Saturday Edition

PURPLE PERFECTION: Look at this lovely we spied our our morning loop. Its petals are paper thin. I'm not sure what kind of flower it is, but if I had to guess, which I do, I would guess poppy because of the petals. Someone out there please correct me!

FRIDAY REWIND: As previously mentioned, the kids took place in a virtual "Fridays at the 5th" this past Friday, as a substitute for meeting their peers in person and getting to watch a show.

Here's what Annabelle had to say about the session. ...

This week, 5^th Avenue Theatre’s usual “Fridays at the 5^th” monthly meetup had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak and quarantine. As a solution to this, they decided to put together a webinar panel on the Zoom platform, allowing attendees to log in and talk with the instructors over text while they used a webcam. The topic of this meetup was comedic timing and how comic relief characters are structured not just on verbal jokes, but also body language and acting. The panelists discussed how important it is to test the jokes in front of an audience, and how sometimes last minute script changes are required due to certain ones just not landing. Your entire character may even be totally redone if it isn’t funny enough. It’s also imperative that you keep grounded, and make sure that you don’t do something your character wouldn’t do; there’s a certain point where constant jokes and slapstick go from “funny” to “annoying.” 

And following is CJ's take on it. 

On a Friday near the end of each month, The 5th Avenue Theatre hosts a Fridays at the 5th event, where students learn about a play being hosted by the theater that night, and learn a (very) limited selection of skits from the night's act. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The 5th Avenue Theatre postponed Fridays at the 5th events for the foreseeable future. 

To compensate for the lack of physical meetups, the theater is opting to do meetings on Zoom every Friday, at 4 P.M. Zoom is a client enabling conference video calls. In the first Zoom meeting, the instructors of the class opted to tell about about the role of "comic relief" in a story, even in mostly somber and serious acts. Unfortunately, since a large amount of the one-hour session was spent talking about setting up the new schedule and discussing technical issues, I don't feel like I learned very much about theater. If nothing else, we got to see clips from plays we had never seen before, and were told about the significance of them providing comic relief.

There were over 100 students in the online meeting, which is more than we usually had in the in-person meetings. I suppose I look forward to further Fridays at the 5th events, and hope there aren't as many technical issues in the future.

PROPORTIONAL: Yesterday, the kids participated in another drawing tutorial from J J K. The topic of the lesson was proportions. 

I wish I could have been in the room while they were drawing these so I had some basis for comparison.

I really appreciate that CJ is so willing to engage in these classes. He doesn't consider himself artistic, but the best way to get better is by practicing! 

Here's the video if you're interested in playing along!

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Since I've been basement bound, my meal preparation has mostly been orchestrating from afar. today I directed ribs and potatoes. Both were cooked in the Instant Pot. (What did we do before we had our pressure cooker?) Oh, and barbecue sauce for the ribs. Annabelle handled the potatoes and sauce. Christian cooked the ribs. CJ emptied the dishwasher. :)

OMG, dinner (delivered to the basement) was so delicious!!!

(That's sour cream in the shot glass, in case you were wondering.)

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. 

Rumblings and Grumblings

SCHOOL WORK: Another day of our new normal at MPA. It started with a small breakfast for the kids and then right into a 10 a.m. art class from McHarper Manor via Facebook live. Today's project was space themed - pastel chalks on black paper. CJ and Annabelle both participated. 

The artwork above is CJ's. The one below is Annabelle's. I like how the planets and moon are cut out and glued on the background 'canvas.' It gives the art more pop.

If you want to check out the galaxy art tutorial, you'll have to go to the McHarper Manor Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/McHarperManor/videos/534272297517466/

Upcoming projects for next week are:
Monday: Acrylic Painting on Canvas - underwater view!
Tuesday: Paper Marbling
Watercolor Wednesday! Fun resist process
Thursday: Hand Sewn Monsters with Missy!
Friday: Let's play with polymer clay! Miniatures / charms

And the week beyond:
Monday: Acrylic Painting on Canvas - Beach Theme
Tuesday: up-cycled robots
Watercolor Wednesday - Sky line with magic salt bursts sky.
Thursday: Still life drawings
Friday: Sweet Treats from Model Magic

This afternoon, it was Japanese time. I asked the kids to sit out on the deck, in the sunshine for their lesson. It was good to get fresh air, and that way, I could observe from a safe distance.

I was really impressed by their vocabulary. They were able to spit out 2-3 sentences altogether about a variety of things

Other news on the Japanese front: CJ wanted to take Japanese 3 at South Seattle College, where he attends school, but that class was canceled due to lack of enrollment.

South Seattle is part of a three-college cooperative that includes North Seattle College and Seattle Central College. Central *is* offering Japanese 3 this spring, and so we inquired about him being able to take that. It sounds like it's a go, which is great.

