Saturday 9 May 2020

Boots on May 9th

One should not have to wear boots to go out and feed the chickens on the morning of May 9th. One did.



Both photos are accurate. Sometimes it was a little sunny, and then sometimes it snowed.
The tulips haven't even opened yet, but there are some very sad daffodils underneath that snow. It did mostly melt by later in the afternoon, but the wind was cold and I've had enough, thank you very much.

Life continues in pandemic world. I'm still putting out learning activities for kids to access in a virtual learning environment. Daughter has been fortunate (but her personality and skills and past work history obviously helped) to land a job again with the county in their communications department for the summer. This is a position that she can do from home and was given a work computer on which to do her thing. Sometimes she's having virtual meetings while I'm having virtual meetings in another room. Son was hoping to get a landscaping job this summer. It's good money and full time and no weekend work. That was before all of "this" happened. But then the Ontario government said that landscaping was one of the sectors that could start up again with the re-opening of the economy. He put in his resume (online) but has not heard back yet. In the meantime, his previous place of employment asked if he could come in and help with the garden centre, so he has picked up some hours in the last couple of days. I am happy that he is in open air and things are very controlled there.

Made a ham today. That's exciting.

Daughter turned 24 last week. We just had "us" to celebrate, but she wanted and got the required homemade chocolate layer cake, and some steak and shrimp. Balloons were hung from the light fixture and the Happy Birthday banner was hung - a must.

Here is what I have learned about myself in these past eight or nine weeks:
- I get bored easily, but not so bored as to be motivated to do a thorough cleaning/ revamping / reorganizing, etc. that other people speak of in these times.
-I actually like my job - the process of leaving my home, going to work, being with the kids and my coworkers and having something different to do every day. I miss it. Retirement is not going to be easy and I definitely need a game plan.
-I can "get in my head" too much and that's not always a good thing.
-I can still learn how to do new things.
-I do not like online grocery shopping and much prefer choosing things depending on what looks good, what's on sale, and what I might put together for meals for the week.


Last night when husband and daughter were watching a movie that I wasn't interested in, I watched something on Netflix called The Pharmacist. It was three episodes, I think, and it was so very good. It was a documentary about a pharmacist who made it his mission to do something about the prescription opioid crisis. I highly recommend it, if you think that might be something you are interested in.

Tomorrow is of course, Mother's Day here in Canada. My own mother hasn't been around for many years now. My husband's mother is in a very nice Long Term Care home. Nobody is allowed to visit, but we will call her. She is healthy and they are being extremely careful over there. For myself, it's a different time right now, so my request was I don't want to make food. I'm asking for take out pizza from a small pizza place in a little town close to us, and a Dairy Queen smarties blizzard from a different small town close to us. I'm good with that. Oh, and no snow, please.

45 comments:

  1. Your header is glorious and makes me happy even as I am blinking my eyes! I think everyone has good moments and bad ones during this pandemic (or as Susan Branch says, "damn panic"). Of course during "normal" times we have good moments and bad ones, but there seem more resources to deal with them. Thank you for your netflix suggestion.

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    1. I like that variation of the word - very fitting.

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  2. Yes, retirement also requires a game plan or else you will go crazy then too, I just read your previous post a bit late, and I learned all those things you mentioned and it has taken 3 years, even with a game plan. But you have lots of good things like a family and a strong character so you'll win. I have and you will. Have a good Mother's Day and carry on. X

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    1. Thanks Rachel. I'm fortunate in that both kids are home right now. It isn't always like that, and won't be, but it is nice for now. Definite game plan needed for retirement! Are you itching to travel, yet? -Jenn

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    2. Yes, and the world looks so inviting with no people around!

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  3. Keeping busy during locked up is a problem..
    Oh! Sorry..Lockdown..! :).
    But! l came upon this yesterday, pretty
    straight forward really..
    Stay fit, with so many exercise videos available
    online you can get a thorough work out at home or
    just dance it out to your favourite tunes at home,
    take part in some fun activities, there are lots of
    ideas online, don’t be hard on yourself, it’s natural
    there will be bad days pamper yourself, try a hot bath,
    or take a few minutes out to do something you enjoy, take
    the opportunity to learn a new fun skill or read more join
    an online book club or choir, create a shared playlist and
    ask those you love to add to it, get online and connect to a
    social media communities, keep in touch with friends, family..

