Work from home, day 8

Who else is stir crazy?  Rob had to go to Nebraska to take care of his Mom because his sisters, who live a half mile away from her weren't.  She had little food in the house.  She had a serious health issue that required doctor's appts.  And someone needed to take care of that and apparently he was the only one.  I wouldn't want to be either of those women if I ever see them again.  (BTW, they're the same two that took Syd in and thought she was too much trouble...uh-huh, right.  But, she wasn't too much trouble for the two gay men.  Just sayin'.)  Anyway, being here by myself showed me just how much trouble I'll be in if I'm ever single.  I mostly walked from one end of the house to the other, trying to figure out what needed to be done next.  Except I'd done everything except the laundry.  And, I couldn't sit still to quilt.  I kept wanting to start something new. 

I realized that I didn't have a batting for the arc quilt and that I needed to order one.  It should be here later this week.  I still need to try to find thread.  I played with another background filler that I'm thinking of using.  From the front, with the grey thread, I can see every mistake.  I eventually took a spool of thread and marked my curves and that made it better.  But, still I can see the errors. 

Just when I was about to give up, I flipped it over and looked at the back and it looks so much better!  The black thread on the black background hides a multitude of sins.  After I took this picture, I had to look at it again because of all the white looking spots.  I thought that was the grey thread showing up on the quilt back, but it's only the light reflecting off the silk thread.  I can't find black silk thread on a cone right now, but I have most of a cone.  I may use that on the front and the gray on the back.  The back of this quilt is a print, so the grey wouldn't show up as much. 

I also pulled out this quilt.  It's a 30's repro quilt that I started quilting a few years ago and got discouraged with.  It was a block of the month, many years ago

I'm quilting straight lines in the prints, and am toying with background ideas for the white.  I quilted this one background before I put it aside and it's beautiful.  It's also the reason I put it aside.  It doesn't feel in style of the quilt, which would have been quilted much more simply if it was an actual depression era quilt.  I'm trying to make a lap quilt, not a wall hanging and quilted this tightly, it won't be a very comfortable quilt to lie under.  I may use the clam shell pattern, but in a larger scale on the rest of the quilt.  It's hard to go from the dense quilting I love and have practiced so long to a looser pattern.  But, learning to do things like that is why quilting has been enough of a challenge to keep me interested for all these years. 

When I got really bored, I made cookies.  I was very good at not buying snacks when we stocked up.  I thought not having snacks would mean I wouldn't spend all my days eating away the stir crazy.  But, I've been really good with these cookies and haven't eaten my weight in them yet.  Hopefully I can continue to step away from them as week two of being homebound begins. 

Last week, it rained.  And, rained and rained and rained.  That left me unable to work in the yard over the weekend.  That's probably most of why I was so "lost at sea".  But, when it would stop, I'd be sure to take a few minutes to roam the yard. 

These lilies bloomed in the greenhouse.  Syd gave me these for Man Mom's day about 3 years ago and they've bloomed consistently since.  I tried growing some in the yard and that was not a success.  But, in the greenhouse, they grow and thrive.  I didn't catch them in this shot, but even the geraniums in the back are starting to put up flowers. 

These violets were so wet, but waiting for some sun to dry them out and make the flowers open back up and be beautiful.  I use violets as a ground cover and I also plant them in my large pots.  When the violets wilt, it's time to water. 

I don't remember what this is.  It was another Man Mom's day gift from Syd.  It's been in this pot for several years and it thrives and loves the sun and it gives multiple colors to the garden.  Right now, pinky-orange, but when these leaves mature, they'll be purple-green all summer long and in the fall, they'll turn red.

Speaking of Syd, she started the conversation about coming home for the duration.  Her work is closed and her roommate's Mom is asking him to come home and she doesn't want to stay there by herself.  She texted me to get the facts about what is happening because she had conflicting information from multiple sources and knew we'd have done research and know the truth.  I was honest and up-front with her.  I explained what the city is asking all residents to do.  And, I explained the repercussions of not doing it.  She asked if it was time to come home to stay and I told her that she should stay there, where all her entertainment is as long as she can, but that if her roomie went home, we'd come get her.  I'm pretty sure that made her feel better, and you can imagine what it did for Rob and me, knowing she trusted us for the facts and that she knew she had a place to go if things got rough.  I talked to her about the importance of staying away from crowds if she was coming here to stay so she wouldn't bring anything with her and she was completely understanding of that.  And, I thanked her for being understanding.  We did such a good job.  I don't know if she'll actually come home, but I know she knows she can.  And, that's what's important. 

Last night, my diabetic cat had an episode and we had to go to the emergency 24-hour vet.  All I needed them to do was give her fluids and check for a UTI.  They wanted to keep her for 48 hours, which I knew we didn't need, to the tune of $1400.  NOT!  I was pretty insistent that they give her fluids and let me take her home.  Rob got back last night and I seriously needed my whole family back home.  Leaving her was not an option for me.  So, they tanked her up and we left for $518 ($275 of which was unnecessary lab work).  And, this morning, she came out and ate, just like I knew she would.  It's not rocket science people.  It's not my first time at this particular rodeo.  Doctors need to learn to LISTEN!  People know what they're talking about.  And, if they don't, it's pretty easy to tell that from LISTENING to them.  Anyway, she's going to be fine and I'll call our vet today and see if they'll give me a bag of sterile water and some needles so I can tank her up from home if she needs it. 

I'm WFH.  It's hard.  First, I found that I need to be around people more than I knew.  I miss my co-workers and plan to create a IM group chat today, just to catch up.  My business continuity responsibilities are taxing.  Just keeping everyone up and running from home is a challenge and I'm doing that in addition to my regular job.  I was pretty lucky.  The 110 people I'm responsible for all had the capacity to work from home and had all done it before, so all I've had to do is order them extra equipment and send instructions to do some things that people don't normally do from home.  It seems like no big thing to me, but the gratitude people are showing for such simple tasks is very rewarding.  And, like the lady in the commercials that made rice krispie treats and flicked flour in her face to make it look like a lot of work, I'm not telling anybody how easy it is...most continuity team members are having a much tougher time of it. 

That's my week-at-a-glance.  At some point, I'll need to go to the grocery.  Not looking forward to that.  I'm hoping some of the hoarding is over and that the store will be stocked and there won't be too many people.  But, who knows.  People are fear buying and there's nothing more dangerous than that.  And, we have enough supplies to get us through, even if I can't get into the store for fresh cream and more chips and another pound of butter and some yogurt.  Oh, and a box of sugar cereal in case  Syd comes to stay. 

Y'all take care.  Stay home.  Be well.  And check on your friends.  The extroverts are apparently going nuts!

Wow, I got through that without any political commentary.  That's a huge accomplishment because I have some very strong angry feelings. 

Lane