Marking Time

CANVASSING: This morning's to do list included painting a sloth on a canvas. Because what else are you going to do when you're housebound?

Once again, we watched a tutorial from McHarper Manor.

As Annabelle painted upstairs, I followed along by watching the video.

It was kind of killing me not to be able to watch her 'live,' but Christian did send me some photos during the process. 

Here's a screenshot of the sloth painting class.

Here's the tutorial in case you're interested in painting or drawing a sloth: https://www.facebook.com/McHarperManor/videos/653738402107406/. (You have to have a Facebook account to access it. They say they're going to upload the videos to their YouTube channel, but as of my writing, that hasn't happened.) 

MIGHT AS WELL JUMP: Though this week has been so depressing on the COVID-19 front, mercifully we have been blessed with some wonderful weather. We won't be going to our beloved gym for who knows how many months, but we do have an old trampoline he can bounce around on for a bit. 

And we can walk. We took a 40-minute stroll around the business district of Renton. We strolled a few blocks around the McClendon Hardware store, because we needed a couple of items there. (FYI, I did not go anywhere near the store, or anyone else. I even drove by myself in a car, instead of riding with Christian and the kids. And Christian went into the big, wide-open store social distancing, and wearing a mask and gloves.)

Though we've driven the streets around that store so many times, being on foot we noticed more things, including a number of fire hydrants that had a milk theme. That led us to speculate that once upon a time, those lands were a sprawling dairy operation. 

Check out this really well-done milkman hydrant.

 The paint job is really impressive! I found an article on the city's website about the public hydrant art. 

 The base of the fireman pointed us toward the fact that there was a haiku on his helmet.

 Down the block, there was a hydrant painted with some white cows.

And out in front of the Catholic school, there was even a hydrant depicting a cow being beamed up into a UFO. It was designed and painted by a young artist. How cool is that?!

SUSTENANCE: As you've likely heard on the news, school districts are finding ways to keep their students supplied with school lunches during the big shutdown. We live and pay taxes in the Renton School District, and here, the district has to go bags each day at every school, from 11 -12 p.m. It's not just for families eligible for free and reduced lunch, so we went and checked it out on the first day it started, Tuesday. This was what was in one bag, Left to right it's apple slices, carrots, a cheese stick, cereal, applesauce, chocolate milk, regular milk, a bagel, some sunflower 'butter' and cream cheese. 

The lunch today was exactly the same. It isn't hot and it's not fancy, but it could keep a person going, and we're grateful for the food, as shelves are still pretty bare in stores in these parts. We'll probably be regular 'customers' as long as supplies are sufficient.

Meanwhile, on the COVID-19 front, there are still nearly no tests to be had (despite daily assurances at the federal level that they're coming by the millions). Likewise, the protective supplies crucial for front line healthcare workers are also in perilously short supply. 

I've seen asks for masks posted on local Buy Nothing groups here in Seattle. I can't believe we're so early into this (relatively speaking) and it's already come to that. Right now, hospital workers are trying to make masks out of office supplies, I kid you not. 

Industrious people are trying to help out in other ways. For example, a small apparel producer in Portland is offering to make medical gowns. And FabCafe global is sponsoring a mask design challenge, hoping to spur some relief. 

On my own personal health front, I'm still isolating in the basement. This morning, I was so happy the headache has eased, and the chills are less today. But I'm kind of melting into the sofa about now, though (2:40 p.m.). An afternoon nap might be in order. ... Fast forward three hours. Yikes. Guess I overdid it this morning. I slept like a log for three hours, and awoke with chills and a dull headache. Sigh. Guess it wasn't just a three-day thing. :/

Last night I convinced myself that I don't have coronavirus, because I don't have the typical symptoms. However, after reading updates on inflicted Tom Hanks and his wife, and a profile of a Seattle survivor, I'm back to thinking I do have it. Not all cases present the same. In any event, it's almost certain I'll never know, though, because of the lack of tests. #FederalFailure 

MORE HISTORY: As mentioned in a previous post, we're using this 'opportunity' to catch up on some movies and programs, and we had a mini-marathon of "Drunk History" episodes a couple of nights ago. CJ would like to tell you about one. ...

The other night, I watched an episode of Drunk History, a television series featuring intoxicated guests giving history lessons, with visual accompaniment. One of the stories told in the episode I watched was about the two boxing matches between Joe Louis (from the U.S.) and Max Schmeling (from then-Nazi Germany). These matches are notable because A: They served as evidence against Hitler's "Aryan Master Race" theory, and B: Hitler attempted to cover up the existence of the second match. 

Joe Louis famously decided not to train in advance of the first match. Despite an impressive performance on his part, he ended up losing to Max Schmeling. Louis demanded a rematch, and meticulously trained this time around. Louis decisively won the rematch, which Hitler attempted to keep a secret.

If you'd like to see it for yourself, here it is. ...