My ex probably has it. He has been having minor symptoms for about a week. Last night he called to say he had lost his sense of taste/smell. Our 16 yo is over at my ex's place now (at least kid's bedroom and bathroom is on a different floor from ex), and I am supposed to pickup today. I am nervous that I may have it too though, and am trying to figure out the best way to isolate everyone. I only have one bathroom here. And a sick cat. Ugh. Ex is supposed to get a call tomorrow about scheduling his covid test through the hospital in our pcp network.

My big game-changer (just under $100 on sale) purchase this year was an over the sink drying rack. I prefer to air dry stuff, but hated giving up the counter space in my tiny kitchen. My kitchen runs so much better with this in place. https://www.amazon.com/Drying-Stainless-Storage-Adjustable-Kitchen/dp/B08839TVPF/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=over+the+sink+dish+drying+rack&qid=1606663548&sr=8-5

We use about a box per person every 1-2 weeks. We usually wake up congested. I just bought air purifiers with HEPA filters for each bedroom, and hope that helps.

I remember the distribution of H1N1 vaccine. I was working in a primary care office within a hospital at the time. As an employee, I got mine in the first batch our office received. We sent postcards to priority patients of the practice (based on age, and diagnosis) in rounds as batches of the vaccine arrived. Also for anyone who came in for an already scheduled office visit, if they met the requirements, they were offered the vaccine on the spot. I recall having to help manage the vaccine frig. We could only store a certain amount at a time, so it had to be staggered carefully. I also remember getting a card from my child's pediatrician, telling us to show up for a specific week-end vaccine clinic, or to call if that did not work for our schedule.

We have both gotten hospital-based drive up testing, billed to our insurance plans. Mine was due to symptoms, and needed my pcp to request it. My kid's was part of a pre-procedure screening. They also had one done in the hospital ER on another occasion. My city also has a free walk-up mobile testing program, which is almost daily, and generally at 2-3 locations on any given day. Today's spots would be a hassle to get to, but tomorrow is fairly close and easy enough to get to. Though honestly the last place I want to hang out is in a line of people waiting for Covid tests. The drive up testing felt less risky, as we only interacted with one masked healthcare worker, not the general public. eta: I got my results from the hospital 24 hours after testing, but it took 2 days to get the appt. My kid got results faster both times, like maybe 10 hours? The city program is apparently getting results back in "up to a couple of days"

1. In August we had ice cream cones, spread out in the ice cream shop's parking lot with some friends. They had removed the tables, so the kids sat on the curb. 2. On March 4 we had cheeseburgers and fries at a place where my kid was participating in an Irish dance performance. A friend passed around hand-sanitizer at the table before we ate. On March 6, which turned out to be the last St. Patrick's Day show of the year for us, I got take out to eat in the car instead of dining out. 3. I am not sure. I am craving lots of things. At the moment I am reminiscing about my lunch at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris. Oh, to be able to do that again. 4. Mostly. I can get take out from lots of good places now. There are some things that just don't do well as take out though. And I usually only ate out with other people, so I miss that more than being waited on. 5. I have seen some places close that I will miss, but none that I was hoping to go to but never got to. There is one place that had a "Dad's Meatloaf" lunch special, and I went there on my own in January on the one year anniversary of my father's death, and had the meatloaf, which really was very much like his. I wanted to have it again a few months ago, to go, but the place has permanently closed.

We have been invited to a thanksgiving duck picnic. I am trying to decide what to bring that does well outside and is easy to share. I am thinking fancy baked potatoes. My kid will probably be making milk bread rolls.

☘️ The Irish dance competition geographic regions within the US are New England, Eastern (Mid-Atlantic), Mid-America (Mid-West), Southern, and Western. ☘️ I have lived in all of those regions at some point, and have traveled across them many times, in planes, trains, and automobiles. I think the Triple-A guidebooks of my youth imprinted a bit. Growing up, I thought about it in mostly terms of East/West, North/South, with the coasts, Mississippi River, and mountain ranges (Appalachia and Rockies) breaking it up further. When I lived in DC, it was the east coast/mid-Atlantic. When I lived in Minnesota, to me it was the upper-mid-west. When I lived in Arizona, it was the southwest. When I lived in Texas, it was Texas, and we were in the geographic region of west Texas. Times zones break it up for me a bit too, as my dad lived in El Paso was in a different time zone from my brother in Houston. My mother is in Florida and also a different time zone from most of her state. I also lived in the far flung time zone of Hawaii for a few years, and though it is definitely its own little region, it has strong ties to the west coast.

Couldn't sleep again last night, so napped on and off. For my first meal of the day, after dark already, I just had some creamy blue cheese on day-old Italian bread and a can of coke, and will have Halloween candy for dessert. I made a pb&j and sliced some melon for my kiddo.

Last week my pickup order shopper had to downsize to a small pack of TP (she sent a photo of picked over aisle), and this week they didn't have it in any size. There was a long line to get in the store so I did not go in myself to double check. After I did my curbside pickup, I drove to another grocery store on the way home and went in and got their last large pack of TP (I think there are 18 rolls in the pack). I got a few other things while I was in the store, and saw lots of gaps. Pasta area is smaller than before, and picked over. The meat area was crowded but I was able to get some. It looks like spices haven't been restocked in awhile, but there was vanilla extract this time so I grabbed that. Overall I would say there is still plenty of food available, but maybe not exactly what you wanted to buy.

