Summer Holidays 2: Antigua or Bust
I really thought it a good idea to take a challenging summer class in conjunction with a 2 week stay in the Caribbean! HA! In truth I had no intention of taking a class when booking travel in February. Instead, I’d have spent a mentally taxing spring, fulfilling the myriad requirements needed for my first year as a speech-language pathology grad student. But alas, I didn’t learn of my acceptance into 2 programs until after I’d given up on it (and subsequently dropped all spring courses)... , I had to pick up those classes fairly quickly this …
Post-Covid Social Anxiety
A week ago today, I was sat across from two good friends/neighbors who were in our Covid Bubble during lockdown. We were attending a book event at the new local bookstore/cafe. The younger of my two friends admitted to me that she finds it challenging to prepare for social engagement and was relieved that we all decided to attend the book talk together. I must say I feel this challenge at social events, myself. I often just power through the angsty feeling and head into the social morass anyway--as I did before the pandemic. But the angsty fee…
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at Home Wk.8
Last week was difficult, but I may have bounced back. This coming Monday evening, Indiginal Artisan & Wellness Studio hosts an online sound meditation session for grief. I am facilitating. The shared meditation promises to be beneficial for all all of us who experience grief. A friend who now lives in Oregon will attend, as well as some family and friends from the Caribbean and UK. Anyway, we volunteered at the food pantry this morning and actually caught a chill...the night-time temps got into the 30s last night, and today has been jus…
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at Home Wk.7
Early in the week a friend dropped off a dozen eggs, laid by her brood of hens. The plastic bag was hung on our doorknob, and we received a call that there was 'something' outside after she'd gone! These organic tasties have the most yellow yolks! I’ve had to let the events of the past week wash over me a bit; quite a lot happened. Internationally, there were thousands of deaths, and in my general circle there were three. Not all of these deaths were Covid-19-related. A young man who attended my alma mater, and was apparen…
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at Home Wk.6
This week was just fine. Birds have been frequenting the little stone bird bath that's situated in our little cottage garden. Work-wise, I’ve been spending my time trying to learn how to ‘do’ Instagram...I’m completely proud of not knowing much about this social network, and will be doubly-proud when I get a handle on it. Yes, I'm taking a class. We spent this Saturday morning—as with the last several—volunteering at the Donald Bentley Food Pantry . We tied on our homemade masks and donned light jackets to bike over. The di…
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at home Wk.5
We volunteered again this past weekend. It's only four hours or so, but it feels good to be helpful. So far, there are no symptoms in our household and we're thankful for that. This past week we saw news articles and social posts about anti-stay-at-home protesters rallying in their respective state capitols. Not only am I completely in shock about this, but I'm actually embarrassed by the actions of these folks. Congregating in large groups is a good way to help this virus spread (or any virus airborne virus, for that matter). It…
Covid 19 and Us: Wk. 4 pt II
I was recently gifted a bright yellow and rust, bespoke clutch bag. This accessory has brought me to my senses! This was the result of a capsule wardrobe of years past. This time last year—and the year before, and the year before that—I jumped onto the spring cleaning wagon. I would scrub the nooks and crannies of our small house and then turn my attention to our shared closet. In my two-thirds of this room, I packed away sweaters and long sleeve anything, and pulled out my warm weather gear, with a view to whittling down my possessi…
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at home Wk.4
My stomach has been churning over the probability of my being laid off or furloughed from work. Late last week I got a letter from our human resources staffer telling me that my 40 hours would be cut to 20 hours. To be honest, I decided not to call anyone to complain because this was definitely a mistake on the part of HR. As a contractor, I’m already working 20 hours a week (usually more, but that’s my baseline). My calling for clarification would likely trigger them to investigate more and cut my hours to 10! Well, I was happily flying …
Covid-19 and Us: Stay at Home, wk. 3
Donald Bentley Food Pantry In the first week of non-essentials stay home, I opted to head to my campus office to complete pressing work projects. It was ideal, as only 3 or 4 other individuals made it to campus on a daily basis. I kept a healthy distance from the other offices, washed my hands, and Lysol'ed doorknobs and hard surfaces upon my arrival and departure. Hubby, as a high school physics teacher was already relegated to our home, as his students enjoyed an early spring break. In week two campus was shuttered and the Governor’s…
On Socials