The Sixth Week (April 20-26): Jury Duty, Protestors, Sea Lions, Heat

Monday, April 20-Wednesday, April 22
Despite the fact that the courts are closed for trials, I still had to call in for my Jury Duty status since I had been summoned for this week. Last Friday, my group number was instructed to check again on Monday, and my group number wasn't officially released until Tuesday afternoon. Sort of amusing that folks couldn't just all be excused at once given that there's clearly no need for jurors at the moment!

We had our first instance of protestors against the COVID-19 shutdowns at the Capitol on Monday at mid-day. Mr. E saw them during his walkabout, and I heard the helicopters circling while I listened to the Gavinor's daily update. I then saw some of them for myself during my evening walk & talk with Mom, as about five of them were doing a sidewalk tailgate just a block from our house. I completely understand the frustration (I am So. Done. With. This.), but I know that these protests are not true grassroots reactions but rather are politically motivated and organized to just further segment and split our communities. Such a sad reality that a moment such as this, which calls for unity and mutual support to move forward, simply presents an opportunity for some folks to stir up unrest and use the crisis for their own purposes.

I took Monday afternoon off to help recover from a mini-migraine and was able to do several errands, including a trip to the bank to deposit a check, a stop at Orchid Thai for takeout lunch, and a visit to Parkside Pharmacy for a kitty medication refill.

On Tuesday evening, I enjoyed a virtual Happy Hour with EH. She cut her hair! The new bob style looks great on her, and of course I'm always a fan of short hair. My own is getting way too long right now, although most people would probably still think it's short. I'm tempted to try to spike it up one day to surprise my colleagues during a Zoom meeting!

The highlight of Wednesday was seeing one jackrabbit and six sea lions during my morning run to West Sac and along the Riverfront. I heard what I thought were sea lions last week but never caught sight of them, but this week the sound was unmistakable, and sure enough, a trio was sitting on the docks by the Embassy Suites and another trio was paddling around nearby in the Sacramento River. One of my Book Club buddies saw them later as well, so I'm poaching her photos for my blog since I didn't have a camera with me during my run:

My Spanish class started up again on Wednesday. I'm taking Avanzado III (grammar course), and the class is delivered via Zoom. I was pleasantly surprised by how effective and engaging the experience was, particularly thanks to use of the breakout room feature to facilitate pair work throughout the 100 minutes of class time. And I was also pleased to recognize three of the five other students from previous classes. I had a wee bit o' trouble with Zoom when I tried to connect on Big Purple, but all was resolved when I switched to a different laptop. Having a glass of wine nearby during the class was pretty nice, too.

Thursday, April 23-Sunday, April 26
Not too much to report for the last couple of days of the work week. I chatted with A on Thursday night since we'd skipped Tuesday so that the boys could talk with her mom on her birthday. The biggest news here was the rising temperature, getting into the 80s on Thursday and hitting the low 90s on Friday. Yikes! A/C is ON!

We joined a late-ish virtual Happy Hour with B&B and E&C on Friday night at 9pm to accommodate little Master M's bedtime. Being able to chat with B&B without a toddler running around was lovely, as it's been awhile since we've had a chance to really catch up. E&C were both worn out from the week so left the call a bit early. We're hoping there could be an opportunity for an in-person gathering of our group in B&B's back yard , which is certainly expansive enough for us all to maintain appropriate physical distancing. Fingers crossed we can make that happen soon...

Saturday should have been the SSPCA Doggy Dash fundraiser, where Mr. E and I were signed up for a 10am-1pm volunteer shift to sell merchandise. Instead, we did errands, worked on some projects, and welcomed E&C to our place for another Patio Party. We actually had to start inside this time because it was still too warm to sit on the patio when they arrived with takeout from Orchid Thai around 6:30pm. Luckily, after about an hour, the temps had dropped enough to transition outdoors, where we soon embarked on a session of their game Word Play. Very fun. And quite challenging! We weren't able to finish even though they didn't head home until close to 11:30pm. But we marked all of our spots so that we can resume next weekend when they come over again.

On Sunday morning, Mr. E made a run to Noah's to stock up on bagels and procure breakfast sandwiches (too bad he forgot the coupon... next time...). We should have been attending our Raku Glass class at the Crocker this afternoon, followed by a massage for Mr. E. *sigh* I focused on a bunch of meal prep for the week and a few items for dinner, and Mr. E tackled the drip-line watering project for the fruit tree area at the garden. I made more progress on my grant consultation project and also enjoyed some quality reading time with the kitties. A trip to Target provided more reading material for this week, as I finished up the books from the Little Free Library and didn't want to walk there to do another exchange during the hot afternoon. We had a yummy salmon nicoise salad for dinner, which we were able to eat out on the patio since the temperature hadn't gone as high today as it did yesterday.

