Day 20 - LA County Dept. of Health MANDATES indoor masking

L. and I went to Pops for ice cream…

8/5/21. Thursday

7:45 – 8:15 – Homebound again and I’m starting to get a little tired of being cooped up in the house, every day. The contractors are coming at 9:00  so I’m up. I weigh 101.5 pounds this morning!  That darn pasta…but it was sooo good! I wash my face, put my contacts in, brush my teeth, and put on my Covid-19 uniform.

I put my bathroom rugs in the washer and glue a bracket onto the back of a picture frame. I check my cell phone and Victor texted me that I need to make a partial payment for the garage floor project and also the contractors will be coming after 12:00, today, NOT at 9:00 a.m.

8:15-9:00 -  I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  Unfortunately, she pooped in the house again!  I point at it and sternly say, “That’s a no-no!”, but she is unfazed and casually rolls over on her back (sign). I rub her tummy three times, she grabs her toy, and we go outside. The dog does her business and we return inside: cheese for her and I clean up the dog poop. I straighten up the kitchen, make my coffee, and return upstairs.

9:00-10:00-Blog post and I work on my “Ipad re-curating project.”

10:00-11:00 – I publish the course content for my Summer class, email a few students, and send some podcast recommendations to B. Then, I make the partial payment to the garage vendor and load a box of books and a bag of clothes in my car for Goodwill tomorrow.

-L. meets with her Otis counselor and learns that she is just 13 units shy of entering as a junior. L. thinks she can make up the classes over the next summer session.

11:00-11:45 – I really need to start grading the papers that came in on Monday, but I need some motivation. I take L.’s order, then run to Starbucks. I also get gas. I listen to The Daily.

12:00-1:00 – I start grading the extra credit essay assignments. The contractors still aren’t here. I listen to PBS News Hour segments.

1:00-2:00 – Mom arrives!  With champagne!  She and L. are going to Botegga Louie for lunch – I can’t go because the contractors are coming this afternoon [sad face emoji]. Botegga doesn’t take reservations so L. , Mom, and I sit around and catch-up for awhile.

2:00 – 3:00 – Mom and L. leave for Botegga and I text Victor to find out what time the contractors are coming. 10 minutes after Mom and L. leave, Victor texts me back and says Robert was held up at a cement job and won’t make it today. Disappointing, AND I missed out on lunch with Mom and L.

I read All You Can Ever Know.

3:00-4:30 – Grade papers. I eat a few pieces of sushi while I’m grading. I listen to Air Talk.

4:30-5:30 – I work on my “re-curating Ipad project.” I listen to Vox Worldly.

5:30-7:00 – Grade papers. I listen to What Next and NPR Politics.

7:00 – 8:30 – L. is home and she and Mom had a great time at Botegga. She tells me about her day and then L. and I go to Pops Artisanal Creamery, a new ice cream shop in Newhall. Everyone is masking until a loser mom and her three tween/teenage girls come in – they refuse to mask and they’re probably anti-vaxxers and republican.

I get the Kriol Peanut Fudge – amazing! -and L. gets a pineapple bowl, which means her ice cream is served in an actual, hollowed-out pineapple. She gets scoops of Pink Guava and the Strawberry Sorbet and…something???  The ice cream – or whatever it is – tastes incredible!

It’s so great to get out of the house! We stop by the ATM on the way home.

9:00-9:30 – I take the dog for a walk. I listen to The New Yorker - Politics and More.

9:30-11:00 – Blog posts.

11:00-12:00 – I do a 15-minute Kathy Smith Ab-workout and a 40-minute Insanity-Pure Cardio workout.

12:00-1:00 – I water my plants.  Some of them aren’t looking too good after the trauma they endured from being roughly moved the other day. I listen to the Political Gabfest.

1:00-1:45 – Kitchen duty and I clean the counters and ready my coffee for tomorrow.

2:00-3:00 – I update my time log over the past two days and listen to By the Book; then

4:00-5:00 – log my time for today. Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm.