Right to Bear Masks

A little primary election day humor for you. If we can laugh yet. I'm not going to spout my political opinions. Just recording some events so when I look back at this someday I'll remember what the chaos was about.

Obviously with COVID-19 and Stay At Home orders, the health of Wisconsin residents is top of mind when it comes to our state government officials. Not sarcastic. I believe they care. But they, much like the federal government, don't know what to do. The problem is that when they finally make a decision, it comes a little too late.

Yesterday afternoon, our governor declared the spring primary scheduled for TODAY would be postponed to June 9. Then, within mere hours, our state Supreme Court overruled the governor's mandate so the election was back on.

If you can imagine municipal clerks notifying their election workers of the status change at the last minute. Then having to call them back 2 hours later, "Nope, that was a false alarm. I still need you tomorrow." My sister is a town clerk up north and can attest this whole election process has been insane. Yesterday just added to it.

So today, thousands of voters went to the polls and bravely or stupidly (I count among them) exercised their right to vote... and wear masks and gloves and BYOP. (Bring Your Own Pen.) Our polling place had a nice setup for the workers to be safely behind plexiglass. And the polling stations were 6 feet apart, too. They did what they could to make it a safe environment. Based on the fact there was no line at all when I went at my lunch time, I suspect the participation numbers are way down. Lots of absentee ballots, sure, but a lot of people just opted to stay home in their bubble. I don't fault them.

I had my mask and my invisible powers and I did my duty.

I don't know how much protection is afforded me. But dang, purple gets my vote any day!

Safe at Home

Remember when the phrase "safe at home" had nothing to do with a pandemic, but meant the runner scored despite the catcher's best effort to tag him? Yeah, me too. Good times.

I was sadly reminded – again – of the missing baseball season when I got this auto-reminder from the GameChanger app we use at Assumption High School...

Yup. Today should have been the season opener for our Royal baseball team! Dang. I can tell you the working from home experience would have been entirely different if the season had gone on. Hubby would be off coaching practices in the afternoons and I would have my alone time to... I don't know. Probably do what I'm doing now. House projects, puzzles, and watching The Voice.

But games days would be a different story. No matter how cold, I'd be there to cheer on the guys and try to snap some action shots for the yearbook and their mothers' scrapbooks! Then, if there was a softball game at the same time and city – usually the case – I'd jet over there and see what I could capture there, too!

At both games, I'd be excited to see new freshmen players and cheer on those seniors who I've seen add their time, talent, and personalities to this team and others over the years. And, of course, share hugs with the senior moms who "just can't believe this is their last season!"

I miss that. The guys miss it. The girls miss it. The coaches are going stir crazy missing it. The fans and parents miss it, too.

I bet if it's only 40 degrees, windy and misting out, even those umpires miss calling out, "Safe at home!"

Good call, Blue.

The Missing Piece

After a week of putzing on my 750-piece puzzle a little each evening, I finally completed it after supper! I was admiring my work when I realized one of the pieces was missing. What? It was new out of the box! How could they only include 749 pieces?!

I searched around in case it was on the floor (which I had swept earlier and didn't see it then) or under a rug or chair cushion. Nope, no, and no. Then, remembering who I'm married to, I texted hubby and asked: "Are you holding my last puzzle piece hostage?"

Sure enough. I found it right where he hid it! What a stinker!

But you know, it still looked beautiful even with the piece missing. The table color helped it blend in and you might not have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out.

That's how I've been trying to handle my days during this lockdown. Even if one little thing is off – like accidentally waking up for the day at 7 this morning (yowza) – it doesn't mean the whole day is ruined.

By getting up early, I got started in the basement before church, then watched Palm Sunday service on Facebook Live, then headed back downstairs. Two more garbage bags full and that quadrant of the basement is done. We're talking impressive organization and open spaces. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Of course, there's a big pile in the area I cleaned last weekend because it's waiting to go to Goodwill. I suspect that won't be open for another month at the rate things are going. So it'll sit there in waiting. But it's still progress.

Just like my puzzle. A little each night so I can appreciate the progress.

Right down to that last missing piece!

In The Driver's Seat

So much of our lives are out of our control right now. Where we work. Where we shop. Who we see. Who we can't see. And rules... Don't touch your face. Don't leave your house. Rules. Rules. Rules.

I've decided to concentrate on what I can control about this quarantine situation. It's not much. But it's a lot of me. So I've put myself in the driver's seat and have controlled the destination of my wide open weekends.

Last weekend was the decluttering and organizing of the northeast sector of the basement. Lots of stuff thrown out, given away and in piles for donating. I felt really good about tackling work I have put off for far too long.

This weekend, I've moved my motivation to the southwest sector – also known as the laundry-utility room / storage area. Not a lot of fun things to uncover or give away. Filled up a very large garbage bag and realized we have enough plastic shelves and totes for everything we own. Probably gonna have to donate some of those shelves!

