Day 22 - Governor Newsom imposes new restrictions
L. and I trim the tree…
12/7/20 – Monday
7:00-My alarm goes off, but I stay in bed until 7:30.
7:30-8:15 – Shower. Hydroflask. Exhausted. Lotion and Covid-19 uniform, except I swap out the tank top for a sweater. I start my make-up.
8:15-Downstairs and the dog is still sleeping so I rub her tummy three times. She grabs her toy and we go outside. She does her business and back inside. Left-over turkey for her, lemon water for me. I go to work.
8:30-10:30 – The students are listening to a lecture so I step away and assess the house. The backyard is covered with leaves again, but I’m able to do a quick sweep of the patio, not that it does any good. Kitchen duty and then I tidy my bedroom.
-Back to the computer to check in on the class - nothing.
-I pull the artificial Xmas tree in from the garage and set it up in the kitchen area. No time to decorate it, but it comes with white lights. After much wrangling with the three pieces, I’m finally able to put it together. Even without the ornaments, it looks nice.
-I light our “pine tree” candle and turn on the various decorations that have their own lights. Turn on the gas fireplace, too. Very festive.
10:45 – 11:30 - I’m having coffee with B. today, but I told him last night that he doesn’t have to get me anything-I’m fine with lemon water. He texts from Starbucks and tells me it’s a last call. I crack and ask for a cup of coffee. Damn! What can I say? I’m a slave to the bean.
-I finish my make-up.
11:30 – 3:00 - B. arrives and the coffee is amazing!! We sit outside – the weather is great – and talk politics.
-L. goes to work.
3:00-4:30 - B. came with tools so he can fix my hose, hose caddy, and faucet. Additionally, three of my garden lights are out. I almost never ask B. for “acts of service” unless it involves a designated gift day – my birthday, Mother’s Day, or Xmas. This year, my Xmas list for B. is 1) repair or replace my hose [so I can finally water my plants without flooding the yard]; 2) repair or replace lights/bulbs for three garden lights; 3) Money.
-B. successfully makes the repairs.
4:30 – 5:30 - B. suggests we order a pizza but I opt for Vietnamese soup from Pho Sure instead. It comes out to $25, which is more than a large pizza would have cost. B. pays. Although the soup is healthier, I feel kind of bad about the bill.
We pick up the soup, then go on a quest, looking for the neighborhood that features a HUGE light display every Xmas. We find the neighborhood, but the lights aren’t running this year, probably due to Covid-19. I’m disappointed. We head back to my house.
5:30-8:00 – We eat our soup and watch Run, a movie featuring Sarah Paulson as a Munchausen by proxy mother and a wheelchair bound teenager, who is actually, in real life, wheelchair bound. Excellent and suspenseful movie. Highly recommend.
-L. is home from work with Trader Joes eggnog and dark-chocolate covered marshmallows. We’re trimming the tree tonight and we ALWAYS drink Trader Joes eggnog when we do it. It’s the best.
9:00 – 10:30 - B. leaves because L. and I wrote “trimming the tree” into our daily planners for tonight. This is what L. and I. have resorted to in order to spend time together – penciling each other in as best we can -because we’re both so incredibly busy. She’s had Finals week for the past TWO weeks and I’m administering Finals over a 2-week period because College No. 1 and College No. 2 are on different schedules.
-We listen to This American Life – Christmas and Commerce with David Sedarus (another annual ritual) and drink eggnog while we trim the tree. It’s super fun. We finish and the tree looks great!
10:30-11:30 – I do clean-up and straighten the kitchen, shut all the lights down, take the dog out, lock everything, and upstairs for me. I am really, really tired.
11:30-12:00 – Night time routine. Bed.