    But then you sound as though your a busy..busy lady anyway...
    I live alone, but there are always things to at home, in the
    garden, and l'm not one for getting bored..Hopefully..We'll
    ALL see this through..
    Oh! And a very Happy Mums Day to ALL the Mums out there...!x
    🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱💛🌱

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    1. I am looking forward to when gardening will be possible!

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  4. SNOW! on May 9th sounds very wrong.
    It's turning cold here today too. Have a good Mothers day

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    1. I do remember one other Mother's Day when we had snow. Thank you, Sue!

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  5. Yes, as Sue (above) says - your cold arrives here today with strong Northerly winds, sharp frosts and a promise of 'maybe' the odd snow shower.

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    1. So, it's not just us? Sorry that you will be experiencing a cold snap as well!

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  6. We are going out this evening to cover all the new tender shoots and young plants because they have forecast a frost tonight. I have given up with my hydrangea bushes, they are just too big to cover and have already suffered this year. (My secret to a happy retirement is just staying busy doing the stuff you enjoy, exercise, good wine, and don't overthink things.)

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  7. It sounds like you have grappled quite well with the new method of teaching. I wondered if you were considering a change of retirement plans. I nearly wept when I got up to snow on Saturday morning - hey Mother Nature it was Snow Birds we were excited to see, not snow!! Thankfully the Snow Birds will attempt fly over today (Sunday). I did not realize how much I truly did enjoy grocery shopping, like you I want to pick my own bunch of bananas, decide if that tomato is ripe enough, bok choy on sale, now what could I do with that? Happy Mother's Day Jenn, enjoy your treats. ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=

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    1. Yes, exactly - what you said about grocery shopping! We saw the Snow Birds a few years back in our area. It was wonderful! No, I'm still set to retire in January of 2021, but I will do some supply teaching, I think. Just now and again. -Jenn

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  8. Happy Mothers Day! Your request sounds very nice. That is my biggest thing today is I don't want to cook, but my husband just asked what was going to be for breakfast. UGH!

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  9. I took in my balcony plants here in Toronto the last couple of nights.
    Crazy weather but since we're inside I don't worry about it. I can find plenty to keep me entertained. In fact a friend and I were trying to figure out why we couldn't get as much reading done as we would have expected.
    I also thought I would have all those closets and filing done by now, nope.

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    1. I'm down to my last book. I haven't been all that motivated to read it, it's not really capturing my attention. My closets look the same as they did before March.

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  10. Have a wonderful day! We are cooling off this week with a potential of rain. Hope your snow event is soon a distance memory 😊

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    1. The snow won't last and as a Canadian I should know not to get too grumbly about it. We will have about two weeks of Spring, still, and then it will likely turn hot. And I'm fine with that. Thanks, you have a good day, too!

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  11. Snow in May should be against the law. Get on it, Trudeau!

    Happy Mother's Day -- enjoy your "blizzard" of a different kind@

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  12. I'm not crazy about ordering my food online either, but oh well. I hope you get your pizza and DQ Blizzard. It sounds delicious! Happy Mother's Day to you, hugs, Edna B.

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    1. Thank you, Edna! I'm not a creature of habit, so I like to look around and see what else is out there at the grocery store. However, I know it won't always be like this. :)

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  13. Yep, we had snow two mornings ago and upon seeing it, I immediately got very grouchy. (Not a good way to start the day.) Our temps at night continue to be below freezing. Global warming? Phooey, I say.

    I love grocery shopping. I do not love shopping online. I'm like you in that I get all kinds of ideas walking through the grocery store and noting what's on sale, what looks good. Another phooey.

    Because I am "retired" my days haven't changed in any great way, but rather than being bored I'm increasingly becoming more anxious about what is ahead of us. No one really knows.

    Do you HAVE to retire in January? Maybe you're not quite ready for the change. I have a friend who has been wishy-washy about retiring fearing she might not be able to keep herself busy and happy. This trial run of stay-at-home has convinced her she's Ready! with a capital R and now can't wait to make the leap. Maybe you should rethink your plans??

