Well, as I read our phasing back to a new normal, not to be confused with the M&M color code terrorist threat chart---soo last decade, we are somewhere between prephase 1 and post-phase 1, depending on where you are---in the country, county, city, or what have you. Just like Cancer Doctors, Politicians and Pandemic folks don't like to talk about hard and fast dates, deadlines or "how long you have to live" or "how long you have to be in lockdown". Somehow, I kinda liked to M&M threat chart-green means go, red means stop...lots clearer for us in the herd (looking for immunity in all the wrong places) to understand. As I see it, we here in the 7-19 county region in what I would call a pre phase 1. (see what I am talking about---depending on where you get your news Houston is a 7 (number of counties that touch Harris county?) or up to a 19 county area (I guess that is the range of the TV station with rabbit ears?) We have to see a "flattening of the curve" - as I see it we are still climbing that curve on the uphill side. We must continue to test---do not get me started on this one---this should be just like the pregnancy test at the dollar store...$1.00, pee on the stick at home red or green, and boom you have results. Of course you can go to Target, Walmart, CVS Walgreens or any other place and get a more expensive one, but it is still works the same. We could even post to Facebook, Instagram, or where ever. But I do not make or manufacture the test, if I did I would not be stuck at home blogging, cooking and wasting time. We will continue to social distance, avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, wearing face masks, washing hands and all surfaces, no unnecessary travel, continue to staying home if you are considered a "vulnerable" person(s) (yes, we have checked that box) for the next 14 days to see if we stuck the landing on the other side of the hill. Like I said, not sure if we are ready for declaring our intentions on Phase I. Be that as it may, our Governor has indicated that we can begin reopening some things, with caution. State Parks - as long as you are 6 feet apart, wearing face masks, with not more than 10 people - probably okay. I would however resist the urge to eat on the picnic tables or use the grills. A word about masks. Whether you have the bandana, coffee filter and rubber band dyi, the homemade pleated, lined surgical style or the rounded guinea pig nose dyi variety (shame on you if you have a N95(even if it was leftover from Harvey flood work) or a Amazon purchased medical looking one or box of them---those are for first responders and front line workers---medical or otherwise) ---next week will be a real test for us in Houston's resolve to be mask compliant. It is suppose to be hot and humid, with temps in the high 80's. To be effective against others germs they need to be pretty substantial and worn correctly (with some of the pictures I have seen, not necessarily a given)...I am looking at heat rashes on most folks chins and cheeks...and us glasses wears will have permanent fogged glasses. We will not be practicing social distancing, our glasses will be too fogged, so we will be bumping into folks. No rest for the weary and wicked. Governor Abbott also is allowing for retailers to open for "to go" operations. Hmmm, this should be interesting. Operations that have an robust online platform (boy, that and "pandemic" will be the "P" words in our kindergarten home school package for a while) can swing it if people have the money to shop for non-essentials. However, there are tons of businesses that just have not gotten on board of the e commerce way of life. Don't worry there is a point to that statement, I will circle back before I am finished. There was nothing specifically mentioned about the reopening of hair, nail, gyms, etc. until Phase 3---which in my calculations is a good 6-8 weeks for most of us---If we see an uptick in hospitalizations and infections, we have to go back to Phase I-kind of like a Monopoly Go to Jail Card---and start over. Which bring me to Mr. Eddie returns.
