Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Had a fairly nice day here, may rain a little tonight but that’s OK. Got my walk in with a dog & was actually able to have a conversation with a neighbor - rare event around here. She was on her tractor getting ready to cut grass so we were far apart.
I need to turn my attention back to my sewing, people are contacting me for more face masks & I want to help.

Ava, I hope you continue to work from home as much as possible until this mess blows over. I’d really hate to see any of us getting sick. Give Carl a hug for me :hug:

Pauly, your banana bread looks awesome, good job! My fav banana bread recipe is from James Beard on Breads. I’ve had that book forever.
I know it’s hard for your daughter right now. Just try to show lots of positivity around here, worrying is a waste of energy. We have to hang on for a few more weeks, that’s all we have to do.

Pav, I just had my Joy of Cooking book out yesterday for the bean soup recipe. That was a wedding gift from my Mom nearly 47 years ago!!!!! Love that book even though I have ‘healthified’ a lot of the recipes, haha!!

Byrdie, enjoy the online reunion with your classmates. I am one who has hidden from a majority of my classmates all these years. Their lifestyle choices & mine have always been polar opposites. Sad to say many of them are dead now . I’m staying busy & staying positive too!!!

Julia, you sound great, I am happy for you that things are working out

Hello to the rest of the group & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters, Byrdie, sounds like a great idea Lav, I just pinched up banana bread recipe and I think it was Allrecipes I used, only 1/2 brown sugar so that's not bad, alot of my classmates are dead too, surprised cuz our class was less than 100 but from rumors in my hometown I guess alot got hooked on meth Julia glad you had a nice weekend, Saturday was fun for me but Sunday I just had no mojo! I've always been a sloth on Sunday even when I was working, watched the boys for a bit and they keep me on my toes! Gave the 7 year old a box of Yoo hoo and when he was done he put it on the table, little 2 year old got it, squirted it on the table then started washing his face with it! Then when my daughter was picking them up we were chatting and glanced over at him washing his face with the dogs water!! I threw them all out after that hahahaha! Going to do instacart with Kell this morning, hope it goes smoothly, waves to the gang and wishes for a happy day for us all

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All--

Julia - sounding good. My husband and I have spent a lot of time together, but a lot of it has been quiet. Hard to be romantic in a teeny apartment with two giant kids around ALL. THE. TIME. But over all we have all gotten along quite well. We are extending a lot of leeway to each other and trying not to get cranky. Glad you're having romance! (And the master class idea was Byrdie!)

Pauly and Lav, sad about your classmates. We had an unusual bout of cancer among young people in my small town. Weird and scary. And our fair share of alcohol-related deaths. But we didn't get the meth, at least not in a big way. That stuff is scary for sure.

We had a half lazy and half very busy day yesterday. Lazed around on my computer, chatted with a bunch of people, and then took a walk, did an exercise class, and cooked an amazing dinner. Seems like a good mix at this point - I can't get too worked up about being productive right now, especially on the weekend...

Happy SOBER Monday,
Pav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Monday/almost Tuesday everyone depending one where you are on this orb we call Earth. Sounds like folks are feeling strong and doing pretty well all things considered, and there are a LOT of things to consider right now! We don't drink and that is the first and foremost thing helping us manage during a pandemic. While I can picture what I might have been doing right now if I were still drinking, I CANNOT imagine how challenging it would be right now to simply stay stocked with al. I'm exhausted enough just trying to stay on top of regular groceries for myself, my wife and my dad. With my wife and elderly father being so high risk, I don't want to go into a store more than maybe once or twice per month. I try to keep us as far ahead as possible depending on how perishable things are, but as vegetarians we're big produce consumers and our own garden hasn't reached a point of supplying us with very much yet. Summer will be easier!

