Wednesday, March 25, 2020

I escaped....



My Facebook post from tonight just after 10pm.

I've been good about staying home since school closed after classes on Friday the 13th. I did do some errands the few days after that but for the last week, I have been mostly in the house with a few forays into the yard when it wasn't raining.

When the Ohio legislature passed a bill saying that the Ohio primary will be concluded by absentee ballot only (instead of the governor's proposal to do in-person voting on June 2nd), I printed the forms for the three adults in our household.  We filled them out and put them in an envelope.  Instead of putting it in our mailbox for pickup delivery, I opted to take my car out for a run  (it hasn't been run for over a week). 

Things I learned or observed on my drive.

1. A 6 speed manual transmission makes a good zoom-zoom car.  All you have to do is shift a little late.
2. Old town Harrison looks about the same as always on a Wednesday night after 9 pm.  Know the old joke about rolling up the sidewalks?  That's pretty much how it always is and it was tonight.
3. A short run on the expressway (about four miles from the last exit in Indiana to the first exit in Ohio) is fun after you have been cooped up for a while.  And it was good for the car to blow out the dirt.
4. The price of gas has really dropped.  I have a full tank from about 10 days ago when I filled up at a dollar ninety something.  Tonight the Speedway was $1.67 and the BP and UDF were $1.64.    By the time I need fuel again, the price will probably be higher (oh well)
5. The stars are still there.  With days of rainy and cloudy weather, it's been near impossible to stargaze. After I parked the car in the barn, I stopped to appreciate the numerous stars (and Venus) that are visible.  One of the advantages of living in the boondocks.
6. The area really is quieter.  While standing in the driveway looking at stars, I could hear the trucks on the expressway about 2.5 miles away.   In the 22+ years we have lived here, I've heard the expressway traffic several times but our everyday life is usually too noisy to hear it on a regular basis.  The Cheviot house I grew up in was a little over 1.5 miles (as the crow flies) from the expressway and I don't ever remember hearing expressway traffic there.

Tomorrow is a new day and it will be back to programming and a bit of house cleaning.  Tomorrow is dust the dining room day for the kids.  They will be happy to know it's the last of the dusting for a while (I promised Meredith no dusting jobs for 3 weeks)  Although with the warm weather forecast for the next few days, I may open my bedroom windows and dust there.  Parts of the room have some serious dust accumulation.  The dust bunnies have not organized yet ;-)



Tuesday, March 24, 2020

And so it begins (COVID 19 official Stay at Home)

It's a bit after midnight on Tuesday 24 March 2020 and the official "Stay at Home" order in Ohio is now in effect.  For most of the last 12 days, Governor DeWine has been encouraging Ohioans to work from/stay at home as much as possible.  First the schools were closed and people were encourage to not congregate in large groups (like crowded restaurants/bars).  With St. Patrick's Day approaching and pictures of crowded bars/restaurants being sent to the governor, he order the closing of dine-in restaurants and bars.  Any place could remain open as long as it was only offering carry-out, drive thru and/or delivery service.  Day by day, the Governor and the director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has warned of the need to "flatten the curve" by physically distancing ourselves.  Each day the Governor holds a 2pm (ish) press conference and most days one of the reporters would ask about an official "shelter in place" order (San Francisco issued one on March 16th) and each day he would reply with the hope that Ohioans would take the necessary precautions and stay at home as much as possible.

Slowly but surely, the Governor  and the ODH Director have closed down businesses to help encourage Ohioans to stay home.  Apparently not enough was being done because Sunday saw the official "Stay at Home" order signed by the ODH Director  to be effective from 11:59pm 23 March 2020 until 11:59pm 6 April 2020.

What change has this been to my routine?  Not much!  I have been at home since school closed on Friday 13 March except for working the election supply truck on Saturday morning the 14th (when we thought the election was still on) and Tuesday evening the 17th (to pick up the unopened supplies) and a couple runs to the grocery store.  I go outside, grateful that our property is approximately 1.25 acres and get fresh air when the weather permits (we've had a bit of rain - welcome to Ohio in early spring!)

The biggest adjustment?  Getting used to all five of us being here all the time.  For the most part, we are spread about the house.  The boys spend time gaming in the basement office, Meredith hangs in her room (just as she has since 5th grade) and Dennis has migrated his workstation from the basement office to the enclosed back porch  (those giant windows were a worthwhile investment!)

Household chores are being accomplished slowly but surely.  To keep the children involved, I limit my request to one job a day.  The job typically requires 15-20 minutes of their day (excepting laundry which is cumulatively 15-20 minutes spread out over an hour or so).  The kitchen cabinet doors have been washed for the first time since we moved in 22+ years ago (oh the horror!), the basement bar was dusted and reorganized today.  Laundry, vacuuming and other odds and ends were on the list last week.  This week sees lots of dusting (hello allergies) plus laundry.  Who know what next week will bring!  There is a shared google document so the kids can claim (and suggest) their daily tasks.  Two "free bee" days are allowed per week.

This is the official spring break week for high school and college classes.  Next week will see the true battles begin as I supervise the boys completing their classwork.  Meredith did well the last two weeks completing her midterm assignments so she is on her own to finish the semester (they already know they will not be returning to campus)  High school is still up in the air as to whether or not they will return to the building before the end of the year or just finish it out remotely.  The national AP board sent email notices today that all exams will be held remotely and will cover the 75% of the material that should have been covered in class by early March.  They are holding online classes and prep for the exams.

Stay tuned for ongoing news ...