A lifetime ago, when I had lots of hair and Texas Big Hair was a thing, I struggled with getting my hair permed. The texture said lots of time in the curling rods, with two sets of solution---but my hair would always be fried beyond a crisp and look like a brown wad of steel wool. My Mother's remedy for that was hot olive oil packs for several days post frying....ugh...then wait until it grew out and could be trimmed off. After many bad experiences with the salons of the 1980's, Mr. Eddie began doing my perms at home. My mom saved everything, so I had the rollers and papers. I would get two boxes of TONI Home Permanent kits (it has been a while, but you girls all remember Toni Home Perms), and Mr. Eddie would slip into his puff sleeve shirt with the V neck, platform shoes, bell bottoms and a gold neck chain. Apparently, we did not throw anything away either as these were popular closet items in the 70's when we were dating. He would start by opening a bottle of champagne, putting on disco music, and seating me on the vanity in our bathroom on Tree Lane. He would clip a towel around my neck, give me a glass of champagne and begin meticulously sectioning my hair and giving me what would be the best permanent that money could not buy. Eddie is a ham---high school and college drama nerd, court room orator---so slipping into Mr. Eddie was no stretch for him. We had our own home beauty salon for years, the kids would squeal when Mr. Eddie would come to town. In later years, some of Lauren's favorite memories are of her Dad blow drying her hair. He would do the Brazilian/Kingwood Blow Out without becoming Mr. Eddie. He is gentle, never in a hurry and would brush her hair until she was almost asleep. Permed hair is thing of the past, as is my thick hair. Thin is in or has been since 2012. While it does not have the same texture, color or thickness, it still grows like a weed and looks flat and frizzy all at the same time unless cut every 4 weeks. Well, lock down happened, and my April appointment is now Memorial Day weekend. Oh, Mr. Eddie can you come back for a visit? ....I have bookmarked some You Tube videos on how to cut hair. Right now my hair is sticking straight out on either side (think Bozo) Mr. Eddie is not sporting a man bun/ponytail yet, but he has the long gray sweep back look of a Pentecostal preacher on Sunday during Revival, we don't have the platformed shoes nor puffy sleeved shirt any more, but we always have champagne chilling. Do you think that Sally's Beauty Store - yes, that truly old school place that you buy all sorts of hair supplies that are not sold at Target or Walmart --- has the ability to do the "retail to go"..not really feeling that as a e-commerce place. I know I can get everything I want or need from Amazon, but I would like to support my local businesses if I can. See, I told you I would circle back. I have some 60 year old barber scissors that were used on me as a child---the thumb holes are a little small for Mr. Eddie and I would like to upgrade to include some thinning shears along with some more Mr. Eddie like clippers. Do you think I can get Mr. Eddie to do a facial and a mani/pedi? Just thinking ahead, need to stimulate my local economy where I can.
Hope you are all well, keeping your curves flattened and your marbles firmly in their bag.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Quarantine Rabbit Holes and Other Shiny Things
In the words of Thumper (Bambi-currently streaming on Disney plus) “ If you can’t something nice, don’t say anything at all”. As there is nothing new, exciting or different to report for here, I have been keeping a low profile...Eddie stories are hard to come by when he is in a familiar rut here at home. A truly good Eddie story must have the elements of surprise, distance travel, unusual food or people, and possibly early mornings, which we all know, Eddie does not do anything joyfully before 10:00 AM. Doubtful you want a report on his woodwork projects, there are some colorful not foreign language being use...in new combinations I might add, quite sure that is a result of no cigarettes in 9 weeks (wahoo!), power tools and Murphy’s Law. A few notable quotable from the silver tongued lawyer...first, coming in from the shop last week, he stated “I am glad I am not a surgeon”. Not that we need any more high risk Items for Coronavirus than we already have, and it is a little late in life for a redo career wise...so, I gathered that precision cutting was as little less than good in the wood shop that day...Next, was an out of the blue comment while we were watching TV- “You know,” he started, “ I use to cover a fart with a cough, I guess I will have to start covering my coughs with a fart.” You’ve been warned. Like I said, there is not much new or exciting here.
I have ebbed and flowed with the dark side of pandemic panic and craziness. I have had to put my iPad into lockdown/quarantine, because that rabbit hole will make you say bad words, fart and cough all at the same time with no Easter chocolate reward for your travels. As the path forward looks like a Game of Thrones book (who will sit on the Iron Throne---early betting has Andrew Cuomo as a dark horse candidate), with a little House, MD thrown in for spice, I decided it was best to find other things to keep me busy...and out of the kitchen area...see Quarantine 15 (or CoVid 19 (as in not quite 20 lbs in 3 weeks) for those that have been eating take out more often) for details.
