14 thoughts on “Soulwise, these are trying times…”
Well, that left me with all kinds of cravings.
What kind of contraption is Geordie in? Is he in traction?
The lockdown hasn’t been particularly hard on me. I was already a homebody. Although not being able to go anywhere is starting to get old. I can only walk around the neighborhood so many times.
We’ve been using Zoom a ton for work meetings, but we require authentication, which generally keeps the trolls out. We’re also using MS Teams a lot. I’ve found that having video meetings makes you feel like you’ve been somewhere. The ones where everyone has their video on are a lot more enjoyable. Although not everyone can, either due to equipment limitations, or because they’re in a room with their kids.
Looks like you made it through the editor, or got back to the old one. The joys of blogging.
Geordie’s groomer recently bought this suspension harness that looks like a torture device, but it’s actually pretty useful for clipping nails. This way dogs don’t have to balance on a bad leg or get twisted about. They really just hang there, and it looks pretty comfortable. For Geordie it was nice because his groomer didn’t have to pinch his arthritic ankle quite so hard to hold him still. He was scared before she started the clipping, mainly from the loss of control, but he didn’t fidget about like he normally does. Didn’t make a peep in fact. I think it’s a game changer.
I haven’t tried zoom yet, but I will pretty soon. Every year the Tucson Festival of Books holds a weekend long writing workshop for its top 50 contest entries, and although the event was cancelled, the writer whose group I’d chosen to workshop with volunteered to host a virtual workshop instead—very very very generous of him. Anyway, that’s been put on hold for a while now, but I just got word it’s about to begin next month. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be strange meeting people for the first time that way, but a new and exciting experience for me.
I did do one virtual meeting with my writing group using google hangout, and I think it helps to have a fairly new computer, at least for the audio quality. (Boy did I miss the food we usually have during our meetings! It’s a big part of our get-togethers.)
I know what you mean about feeling like you’ve been somewhere with the video component. I like seeing/hearing what’s going on in people’s houses. Part of going over to someone’s house is just a matter of seeing the house…it’s interesting.
As for the editor, let’s just say I made it through somehow. Formatting was mind boggling. When I previewed my drafts, they didn’t look like what I was seeing. I guess I started out in block editor, but then switched to classic editor, and that screwed up everything. After I hit “publish” I noticed a typo in the post, but I can’t do anything to fix it because when I try to do it, I get a message saying I have to go back to some earlier draft—which means I could lose most of what I’ve written. What a pain! Another thing I noticed is that I can’t change the font or font size to what I want. Or at least I don’t know how. Too many options, but not enough.
Geordie has arthritis? He seems too young for that. Glad they have something to make the experience easier for him.
I actually found Zoom to be better on equipment requirements than some of the others. MS Teams actually gives my four year old laptop trouble. (And it’s a Microsoft Surface Book. Go figure.) I went to a GotoMeeting the other day and couldn’t get my mic to work for anything. It’s been a while since I used Hangout, but I think I heard Google is offering it for free again, so I imagine that will change.
Wow. Sorry to hear that about the editor. I suspect since you did this post in block, you’ll always have to edit it with it. In my test blog, I noticed when I tried to use classic on the post I did in block, that the content was fouled up but recoverable, at least aside from stuff that classic just can’t do, like widgets. I do see some interesting future possibilities for it, like maybe the possibility of user defined themes. Hopefully they’ll keep improving it. But your experience is going to make me more cautious than I was before.
As with Mike, this lockdown business hasn’t greatly affected me – at least not directly, and in the short term. Stay at home and work all day? Sure, already got that. My older son is home from university and is studying online. My younger son was already being home-schooled. We are extremely fortunate to own a large property with a home gym and plenty of outdoor space, so I can get exercise and outdoor time without going anywhere.
Longer term, the economy is collapsing and I am worried about the future, especially as a full-time writer with no pension. I wake up some nights picturing myself living in a cardboard box one day. But who can know the future with any certainty?
I’m glad to hear you’re doing all right! This moment is an opportunity to reconnect with family for some people, and for some, that’s a good thing. (Maybe for others, not so much.) 🙂
I know what you mean about the economy and the future. I’m worried about it myself. That’s part of the reason I’m trying to support local businesses rather than Amazon, but it’s hard to do that sometimes. I think the economy will bounce back, but it could take a long while, maybe longer than we imagine. A lot people are switching gears, and if they’re not, they will have to do it soon. As a writer, I think you’ll be all right. I’m certainly keeping my eye on the stock market, but trying not to panic about it. As you say, we never know what the future holds, but at least we’re doing all right now, and we have our families with us.
