Weirdly Busy Weekend
Apr. 20th, 2020 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseI was reconfirmed as an extrovert on Sunday.
That started my day off with a bang.
We had scheduled a somewhat impromptu Zoom with some friends of ours who are now living in Oregon. Their friendship provenance is that Shawn used to work with one of them when she was an architectural historian. They were both grunt workers back then, and now our friend has risen to be the head of her state's SHPO (State Historical Preservation Office) and Shawn is, of course, Minnesota's State Archivist, as well as Director of Library, Archives and Collections at the Minnesota Historical Society. So, they went back to it, like two peas in a pod, as my grandmother might say. It was really, really wonderful to reconnect.
That ran right up into my scheduled video call with my folks, who are both still doing very well, I am happy to report. I learned from them that Minnesota had been part of those COVIdiot protests, which, had somehow, previously, escaped my knowledge. I had foolishly thought we were immune to such garbage and am very disappointed in 800 of my fellow Minnesotans.
Of course, just this morning, I saw some yahoo with a "Trump" bumper sticker on their truck. I only noticed them because, of course, they were being a$$holes and not getting out of someone's way as they met coming down our street.
Then, a friend came over to give me another jump. (We both wore masks and stayed more than 6 feet apart.) APPARENTLY, I did not run my car long enough the other day to fully recharge it. So, once the car was up and running, we did a short grocery run, with Shawn sitting in the car while it continued to idle, and then a run to Menards to pick up a new battery, since clearly, we need one. It must have been enough finally, because, this morning, I discovered that my coffee shop is open for curbside delivery again and so I hopped in the car and got us all some divine, delicious coffee THAT SOMEONE ELSE MADE. I had not yet switched out the battery, so I was pleased that the car started and I could wait until the weather was slightly warmer to do that.
Just when you thought I was done seeing people for the day, I got an invite from our friends the Jacksons to play Boggle together and we video chatted while challenging each other on an online site. It was lovely to see everyone again. I showed off the bread I had made that day, but which was different than the bread I made the day before. (I've stopped posting pictures of my bread. Sour dough demands daily bread. It's ridiculous. However, I am now able to make bread from my own recipe based entirely on what kind of crumb I want any given day. Yesterday, no milk or butter because I wanted a slightly more artisan feel to it. Today, for the hamburger buns, all the "softening" ingredients.)
I was actually so keyed up from all that interaction not only did I literally dance around the kitchen, but I had a hard time falling asleep last night.
Oh, and I forgot to report that on Saturday morning to discover that my fic for the food challenge was well-received and I got an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING gift in a fandom that doesn't get a lot of love, but which I absolutely adore, so that also made my weekend extra, extra special.
And! My bloodroot survived the snow!
Image: tiny white flowers poking up from what looks like leaf debris and barren ground...
I was very worried that the snow had killed them. So, these are native plants, and Wikipedia tells me this fascinating bit of trivia that I did not know: "Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also benefit from growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris."
I had no idea. That's kind of cool.
I didn't think that my status had necessarily changed, but I have always gotten along really well with introverts. I like a lot of the same sorts of pursuits that introverts like: reading, napping, reading and napping, quiet solitary walks in the woods, baking,and generally being a homebody.
But, after all the (safe socially distanced!!) social interactions I had on Sunday, I was positively giddy. I was literally dancing around my kitchen. Shawn, meanwhile, announced that all the peopling had tired her out and she would be going to bed extra early.
That started my day off with a bang.
We had scheduled a somewhat impromptu Zoom with some friends of ours who are now living in Oregon. Their friendship provenance is that Shawn used to work with one of them when she was an architectural historian. They were both grunt workers back then, and now our friend has risen to be the head of her state's SHPO (State Historical Preservation Office) and Shawn is, of course, Minnesota's State Archivist, as well as Director of Library, Archives and Collections at the Minnesota Historical Society. So, they went back to it, like two peas in a pod, as my grandmother might say. It was really, really wonderful to reconnect.
That ran right up into my scheduled video call with my folks, who are both still doing very well, I am happy to report. I learned from them that Minnesota had been part of those COVIdiot protests, which, had somehow, previously, escaped my knowledge. I had foolishly thought we were immune to such garbage and am very disappointed in 800 of my fellow Minnesotans.
Of course, just this morning, I saw some yahoo with a "Trump" bumper sticker on their truck. I only noticed them because, of course, they were being a$$holes and not getting out of someone's way as they met coming down our street.
Then, a friend came over to give me another jump. (We both wore masks and stayed more than 6 feet apart.) APPARENTLY, I did not run my car long enough the other day to fully recharge it. So, once the car was up and running, we did a short grocery run, with Shawn sitting in the car while it continued to idle, and then a run to Menards to pick up a new battery, since clearly, we need one. It must have been enough finally, because, this morning, I discovered that my coffee shop is open for curbside delivery again and so I hopped in the car and got us all some divine, delicious coffee THAT SOMEONE ELSE MADE. I had not yet switched out the battery, so I was pleased that the car started and I could wait until the weather was slightly warmer to do that.
Just when you thought I was done seeing people for the day, I got an invite from our friends the Jacksons to play Boggle together and we video chatted while challenging each other on an online site. It was lovely to see everyone again. I showed off the bread I had made that day, but which was different than the bread I made the day before. (I've stopped posting pictures of my bread. Sour dough demands daily bread. It's ridiculous. However, I am now able to make bread from my own recipe based entirely on what kind of crumb I want any given day. Yesterday, no milk or butter because I wanted a slightly more artisan feel to it. Today, for the hamburger buns, all the "softening" ingredients.)
I was actually so keyed up from all that interaction not only did I literally dance around the kitchen, but I had a hard time falling asleep last night.
Oh, and I forgot to report that on Saturday morning to discover that my fic for the food challenge was well-received and I got an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING gift in a fandom that doesn't get a lot of love, but which I absolutely adore, so that also made my weekend extra, extra special.
And! My bloodroot survived the snow!
Image: tiny white flowers poking up from what looks like leaf debris and barren ground...
I was very worried that the snow had killed them. So, these are native plants, and Wikipedia tells me this fascinating bit of trivia that I did not know: "Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also benefit from growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris."
I had no idea. That's kind of cool.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-21 02:55 am (UTC)Tried my first Zoom tonight, meet up with my church choir. It's very hard to sing (and sync) together on a Zoom. Also, my video seems not to be working, though I don't know if it's my hardware or settings. I may have to borrow Denise's laptop next week.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-21 03:51 pm (UTC)Also! The octopus soup bowl arrived! It's gorgeous!!
no subject
Date: 2020-04-22 12:44 am (UTC)Figured out why my video didn't work on Zoom--I wasn't logged in. Singing in sync is a harder problem, as internet speed, processing speed, even whether you're accessing through landline or cell tower have a smearing effect on synchrony. Complicated by the fact that we had 8 singers and two instruments in the "meeting." Was fun to see everyone, and sing togetherish, but but recording that resulted was way painful. The nicest thing anyone said was that it was kinda "Ives-ish." Which I guess means it a round, or polyphony? (Cacophony is more like it.)