Quarantine Day 48

Let's see....what new and exciting things happened this week?  It's been so action packed around here that it's difficult for me to remember all of the fun that I have been having.... locked up in my house.

We rented a stump grinder and RT went a little crazy.  See!  I do let him out of the basement once in awhile!   We tore out quite a few of the bushes in front and in the back of our house.  It sounded like a good idea at the time.  After all was over, not so much.  So, next up, we will have to plant some trees and bushes to make things look a little nicer (you know, curb appeal). 

I told you this was going to be exciting!

I bought another gallon of paint.  My life as a painter is never ending.   Fortunately we do have quite a few rooms in our house.  I'm sure I will eventually run out of rooms to paint (I hope).   For this painting job, I will have to kick RT out of the office.  Luckily, it isn't a huge room and should take me one day to complete so RT can be locked up  back in his office in no time.  I have two or three more rooms that are on my "To Paint" list.  Of course, I will have to see if I can get these painting projects approved from the board (RT).  Stay tuned.

My weird dog  Pippen got a bath.  It was much needed and the world is a much happier place because of his sacrifice  bath.

The Stay At Home order was extended.

Wait!  What did I just write?  The Stay At Home order was extended?   So, we are now going into the month of May with this whole quarantine thing? 

Ugh! 

This is really getting old.

Quarantine Song List

I thought I would put together a list of songs that you can listen to during the quarantine nightmare.  I mean, as long as we are all stuck inside the house, why not have some music to listen to, am I right?  And, not just any music, songs that really touch on our whole quarantine situation.  I'm surprised I didn't come up with this list sooner!  We could have been listening to these songs for the last six weeks!  On the bright side, with a lot of states extending the quarantine (like good ol' Illinois), I think we all still have plenty of time to sit back and really get into these songs.

Let's get started, shall we?  Here's the list:

Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Problem - Ariana Grande
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash
Doom and Gloom - Rolling Stones
Let em In (Someone's Knocking on the Door) - Paul McCartney
HELP - The Beatles
Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police
Land of Confusion - Genesis
A Day in the Life - The Beatles
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones
Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
Yesterday - The Beatles
Stay  Away - Nirvana
Time is on My Side - Rolling Stones
Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney
In the air Tonight - Phil Collins
Inside - Van Halen
Home - Phillip Phillips


If you feel like you have been home too long, you might want to consider adding these songs to your playlist:

Aqua Lung - Jethro Tull
Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson
Cry, Cry, Cry - Johnny Cash
Feeling That Way - Journey
Delirious - Prince
Somebody Get Me a Doctor - Van Halen
Scream  - Michael Jackson

If I missed any songs that you feel should make the list, leave me a message in the comments.

Happy Listening!

Bagel Hoarder

When this whole quarantine started, it frightened a lot of people.  People got scared and they started hoarding toilet paper.  I'm not sure how that relates.  Fear somehow turning into hoarding massive amounts of toilet paper.  I must have missed the memo on the whole fear / toilet paper life lesson.  I was one of the few that did not purchase toilet paper until we were about one month into the quarantine (oh the horror!).  When I finally made my toilet paper purchase, we still had quite a few rolls of toilet paper left in our stockpile.  Here we are, six weeks in and we have 6-8 rolls left from our original stockpile (and the new rolls are left untouched).

I'm usually the designated grocery shopper in the family.  During the quarantine, it's been pretty much up for grabs.  OK.  That isn't true.  I have a running list that I keep on the side of the refrigerator.  It's out in the open for all to see and they can add items as we run out.  I recently found out that RT has been keeping his own secret  grocery list.  Unfortunately, these two lists never seem to get together for coffee  communicate and strange things happen, like, us ending up with four packages of bagels. 

Four packages of bagels can be reasonable if you are feeding an army  quite a few people.  Or, maybe everyone eats bagel sandwiches at every meal. 

I look at it as having too many bagels.  RT looks at it as being prepared (meaning, not having to run out to the store for food).  "We will never go hungry because we have four packages of bagels we can eat."  I'm thinking maybe we have moved to the part of the quarantine where everyone hoards bagels? 

By the way, if you need any bagels, let me know.  I may be able to set you up with a few hundred.

Soft Ginger Cookies

I have been doing quite a bit of cooking and baking the last month and I'm thinking about creating a link on the blog and call it Quarantine Cooking and Baking Recipes.  Of course I will only put recipes on it that I have made during the quarantine, making sure to include all of the ones that disappeared quickly.

Cookies were requested and I decided to make these Soft Ginger Cookies.  I know, Ginger Cookies are usually made around Christmas time, but, I'm the one baking the cookies and I love Ginger Cookies!  Luckily we had some Molasses on hand.  Although, I'm pretty sure it's easy to get your hands on a jar.  I don't think anyone is hoarding molasses at the moment. 

