The Inhale Thread !

[cathwen]

Indeed. Dangerously, time-wastingly good.

I just finished all of Brett's Holmes, saw all of Miss Fisher's earlier series and several others in recent years...and yes, the Nero Wolfe series is so far excellent in the same ways, luxurious fittings and clothing, wonderful filming, etc.

It's on YouTube right now; let me know if a search doesn't bring it up and I'll post the URL...

M.

Here's the first episode.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UvZDRXVBUo

I warned you...

;--}

M.

Oh my goodness!  Thank you for this, Mamselle! 

[mamselle]

De nada!

M.

[traductio]

My new book came out today!* Yay!

* As an open-access e-book. There'll be paper versions eventually, but coronavirus.

[mamselle]

Felicitations!

(Congrats!)

M.

[archaeo42]

I had acted as a reviewer for an NSF dissertation grant in the Fall. The student is someone I've met a couple times and was interested in their research focus generally. I checked the NSF awards database today and learned they had a successful proposal! I'll be very interested to see the final results.

[Vkw10]

I have my own laptop. I have home internet. I can work at home and my job that seems fairly secure. I am not worried about elderly parents, both of whom died serene in their belief in heaven. My cousins are caring for their elderly parents. My loved ones all seem to be taking appropriate precautions to stay healthy.  I live in a low-density, gated, 55-plus apartment complex with a walking path, grass, and trees, so I can walk safely. My mostly older and retired neighbors are waving and talking from a distance when outside.

In the midst of challenging days, I can inhale deeply.

[ergative]

There's a river that cuts my neighborhood in two, just a few blocks from my front door, and it has a lovely river path that extends for miles along it. Wild garlic grows along the banks in astonishing profusion. I've been putting on an audio book and taking long walks along it the last few days, collecting the garlic ramps by the pound to add some zing to my rather dull beans-and-rice meals*. It's been doing wonders for mental health.

*No real problems, just lots of pantry food to eat so as to reduce the frequency of grocery trips.

[sinenomine]

I have a job and stability, I'm saving money by not commuting or dining out, and I get to spend plenty of time outside with my horse and at home, making music.

[mamselle]

Having gone from being an energetic amoebocyte in the mesoglea of life to a sessile polyp, I find myself thriving.

Very grateful.

M.

[AmLitHist]

Classes started again today, and my second 8-weeks class opened.  Relief!  (All the "OMG, this is going to be SOOOOOO hard" emails were getting to me.)

Also, I heard from an older, really fun student from my Comp I from last fall (which feels like about 100 years ago). She just wanted to check and see if I was OK--nice!

[apl68]

Still able to work, and have not yet been required to lay off any staff.  And so far I've had hardly any allergy trouble this spring, which keeps me from getting any suspicious looks when I'm around others.

[mamselle]

Just had the first meeting of my new online music theory class!

All four expected students attended, all participated, they seemed to understand what we were doing and they seemed to enjoy it!

Whew!

More work to do to prep the next one, but this is a new venture, and I'm happy it's working.

Yea!!!

M.

[Vkw10]

Just had the first meeting of my new online music theory class!

All four expected students attended, all participated, they seemed to understand what we were doing and they seemed to enjoy it!

Whew!

More work to do to prep the next one, but this is a new venture, and I'm happy it's working.

Yea!!!

M.

Congratulations, mamselle! I'm glad your new venture started well. Always good to hear of people who are enjoying learning.

[paultuttle]

I still have a job, I'm still able to work, I still have work to do, I'm still being paid, and it's still the same salary. Even more importantly, I have a healthy husband, brothers, sisters in law, parents, extended family members, and friends.

We have food, water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and Internet--all working. We have cleaning supplies, medical supplies, medicine for at least a month, and dishwashing and laundry detergent. And staying inside has meant much less exposure to pollen, which has meant much less danger of springtime bronchitis or pneumonia due to the yellow stuff.

The main hallway in our house is long enough to walk up and down for exercise; we also have a bicycle hooked up to an indoor trainer, and we've downloaded some instructions for inside exercise routines to use while isolating. My husband's gotten back into yoga, which has lessened his sleep apnea.

Outside our front door are pink, white, and magenta azalea bushes, in the side yard are jonquils and more azaleas, and in the back yard is a Japanese cherry tree, all in spectacular bloom. Across the street is a park with a walking/bicycling/jogging trail.

We have Netflix and Hulu subscriptions and a DVD-filled bookcase. The other 15 bookcases (all six feet tall) are full of interesting reading material. We have two smart TVs, two laptops, a tablet, and two smart phones. And we purchased the same model tablet for my mother for Christmas so she can see my overseas brother while talking with him and so she can take virtual trips using YouTube travel videos. (The fact that the tablet isn't set up yet and will have to be set up by my father while listening to instructions from my husband over the telephone is, in the middle of all this, a minor inconvenience.)

I feel really grateful. True, psychologically, sitting here waiting for the coronavirus to peak in NC is like waiting for an enormous slow-motion tsunami to overwhelm me and my community, but I know I'm doing all I can to stay safe and healthy, and the plants and animals outside are thriving, so I feel hopeful as well.

[ciao_yall]

I still have a job, I'm still able to work, I still have work to do, I'm still being paid, and it's still the same salary. Even more importantly, I have a healthy husband, brothers, sisters in law, parents, extended family members, and friends.

We have food, water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and Internet--all working. We have cleaning supplies, medical supplies, medicine for at least a month, and dishwashing and laundry detergent. And staying inside has meant much less exposure to pollen, which has meant much less danger of springtime bronchitis or pneumonia due to the yellow stuff.

The main hallway in our house is long enough to walk up and down for exercise; we also have a bicycle hooked up to an indoor trainer, and we've downloaded some instructions for inside exercise routines to use while isolating. My husband's gotten back into yoga, which has lessened his sleep apnea.

Outside our front door are pink, white, and magenta azalea bushes, in the side yard are jonquils and more azaleas, and in the back yard is a Japanese cherry tree, all in spectacular bloom. Across the street is a park with a walking/bicycling/jogging trail.

We have Netflix and Hulu subscriptions and a DVD-filled bookcase. The other 15 bookcases (all six feet tall) are full of interesting reading material. We have two smart TVs, two laptops, a tablet, and two smart phones. And we purchased the same model tablet for my mother for Christmas so she can see my overseas brother while talking with him and so she can take virtual trips using YouTube travel videos. (The fact that the tablet isn't set up yet and will have to be set up by my father while listening to instructions from my husband over the telephone is, in the middle of all this, a minor inconvenience.)

I feel really grateful. True, psychologically, sitting here waiting for the coronavirus to peak in NC is like waiting for an enormous slow-motion tsunami to overwhelm me and my community, but I know I'm doing all I can to stay safe and healthy, and the plants and animals outside are thriving, so I feel hopeful as well.

Thank you for this.

We also have a lot to be grateful for, and I need to focus on feeling grateful instead of guilty, and helping those in need instead of worrying about them.