GIS Butterfly: Another Day....

There were times this week when I didn't know if I could make it...

But Grandgirls were excited to see my ladybugs.

Then they all died...shipper is replacing shipment

Grandgirls were sharing cookie via messenger

They are planning a virtual "Sleepober"

Judah is just happy all the time (3 hours away)

I haven't seen my Pier 1 Peeps for 5 weeks, but we made a poster together

I was going stir crazy by Thursday. I hadn't had class or homework to do since my last class ended Sunday. Thursday is the day my landscapers arrive and being on the second floor all the exhaust and noise seems to head straight for my apartment.

I took my cat, Molly, for a drive to find snow. We found a patch just past Lassen Park entrance. The park is closed.

Molly loved the snow. At noon we headed home and I was going to support a local business, but the car lines were too long. The stores that are opened had packed parking lots....I felt closed in, but lonely all at the same time.

Gourmet lunch

I went home and made myself a gourmet lunch. Sweet potato fries, sweet little peppers, hamburger with mozzarella strips and chick-fa-lay sauce, with mango chunks. At that moment of despair, I decided to start making myself a fancy plate of food every day.

The following day I cleaned out my pantry and made a shopping list. Saturday morning, early, I went to Trader Joe's and bought two bags of mostly fruits and vegetables. I had meats and cheese at home.

In my pantry I had a supply of Tapioca Wraps. Today it was shrimp and fresh asparagus wraps with fresh Strawberries.

My splurge was to order this poster. I already had a frame
and I finally got the grandgirls pictures on the wall

Molly really misses her lady bugs

We await the new shipment with new artwork
first time painting reverse on glass

and there are the nails of a woman who has not been working enough
I will paint them before this weeks installment of Read Out Loud Grammie

How am I doing you ask? I am okay. I am grateful that no one I know has died from this virus. I am making more money on unemployment than I would if I was working. Making a schedule each week and putting down big chores, like cleaning the pantry or the bathroom closet are a must. Molly makes such a stink that I clean her box twice a day.

Having my little buddy crawl in my lap a couple of time a day is therapeutic. I go over and visit with my Dad once a week to share the family pictures and hear about his latest project. At 87 he has taken up riding an exercise bike 2 or 3 miles a day and has fired his landscaper. Yesterday he bought a new lawn mower and has been planting Gerber Daisy all over the place. He has the prettiest roses too. He also has a little dog, Duke, who keeps him company.

I have worked full time most of the past 4 1/2 decades....never taking off 6 weeks, even to have a baby. I always worked, a lot. I designed the nest as a place to entertain one or two people. Just entertaining Molly has been a challenging. I have not needed to escape in a book. Now I will need to read a book, just for something to keep me busy.

In past summers I would read 5 books a week easily. Every summer I would win a library prize in the drawing, because I stuffed the ballot box with entries. In 5 weeks I have hardly picked up a book for pleasure. I felt the need to be ready for something...but now it seems I am not essential. I suppose that it what is the hardest to accept. I have to be okay with the idea that I am not needed by anyone, but that is not bad.

I have always sought ways to be useful. That is a very hard thing to do right now. I have been told the most useful thing I can do is take care of myself. Eat right, exercise, yoga, feed and care for Molly, clean my apartment and grow my little terrace garden....polish my nails and read a book to my grandkids online....and write down my thoughts for another day.