April 19th Update

Photo by Edward Jenner on Pexels.com

Just one trip out this week. A friend of mine found some toilet paper at a store near her house and bought it for us. So we drove down to get it yesterday. She also has a fenced in backyard and we were able to let Baxter run around for a while. While he played, we chatted, maintaining social distancing, of course. It was a nice outing for everyone!

I have a grocery pickup scheduled for this evening, but that will be contactless as they will just load the groceries in the back and are no longer requiring a signature on the invoice.

We have started a tradition of ordering takeout or delivery on Friday evenings. It’s been very nice to have a break from cooking. So far we have ordered from Arooga’s (soup and salad), Red Robin (burger and fries), and Red Lobster (two kinds of shrimp!).

I have had a little bit more social contact this week – albeit virtual. My twelve step group is meeting weekly via a conference call, and I am really appreciating that. I had not been going for a while, but this is helping me get back into the habit of attending. I also joined a Bible study through my church that is meeting on Zoom. It started on Thursday night and goes for five weeks. We are studying the book of Ruth.

The books I have read this week are The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck and Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach. I also have the Asperger’s Syndrome Workplace Survival Guide by Barbara Bissonette on my currently reading shelf, but it has honestly been there for a few years. I started reading it back when I was still working in an office, but now that I work from home it doesn’t seem as relevant. It is a good book, though, and I do plan to finish it someday. It just keeps getting bumped by other titles.

I am learning a lot from my Excel course. The package I bought includes six classes, and I am about 40% through the first one. So far I have learned a lot of functions, as well as a few fun hacks that make things a little easier.

Although I am finding a new routine during this stay at home period, it has also been a sobering time. Besides the stories you see on the news, I had a closer connection with one victim – a friend of a relative passed away from the virus within 7 days of showing symptoms, and she was otherwise healthy and younger than me. I am so sad for her family and friends and even more committed to staying at home as much as possible while this situation continues.

Happy Easter (April 12th Update)

Happy Easter! Normally we would be getting together with my husband’s family for a big dinner to celebrate Easter, but today it will just be the three of us at home. I plan to call both my mom and my dad this afternoon as well.

Friday night we watched the livestream from our church of the Easter service. The worship was amazing and I really appreciated the message. I am so glad we can still have church during this time!

I wanted to post an update on the last week, so here goes:

• I’m filing my second biweekly unemployment claim today for my reduced hours. I believe at least one of the weeks will qualify for the additional money from the stimulus bill, which would be a huge help.
• Schools in our state are officially closed for the rest of the school year. Michael has been on spring break for the last few days, but will start new instruction and assignments for the fourth quarter online this coming Tuesday.
• We have been asked by the governor to wear a mask anytime we leave the house. I ordered some for us off Etsy and was pleasantly surprised by the quality when I got them. I wore mine for the first time picking up our to go order from Red Robin on Friday night. I also made a trip to the grocery store yesterday to stock up for the week.
• There were no grocery deliveries available for the next two weeks, but I was able to schedule a pickup for next Sunday. I’m going to try to get two weeks worth of groceries in that order so I can avoid having to go to the store again.
• We are down to two rolls of toilet paper. I did score a box of flushable wipes the other week, so it looks like we will have to start using those soon. I read that you shouldn’t actually flush them because they don’t break down properly and cause problems at the sewer plant.
• Since the park near us, which includes a dog park, is closed, I took Baxter to a park that had an enclosed tennis court and let him run around in there for a while. We left when some people arrived to play tennis.
• I signed up for an online Excel course this week and have started going through these first part. It’s something I have wanted to do for a while, especially since the person at my job who always helped me out with spreadsheet stuff is no longer there. I have very little knowledge of the program and am looking forward to learning a lot.

So that’s the update from our little corner of the world. I hope you are staying safe and healthy.

April 5th Update

Michael and I are still staying at home. The order from the governor is currently going through April 30th, although schools and non-essential businesses are closed indefinitely. Joe’s work is considered essential, so he is still going to work. They take their temperature every morning, and they have to wear gloves and masks.

This week I have only gone two places – the pharmacy and Michael’s school. At the pharmacy, I got Michael’s meds and some acetaminophen. I wanted to get a thermometer but they were sold out. The reason we went to Michael’s school was to get a new charging cord for his school laptop. Baxter chewed through the old one while Michael was in the bathroom! They were very nice about it and gave us a new one no problem.

Speaking of school, Michael has been doing review and enrichment assignments this past week. On April 14th, they will start the 4th quarter with new instruction and assignments. The teachers will review the assignments and may ask for revisions if necessary. Students will be graded based on the percentage of assignments they complete to the teacher’s satisfaction.

I am still working 20 hours per week. The company is paying our health insurance premiums during the furlough, which is incredibly nice of them. I will get partial unemployment, including some additional money that is part of the stimulus bill passed by the federal government. We will also get a one-time stimulus check. I am very thankful that there is so much help available.

I’m having groceries delivered today. I’m trying to stock up a little but not go overboard. The main reason I ordered some extra food is that so many things are out of stock right now so you don’t know what will actually show up in your order. I did order a thermometer so hopefully that will be there.

Baxter is feeling the stress too. He is barking and whining a lot more than usual. Joe takes him for a walk after work each day, but I think he misses running around at the dog park. It’s hard for me to take him for walks because he pulls on the leash so badly. I think I’m going to start working on that with him and see if I can get him to walk more nicely with me.

So that’s my update for now. I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy through this time.

Staying at Home

How different things can become in just a few weeks. When I last wrote, we had just celebrated Michael’s birthday with a party and now we are all staying in our houses hoping not to get coronavirus.

Business is down at my company so first we went to three days a week. Then some people got furloughed and I’m working 20 hours a week. Thankfully my husband is still going to work since his company was on the list of life-sustaining businesses.

My son has been off school for two weeks so far. On Monday he starts online learning with review and enrichment materials. It sounds like they are going to start new instruction on April 14th. No idea if they will be back in school by then or still doing it online.

The animals are doing well. Thre dog park is closed, but Joe has been taking Baxter for a walk after work every day. Baxter does still chase Peanut Butter sometimes and I’m not sure how to make him stop doing that.

I am coping okay with staying at home all the time. I have gone out to the grocery store twice but that’s it. It’s a bit boring and I’m having a hard time relaxing enough to read or watch shows for long. Normally I would work extra hours but I’m limited to the 20 hours per week for the foreseeable future. Michael and I have been playing some games together, which has been fun.

I’ve been trying to stay in touch with people, calling my parents and texting my friends. Even though I’m an introvert by nature, this situation is a little extreme, and I find I’m craving interaction with others. The hardest part is not knowing what’s going to happen and how long everything will stay this way.