Shedding It

This day was really difficult. It was a combination of very long hours (on the emails by 7 am, finished at a little after 10 pm), plus computer problems and some bad news. I hate the gratitude thing that some people seem to love. However, I am going to try and at least acknowledge things that weren’t horrible. - one of my friends or neighbours shared a link to a local fitness studio and the owner is offering daily live sessions on Facebook. I did one today and it was okay. - I got out for a walk before it was completely dark. - While working, I was able to see the blue sky. - did sneak in a quick chat with a few buddies, and made a bit of progress on a craft project while we talked. - a colleague spotted a glitch in our payments, and folks were able to fix it two hours before the end of the fiscal year so we didn’t lapse $5M. - It took an hour with IT on the phone, but my computer is working again. Actually, I’m pretty much done now. It was still a shitty day.

I switched locations today in an effort to be slightly more ergonomic. It failed. Or maybe I just need to move around more often during the day. It poured rain for the second (third?) day in a row so I couldn’t get up the enthusiasm to go for a walk. I have a little over an hour until my last phone call of the night, so I’m going to do a quick yoga session. I am amused to discover that Pandora cat loves me a lot. Usually she stays upstairs to sleep on my bed during the day, but since I was in the living room all day today, she has spent most of her time on one of the living room chairs. Like the sofa where I worked, it’s not as soft and comfy as her usual spot; hopefully she doesn’t end up as stiff and sore as me!

Several friends are starting to feel the stresses of being largely confined to home, of having kids out of school, of being unemployed, of running short of supplies and being unable to replace them (getting from store to store to search for out-of-stock goods is challenging if you rely on public transit or have mobility issues). Creative friends are running out of juice. Even the introverts are struggling against anxiety and depression that comes with isolation. So what to do? It is tempting to offer a list full of good ideas. - tidy your living space - take the opportunity to learn something new - use the time to finish projects - keep yourself/your kids on a schedule - etc. Sometimes, just focusing on personal hygiene is all you can manage, so I won’t offer lists but I do offer sympathy and love. I spent the weekend forcing myself to deal with the mending basket. My incentive was two pairs of summer pants I bought on sale last fall. They were a little long so needed to be

Rest - I slept well last night. I would have slept even longer except the cats wanted to be fed, so I had a morning nap. I followed that with a shorter afternoon nap. Recovery - I tackled my mending pile. There is still more to do, but I made a respectable dent. I also cooked up things in my fridge that were at risk of going off, or that I just didn’t like in their current form. Rejuvination - I spent two hours singing on-line with friends via Zoom. It was with my medieval club, so we all got dressed up in garb. Some had even decorated their personal spaces. The picture is from a different occasion, but many of these people joined in the bardic circle tonight. My heart is feeling full right now.

These two concepts are coming together in interesting ways. Last night I did a Zumba class with complete strangers from a different swim club. Tonight I did a dryland training session with the same club, followed by a walk around my neighborhood. As I walked, I saw signs in several shops saying that they were closed until further notice. I also saw pictures in windows for children’s “scavenger hunts”, chalk drawings on the sidewalk, and a Venetian blind painted with the message “Anything is Popsicle”. I saw a sign in front of a seniors’ residence applauding the work of Dr. Vera Etches, the local chief medical officer of health, and another directing people to a website where they would be able to buy local to support local businesses. Though there were few people around, and most kept well away, I also felt the love of a caring community for the people who live and work here. In another possible sign of change, I didn’t see a single airplane contrail, but I did spot Venus as bright a

One of the worst things about minimizing contact is that I’m not getting enough exercise. I may (probably) have complained about this before. But one of the interesting side benefits of everyone being trapped in their house is that I am discovering all kinds of Facebook Live, Zoom, and other ways to connect with people offering workouts. Tonight I caught a Zumba class organized by swimmers from the Rideau Speedeaus, a local swim club. I have participated in some of their events, and they were super friendly, so I got myself added to their mailing list. It was fun to dance around my bedroom with complete strangers, weird as that sounds. Tomorrow I have options ranging from a workout posted by a swimmer I know in Central Ontario who is also a health and fitness coach, to either a live workout or a video link for later with a marathon swimmer from New Zealand, to dryland training with Rideau Speedeaus, or een another 30 minute Zumba workout I found while searching for today’s picture. G

