Social Distancing Part 6

March 21, 2020

What I got done today. Cooking and food prep, first of all. Most of all. We have healthy veggie snacks all ready to go in the fridge. I made dog food. I can share my recipe if anyone wants it, it is pretty easy, and so not gross like the cans of dog food are. The dogs really enjoy it too. I made chicken noodle soup for dinner. I made an eggplant and squash vegetable dish that I love (the rest of my family, not so much).

I sewed as well, got the button holes in two shirts, and the buttons on the small one as well. I got the other shirt close to constructed (meaning all the parts sewed together). I looked at the pair of pants down in the bottom of the sewing basket (like a laundry basket, only with sewing!) Aren't they pretty down there!

I didn't go for a walk today. In fact I went nowhere. I didn't even put on my shoes! Or socks! How's that for a day? Sometimes a no socks and shoes day is quite the accomplishment!

I texted my niece, and they are doing all right. I talked to my aunt, same there. In fact, she made chicken soup for her family today, too.

Today's bummer: there's a fly in the house. ARGH! It's annoying, and way too early for them, right?

Social Distancing part 5

March 20, 2020

I have been having a little trouble falling asleep at night. Raine came and told me she was too. We talked about it a bit, how even though being at home shouldn't be stressful per se, the reason we're at home brings some stress into our lives. We talked about how getting up late every morning might lead to not being ready to sleep at your usual time, so getting up earlier might help us be ready to sleep when we went to bed. We talked about exercise, and making our bodies tired so they were ready for sleep as well. She came up with some options for her, and I came up with some for me. It was a good talk, and reassuring for both of us, I think. That whole you're not in this alone thing.

Raine is a teenager now, and not so much in need of "Mom Moments," but I treasure them. Letting her pick music while we are in the car, whether I'm driving or she is. Really loving the moment the other day when we pulled in at the house but neither of us was ready to stop singing along with the music that was playing. I love the person that is my daughter, the adult she is becoming, the kiddo that she was.

I talked to one of my friends a bit over the past few days, and I wonder that she isn't spending more time at home. She seems not to have changed her life much at all during this social distancing time, and I wonder if perhaps, being retired, and somewhat socially distanced in the first place, she hasn't noticed as much change around her. I worry a little as she seems to become ill sort of easily, but then I have to reflect on my own actions. I am definitely doing more at home, but I've been to Sam's. We've eaten out, and done the take-out thing, as well. Am I judging her by the same standards I am judging my own actions? Probably not. I feel in some ways I should respect her choices, which are often not mine, as much as I would like her to respect my choices, which are often not hers. But there are moments I worry about her. (As I worry about many of the people I know.)

Anyway, I caught up on an episode of a few shows I like (I am NOT in the binge watching camp.), I did very little grading, although I have enough now to be feeling like I should have entered my grades by now. Tomorrow, tomorrow I will. I got some sewing in! Got some pairs of Ron's pants ready for him to wear. I've been working on a button down shirt for my brother, and now, all I have left to do are the button holes and buttons. The same for a kid shirt that I'm working on to donate. I have another shirt for Carl cut out, and a pair of pants for me. I also have some fabric waiting to be cut out. I think I'll get through the projects already in the pipeline before I cut out more. Oh, yeah, and I have some pieces ready to sew into quilt squares, a project that has been set aside for a couple of years now, but my fingers are itching to touch it again.

I walked again today, and took Kaliegh, my dog, with me. She gets happy to go for a walk, and since she has anxiety issues, I feel like the exercise does her good. One of my neighbors had his kettle corn set-up out in his driveway, and running, selling some curbside service kettle corn, in case anyone is jonesing for some. There are also people moving into the house next door to me, which has been empty for a while. Some other neighbors bought it and have worked for more than a year, fixing it up for their son, who is finally moving in. The work they did was awesome, and the house is super cute now. Yay!

Making chicken soup, and dog food is probably on the agenda for tomorrow. And more sewing!

Social Distancing Part 4

March 19th

Went to Sam's today. They are only letting a few people in at a time (like 100, I'm guessing) and there was a line that stretched back across their auto bays to the back corner of the building by the time I got there, not much after 9AM. But people weren't standing very close to each other, and the line moved pretty quickly, so there was that. I got most of what I wanted, including rotisserie chicken! But a lot of things weren't there, too. There wasn't a lot of meat, but there was some. The blocks of cheese I like weren't there. There were fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk and a good variety of frozen foods, but no eggs, no toilet paper. There had been paper towels, but not by the time I got there, which was OK, since I didn't need them anyway.

I took a rotisserie chicken to my brother and his wife. I had some things for her from home as well (although I forgot to give her one of them, darn it!) I offered to pick up what they needed from Sam's, but they were out of eggs and the carbonated water that they wanted. They had to make do with rotisserie chicken. My brother is able to work from home, so that's where he was.

Tonight's dinner? Rotisserie chicken quesadillas (have to use the cheese before it's moldy, right? They'll have more, right?) Simple, but yummy. Probably will make chicken soup for dinner tomorrow or Saturday. I'm definitely eating home more, now that I'm home to make it.