The lock-down hasn’t impacted me much either. In fact, I’m actually enjoying it. It’s a lot more relaxing to stay at home, and I’ve been getting more reading, writing and random projects done. As for shopping, I just go to the grocery store. Supplies are fine; some of the canned goods were a bit low, but for the most part, it was much like it was before. The big difference is seeing a bunch of people in face masks, having to go through a cordoned off area just to go in the store at Walmart, and then having to wait for a shopping cart because they’re disinfecting them. But then I discovered curbside pickup and that was pretty awesome 🙂
I’m glad you were about to get curbside pickup. Around here the websites for nearby chain stores are all screwed up, or there’s a long wait for pickup times.
I hope you’re not having to deal with idiots at the store. Around here they come with their entire family, no masks, kids running around, bumping into people. They don’t give you a way out of the aisle and don’t stay six feet apart. I guess it’s to be expected in the wild west.
I am a little late in wishing you a Happy July but in time to wish you a Happy Independence Day!
Adding to what bloggingisaresponsibility has already mentioned, I usually buy in large quantity so as to last me a long time without having to go out too often.
Ha, I know what you mean. I’m sort of the same way. I keep thinking of what I’d normally be doing, and it’s not too different from what I am doing. Actually, I think my social life has picked up a bit since all this started. And, come to think of it, we’re spending more at restaurants now that they’ve started selling groceries. We hardly ever eat out.
I’ve recently discovered that quinoa can be sprinkled into almost everything for a little bit heartier taste. Hope you and yours are keeping safe and staying sane.
Diotima's Ladder 
Well, that left me with all kinds of cravings.
What kind of contraption is Geordie in? Is he in traction?
The lockdown hasn’t been particularly hard on me. I was already a homebody. Although not being able to go anywhere is starting to get old. I can only walk around the neighborhood so many times.
We’ve been using Zoom a ton for work meetings, but we require authentication, which generally keeps the trolls out. We’re also using MS Teams a lot. I’ve found that having video meetings makes you feel like you’ve been somewhere. The ones where everyone has their video on are a lot more enjoyable. Although not everyone can, either due to equipment limitations, or because they’re in a room with their kids.
Looks like you made it through the editor, or got back to the old one. The joys of blogging.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Geordie’s groomer recently bought this suspension harness that looks like a torture device, but it’s actually pretty useful for clipping nails. This way dogs don’t have to balance on a bad leg or get twisted about. They really just hang there, and it looks pretty comfortable. For Geordie it was nice because his groomer didn’t have to pinch his arthritic ankle quite so hard to hold him still. He was scared before she started the clipping, mainly from the loss of control, but he didn’t fidget about like he normally does. Didn’t make a peep in fact. I think it’s a game changer.
I haven’t tried zoom yet, but I will pretty soon. Every year the Tucson Festival of Books holds a weekend long writing workshop for its top 50 contest entries, and although the event was cancelled, the writer whose group I’d chosen to workshop with volunteered to host a virtual workshop instead—very very very generous of him. Anyway, that’s been put on hold for a while now, but I just got word it’s about to begin next month. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be strange meeting people for the first time that way, but a new and exciting experience for me.
I did do one virtual meeting with my writing group using google hangout, and I think it helps to have a fairly new computer, at least for the audio quality. (Boy did I miss the food we usually have during our meetings! It’s a big part of our get-togethers.)
I know what you mean about feeling like you’ve been somewhere with the video component. I like seeing/hearing what’s going on in people’s houses. Part of going over to someone’s house is just a matter of seeing the house…it’s interesting.
As for the editor, let’s just say I made it through somehow. Formatting was mind boggling. When I previewed my drafts, they didn’t look like what I was seeing. I guess I started out in block editor, but then switched to classic editor, and that screwed up everything. After I hit “publish” I noticed a typo in the post, but I can’t do anything to fix it because when I try to do it, I get a message saying I have to go back to some earlier draft—which means I could lose most of what I’ve written. What a pain! Another thing I noticed is that I can’t change the font or font size to what I want. Or at least I don’t know how. Too many options, but not enough.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Geordie has arthritis? He seems too young for that. Glad they have something to make the experience easier for him.