I was up until around 11:45pm last night watching "Tiger King" (ridiculous) on Netflix and then decided to stay up the extra 15 mins to see if I could score a grocery delivery for later this week once the slots got released at midnight. This is one of the best ways to get stuff from a healthy foods store - items we cannot find anywhere else right now. I also wanted to get a few special items for my wife's birthday which is coming up this week. I had our cart all loaded up and ready to go and hit the "checkout" button literally a second after my laptop showed 12:00. I DID IT! But I'll tell you what, a whole day's worth of slots were gone less than a minute later (I checked, just curious). Is grocery shopping (delivery at least) that competitive where you are? Now let's just hope that things are in stock when they go to fill the order. I got the earliest delivery window for tomorrow so I'm optimistic about most things.

So weird to be so excited about something that I might have taken for granted before all of this started. And I think that is one of the most helpful lessons of this difficult time - one that I hope we humans can really learn: How to slow down, how to differentiate "need" vs "want", how to better acknowledge and appreciate all of the essential workers who get taken for granted during a healthy time.


Ava - hope you feel better soon and that your daughter's move goes well

Pav, Lav, Byrdie, and Pauly - Interesting to think about where our former classmates' paths have taken them, for good or bad. Enjoy the ones you connect with Byrdie, and condolences for the ones you've lost Lav and Pauly. I have kept in zero touch with my high school classmates. We had very little in common back then (a big party school where many kids came from wealthy families, vs the 10% or so of us who were from very modest working class families). These were kids who got BMWs for 16th birthdays and had parents who went to their vacation houses every weekend leaving kids with full liquor cabinets and access to money for things like cocaine. It was bad, and once I left that scene I've never looked back. Thank goodness, or *I* might be dead by now.

Julia, Kensho, Gman and Pav - great ideas for working out. The Peloton sounds fun K! I love G's suggestion for fitting in just a few minutes if no time for something longer. Julia the weighted backpack can definitely increase intensity of a walk, especially if you have access to stairs or hills.

Pav - there are some great videos online for 10- and 15-minute workouts that are quite good. Tony Horton's 10-minute trainer series is well-designed, and I know there are similar ones. I love HIIT and have been using the Insanity workout (and other programs by Shaun T) as my base off and on for years but consistently since around last Sept. My wife finally started joining me and now we're pretty regular at 6 days per week. We mix in a day of strength training about every 4 days, and we're finally starting to get back on our bikes for commuting after a cold icy winter. The Insanity type of workouts are not everyone's cup of tea, but he also has a couple of dance-based ones (Cize and HipHop Abs).


Okey dokey - I should get started prepping for my first class of the day. I got another new student and I'm really excited to work with her. We're hoping to get a bike ride in this afternoon before my evening class as well.

Have great days and eves everyone and stay safe!

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

AVA, great advice about husband’s wine. I also appreciate your “We will do what we have to do” attitude. No use getting stuck in what we don’t have. I truly believe that this bunch has learned to work with what we have and be thankful it’s not worse.

G, thanks for the reminder that a little exercise is better than none. I get the all or nothing’s sometimes. For the record, lunges down the block made me sore as heck today, so apparently I need no weights to make progress!

What leadership?!?

LAV, thanks for the pattern. I’m back on the sew machine today to fulfill orders for friends, so I’m eager to improve the style. I keep hearing about a filter pocket, but nothing about filters. Is this for medical professionals? ALSO, please elaborate on DF cheese ingredients. I sure would love to eat some sort of cheese again! Keep walking… I think it’s one of the best things we can do for our bodies and souls.

PAV, are you teaching online? Please do veg - in a way you wouldn’t normally - like all day movies or something. We busy-bodies need to force ourselves to chill sometimes!

Pauly, I did my husband’s and son’s hair yesterday! The clippers aren’t hard, but I only trimmed my son’s hair around his ears and neck. Not the job you would have done, I’m sure, but a little cleaned up!

Trying to get the kids motivated for school this am - it feels like a full time job for me. I wish they were more self-starters! Generally they are doing a good job. I miss my free time though.