I’m getting into the groove of them. The daily meetings with my management team are brisk and efficient thanks to the 40 minute time limit for free Zoom. Also, we are talking so often that we don’t need much more time. I am enjoying my virtual hangouts with friends too. I managed about an hour tonight, even though I had to keep responding to emails (I am starting to hate email). The work meetings are going much better than the bingo card would suggest, though we certainly have some of those problems. The hangouts are much more prone to the dog and kid problems, but it’s all part of the fun. I am continuing to make slow progress on my mittens; they might even be ready for next year, if this enforced isolation goes on long enough. I volunteered to do an emergency IT rescue tonight - driving a loaner laptop an hour out of town for someone whose home computer had broken. It meant no going for a walk, but I did have the compensation of seeing a deer and some lovely countryside. I also s

Fit as a Feminist Issue had two great blog posts about COVID from a perspectives I hadn’t considered before. The first spoke to me as someone who had considered going for an outdoor swim because the pools are closed, and who is sad about losing access to my horse because all equestrian facilities are closed except to maintain the health of the horses. Both are high risk activities and, although I know what I am doing enough to prevent injury most of the time, any sort of accident (or even being close enough to my swim buddies to put up the little changing tent) could take away precious resources from the health care system. Like the authors of this blog, I have huge respecct for Andre Picard and his analysis of public health issues. You can read more about it here:  Riding my bike . The second was less directly relevant, but I have friends in this situation, and right now I’m very glad that my elderly parents have a borrowed treadmill in their living room. I’m also really glad that m

I probably shouldn’t use my bedroom as my workspace, but it is big, with two large windows and a little balcony. Plus, I share the open-concept main floor with my daughter, who is doing her university courses on-line, so we often need to be in different areas to be able to concentrate to conversations on our computers. My bedroom is also my favourite crafting space, and it is where we store things that need to go to the charity shop, So it can get pretty junky if I’m not disciplined (and frequently I am not - have you ever met a crafter who didn’t have a stash or two of yarn, fabric, or whatever?). Today, though, I made a serious effort to deal with both my bedroom and my back-up work space, the kitchen. I took down my old curtains and hardware an installed a new rod and curtains that have been sitting in the bedroom since I bought them before Christmas. Now the stepladder, the curtains, miscellaneous screwdrivers, and the storage bags can go away, while the old curtains and hardwa

It’s past 11 pm and I have been working on and off all day. It’s fine for now because I know I am helping people who are really anxious and planning for what is to come. I can feel that the tension is building in my back though, so I need to start figuring out some coping mechanisms. Today it was mostly working on my German lessons, plus a bit of cleaning and cooking. I barely left the house today, but here’s a picture that I took from my neighbour’s driveway yesterday - the snowdrops are starting to bloom along the side of my house.

I didn’t do all the relaxing things I had planned to do today. Instead, I had a four-five hour nap. I did get out for a nice long walk. Though I saw few people, it was actually a more social experience than normal. Everyone was social distancing, which meant they felt obliged to say hello as we stepped away from each other. At one point I felt a bit like Moses parting the Red Sea as I passed two groups of neighbours chatting from opposite sides of the street. Each group moved back as I walked down the middle of the road. My barn has closed so even riding my horse is now off the exercise schedule. Tomorrow I will clear the path to my back door, and check whether my bicycle is ready for the spring. I did get rid of something today - a package of peanuts I had purchased to make a strange rice and peanut dish I found in a WWII era cookbook. I drew the line at the cornflake topping, but tomorrow I will decorate it with slices of hard-boiled egg and serve it with cheese sauce. I love cooki

I put in a 14 hour day at the office today. I continue to have a fantastic and dedicated team, an a lot more people are settled at home thanks to their efforts. I got the good news today that despite tightening quarantine efforts at the barn, I will be able to ride once a week, and it appears my coach will be allowed to teach after all. I am now looking forward to a weekend of self isolation, with no-one but the cats to keep me company while I craft and catch up on my language lessons.