I actually found Zoom to be better on equipment requirements than some of the others. MS Teams actually gives my four year old laptop trouble. (And it’s a Microsoft Surface Book. Go figure.) I went to a GotoMeeting the other day and couldn’t get my mic to work for anything. It’s been a while since I used Hangout, but I think I heard Google is offering it for free again, so I imagine that will change.
Wow. Sorry to hear that about the editor. I suspect since you did this post in block, you’ll always have to edit it with it. In my test blog, I noticed when I tried to use classic on the post I did in block, that the content was fouled up but recoverable, at least aside from stuff that classic just can’t do, like widgets. I do see some interesting future possibilities for it, like maybe the possibility of user defined themes. Hopefully they’ll keep improving it. But your experience is going to make me more cautious than I was before.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad to hear you are staying well, Tina.
As with Mike, this lockdown business hasn’t greatly affected me – at least not directly, and in the short term. Stay at home and work all day? Sure, already got that. My older son is home from university and is studying online. My younger son was already being home-schooled. We are extremely fortunate to own a large property with a home gym and plenty of outdoor space, so I can get exercise and outdoor time without going anywhere.
Longer term, the economy is collapsing and I am worried about the future, especially as a full-time writer with no pension. I wake up some nights picturing myself living in a cardboard box one day. But who can know the future with any certainty?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m glad to hear you’re doing all right! This moment is an opportunity to reconnect with family for some people, and for some, that’s a good thing. (Maybe for others, not so much.) 🙂
I know what you mean about the economy and the future. I’m worried about it myself. That’s part of the reason I’m trying to support local businesses rather than Amazon, but it’s hard to do that sometimes. I think the economy will bounce back, but it could take a long while, maybe longer than we imagine. A lot people are switching gears, and if they’re not, they will have to do it soon. As a writer, I think you’ll be all right. I’m certainly keeping my eye on the stock market, but trying not to panic about it. As you say, we never know what the future holds, but at least we’re doing all right now, and we have our families with us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The lock-down hasn’t impacted me much either. In fact, I’m actually enjoying it. It’s a lot more relaxing to stay at home, and I’ve been getting more reading, writing and random projects done. As for shopping, I just go to the grocery store. Supplies are fine; some of the canned goods were a bit low, but for the most part, it was much like it was before. The big difference is seeing a bunch of people in face masks, having to go through a cordoned off area just to go in the store at Walmart, and then having to wait for a shopping cart because they’re disinfecting them. But then I discovered curbside pickup and that was pretty awesome 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m glad you were about to get curbside pickup. Around here the websites for nearby chain stores are all screwed up, or there’s a long wait for pickup times.
I hope you’re not having to deal with idiots at the store. Around here they come with their entire family, no masks, kids running around, bumping into people. They don’t give you a way out of the aisle and don’t stay six feet apart. I guess it’s to be expected in the wild west.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Tina,
I am a little late in wishing you a Happy July but in time to wish you a Happy Independence Day!
Adding to what bloggingisaresponsibility has already mentioned, I usually buy in large quantity so as to last me a long time without having to go out too often.
You obviously love your food and desserts, judging by the photos. Given that your food is very enticing, I would like to reciprocate with some tempting and mind-bogglingly presented food in one of my posts entitled “🦅 SoundEagle in Edible Art, Glorious Food and Festive Season 🍣🥗🍜🍲🍱” published at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/soundeagle-in-edible-art-glorious-food-and-festive-season/
Please enjoy!
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Times like these save men’s soles. Apart from those in slippers. (Not the men, the slippers’.)
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That reminds me of a local TV commercial for shoes: “Saving the soles of Tucson since 1962.”
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I’m a retired introvert who stays home reading a lot… I heard there something going on… something to do with Corona beer?
That’s okay. I don’t drink it, anyway. 😉
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Ha, I know what you mean. I’m sort of the same way. I keep thinking of what I’d normally be doing, and it’s not too different from what I am doing. Actually, I think my social life has picked up a bit since all this started. And, come to think of it, we’re spending more at restaurants now that they’ve started selling groceries. We hardly ever eat out.
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I’ve recently discovered that quinoa can be sprinkled into almost everything for a little bit heartier taste. Hope you and yours are keeping safe and staying sane.
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Same to you! We’re doing our best in the Wild West.
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