Day 45 of the California quarantine

This looks a lot like my bike sans flowers…

5/3/20. Sunday

7:30 - I’m up and I take the dog out. Cheese for her. I go upstairs and back to sleep.

11:00-12:30 - Up and I sit outside on my patio and read Notes to Self. The dog is also outside but keeps jumping on my stomach and I have cramps. I put her in the house and then return to the patio. It’s amazing how fast the tension and anxiety drops when the dog is quarantined.

I2:30-1:00- I make overnight oats from a recipe I found online - I’ve always wanted to make overnight oats so I’m pretty excited about it. This is said without a hint of irony. I eat a snack pack of nuts and raisins - not hungry today. L. leaves to do her personal grocery shopping so I request three items: salt, Greek plain yogurt, and almond milk. I put away laundry from the beach trip and start my sheets.

1:45-2:45 - I use our city “paseo” to bike to one of our parks - we have several in our community. Riding my bike felt great. A lot of people are walking and biking along the paseo, some with masks and some without. Bicyclers don’t wear masks, I’ve noted, although one woman passed me wearing a bandanna. When I get to the park, I stand with my bike and watch the social interaction. People are playing soccer, but maintaining a 6-foot space.

2:45-4:30 - I return to the patio and continue reading Notes to Self - I’m almost done. Then, I fry up a package of bacon for a few recipes I have in mind in the coming days, although I eat three pieces - I share with the dog. I put my sheets in the drier, grab my bathroom trash and L’s trash from her room and dump it. I hang a picture for L., in her room, then fold her special bath towels and put them on the rack in her bathroom. Trash day tomorrow so I move the trash cans to the curb.

4:30 - L. returns and relays her grocery shopping adventures. There is no line at Target - people just go right in. Trader Joes was a nightmare, but it is every Sunday (I’m not sure L. knows this). Whole Foods is always fully stocked and empty - nobody wants to go there because it’s too expensive, so this is L.’s go-to grocery store. She went to Bev-Mo for sparkling Elder Flower and some novelty water, then Ralphs for mangos and Asian pears - lots of fruit for her first-date picnic with R. tomorrow. It was quite a haul, but she paid for everything herself, especially in light of the fact that she received the $1200 PPP tax credit and two months of state and federal unemployment.

5:00-5:30 - I convert my home office into a gym and do a 30-minute power-walk with Kathy Smith on my treadmill. I read Notes to Self while I walk. Then, I get to work.

5:30 - I field emails for my state job and prepare correspondence for mail-out. I schedule another interview for June. I need to drop off my mileage log and letters tomorrow, but that is all I’m going to do - I’m not staying. After two months, bulk soft soap and diaper wipes are finally available! - this is incredible. I order two soft soaps (50 ozs), a pkg. of 6 diaper wipes, and a box of Death Wish Keurig cups from Walmart. I call my dentist and tell her I WILL make my appointment on Thursday. I email L. an old image of a McDonalds Monopoly game piece as a clue in preparation for the docu-series that I picked since Waco ended yesterday. Don’t say anything, but we will be watching McMillions over the next week.

9:00-9:30 - I do the dishes and make regular baked potatoes, using the “fixings” from L.’s sweet potato recipe from a few weeks ago, to add to the potato. They come out dry, but still edible.

9:30-11:00 - We go upstairs and eat dinner while watching Episode 1 of McMillions - its great. I have champagne with dinner.

11:30-1:30 - Back to work, but this time it involves my side hustle college classes. I field multiple emails from the students then update the Canvas platforms for tomorrow’s curriculum. I’m ready for the work week.

2:00-3:30 a.m. - I take a shower - I don’t want to defile my clean sheets that I just put on the bed - and wash my hair, then braid it so it will be wavy for work tomorrow. I do my nighttime routine and am in bed by 4:00 a.m.