Staying Healthy by Staying Home

Hello friends - I hope you are all doing OK, and remaining healthy during this dangerous and uncertain time.  I am at home as we learned last Friday that we would all be home through the end of March at least, and perhaps even longer.  We are of course supposed to work at home.  My job does not make that possible, so my sick and vacation time is being used.  Sadly it's out of my control.  I just hope that I have enough of both so that I don't get to the point of not getting paid at all.  YIKES!

None of it is under my control at least not at this point, so I just decided to do what I can when I can and go on with things.  So I had a lovely birthday last Saturday, and it was also a pretty day here, so that was good.  The Tim and I went to breakfast at our favorite diner, which was not yet closed but was not very crowded at all, very unlike any other Saturday morning ever!  And we had cake, presents, and a birthday dinner with the critters at home that afternoon and evening.  It was a good birthday, even if an exceptionally quiet one.  Thank you for your kind wishes!

The Tim still has to go to work, though I'm not sure how much longer that will be the case.  He said on Tuesday that rentals were down more than 50%, and they were starting to lay off people.  On the one hand, I would prefer that he could stay home and [theoretically] be 100% safe, but if he is laid off, we'll be on extra thin ice otherwise.  Again, though, out of my control, so we'll just see what happens.

I do have to say though that the only family member who is struggling with social distancing is Hamlet!  When we go outside for walks, he can't quite figure out where all of the people are, and also why the few we do see don't want to see him.  The Tim, the cats, and I are doing much better, as we are all fine with not having to be around people.  When I went to see my therapist on Monday, she asked how I was doing, and I told her that I don't like being lonely, but I don't mind at all being alone.  She smiled, leaned forward, and said, "Me too." 

Spoiler alert:  I've been knitting!  Not 24/7 of course, as I've been trying to stay on a fairly regular schedule, but certainly more than I normally am able to do it.  On Sunday, I finished a few more blocks on my blanket.

I really need to stop working on this row and fill in some rows on top, but since there is no real deadline for this, I'm not worried about getting it all done. 

And I've made a lot of progress on the first of my socks that I've been knitting.  The last time I showed them, I had knit this much:

And this time, I actually have memorized the pattern and so have not had to do any more ripping out.  Now I'm past the heel and working on the foot.

I've even made more progress since I took this photo.  At first, I wasn't going to continue the main cable pattern onto the foot, but then I decided that at least this time, I'd try my best to follow the pattern exactly as written.  

I hope at some point, I can get a good photo that shows how pretty the yarn actually is - it's a light green with washes of blues and purples every once in a while, and also has stellina.  It makes it fun to knit, that's for sure.

Also keeping me smiling during this project?  This guy:

BABY YODA!  Isn't he cute?  Someone I follow on Instagram showed a project of theirs with this progress keeper, and I decided that being the Baby Yoda devotee that I am, I deserved to have one of my very own.  He makes me smile whenever I work on this project.  That counts for a lot, particularly these days.

Yesterday, I also started (and restarted, and restarted, and then restarted again) a sweater.  So far I have the neck done and today will start on the yoke (already restarted once unsuccessfully, I might add).

My original plan was that I would be on vacation from Monday through yesterday of this week, so to be honest, I sorta treated those days as I would have anyway.  Today is my first day when I will try to spend at least a bit of time reading some articles related to my work, so I can feel that I'm making some kind of effort - and also maybe learn what some others are working on these days.  There will also of course be some walks with Hamlet, and an exercise workout.  

I am grateful that I am well and only inconvenienced right now, and I hope that will be the case going forward for all of us.  I will say that I blame the person currently living in the White House and his ilk for all of this.  In not-surprising news, it turned out not to be a "Democratic hoax," and by the time he was willing to do anything, it was already too late.  Every person's illness and any deaths are on his hands, as far as I'm concerned, and I hope that when November comes we will all remember why this ended up being the horrific mess that it is.

OK, I got that off of my chest.  So now I'll just say that I hope you are all taking time to make sure that you are keeping on and making things work the best that you can.  My suggestion would be to limit the amount of time you listen/read/absorb the news and other information, and take time to breathe, and do what you can for yourselves and your families.  Let me know what you are making, reading, cooking, or baking - we can share the happy things and lift spirits!  

And before I forget, today is the first day of Spring - the earliest it has been in 124 years!  Maybe the universe knew we would need it now.  This is proof that the world goes on, no matter what we are doing or feeling on any given day.  Our daffodils are already out, looking quite pleased with themselves, and the crocus are getting ready to do their part.  

Look for the pretty.  Look for the happy.  Trust me, if I can do it, so can you.  :-)