Day 13 (Saturday)
Craig:
When the rains came we were all stuck inside again. So what did we do? Cleaning for part of the day. I woke up to find the contents of the pantry cupboard completely out on the floor and counters. Who knew that so much stuff could fit into such a finite area? Now they’re cleaned out and manageable to find things. It’s been awhile since we’ve done that, so the timing was good.
I tore down the winter studio for the podcasts, cleaning everything up for the summer. I hadn’t torn down the equipment since October so it took me extra time to get everything where it belonged. Then it was five or six trips between the studio and my house. It was good exercise. And at the time, the weather was good. I will tell you that it is not a good idea to leave the glasses to wash for 4 months.
Saturday was a free day for the girls for the most part. Corliss had to do a little schoolwork since she is so far behind. The other three could lay back a little and try to relax. At one point, we thought about just going out for a drive. Maybe we’d take a scenic tour of the lakeshore or along the river. We need to do something different. That could happen this week if the weather cooperates.
Day 14 (Sunday)
Howie:
I don’t remember what I did on Saturday. I do remember that I didn’t have to set an alarm clock to get up with my wife.
And today? Today, I had to set an alarm clock for later than normal to make sure that my 10-year-old was ready for an online face-to-face chat with her Sunday School teacher. Even religious schools are implementing distance learning. Teagan was reluctant at first, but she finished the one-on-one in about 20 minutes and was very positive afterward. She’ll “meet” with her teacher again on Tuesday afternoon. Maybe, since our temple is 40-45 minutes away, this could be something that I look into with the educators there moving forward, especially since her bat mitzvah training will begin within the next year.
The rest of today was so redundant from the rest of the week. I cleaned, did laundry, and cooked two meals (breakfast either from a box or a wrapper because whatever). I also managed to prep the dinner for Monday (chicken in mesquite marinade, to be grilled). The room I cleaned is the most used room in the house, and I’ll likely give it some finishing touches on Monday before moving on to the least used room in the house that is not the basement. Or I’ll organize and clean something else.
Among other things I’ll be doing as this likely 30-day stay-at-home-if-you-can guideline takes shape is writing more (I hope), getting into a workout routine (I hope), and as the weather warms up, doing yard work (I have to). I’ve also continued researching the best ways to jumpstart a new career, but more about that will likely be written about later this week.
I wish I had more to write about, but alas, the days have reached a bit of a monotonous nature. This week I hope to change that up. Til next time!
Craig:
I had a guy stopping by for some home repair. The house doesn’t care that the rest of the world is on lockdown. I needed a hole in the wall taken care of and I need a flat roof redone once the weather breaks. Luckily, the same guy could do both. After he finished the wall repair, he took a look at the roof and gave me an estimate of the price of the work to be done. All within reason. So as soon as the weather stays nice for a few days and he has the time, we will get a new roof.
While that work was being done at the house, I sent the rest of the family to the winter studio to finish cleaning. I wanted to limit exposure for everyone, so it was perfect timing to get that work done over there. The tenants will be back Tuesday from their winter sojourn. I have just a couple of beers in the fridge that need to transfer over to my garage, and we will be fine.
Reading has not been the priority I thought it would be during this time. Yes, I’ve probably read more than the average person, but through 14 days, I’ve read only six books, and about halfway through the seventh. I need to spend more time working on that rather than goof off with Minecraft. Plus, I need to work on some “Best Of” podcasts to fill our podcast slot each Friday.
The girls are really starting to get on each other’s nerves. They fight over everything, it seems. The twins made a quick run to the hardware store to grab something we needed in the kitchen. They got into some kind of argument on the way home and one pushed the other into the mud and then ran the rest of the way home. Once they got home, they really got into it. There were welts on backs. Anyone who said “Thank God you have girls. They don’t fight,” has never lived with three teenaged girls.
Wendy and I did a project together that was long overdue. Back in July 2018, we bought thirty pounds of cherries and added vodka and sugar so they could ferment into cherry goodness. Typically, we’d filter and bottle that around Thanksgiving. Well, we got busy. Thanksgiving 2018 rolled by. July 2019 rolled by when we would normally get another batch of cherries. Thanksgiving 2019 rolled. By. Finally, the coronavirus isolation forced us to take care of it.
It always tastes better if it ages. So twenty months later, we filtered it (twice) and bottled it. We got nineteen grolsch bottles full of fresh booze. And we got lots of cherries that we can use for baking and possibly making jam. Plus a friend of ours wants some cherries. We have a bunch. It’s like a forgotten fringe benefit.
As we head into our third week of this mess, I have a mission to read more, write more, exercise more, and just be better more often. I’ve said it over and over, but this time I really mean. I do. Can’t you feel the sincerity? Stay safe everyone.
Bobby:
I’m not even sure what day of quarantine we are on anymore. I’ve lost count completely. Anyway, things are most definitely in a routine now. The kids are up by 0730 and starting their schoolwork by 0900. We are going to start doing the video karate from our dojo so we can continue to progress. I think it will do the kids some good. Who am I kidding? It will do my wife and I some good as well.
While watching the COVID-19 update yesterday it was mentioned that the current situation and social distancing guidelines will remain in effect until at least April 30. My wife and I had a talk and started to plan things to do during this time without social contact. We are going to get our box garden ready. We have already started seeds in the house and need to sow them at the right time. The left-over leaves from last year will be raked and put in bags for pick up and the flower gardens in the front yard will get planted. We will also be going on bike rides with the kids and taking the dogs for walks. It seems that is all we can do for now.
Going back to The Mandalorian the other day, I was directing the comments at Howie. I recall him saying that the show was ok on several occasions. I enjoyed it but do agree that Star Trek: Picard is a way better show. I think Star Trek in general is better all around. Maybe that could be a poll that we start. Or we have another March Madness with Sci-fi or just television shows in general.
I have found myself playing video games a bit more than I normally do. To be fair (To be faaiiiir)! I really don’t play that much anyway. Maybe a few hours a week under normal circumstances. I am limiting myself though. I am trying to spend time with the family while simultaneously not getting sick of them. It is a struggle sometimes.
Anyway, I will write more when the bug hits. Stay safe y’all!