I meant to post last night but did a session of Yoga with Adriene and then fell right to sleep. Getting enough rest when you work at home can be surprisingly difficult. So is exercising, eating right and drinking enough liquids. Aside from yoga and going to bed a little earlier yesterday, I bought groceries with a plan for several healthy meals in mind. I also drank a lot of water after allowing myself to get seriously dehydrated during the day. I took a bit of time in the evening for a Zoom conversation and social distance crafting with friends. And in a half hour, I will be joining a Debbie Allen Instagram dance class. I loved Debbie Allen and the TV show Fame back in the day. I am impressed at the work she does with the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (I watched some of her students dance for Michelle Obama at a Black History Month event. And now I follow her on Instagram.

Today was a very long day, not quite the first in a series of very long days that could stretch to weeks.  One of my colleagues like to remind us that our work is a marathon, not a sprint. We generally work at a high tempo, and there is always more that we could do if there were more hours in the day. Learning to prioritize, and to share tasks, is critical for the survival of our mental health. Keeping active and engaged outside the office is critical too, but it is proving to be particularly difficult when trying to work from home. To that end, I had to force myself out of the kitchen (I love to use my laptop at the eating nook) because I was snacking too much. I popped into the office for a bit, but got rides instead of walking because it was icy in the morning and raining in the afternoon. I also took a few moments to admire the fresh snow from my front door this morning, and admire garden pictures friends further to the south shared on Facebook. I didn’t follow all the instructio

In this anxiety-inducing time of COVID-19, I am discovering the joys of being on-line. My team worked from home today, with the exception of two people. I am hoping we will all be able to work from home shortly. There is almost nothing we need to come into the office for, except meetings with people who aren’t as ready for working remotely. Outside of work, a group of people I know through Facebook is busily organizing a dizzying variety of on-line classes about medieval things. Someone else has started a class/group on making an Elizabethan ruff. I have always wanted one as a way to show off my handmade lace (that I never seem to have time to make anymore but will just overlook that part, shall we?). And tonight someone organized a Google hangout where a bunch of us got together virtually to work on craft projects and chat. It was a lovely way to blow off a little pent-up steam and feel less isolated. I’ll probably never finish a ruff that looks anything like this one from an exhibi

It was the last day of swim practice for at lease three weeks. Right after swim practice, I went for my riding lesson. I have always avoided doing both on the same day because it’s a lot of hard work. Because it was my last chance to swim, I decided to see whether I could manage. I did! My legs started to cramp up at one point but I was able to work through it. Doing both on the same day is unlikely to be a regular thing for me, but I now feel confident that I could swim and then just have a fun ride.

I went to my second-last swim practice for a while. There was more social distancing than usual as we didn’t all crowd into the showers afterwards - opting instead to wait our turn while talking about measures being taken in our workplaces. That’s when you realize just how complicated running an economy can be. One colleague works in government procurement so her office is scrambling to acquire everything from medical equipment to additional secure bandwidth so employees across the country can work from home. Friends from the barn where Fancy lives have posted that there are lots more walkers on the streets and hiking trails. It appears that families are looking for things to do that allow social distancing while getting some exercise, especially for the kids. The introvert on the hiking trails found it a little crowded for her comfort, but the extrovert said the neighbourhood felt much friendlier than usual as everyone passed greetings as they walked. Local media are even starting t

The WHO has declared a pandemic. This has led to pandemonium as people buy up everything in sight. I had gotten enough essential supplies for a couple of weeks a while ago, but my daughter decided to go shopping today. She said the line-up for the cash register reached almost to the back of the store. I have heard stories of people fighting over toilet paper (when each already had huge packages of the stuff in their shopping carts). I went late tonight to pick up a couple of thingss we had overlooked and was quite shocked at how picked bare much of the store was. We all need to take a collective deep breath, make sure we have our contingency plans in place, and be prepared for a little rock and roll for the next few weeks. It will definitely be tougher for some than others. My team is in good shape because we are knowledge workers and have already gotten ourselves equipped with laptops and video-conferencing software. We have all tried working from home at least a few times. But the