As I have said, Eddie is chasing his own rabbits out in the garage. I have been attempting to be a good steward of the things in my life...to include the garbage. On advise of our garbage company/community association, we are to place our trash in a black garbage bag and place said 39 gallon black garbage bag (in lieu of our can) on the curb for pick up on our regular pick up days. The email notice reminds us that our sanitation engineers (aka garbage men) handle over 2,000 garbage cans daily, and some of those cans could have corona cooties. Yikes! Here again, another rabbit hole. So, I have been diligently sorting my trash so that it fits into one black garbage bag....removing the clean cardboard waste to be taken to the recycle bin on my one trip a week to get groceries from the pick up location that I booked 7-10 days prior. Yet, another Rabbit Hole. I am sorry, I miss going to the grocery store and selecting my own groceries....and bumping into people I know. I know our personal shoppers are doing the best that they can given when everyone that can is using their services. When you ask for 1 pound of broccoli, 1 pound of red grapes and one bag of lemons and get 5 pounds of broccoli, 4 pounds of grapes and 1 lemon I can see why Scott McClelland is such a big supporter of Good Reason (shiny thing alert-Houston area nonprofit to help kids be successful in school). Guess that part is of why we do not have full time virtual learning. I have used all of the Pinterest recipes for Grapes and/or Broccoli that I can. Unless I stomp the grapes and make wine or smother the Broccoli in cheese sauce, I am flying solo on the stewardship of these items. Like I said, learning to be thankful of what I do get from the store can become a rabbit hole of its own.
Post Harvey, I rediscovered a old quilt that was made prior to the last pandemic of 1918. This quilt has moved us for 43 years, moved our kids, been a picnic blanket, and a tent. It ended up being stored in a high shelf on the first floor. Prior to coming into our possession, it was on down feather beds in Mississippi where homes were drafty and cold as there was no central heat --only the fireplace. It was made by Ed's grandmother from pieces of old clothing and such. It was not an art quilt by any means, but a block pattern quilt that was sewn together by a sturdy black Singer tread powered machine, then hand quilted...function over form. I have that old machine, I even have his grandmother's old sewing basket. So, ratty and worn or not, I was determined not to toss this old piece away---it held too much history. It has been draped over the weight machine in the home gym since we moved back down stairs a little over 2 years ago. (Guess there is nothing shiny in the home gym as it was just where I left it 2 years ago) Wow, that whole thing--flooding, Harvey and rebuilding-- seems so long ago. While each day then was challenging, frustrating, and exhausting, you at least knew where you were heading and how to get there...even if you had to wait your turn or found potholes in the road forward. This is so different. (OOOHHH Shiny-sorry) Well, I made a couple of large TV pillows for the grandkids out of the better blocks and have fashioned a Pandemic Santa from some of the scraps. I have enough for two pandemic panda bears leftover, wow, another week of fun with a sewing machine. Perhaps since this quilt survived the 1918 Spanish Flu I should make masks out of them....decisions, decisions....rabbit holes.
Ed and I had a shiny thing planned for late July and August--an air, land and sea trip to Alaska with a Pacific Northwest Road Trip. As final payment for the sea portion was due this week, we went down the what if rabbit hole. In the past, I have chronicled Eddie's adventures with both air and sea "flu" that he seems to get regardless of how careful we are...the answer seemed obvious---to our children. We love to travel, so we spent lots of time discussing the what ifs. In the end today, we (really, me, cause we know how all this travel stuff gets done in Pickle world) pulled the plug on the air, land and sea portion of the trip---however, hope springs eternal---we can still "drive" in our car, with masks, gloves and Lysol to the Montana portion of our trip. Hopefully, there will be Hand Sanitizer by that time. Fingers crossed. Holding my rabbit foot keychain for good luck.
I have ebbed and flowed with the dark side of pandemic panic and craziness. I have had to put my iPad into lockdown/quarantine, because that rabbit hole will make you say bad words, fart and cough all at the same time with no Easter chocolate reward for your travels. As the path forward looks like a Game of Thrones book (who will sit on the Iron Throne---early betting has Andrew Cuomo as a dark horse candidate), with a little House, MD thrown in for spice, I decided it was best to find other things to keep me busy...and out of the kitchen area...see Quarantine 15 (or CoVid 19 (as in not quite 20 lbs in 3 weeks) for those that have been eating take out more often) for details.
