How are you doing? What are you doing?
How’s it going guys? Youall hanging in there? Anyone got any good news to share? Any fun recs for reading/watching/staying at home and being entertained?
My 83 year old mom has been visiting and we’ve been watching The House of Eliott which she LOVES. (My husband thinks it’s smashing as well.) 1920 was such a time of social change and, oh my, the clothes and hats are to die for. This is my third time watching the show and, this time, I’m struck by how focused the show is on the two women leads. There are men, many of whom come and then go, but they exist only as foils to Evie and Bea, the Eliott sisters.
I’ve also been, for the first time in decades, listening to vinyl. When we moved, we connected my husband’s ancient Bang and Olusfsen turntable and started listening to all the records we never parted with. It’s such a different experience–I’m an obsessive playlist maker and thus am used to listening to artist after artist. I’m startled when the music suddenly stops and I have to–duh–get up and flip the record. The sound quality is amazing and I’m rediscovering favorite LPs I’d somewhat forgotten. (Right now I am listening to Suzanne Vega’s debut album and it is still stunning!)
Lastly, I’m getting lots of joy from my youngest son’s new puppy, albeit from a distance. Zion is clearly the cutest creature in the world and I follow his Instagram account devotedly.
I hope you are doing well. Hang in there!
My Mom and I got the latest EMMA on DVD from the library and though beautiful it was the worst adaptation of Jane Austen that I have ever seen. So we watched all the EMMA films once a week last month. The Paltrow one is okay but Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax are badly casted as is Harriet Smith. All three are wonderful actors, but they were just wrong in the roles. The Kate Beckinsale one is probably the most authentic and best casted, but we loved the Romela Garai and Johnny Lee Miller version best. We also watched DEATH at PEMBERLEY which is terrific! Matthew Goode is the best George Wickham ever!
I usually don’t watch much TV, but my Mom is devoted, so I’m trying to push her over from game shows and talk shows to HGTV PBS and TCM… the networks are loaded with political ads that just infuriate me to no end.
I agree that the latest Emma was the worst, but then I don’t think the director intended it to be a faithful retelling. The movie felt very self-conscious, as though it was made “with a purpose.” I do love the Beckensale adaptation, but I agree the Garai/Miller one might be best. Death at Pemberley is so much fun. Although not an Austen, Agatha and the Truth About Murder, about the 11 days that Agatha Christie disappeared, is quite good.
My DH and I are lucky as we live in a village with a population of just 300 people and we know all of them and they have kept to the rules during lockdown, thankfully, even the kids who must be bored out of their minds. I am having a minor surgical procedure later this week and in the 2 week run up to this, my DH and I have had to keep to ultra-strict quarantine which has been hard. On the other hand, my house is ultra sparkling, we have been glad we have Sky, Netflix and Amazon, I’ve read loads of things and the supermarket has been brilliant at home deliveries as I have shopped throughout for neighbours in their late 80s and 90s who are either housebound or don’t know how to use the internet. So, today, I am doing a few little chores before the trip to the hospital on Thursday and on Friday we will be celebrating the end of the ultra-strict quarantine when we can at last go for a walk, leaving our property for the first time in 2 weeks.
Best wishes on a fast recovery!
Thanks!
I’ve been struggling to connect with things during [gestures wildly] all this. Reading has become something difficult for the first time since I was 6 years old. I work at an elementary school as a reading interventionist and the uncertainty surrounding the safe return to school has me feeling all kinds of feelings. So I’ve been making masks. It’s an illusion of control, but I’ll take it. Masks and all of the dumb iPhone games. Pyramid solitaire, sudoku, oh man, Design Home. All the things that give my busy squirrel brain something to do. I wish I could be a TV or movie person! My husband is a film buff but sitting still is such a challenge.
Years ago, my husband shattered both his wrists, couldn’t work, we had four little kids at home and I was so stressed I was concerned I was beginning to love my nightly glass of wine more than I should. So I took up beading. I can’t recommend it enough for squirrel brains on stress. It’s easy to do, can be done cheaply, and can be cut up and redone just for fun.
May I also suggest origami? People act like it’s such an expensive hobby, which it can be with all those fancy papers, but it’s fun to make stuff out of the free junk mail that comes to the house too.
