A Harsh Storm

It has been raining hard for the past few days. Last night there was a harsh storm. I woke up to a weird sound outside — like a loud, pulsing, buzzing sound. It pulsed three times, the power went out for a couple of minutes, then it came back on.

When I woke this morning there was no internet, but we had electricity. I warmed my coffee in the microwave (Steven had made it earlier) and put bread in the toaster; then the power went out. No toasted bread, so I settled for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was so overcast the sun couldn’t shine through, so our house was very dark.

We’re expecting MORE rain, and I can’t sew masks, get on the internet, do laundry, or cook; I can’t organize my craft room because it is too dark, no working in the sheds because of the rain, no online meetings… BUT I have shelves and shelves of unread books. HUZZAH!! It’s going to be a GOOD DAY!!

The blog, the baby, and the charging cord.

My blog post is late because my computer does not work without the charging cord. My husband and I had an opportunity this past weekend to see our granddaughter, Jubilee. It had been ten weeks since I’d seen her and more than that for my husband. We packed, and then we were off! Yay, on our way to see Jubilee (and Genette and Abe too, but you know how it is when you have a grandchild).

When we arrived at their home we unpacked the car and got settled in, then spent time with Jubilee, Genette and Abe. I brought my computer along with me so I could get some work done while our sweet little one was sleeping. I knew I had a blog to write so that would be the first thing to do. Jubilee went to sleep and I grabbed my computer. I opened it up and the popup said I was low on power. No problem, I’ll just grab my charging cord and plug it in.

(Warning: Run-On-Grammatically-Incorrect-Sentence Ahead!) I pulled out everything I had in the ‘cord pocket’ of my computer bag and it wasn’t there — I must have put it in the same section as my computer — nope, not there; in with my notebooks maybe? Not there; back to the cord pocket: nope, computer section: still no, notebooks… Really Lona? You already checked that too…hmmm, suitcase: not there… pause with hands on hips and think… must be in the bag with your tatting, journal, and book… nope, but I found a hair tie! Food bag…that was empty… where is that thing?!

Then the baby whimpers, the computer goes back in the bag and this Grandmother plays with her Grandbaby.

So ends the search for the computer charging cord. Steven and I got home a couple of days later and guess what? The cord was still plugged into the wall near my desk. So, the blog post is late because I left the charging cord at home…

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Besides, seriously, who could resist this little one?

Seeking Space

Life is so different right now, and frankly, I believe it will be different from now on. Steven, my husband, is now working from home because of COVID-19. We are usually fine being together in the house, but there is a dilemma.

Our current problem is finding a new space at home for me to work. I am extremely creative, and I own and operate my own business. I have different spaces in our house that I do various aspects of my work; sewing and building in one room, office in another. Those spaces are separate from our living spaces to limit work and living from bleeding into one another.

Now that Steven is home, he has to plug directly into the internet cable to do his job, so I had to surrender my office space to him. We tried working in the same room, but that did not last because both of our jobs require that we talk on the phone. Even though we have headsets, our clients could still hear both conversations. I ended up moving my desk and computer to the living room within the first 2 hours of him working from home. It was a good solution because we believed it would only be for a few weeks.

This is now a few weeks later, and we are all still “safe at home.” Not only that, but Steven’s company is quite pleased with the results of having their employees working from home, so let’s just say I won’t be getting my office space back even after the world opens up again.

Steven and I agree it has become a bit too much having my office space in the living room, especially since I am having to record myself on video using backdrops, puppets, and props. In addition to the usual paperwork and email communication I do daily, there are books for research and other miscellaneous items I need to do my job. Therefore our living room is becoming smaller and smaller and is far from being a good space to relax. I am reassessing our home space and deciding where to relocate my office. I have a sewing and project room here in the house (necessary for my work as well); I continually look at that space, wondering how to consolidate what is in there to add a desk and backdrops into the area. Frankly, I have no idea how it will fit.

I only know that I need to make my living room a place where Steven and I can both leave work and relax. This is a considerable challenge.

What challenges are you facing with the forced changes in your life?

Mother’s Day 2020

It was different this year. Originally, the day was to be different because this would be the first time I would celebrate in Virginia with my daughter Genette and her daughter Jubilee. I was thrilled!! I am Grandmommie!! Jubilee was to be dedicated in church on Mother’s Day, but this virus thing called Covid-19 kept us all in our own homes. Mother’s Day was different but certainly not what was planned or expected. Genette, Jubilee, and I all visited on Facetime on Saturday. It was a sweet visit; my granddaughter is getting so big so fast! It is hard to watch that happen on a screen, because I want to be there. Still, she is happy, strong, and healthy.

My youngest daughter Carmen called, and we had a long conversation on the phone, just the two of us. She is here in the city of Charlotte, but she is staying 6ft away. We decided on the phone that she could come over one day and we’ll have coffee in the front yard. We can certainly see each other even though we are at a distance.

Steven and I zoomed with the whole family, so we got to see all of our children, along with my sister’s family. It is good to be connected, although we are all in different states (and some on different coasts).  It was during the zoom meeting that I also got to see my son Bryon and his wife Amber.

Being a mom does not stop when your children grow up. It is still necessary to make decisions to protect them and your grandchildren. Usually, we connect helping with ‘going,’ but this year, helping is related to ‘staying away.’ Next year we will undoubtedly have some stories to tell about this time of our lives. For now, we have to live it.

To all of my children, bonus kids, and granddaughter: I love you all so very much. I miss you. I look forward to being near you. Give one another hugs for me. See you soon… probably on a screen.

Sincerely and with all my love,

Mom

The Saga Continues

Radio-announcer voice: “This week we find Lona learning even more technology. She sits with a new computer on her lap, doing her best to become comfortable with this latest machine…”

Yep, I had to get a new computer. One of the hinges on my laptop broke, so I took it to the repair shop and they told me that I would be better off getting a new one because the repair would be expensive. As we all know, new technology becomes old technology within days, and mine is (more than) a couple of years old, so it was not worth it.

I decided to nurse it along and use it only as a “desktop” by keeping it open to irritate the hinge less. That worked for several weeks, but then the frame around the screen started to crack, then it REALLY cracked, and finally broke altogether. It is still technically “working,” but with the worldwide pandemic and everything going online, I was concerned that it would completely shut down (without any notice) while I was in the middle of performing an online concert. I am now working to shift over files and organize and delete unneeded folders as I do.

Once I got the new computer and loaded Zoom, I contacted a friend and asked if he would meet with me to work on audio and visuals so I could set the levels correctly. The moment I started to talk, he said, “You sound and look 100% better than you did with your old computer.” That is good.

Between computer and sewing machine issues, it was an expensive week, but it will all be ok. A couple of libraries where I was booked for summer reading contacted me (the events had been canceled) and asked if I would be interested in doing my show virtually for them. I told them, “I sure would be!” After all, I have a new computer, and I sound and look 100% better!

Radio-announcer voice: “Tune in next week when we find Lona wondering where that radio voice is coming from.”