The downside is that even though I got some things to donate to the food pantry, the one I was going to donate to, at the church my brother attends, wasn't open. I looked online for other places to donate, but while the Roadrunner Food Bank has distribution times and places listed on the LCPS list, there isn't a donation site listed. I even looked on their website, and I could donate online or in Albuquerque. Not driving that far to make a donation! I think tomorrow I will try FYI. I mean, it's not a huge donation, but it might help a few people...

Took Kaylee with me on my walk today. She's been stressing some, with the different schedule, plus Ron's work schedule changed. It was good for both of us.
I didn't walk in the rain yesterday, but I still have four days out of the last 6, so I'm happy with that.

I'm finding online streaming concerts to listen to. That is very cool. Artists playing at home and streaming radio stations organizing it. I was listening to Until Further Notice for a while.

Oh, and the Google Dual conversation went well! You just start the program and enter a phone number (or numbers, I think) and when the person answers, you can see them and they can see you, and we had a great time chatting! Easy Peasy! You should try it!

Social Distancing Part 3

Tuesday, March 17th - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Sirius Channel that I often listen to, The Spectrum, had Irish music day today. Seriously (see what I did there?) made me happy today. I love me some Irish/Celtic music.

Slept late today. I even got to turn off the alarm, let the dogs out, and go back to bed for a couple hours. Not really sure how the alarm got turned on in the first place, silly habit, I suppose.

I got to spend some time with a friend of mine, sewing. She cut out a top, I cut out a skirt for her and sewed it up. She's needing professional-ish clothes for her internship, which should hopefully lead to a job, and the need for more professional-ish clothes. But we'll take one step at a time, and get her started, so she's ready to get back to the internship when she can. We met in a not-crowded place, and didn't even sit that close to each other, but we got to socialize, and talk, and she went home with goodies. I got to go home feeling happy to have socialized, and to have made stuff.

I didn't get a whole lot else done today, as far as cleaning or organizing my craft room, and I think tomorrow, I'm going to work on some sewing projects here at home. I've got a basket full, and I can be going through them, and sew them up, and get ready to refill it! I'm actually pretty happy to get to recharge my creativity battery over this enforced break. I also know that even though the cleaning and organizing isn't my favorite thing to do, I will feel so much better having done it, and the space will be that much friendlier to be in for me.

I went for a walk today. Ron went, too, which was nice. It's nice to see other people out and about in the neighborhood, enjoying being outside. (Or being outside whether they enjoy it or not, I guess - but _I_ enjoy it!) That makes 3 days out of 4 that I've gone walking! I am not disappointed in that average.

Going to try out some virtual socializing tomorrow, on Google Dual. Both of our first time using that application on Google. I'll be sure to say how it goes.

Social Distancing part 2

Sunday, March 15

A three week hiatus from school. The state Dept of Education mandated it. But here, on the Sunday evening, before the first Monday/workday, it doesn't quite seem real.

I've been walking, which is one of my goals. Yesterday I walked through the neighborhood. People were out working in their yards, as I should. It really needs it. There were children out playing. I think I heard the ring of people playing horseshoes or washers wafting from one backyard. Being outside is good. I had forgotten that the poppies should be in bloom, so finding them was one of my joys:

a yard full of pretty yellow poppies

Today, more people were out working on their yards. The recent rains have given the weeds a big head start. Ron and I took our dogs, and walked the walking trail up on Triviz. It really felt good to be out, and the dogs enjoyed themselves, too.

I've met some goals, then - at least so far - walking was one. I can tell I need it, and there is something about being outside in the sunlight that recharges me. I've graded more papers today. I don't want to put in complete days, but I do want to get them done, and even entered so my students can check them out on student view. The laundry got done, so there's that, too. If this runs longer than expected, I may have the house as clean and tidy as I've ever had it, and the yard looking, well, if not good, at least weed free. Not sure three weeks are going to get me to that point, though.

Another of my joys today was riding in the car with Raine, and letting her pick the music. She pulls an artist up on Spotify, and plugs into the Aux feature of the car, and I listen to her choices, and she listens to mine. I really like sharing artists with her, and for her to share artists with me. Today, she picked Hozier, and we both sang along, even after the car was parked: "I fall in love just a little bit, every day with someone new..." Moments!

The craft room still needs attention. I went in there several times today and picked at stuff, but didn't really couldn't get a start. The sewing table is clear enough to sew, though, and I think getting some sewing done may help get me going on some of the organizing that needs to be done, but feels a little overwhelming right now.

Ugh, so much stuff piled up!

I haven't been back to the store, though I feel a pull to go. I have groceries for a while, for us, but a still want to do a food pantry run. I'm wondering if the panic buying will slow down in a few days or a week, though. I will do an online order and pick-up though for the next batch, and keep myself out of the store...

The one thing that will bug me, is that I am not a skyper, or even much of a phone caller. I want to talk to people in person, if I must talk to them. I think I'm going to have to get over that for a little while. I want to check on some friends, and make sure they are doing OK, but I also don't want them to feel like they must break their social isolation to do it! It's foreign to think of that, so I must practice. I think that is one of the areas where this whole thing still doesn't feel real to me.