Needless to say, all of the classes will be online this quarter. And then he'll have summer break. It's hard to know what 'back to school' will look like this September. 

IT COUNTS: One thing we'll be doing lots of for the foreseeable future is taking the poops for a loop. The 'poops' is what we often call our dogs, and the loop is a circle around our neighborhood. I want to make sure we're getting our 10,000 or so steps in during this detention (for lack of a better term), so today we counted how many steps the loop is. Turns out it's about 1,000 steps. So that means we'd have to do 10 loops a day if we're doing nothing else but sitting around. That's rather daunting! Hopefully once I start feeling better, we can work ourselves up to several loops. Today, we did two.

COVID DIARY: In case you haven't heard, I have been isolated in the basement since Monday night. A two-day mild headache turned into the worst headache of my life, a general feeling of unwell, a little fever, a stuffy nose, rumble gut ... Normally, I wouldn't think a whole lot about any of this BUT, well, it's not normal times. I was exposed to HUNDREDS of people face-to-face, handing things back and forth for a week working the elections counter. And some of those people were some kinds of sick. Despite my being as careful as I could reasonably be, I am now afflicted with something. I'll likely never know if it was COVID, since there are no COVID tests to be had. 

Hoping for some help, and maybe a test 'hookup," I decided to try to get an appointment with UW Medicine online. I downloaded their app and got 'in line' at about 5:30 a.m. There were about 30 people ahead of me, and then, about an hour later, I was about 20th in line when it kicked me out altogether. Drat. I wanted to do UW, because they're the only ones I know of that consistently have any testing kits. Rather than hop back into their queue though, I decided to give CHI Franciscan a try. I downloaded their app and watched myself progress from 30 something through the 20s and teens to single digits. 

While on hold waiting for a virtual doctor visit, I learned several things thanks to their screen saver. One was that the most common type of blood in the U.S. is O positive. That came as a shock to me. In high school, I was taught that A positive is the most common.

I also learned that Rx was the symbol used in Latin for recipe. Today, of course, we know that it's the symbol used for a prescription. History.com says, "Rx is derived from the Latin word “recipe,” meaning “take.”

History.com also reports that the world’s first recorded prescriptions were etched on a clay tablet in Mesopotamia around 2100 B.C. and the first drugstores were established in the ancient city of Baghdad in the eighth century A.D.

But back to being on hold. ... "Fast" forward four hours, and I was finally number one. After several seconds of a spinning circle, a real live doctor appeared on my phone's screen. He immediately apologized, noting that I had been on hold for 293 minutes. I told him no apology was necessary, it certainly wasn't his fault. 

We then spent a few minutes talking about COVID-19 and the likelihood of me having it. The typical 'checklist' for this COVID is dry cough, sore throat, fever. I do have a fever, but no sore through or cough yet. However, in doing my research, (both medical journal level stuff and personal stories), it's very clear that those are not the only or "mandatory" symptoms. The doctor noted that different people present differently, and the idea that you had to have those symptoms is not correct. In reality, symptoms for some is fever and nausea, nothing else. Others, it's just a headache. Some get GI symptoms and a fever.  ...  Basically, I think anyone who is sick right now should assume they have it and self isolate unless proven otherwise. 

The doctor was kind and tried to be consoling, but he really couldn't do anything for me. He didn't know of any places I could go get a test. He said to assume I have COVID, and that if it develops into trouble breathing, to get to a hospital, but call ahead.  I thanked him for his time and wished him well.

A bit later, I remembered that King County had a Coronavirus page, and so I checked it out. On the page, among other things, it says, "If you are in King County and believe you were exposed to COVID-19—or if you're a healthcare provider with COVID-19 questions—contact our call center between 8 AM to 7 PM PST at 206-477-3977."

So I called. I was pleasantly surprised when a man who said his name was Bruce answered the phone on the second ring. Wow! What service! Bruce proceeded to ask me my name, date of birth and how he could help me. I told him I thought I might have COVID. Of course, he went right down the CDC checklist: Cough, trouble breathing, fever. When I told him I had a fever and other symptoms, Bruce declared me COVID-free. Lucky me! (Oh, and apparently Bruce hasn't spent hours doing medical research about the different way COVID-19 presents.)

Out of curiosity I asked him if the center refers people for testing or he knew were testing centers are at the moment. They do not. He said the line was for information only. Information as in, read out loud what I read on their website. Honestly, that's not very helpful.

I thanked him for his time, and realized I had wasted mine. 

A few hours later, I got a call from a Teledoc physician. I actually forgot I requested it, it had been so long - like seven hours. His voice was a little muddled during our call. I pictured him hunkered down in a concrete, COVID-proof bunker in Eastern Washington.