The House of Elliot! I loved that and watched each series religiously back in the early 90’s when it was on A&E TV. I even bought the hardcover tie in book. Now that you mention it, it was completely focused on two main characters. Unlike Downton Abbey and other ensemble casts Bea and Evie get all the focus with some small departures into the lives of some of the women who work for them and Jack. I used to love the introductions by Jean Marsh and that she and Eileen Atkins has created it. It’s so woman-centric and ahead of its time I think.
Such cute pictures you posted! Love you and your Mom, and of course Zion.
I do not understand why the BBC and Acorn have never made it available for streaming. It would still be a big hit, I think.
I don’t watch much telly (although I remember House of Elliot when it was first on the Beeb!). We started rewatching Life on Mars the other night; I haven’t watched it since it first aired and it’s still a lot of fun. We inhaled season 2 of Umbrella Academy a couple of weeks back, as well – the girls and I are big fans!
i’m thankful for today’s technology that helps us stay connected and allows us to explore the world outside our homes. I have been taking several online classes through our local community college program for senior citizens, including line dancing, yoga, strength training, documentary film, short stories, Spanish, and guitar. I’ve also had regular Zoom meetings with family and friends. Then I go visit my 83yo mother daily and we take a walk. Reading for pleasure usually happens in the evening. I think I’ve just about finished Jo Beverly’s back list and I’m looking forward to Mary Balogh’s upcoming book. I’m trying to introduce some variety in my reading so I think I’ll start to whittle down the list of non-romance in my TBR pile.
p.s. Xion is a cutie.
I just can’t get enough of him!
Our days are quiet here and have a sameness to them, but overall I’m happy to be able to stay home. My husband is a software developer and can work from home, probably as long as he needs to. He’s high risk from chronic asthma, so he’s been as isolated as possible since early March. I worked full time in retail the past 7 years and was furloughed in March. When they called everyone back in July I didn’t feel the safety precautions were adequate and did not return to work. I miss the income, but not the stress of the job or the risk of bring the virus home to my husband.
I have three adult children living with me for various reasons. One is working part time, the other two aren’t (disability/chronic illness). The upside of this is I have good company at home, so my extrovert self isn’t going completely crazy.
I spend my days reading and listening to audiobooks, working around the house, and walking the dog. I am part of a regular D&D group that my husband DM’s, and our nonresident player joins remotely. We’re about to start a second campaign using Carbon 2185-a cyberpunk setting. I’m really looking forward to that.
I’m fortunate in that I live in Canada and work in a hospital, so I have steady employment and we’re required to wear masks on the job. The hospital provides free masks for staff every day.
It’s disappointing to see people on public transport who don’t bother with masks, though. Wearing one is supposed to be mandatory on the subway/bus, but I see too many people with chin-warmers or their masks pulled down below their noses, and I wonder what they think this accomplishes.
As for when I’m not at work, I’m trying to keep my professional development updated by taking continuing education courses. I’ve also done a lot more cooking since the pandemic began, and have learned to make beef vindaloo, carrot cake and creme caramel.
I wish you all the best in staying safe during this time!
My oldest daughter is a Junior in college, and she moved back to an apartment this last weekend and has resumed her part-time, on-campus job. It’s a big university two hours from where we live, and they’re expecting Covid cases to go up with all of the students moving back. The university has left it largely up to the professors (as long as they meet Covid in-person guidelines) whether to go with virtual or some kind of hybrid in-person model (such as assigning what days students can be in the classroom to reduce the numbers, etc.). It also really depends on the kind of course it is.
My youngest daughter is a Senior in high school, and her school is going with virtual learning for the first semester and will then reassess. People I know with much younger children are really struggling with how to make virtual learning work for the younger kids while trying to work from home.
My employer decided to extend work from home for most employees through the end of this year. It’s a large company with offices in most major cities. They laid off 5 percent of our workforce at the beginning of the summer. I’ve known for quite some time that my job is being slowly phased out by technology and other factors. I think I will be lucky to still be employed by year-end. I’ve worked for this company for over 20 years and have a pension with them so I’m staying as long as I can and not spending a penny I don’t have to. It’s definitely challenging trying to find ways to add value and be relevant when 70 percent of what I used to do just went away with Covid and travel restrictions. Even after we get over this hump, how we work in addition to the new technologies being rolled out, will change everything.
My husband started traveling again for his job, so we’re all just hoping for the best and trying to keep our heads above water. I’ve noticed construction in our county has not slowed down one bit. I don’t know if that is good or bad.
Best wishes to everyone during this trying time!
Hugs to you.
