Social Distancing 29

May 27 - Wednesday

I see that the spacing between blog entries continues a wider spacing. Probably because I don't feel like there is much of note to share. 

School is out, officially. We said good bye to the seniors. I've sort of started planning for next year. While I've worked through my personal paperwork (sadly, stacked for a couple years), I haven't quite started on organizing the papers that I brought home from school this year.

I turned in a batch of 25 masks to be cleaned and donated to those in need. Cruces Creatives is continuing their donation efforts, making mask kits to sew, and organizing who is getting which masks. I picked up 2 bags of 20 kits, but I haven't started sewing them yet. 

I made a trip to Joann's this week, since they've reopened to a limited capacity. I was looking for lightweight fusible inner facing. They didn't have any, although they were expecting a delivery and I should be able to call and see if they got any today. I did - of course - pick up a few pieces of on sale fabrics, including a piece of flannel for a new pair of lounge pants for Ron. I got some pretty fabric for Roxanne, my sewing cousin, and sometime partner. 

Roxanne told me that her husband is not having a good effect in his most recent battle with cancer. He was doing radiation to reduce the size of his tumor, but to no effect. Now he will have to do a round of chemo to see if that will help. In the mean-time, he is weak and unable to work. 

Carl and Naomi will be closing on the sale of their El Paso house this week. It has been on the market almost a year, and - while I know Naomi will mourn that house - they will be happy to not have the care and costs of it on their shoulders any more. Damon's trailer is also in the process of closing, but he is at least a month away from signing all the paperwork.  It wasn't on the market for long, though, so he's happy for everything but the waiting for closing.

I've been making good progress on the second panel of the cross stitched Last Supper. It makes a good craft to work on while the TV is on. Not that it is on so much, but sometimes I'll watch a couple of shows from Netflix, or Britbox or something.

Here's where I started, I've gotten it pretty well filled in now.

Businesses - like Joann's - have been slowly reopening. Restaurants are opening this week, at least the outdoor seating. I am basically glad that "things" are starting a return to normal, but I'm also uncertain about the safety of it. Still it will have to happen some time. There is then the possible result that the spread of COVID-19 will increase, hopefully not too high. Now that testing is easier to get, numbers will also go up because more testing is being done (which just means numbers have been lower than they should have been).

While I think we are moving into the next phase of this pandemic, we are definitely not seeing the end of it, or even the beginning of the end.

Social Distancing Part 28

May 21, Thursday

School is basically done. I've done all my grading, and turned in my grades. I am pretty content that I only had to assign one "Incomplete" grade for the semester, meaning only ONE student turned in NOTHING.

Tomorrow is the graduation celebration is tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to going out in the parking lot where the students and their families will gather in their cars. Of course wearing a mask in the sun and heat, not my favorite. But I really do want to see those seniors one more time! I'll take my umbrella for some portable shade.

Now that school is over, I'm ready to get on to other tasks around the house. Of course, I started with the kitchen, which actually wasn't in terrible condition, but I still need to sweep (at least) the floor (all over the house). Changing the sheets yesterday, and vacuuming the bedroom helped the room be more inviting to me. It's hard to get in there to clean when Ron is sleeping during the day, and morning is really my high energy time. (and of course cleaning isn't my favorite activity in the first place. {What?!? I do it because I adult, but I don't have to love the activity as much as the result.}) Right now I'm procrastinating cleaning my computer desk, which is sore in need, by writing this. And, of course, there are plenty of other things that need similar attention...and other activities I've been looking forward to, same as other school years at the beginning of summer.

I've been working on getting my brother Carl to join our daily walks. He needs to like I do, but while we would love Naomi to join us, she just doesn't have the stamina to do so. Having a partner that not only won't join you in an activity you should do, but don't really want to on the best day, is only made harder when that partner complains that you go. But he has been walking with us, even bringing his dog, Mia. Damon has taken his dog, Zoey, several times. I could take Kaliegh, but Hamlet is not well behaved enough, and both together is a recipe for my personal disaster. I have had a couple of occasions lately to appreciate the little amount of my fitness that has made some chores a little easier.