Here's the recipe:

Soft Ginger Cookies

ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
sugar to coat outside of cookies

directions:
Oven to 350F.  Line cookie sheet with silicone baking mat (parchment paper works, too)
Cream butter and sugars.  Add in egg and molasses.
Mix dry ingredients into a separate bowl.  Pour into wet ingredients and mix.
Scoop out cookie dough (about 1 TBSP) and roll into a ball.  Roll into raw sugar and place onto cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let sit for a few minutes on cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.
Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*I used half the amount of sugar and they came out delicious!
*I use a cookie scoop (think old time ice cream scoops) to measure out the dough.  Makes cookie making so much easier.
*and, yes, that is 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon.
*notice I said to store uneaten cookies....that is if there are any cookies remaining after they have been cooled.  Yes.  They are that good.

If you make these Soft Ginger Cookies, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Quarantine Day 41

Is it over yet?

Another week has passed.  Time goes by.......so slowly when you are in quarantine.  Have you noticed that too?  I don't even know what day it is, nor do I care.  I think I have hit an all time low. 

On a happier note:  I have stopped whistling "Jingle Bells."  It only took 4 weeks for me to finally stop and I lived to tell the world about it.  That's just about the time when RT started to whistle "Rhinestone Cowboy."  I told him if he started that 6 weeks ago, he wouldn't be here today to tell his side of the story (yes, he stopped).

I finished painting the basement.  I should say, I started painting the basement and I finished painting the basement.  It took two days.  I'm getting pretty good at this painting thing.  I might have to add it to my resume (along with able to whistle annoying songs for long periods of time).  I might need it since I'm on "furlough."

Online school is still happening through the end of the school year.  There will be no Odyssey trip or "Moving On" ceremony (also known as 8th grade graduation).   We will have to plan something here in the yard to mark the occasion. 

RT is still locked in the basement  working at home.

Alex is still confined  in his room.

And, Pippen is still happy everyone is at home with him.  Well, everyone, meaning me.

I'm still hoping there is only one more week of this craziness  isolation nightmare stay at home time.   I would like to get out of the house more (besides my two hour walks around the neighborhood and my hours of yard work).  I should clarify that, out of the house, meaning not doing work in or around the house.  Out in the world, actually experiencing things. 

Here's to hoping this is the last week of quarantine! 

Cheers!

National Card and Letter Writing Month

April is National Card and Letter Writing Month.  I talked about this in an earlier blog post (click here to check it out) and thought I would remind everyone again.

We are stuck in quarantine for another two weeks, why not spend a few minutes and write some letters to friends and or family members and drop them in the mail?  People love getting happy mail!  I love handwritten letters!  That's the first thing I read when I get the mail!

Don't know what to write?  How about:

an uplifting message
a funny (happy) memory that you share with this person
what you have been doing during this quarantine
what you want to do when this quarantine is over

This would be a great idea for your Girl Scouts.  Our Girl Scout Troop is making some cards for Seniors.  Since we can't visit seniors during this time, we thought we would make some cards for them and drop them off at the retirement community.  I have contacted the homes that we normally visit and have organized our card drop off with them.  This might be something you can have your troop work on at home.  If you want to take this a step further, maybe your troop would like to be pen pals with some seniors?  Check out this article on Becoming a Pen Pal to Seniors.  You can contact your local retirement community and see if they would be interested in having Girl Scout Pen Pals.  Once the quarantine is over, the girls can visit their pen pals.

Don't tell me that you don't have any time.  I know you have plenty of free time!  So, grab some paper and a pen and start writing!

Food Line

Last week I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  I don't go that often, only when it's absolutely necessary (you know, after I've given myself a good pep talk).  To my surprise, there was a line in front of the store.  So, I did what any normal person would do, I hopped in line and waited.

While waiting in line, the image of a food line in Communist Russia came to mind.  People waiting in a long line for bread to feed their family.  The same people reaching the front of the line only to be told that there is no more bread available and the person thinking, "How am I going to feed my family?"

I realize these lines are supposed to keep us safe and healthy, but, they do create these not so nice  strange  weird  images in our brains.

During my time in line, I noticed an elderly couple walking up to the store.  They were having trouble walking and were leaning on one another.  They bypassed the line and just decided to walk into the store.  I think the majority of us in line were OK with them going ahead of all of us.

It's a weird time.  People hoarding food or other household items.  Stores running out of food or items, like toilet paper, and then there are the people who have to go without certain foods, household items or other necessities.  And, of course, people waiting in line to enter stores. 

I know that this is temporary and am thankful that there is enough food to feed everyone.