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    1. I am not required to retire, but financially, I'll get full pension, so it's not really a question of money. Coming up for me next year is a "challenging" class. I will likely be ready to say goodbye at the end of January. I am also very ready to be done with report cards and parent interviews and all the planning and the meetings, etc. However, if I do supply teaching, I am not marking at night, I am not planning huge units, I am not writing report cards. It will get me out of the house, it will get me with kids again, it will also earn me some money. I think it will be a very good alternative. I also know that I won't be taking jobs away from young grads because there is always a shortage of supply teachers.
      After reading your blog for years, I don't think you ever sit still!! -Jenn

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  14. Happy Mother's Day! I feel just like you do about doing my own groceries.

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  15. We have bitterly cold winds here today.. but at least the sun is warm when it comes out from behind the clouds.
    At least you can use this time to evaluate how you feel and work and how you would go in retirement.... probably just as busy if you are anything like us!!

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    1. As well, in retirement I won't (I hope!!) have the restrictions placed on us right now. I'll be able to run into town, meet friends for lunch, join a group...

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  16. You're right, it does not look like May 9th there. All that snow! We had a low of 32 degrees last night, which is rare for here near the middle of May. Pizza and Dairy Queen sound like the perfect Mother's Day meal to me. My youngest daughter and son-in-law brought dinner from BoJangles and we ate outside 6' apart. It was fun though. Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. Don't know Bojangles, but it sounds good, and nice to see your family, even if you were sitting apart!

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  17. Same here for Mother's Day. Daughter brought "high tea" and we ate it on the porch, keeping our distance. Supply teaching is the best of both worlds - I did it until I was needed for child care. You get to walk away at the end of the day. I even did some long-term assignments, but No Report Cards!

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    1. I don't know about L.T.O.s Maybe a week or so, but nothing longer.

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  18. This weather is The Pits.
    Saying you need a game plan for retirement made me smile. I always thought it was men who needed that, and advised my friends to be sure their husbands had something else to do. I've seen two very sad cases; my best friend's husband and my sister's husband. They both follow their wives around, telling them what to do.

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    1. Actually, husband is the one who is far more content to be retired. He has numerous car and house projects to keep him busy, but he's also totally fine just reading things on his laptop, too. I'm the antsy one.

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  19. LOL about the exciting ham. lol
    Yes- make a plan for retirement and don't leave it all up to your spouse. Life changes people and they can make decisions which leaves you wanting...or worse..living in a type of limbo.

    I always liked working out, too, and the day-to-day give and take of co-workers and problem solving. I finally retired the first of the year..and our office is closed now anyway until this pandemic is in a restful state.

    I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day. xo Diana

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    1. All good advice, Diana. I did have a nice Mother's Day, albeit a different one.

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  20. No way!! Commiserations on the weather. It'll make it a tad hard for Son to be landscaping if that snow continues. But great news on Daughter getting work, and Happy Birthday to her!

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    1. The snow won't last, and I do hope he does get a job with the landscapers, but he'll have some work with his old employer regardless. He's at an age where he needs better money through the summer, as he is returning to college (hopefully) in the fall. Probably not the best summer for big employment, though, for anyone. Ahhh, life.

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  21. Lots of good things happening for your family now. So glad they are able to find work during this crazy time. I understand missing your work. I loved being a branch librarian, working with children a lot, buying and organizing the collection, making displays, seeing regular patrons, etc. It was a great job and I missed it badly when I moved up into administration. At least that admin time was a kind of buffer between the job I loved and retirement, because I ws very glad to leave when the time came!

    Sorry about the snow :/ It snowed a little in some places here in WV but missed us, as did the frost and freeze. We'll see about tonight though. It's very cold again today.

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  22. My sweetie read the post I put up yesterday and the only thing he said was "Why didn't you include any pictures of the snow???" Of course I have a million of them in my phone, but getting them to upload on my computer seems to be an impossible task for some reason.....ANYWAY....Yeah, my daughter had her 30th birthday in quarantine last week. She's in RI finishing her masters - she graduates Saturday in quarantine. We had booked a house near her for the entire extended family to stay in for a family celebratory weekend, but that's been cancelled. She was supposed to head to Europe for a month with her boyfriend right after graduation, they've been planning it for at least a year, that's cancelled too. My sister turns 50 tomorrow in quarantine. We were going to celebrate soooo many things on our family weekend.....sigh. When will it end???

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  23. That is A LOT of snow! We dodged that bullet here. The garden centers have been allowed to open as long as they follow the guidelines, which I think are similar to the grocery stores. As soon as the weather is nicer, I'll have to drop by and see what it's like there. Maybe pick up a few things that will keep me busy in the garden.

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