Day 47 of the California quarantine
Covid and champagne
Today’s big event was the champagne delivery from Wine.com. Yesterday, I received a text from FedEx that my wine would be delivered today and that someone 21 or older had to be home. No problem, because where am I going to go? I have no idea when it’s coming. With this in mind…
8:30 - the dog slept in today. I go downstairs and take her out. Cheese (for her). I go back upstairs and get dressed in my Covid-19 uniform: yoga pants, sports bra, and razor back-T. Minimal make-up.
9:00-10:00 - I drink my 16-oz Hydroflask of lemon water and read Leaving the Witness outside, on my patio. I switch to Death Wish Keurig coffee while I’m reading.
10:00-1:00 - As stated in multiple entries, L. and I deep-cleaned the entire house from top to bottom, BUT I forgot our interior lighting fixtures and this has been on my mind for two weeks. Every time I set this as a goal, it gets pushed to the wayside…I’m doing it today.
This turns out to be quite a project.
I lay down a drop cloth, drag the ladder out, then clean each crystal of the small flush-mount chandelier above the front door with a paper towel sprayed with Windex. I listen to The Daily, Start Up, and Today Explained while I work. I have a 3-piece art-deco couch so I break up the pieces and move the ladder in the middle, under the second flush-mount chandelier. I clean each crystal. I listen to Best of Both Worlds. When I’m finished, I take a break and eat some of the overnight oats I made two days ago. This is my first taste - not bad! I think I could add more almond butter, though. I have 4 spoonfuls. Not hungry today.
I move my drop cloth and ladder to the light fixtures above the TV and clean. With the couches moved, I see some dust, so break out the vacuum and hit the floors. I move my drop cloth and ladder to the track lighting over one of my paintings and clean that. I listen to Vox: The Weeds, then move into the kitchen for the three pendants. A ladder isn’t necessary as I can reach them.
I move the drop cloth and ladder into the downstairs bathroom and clean the chandelier, crystal by crystal. Can you tell I like chandeliers? The floor is dirty in here too - this is the last room that L and I need to deep clean, in the entire house - so I fire up the vacuum again. I take a break and have 4 more spoonfuls of overnight oats.
I start to put the couches together and notice several deep scratches in the wood floor, next to them and under the ottoman. I see these scratches every day and I can’t help but remember the podcast from 365 Organizing - What are you tolerating? I’ve been tolerating these scratches for around 7 months - I don’t know how they got there. I sand them out, use Murphy’s Oil, then fill them in with a special wood-grain pen. Success! I can’t believe how good they turned out.
I put everything away and can’t believe how much time I spent on this bull s—t project. Wine.com still hasn’t arrived.
1:00 - 1:30: We’re having ‘company’ today [Fed-Ex] so I sweep the front porch. I get my mask, gloves, and ID ready, next to the front door.
1:30-2:30 - I enter my home office and get to work. I log onto my state job, respond to emails, and then schedule a respondent interview for 6/22/20.
2:30-3:00 - I break for some of L.’s cut-up fruit and left-over pasta salad from her date last night, both of which are good.
3:00 - 3:30 - I really have to water my plants, but I’m afraid to in case Fed-Ex arrives and I’m not here to unlock the door and show my ID. L. finally gets up and comes downstairs. I ask her if she will ‘spell me’ while I go outside and water my plants - she says yes. I water my plants, but the succulents are not doing well. I trim a few overhead branches to let more light in then take a saw to a strange growth on one of my fruitless plum trees.
3:30 - Wine.com arrives. I mask, open the door, and a Fed-ex employee shouts from the truck, “Name?!” I shout my name and a second employee, with his mask down, puts the box on my doorstep. No one checks ID, I don’t sign anything, and they leave. L. could have stood in the door and said my name. I’m not sure why I was so worried this transaction wouldn’t occur.
4:00 - 4:30 - Now, what is the proper Covid etiquette here? Do I leave everything on the doorstep and wait for the heat and UV light to blast it? Do I drink some Lysol? Or, do I bring everything in and stop acting paranoid? Two other boxes arrived with the Wine.com box and one is L.’s. L. is busy with homework and says she will bring them in later, but this is stupid. I am not one to spray my mail before I open it (I know a lot of other people are doing that and I don’t begrudge them), so I bring everything inside, then wash my hands. I don’t open anything.
5:00 - 6:00- To office and start grading a paper that was submitted two weeks in advance from a student for a critique before the actual due date.
Before Covid, I was campaigning for a candidate who was running for the House, in my district (#25th) - I probably hit 300 houses door-to-door. I won’t tell you which candidate. All of that’s gone now and the only thing I can do is the phone bank, which is not appealing to me. Anyway, I missed the virtual debate and start watching it on YouTube as I post grades from the Extra Credit essays I graded last night. I eat more tortellini leftovers for dinner - they’re still good. I scan the Draft assignment due 5/11/20 but forwarded to me early for editing, then email it to the student.
6:00-7:00 - My ex calls to see how we’re doing and L. and I talk to him. He lives with his Mom and step-dad, and they just entered escrow on a 6000-sq-ft. home, in South Carolina, with no internet. Pictures show a beautiful home in the middle of a forest. He sounds a little down, but tries to be upbeat for L.
7:00-9:00 - continue grading extra credit assignments.
9:30 - 11:30 - I move upstairs and L. and I get her bathroom ready for painting tomorrow morning. We prep everything, which means we tape off all pertinent areas and make sure our painting supplies are ready to go.
12:00-1:00-Blog
1:00 - Upstairs for McMillions with L.