This week I don’t even know what to say. Things are pretty open now where I am. One part of me feels happy about it, the other, more cautious common sense half of me thinks “What have we gotten ourselves into?” Many businesses have prepared for this and many have not. What I plan to do is slowly begin to visit places that are open but only open with the proper measures in place. I will not be visiting the ones that opened without following the guidelines.
The problem remains… all the people who think it’s a joke. The spreaders. That’s what I call them. Only takes one of them to infect dozens of people. I’d feel really dumb if I caught it now. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t skip the hand washing even once. I don’t say this to control you, I say it because I’ve gotten to know many of you through this blog and I do not for a second want you to be ill with this. Everything is opening up but COVID is still here, unfortunately.
And now, the protests and the riots? The protests are absolutely warranted. The looting, not. I realize that most of the looters have nothing to do with the protests but really? 2020 has been so hard already and so many of these businesses were already struggling and now their business gets vandalized and looted?
Right Now:
Same ole stuff. Meeting with my youth group in Zoom. I wish Zoom would add some new features like trivia or something. I guess “I” could add some trivia.
This Week:
Our district has decided to allow drive-thru graduations now and they begin this week. We have seven high schools plus one charter and one non-traditional so it will take many days to get through them all. Each grad is allowed one vehicle so I will watch the live stream. There are many private high schools too but they are smaller so they can probably do something on their own. SO glad that these seniors at least get something. It will be held as a large park.
Reading:
I finished King’s new one, If It Bleeds and it was a delight. I will have the review up this week.
Next up, a summer read. My first by this author!
Watching:
We started Season 3 of Broadchurch and I am loving it so much.
No one wanted to watch IT: Chapter Two with me so I am watching it in twenty minute increments over my work lunches.
New Things I’ve Tried:
I am going to skip this category for awhile. I haven’t been up to trying new things just because I go out so infrequently that I don’t want to waste my money or time on something that could turn out to be a dud. Only the tried and true for me at the moment, thank you.
Grateful for:
- REALLY appreciate the grocery workers these days. My local market wipes down my cart and keeps everything so clean.
- Also really appreciate all the cool ways small businesses have kept afloat in the way of offering family meal deals and the like.
- Creativity of any kind
I’ve heard from some of you and for a lot of you I see your posts on Facebook and Instagram too but if you haven’t checked in for awhile, please do so and let me know how you are doing. These past few days I’ve been so angry. I’m sure you can guess why. Too much nastiness in the news and I’ve been avoiding it.
Book Chatter 
Hi Ti,
All good here. We are also beginning to open here, and like you – are still very wary of going out. So, for now, we are still staying home. Do want to go to a garden center this week, it’s outdoors – so should be ok.
Agree that all this violence is not good. There is so much anger and hate out there- it is scary. It is sad when the police abuse their jobs. It makes it so much harder for all the good police officers out there. And.. very worrisome for us – with two sons who are great police officers. They are ashamed and upset when this type of behavior happens.
I am just finishing up The Cactus by Sarah Haywood. I also read Washington Square by Henry James for Book Club and A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama. I am listening to Carry On by Lisa Fenn and next up is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. The Silent Patient is not my genre of choice, but am reading it with two friends. So, hoping for the best. I have never read Mary Kay Andrews, so am hoping you post a review – no pressure.
Hope you have a good week!
The Silent Patient was a page turner but it wasn’t all that great IMO. I feel like it got a lot of hype.
Hi Ti! We’re all fine here, but I haven’t managed to write a blog post in weeks. Our renovation is finally coming in the hime stretch… hoping to move late June/early July. Daughter #1 is heading back to NYC on the 10th, Twin A will stay with us to help with the move (at least that’s the plan today) We’ll see where things stand tomorrow. I did manage to read 6 books in May and plan to write some kind of monthly wrap-up this week. Still haven’t been to a hair salon or restaurant. We’re thinking about trying an early dinner outdoors at a restaurant where servers wear masks tonight. I’ll try to make an appointment for a haircut this week – no color or blow dry, and I’ll show up with my hair wet. The world is crazy right now 😦 Take care.
Wow!! So you will be able to move in by July. That is excellent. You will be all settled come the holidays.