The solar-powered dragonfly in one of our patio pots has decided to start working sporadically, usually earlier in the evening, and then the pineapple joins in later and stays on much longer. Too bad the hummingbird seems to be dormant.

The forecast shows continued warm temperatures through the end of the week, but next weekend should be back into the high 70s, which will be lovely. More tennis!

Interlude (April 25): Garden & Cats

Showing off Mr. E's work on our corner plot and two community plots

I've been harvesting strawberries for my breakfast fruit bowl

We inherited some chard, but it's all gone now (yummy)

Snapdragons are one of my favorites, and marigolds keep slugs away

Pea harvest!

Captain Jack enjoys his fermented beverage

Calypso is soooo tired (and very body-positive!)

The Fifth Week (April 13-19): Vet, SSPCA, Patio Party

Monday, April 13-Wednesday, April 15
The week started off slowly. Highlights at the beginning of the week were pretty much limited to takeout from Specialty's for me on Monday and from Chipotle for Mr. E on Tuesday. And actually, the lunch on Monday ended up going to Mr. E for dinner that evening because I didn't realize that the shredded cabbage base of the Spicy Thai Salad included a high concentration of scallions. Darn. Even Mr. E was a bit overwhelmed by how many scallions had scattered throughout the salad, especially for the last few bites.

I took Calypso to the vet on Tuesday afternoon since she had recently been throwing up her nightly wet food even though we'd been giving her that kind for more than a year, ever since she had her dental work and multiple teeth extractions. She had lost a little bit of weight, but all of her other behavioral indicators are fine, so the vet agreed we could just continue to monitor here and bring her back for a weight check in about two months. In the meantime, we of course are no longer giving her any wet food!

The vet visit itself was quite strange. Midtown Animal Hospital isn't allowing any people into the clinic, so all of us pet parents were waiting with our furry friends out in the parking lot. A vet tech came out to greet and screen each visitor and to document the reason for the appointment. But I wasn't terribly confident that the full story was really getting through or would be accurately communicated to the vet (sort of like the old game of Telephone, when the message gets changed as each player passes it along to another). Luckily, the vet herself called me on my cell once she was done with the exam so that we could talk directly about the plan for Caly.

During my Wednesday morning run, I noticed that the West Sac goats had been moved to the far end of the Riverfront, so I think their engagement may be almost complete. In fact, some of the goats were going already in a big trailer attached to a pick-up truck heading away from the area. The second highlight of my morning run was a construction crossing at 3rd and R Street. All of the commercial construction and street work continues despite the pandemic, and I don't always know which streets will be open to pedestrians, so I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to get through. However, the construction crew was very friendly and paused a piece of machinery to allow me to pass.

My takeout lunch from Specialty's was much more successful today, despite the fact that it wasn't ready when I arrived. Since the service is usually very prompt, I asked one of the staff to check on my order. As I continued to wait, I noticed another staff person at the register processing a transaction, and she then came over to me with a cash refund in hand. I was so surprised! She explained that a man had come in before I got there and grabbed a bag, and the staff had concluded that it was my order that went missing. So not only did they remake my salad quickly, but they refunded my money even though the incident was in no way their fault. Most excellent service!

On the way home, I noticed that the basketball rims had been removed from the backstops at the Roosevelt Park courts as a final deterrent to people who were continuing to shoot hoops despite the signs indicating that all recreational park facilities are closed. So far, however, the city hasn't put up physical barriers around the fitness court in the opposite corner of the Park, and it's definitely being quite well-utilized most days.

Thursday, April 16-Sunday, April 19
I woke up feeling really tired on Thursday, so my morning workout was a walk around Capitol Park while talking to Mom and a longer yoga practice rather than my usual cardio session. The SSPCA hosted a volunteer Zoom call in the late morning. Seeing some of the staff and so many other volunteers was really fun. I was impressed that the CEO was on the call, and he answered lots of questions about how the SSPCA is operating and how volunteers can continue to support the work of the organization. I rounded out the day with some solo tennis in the early evening while Mr. E continued his garden efforts.

I finished off a big work project before noon on Friday, which gave me time to join Mr. E for his walkabout around Capitol Park. We saw a couple on the lawn doing yoga acrobatics, which was amazing to watch! I think they were either recording a video on their phone or doing a livestream. Impressive!