Twinings regular chai tea. Nothing fancy, just their favorite. 🙂

My puzzle board and a couple of puzzles arrived today, just in time for our first snow fall. I also placed a bulk order of my kid's favorite chai, for the chilly days ahead. Perhaps I should stock up on supplies for a few batches of mulled wine. I haven't gotten the living room decluttered enough to allow for puzzle making yet, but I am making progress, and the idea of making the room look inviting again is keeping me motivated. I am working on decluttering projects in every room, but will try to stay focused on this one for now.

that was fun thanks

My ex did all of MA, and parts of NH and ME. I was the driver/pit-stop supplier. eta: Actually, I did some of it too, but on several long-weekend trips with groups in the White Mountains (NH). We had big group reservations at cabins with hot meals waiting for us. A different experience than what my ex did, mostly on his own with a tent for a week at a time, sometimes with a friend joining for a day or two.

Yes, true. They were a wealthy family, with a relatively large house. I found it interesting that they chose to have the kids share rooms, when most families in that area prioritized individual rooms. This family was definitely more concerned about bathroom flow.

This looks like a good idea, but first I need to set up a table. I have a 30 by 48 inch table in the living room that could work for puzzles, but it has been used only as a sewing table since I started making masks. At the moment we each just use our desks in our bedrooms for eating etc. I think it is time to rearrange a bit.

I have been working on decluttering for a while, and still have tons to do. Making room for the life we want.... Tonight's project is old electronic devices. This involves charging them enough to get them turned on, trying and failing to remember old passwords, and settling for a factory reset. So far I have found 8 phones, 4 e-readers, 1 laptop. And oh so many cords and accessories. Plus 2 printers, a monitor, old modems, etc. Next I have to figure out where to dispose of them. Apparently Amazon will recycle old kindles. Next weekend is hazardous waste disposal day in my town, and they accept some electronics.

Last week my 16yo asked if we can schedule a weekly craft night, and we ordered yarn. I want to get some puzzles too, but need to figure out a space to do them. We have a very small apartment, and no yard or porch of our own. I have been decluttering for awhile, and will keep going with that. Also trying to fix the place up with some small but long-needed repairs. I am watching YouTube videos to get tips on how to handle some of it. For exercise, I found some tai chi videos on YouTube that I have been trying out. We did what we could to make a dance space, but it is only 4 ft by 8 ft. But it seems that my kid may have pelvic stress fractures (MRI next week), so probably no dancing for a while. I need to make sure we both have good coats and boots that fit, though I don't have plans to go anywhere other than to pick up food. Maybe a road trip to do a drive-by tour of the university my kid wants to attend in 2022. My big issue is to convince my ex to scale back his contacts, since the kid visits him on the weekends. He is good about masking in public places, but he is out and about more than I would like. Especially as we go into the holidays. He has a big extended family, like 50 people in a house for dinner, and I know many are less vigilent.

I cut it in half, clean out the seeds, steam it flesh side down until I can just kind of stick a fork in it, then put them in the oven flesh side up, coat with butter and seasonings, and roast until soft and browned.

I do the slacker version of this. On my grocery store's website I can use a filter to only show things I have ordered before. Then I choose from that list. Click click click, done.

I have known and used the term for decades. Army kid, mostly grew up in Europe, moved to New England at 18. I read a lot of mystery books as a kid, and the TV shows that the Army imported for us were mostly cop shows. I think I first knew the term from either the books or those old cop shows. I also go to all the museums I can, and have been to the national border patrol museum in El Paso TX. Trump has definitely referred to coyotes a bunch of times prior to the debate.

We have a cat who does best with Arm and Hammer. I think the odor control is good, and it isn't leaving a cloud of dust like some others do. She was using pine pellets at the shelter before we got her, so we continued with that but she wouldn't bury it. We also tried crystals for a bit, but it stuck to her fur. She has 2 boxes side by side. She doesn't like to go into the box again after she used it until after it is cleaned. She will come tell me when she has finished; Hey mom, clean it up!

I used to live in a house where the second floor had 3 large bedrooms and 3 full baths alternating in a ring around a central staircase. The master had bathrooms on either side, which also led out to the hall. The mom's bath was across from the girls' room, and the dad's bath was across from the boys' room. There was also a bathroom between the girls and boys rooms. So, generally the kids had access to their own shared room, but if it was in use, they could access the master bathrooms. It was a flexible design, and I could see another family allocating things differently, like connecting each bedroom to its own bathroom, just by reworking the entrances a bit. There was a half bath on the first floor, and a fenced-in outdoor shower in the backyard for dirty kids and dogs. I lived in a little suite in the attic, btw, in exchange for keeping all those bathrooms clean, lol Bedroom (girls) Bath (kids) Bedroom (boys) stairs Bath (mom/girls) Bedroom (master) Bath (dad/boys)

I wasn't sure I could find a whole acre for sale around here, but there is one listed for $600,000.

I told my teen to expect another full year of masking and waiting it out, then a year of vaccine plus masking, before we have any hope of dampening the outbreak significantly. For us that means very limited outside activities, and online dual enrollment classes again next year. The online classes kind of work ok for us for now, as my teen will likely be able to complete high school requirements and also get an AA during that time frame. Then the hope is to transfer as a junior to the state university for in-person classes in the fall of 2022.