Sunday - COVIDsomething

The post below was written yesterday but it's as good a point as ever to start writing on the blog again.  I mysteriously got pneumonia out of the blue last month and it's been a long haul to recovery.  Because I don't go anywhere, get curbside pick-up of everything, and disinfect groceries at home, we have no idea how I got sick.  I'm not near normal yet but am feeling a little better every day.  If I feel up to counting the days, I'll start posting my self-quarantine numbers again.  But not tonight.  And I'm not sure I'll post here every day, but might.

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I had several errands on my list that have been put off for a month while I've been sick. I gathered the things I needed, and headed out. I dropped a return at FedEx, stopped by the feed store for curbside pickup of my chicken feed, then headed to Ace in Windsor to see if I could brainstorm with someone there a solution to the problem I've been having with the seat on the pottery wheel. I found someone SUPER helpful, and we had a bit of fun figuring out what would work. I was going to head north on Old Red and hit the post office and Goodwill to drop off donations, then Safeway to pick up curbside groceries.

But I got to my car and my stomach dropped hearing fire engine sirens, and then they started flying by going northbound. At about that time, my PulsePoint notification went off for vegetation fire on my planned route home. I called Jess to let her know and see if she needed help prepping while I was headed toward her house. She already had a plan in place. In the rearview I saw smoke, and used the roundabout to turn around so I could safely take the video below. I sent it to Bex so she would know what was going on, and turned south again so I could get to the freeway. (It was much later that I noticed the near accident that had occurred while I was recording the smoke!)

Bex called me and we talked as I got onto 101 North. And I started rethinking my plan. I knew the fire was to the west of 101 and close to it. I decided to drop off the freeway and take Los Amigos to stay as far away from it as possible. I kept Bex on the phone to talk me through and I almost turned around as I got closer to the smoke flying across the freeway and road because several cars were doing so. But the route was clear, and I saw CalFire vehicles stationed along the road, so I decided to proceed. There were at least a dozen civilian vehicles parked at the side of the road with people standing outside watching the fire. The fire had burned to the edge of the freeway and I could see the lights of a fire engine there through the smoke. CHP was on the northbound side of 101 stopping traffic, which was snarled as far as the eye could see. My hands were shaking as I drove through the smoke and got to the other side and started heading north on Old Red again.

I decided the rest of my errands could wait except for picking up the groceries, because fire is unpredictable and I needed to be home just in case things went sideways. Bex and I had ended our call but I still needed comfort, so I called Tammy and she kept me going until I got to the grocery store. After I picked up the food, I kept glancing over toward Windsor as I traveled south on Westside. I saw a helicopter with bucket headed toward the smoke, which I was relieved to see was now white and dissipating.

I confirmed once I got home that the fire is contained and they are mopping up. I'm at once grateful to the firefighters for their speedy action and containment and angry as hell at whoever started this.

I took some time to rest up a bit and review checklists. The go bags and absolutely necessary items have been staged next to the door for weeks now. I am once again living out of a duffle bag.

Tuesday - COVID402

Another work day, plenty to do and it feels like not enough time to do it.

Bex reminded me tonight that a year ago, there was an ambulance in our driveway because I thought I was allergic to weed.  What a year it's been.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - COVID401

 It was definitely Monday all day.  Not much to write about today - did not get much accomplished other than what was absolutely necessary.  

One highlight was receiving the spices I ordered so we can refill the spice jars.  

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - COVID400

When I went to bed last night, my legs and the tops of my feet started cramping.  Magnesium oil helped me finally get to sleep.

I set an alarm so I wouldn't sleep the morning away and had a hard time getting up because my hands, feet, legs, and back all hurt.  I finally got up when Oliver laid on top of me and then got off and started meowing in my ear.  I started some coffee and took some Ibuprofen with my vitamins, drinking plenty of water.

Chores were slow.

After a couple cups of coffee, I tried to do some video training but was too tired, so I sat down with crocheting and promptly took a nap.  For three hours.

I went out later to pick up groceries from Jess and was able to talk with Mom and Dad on the drive home.

I was wide awake but think I can get to sleep now. 

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - COVID399

It was a very good, very long day.

I overslept, which was bad, but I recovered.  Got chores done, got dressed (!), ordered Starbucks in the car for Tamily and myself, picked up in Healdsburg, and brought it to Tamily in Cotati then helped them set up their booth for the craft fair.  

Met Jess at Park n Ride to travel with her to Mandi's new house for painting the kids' rooms.  We started with lunch, and then got busy.  I ended up washing the inside of the cupboards I could reach (no stepstool to sit on for the lower shelves) because they hadn't been cleaned by the previous owner before they vacated.

I got to talk to Mom when she called to tell me about a great drive they took today.

I was having back and leg pain after working in the kitchen, and so I took some Ibuprofen and meditated in Mandi's car for a while, enjoying listening to the sounds of their new neighborhood.  Very few cars passed, I heard faint voices, doves cooing, birds tweeting, and an occasional bark.  It's so peaceful in their new neighborhood.

The house is cute and I'm so happy for them.  

Jess and I headed back late, and I decided to pick up Amy's for dinner before heading home, but nope - line too long.  In N Out had the typical long line.  I tried Jack in the Box in SR, but too long.  I ended up at Windsor McDonald's and was pleasantly surprised to have Lorna passing me my food.