As I have said, Eddie is chasing his own rabbits out in the garage. I have been attempting to be a good steward of the things in my life...to include the garbage. On advise of our garbage company/community association, we are to place our trash in a black garbage bag and place said 39 gallon black garbage bag (in lieu of our can) on the curb for pick up on our regular pick up days. The email notice reminds us that our sanitation engineers (aka garbage men) handle over 2,000 garbage cans daily, and some of those cans could have corona cooties. Yikes! Here again, another rabbit hole. So, I have been diligently sorting my trash so that it fits into one black garbage bag....removing the clean cardboard waste to be taken to the recycle bin on my one trip a week to get groceries from the pick up location that I booked 7-10 days prior. Yet, another Rabbit Hole. I am sorry, I miss going to the grocery store and selecting my own groceries....and bumping into people I know. I know our personal shoppers are doing the best that they can given when everyone that can is using their services. When you ask for 1 pound of broccoli, 1 pound of red grapes and one bag of lemons and get 5 pounds of broccoli, 4 pounds of grapes and 1 lemon I can see why Scott McClelland is such a big supporter of Good Reason (shiny thing alert-Houston area nonprofit to help kids be successful in school). Guess that part is of why we do not have full time virtual learning. I have used all of the Pinterest recipes for Grapes and/or Broccoli that I can. Unless I stomp the grapes and make wine or smother the Broccoli in cheese sauce, I am flying solo on the stewardship of these items. Like I said, learning to be thankful of what I do get from the store can become a rabbit hole of its own.
Post Harvey, I rediscovered a old quilt that was made prior to the last pandemic of 1918. This quilt has moved us for 43 years, moved our kids, been a picnic blanket, and a tent. It ended up being stored in a high shelf on the first floor. Prior to coming into our possession, it was on down feather beds in Mississippi where homes were drafty and cold as there was no central heat --only the fireplace. It was made by Ed's grandmother from pieces of old clothing and such. It was not an art quilt by any means, but a block pattern quilt that was sewn together by a sturdy black Singer tread powered machine, then hand quilted...function over form. I have that old machine, I even have his grandmother's old sewing basket. So, ratty and worn or not, I was determined not to toss this old piece away---it held too much history. It has been draped over the weight machine in the home gym since we moved back down stairs a little over 2 years ago. (Guess there is nothing shiny in the home gym as it was just where I left it 2 years ago) Wow, that whole thing--flooding, Harvey and rebuilding-- seems so long ago. While each day then was challenging, frustrating, and exhausting, you at least knew where you were heading and how to get there...even if you had to wait your turn or found potholes in the road forward. This is so different. (OOOHHH Shiny-sorry) Well, I made a couple of large TV pillows for the grandkids out of the better blocks and have fashioned a Pandemic Santa from some of the scraps. I have enough for two pandemic panda bears leftover, wow, another week of fun with a sewing machine. Perhaps since this quilt survived the 1918 Spanish Flu I should make masks out of them....decisions, decisions....rabbit holes.
Ed and I had a shiny thing planned for late July and August--an air, land and sea trip to Alaska with a Pacific Northwest Road Trip. As final payment for the sea portion was due this week, we went down the what if rabbit hole. In the past, I have chronicled Eddie's adventures with both air and sea "flu" that he seems to get regardless of how careful we are...the answer seemed obvious---to our children. We love to travel, so we spent lots of time discussing the what ifs. In the end today, we (really, me, cause we know how all this travel stuff gets done in Pickle world) pulled the plug on the air, land and sea portion of the trip---however, hope springs eternal---we can still "drive" in our car, with masks, gloves and Lysol to the Montana portion of our trip. Hopefully, there will be Hand Sanitizer by that time. Fingers crossed. Holding my rabbit foot keychain for good luck.
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