Almost Spring

When I walked the dog this morning, it smelled like rain. No snow left on the ground, not too cold, but really overcast. Originally, they were forecasting snow tonight, but it looks like it will be too warm, or if it snows, it won't last. 

Ray went to the H&R Block office this morning about 4 or 5 to work on taxes before anyone else came in. I went back to sleep, which I apparently am learning to do. I think that's a sign that I am less stressed, happier.

I have a new job 24 miles north. That's the only thing wrong with it, I have to drive almost an hour to get there and home. It's a pleasant ride, through the marsh and small towns. I just hate driving that much. I have a belief that the more I drive, the greater the chance of an accident, even if I'm incredibly careful. There are other people out there, people who may have something happen to keep them from being careful. And there are environmental reasons, although I drive a small hybrid. 

Anyway, it's really great. I work from home on Tuesdays and have a checkin with my boss, the Executive Director at 10. I have a laptop from the organization to do my work. It is sadly a Windows machine and there are things I don't love about it, but I can keep my work stuff completely separate from my home stuff, with different email addresses and passwords. I work 6 hours 9-3, nominally, but I can have a lunch break and work a little later (or earlier). I can walk around my house and see my family or use my own bathroom. 

On Fridays, I drive up to the office and let myself in with my key. I lock the door behind me and turn on the lights and sometimes the heat. I take out my laptop and connect it to the outlet under my desk. Every hour or so, I stretch and walk around the space...there's not much to see. After a few hours, I get the post office key from my boss's desk. He works Monday-Thursday and we came up with this plan for now, during the pandemic. I walk to the post office past the old houses and the little coffee shop. I keep my distance from anyone I see and wear my mask. I don't think I will see anyone I know in this town. When I get to the post office, I make sure no one is in the doorway, duck in and unlock the box. Last Friday, it was empty for the first time, which was a little disconcerting. I felt like I was getting away with something, to get to walk on the clock, with nothing gained. But there might have been something. On my way back, I picked up a chai I had ordered by phone before I left. The coffee shop has a little takeout window in the middle of the front, so it's very easy to pick up without having much contact with people. There was someone ahead of me, so I just stayed back and waited. 

One of the first things I did for this employer is to set up QuickBooks (an old desktop version) on my laptop. I have my own login and I suspect QB is already on the laptop on a different login, but my boss seems a little nervous about technology. One of these days, I will figure out how to access it. The Treasurer has been handling the bookkeeping for several months, maybe years. They also have a paid accountant, and I don't know what they do. I met with the Treasurer, Suzie, and she handed me her records: two rubber-banded clumps of checks and bills. There is no spreadsheet, or even a hand-written ledger. When she prepares a monthly report, she told me, she gets the bank to send her a printout. I saw the one for February. It shows the beginning and ending balance for the month, how much came in and how much went out, but not what it went for! I entered the information from the last month or so of rubber-banded information and I will keep trying to improve them. Last week, when I met with Suzie, I showed her my report and she was very impressed. There are only a few checks in and out, so it won't be a lot of work to keep it up. Ideally, my boss would request a check when he wants one and I would prepare it and have the Treasurer sign it. In reality, she will come sign checks whenever he wants, so I end up entering them after the fact instead. Fortunately, they keep plenty of money in the account. If there are checks to deposit, I take them by the bank on my way home every Friday. 

My other main task has been looking for information about databases on line. The client files are in a file cabinet and we hope to convert them to digital before reopening to the public in the Fall. There are lots of products to keep track of donors and do fancy fund-raising, but they are quite expensive, and not really what we want. Some are quite well-known. The one I am hoping works for us is called Charity Tracker. It's much easier to use than the fancy ones. 

Hi, it seems that Spring might be coming. A few shreds of gray ice and dirty crusty snow are in the corners of parking areas and on the north side of buildings. Birds are singing. I am not worried about driving to Newburyport because of weather. Dad trimmed some of the bushes out front, he has been very happy. This is due in large part to his getting his second shot last night. Unfortunately, the person he asked told him he can do anything now, he doesn't have to wait two weeks. I don't know if he misunderstood or what, but he has big plans to go to the bank and the grocery store, even without a drivers license. 

