Day 8-LA County Dept. of Health MANDATES indoor masking

B. and I went to a “David Bowie” concert tonight…

7/24/21. Saturday

7:30 -7:45- My alarm goes off, but I lie in bed during transition time.

7:45-8:15 – Downstairs and the dog is still asleep because it’s so early.  She doesn’t even bother to lift her head when I come down the stairs- she just lies there staring at me.  I rub her tummy three times, but she doesn’t move. I have to keep rubbing her tummy and coaxing her to come outside with me and go potty. The dog finally flings herself off the couch, doesn’t bother to grab her toy, and we go outside.  I water my potted jasmine plants and my hanging vinca while she goes potty. Return inside and old chicken for her [from Republique] and coffee for me.  I go upstairs.

8:15-9:00 – Governor Newsom has asked all Californians to reduce their water consumption by 15%.  There’s not much more I can do to reduce the amount of water I consume…I never use my dishwasher;  my sprinklers come on for just 3 minutes every morning; and  I typically water the majority of my plants every other day. I also don’t let the water run while I’m brushing my teeth or doing dishes – I turn it off between each dish. BUT, showers are my Achilles Heel so I’ve been trying to reduce the time.

Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up. I’m at 98.5 pounds today.

9:00-10:00 – The concrete stain vendor is coming between 9 and 10 and I want to make it as easy as possible for him to assess the garage and give me a bid.

I pull the cars out of the garage and park them across the street, then drag 6 florescent light tubes out of the garage and into my backyard.  I’m getting rid of them on 7/31/21 when HazMat Day rolls around.  Until then, I’m stuck with these stupid bulbs. I have one very small shelving unit left in my garage and it holds my gardening and paint supplies.  I organize the shelves a bit better, so it’s not so cluttered, and I’m able to throw a few things away.

10:00 –11:00 -  Just when I finish straightening up, Victor arrives.  He’s unmasked, but very nice. It was the same with the electricians who were here a few weeks ago to replace the garage lights – they also didn’t mask and then one of the workers walked through my house and used my bathroom!

 I’m also unmasked and I’m’ very uneasy about this; however, the garage door is open and we social distance while we discuss the job. There’s also a slight breeze.

Victor describes how the stain is applied.  It’s a 4-step process and labor-intensive.  He shows me sample stain colors and a few pictures of the finished product and I absolutely love it!  Victor gives me a quote of $2800, but I ask him to please work with me and come down. The final estimate is $2510.  This is a $2000 job and I knew that going in – it’s a bit more than I wanted to pay, but what can I do?  No other vendors will work with me. 

The money is coming out of my “master bathroom pot.”  I’ve been saving for years because I want to ‘demo’ my master bathroom, I hate it so much. It took me awhile, but I saved $10,000…just when I was getting ready to embark on my bathroom project, L. told me she needed an art studio. So, the “master bedroom pot” is now the “art studio pot” and I’m about $3000 in so far, to include the price of the stain.  The garage floor stain will be the most expensive part of the garage reno.

I excuse myself and excitedly run upstairs to get L.’s opinion on the stain color because it’s her art studio, not mine, but L. is irritated because I woke her up and is not having it. She says she wants a purple stain…purple??...L. has expressed no interest in this entire project other than to say, “Mom, I need an art studio. I’m tired of sitting on the floor in my bedroom when I’m painting.” I casually mention that purple seems a little extreme, so she chooses…orange.  Orange?  Uh, I don’t think so. I tell L. Okay, sounds good! Then I run downstairs and tell Victor we’re going with my pick.  L. was half-asleep anyway when she made that choice – she won’t remember.

Victor says his company will email me the contract in a couple of hours so I can “Docusign” it. He leaves. I’m super pumped!

11:00-12:00 –While I was working on my “Ipad re-curating project” I found a vegan college student on You Tube who likes to record her weekly vegan meals.  I showed one of her videos to L. and she was somewhat interested so I decided I would try one of the youtuber vegan breakfasts today. I couldn’t find the exact ingredients so I improvised.  I make oatmeal, then add Gerber Baby banana-blueberry puree; coconut almond butter; and So vanilla yogurt [non-dairy] mixed in. I read Formation and eat my oatmeal – it’s good!  Very filling.

L. leaves to pick up her co-worker, C. They’re going to a hip-and-trendy vegan restaurant in LA for lunch.

1:00-2:00 – I water my plants and pull the florescent tubes back into the garage.

2:00-2:30 – I take the dog for a walk.  What a mistake!  It’s so hot out here.  I go back to the house and get my Hydroflask. We make one circuit and she can’t take it. Hmmm…maybe we should go at this time more often.

2:30-3:30 – I do a 15-minute Kathy Smith Ab Workout, then curl my hair, put on false eyelashes, and spackle on the make-up because I need to record an introductory video for my upcoming college classes at College No. 1.

3:30-4:30 – I set everything up, including my script, and record myself giving a greeting to the students. It only lasts around 3 minutes, but it takes an hour to get it right. My make-up is over the top and I look so stupid. I hate making these types of videos, but both colleges “strongly suggest” we do it so here I am.

L. texts that she and C. are now at the Bel Air Hotel having mocktails. I want L.’s life.

4:30-5:00 – I make sure my lunch bag is packed, then put my beach/picnic blanket in my beach bag.

5:00 – 8:45 - B. arrives. We’re going to the Concerts in the Park series at Central Park, in Valencia. A David Bowie cover band is playing and starts at 7:00 – this venue is free.

We arrive at Central Park early enough to score a parking space and we find a nice spot on the grass to place the picnic blanket and B.’s beach chairs. I’ve been to these concerts many years ago.  Back then, there were no food trucks, but tonight there are five and they look like gourmet food trucks.  B. and I hang out until 7:00 and it gets pretty crowded.  The Trump supporters in my zip code love this event [I’m in a red district, unfortunately].  Alcohol is not allowed, but everybody has it because they brought their own, including B. and I. I read Formation while I wait for the band to start playing and eat some of L.’s 2-bean quinoa salad.

“David Bowie” finally emerges and he’s pretty good! The crowd gets into it and they play until around 8:30.  I have to use the porta-potty once, which I hate doing, but it was just like being in an airplane bathroom!  It was that nice.

9:15-11:00 – Home and I try to talk to L. about her day with C., but she doesn’t bother to open her bedroom door.  I get tired of talking through the door and give up. B. and I watch two more episodes of Bosch and he leaves.

11:00-11:30 – I check my email but I still don’t have the Docusign contract!  Oh no.  Maybe Victor decided not to work with me.

11:30-12:15 – Kitchen duty. Take the dog out. Lock up.  Set the alarm.

12:15-1:15 – Nighttime routine. Bed.