • Forged in Fire: Cutting Deeper; Samurai Showdown – History Channel
  • Outlander
  • 1999 NFL Super Bowl

 

Day 39 & 40 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

On Tuesday, we briefly heard rodent noises around noon.  Nothing since then.

My AVID students were so cute on Tuesday for our meeting – David played his harmonica (Silent Night no less!) and they wanted to play Kahoot.  When we finished the first game, they wanted more – I found one “All About Animal Poop”.  It took them a few questions before someone asked if all the questions are about poop.  Of course it was David!

Capture
partial screenshot of the Kahoot we played.

On Wednesday, I attended a virtual DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) “meeting”.  Since the by-laws don’t allow for actual meetings where voting takes place, our April meeting was cancelled and we got together today for a “social” hour.

New officer positions will be voted on whenever we can get together.  It was suggested today we just meet in a random parking lot.  Our quorum is 12 members.  If all of the board shows up, they only need a few of us non-officer members to show up and give our thumbs up for the election.  It could work IF enough non-officers show up.

You know things are getting TV desperate – John is currently watching the 1999 Super Bowl!

We got a few more weeds pulled over the last 2 days and contemplated removing the fencing for the dog run.  We’ve lived here 30 years and have NEVER used the pen.  It is on the far side of the house in a nice shaded area.  I think I want to put some seating over there so when it is warm, there is a nice cool place to hang out, especially if this isolating madness continues.  It helped that it is supposed to be 100 F. this weekend.

So that is our update.  How are you doing?

Day 38 of Isolation – flowers!

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Yard Updates

I walked out the front door this afternoon for the first time in a couple of days and was struck by the beauty of these blossoms!  These bulbs were at my Grandmother’s place.  When she died in 1993, I “inherited” her dwarf lemon tree and these bulbs.  The lemon tree was transplanted from a pot to our patio flowerbed.  The bulbs were planted here.  We really should thin them out but we haven’t done anything with them in 26 years (no fertilizer or thinning). I think it can wait.  You can also barely see the ornamental garlic in the next planter going down the steps to the street.

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While pulling weeds this morning in the back, we also found some wild violets growing the the back corner.  We know it is a weed but we are going to keep it!  Something different in that corner instead of grass.

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Day 37 of Isolation – unwanted visitor

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Just another night in Isolation until I heard a weird noise about 1 am this morning.  I turned off the TV to listen and try to figure it out.

At first I thought it was John and his CPAP making the noise. As I walked into our bedroom, I realized the noise was coming from the attic.  The dog was sitting there staring at the ceiling when I turned on the light.

Being the “helpless” female that I am, I woke John up so he could hear the noise too. I know he couldn’t do anything about it at that time, but I didn’t want to be “alone” if it chewed its way through the ceiling.

It would stop for a few minutes every time John used the broom handle on the ceiling. After about an hour, there was no more noise. We either scared it to death, it left, or it fell asleep. I’m hoping for death!

Our unwanted visitor came back about 6:30 in the same location.  Guess we didn’t scare it to death.  And now I’m tired and cranky!

John went to Home Depot this morning at 7 am to purchase supplies – traps, poison, sticky pads so we can Declutter the UNWANTED Visitor.  All 3 were placed in the attic.  Now we wait.  He said it was obvious something was having fun up there!  No droppings or babies visible thankfully.

1280px-Rattus_norvegicus_-Fairlands_Valley_Park,_Stevenage,_England-8
Picture from Wikipedia (Brown Rat)

 

 

Days 35 & 36 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

Friday was another work day for both of us – virtual meetings continue.

Here is my virtual meeting rant:  Why do we need to keep having all these virtual meetings when email would work just fine?  And why are we encouraged to use and learn all the intricacies of Google Meet to only have admin now say we need to learn and use Zoom?  I found Zoom more complicated and annoying to use.  I’m going to continue to use Google Meet with my students.  If someone schedules a virtual meeting, I’ll use whatever they want.   Most people aren’t even showing their faces and have muted their microphone.  They aren’t really participating in the meeting in a meeting manner.

Here are my Zoom issues:  First, I click the link you give me.  Now I need to download the program to use it.  Then when that is finally done, I need wait for you to let me in.  Second, when I try to use a virtual background, all anyone sees is a weird pixelated image of me.  Third, WHAT THE HECK?  Let us use just one – first we are told not to use Zoom and then we are told to use it.  MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!!

After all the virtual meetings using two different platforms, Saturday was a napping, reading, visiting John’s mom day.

Days 33 & 34 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

Yesterday was a lazy, tv watching, napping day.  Today we have been “working” and having Google Meets/Zoom with our students and colleagues.  I’m about to have a virtual union meeting today and a virtual Happy Hour.  Thursday sure is a busy day!

