Saturday, April 11

I’m beginning to wish I had titled these posts a little differently. Oof, the counting of days and the redundancy of the dates. Here we are, another Saturday. It was windy, more than I would have liked. But I put more clothes on the line to dry.

We played the first round in our Backyard Olympics. A game of croquet, in which I placed third. Not bad. It was very cold. I wore a hat and gloves. My oldest was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

I went for a walk today, a different direction on the bike path. There were very few people out. I walked until I got to the Stop & Shop and looked down at my watch. 2.2 miles. Perfect. I turned around and walked back. It was the first time I’d been outside since Tuesday and much needed.

Homemade pizza for dinner. People don’t seem to be getting sick of it. Usually I make pizza every other week, but it’s been in steady and regular rotation around here. Today everyone got their own. And they were hungry. There is very little left over beyond half of mine, which I made white, with fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, sea salt, olive oil, garlic, caramelized onions and fresh basil. It was delicious. I am stuffed.

The girls and I watched an episode of Kids Baking Championships while the males in the household watched Bad Boys 2. We ate ice cream. (More stuffed.) It’s bedtime now, but the movie isn’t over, and I can hear the girls upstairs.

Today the headlines focused on the news that Trump had been briefed on the virus months before he took action in responding. Also that there are many FDA-approved drugs that are already being tested as treatments. And at least one team of scientists/researchers who say a vaccine may be ready as early as September. The curve seems to be flattening in New York, and even though deaths in the U.S. seem to be steadily increasing still, there is reason to feel hopeful.

The NIH is looking for people who have not tested positive who are willing to participate in a study, including sending in blood samples. I am seriously considering sending an email of interest.

1.7 million cases worldwide.

107,000 deaths.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and Easter, and Sarah’s birthday. The kids haven’t really asked about Easter. I don’t think they are expecting anything. I snuck their Easter baskets from the girls’ closet earlier and will be the Easter Bunny before the get up in the morning. The last day before we started this stay-at-home order, I was at CVS, and the Easter displays were up, and I decided to get a few things. It won’t be the most robust Easter, but there will be baskets and there will be a jelly bean hunt. I hope they are pleased and surprised, even though I wasn’t able to get their favorite kinds of jelly beans, and they won’t have books in their baskets as usual.

I’m going to try to read Harry Potter #6. I’ve started it several times, and have abandoned it three times for another book I’d been anticipating. But I promised my kinds, just over a year ago, that I would finally read all of the HP books. I got to book five in no time and stalled. Time to keep that promise, and I feel like Hogwarts might be a good place to focus during this pandemic.

In an average month, I generally read 7 or 8 books. But since I started writing here, I’ve only finished 4, and I’ve started about a half dozen more. I am having such a hard time sitting still for long enough to get into a book. And I can’t concentrate without so much effort. I read sentences over and over again and can’t quite grasp what the words are trying to tell me. Who would have thought that as other people report having more time to read, I am having more trouble reading? I am hoping it’s just a slump. And that if Harry and pals don’t pull me out that something else will.

Stay safe, everyone.