Today was a day of ‘firsts in awhile’…I haven’t done any of these things since SIP started in March. 1. Got $$ from the ATM 2. Went to the Farmer’s Market 3. Went to a movie I haven’t needed cash, really the place I spend it most is at the Farmer’s Market. I don’t know WHY I haven’t been going there, it’s obviously even more safe than the grocery store, but I did worry about being around too many people, and then there was smoke and hot days and blah blah blah. It wasn’t crowded, everyone was wearing masks (even though the guy selling grapes had his under his nose…)…

This is a somewhat blurry picture of my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Mata, taken when she was much younger than when I knew her. She retired just a few years after I was in her class. I don’t remember a lot from that year in school, but I do remember her being a very good teacher, kind and involved and helpful. And short. I found out today, via Facebook, that the Stockton Unified School District has named their newest school (opening this school year, what a year to open!) for her. Here is the bio, from the school website, which is also where I got the photo. I had no…

Ally had a post the other day about her rules for how to live her life, and in the comments, Nance mentioned that the only rule she lives by is to be kind. Then I saw this meme on FB, and it got me thinking about the difference between being nice and being kind. According to this post, the main difference is in your motivation. Nice is about how you want to be perceived, whereas kind is about genuine compassion and caring. From the post: “If you get offended when people don’t offer you praise for being “nice” then you can be certain you aren’t being kind.” I agreed with…

“All were unconscious that this experience was a test of character, and, when the first excitement was over, felt that they had done well, and deserved praise. So they did; but their mistake was in ceasing to do well, and they learned this lesson through much anxiety and regret.” ~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women California did so well at the beginning of all of this, we crushed the curve. At least, it felt that way. I felt sorry for the people in New York and Louisiana and so on. I felt a little smug, actually. And now, here we are, mid-July, and hospitalizations in my county have tripled since…

Life is hard right now. To be very clear, it is not currently hard for me personally. We are all working, we are all privileged and safe and healthy. Since Ted and Maya are working from home, so there are no commuting costs, we’re probably coming out a little ahead, financially. At least for now. But my heart is broken. The murder of George Floyd, on top of everything else, on top of the pandemic and a tanked economy and our shit for brains asshole President, it’s too much. I talked to my sister last week, before the news of Mr. Floyd’s murder, and she said, if we can only…

I hate this meme, with the missing apostrophe (wont) and the extras (in Alien’s and UFO’s), but it is, indeed, a sign of our times. I’m trying not to let the world stress me out, partially because I need a crown, but I ignored it and put it off and now I am afraid to go to the dentist, so I worry that if I grind my teeth too much, I will crack my tooth and make it worse. Me me me. We’re all working from home now. Maya and I are more introverted, and of course we are set up right next to each other in my bedroom. Ted…

My main gift to Maya this Christmas was some closet organization. Her room has been a disaster for awhile now, and between trying to get to the closet through all of the shoes on the floor, and not being able to put anything in the closet due to NO ROOM in there, it’s a death trap. Years ago, my local office moved from our town to Chicago (and then to Georgia a few years later), and rather than asking us to move, sent us all home to work remotely. I had a bunch of binders full of information that I used quite often for my work, so I brought them…