As usual, books and murder-mystery tv shows (we’re up to Season 9 of “Vera” right now) are my comfort mechanisms. I’ve read over 100 books during the quarantine—but all “good“ things must come to an end and I’m preparing to go back to work. I work in the public schools and am returning to work next Monday. The sheer recklessness and utter imbecility of reopening schools during a pandemic (featuring a virus for which we have no cure, no vaccine, and which can be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers) boggles the mind—but I need a paycheck and I need health insurance, so (like so many public school workers) I am returning to work. Schools were never designed for social distancing—schools were designed to pack the maximum number of students into the legally-mandated minimum amount of space—so I’m curious to see how we’re supposed to maintain social distancing, especially in places like the cafeteria, the gym, the bus lines, etc. I’ll be masked and covered up to my elbows in sanitizer, but other than that, I guess I’ll be relying on prayers and good luck to keep me and my loved ones and my students and my coworkers safe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sometimes it feels as if we’re living in a demented PsychOps experiment or in a universe created by Samuel Beckett.
Oh so many hugs. I live in a college town that has brought back the college students and cases are skyrocketing. We’ve had four clusters (a group of five cases in the same building) in 48 hours and cases have grown tenfold.
Good luck!
My eldest is starting her MA in September – unless things change, her first term/semester will be online teaching exclusively. My youngest is also starting a college course and tuition is likely to be online until at least Christmas. Of course, schools are different because of the much larger numbers, but the government has had months to come up with a strong and workable online option, even as a plan B, but nope. It’s bums on seats in actual classrooms or nothing.
I’ll be in the same boat in a few weeks – I’m a supply (substitute) teacher, and I do have a job to go to in September (at the place I was working at before lockdown) but I’m really worried about returning. Things in the UK are perhaps not as bad as in the US, but the govt here is focused on “everyone back to school” no matter the cost. Teachers and teaching unions are regularly vilified in the media becuase we’re lazy and don’t care about kids – never is there any mention of the health – physical and mental – of the adults in a school. And anyone who has been into a school recently, or interacted with the age group I teach (11-16) will know it’s going to be like herding cats.
Oh, and in the UK, there is no requirement for social distancing among pupils in the same year group (the stupid “bubbles” idea) although teachers should rmain 2m away from students and staff – and so far no mandate for pupils to wear masks in school – they must wear them on school transport and then take them OFF in school. Staff are actively discouraged from wearing masks, but we can if we want to. I don’t know how my wearing a mask – when they’re supposed to protect OTHER people – is going to do any good when the other 30+ people in the room won’t be wearing one.
Anyway. Good luck!
Caz and DiscoDollyDeb, I’m sorry you don’t feel safe,and I’m sorry teachers are being verbally attacked for expressing very reasonable concerns. In the US, at least, I hate the way the public assumes it’s the teachers duty to fix the economic problems by returning to work whether it’s are safe or not. Anyway, I hope you know that there are a lot of people supporting you, as little as that may practically help. Stay safe.
I have several relatives who are teachers, in different areas of the country. My sister in Colorado has been teaching online for a couple years through a homeschooling program. She is super busy because there are a boatload of parents trying to transfer their children into the program. My cousins in South Florida are physically back in their classrooms and are worried about possible catching Covid and bringing it back home to vulnerable family members. My cousins in Southern Maryland are back in the classroom at least part time. My cousin’s husband coaches football and wrestling. He wants to go back in the classroom. Each school system seems to be handling the situation differently.
I’m so sorry to hear this and I wish you all the very best going forward. I was part of the decision making team at my work who decided to keep things remote with the option of transitioning to hybrid later on at a future date. I know I am very fortunate to have this option for myself and the people who work for me. Working from home has its own challenges but it really is a luxury right now to have that option.
I just looked at a chart for my state and so far all schools are starting either remote or hybrid and it seems the hybrid ones have an option for parents to choose fully remote. I know there is a lot of tension between schools and some parents who want their children back in classrooms for a number of reasons. For those of us not in the 30 or younger range and or those with vulnerabilities or vulnerable loved ones it’s a scarier world.
Same, Dolly. I’m part-time, so I’m in a show up or be fired place, not to mention I serve on the SCC so I am in a terrible position to know just how hard it is to replace me. But they’ll give me two paid weeks the first time I’m in quarantine!
I wish you the best. I hope your principal is like mine, and taking all the possible precautions for the three weeks schools are open before community spread forces them closed again.