Beginners and Beyond

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Week 20 Penguins, today is our day!! (05/03-05/09) (Read 9 times)


Singer who runs a smidge

    The "Penguin" daily threads were originally conceived to emphasize that all members of the community have a place on the boards. Encouragement, motivation, a little love nip (you will love one, give it a try!) or even a little kick in the pants when needed -- it can happen here. Basically, we celebrate just getting out there and moving our tails! What is "slow"? "Slow" is a perception but one of the common benchmarks is the 10:00/mi pace; but there's no firm line. In fact, there are many of us that have slipped past this, and just hope that no one notices and revokes their "igloo privileges."  And some penguins don't run at all, we just hang out for the company! It can be confusing for the forum newbies, but we're not one of the teams in any of the fine games. It's a totally open group, so stop lurking, post an introduction of yourself dive in and join the fun! No application necessary! There might even be a lovely picture for Scotty (we love pics!)

    When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.


    Singer who runs a smidge

      Today is Bird Day, so go out there and look at some birdies!!  Also, shoo off the cats who are also closely watching the birdies.  Today is also, of course, Star Wars Day, so May the Fourth be with you!

       

      Back in the lab today, after a slightly crazy weekend.  Ok, Saturday was normal, we had pancakes and played video games.

       

      Sunday is my normal laundry day.  So I ran my first load, it finished, I opened the lid, and the clothes were sopping wet.  I'd told DH that the washer was sounding funny, and yep, it died.  DH thinks it burned out the clutch -- he could manually rotate the agitator, but the clutch is supposed to switch and rotate the bin, and clearly that wasn't happening.

       

      So, a group (well, both of us) trip to Lowe's!  I think it was the first time we've both been out of the house (excluding dog walks) since all this started.  We grabbed our masks and our hand sanitizer and headed out.  Lowe's was a little crazy, but mostly in the garden department.  About half of the people there wore masks.  The employee in appliances didn't, and clearly also didn't believe in social distancing.  But anyway, we got a new washer.  We measured it a couple of different ways to make sure it would fit in the old space.  I asked DH if it would fit in the car, and he said sure.

       

      Um, yeah.  Even with a hatchback, it didn't fit.  So I called up my chorus director, who has a truck, and asked her to come pick up our washer and carry it home for us.  So she grabbed her mask and headed out, she said she'd be there in about 45 minutes.  So we sat in the parking lot with our washer half out of our car and half in, and waited.  And waited.

       

      45 minutes later, the employee came back up and said, "She's been waiting out front, she's just pulling the truck around now.  Yeah, my director went to the store entrance, she didn't look for our car, and she didn't bring her cell phone (which she agreed was a duh moment on her part).  She'd been waiting in the front of the store for 15 minutes.  Anyway, we loaded up the machine, she drove it home, I thanked her profusely, and we pondered the weirdness of seeing an actual person.

       

      Then we hauled the old one down the stairs and out, hauled the new one up the stairs and in, and DH hooked it up.  We ran a small test load (no clothes) on cold, and the water came out boiling hot.  Yep, DH hooked up the hoses in reverse.  So he fixed that and I put in my soppy clothes for a rinse and spin.  They came out drippy.  I was annoyed, but wondered if maybe there just wasn't much spin going on for some reason?  So I put the drippy clothes in the dryer and put the next load in for a full wash.  They came out bone dry.  Hmmm.  Ahah, DH forgot to turn the water back on after finishing the hose switch!  Which explained the drippy load -- since it didn't have water to put in to rinse, it just timed through the cycle and never did anything.  So it took FOREVER to dry.

       

      So I finally finished my laundry, about 10 pm.  And since the laundry room is right next to our bedroom, it was way too hot for Dusty to sleep there last night, so he and DH spent the night on the couch.

       

      Adventures at our house!

      When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.

      GinnyinPA


        HM - sounds like a nightmare of a day. My laundry was much less exciting.

         

        Birds woke me up this morning, since we had the windows open all night for the first time this season. It was lovely.

        Docket_Rocket


          Morning! RD for me. May the Fourth be with you as well. Big grin

           

          HopesMom, sounds like a big adventure, a la Lord of the Rings, ha.

           

          Ginny, my windows were not open and those fuckers woke me up before my time to work, grrrr.

          Damaris

           

          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

          Fundraising Page


          Singer who runs a smidge

            Yoga done today, and a VERY short dog walk in the rain.  I got all exciting thinking I could finally wash my king-size bedspread in my new washing machine, because it has that much capacity ... and then I remembered it was supposed to rain all day, and my dryer does NOT have that kind of capacity.  It'll need to go out on the line, and line-drying and rain are not compatible.  Maybe on Thursday.  So I might make cookies instead.

            I heard the word that VA is going to start opening back up on May 15.  I haven't looked up to see exactly what this entails, but we haven't heard anything about stopping teleworking from the higher-ups.  I don't know if they'll continue that until June 10, which is the last we heard, or end it sooner.  They may wait to see what happens with earlier states like Georgia, or wait to see how phase 1 goes.  I must admit, I'm not really ready to stop sleeping through my commute yet!