We started off our weekend with brunch from Fox & Goose on Saturday morning followed by a walk to Safeway for "second coffee" at Starbucks. The rest of the day was filled with laundry, some cleaning, and backing up the computer. E and C came over to join us for another Patio Party, and this time we got takeout from Koja Kitchen, which Mr. E had noticed was re-opened during a run earlier this week. E and C hadn't tried out this restaurant before, and they were very pleased with the food. So fun to be able to introduce them to a new spot since they're usually the local restaurant vanguards who fill us in on the newest foodie options.

Mr. E had to put in a few hours of work on Sunday. We should have had Yoga in the Ballroom at the Crocker for me and a massage for Mr. E in the afternoon, but instead we occupied ourselves with reviewing Spanish to prepare for the upcoming virtual session with Casa de Espanol (me) and more projects in the garden (Mr. E). I also took a walk to the Little Free Library near the Midtown Park Bark to drop off more books and this time found two to bring home in exchanged. We finished off the evening with tennis at the warehouse and only lost one ball this time. I think we're improving! Mr. E then went to Safeway but was a bit frustrated by some empty shelves. Our theory is that the staff would be re-stocking at the end of the weekend, so we may plan to try a different day and time in the future. Luckily, between Safeway and our local Market 515, we're usually able to find everything we need. And he was able to procure the priority adult beverages and cinnamon bears. Phew!

The Fourth Week (April 6-12): Goats, Patio Party, SF Road Trip

Monday, April 6-Wednesday, April 8
The beginning of the dual holiday (Passover + Easter) week wasn't too remarkable. I got a yummy salmon salad for lunch from Fox & Goose on Monday, which was a nice discovery. Otherwise, Mr. E and I just worked in our respective offices during the day, I did my cardio workouts in the morning along with daily yoga and Pilates on Monday & Wednesday (trying to mimic my typical CAC class schedule), and Mr. E spent lots of time in the garden, sometimes grabbing takeout dinner on the way home from Burgers & Brew or Vito's.

A few fun sights during my morning outings included a big oyster shell perched atop the nose of the fox in the statue outside Fox & Goose on Tuesday; a circle of construction workers by the new Natural Resources Building site doing group stretches on Tuesday and Wednesday; and a herd of goats along the West Sac Riverfront during my run on Wednesday.

It's hard to feel motivated some times since everything is still just on hold and no one knows when we'll be able to start emerging from this situation. We both feel very fortunate to have jobs and family and good friends and a lovely home and the financial means to navigate through uncertainty. At the same time, it's hard to keep those thoughts of appreciation and gratitude at the forefront when each day brings new restrictions and discrepant information and extreme reactions from various leadership.

I've started to listen to Governor Newsom's daily updates at noon when I can, and I've gained such respect and admiration for how he's leading through this pandemic. The "Gavinor" is really stepping up to this unprecedented situation and striking a delicate balance between implementing public health orders and yet not utilizing the full extent of his authority to be too reactive.

Thursday, April 9-Sunday, April 12
The highlight of my Thursday was meeting up with S for takeout lunch from Mendocino Farms, which we enjoyed at the picnic table in the Fremont Community Garden. It's great to see the radishes sprouting up there already, and I've also been enjoying the strawberries and peas from the community plot. Our zucchini plants are looking quite healthy, but the beans and basil aren't doing as well. Must be something in the soil of our plot, so Mr. E is going to try some other items when he gets additional starters this weekend.

We celebrated the end of the week with a wonderful Patio Party on Friday evening with E & C. Mr. E cleaned up the patio, got rid of the old rusty non-working grill, and rearranged the plants and furniture so that we could have sufficient space in between sets of chairs for us to be at one end and E & C at the other. We put the table in the middle for our snacks (from Market 515 for all of us!) and beverages, and it was just so great to spend time in person with good friends rather than having the interaction and conversation mediated by Zoom and a web cam. Eventually, as the temperature dropped a bit, we moved inside to the living room to finish out the evening, choosing seats that still kept us somewhat physically distant. And we all agreed to repeat the experience soon. C is the only one of the four of us who continues to go to work and be around people during the day, and I can tell that the rest of us are starting to really yearn for more human interaction and contact.