I am finding this part-time schedule a little discombobulating. The days I am not working I don't know what to do with myself. The things that I managed to do all day every day before are no longer interesting to me. I do a little cooking (made some lovely bread last night) and work on the puzzle or the genealogy, read some emails, do some bookkeeping, but I'm restless and want to do more. I have read some job descriptions that appeal, but am hesitant to go to the trouble of applying. I don't want to end up working more than 30 hours a week, with no time left for other things. 

Good morning! I don't know what it was about yesterday, but I was definitely off all day. I didn't sleep very well last night, and it's really cold, but I'm feeling much better now. 

Our food coop/CSA, Farm Direct, is having their first market next week. I'm excited, but it's going to mess with my complex system of ordering. I have a Misfits box coming today and Imperfect scheduled for Friday. I can change my order for Friday, as long as I do it before noon tomorrow. Generally speaking, I'd rather get as much from Farm Direct as I can, although the prices for meat are pretty steep. I get meat from Walden once a month. It came yesterday. I probably need to change my regular share, because we don't eat that much meat. They also didn't include any chicken or pork (bacon, sausage, and uncured ham notwithstanding). Hmm. So many variables. 

Ray was gone when I woke up this morning. I was pretty sure he was in the bathroom, but he never came out. Maybe I woke up and then went back to sleep and he snuck out. I've put the oatmeal on the stove, just need to turn it on when he texts me he's heading home. 

If I'm going to start work at 9 am, I need to eat, walk the dog, and bathe before then. My guess is that's about when he'll come home. Alternate plan: go ahead and work for an hour or two now and then "clock out" until 10, when I have a standing call with my boss. 

I'm a little disconnected today. I feel restless and at loose ends. After all these days of being able to do anything, it's hard to find anything I want to do. Cleaning? almost never. Cooking? Yes, I would happily make something. I have homemade bread I made a few days ago, plus several loaves in the freezer. I have two kinds of cookies, plus squash bars, plus more in the freezer. I have a plan for soup and dinner and leftovers for lunch I just got out. If I made more food, I'd have to give it away, no more room in the freezer. The logistics of cooking for other people are a little overwhelming too. Who and how? 

Even my old fallback, genealogy, is not calling to me. I was doing a bit this morning on the couch, and dozing off. 

It's just 7 on Sunday morning. Ray is at H&R Block, where he has been almost every morning for the last several weeks. He prepares taxes for people. He loves it and he takes it very seriously. He is not a morning person by nature, and yet he wakes up about 4 most mornings to get to the office while it is empty and safe. He has rheumatoid arthritis and takes a medicine that increases his risk. RA is an autoimmune disease, which means in some way his body is fighting itself. He takes a pill making it fight less, which also would make him fight less against other things, like COVID! So he works in the office until any of his coworkers show up, when he puts on his two masks, packs everything up and wipes everything down, and comes home. Most days, he spends 6 more hours, give or take, working from home. The system HRB has for people who want to work from home is cumbersome and glitchy, but it works. Most clients are not willing or able to approve their returns on line. So, one of the things he does in the early mornings is print out their forms and leave them at the front desk for them to sign and pay in person when he is not there. 

I linger in bed, sometimes dozing, or just luxuriating. Then I get up. The house is cold and slow to warm up these winter mornings. I pull on the clothes I wore yesterday and make my way downstairs past the dog on the landing. I make some tea and sit on the couch in the den, where it's warmest. Some mornings I look at my recipes to decide what to have for dinner. Sometimes I read my emails. 

When he gets home, we walk the dog and eat breakfast. Sundays are for pancakes and bacon. Today I have no sour milk or buttermilk, so decide to try using a specific recipe. After making pancakes every Sunday for about 40 years, I can whip up a batch from almost anything. I visited a college friend one weekend and she was very impressed that I could make pancakes with whatever they had around and no recipe. This time, though, I used buckwheat flour (only a little left now) and whole wheat flour, with 2% milk and an egg. Of course I added blueberries. I keep some in my freezer for emergencies, but usually have fresh on hand. They were delicious, as usual, and I ate too many (9!). with lovely maple syrup from a farm in upstate NY, near where my parents used to live. Every spring, my Dad calls them up and orders 2 half-gallons. We don't care if it costs more, it's a tradition. 

It's cold out, but above freezing, kind of damp and raw. There are still puddles and snow that hasn't melted, but greens are poking up from bulbs and birds are making noise. We go our basic minimum route, around 2 blocks, it takes about 15 minutes. We usually see a few other people, walking dogs or exercising. Not much activity today before 9. 