Everything is pretty open here but I am not rushing to go anywhere. Some businesses have taken this time to put things in place and others, nothing. Just open as usual. I will not give them my business if they haven’t taken any precautions.
Such a sad and disheartening week for so many reasons. Our state is in Phase 1 of the reopening. Hair salons are open with loads of restrictions – I haven’t been in a salon since mid-February but, plan to wait until at least July to see how things go and then just a haircut.
Other than non routine doctors visits with masks, I’ve only been to an outdoor garden shop with a mask and inside a CVS once with mask.
I’m hoping you find some peace and bright spots in the coming week.
—oh, I finished If it Bleeds today and thought it was fun; liked 4 novella style too.
Reopening doesn’t mean the virus is gone but so many believe that. Many without masks. Lots of restaurants packed. I walked the dog today without a mask but anytime someone came up to me they would cross the street so some people are attempting to maintain distance but it only takes one spreader to cause a spike.
It has been a hard week for sure. I agree on the protests. That’s warranted but the looting is not. So much bad in the world right now that there just doesn’t need to be more. And the hate I will never understand. It’s awful.
The virus and the people that think it’s a joke. You know you go to the store here and so many aren’t wearing masks. They’re walking in the parks and such without a care. I don’t understand it at all. My salon is just opening and they are following all the guidelines and I’ll be wearing mask and gloves and showering and washing everything once I get home. I think that will be a way of life for a long time.
Looking forward to your thoughts on If It Bleeds. Hope you have a better week.
On the plus side, two astronauts went to ISS yesterday from US soil. That’s what I’ve been telling myself when I go down the angry rabbit hole and need something to lift me up. This is just a never-ending tragedy.
I’m nervous about all the reopenings here. I’m glad these places are open but just wish everyone exercised double caution now. Or things are going to go south again.
Our District is also doing drive through (and drive-in movie style) graduations. Better than nothing, I suppose. I went to the Black Lives Matter rally today in SB, but left before the march. The speakers were really powerful.
I’m doing okay down South — my town had protests, but the cops behaved themselves and things went pretty smoothly. One thing I would say about the looting is that it’s very, very small potatoes in comparison to what’s being done to vulnerable individuals on a daily basis by structural actors like corporations and police precincts. To spend our time condemning looting rather than condemning the structural harm that has been done and continues to be done to individual Americans is, I think, a failure of focus and allyship.
The world feels like it is a mess, doesn’t it? I’m horribly upset with those who aren’t doing the right thing. Nothing justifies killing. Nothing justifies stealing. Nothing justifies hating.
I can’t change those things. People are going to kill. People are going to steal. People are going to hate. I can’t stop these things.
All I can do is continue on and try to do what good I can, small as it might be. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Please keep posting and commenting, Ti, when you can. It’s my blogging friends that are keeping me going right now.
I feel the same way. There is only so much you can do and we can only be responsible for ourselves and maybe our kids if they are minors. I feel so isolated right now. All this unpleasantness has made me aware how sheltered my little town is. The privilege and the entitlement has been front and center since safer at home. I’ve written a lot of in-real-life friends off in the past three weeks.
Yeah Ti, after last night’s chaos on the news, I had to turn it off for awhile. The looting plus Trump are just awful. He makes it worse! I’m okay with peaceful protest but not the violence & stealing. It’s just wrong to destroy these small retail businesses … LA looked bad as well as Santa Monica. And other cities, NYC. It’s outrageous really. As for Covid, we are still keeping safe. I like how you call them “the spreaders” …. sounds like a TV show. Things seem pretty bad now. I hope things calm. stay well.
I hope this email gets to you. I noticed it’s different from what I had on file before for you. Trump. Please, please, please tell me he will be gone soon. The Bible stunt was just too much for me. He said he tear gassed rioters but they were all peaceful and then for what? She he could lumber off and hold a Bible like it’s burning his hands? Upside down and backward too. These events are making me hostile and irritable. We have a protest in my hometown tomorrow and it’s grad week too. REALLY do not want these kids to be affected by it. It’s one of many drive thru graduations but if something happens it would definitely be affected.