Well, off to other activities!

Social Distancing Part 27

May 13th - Wednesday

The semester is winding down Grades are due by noon a week from tomorrow. Our graduation celebration will be the next day, Friday. It isn't the full ceremony. No one is having that this year, I don't think. We will get to celebrate our seniors, though, and that is important. They will be staying in their cars, listening to a couple of speeches, probably prerecorded (don't know how they'll have them otherwise) and students will drive past the stage as their names are called, and on home. I've volunteered to help in the parking lot. How could I not? I've seen these seniors from freshmen. Many of them are dear to my heart. I want to applaud them!

Today my AP Lit students took their AP test. Online, in a brand new, quarantine required format. I hope they did well, many of them should do well. I'm disappointed that I couldn't give them a send off to the test. I'm more disappointed that I won't be teaching the class next year. It has disheartened me, to an extent, and I've had to grieve the loss of that class. I will still be teaching honors freshmen, which I must be honest, I also love, so all is not lost. But I am disappointed.

I am looking forward to lesson planning for next year, I always do. I've been working on some ideas, and it may take some figuring out how to get the texts I would like the students to use. Still, it is an interesting unit, dealing with mythology, and I hope I can pull it off.

Once school is done, I've also got lots of organizing to do, for school, for my crafting space, for my personal office space. In some ways the organization ticks my box for satisfaction of a job well done, in others, I think I can kind of get lost in it at a level beyond what is needed...(what do you mean the books don't need to be alphabetical by author, and in the order they were published?) Still I have gotten to a place in my life where I can let go of things, and find it freeing to an extent. That used to be very hard for me, and sometimes, it still can be, but I'm better about it, and so I hope there will be some purging done as well. There won't be miracles of cleanliness in my house, however. We are definitely living here, and it shows. But tidy is good.

Here we go, moving from one phase to another, of quarantine, social distancing life.

Social Distancing Part 26

May 8,  Friday

We are winding down the end of the school year. In some ways, of course, it seems like school has been over for almost 9 weeks, but it hasn't. It's just been different. Very different. Grades are due on May 21st, which is also the day that Graduation was scheduled. But of course, no gathering in the Pan Am Center will be happening for a while, yet. But there will be a celebration, with Seniors and their families (at least the four total per vehicle that will be allowed) will get to participate in a drive through celebration. I'll be there, even if wearing a mask makes me crazy.

Another thing that they have planned is that they bought yard signs for all the seniors, and this week, teachers are delivering them. I did two today, and I thought it was sweet. The families met me outside, the senior wore their cap and gown, and I took pictures of them. Of course I got them a few celebration goodies, some candy hugs, (since we can't give them the real thing) a decorative class of 2020 pick, a senior class beach ball, and a card.

Senior Swag

I have pictures from the two deliveries I made, but I don't know that I should publish them here. I got to deliver to some awesome students today, and I get to deliver signs to three more tomorrow. I met each of these students in their freshman year, and one of the things that rewards me for teaching school is seeing the freshmen through those four years, becoming seniors and finally graduating. The growth curve is amazing in those four years!

Social Distancing Part 25

May 3, Sunday

Like many Sundays at my house, this one was full of chores: laundry, cleaning the bathroom, making dog food (I still need to pack it up and put it in the fridge). I seem to be doing a lot of cleaning in the kitchen. I don't like to cook around a mess, and I have been cooking more than usual, though not every day. I'm working up to an apple pie, but it didn't get made today. Maybe tomorrow.

