To that end, vaccines have started to roll out, and the first doses are rightfully intended for the most vulnerable, people age 75 and over. What's really awful though is that individuals are almost entirely left to resource those doses on their own. Not sure what it's like where you are, but in these parts, you need to be online hardcore, network, and have a fair amount of luck.
I have been working all the angles since vaccines came online in hopes of finding my parents an inroad. I was thrilled when I secured them first dose shot spots for late February, but still researched for a better option. I searched independently and built up a data base and some potential inroads, but I quickly realized that there must be others like me trying to do the same thing, and who were willing to share resources. That's how I found this site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/findacovidshotwa/about
It's such a wonderful spot, where good-hearted people are sharing leads on places to secure an immunization opening. I have been on Facebook hours and hours a day looking for a lead and on last Saturday, in a moving car, using my cell phone as a hot spot, I spied a lead on that site and was able to book my parents a slot on Monday. WHAT A RELIEF. Booked them!
What was less of a relief was waking up Monday morning to snow on the ground. Sigh. However, it was a clear 45-minute drive to Mukilteo, but as I approached their place it was snowing like crazy. And as we made the half hour drive to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, we had sleet, hail and all the things. Never a dull moment.
However, once we were there (an hour early), things went so smoothly. A little too smoothly, IMHO. They never even asked for a photo ID or checked their names against a master reservation list. Your average Red Robin has a more secure check in process for getting a table, I do believe.
Anyway, we made the way too lax security check in and were in line to get the jab. So exciting! It is a drive thru operation and we creeped our way toward the vax tent. When it was our turn, the medics gave J&E the shots in short order.
STUDIOUS: The kids are plugging along with winter quarter. It's a bit of a bear, truth be told. The English 102 class is super scholarly in a good way. Hardcore how-to-write-a-research-paper stuff which will be so beneficial for them going forward. But it's a LOT of work. Intersesting aide: There was a whole class Zoom call on Tuesday this week and CJ was the *ONLY* student who showed up. That blows my mind. But I think it's also a by product of this whole pandemic/everything online time. There's an abject lack of engagement.
The math class CJ is signed up for is terrible. The math is great/important, but there are ZERO lectures. Absolutely NO teaching whatsoever. It's, "Here are your problems. They're your problems," and that's it. We (after the fact, unfortunately) read reviews of his 'professor.' They're horrible. They all talk about how lazy and unresponsive he is. I'd say guilty as charged based from what we've seen. Despite this, CJ and Annabelle (she basically audits all his classes) will meddle through, because they have to.
CJ also has a film studies class. Not gonna lie, he signed up for it thinking it would be a pretty easy going class. WRONG. Not that it's bad - it's not - it's GREAT! But, it's a ton of viewing, analysis, reading and writing. Lots of hours of work if you're trying to do it right. We've really enjoyed the movies he's been assigned to watch, however. We'll post a list of them all at a later date.
So all in all, it's a handful, plus we're still filling out all sorts of scholarship apps in hopes of scoring some $ support for CJ's next chapter. Busy times!
And I'll definitely post more about CJ's must-watch films soon!
HEAVY METAL: A big change on the home front this week - The Flair is in the house - literally!
We're big mid-century modern fans from a design aesthetic. We love atomic/space age stuff. In our last place, we had a great old vintage Hotpoint dual oven with a pull out cooktop. We had to leave it behind when we sold the place, and almost certainly it wound up in a landfill. :(
Ever since we moved to our current mid-century modern house, I have hoped to have a vintage stove to install in our kitchen. Not just *any* appliance, but a Frigidaire Flair - the Cadillac of MCM cooking options.
I found one on Craigslist a couple of years ago. We drove two plus hours in a horrific storm to pick it up. And by pick it up, you need to know that's no small feat. It weighs over 300 pounds. Anyway, we managed to get it home and it has sat in our garage for two years, waiting for its moment.
That moment is now. :)
But getting that 300+ pound beast into the house is easier said than done! It took a lot of talking. More talking than doing, really.
I suggested we take our super heavy duty hand truck and turn it into a cart, almost horizontal on the ground, and then we put one of our kitchen cabinets atop that, with the Flair on top of that. (I didn't want the Flair too low. I thought it would be too heavy to move.) Christian improved this idea by putting 2x4s underneath it all to help act as a level to help move it all. I have no photos of this phase because it was really scary moving it from the garage up and around the house to the back door. It took all four of us, but it went really well. Yay.
One of the hardest parts was getting the beast up our three stairs to the dining room on the main living level. We did some back-and-forths, but figured it out.
Once it was inside, we had to figureout a way to raise it up onto its base. That was a multi step process, but we talked and talked and then did and got it done.
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