John has to have “office hours” every day for one hour.  So far this week, he had 3 students “attend” on Monday, 0 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 1 student today.  Now that the students know that not doing the work will not lower their grade, we’ve seen a decrease in participation.

I had 8 students “attend” my class this morning.  I’m only obligated to one day a week.  The only question one student had for me: “Do you think Carole Baskin killed her husband?”  Seriously, they then spent the next 10 minutes discussing Tiger King!  Thankfully, I had watched it and knew something about it.  Not a single question about academics!  The 8 students wanted to let me know they miss me and that they like having the meetings so they can talk to someone other than their family.  I’ll take it!

Jena, these are my notes/list from my meeting. Definitely not Bullet Journal worthy!  And if they look like they were taken on the back of scratch paper, they were!  When I do what needs to get done, I’ll throw them away.

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Day 32 of Isolation – Food Anxiety

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

For some reason, I have increased anxiety about food.  I’m not sure if it is related to hearing of continued shortages in stores, the closure of a meat processing plant in the news, or that we are running out of things we would normally have.  I’m WAY more worried about wasting food than ever.

We’ve also been making a little more than usual since Kiddo #2 went back to her place so we are having leftovers – they are sure making yummy lunches!

I don’t believe it has to do with weight loss and tracking my food intake.

Anyone else experiencing this??

Day 31 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

I’m really getting tired of hearing about when we are going to “open” the economy.  I understand that this is going to have global repercussions for years.  I would really prefer to listen to global health experts and prevent more deaths than to “open” things and cause another spike in deaths.  The disregard for science boggles my mind!

And now things happening at the house:

  • Today was a day of tracking which students did the optional work I provided.  I also had to contact every parent of student who, at last progress report, had an F and provide them with information how their child can raise their grade to get credit for the class.  Of the 11 students, only 1 has done anything in the last 4 weeks and that was attend the Google Meet for his class.  That’s not going to raise his grade from 37% to 60% for credit.
  • After taking my car to get a flat tire fixed, John went to wind the clock at his Mom’s house today.  She seems to be doing better at isolating than she was earlier.

Day 30 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Easter Sunday is just not the same this year.  I’m missing our usual gathering.

We had a zoom meeting with Kiddo #1 to watch the grandKiddo hunt for Easter eggs.  It was nice seeing them and the other grandparents as well.  Once grandKiddo found all the eggs, she kept looking for more!  It was so cute!  [We might be biased though.]

Our Easter Sunday breakfast was homemade Belgium waffles with “goop”.  Goop is what John’s family has always called it.  It is an egg white, sugar and berries whipped up and plopped onto sponge cake as a dessert.  We are the rebel branch of the family and also put it on waffles!  Kiddo #2 nicknamed them “affle waffles” and it stuck.  Whenever she wants waffles with “goop”, she still at 31 asks for affle waffles.  We aren’t sure what she was saying way back but these are definitely not awful!

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Day 29 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Our first day of sunshine and no rain in about a week.  John worked in the yard, finishing the drip system along the patio and putting down mulch in that planter.

I lounged on the patio and read a book – getting sunburned on one side of my face!  It was a very relaxing day for both of us!

We had Thai Chicken pizza for dinner.   John does a great job making this one!  I really should have taken a pic!

Week 4 Isolation Movie/Show Watching

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Movies:

  • Dave
  • Hunger Games #3b (Mockingjay, part 2)

    food snack popcorn movie theater
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
  • Aladdin – 2019 version
  • Gangster Squad
  • 127 Hours

Shows:

  • Tiger King on Netflix – finished!
  • The Ranch on Netflix – finished!
  • Homeland on Showtime – all caught up!
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO
  • Tonight Show at Home with Jimmy Fallon
  • The OC – rewatching an old favorite
  • Recent episodes of:
    • The Walking Dead
    • The Talking Dead
    • The Rookie

      abandoned antique close up design
      Photo by Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com
    • American Housewife – 3 episodes
    • Survivor
    • Seal Team
  • Nailed It on Netflix – we can only do one episode at a time
  • Naked and Afraid
  • Last Man Standing
  • CNN10

Day 28 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation, Work Life

I can’t believe it has been 4 weeks of Isolation!  It is my understanding that we have at least 4 more to go, if not more.  Los Angeles City extended their Stay-at-Home order to May 15th today and California Governor said he doesn’t know when it will be lifted for the state.  Some are predicting 6-8 more weeks of Stay at Home.

We both had a work-filled day.  We held “office hours” for the students, worked on next week’s “optional” lessons, documented student “participation”, and had virtual meetings to attend.

I have to document which students are participating – even if all they do is look at my web page, that counts as participation even if they don’t do the assignment.