On Saturday, we took a road trip to San Francisco to witness for ourselves the empty transformation of the city. I posted a separate entry just for the photos of the day. We started off with breakfast from the drive-through Starbucks in West Sac off of I-80 and stopped for gas (and a bathroom break) in Emeryville. For the rest of the journey, we just stayed in the car as we drove around different parts of the city -- Oracle Park, Market Street, Ferry Building, the Embarcadero, Pier 39, Fort Mason and Beach Street, Golden Gate Park, Legion of Honor, and finally departing via the Golden Gate Bridge. We spent about 4 1/2 hours on the journey, and it was quite sobering and surreal to see the vast changes, particularly since we had just had a weekend visit there in January that was the exact opposite -- major congestion due to the Women's March and lots of people around the Moscone Center and our hotel because of the Fancy Food Show. The empty streets we saw this week were such a stark contrast to the typical San Francisco experience.

Once we got home, Mr. E headed to the garden and I walked to Target to pick up a few items, including some books as I'm starting to run out of reading material! On the way back, I bumped into B, B, & M, who were strolling along 9th Street after leaving some Passover essentials by our door. They had also seen Mr. E, so we all got a chance to catch up a bit. B had texted me earlier with a link to the Saturday Night Seder, which was airing at 5pm PT. I'm so glad she let us know about the event, as it was amazing and funny and heartfelt and just so relevant and poignant during this very strange time. Mr. E missed out since he was still working in the garden. Later in the evening, he headed to Safeway for wine and Panda for his takeout dinner.

Sunday was Easter morning, and we had an 11am Zoom date with Mr. E's family. The timing worked out perfectly so that Mr. E could go the Farmer's Market for veggies and some garden starters before we had breakfast, and we then enjoyed our final coffee while visiting with the family. It was a wee bit chaotic with so many people connecting (or trying to connect) and then talking all at the same time but still fun to see everyone. I was so envious of the folks who were in the pool!!!

Mr. E spent lots of time in the garden today. I added some books to the Little Free Library by the Midtown Bark Park but was glad I had purchased two at Target as I didn't find much of interest to take in exchange. In the afternoon, we tried out our new tennis option by using the wall of the warehouse in a nearby alley as a backboard given that all of the public park tennis courts and other recreational facilities are now closed. The experiment was relatively successful until we lost all three of our balls! One bounced through the slats into the parking garage behind us, and the other two ended up on the warehouse roof and never rolled back down. Oops. Mr. E attempted to procure some fresh fish and meat for dinner at Market 515 and Safeway, but both had closed early for Easter, so we instead made do with what we had in the fridge and freezer.

Interlude (April 11): Scenes from San Francisco

Minimal traffic on I-80

Quickest transit through toll crossing ever, even with reduced lanes

Quiet surrounding Oracle Park

Emptiness on Market Street

Hotel Vitale and restaurant not only closed but boarded up

Dearth of tourists along the Embarcadero

Pier 39 closed until May and surrounded by chain link fencing 

(where are the sea lions?)

Still a couple of swimmers in the ocean

Parking lots and fitness courts prohibited

No traffic on the streets

Golden Gate Bridge wide open

A typical highway sign

When will this all end?

The Third Week (March 30-April 5): Food Bank, MIIS Sessions, Rainy Weekend

Monday, March 30-Tuesday, March 31
The week started off rather slowly. I started to get more into a groove with my home Pilates workouts so that I could replicate my usual twice weekly 45-minute class at the CAC. I'm so glad I have a home reformer that I inherited from a previous neighbors years ago! I know I could do mat Pilates as a substitute, but it's really lovely to have the reformer to move and stretch after a more standing stationary work day on the computer. Takeout from Orchid Thai on Monday.

Throughout the week, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey was offering a series of sessions for "Virtual Preview Days." Typically, this would be just a one-day in-person event on the Monterey Campus, but of course plans had to change. I definitely benefited from having the remote sessions available rather than needing to devote time and travel and resources to attend in-person, and I participated in three sessions including a Master Class on Monday. This is all part of my new 5-year plan to develop an "encore career" in translation once I'm able to transition away from regular full-time work.

Tuesday was a state holiday for Cesar Chavez Day, so I had the day off. This is the first time I've worked for an organization that includes this particular state-only holiday! I took advantage of the time off to do a three-hour shift from 9am-12pm at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services distribution warehouse in north Sac. I was paired up with another volunteer to parcel out and bag up sets of four... [wait for it...] ONIONS!!! HA!

For anyone who knows me, this is so very ironic given my intense intolerance for onion an garlic (allium family). Luckily, the red onions were covered with thick skins, so there was no aroma, and my partner took on the task of pulling them out of the larger satchels to place four into smaller net bags, which she then slid across a 6-foot table (physical distancing!) to me so that I could tie the bags, tally them on a sheet, and toss them into a huge sturdy cardboard container for future transport to other agencies. We also of course had to wear gloves, so I was fully protected from any onion contamination. Phew!