BYW, for those of you who own your own businesses, there are disaster relief grants available on the SBA.org website; check them out.

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Un Hung Monday everyone. I am just checking in quickly- I am off to Costco. I have to buy for 5 different neighbours so I have a big list. This is the first time I will be covering my face- it is really weird.

Yeah I have been wondering if I should watch Tiger King. I probably will with my hubby. He comes home from camp tonight and will have to distance from all of us because he is around a lot of people everyday and will be flying home on a plane full of guys.
Julia, you sound great.

Ava, Glad you are getting better.

Hello Pav, Pauly, Lav, Byrdie, LC, everyone, have a great day.

Don't drink today, its gross.

[julia1970]

Re: Newbies Nest

(And the master class idea was Byrdie!)

Ow yes I saw that of course. The forum with all your posts and stories is sometimes a bit much for me to process in an orderly way. I probably wanted to react to something you wrote as well and then everything got mixed up. At the moment i’m even more chaotic and scatterbrained than usually. :nutso:
A beautiful initiative Byrdie!

Keeping it short today. My head is infected from all those spring pollens. Just a little more work to do and then i’m gonna lay low and give my eyes a rest.

Have a beautiful day, night, or both dear people.

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

morning nesters

Lovely to wake up to so many posts.

kensho, i tell everyone that if my children were little through this they would be illiterate by the end! I have much admiration for parents with school aged children. Luckily mine can amuse themselves.

I am on 4 days leave before easter but still seem to be working but not 8 hours so that is good. My daughter and i are going to do some candlemaking today and yesterday we bought some pictures that you glue beads on to to make a design. Well since i am half blind, i didnt realise that the beads would be the size of a flea so now we need a magnifying glass with a light. i am sure i really do have enough to do around the house other than stick beads on pictures!

I spoke to my boss this morning for a mental health check and download. Looks like we are aiming for 700 beds for ICU but its hard as we dont have many cases at present (a good thing) but its the unknown and looking at o/s we wont come out of this lightly.

Pauly, who buys that much al other than an alkie. I remember i used to get my power cut off as i always spent money on al, i am sure that would be the case again if i started drinking.

Best go and park my butt at my work station. Have a happy and safe day and take care xx

bacardi and carl 6 april 20.jpg

Bacardi and Carl. Butter would not melt in his mouth bless my Carl

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Beautiful day, pollens are out & about but not too awfully bad. We did jump in the truck today & filled it up with food & goodies from Costco. Haven’t been out in over a week so it was kind of nice even though we wor`e` our masks the whole time. Also stopped to give our younger grandson a gift for his 9th birthday, he was thrilled.

Wags, sounds you have things in good order. I hope your new student is a good one

Kensho, I started out by googling Vegan cheese & found I really like using raw cashews or almonds as a base. Over the years I’ve collected things like tapioca flour & kappa carageenan to my pantry along with yeast flakes. You really can make some good cheese flavors, takes a little practice but it’s fun.

Pauly, I hope your Instacart day went well.

Hey to Pav, G, Byrdie, Narilly, Ava, Julia & everyone!
Wishing a safe night in the nest for all.

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hey all!
Great to hear how we are all finding new coping skills for this challenging time. Interesting to hear!
Narilly, we watched Tiger King. Hard to say we enjoyed it, those people are nuts but I’m glad to have seen it. At least I get all the jokes now. If you have the time, it’s worth the watch.
Im trying to get my hubs to do the grocery curbside pick up. I don’t know why he is so resistant to that. I worry so much when he goes to the store.
Julia, I’m so happy that you are finding yourself! This is quite a journey and it’s interesting to discover how strong we really are!
Stay strong, everyone! No drink tastes better than being sober feels! Hugs to all! Byrdie

[paulywogg]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters, Ava, that is the cutest pic ever! Try to enjoy your time off, I totally spaced that Easter is coming up, need to buy a ham and turkey, Byrdie, some people go to the store just for something to do these days I think, Lav, I was trying to wear a mask yesterday but with my allergies already causing my breathing to be bad the mask was downright claustrophobic so I had to keep taking it off, Kell got mad at me but I just couldn't, maybe today I'll try a scarf or something, instacart went ok til the last one, this lady had SO many groceries we were shot after it, no wonder Kell hates doing it alone, plus the stores are out of alot of things so it makes it harder too, waves to the gang and wishes for a nice day!

