Arbitrary Steps

The nation, well world, emptied out quickly as stay at home orders were issued far and wide. This week they relaxed some of those rules, but here's a few pictures from this time for posterity:

The pandemic is not without it's gifts. Yes of course it's scary, and of course the unemployment levels are so scary right now, but I have found myself in moments of gratitude lately. I am grateful for online tutorials on sewing! I think I tried sewing around age 12 and gave up. My next attempt was small, I sewed a bouquet wrap for my wedding and then didn't sew again (until now at age 47). Having seen a need for masks I dove in;  I bought a sewing machine and supplies and set the machine up...and stared at it thinking "What if I just made a very expensive mistake?" However my fears were unfounded. While my seams aren't pristine my sewing skills are passable and masks emerge from my table each week. 60 masks and counting.... I am grateful that in the midst of something so uncertain and scary that I can help in a tiny way. The best part is that it has shown me the generosity of so many! I'm not really selling masks, but ask that if someone has ...

Each year my husband promises that THIS is the year we are moving and going home...home for me means Washington State.  Yet another year is 1/3 over, and now we have a pandemic blocking my path home... If I die in California I will be a VERY angry ghost

By order of our Govenor some businesses may reopen now...as long as they take precautions and limit how many customers are inside a store or establishment. Having been on lockdown for over 40 days I am VERY anxious to get out into the world! It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out because the usual rules won't apply, new strict ones are in place: 1. Wearing masks for everyone, customers and workers. 2. Limited customers to 10 or fewer 3. Hand sanitation 4. Curbside pick up It still amazes me just how much has changed and how those changes have played out. When I think of the word "Pandemic" I think of fast deaths and protests, people running around like insane people. Sure, there's a little of that, but the rest of us? Calm, or at least staying still and waiting all of this out. It was like someone flipped a giant off switch and the country as a whole shut down instantly. Our daily routine drastically changed overnight. Every piece of mail is wip...

even though Covid testing seems hard to get nationally, we got a notification that our county was testing so we jumped at the chance. We suited up in our masks and headed off...and apparently were the first 2 people there in a building that was prepared for hundreds. Undaunted we got our tests, grabbed lunch take out on the way home, and went about our day. We still haven't received our results as promised but I'm confident we are both negative.

 Deserted streets Our small family in masks  Food bank line

There is so much going through my head day to day that I want to post, but the end of the day comes and I'm a blank. Just tired and my thoughts are scatterred.

We went from zero cases to 8 Now when so many places have THOUSANDS of cases, why should I care about 8? Well we are in a far inland valley, in a tiny 2 stoplight town. If COVID 19 is here...it's everywhere.   Update below: the same graph as of June 2020 (one month later). 8 cases to 22  Update: we went from 22 to 586 (not a typo)

The worst part of this pandemic for me is the unknowns. So far we are all healthy, and we are so very lucky when so many are sick, but the unknowns eat at me. We are on house lockdown, and are only allowed to go out for essential services (doctors appt, groceries for example), everything else is closed. There is no such thing as browsing a store or hanging out for coffee, all that is gone. I can deal with that, but the uncertainty of how long this will go on bugs me the most. Best guesses range from 6 more months to 2 more years ( a few say 3). We are the lucky ones. My husband retired a few years ago, so we are not dependent on his going to a job each day to survive. So far we are all healthy, and while we may not have everything we want, we have what we need to survive. On a day to day basis our routines have changed, some changes are drastic but most are just small changes. - My husband uses a pulse oxyimator on me twice a week and checks my temperature twice a week. -When we ...

Grocery stores are mostly stocked, or rather they have rearranged some areas so the store LOOKS 80% full, but in reality a few items are conspicuously absent. The one constant; Toilet paper is mostly not available still. Many items have been subbed for cheaper items that are interesting to say the least. The last TP we managed to get was the texture of cardboard. The search continues...and I know each time I look for a household item that I am not alone in my quest; millions of others are braving the outside world hoping to find their own pot of gold.