No Strings Attached

Kathleen David's weblog

Day 70 of the Homebound Saga Adding Injury to Insult

Posted By on May 24, 2020

May 24, 2020 Sunday

I use a contact cement for parts of my puppets. It has been a bit since I use it.

Apparently, I did not clean the top off properly before I sealed it and the cap was glued shut on the top of the can. 

It took me 40 minutes to get the cap off the glue.

It also cost my injuries on both thumbs right at the bottom joint. I didn’t realize that I had blisters there until they popped as I tried to force the cap to screw off.

I did, eventually, get the cap off and put together the bodies. I made doggone sure that I cleaned the top correctly.

It is interesting how much you use your thumbs in your daily life. 

My grip is almost non-existent at this point. Holding utensils is hard. Writing is painful. Even typing on the computer is uncomfortable. I haven’t tried tools, but I don’t think that will be much better.

I am figuring out how I can use my hands and what my limitations are right now.

This is going to take a bit to heal and I am going to have to be careful that I don’t expand that time by doing something stupid. 

Washing hands also get interesting. 

I am grateful for bandages.

Saturday May 23, 2020

Posted By on May 23, 2020

Day 69 of the Homebound Saga

According to Cuomo, Long Island needs to get its act together and have tracing in place along with the ability for people to look and see where cases have been reported. Once we have the data, then we can tell when we hit the level allowing for a soft re-opening of the Island. 

Then it will be the Slightly Homebound Saga.

The four businesses I am looking forward opening when appropriate are the local library, the bookstore, the gym, and the fabric store. Haircut can wait for a bit. I want everyone to be safe and feel comfortable in their place of business. Peter is looking forward to the bowling alley reopening. Caroline’s list pretty matches mine but add Hot Topic to the list.

Today Caroline and I are going to work on a project she wants to do. I am doing a reading of Midsummer Night’s Dream with friends. Tomorrow I have a Zoom meeting of my Art group that I am looking forward to. That is pretty much my social calendar this weekend. 

And that is okay. I know that down the road I will be able to go to my favorite bar and getting a drink again. That’s not important right now.

I am grateful for forward movement.

Day 68 of the Homebound Saga I wanna go back to bed

Posted By on May 22, 2020

So far this morning I have had to deal with plumbing, cat barf, and my coffee pot malfunctioning.

Thus, I want a do over on the morning.

The cats are enjoying the open windows. For the first time Phoebe has joined the group for the first time. She avoided the open windows, but I think Mewlan convinced her it will be OK. She is watching the birds with great fascination. 

I have a lot to clean this morning and I don’t wanna but I will be an adult and do it.

Come to think about there is a lot I don’t wanna do today. 

I don’t want to think about all that is going on around me. 

I don’t want to think about everything that is worrying me.

I just want to turn off my brain and live in the moment.

But that is not how it works for me. 

My brain is always going at a rapid pace. Getting it to slow down can be a real pain.

I think I am going to have to give meditation another try. I haven’t been able to do it since this whole thing started. I have to give myself permission to take the time to do so. It will be hard to start but, if I can get it rolling again, if I can then I think I will be in a better place.

Off to be an adult before I can play with my inner child.

I am grateful for things that do calm my brain.

Thursday May 21: 2020 If I fits I sits

Posted By on May 21, 2020

Day 67 of the Homebound Saga

When we get packages, the boxes tend to become cat napping spots.

We call it “If I fits, I sits” principle. It does not matter the size of box; they will try to fit.

Right now, we have a nice sized box that the cats have been rotating usage of. I have been watching the box move across the floor as they leap out of it. I am not moving the box back because I want to see where it ends up.

Yes, that is what I am doing for entertainment. 

Today is not as windy as it has been the past couple of days. I am going to give the picnic table a good scrub and get the winter dirt off of it.

I have a few other cleaning things I need to do and then I will be back to puppet land for the afternoon.

Caroline had finished her AP exams for this year. Now it is whatever is left for her to do each day until the end of the school year.

Peter is working on a new work that came to his head from a sketch we did at a convention years ago. It is funny and irreverent. Yes, I get to read Peter’s work before the world gets a shot at it. One of the perks of being his wife.

Right now, I am feeling a lot of mixed emotions about the world and my spot in it. It changes from hour to hour. I woke up mad as heck about everything and was about to write a rant. By the time I got my morning tasks done, my mind went from mad to neutral to really okay with the world and my place in it. I could turn on a dime and go back to dark thoughts but right now I am feeling almost hopeful.

My parents have listed their house for sale. I am of mixed feeling about it.

I am glad they are getting out before they can no longer take care of the house. I am sad because it was my childhood home. But I am fine with it because I would rather my parents be somewhere that will allow them to live the life they want to live.

Honestly, it was the fact that I didn’t get my last walk through because of COVID-19 is what hurts the most. I was supposed to go down on March 23 for one last family dinner at the house and grab things I had there. Mom didn’t get her last dinner with her children around the table that we have had so many meals and I didn’t get to say good-bye to the house.

But that’s alright. I have lots of memories of that house and all the things that happened within. As do my friends I grew up with and my brothers and sister’s friends. We had meetings of the Druid Hills Science Fiction club there. We had opening night parties for Theatre Emory. There were the annual cookie party that many people looked forward to. 

I had my own room that I plastered with pictures and posters that reflected what I was interested in at the time. I had a record player in there so I could listen to my music while I worked on my homework. It was my space and my parents let me express myself in it. 

The backyard is a thing of wonder. When we got the property, the backyard was pretty wild and unkempt. Now it has formal gardens that has been on the Druid Hills Home Tour more than once. My parents worked hard to make it what it is and even harder to maintain it. 

They build an addition to the house which we called the West Wing. It is a very airy room with lots of light and became the place we congregated as a family. Because they had to knock down the garage, they were able to build the two-car garage that they wanted and get the garden shed they needed. 

We had lots of bookshelves in the house all filled with books. We were encouraged to read from a young age. My parents introduced me to many of the authors I love to this day through their books that they enjoyed. 

It was a good home to grow up in as it was big enough that you could get away from the rest of the family if you needed to but small enough that we could spend time together as a family. 

I will always have fond memories of that house. 

However, I would rather my parents be comfortable and safe than stay somewhere that might become dangerous as anyone who has had to navigate the stairs to the second floor in the dark can attest to. The basement stairs are a whole other issue for those with bad knees.

I am grateful for the time I spent in my childhood home.

Wednesday May 20 2020

Posted By on May 20, 2020

Day 66 of the Homebound Saga

Today Caroline takes her AP Lit test. After that she will be done with her AP tests. The Regents tests were dropped this year. If she passes her classes, she gets her Regents credit. The rest of the school year is pretty much a wash. She has online work until they tell her that she doesn’t.

I have a couple of things I want to get done before the end of the day.

It is hard to believe that next Tuesday will be our 19th Wedding Anniversary. We have no idea how we are going to celebrate the day yet.

We finished our binge watch of Galivant and moved onto Lucifer.  I know there are lots of new shows on various platforms but right now I need some viewing that I don’t need to give my total focus.

I am grateful for TV shows that just get better with age.