He asked how he could help. My point-blank response was, "I don't think you can." I told him about my experience with the first doctor, and my frustration with the county's response. I told him that I would *love* to get tested so that I could know if I could rejoin my family, or if I had COVID-19, and that if/when I recover, I could help other people, potentially, as hopefully I'd be immune (at least to this strain of it).

His response? "Don't get me started on the testing."  He then went on a bit of an unintelligible screed about how bungled the federal response has been, with especially choice words for the CDC.

I told him that it would make him feel better to know that this morning (again) Trump and Pence went on TV to declare that there were millions of free tests, ready and waiting, and that all healthcare providers had the protective equipment needed. 

"They LIE!" the doctor declared. 

"They're lying liars who lie," I agreed. 

The doctor seemed to have all the time in the world. He was quite chatty. He could clearly tell that I'd researched extensively and ended up asking ME about what I'd learned. 

One of the things I told him is that according to the CDC, if you are COVID-positive, it's only safe to rejoin your family after 7 days without symptoms and TWO negative COVID-19 tests. HAHAHAHA. Like in what world would THAT happen? 

He also wanted to know what the King County COVID-19 folks had to offer. I told him apparently nothing more than a guy who isn't even a medical professional telling you you'll be fine, in a soothing voice. 

I finally basically told the doctor I had to go. Poor guy, I think he just needed to vent. 

Just another day in Coronavirusville. 

While writing this, Pacific Science Center sent an email letting me know they'll be livestreaming a talk with local experts and leaders in epidemiology and community health plus public health officials on March 24 from 7-9 p.m. on their YouTube channel. Panelists will include Teresita Batayola, Chief Executive Officer at International Community Health Services; Dr. Marisa D’Angeli, Medical Epidemiologist, Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Washington State Department of Health; and

Dr. Hilary Godwin, Dean at University of Washington School of Public Health.

YouTube channel at 7 p.m. PT for expert opinion and responses to your questions by submitting them in the comments section.

HELP AT HOME: Wondering how you can help fight COVID-19 from the comfort of your own home? Stanford University would like to use some of your computer's processing power. 
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161131/folding-home-volunteers-researchers-coronavirus

According to an article in The Verge, "Folding@home (FAH) uses the processing capacity of networked computers to simulate the complex process of protein folding, which helps determine how to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and SARS, another coronavirus."

The Folding@Home website explains, "For both coronaviruses [the current 2019 nCoV and SARS], the first step of infection occurs in the lungs, when a protein on the surface of the virus binds to a receptor protein on a lung cell. This viral protein is called the spike protein ... Proteins are not stagnant—they wiggle and fold and unfold to take on numerous shapes. We need to study not only one shape of the viral spike protein, but all the ways the protein wiggles and folds into alternative shapes."

A vaccine and herd immunity are both months-if-not-years away, so the best bet to beat down coronavirus is developing a treatment. According to The Verve, "Studying how the protein folds could eventually help researchers develop drugs that could treat infections of the virus."

Per Folding@Home, "With many computers working towards the same goal, we aim to help develop a therapeutic remedy as quickly as possible. By downloading Folding@home here [LINK] and selecting to contribute to “Any Disease”, you can help provide us with the computational power required to tackle this problem." 

Not only could you help with COVID-19, your computer could also be helping find cures for diseases including cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Influenza and many others.

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. ... 

Beware the Ides of March

DOWN AND OUT: This report is coming to you from the basement of MPA. It's where I've taken up residence, as of last night, when a two day headache intensified and was accompanied by some other symptoms (chills, fatigue, rumble gut).

The good news is, while it's painful, to be sure, I'm not having any respiratory trouble beyond a bit of a stuffy nose. The bad news is, I don't know what this affliction is. Given the pandemic times we're in, it makes sense for me to isolate. 

I'd love to get a test to see if I'm COVID-19 positive, but that's out of the question. There are no tests to be had unless you're rich and famous (which is infuriating) or unless you're a medical professional on the front lines (which I TOTALLY understand). 

So here I sit, clueless regarding what's afflicting me.

Life goes on, however, in our new normal. I did get to spend some time with the kids today, outside, of course. We pulled weeds at a distance, along the driveway.

I gave them a to-do list, of course. That included another art session with author and illustrator Justin J. Krosocza.

Today's lesson was about facial expressions.

 Some faces were angry.

 Others looked worried.

 Fortunately, some were happy.

It looks like the kids did some dual-doodles again today, where one starts a drawing and the other person finishes it. It looks like we have a Christmas tree doing some Christmas shopping is going on below.

 And this hybrid alien is an interesting collaboration .

 I don't think I posted the final final of Annabelle's elephant yesterday. Isn't it cute?

CJ's winter quarter is officially over, so today the kids went back to learning Japanese on Mango Languages, free through Seattle Public Libraries. 