My school district has decided that all grades for this semester will be based on the progress report we sent out late February.  If they received an F, the work they did before shutdown can only help their grade.  We are also only giving Credit/No Credit marks.  No actual grades.  The UC (University of California) and CSU (California State University) systems have agreed to accept Credit marks for this semester for the next 4 years.  Once parents know this, I have a feeling the amount of “participation” will drop even lower than it currently is.  The district is sending out notification to parents and students today.  John hasn’t heard about grades yet from his district.

And other stuff today:

  • Trying to catch up on blog reading.
  • Finished another 1000 piece puzzle we started night before last.

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Days 25, 26 & 27 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

MASKS!  Kiddo #1 asked for a dozen masks.  That has been the focus of any “free” time these days.  They are finally finished and got shipped today.  It was a stressful outing for me.  The county ordered cloth face masks when out of the house.  I was shocked to see people without coverings.  Granted out of the 9 people I saw (yep, I counted them!), 4 were not wearing masks.  ALMOST HALF!!  No wonder the rate keeps increasing!

Kiddo #2 is finished with her vacation and has to go back to work for Saturday graveyard shift.  She is having a bit of anxiety returning to the hospital amid this madness.  I’m confident she will do fine – you would think she would be happy to leave after spending almost 2 weeks here with us.

It has been raining and “cold” here this week.  We’ve spent a fair amount of time just watching TV and relaxing together.

Hope everyone is doing well.

 

Day 23 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Sunday April 5, 2020

More masks were worked on today.  I like feeling like I have a project that MUST get finished is giving me a purpose.

It was nice yesterday to have Kiddo #2 ironing the ties while I was sewing.

John woke up this morning dizzy and tired.  Maybe it is related to our sleep patterns.  I sure hope this doesn’t mean COVID-19 has hit our house.  His last outing was to the store 3 days ago.  At this moment, John and Kiddo #2 are both napping.  This unique stressor is messing with our sleep patterns.  We were up until 2 am last night watching “Tiger King“.  Only one more episode to go!

Both of us need to get some lesson plans finished to post tonight.  Last week I assigned a photo journal.  Every picture had to be described by its relationship to a micro-ecosystem in their yard.  Of my 140 students, 7 completed it.  Every one of them took pictures of the sun and water!  There were worms, ladybugs, bees, goats, cows, spiders, dogs, cats, lizards, flowers, trees, and grass.  Those that completed this did a great job!

Day 22 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation , ,

Batch 1 of masks are finished.  Here’s what they look like finished.

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John’s Mom (age 89) stopped by to drop off birthday card for Kiddo #2.  She didn’t get out of her car, rolled down the passenger window and practically threw the card out at us!  We ended up sitting on the front steps about 12 feet from her car and had a nice visit for about 45 minutes.  When she called, she made it obvious she was wanting to get out of her house and even took a very different route to our place to be out and about longer. She is about 9 miles away if you take the shortest route.  Based on her description, I bet she traveled 20 miles to get to our place!

We worry about her.  She invited neighbors over, claiming they sat on the patio and maintained at least 6 feet between them at all times.  Our county today issued orders that any gathering can only be with those people you live with except at essential outings (Dr, grocery, etc).  I assume the order is because of Holy Week.

How do we “force” her to stay home?

 

Day 21 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation ,

Masks!  Almost done making a dozen masks.  Just need to finish the ties.  Kiddo #1 put in an order for 12 as well – she is so kind – she wants to give a pair to her in-laws!

John spent a large part of the day working on repairing the sprinkler system.

No work related obligations today.  Lesson planning can wait a day.

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After 3 weeks, things are finally settling into a new normal routine.  It is weird not going out for anything or seeing other people.

Week 3 Isolation Movies

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Movies:

  1. Why Him
  2. No Strings Attached
  3. Blood Father
  4. Aftermath
  5. Outbreak
  6. Hunger Games #1, #2, #3a

 

Non-Movie watching:

  • The Ranch on netflix
  • Tiger King on netflix
  • Jimmy Fallon At Home
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO
  • recent TV episodes of:
    • The Walking Dead
    • The Talking Dead
    • Bless This Mess
    • Survivor
  • Last Man Standing
  • finished Kominsky Method on netflix
  • Grey’s Anatomy – we hadn’t watched in years.  Kiddo watched recent episode and we asked too many questions to get caught up!

 

Kiddo Watching that we mocked (ok, she is on vacation but…):

  • Keeping up with the Kardashians

Day 20 of Isolation

declutteringthestuff Life Happens, Self-Isolation

Today we both had multiple Google Meets meetings.  I’m feeling slightly more comfortable hosting a meet with the students.  Some educators have mentioned that their darling students are sending the links to friends and then the friends are “having fun” during the meeting.  You can remove them but then they can just rejoin.

Anyone having this issue with uninvited visitors to their Google Meet meetings or is it just a middle school student thing?  We aren’t allowed to use Zoom with the students, which is having even more issues in general.

On other news, went outside and found this beautiful flower had blossomed!

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