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Pauly - Instacart and similar gigs seem hard under normal circumstances, but must be especially so right now. Are customers being extra demanding too (from the stress) or extra patient/understanding? Probably like anything we humans do, it's a mix of both. As for the masks, I think as long as you have 2 layers of your scarf it'll work similarly to the cloth masks people are wearing. My wife and I have a few masks but also several buffs (neck gaiters -- those tubes of stretchy fabric that you can wear in an assortment of ways on your head & neck) and we often just double or triple those up and wear from lower neck to above our noses. If you experiment I think you might find the scarf will work great but it all still feels different.

Kensho - thanks for the reminder about the disaster relief grants. I do own my own business and have been trying to figure out whether I qualify for any sort of support (unemployment, grants, etc). I've lost about half of my income so even a bit of relief would be super helpful. What is your business structure? Are you sole prop or LLC or something else? Do you have employees? Have you discovered anything in particular that looks promising? I'd love to hear any input you might have, either here or in a PM.

LAV - the DF cheese sounds really interesting. Cheese is one of my favorites and it would be hard to give it up, but I think I could do it. My wife on the other hand... Maybe I'll do a little research and see what I can concoct


I have the entire day off today!!! I had two great online classes with students yesterday, including the new one I'm so excited about, and I've got some prep for two more classes tomorrow that I'll have to do today, but otherwise it's a day for projects around the house and hopefully a bike ride for exercise. I'm so grateful that our stay home orders allow for people to get out of their houses and MOVE their bodies. Even though my wife and I work out at home almost every day, we also both feel high levels of need to go for long walks, hikes, or rides as part of our mental and physical health maintenance.

Hope you all have wonderful days and eves. Don't drink, and stay safe!

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning Nest!

Ava, I really can't imagine being in the medical field now. Is your cold better?

Narily - My husband is interested in Tiger King - he's in the psychology/law enforcement field - but I couldn't stomach it. It made me feel slimy and bad.

Julia, sorry about your allergies! They can be really annoying.

I plan to deliver some grocery items to my parents today, and make them a couple more masks. I am so happy that I was re-aquainted with our sewing machine! The kids love it too. Good thing about this crazy situation.

I think that our group here has a unique skill in that we have had to learn to be uncomfortable. I have become more resilient since quitting drinking. Glad for that.

Well, I have a list that I'd like to get done today. I've been struggling to get anything on my list to happen while monitoring kiddos - so they are going to need to be a little more self-reliant so I can grocery shop.

[julia1970]

Re: Newbies Nest

it'll be quick again tonight, i'm off to bed.
despite of the infected head i'm doing well, and could do a lot of work today, things that were dragging and stalling (mainly my new website) finally up and running. relieved! i hope you are too!

more tomorrow. hugs

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Blessed with a nice day of sun & temps in the high 60’s, perfect
Had a shorter than usual walk with my dog just now. She’s part beagle & has to stop & sniff at EVERYTHING. Sometimes it just gets on my nerves, haha!

Glad everyone is figuring things out during this weird time in history. It certainly will make for some great stories in the future. Just think of what the kids are experiencing & how they will form their own opinions.
I had a semi-nightmare last night concerning the message I received from my former employer (hospital) yesterday. They want everyone retired to come back & ‘join the team’. I absolutely will not do that & in my dream I said that my grandsons just lost their Other grandmother tragically in February & they can’t lose another so soon. . I am over that stuff, no more.

Hello to all & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav