Over the last month, I’ve thought about my maternal grandmother a lot. She is someone I definitely miss having in my life, despite the fact she’s been gone almost twenty years. You see, I have been sewing masks or PPE using her old SEARS Kenmore sewing machine. This machine, which I’ve owned for a large…
Before the COVID 19 pandemic, our family had some trips planned. This is not unusual for us or others. Most trips take planning. The bigger the trip, the further in advance one must plan. Or, so it seems. Our youngest was to go to the UK with his aunt for his Graduation trip. She has…
Yesterday, one of my blog readers responded to my post that she thought I needed to give myself some Grace. As I read her comment, I stopped to think. Her words really resonated with me. But, the question is: how do I do this? I push hard. In almost all situations, I set high expectations…
Late this morning, I retreated. I retreated to the lower floor of our house. I dragged a chair, one of those lightweight IKEA Poem Chairs that we’ve had since our first apartment in Baltimore Maryland, over to the spot of sun that was slipping in our patio door and splashing light on the tile. I…
This two-week break (no school – online or otherwise) has caused a great loss of motivation for me. No longer up at 6:30, I blame this on insomnia creeping back into the house. The two hours between one and three a.m., as I lay wide awake in my bed, grateful to be safe in a…
During the last three weeks, I’ve noticed that we have less of certain things. Today, I noticed that we have been receiving far less mail than we usually do. This is a very welcome change. For some reason, we get a lot of mail. Most of it is junk mail that comes in and goes…
Over the last month, we’ve been treated to some homemade bread products. Our son, a graduate student, has been home temporarily due to the virus and passing some time working on a sourdough starter, bread, and pretzels. They’ve been warmly received by everyone in our home – especially his younger brothers. We’ve laughed as he…
My parents did something risky this week. They drove from their condo in South Carolina back to their primary residence in Western New York. They are both in their early 80’s. I have to be honest and say that I truly do not understand this decision. For weeks now, my sister and I saw it…
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently made a recommendation for citizens to wear masks while in public during the coming weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems this recommendation was made due to the probable likelihood that people can be asymptomatically carrying the virus and infecting those around them. This…