I got one half of the quadrant done today and will hit the other half tomorrow. That will take more time because it's where I have all my gift wrap and bags and tissue paper and all that nonsense stored. (I use that term loosely.) Plus candle holders and other beautiful junk I don't use. Lord, help me stay on task!

I did take one break today. Since I found out I will be working from home at least another month, I figured I better get myself an ergonomically correct – or at least supportive – office chair. Mine has seen better days. And I can tell it's not holding up its end of this quarantine bargain. I also needed a floor mat to put by the desk I use for work – as opposed to my blogging desk. Ha. (a.k.a. my large Mac computer for design, photos, etc.)

So on a whim, I asked hubby, "Can I just take the truck? Just in case the chair won't fit in my car." When he said, sure, I grabbed the keys and an extra pillow and took off.

I felt like a truck drivin' boss. "Get out of my lane, little cars. Big truck coming through!" I said confidently while boosted up on two pillows so I could see over the dash.

Thank goodness there were hardly any cars at Staples so I didn't have to park perfectly. And it turned out I didn't need the truck anyway because the chair I picked and then the backup choice I picked were out of stock. So I bought the floor mat and trucked home to order my chair online. At least I sat in the store model so I know it will be comfy and supportive. And I won't need a booster seat to see my keyboard.

You can tell from the photo it was a sunny day today. Temps in the high 40s, I think. Warm enough Jim did some yard work while I was inside. This is why I've got to keep my mojo going. As soon as the mercury hits 60, I sense Mr. Deck Chair will be taking over the wheel!

What are you doing to put yourself in the driver's seat during lockdown? Good luck and good productivity!

Camera and Coffee Girl

I've been fueling up all week. Not on gas, though it is cheap right now. But coffee. And it got me through another work-from-home week – my fourth! Ugh.

Thankfully, since I'm a camera and coffee kind of girl, I was rewarded tonight with some camera time after all that coffee!

This little girl came into one crazy world last week. And I was blessed to be asked to photograph her. Don't worry, I was completely gloved and masked up. As her mom pointed out, you can't recapture those first few weeks of life. The newborn eyes, fingers, toes. They'll never be that small again.

Even though it looks like she has big feet here, holding her parents's wedding rings. Cute, huh?

What a sweetie. I gotta tell you. I just feel like new life brings new hope these days. I'm so grateful the parents have a healthy baby. And that I was able to experience some of their joy.

Count your blessings, folks. They're all around you!

Spring Th-ahhhh

The timing of this coronavirus business is somewhat ideal for us new work-from-home types. Rainy, dreary days keep me at my desk. But when today is sunny and the warmest day of the year so far, it took some self-control to stay on task. I can't imagine what it would be like in summer when the kayaks and golf clubs and Mr. Deck Chair are mere feet away!

I stayed inside until the end of the work day because I knew I wouldn't want to come back in. After 4 p.m., the temp registered 61 degrees with the infamous RealFeel at only 55 degrees, thanks to the wind.

Still, it meant this is what is left for snow in our entire front and back yard! (Though I'm not discounting a major April snow dump at some point.)

And it also meant Mr. Deck Chair could come out of hibernation! Yes, it was a bit chilly when the wind blew, but I was bundled up in my Twins sweatshirt (for what should have been our home opener day). It just felt good to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on my face.

Vitamin D is good for the immune system, don't ya know.

I sat out there half an hour. Meditating some. Reading some. Still physically distanced from humans but feeling very much a part of the big wide world.

Please don't burst my bubble and remind me there were blizzards in the Dakotas this morning and they're headed east. That wasn't here today. This was here today. This was my today.

And I needed that.

April Fooling Around

The general consensus around the universe is that the month of March sucked. And April Fools' Day should be canceled. As noted above, no prank or joke could possible match up to the bizarro reality we're living in right now.

Still, I felt it my duty to bring some fun to the occasion...

The thing about working from home is that you can roll out of bed, walk across the hall, and you're at work. I do shower every day. I sometimes wear the same clothes. But I have at least forced myself to wear jeans instead of sweatpants. I need to know that I can zip those jeans every day and not lose the battle to the Quarantine 15. Granted, they're my "fat pants," but still.

The other advantage of WFH is that I haven't worn makeup or curled my hair and no one (except that guy in the office next door) is any wiser. Until today.

Some of the managers have seen all the fun people are having with video conferencing instead of just phone conferencing. So we were warned last night, we were switching on the cameras today. And baseball caps were allowed. Yay.

Of course, I got to thinking last night in bed that I should wear a funny hat or something for April Fools' Day. Then I remembered a few items I ran across while cleaning in the basement this weekend... And a fool was born...

Yup. Working from home is all fun and games until you have a video meeting on April Fools' Day. Then it's really fun. And the boss may question what I do when left unsupervised, but it did bring a few laughs.

And we so desperately need those these days. Don't we?

Hope you found some time today to escape the stress of everyday life and be a little foolish! I mean c'mon, we've got to make April a better month than March. We're all in this clown car together!