Our St. Patrick's day revelry was limited to Annabelle making a tasty corned beef in our Instant Pot.watching the Dropkick Murphys livestream a concert from Boston. 

This is the first time in 24 years they haven't played for a crowd on St. Patrick's Day.

Sunny Sunday

OUT AND ABOUT: Yesterday afternoon, we carefully venture away from the self isolation of the MPA campus, and headed 30 miles northbound. During that jaunt, I discovered perhaps the only good thing about this pandemic so far: While driving through the heart of the city and I thought to myself, "Wow, this is the clearest, prettiest Seattle I've seen since the '70s."

About 30 seconds later, from the back seat, CJ chimes in with, "Wow, the skyline looks really good today!"

The emissions are all way down from people not hardly going anywhere, so it makes for beautiful vistas. So yay for that. 

The destination for our drive yesterday was Mukilteo, where my parents are. We were actually having a pandemic supplies swap, if you can believe that. Obviously, we didn't go to their home. Instead, we met at the big park by the lighthouse.

The expansive parking lot was nearly full when we pulled in! Guess we weren't the only ones who had the idea to get out and into the sunshine (despite the cool temps and moderate wind). Fortunately, the park was big enough for us to still 'social distance.' 

We saw this sign in the park. Maybe taking this walking tour can be one of our healthy distractions while riding out the pandemic. 

Below, Christian and my dad discuss some NASA stuff. They shouldn't have been standing so close together!

Daffodils are still blooming up a storm. They looked even better next to this pretty pink tree's blossoms.

On our way back from Mukilteo, we stopped to pick up some to go food. (In restaurant dining is over for the foreseeable future.) I couldn't help but notice how many businesses were closed. It hurt my heart to see the marquee on the Neptune Theater.  No shows until who knows when. And, of course, this scene is repeated all over the nation and world. 

SCHOOL'S IN SESSION: One small bright spot in the midst of pandemic hell is that so many have offered their services to help families whose school-aged children are now suddenly without their familiar school. 

This morning we checked out a live drawing and watercolor lesson from an Ohio-based art supply and class company, McHarper Manor, via their Facebook page.  

The project involved drawing a bird on a turtle on an elephant. 

Annabelle had no trouble keeping up. 

Her finished drawing is super cute!

Right after that, we joined an 11 a.m. drawing session with author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. CJ was able to sit in on this one.

One of the activities was cooperative. One artist would draw a doodle, and the other person had to finish it. In the doodle below, CJ first drew the green shape, and then Annabelle finished it off in blue.

It was a fun activity that would work for most any age student - including adults!

Here's a link to JJK's session.


After the art lessons, I happened upon a live stream from The Museum of Flight, one of our favorite places. The museum's curator was talking about the B-17 Flying Fortress. A couple of fast facts that I learned were that people had to wear a blue bunny suit while on board the B-17 because it had no heat (brrr!). The jumpsuit was like a full-body electric blanket.  

I also learned that there are 394,484 rivets on a B-17 G. A whole lot of Rosies were needed to get that done! 
https://www.facebook.com/museumofflight/videos/2887146897990525/

SCREEN TIME: One other thing the pandemic has 'allowed' us to do is watch programming we likely otherwise would not have viewed. You see, we hardly ever watch movies or series in our household. If the TV's on, it's likely the NASA channel or some sportsball game. 

So now that sports are canceled for months, what are we to do? Well, one thing we can do is check out some of those things we never watch.

For instance, on Sunday night we finished "The Mandalorian." What a terrific series! 

Monday night, I didn't feel like watching something long or anything that required a lot of thought, and I happened to remember the "Drunk History" series. I'll have Annabelle tell you a bit more about that. 

Drunk History is a comedy TV show that features one-on-one interviews with various historians and field experts, while (as the title suggests) nearly blackout drunk. They’re asked to tell the story of or talk about various important historical events and people, frequently rather exaggerated and comedic due to the drunken storytelling. Drunk History makes the show entertaining beyond just watching intoxicated people by having actual actors (and sometimes celebrities) act out the situation in costume and lip-synch to the voice over of the interviewee.

Last night, my family watched a few different Drunk History episodes. Each episode contains about three different interview clips, usually very cut down to fit within the span of a 20-minute episode. My favorite story from last night was probably the one focused on Lewis and Clark’s journey, told by two women who were obviously just barely conscious enough to speak. They made plenty of hilarious observations and misnomers about the journey and the people encountered on it, which makes for plenty of comedy whenever something obviously untrue happens, such as using modern day slang. If you don’t mind the occasional cringing or disgust that is typically expected from dealing with drunk people, Drunk History is a much-watch.

Turns out there are a whole bunch of Drunk History episodes on YouTube, including the Lewis and Clark one. Check it out, if you're so inclined.