Day 83 - Making

Thursday, June 4 2020

Making sense of what my parents think and why...
Making a plan for what I'll share on Instagram with former students...
Making pizza - why haven't Hubby and I done this before?

 

Today I brought up the topic of race once again with my mom. It's always a difficult conversation, yet this time we made rules - no yelling. Use specific people, not "Blacks" and "democrats." Look at the issue, and do not deflect from it. Okay, okay, those were MY rules. We did okay for a bit. I still don't understand why she stands with the man I despise. So... I made pizza. And I really enjoyed it. I don't think I'll ever change her perspective, as I really don't know the roots of it. Maybe I'll keep trying, and maybe I'll focus on strong messages for my former students instead.

Another photo from the weekly challenge... the cake & muffins Annalise made:

Days 80 & 81 - Mixed

Monday & Tuesday, June 1 & 2, 2020

I made Hot Milk Cake - part of the weekly challenges my teacher-friend Karen and I are doing.

It smelled like pound cake.

It's simply lovely to taste.

I was able to give some to Karen's family and my parents.

I also helped out at school today from 9-noon. We brought students' belongings and a summer reading book to their trunk, while picking up their textbooks, Chromebooks, etc.

Oh, this hair. :(

The day was dulled by the sadness in the air.

And then the kids started showing up on Instagram... I love to see them mature into young adults. They should be proud of themselves.

I have not been feeling like writing, as I just don't get why America is still so messed up. Why people can't just do good. Why it's taking so very long to be decent humans. Why - with all the beautiful stories from all around the world - are Americans so very biased still. I'm sorry, America. I am not without hope. I truly hope something beautiful comes from this.

Check out the Anti-Racist LiveBinder to see what we can do.

Days 64 & 65 - More Documentation

Saturday & Sunday, May 16 & 17, 2020

It's time for me to update my future self on what's going on these days...

The hummingbird visited the feeder this morning at 6:10am! (I put out the feeder on May 1.)

A restaurant in Amsterdam made tiny greenhouses for their patrons.

A restaurant in Virginia is said to open with mannequins to enforce social distancing.

Students around the nation are graduating - virtually. Our eighth graders graduate June 5th, so stay tuned for news about that endeavor.

Bob wants to go to Starbucks tomorrow to get his coffee. I really don't. But if a cake-pop comes with it, I'll reconsider.
Bob:[Your teacher friend] got you one just a couple of weeks ago!
Me: A couple of weeks ago? NINE. NINE. Since when is "NINE" a "couple?"

This is what ordering tacos looks like in southern California - thanks to Sean Ziebarth.

I'm still collecting numbers/statistics each morning. I added new information today about the population, so I the numbers across IL and MI were more comparable.

JC Penny filed for bankruptcy, but they're still functioning right now.

Bob and I saw two frogs in the retention pond alongside Salt Creek. They were soooo loud!

I'm going to have to re-evaluate my dislike for red-winged blackbirds. Today we saw and heard a close one that had beautiful red on it. And it HAS been over ten years since they attacked me on the path in Lake in the Hills...

I was putting off work. I had maybe an hour or an hour and a half of reading and commenting and sending short Loom videos. Bob said, "C'mon! Crack that straw and end strong!" in reference to our message/straw from the Superintendent yesterday (or the day before). So I got off my butt and got to work. I heard Bob's voice (to my nephew) in my head: Now's the time to make good habits. And THEN I saw this in my photo feed (from Instagram a couple of days ago):

And I gave those kids my BEST comments YET. I made tons of tiny videos for them, and sent them off via Schoology. I felt like a teacher again.

It's really rainy outside, and Bob's a little worried about flooding - he says it's next on his list of natural disaster fears (behind tornados).

I "rode" the Frozen Ever After river ride at Disneyland...

We get to watch LIVE golf today! (I write that, and I can just SMELL my privilege.)

It was interesting to hear how they're dealing with precautions.
- No spectators.
- They walked.

- They carried their own bag.

- Only one person was in charge of the flags.
- The flag looked like this... the ball would go in and be able to be popped out easily with a club.

- Only one person was in charge of the rake.
- They had on Bill Murray, and he was totally real and funny, with a crooked screen, on his first Skype call, while eating and betting on the game.

- Later they had Trump on, who of course knew many many good great players who were tremendous golfers...... if it hadn't been for those people who didn't tell us about the virus....... I almost barfed in my mouth.
- I learned what a skin is in golf. And my mom asked me not 2 hours later! And I was able to answer her!

My teacher friend and I started on our weekly challenges...

It's surreal. Sometimes I can't believe we're in a pandemic. Then I listen to the radio or watch television or go outside or go for a drive....... signs that it's a pandemic are ALL around.

My therapy today was watercolors... cards to friends and coworkers. I did seven today while watching/not watching golf. I also set up the next "lunch bunch" Zoom meeting. I miss those girls.

Days 43 & 44 - Creating

Saturday and Sunday, April 25 & 26, 2020

Since my perspective has been altered and I'm constantly thinking of our healthcare workers who can NOT see their families, I've felt that this blog is so... unimportant. If you're reading this blog, you've seen the change from teacher-related posts to COVID-19 posts. I have to remind myself often that this is simply documentation of what this one privileged person is going through during these past six weeks...

I actually had fun this weekend.

First, on Friday (sure, we can consider that part of this weekend), a friend and I shared our "weekly challenges." She asked me last week if I'd like to try, and I was game - because she said we'd have to agree on it in order to do it. I agreed to three "minute-to-win-it" games, and my challenge was a photography challenge.

Since I'm not posting the videos of our "minute-to-win-it" challenges, I thought I'd post my photography challenge. We had to find ten different colors on walks, and then put them together.

From left to right: a hanger found in a parking lot, coral-colored tulips, a fire hydrant, a fox (in someone's lawn - my favorite photo), forsythias, dandelions, a tulip leaf, grass, water shut-off cap, and then three different flowers.

Friday we shared, and then we came up with two new challenges for this next week. My friend and her daughter challenged us to learn a dance, and I challenged us to make a face for a tree. What's beautiful about these challenges is that we have no idea how they'll turn out, and it's okay. We don't need to know! I'm a competitive person normally, but in the last six weeks, I've been able to let that go. I'm so glad - it's much more fun when it's not competitive!

I've also been trying to create watercolor flowers. I've made a couple of cards to send out, and added the flowers. Each card is different, and I'm trying different techniques. I'm glad I have some blank cards here!

I'm glad I'm finally creating.

On Saturday morning, Hubby and I delivered thirteen (?) yard signs for staff members at our school. It felt good to do something for someone else! It took us a good two and a half hours, and we got to see some of the recipients. I am very privileged to work where I do. I'm very proud of how our district is feeding the children, as well. Each Wednesday, they provide a week's worth of food for any children in the district who need it. THAT is to be commended.

We went shopping for Mom and Dad on Sunday and then sat in their back yard talking with them for an hour or two. Mom said it makes her day when we stop by. Our discussions aren't riveting, because there's not much new to say, but it's simply nice to connect.

There are green ribbons suddenly on the trees around our village. They signify our support for essential workers.