Too much COVID crap going on. Way too much. Make it all stop. Please!

After four or more years with no signs of mice in our house whatsoever, we discovered we likely had at least one. There were bite marks in the fruit we had in a basket on our shelves. 

Planning ahead can be a good thing. It allows you time to get all your proverbial ducks in a row and, if you fail at it, it allows enough time to plan alternative approaches to resolving the issue. 

I’d like to dedicate this post to the woman of my dreams. Still the woman of my dreams after 19 years of marriage as we are celebrating today. 

I would’ve sworn I talked about it here, but I can’t find it. Anyway, this past January, I was trying to swap out the guts of the toilet in Nathan’s bathroom when I shattered the C-PVC water feed into the toilet from the wall.

**I can’t fall asleep**

I wish I knew why

or how to solve it

¡But I don’t!

Guess what? We’ve got another #PandemicProject in the bag! I think that makes five projects during the pandemic and six total this year... renovating Nathan’s bathroom, repainting Nathan’s bedroom, refinishing the patio table and chairs, front door bench, bathroom shelves, desk, and now this... 

Why do I like puzzles so much? I don’t like them too difficult. Not Enigma-level ciphers. Just newspaper-grade stuff like this...

And, for all intents and purposes, the project we started this past weekend is done! 

Whatever could we be building??

It's official, folks! That's Katie's shoe on top and Nathan's shoe on the bottom. 

I don't think I'm meant to grow an avocado tree.

For the most part, I've held things together emotionally during this whole pandemic. I've kept it together because I'm the one at home with Nathan a majority of the time because Katie does not have the option to work from home like I do. So I try to keep a strong front while I'm with him. 

Yin...

I’ve bitten the same spot on my lip no less than 14 times in the last 36 hours.

Seeing as I finished another handmade project for our home...

Remember late last year when Katie bought me a bottle of single malt scotch as a combination birthday and anniversary gift? I had decided upon Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 because of a tasting in which I took part. 

A few weeks ago, on recommendation from my now former next door neighbor (he moved; he didn’t die), I downloaded the SkyView app [iOS paid | iOS free | find you own Android link].

Man, I’m really terrible at keeping up with these COVID Diary posts, aren't I? My goal was to get through 19 of them, for obvious reasons. At the rate things are going, I may still make that goal... even at a post every two months. Ugh. 

I woke up at about 2 a.m. because Nathan had crawled into bed with us and had kicked me.

Correct: "For all intents and purposes."

Incorrect: "For all intensive purposes."

I'm fairly certain my son doesn't trust me. Not one iota.

A dozen Fresh Donuts for breakfast that, upon recounting, turned out to be a baker’s dozen (we only ate half).

Got this in my inbox this afternoon much to my surprise...

Like anybody else, we had plans for the long weekend. But we actually got some of it done!

I love how these horizon tape lines, and the sudden turn, remind me of Lightcycle trails from TRON.

I know I said that Nathan was doing really great with riding a bike. He is! Truly! But everyone can have a bad day, right?

I can't believe it's been five weeks since I did my first one of these COVID Diary posts. I guess I really haven't had much to say. Or maybe I have, but it's just too damned depressing. I'll try to keep it light.

You know those images you see (or maybe situations you experience firsthand) where exercise equipment used for storage or a clothes hanger or, well, anything other than as exercise equipment?

For years, us geeks and nerds used T-shirts and hats to show our dedication to our loves. Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, etc., etc.,  ad infinitum. 

Happy National Haiku Poetry Day!

Today also doubles as the day when Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced that the 2019-2020 school year is officially over as we know it. Illinois students will not be going back to their school at all for the remainder of this academic year. 

Yesterday afternoon, Nathan and I looked outside and discovered it was snowing. Nothing big. Just some mild waves of flakes floating down. It ebbed and flowed throughout the rest of the day and into the evening.

I’ve been holding off on doing the proverbial COVID Diary that so many others are doing on their blogs and social media. Sure I’ve mentioned tidbits here and there. Just nothing that was clearly a detailing of my life in relative isolation. 

While waiting for a dinner pickup tonight, I went for a walk through the deserted streets of Geneva, IL, our hometown. This is how it looked...

Nathan tore through the rest of his LEGO Batman Scuttler build like it was going out of style. He actually finished this on Monday and has since been playing the LEGO DC Super Villains game on the Switch, but that’s another story for another day.

We’ve begun a Shelter-at-Home project. No, not home renovation. We finally finished that damn bathroom today so I hope to be reno project free for a while.