I got some sewing done, 5 masks completed. I know it isn't many, compared to the production lines some people have going, but I'm not selling them, I'm contributing to the efforts at Cruces Creatives to make masks for facilities, and for people in need of them. I took a lot of 25 finished masks in last Wednesday, and picked up supplies for 20 more. I've made more than 50 so far, and will try to get these turned in next week. They go pretty fast once you get the process down, really, and I have been enjoying listening to Stephen Frye read all the adventures of Sherlock Holmes while I sew. (I finally finished listening to The Stand). I've also been working slowly on a cross stitch project for my brother. He wanted, the Last Supper. The pattern I found was 18 panels, and I'm on the second one. Faces are starting to show up, though!

The local rock painters added some skulls into the mix this week, possibly in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Here is some of the fun:

skull, heart and black cat

Additional characters: hungry caterpillar, pizza slice, chile pepper, and heart, among others

another black cat here as well

along with this skull is a broken tooth (clever) and maybe something from Minecraft

I must say that I have enjoyed my winter turned to spring becoming summer this year, and having the time to experience it. The temperatures have been in the 90's for several days, but it isn't the real heat of 100+ that the next few months will bring. My front yard is green, and I pull a few weeds now and then. The grass is more noticeable than it was a few weeks ago, when it seemed the weeds were all that was there. I made a concerted effort to pull out the goat heads, and I haven't spotted any yet this year. Maybe it's too early for them, but I felt every day at the end of the summer last year, that I had gotten them all, and I would walk around and find more. And I have gotten to enjoy my neighbors' flowers. If I can't have the green thumb, at least I can enjoy the efforts of others...

looking down at these purple beauties

looking up at the ocotillo flowers

I think, when all this is over, I there will be things I will miss, just as there are things I miss from before the quarantine. The slower pace is one thing I will miss, and taking time to notice and enjoy these simple pleasures.

Social Distancing Part 24

May 2 - Saturday

New Mexico is opening up, more. I noticed a couple of traffic jams yesterday. I line of cars on Triviz going south and backed up almost all the way to Madrid. As if it was business as usual on a late Friday afternoon. So yes, I was among those driving around... I'm so torn. I feel for the people who want to go back to work, and I feel like it CAN be done safely. Curbside delivery for retail. But people are so very clueless about the whole thing. I don't really think we are ready, in terms of COVID safety to quit staying home. And I don't feel like I've personally stayed at home like maybe I should, except that I bought my first tank of gas since March this week. 6 weeks on 2/3 of a tank of gas is quite slow usage, so I think that tells me that I have definitely curbed by travels quite a bit. But there are so many cars out and about when I'm driving, that it doesn't make me feel more secure.

Sam's today was pretty crowded. No line to get in, for a change. They have rearranged the store, so their shoppers have to look around at everything to find what they used to be able to go right to. They still don't have the stock that they have had in the past, which helps make the aisles a little less crowded, though. I was glad I had my mask, even if I do hate wearing it. On the way out, I even mention to the man who was waiting behind me to go through their check at the door that there were marks on the floor for the proper spacing. He was definitely crowding in (though it wasn't like he was THAT close), and I kind of surprised myself chiding him, because I'm not usually like that.

According to the news, Gallup, NM was closed down yesterday by the governor, at the request of Gallup's incoming and outgoing mayors. The roads in and out of town were blocked, and residents were pretty much required to stay put except in case of emergency. The virus has been running rampant in that area, and I think they are hoping that residents will take precautionary measures more seriously.

Las Cruces got its first recorded positive test of COVID in a nursing home. One of the employees. I've been waiting for it, and hoping it wouldn't happen, as the disease can spread so quickly, and be so devastating for residents and employees in these places.

On the lighter side, someone posted a hilarious make-up video, called tiny face make-up challenge, where she did a mask look that turned her nose into a smaller nose, and then a mouth at the nostril area. It was hilarious to watch her develop her look, and the end result definitely had me laughing. Even if she really needs to wear that mask over her nose if she's going anywhere...

I also got some social time this evening, playing canasta with my brother, his wife, and a friend of ours. That was fun.