            When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.

            Docket_Rocket


              Morning! Another rest day for me, but might lift.

               

              Our state opened yesterday (some things) for Stage 2. However, Marion County, where the Indianapolis city and surrounding areas are, will not go into Stage 2 for two more weeks. Chances are I won't see my office until June and then some days. The plans recommend working from home but if reopening an office to start with shifts, etc.

               

              HopesMom, we have the issue with our cover. My dryer is large and I put it through one cycle, but I still need to hang it somewhere. We use the staircase, lol.

              Damaris

               

              As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

              Fundraising Page


              Singer who runs a smidge

                Staircase, hmm.  I think the animal fur might keep me from doing that one.  My clothesline gets quite a workout in the warmer months, though, so that'll be my way to go.

                Slept late this morning, so now I'm playing catch-up.  I'm beginning to run into "blursday", when I'm not entirely sure what day it is.  I was convinced when I woke up yesterday that it was Saturday.

                Trying to get my committee to rank my proposal at the top of our departmental proposals.  It's an ongoing battle ...

                When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.

                Docket_Rocket


                  Morning! I have 4-5 miles tonight.

                   

                  HopesMom, I have not used one since I grew up in PR, where is more common.

                  Damaris

                   

                  As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                  Fundraising Page

                  GinnyinPA


                    Growing up in Arizona, we used a clothes line all the time. With the dry heat, clothes were practically dry by the time Mom finished putting them up. Then we moved to Houston, with its humidity, and we bought a dryer because nothing ever dried on the line.


                    Singer who runs a smidge

                      I can see the clothesline in Houston being less than effective!! 

                      When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.


                      Singer who runs a smidge

                        Hiya, Penguins!  DH is off delivering veggies, and I'm making applesauce to help create some room in the fridge for our veggies and fruits.  I need to cut up a pineapple too.  Not much else to report -- like everyone else, today looks a lot like yesterday.  Still working on my big grant proposals, but they're nearly done and I can send them on to the college.  Then I have a letter to write, a website to update, and we're supposed to be coming up with plans on how to teach our classes in the fall -- plans for teaching online, and plans for teaching in person and what that might look like.  Which made me wonder, how are grade schools planning on teaching in the fall?  As best as I can find out, they're not thinking about it at all -- they're still trying to get through the end of this school year, and then maybe they'll tackle next year.  But it's not like there are any options for social distancing for kids -- there's just not enough classroom space.  So I'm wondering how that's going to go.  Half a week in-person instruction?  That's about the best I could come up with, though I'm not a grade school teacher, maybe they have better ideas.

                         

                        Anyway, just pondering what the world might look like in a few months.

                        When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.

                        Docket_Rocket


                          Morning! I have 4-5 and weights tonight.

                           

                          HopesMom, enjoy applesaucing and yeah, the world as we have it will change once again. But we will adapt, I am sure.

                          Damaris

                           

                          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                          Fundraising Page


                          Singer who runs a smidge

                            Well, Sweet Adelines International released guidance last night saying that no chorus should be rehearsing until there's a vaccine available.  I'm not so certain about that -- I could see 80-100 member choruses definitely shouldn't be getting the whole group together any time soon, but I think sectionals in a group of that size might be doable -- large room (or outdoors), masks, and six feet of space.  Basically what they're suggesting we do now, though I don't think we should be doing it now, maybe in another month or so.  But my chorus has 17 people, I think we could easily comply with restrictions and get together, once restrictions allow us to get together (they don't yet, so don't panic on me).

                             

                            The hypothesis is that air particles are propelled more forcefully when you're singing, and that singers take deeper breaths than normal, so there's more risk of cumulative exposure.  But, being a scientist, I'm not convinced there's that much more exposure than you'd get from speaking, or teaching.

                             

                            Anyway, it's still a moot point -- our gatherings are nonexistent right now, and presumably next week they'll start allowing gatherings of 10 people or fewer.  Not so much our chorus.

                             

                            I'm still pondering our quartet, though ... outdoors, six feet, and nobody but me has left the house except to go to the grocery store, and some not even that.

                             

                            In the end, it's partly driven by science and partly driven by comfort level.  So, wait and see.

                             

                            How's your waiting and seeing today?

                            When it's all said and done, no one remembers how far we have run.  The only thing that matters is how we have loved.

                            Docket_Rocket


                              Based on how that choir in California got 70% of them sick with one rehearsal, I think the singing does spread it a bit more in an enclosed space, even if socially distancing. Maybe if you guys could rehearse outdoors as an alternative for now?

                               

                              I have 6 tonight.

                              Damaris

                               

                              As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                              Fundraising Page

                              GinnyinPA


                                It must be hard to be told that you can't do what you love for months if not longer. I can see that maybe a small group might be okay, as long as you aren't facing each other, but it is still iffy.

                                 

                                Jim is having a harder time with the quarantine than I am, but I get out to run most days, which definitely helps. We were told last night that his brother is very ill with what may be a fast growing cancer. That won't help the stress.

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