It felt great to be out of the house, interact with new people, and do something tangibly meaningful to help out the community. I also got to hear the Executive Director of SFBFS as he filmed a video with a representative from Raley's supermarket to talk about their partnership and the increased demand for services given the COVID-19 crisis.

The rest of the day was at home with the kitties to read and do some computer stuff, since Mr. E had to work. Our takeout targets today were Mendocino Farms for me and Vito's pizza for Mr. E.

Wednesday, April 1
Could this all just be one ginormous April Fool's Day joke? Please?! *sigh* No such luck... The day started off with a foggy run along my West Sac route over towards The Barn and the new urban housing options near Raley Field. I could barely see the Sacramento River for most of the run, and the opposite side bank was also smothered in the ethereal fog. I ordered takeout lunch in the morning from Specialty's Bakery on Capitol Mall, and the weather was sunny by the time I headed there for my 12:30pm pick-up time. Later in the afternoon, I went to get my new orthotics from Pacific Medical. I definitely think it's going to take some time to get used to them, and I'm guessing already that I'll need to get them adjusted.

This was the night that I was supposed to go hear Michelle Obama at the Golden 1 Center along with C, A, and L. We still don't have any information yet about a new date, but the web site claims that the event has just been postponed rather than cancelled, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll eventually be able to attend sometime in the future. Mr. E got takeout from Broderick in Midtown for his dinner. Unfortunately, the pulled pork meal wasn't quite what he had ordered, as he'd wanted the Banh Mi but ended up with a regular sandwich instead. Maybe next time...

Thursday, April 2-Friday, April 3
I tried a new workout on Thursday morning and had fun with a Zumba session that was dubbed in Spanish. What a great way to review and learn some new vocabulary!!! During a mid-day walk to the garden, I spotted a beautiful yellow swallowtail butterfly flitting among the plantings. Today was supposed to be the departure day for our belated birthday trip to Austin for C, including this year's Cheetah Fest fundraiser at his school. Instead, Mr. E and I set aside some time in the evening to shut off all of the various screens and just enjoy being together.

On Friday afternoon, I attended two more MIIS sessions that discussed the application and admissions process and the Translation, Interpretation, and Localization Management program. Mr. E and I managed to fit in some post-work tennis at Southside Park to take advantage of the sunny weather, knowing that the weekend was looking pretty gloomy and rainy. Then we met up with E and C for a virtual Happy Hour that lasted for two hours. We had picked up some snacks at Market 515 earlier in the day when we went out for mid-morning coffee. So fun to connect and get caught up, even if just through our technology tools! And I think we now have a very workable plan for a future patio party, which will hopefully be sometime this week as lon as the weather cooperates. We may not have tons of space on the patio, but I'm pretty sure we can maintain the required 6 foot distance if we rearrange the chairs and plants!

Saturday, April 4-Sunday, April 5
After my morning workout, Mr. E and I stopped by Fox & Goose to place an order for takeout brunch and then walked to Safeway to procure some Starbucks coffee to accompany our food. We got a bit sprinkled on during the journey, but the majority of the rain held off until later in the day, which was very helpful when doing errands at CVS and Safeway. Mr. E needed to get some work hours in this weekend, so I focused on doing bunches of laundry, including our quilt and the curtains from the bedroom and living room; providing remote tech support to Mom; and re-arranging all of the new equipment (and cables!) in the home office to provide a better set-up for my remote work. I also spent some time reading with the kitties and was able to finish my birthday book from Mom, The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson. I'm glad I grabbed several books from the CAC book exchange before the club closed, as I'm now starting on those paperbacks and will be needing additional reading material soon. I miss the library...

Sunday was rainy and chilly again, but I still went for my morning run as I'm getting fed up with all of the things we can't do anymore so I wasn't going to let the rain keep me from doing my planned workout! I got quite wet... After my post-run yoga, I was able to join the family Zoom call to celebrate the completion and self-publication of my uncle J's book. It was great to see folks from that side of the family. Mr. E and I had brunch at home, and then he had to return to his work tasks for a few hours. We did fit in several walks during short breaks in the rain, including some garden time later in the afternoon. I updated my blog entries for most of the week and started a new book while snuggling with the kitties. For dinner, we cooked up some veggies and the scallops that we had added on to our lobster dinner order for my birthday. Mr. E is a master of making seared scallops, and these were incredibly tasty and fresh. We may need to order more!!!