Full Friday

SOS: As I've mentioned (ranted) here before, it's clear the COVID response is being handled in a bigly terrible manner. It's to the point where hospitals are turning to social media for help. Locally, Providence has asked the public to help sew face masks. I'm not sure what that will look like, exactly, but I immediately signed our household up. 

Per their plea, "Let’s come together to keep our health care workers safe, so they can safely care for our patients. The global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) has created a severe shortage of PPE across the world. While regular distribution channels ramp up, we need to act now to ensure caregivers have the isolation masks they need to do their jobs safely.

"So, we’re calling on you! Anyone with a willing heart and the ability to sew can help us protect our caregivers by sewing masks they can wear on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.

"We are starting with Western Washington, which is one of the hardest hit areas in the nation. The effort will grow from there over the coming days and weeks so eventually everyone can participate."

Obviously, volunteers must have the ability to sew and a sewing machine at home. Check and check here. So on Monday, we'll be heading to a pick up point here in Renton to see if we can help.

SUNSET STROLL: Doing the loop - or two or more - around our neighborhood is definitely a part of our daily routine now. It really always should have been. 

Last night's sunset skies were beautiful. 

 At one point, we saw two aircraft in the sky. "Planes!" Annabelle said excitedly.

Why the excitement about something like that, given we're in Jet City? Well, that's because the number of flights in and out is so drastically reduced these days. Jet noise used to be our white noise. Now, it's a relative rarity.

INVISIBLE MAN: Weeks ago, we spied an oddity at Value Village. Intrigued, we brought him home. For some reason all four of us thought it was a kind of kit that had to be assembled.

Turns out all four of us were wrong. Per Christian, who was upstairs with the kids, when they opened it it was just "like a big greeting card." So that was a little disappointing.

They set their dashed hopes aside and made the best of it, doing some 'find the body part' type activities on "Dimensional Man."

SEEDY: Last night we had our last spaghetti squash from last summer for dinner. It was a lunker - one we somehow missed for a good while and it got super big. Like probably 20 inches long and about the same circumference. (Yeah, I know, I should have taken a photo of it - sorry!)

Anyway, Christian cut and cooked it up, and Annabelle and CJ made a yummy sauce to go with. And, they harvested the seeds. 



HAPPY ACCIDENT: Christian was taking compost out around 8:30 last night and I went out to the driveway to say hi to him. It was a clear night, so of course I stared upward, at the stars. And within 5 seconds I spotted the ISS on approach! I pointed it out to him, and he quickly summoned the kids. We haven't watched and ISS flyover in what feels like months!

I couldn't help but think of those astronauts up there, safe from the coronavirus that's ravaging the world right now. I wonder when they're scheduled to land and how they feel about that.

If you haven't already, sign up to get notices about when the ISS is flying over your place: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/signup.cfm

WELLNESS EFFORT: This morning's Facebook feed included notice of a Coursera class called The Science of Well-Being. Offered by Yale University, the course description reads, "(Y)ou will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life."

It sounds intriguing, it's free, and increased wellness is definitely something we could all use a healthy dose of right about now. It also happens to be Coursera's most popular class ever. So, I signed up, and asked the rest of the family to do likewise. Week 1 of the class starts today, but it looks like deadlines are flexible and you can go at your own pace. Anyone care to join us?

OPEN AIR: Japanese class was an outdoor affair again today. 

The kids continue to impress me with their grasp of the language. I'm super happy we have access to Mango Languages for free, through Seattle Public Libraries. It will help CJ keep on track during spring break, before he starts Japanese 3 through Seattle Central College. 

FRIDAYS NOT AT THE 5th: This year we discovered the awesome Fridays at the 5th program, where the kids get to go to a show at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Before hand they meet a cast member and learn about the show and have a pizza party. After the show there's a 'talk back' with the actors. 

Yeah, well, none of that is happening for the foreseeable future. But we did get a little ray of sunshine in the form of an email from the theater today letting us know they're going to do an online version of the event, and it was free, so I signed the kids up. The session took place via the Zoom platform, which is actually quite easy to use. Especially after Kennedy gave us a tutorial live on the platform. I predict there will be a bunch of zoom in our future. 

I feel so bad for them. I can see how this pandemic is going to play out, and CeeJ and Bee and all the other teens are basically going to have a year of their what should be fun teenage years taken away from them. They're going to grow up real quick and live under the specter of a pandemic and economic depression. 

We will do everything we can to help them adapt to this new normal. We have music and art and shelter and food and, most importantly, each other. As bad as it is in the big picture, right here, right now, we are still so fortunate.