It's still cold in the house, so I go up and run my bath. It's a little more stressful than it should be, because the drain doesn't close completely until the 5th try. I'm pretty sure most people don't take a daily bath, so their drain plugs don't wear out as fast. If I'm in a hurry, I can run a bath while I'm getting out my clothes, brushing my teeth and generally getting ready for the day. Then I can wash and soak in about 5 minutes if need be. Some days I dawdle and daydream, enjoying the warmth. It's one of the few times during the day that nothing hurts. Most days I spend about 15 minutes, enough to wash and relax, but get out before my fingers are pruny (wrinkled). 

I might glance at the weather again to see what I should wear. Today? Not too cold, so I wear a mock turtleneck and some heavy jeans, saving the corduroys for colder days to come. Heavy socks, but not the heaviest smartwool. 

Remember me?

Hi, It's me, Patty. I'm still here, in Beverly. It's a new year. Chris helped me get back to my blog. I lost it because I changed emails and didn't remember everything that needed to be changed...fortunately, I had a second email address for my baking company, so I could get back in! 

It's winter, but this afternoon is sunny. I sit in my living room in my really old house wearing a cozy sweater that I knit during this pandemic year. The last log is smoldering in the fireplace. The fire can go out now because of the sun! I have cozy slippers too. And lots of food. I just ate leftover pizza, leftover beef stroganoff with rice, leftover sweet potatoes, an apple, an orange and a handful of chocolate covered nuts. I love having plenty of food. We have not suffered from hunger during the time we were stuck at home. I had a horrible experience that terrified me at a grocery store the first week we were home and I haven't been back since. I will NEVER go to that grocery store again, or any others in that chain. The staff were rude and scary, getting too close to me and acting like I was crazy when I wanted them to stay away. We order groceries via Instacart when we have to, mostly for my Dad, but there are some things I can only get there: ice cream, potato chips...Molli and Michael shop for us some times, but that makes me uncomfortable. I want them to stay home too. I want everyone to stay home. I get food regularly from Farm Direct Coop, awesome local mostly organic food. Produce is the main thing, but sometimes they have meat and a few other staples like honey or tomato sauce. I get eggs every week too. But that is closed for a few months, not much growing now. I still have some things left that I got from them, like carrots and onions and a sad kohlrabi. I also have discovered Market Misfits. They have food (mostly produce) that is not acceptable to grocery stores. It's too big or too small or oddly shaped or not enough. I can choose several items from 3 different categories and some add ons. Then I found another company that does pretty much the same thing: Imperfect Foods. I can order whatever I like from them. They have some yummy snacks like chocolate covered nuts, as well as produce and sometimes milk or other necessities. 

Right now, I'm getting low on eggs and butter. This is when I get creative. I spend lots of time reading cookbooks and marking the pages for things I can make with the ingredients I have. I usually have homemade bread and cookies on hand. I've been ordering granola from Imperfect and I can get plain yogurt from them too. Lately, we've been eating steel cut oats most mornings--yum! We only have a couple bananas left. My favorite thing to have on steel cut oats--brown sugar, half a banana and half&half. I'm pretty moderate though, just a spoonful of brown sugar and a dollop of 1/2 and 1/2. 

I usually start my day with some hot tea: Earl Grey or Chai or maybe a Breakfast blend. I have green tea if I'm feeling a little off or decaf if I seem antsy. Then I often have some toast and peanut butter, unless there's a muffin or some other treat around. Later, after Ray gets up, I'll have yogurt with fruit or oatmeal or cereal. I get raisin bran from Imperfect too. 

I haven't slept really well in a while. I go to bed early and sleep soundly for a while, but I wake up in the early morning, sometimes about 4. Last night I woke up a couple times and I've been dreaming more. 

I just finished a fun puzzle on the topic of Votes for Women. 40 faces and names. There's a guide that goes with to tell about them. Such interesting lives and so many great things they did. I feel like I need to be doing more to carry on the work of such brave and strong women. 

Fall in Beverly

Where there used to be cars in the Yacht Club parking lot, now there are boats, pulled from the water for the winter, resting on supports. We took out the screens and put them in the attic. The water today, however, feels good on my toes, since it is 78 degrees! It was much colder the last few weeks.

sisters' weekend in Gloucester...lots of good food

new chair seats

Molli's office building