I am still here, Life during a pandemic

When we entered quarantine at the beginning of March I was like "Woohoo! So much time for writing!" Well, that obviously did not happen. Just look at how many posts there are here.

I got sick, my husband got sick, my kids got sick, and my dad got sick. While we do not know if we had Covid-19 (there were not enough tests at that time and we did not meet the criteria to be tested) it's been several months of being cared for and caring for others in my home. Exhaustion is the worse part. You just do not want to do anything.

To top it off, my husband and I have relapsed several times with whatever this is. On the 15th I was given a Covid-19 test which came back negative. However, as my doctor told me yesterday, that doesn't mean you didn't have it, you simply do not have it now. Yup, my husband and I are still sick with some sort of chest crud and are under treatment, again.

After 12 weeks at home (one of us leaves the house as needed for groceries, medicines, or to a doctor appointment) I need to set a routine and stick to it. No matter what. Having everyone here though has set my mind into a loop. When your kids are home, doing school work, it sometimes is hard to get into a work rhythm. I have not begun any large projects because once I get on a roll, then get sidetracked with helping someone, I often cannot maintain my momentum.  The train of thought has derailed and the crane to right it gets bigger each time.

Although, I finished two crocheted afghan projects that have languished in a basket and made a new granny square blanket from scratch using odd and end yarn I have stashed around the house. So yay for making things!

Plus, we started a garden for the first time in 16 years. Yes, 16 years. My husband still has tilling

trauma from the last time I tried to do a garden. One of my boys wanted to try, and having a willing victim, er participant, makes things happen around here. We started seedlings in the house, built a raised garden bed (4'x4'), and have planted the first seedlings in it. There are three types of tomatoes, dwarf sunflowers, bib lettuce, and heirloom marigolds. The marigolds are from seeds I saved three years ago from a summer camp project for child number two. He attended camp at Mount Vernon, home of George Washinton, and they planted marigolds from the plantation to bring home. Those two heirloom flowers gave me several dozen seeds.

We have also planned an herb garden to go around the seating area in the back yard. The plants are ready to go, I am just waiting for the supplies from the building supply store to be delivered. We will have oregano, thyme, mint, lemon balm, sage, basil, and chamomile. Fingers crossed it all gets done this week. My seedlings want out of the house!

But it has not all been sitting around and playing with yarn and soil. I have made some progress on some paid, volunteer, and personal research. Limited of course because I only have the internet and my personal library. However, some of my librarian and archive friends are still at work. Guess what, they re bored too. I lucked out that some research I needed was done by these wonderful people over the last couple of months. So, reach out and see if the repository you need information from is taking online requests or phone requests. While it will not be free, you may get extra care and information since they have not as many customers to help.

I hope you all are doing well. Stay safe, take care, and do some genealogy today!