I’m not a big fan of springing forward, but it does make walking home much easier if there is still daylight when I leave the office. That’s what I did today. It was beautiful, if a bit chilly. I felt like I was being dive-bombed by one of the returning Canada Geese as it flew just overhead (but too fast for me to grab a picture). This morning, I had spotted a flock of Goldeneye ducks. As well, I must remember that stopping along the way to do errands is a great way to get me to walk instead of taking the bus. Tonight it was the pharmacy for prescription refills - I am not going to be a COVID-19 panicker, but I am going to be prepared. A Goldeneye duck from the website  gilligalloubird , which identifies them as ice out birds, and even has a post about them on the Ottawa River on March 10 a few years ago. Mine were on the Rideau River, about 200m above the falls where the Rideau joins the Ottawa, and it was March 12.

I am privileged enough that I was able to work from home today. The sniffles seem to be getting better but they did not need to be shared. I ended up being remarkably productive, considering that I had originally planned to take a sick day. I got to observe some of the professionals handling the complexities of COVID-19 responses for my workplace (we have families posted around the world, plus locally-engaged staff, and staff from all over traveling extensively on business to Canada and abroad - a hundred or so were at a major trade show where they may have been in contact with someone who has subsequently tested positive). I was impressed - there are so many complex issues to sort out. My guilt comes from not doing much else except work. Tomorrow I really must get up early to clean the kitchen, scoop the cat litter, water plants, and maybe even clean off some of the surfaces like doorknobs that are places for disease to hide. And I really need to walk to work - today’s time working

I have a bit of a cold. It’s annoying. I wasn’t even sure it was a cold until I got feeling a little woozy at work this morning. Allergies don’t do that to me, so it’s a cold. What to do in a time of COVID-19 panic? I washed my hands - a lot. I worked really hard to avoid touching my face (and failed more often than I care to admit). I tried to avoid being too close to anyone else at work. I got my daughter to take me home at the earliest opportunity, and slept for the rest of the afternoon. Unfortunately, I need to go to work again tomorrow because I have meetings I must attend (phone-in options are not available for all of them) and I didn’t think to bring my laptop. I have partial connectivity with my iPad, but no access to most of the filed documents. Still, I will look at my calendar again and see whether I can do more from home. I will also avoid visiting my parents for a bit longer. I haven’t been able to get out for a visit for ages because I was just too busy. As much as

I have had varicose veins since I was a teenager. Since I was in my late 20s I have had them treated on a reasonably regular basis. It is rarely fun, and I can never decide whether it is truly necessary or just vanity. This time around, it is definitely medical. I had injections today followed by wrapping my leg in a bandage that cannot come off until Saturday. I did have a good excuse for a bit of walking today, and although I didn’t do all the walking recomended, I am claiming my ballet class as being equivalent. But now my leg is already starting to get itchy and there isn’t much I can do about it. Oh, and showers and hair washing will be a challenge all week. Not my leg, but mine looks very similar.

This winter felt unreasonably long and hard.after breaking my arm last summer, I only got to ride my bicycle to work a few times before it got really cold. Normally, I would have ridden for at least another month; some years, I can ride right up until Christmas. Usually by now I am plotting to get the bike out of my basement by we were still getting heavy snow just a week ago. But today was perfect. I went for my riding lesson and Fancy has started to shed her winter coat. We had a good lesson and I managed to get into the saddle with no-one holding Fancy’s head. She had developed a bad habit of walking away from the mounting block and since my fall last year I have been very nervous. My coach taught me a trick that worked so I’m a happy camper. The weather was warm enough that she got to be naked, which obviously made her happy as she immediately went for a big roll in the snow. This picture is from just last week. What a difference seven days can make.

Today I went out of town to see friends in my medieval group, and to honour one of them for his skills. I had made Canadian bacon (because he likes bacon) plus little buns, and served them up with homemade mustard as little sliders. I showed off some of my recent experiments (a piece of string I made after growing flax plants in my garden, then processing them so I could spin them, plus bone skates and skating poles). I served as a court herald for a bit, and a lady-in-waiting for most of the afternoon. I talked to a few new people, and some old friends, and got to know several people better. I had a lovely drive there and back, and a nice dinner along the way. Here I am with my friend Brand, described today as an enthusiastic muppet - not a bad way to be in life, at all.

