Good for the Soul

April 1, 2020 By Carole

Music is very important to Dale and I, as you probably know. He’s a singer in a band, of course. And we listen to music a lot in our home. Our tastes aren’t always the same but luckily I’m the only one who knows how to operate Spotify and our Sonos speakers. Ha!

Seriously, though, we listen to a lot of classic rock, folk, and oldies. Last Friday when we were on the deck I had a playlist on shuffle and the song The Weight by The Band came on. We were trying to figure out one of the lines and I looked up the lyrics and then we were talking about how much we both really love the song and the meaning behind it . . . that idea of taking the weight off of someone else and carrying it for them when you are able.

Dale did some extra googling on his own the next morning and he stumbled across a YouTube video of this song recorded by Playing for Change. It was done last September in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the song. It’s gorgeous and uplifting and I love it. I hope it brings you some comfort and solace right now the way it has for us.

Weekending

March 30, 2020 By Carole

It’s Monday again, friends, and here we are in this new normal. When I think about weekends now I am reminded of Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey asking . . . what is a weekend? Because right now our weekends don’t feel all that different from our week days. We did manage to do some things, though.

On Friday we set up our deck furniture. Never have we ever set it up in March but it was warm and I got inspired. And honestly, if we’re going to be home together so much, well, a new place to go is not a bad idea. We had Friday Night Snacks out there, which was fun, and it’s been raining ever since, which is not so fun.

On Saturday I visited my favorite local nursery and I got some pansies for our window boxes. They are small right now but they will grow and those cheery little faces do my heart good even if I can’t see them from inside just yet.

We also got take out from one of our regular local places and it was nice to get a break from cooking dinner. In a brilliant move I also ordered buffalo chicken wings to heat up for Sunday night cocktail hour.

On Sunday I fried up some local eggs for breakfast. And we took a drive to the library for me to grab some paperwork I need for working from home. We also drove through Plymouth and I have to say it was sad to see the restaurants and shops all closed. A Sunday afternoon in that town would usually be bustling and we would have stopped somewhere for a drink and an appetizer before heading home. There has been so much planned for the 400th celebration of the founding of Plymouth, I can’t imagine what’s even happening with those plans.

And that was my weekend, in summary. How did you do adjusting to life in the time of coronavirus?

Weekending

March 23, 2020 By Carole

Life is weird these days, right? It’s Monday and I’m not at the library. It’s not a holiday, I’m not on vacation and I’m working. At home. It’s funny, I always thought working from home sounded so awesome but now that I have the opportunity it just feels . . . sad. Or maybe it’s juts me that feels sad.

There were bright spots this weekend, though.

Friday Night Snacks on the deck. We weren’t out there for long because literally as soon as we sat down the wind started picking up and it was chilly.

Homemade sourdough bread. And a Zoom session with Sean, Jo-Ann and Kim.

Daily treat deliveries from Sean. We’ve had chocolate tarts and biscotti and brown sugar shortbread and these biscuits arrived early Sunday morning. They were delicious with butter and local honey.

A finished puzzle. This one was a struggle but we persevered and victory was ours Sunday morning.

I’ve been knitting and reading. I am journaling about what these days feel like because I know when this is over (and it will be over some day) I won’t remember all the little details. And I joined the wonderful Zoom knitting group that Mary set up for Sunday afternoon. It did my heart good to see the faces and hear the voices of my dear friends.

Despite all of that good stuff, though, Sunday night I was sad. I miss my kids. I miss Jackie. I miss my friends and coworkers. I miss the routine of daily life as it was. It all backed up on me a bit and I had a good cry and went to bed.

Today I will start fresh. Today I will remember that I’m privileged and have an abundance of things that I’m grateful for. Today I will lean in to my feelings and release them. Today is Monday.

Wednesday Update

March 18, 2020 By Carole

I did something yesterday I never expected to do in my career as a Library Director. I changed the greeting on the library’s phone and it now says the library is closed until further notice.

Woah.

Such simple words but such big impact on a community. I felt like I slammed the door shut on knowledge and freedom. I realize that sounds dramatic but when you believe in the importance of the library as strongly as I have for my entire life then closing that building is a really big deal.

In the meantime, I scheduled a staff meeting on Zoom today where we will discuss scheduling and offering some sort of curbside pick up for library users as well as ways to encourage our users to take advantage of our online resources such as Libby and Hoopla and Tumblebooks. It felt good to actually go to work and make a plan for how to deliver services even when we can’t open our doors to them.

It also felt good to get emails of your comments. I think it might actually be fixed!

What’s good in your world right now? Focusing on that can help us all, of that I’m certain.

Weekending

March 16, 2020 By Carole

Hello, friends. How was your weekend? Mine was pleasant and spent . . . entirely at home.

We had Friday Night Snacks with a bit of an Irish theme.

I wound up some fabulous skeins of Malabrigo Rios for my Nightshift shawl.

We hung out and read books and worked on a puzzle.

And I baked homemade dinner rolls. Because when I’m stressed . . . I bake.

So let’s talk about that stress, shall we? I’m feeling some anxiety right now with relation to COVID-19 and I imagine many of you are, too. I know some people have described our forced isolating as similar to dealing with a snow storm. And I get that. Time at home, staying safe indoors. The difference, and this is huge, is that when it’s a snowstorm you (a) know roughly when it’s going to end and you can get out again and (b) you can hang out with your friends and family if you can safely travel.

The situation we’re in now feels more like waiting in a jury room. Sure, I don’t have to go to work and I can read and knit while I’m there and that’s good. BUT. I don’t know if I’ll be put on a jury. I don’t know how long I’m going to have to wait. And I don’t know when it will be over. That’s how I feel waiting out this pandemic. And uncertainty of this nature raises my anxiety. A lot. So I’m taking care of myself by meditating regularly, sharing my fears with Dale (and anyone else who will listen), and keeping myself grounded in any way I can think of.

And that’s the status of things this Monday.

P.S. Blog emails were working briefly Friday morning but the issue has returned. I’m hoping GoDaddy will have it fixed soon because I really miss emailing you all!