It feels as if everyone is impatient these days to get the vaccine, and it seems like such a fraught topic. So many of the eligibility requirements are deeply personal so even as I am curious as to how people my age are getting their shots, I feel like it would be intrusive to ask. I’m trying to remind myself that I will get my shot soon – our governor’s goal is to open eligibility for everyone over 16 by the end of April – and that I just need to practice safe habits til then. Having the prospects of getting my shot in sight has given me a little sense of momentum, but I feel like our state has been slower than many other states and that makes me restless. Restless momentum. Seems appropriate.
Whenever I try to look into it, it appears like the pathways to a vaccine appointment are varied and scattered. There are so many options and websites to check. I am amazed and grateful for the people who have the time and know how to help others find the vaccine and who are working so that those without internet or other such resources can get their appointments. This grassroots type of vaccine hunting is really inspiring. I suppose there is no easy way to vaccinate hundreds of billions of people and everyone is doing their best.
More sign of spring:
The birdsongs are incessant these days. It reminds me of the days when I was in college, staying up all night to finish that paper that had been put off too long and was due imminently. I usually got into such a deep sense of flow writing that I wouldn’t realize that I had pulled an all-nighter until I heard the first bird calls of the morning. And the whistle of the Dinky train.
There is something about hearing birds that will always be associated with mornings to me. Although I do love how birdsongs change throughout the day.
Rainy days. There was one very very rainy day. It was the nine year old’s half day and by mid afternoon, I had had it and forced everyone outside for a little walk. The little walk turned into an hour in the light rain. I hadn’t expected to be out that long, so I didn’t bring the stroller for the baby. Before I knew it, we were at the local park, much farther than I thought she would walk. She did need to be carried the last half block home. In the long run, though, her stamina and determination to go onward on her own two feet does make for the whole process of the daily walk to be a lot more impulsive now that I don’t feel the need to drag the stroller out too.
Sunny days. Seventy degree summer weather on the heels of the rainy day. We continued to explore parks while the nine year old is in school. This one was particularly interesting because the land used to belong to one of the prominent families in the County and the original houses still stood nearby, though they are still privately occupied. In addition to the playground, there were some large boulders which the kids enjoyed climbing.
The baby turned eighteen months this week. We had a little cake to celebrate. She had a check up and a shot, this latter made her cranky and tired all day. There is still some concern about her language development, so I might have to be a little more aggressive about starting services for her than I would prefer.
In drawing class, we continued working with colored pencils:
We were to draw a still life, and I chose to set up some of the kids’ toys. The classic Fisher Price phone was the first object I chose, and then I went through the playroom looking for other toys with faces that I could gather. I feel like finding the right colour match is still difficult for me, but I’m realizing that colour is relative. So even if the blue of the police car doesn’t completely match the real thing, it just needs to be the right color relation to the rooster, say.
The slice of life I want to remember:
The four year old is very good at entertaining himself. He will play with his cars and trucks endlessly on his own. He has also always loved books and spends large chunks of time just looking at books. I love watching him as he flips through books, taking in all the illustrations and repeating the words from memory. In those moments, I envy the life in his man bubble. Also – he’s been obsessively wearing that Doc McStuffins coat.
What We Ate:
Saturday: Can’t remember. I do remember it wasn’t as simple as I usually do.
Sunday: Leftover Pav bhaji, with a mango salad on the side.
Monday: Lentils with Roasted Broccoli and Goat Cheese from Dinner Illustrated. On Saturday, we were running some errands in a certain part of town so we stopped at the fancy grocery store -kind of a local Whole Foods. It had been so long since I had been to a grocery store, that I went a little crazy and stocked up on all manner of grains, beans, and legumes. Also – they seemed to have the entire Bob’s Red Mill catalogue in stock… and I might have gone a little overboard. If I could only shop one brand for the rest of my life, it might just be Bob’s Red Mill. Anyhow, one of the things I picked up were French Lentils (Puy lentils) – I had long heard about these as being a really sturdy lentil, but never had the opportunity to try them. I made a recipe from Dinner Illustrated, and I think they are now my favorite lentils – they don’t get mushy and taste somehow fresher than brown lentils. Definitely going to try to find more ways to use them.
Tuesday: Salmon and ginger green beans.
Wednesday: Asparagus “Risotto” from Milk Street’s Cook-ish. The Risotto is in quotation marks because this recipe actually uses Israeli couscous – another purchase on my exuberant grain shopping spree. Cook-ish is the latest in my obsession with Milk Street cook books. The recipes are supposedly very simple with not a whole lot of ingredients.
Thursday: Ordered Foodhini. Foodhini is a company that delivers food prepared by immigrants. They currently have chefs from Laos, Afghanistan, The Ivory Coast, and Eritrea. It was our first time ordering, so we tried something from every country. It was all really delicious.
Friday: Pizza and Toy Story (the first one). Watching the featurette on Toy Story, I am reminded about how utterly groundbreaking this film was. They showed clips of the animators working, and I think it’s the first time I fully grasped the fact that a lot of the animation was done by manipulating numbers.