Today’s big news for me was word that CBC Sports has committed to gender-balanced coverage across all platforms. CBC does better than most, and even they admit that the coverage is appallingly low. It sounded like great news until I tried to find the story again this evening. Luckily, I had saved the link because the original was no longer easily found on the CBC website.  CBC Sports gender-balanced coverage commitment . Representation really does matter. Here are a few of the athletes who have inspired me over the years: Kornelia Ender, the East German swimmer who rocked the 1976 Olympics and got me dreaming of being an Olympic backstroker, even though I had never swum competitively. It doesn’t matter that she was caught up in the steroid scandals of the time. She was still an amazing athlete. Victoria Tennant, who I saw dance when I was about 10. I thought ballet was magical and would have done anything to become a dancer. This picture was taken when she was about 43 years ol

You're in a cage, sweetie, and you know what your cage is? Other people's eyes." This quote popped up on another social media site today. Apparently it was said by Edina, one of the characters on the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous. It is brilliant. How much do I allow the opinions of others (Orr my fears about what they will think) limit me? Fear of looking like an idiot, or even just standing out in a crowd, can be horribly constraining. Get out there and be ridiculous, people. Embrace your inner nerd. Sing show tunes as you walk to work, or take up tap dancing, or learn to lift weights or do whatever appeals and gets you active and/or stimulates your brain. Be fabulous, because you are fabulous.

Niksen is the Dutch word for doing nothing. It is found in  This  article, which I came across in some messages today. It talks about the restorative powers of just sitting back, staring out the window, and relaxing. It’s not the first time I have read about the benefits of doing nothing. Others have written about the the links between boredom and  Creativity . Now, having posted this, I may do a bit of yoga. Or I may just go to bed, like Mambo.

Today was another frustrating day on the project that never seems to end. I started checking emails at 6 am and left the office at about 7:45, then came home and worked a bit more. I still have a document to review for a meeting tomorrow morning, but my first meeting starts at 7 am so I absolutely must get it done tonight. I did take a little time for me and made up coleslaw plus started brining some pork for Canadian bacon needed for this weekend. I still need to make buns, possibly more mustard, and cupcakes for my Humane Society fundraiser. I went looking for some inspiration by Googling “inspiration for when you’re tired”. Most of those inspiring quotes assume it is about fitness or something. They encourage people to push through no matter what. I know there are times when this kind of push might be good, but generally, I find it unhelpful. The quotes assume that people are lazy, are physically able to do more, can tell the difference between manageable discomfort and injury, ar

One of the ministers at my church often prepares reflections or us at the time of major holidays. This year, in the lead-up to Easter, she is thinking about poetry because for her “poetry is at the heart of so many sacred writings and text of the major world religions, with its metaphors and rich imagery, inviting us to reflect and to respond”. This poem struck me as a very good tool for reflection here. I hope I will remember to return to it an consider it again in future. At the End of the Day: A Mirror of Questions By John O’Donohue What dreams did I create last night? Where did my eyes linger today? Where was I blind? Where was I hurt without anyone noticing? What did I learn today? What did I read? What new thoughts visited me? What differences did I notice in those closest to me? Whom did I neglect? Where did I neglect myself? What did I do today for the poor and the excluded? Did I remember the dead today? Where could I have exposed myself to the risk of something differe

The weekend flew by and left me reflecting about the privilege of time. I managed a little nap on Saturday, but still got to swim practice, dinner with friends, and most of my grocery shopping done (because someone needed to keep the stores open until at least 10 pm for my convenience). Today I had time for a visitor after church, a riding lesson, and baking cupcakes as well as a casserole for lunches next week. I even did a load of laundry, though I still have stuff to fold. But all those people who work two or three jobs? The single parents? Those with no retirement plan? I don’t know how they manage. My lack of time is partly by choice. I could hire a snow removal service, a house cleaning service, even a laundry service. I could chose to eat out more often, order food in, or use more pre-packaged foods. As much as I enjoy doing most things the slow way (because it also tends to be the more environmentally friendly way) I am starting to feel the need to make more time to focus