I'm pretty tired but happy.  It was a good day.  

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday/Friday - COVID397 and 398

Thursday was another blur of work.  I fell asleep on the couch again and was too tired to update the blog before bed.

I did get to make a trip out to the feed store and decided to take Bella with me for the drive.  She continues to gain confidence and enjoys being near me.  When the runner put the bag of feed in the back of the car and saw Bella looking at him from the front seat, he exclaimed that he would have brought a treat for her if he'd know she was there.

Her new bed was delivered earlier this week.  I've noticed that she has been flipping her beds over and creating a type of hammock, so I thought she might like a raised bed that will be cooler on warm days.  Of course, I forgot that she is still a timid little thing and she would have nothing to do with it.  I put a blanket and her favorite toy on it, no go.  I placed treats on it (she is such a chow hound) to encourage her to get onto it, but she can reach the furthest treat by putting her front feet on the bed but does not need to climb up to get it.  Thursday I put her soft bed on top of the platform, and she promptly pulled it off.

Today I tried holding the treat to encourage her to get all four paws onto the platform.  She would not do it herself, so I picked her up and gently put her down on it, giving her a couple of treats while praising her.  She gets off as soon as she can.

Today was a very intense work day, including a long Zoom meeting as we all work through details and create plans and stay on top of some intense client work.  I ended the day with a client phone call and was happy to stop for the weekend.

Dinner just for me as Bex and Q were out, and then I caught myself starting to doze on the couch and am heading to bed instead of enjoying the warmth of the afghan I'm working on.

Tomorrow's a busy day but one I'm looking forward to.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - COVID396

I got up with the alarm today and got an early start.

It was a busy day again but mostly productive.  I did some weed whacking during a lunch break.

Looking forward to the weekend already!

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Monday/Tuesday - COVID394/395

It was a Monday.  And there was really nothing remarkable about the day except being focused on work for hours and hours when all I need is to be able to stop that for a while.  But I don't because money is the way this frigging world works.  Or at least I think it is.  I haven't figured out another sustainable, healthy way.

So I was tired and decided to just go to bed at the end of that long day.  

Today was another work day.  The good thing is that I had a breather at the end of it.  I got the office hours in and then finished a transcription project for the time being.  I took a real lunch break today and had something to eat and went out to tend to the garden.  After my boss explained to me how to prune my lemon tree properly, and with the extra care to the soil I've been giving it to help it recover some neglectful years, it is looking great now.  There are tons of blossoms and buds on it and I am hopeful that they will stick and produce lemons.  I admire the garden plots and the new blueberry bush and am planning the seeds that I am going to plant and put into the greenhouse to fill the rest of the pots that are waiting for more good produce to begin.

I want to really try to grow luffa this year.  I've got the seeds.  Just plant 'em.

After work while there was still light in the cooling evening after the goats and chickens were tucked in, I sat down and looked at the wobbly chair on the pottery wheel.  I found the right tools, and enjoyed every moment of slowly removing each screw with a manual wrench - no socket, no electronics.  It was quiet and smelled good outside.  I got the chair off and think I can figure out how to make it work now.  Or fix up the board that was underneath it - possibly the original seat that had been wrecked a little to mount the other.  I took a look online to see what a replacement seat would cost.  Um, no.  It's crazy.

I crocheted and caught up on a couple of TV shows.  And it's late but I'm not tired and yet I know getting into bed will feel so good when I get there.

Here's hoping for a good rest of the week in these uncertain times.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - COVID393

Up a little later today but not too bad.  I had things I wanted to do before Tammy arrived and I wasn't sure how early we would be able to start.

I got some transcription done but it was slow going because the house was cold, which means cold clumsy hands.

Coffee helped.

Tam come up and we headed out to Sebastopol to pick up my blueberry bush.  It was a great drive.  After putting it in the back of my car, we stopped by Harmony to get some potting soil for it.  We drove out to a cute house that was recently listed for sale, but then turned around before we got to it.  The further we went, the more we realized that not matter how cute it is, no matter what a good price it is, it is not wildfire safe.  Neither of us could imagine living that far out on a dead-end one-way street.

We took a break to eat lunch at home then got the blueberry bush and potting soil out of the car and onto the dolly for its trip to the back yard.  We tipped over a wine barrel I've kept filled with water to keep it from falling apart, cleaned it out, put it on a rolling stand, and filled it halfway with soil.  We maneuvered the bush into place, cut away the plastic around the roots, and filled in the rest of the soil, then gave it a good watering.

It was a lot of work so we took some time to relax and visit before Tam needed to head home.  I love spending time with her.

I worked a little more and then headed out to pick up groceries from Jess and visit for a while in her beautiful back yard.

Bex cooked dinner and I dozed a little while we watched a show.  

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - COVID392

 I was up with my weekend alarm.  I had transcription to do today and wanted to finish - got halfway.

I did a little yardwork and some house projects.

Late in the day, Bex helped me get the garden beds planted.

The half barrel that is holding water is hopefully going to contain a blueberry bush I'll be picking up with Tam tomorrow.  

Pizza for dinner but it gave me a stomachache.

Other than that, we're staying safe and well.  I hope you are too.