Social Distancing Part One

New Mexico Department of Education made the decision to close schools across the state to help curb the spread of the corona virus. Closure begins March 16 (effectively March 14, but that is a Saturday), and runs until April 6. One of the suggestions is to keep a log of the effort of social distancing and our personal experience of it. So, this is what this is. Not a debate or commentary, but a personal log. I am happy to do my part in the social distancing efforts, although, I don't look forward to having to make up any school days after the school year would have normally ended. That being said, I'm a big girl, and I will keep putting on my big girl panties, and do what must be done.

Saturday, March 14th - Did my regular breakfast out at Nueva Casita, with my friend Damon, and ordered to go french toast for Raine. We did a grocery run to Albertsons afterwards. I picked up a prescription for Ron, and mostly some fresh vegetables and fruits to eat this week. I could have used rice (we are out, not hoarding), but the store was out, so will check back for that at a later date. I'll probably take a trip to Sam's this week, and pick up a few things there, and some donations for a food pantry, cans of vegetable, maybe some pasta and pasta sauce. It depends on what is available at the time.

Here are some things that I have on my agenda for these 3 weeks: getting caught up on grading, and then planning for the rest of the school year (last 9 weeks); cleaning up my craft room (which has been sadly neglected for a while) and then doing some sewing (this will definitely keep my spirits up); some other housekeeping and spring cleaning tasks to be determined as the spirit moves me; walks; naps; reading; listening to music; writing; did I already mention sewing?; working on Carl's "The Last Supper" cross stitch.

It doesn't seem like a huge list, but, knowing me, I've overscheduled myself. I want to keep in contact with friends, but it will take some negotiation of exactly what that will mean, and how it will be done.

So it begins.

Snowflakes go to the Fair

I made some snowflakes. I should say, MORE snowflakes, as I have made quite a few over the years. I like them. They are a lacy reminder of the snow we don't often get here in southern NM. I love having them to hang from the Christmas tree branches. I have enjoyed sharing them with friends and family.

Adapted from one set of snowflakes I've made several times.

But this blog isn't just about making stuff (although a large part of it is about making stuff), it is about creative process. Creative Learning Process. Being an educator I know stuff about about Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning, and learning processes. In short, we learn through a progression of steps that start with getting the fundamental processes in place, like learning various crochet stitches, and how to make them fairly consistently. Then we use learn to follow directions, and create something. After practicing that a while - sometimes a long while - we become increasingly independent with those processes. An experienced crocheter can find a mistake in a pattern, and figure out what to do to get that pattern to the intended end result. Then, with a little more experience, figure out how to make desired changes in a familiar pattern. They might even combine familiar patterns in new ways. Finally, there is creation (Did it already seem like creating? More to it!). By creation, I mean that the crocheter begins to make their own patterns.

Another adapted snowflake.

So, back to snowflakes. I wanted to make some, but I also wanted to do something a little different, so I made a few using a button in the middle. I had made some little flowers with buttons in the center, and had liked how they turned out, and they provided a little strong point on the flower to connect a barrette or something. I made these two by adapting the button center to patterns that I had made several times before, and I liked the result. I took them to Cruces Creatives to work on for a visit or two, and several people seemed interested in learning how to make them, too. Yeah, you guessed it, I agreed to teach a class in making snowflakes.

This is one of my patterns. The most complex one.

Well, I didn't like the idea of using someone else's patterns for the class. I didn't want to buy a pattern book for each person, or make them go to the expense, and I wanted to start off with some relatively simple patterns for people who might not be too advanced in their crochet skills. So I came up with four new patterns, and wrote up the instructions. This was a new part of the process for me, and I think the simple patterns were a good place to start, honestly. The classes were small (one person for each class) which was better than if there had been a mob. I got to do some one-on-one teaching, and encouraging.

Another of my patterns.. simple and quick to make.

About the time the classes were done, it was time to enter arts & crafts into the Southern NM State Fair. This is something I really try to support. It makes me sad that this element of county/state fairs seems to be dying out, at least where I live. So I looked around and what had I been working on lately? Snowflakes. Well these are too simple to win a prize, I thought, but they're pretty, and they're finished, so, off they go! And they did, and no, they didn't win a prize. I'm not disappointed, but it did make me think. I wondered if I had explained my creative learning process, and the patterns that I had created to make the snowflakes that I entered, would have made a difference in the judging. Maybe it would have, and maybe not (and no hard feelings to the fair judges either way).

Still another of my pattern creations.
Did you catch my mistake here? I don't usually point them out.

It did inspire me to write it down in my blog though, and here it is. Snowflakes that I made, and made up. Snowflakes that made me think about how to make snowflakes, how to use the negative space and repetitions, and points, and how many points. What is it about a picot at the point of a snowflake anyway? I learned about making, and I am proud of myself for doing it. And I feel like I innovated as well...

Yup, this is one of mine, too.

I like the buttons in the middle, they give a little weight to the snowflake, to help it hang a little better. And now, after almost a year of ignoring my blog, I actually have something to add. Some simple snowflakes. Enjoy!