Bright Spots

Shelter-In-Place: Week 2

2020-03-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

Let's do something interactive this week, want to?

K, here we go!

Otherwise Grim Situation:
(Here's where you fill in the blank. You don't even have to raise your hand, just shout it right out if you know. And you do. I know you do...)

Bright Spot:
I had been drinking a lot less to start the new year. Like I was really hardly drinking at all. And now I'm drinking a lot more. How is this a bright spot, you ask. Well, kicking back with a cocktail, a pint, a glass of wine, or a few of each makes me feel like I'm catching up with old friends. And since I can't hang out with any real, live humans, friends are hard to come by these days.

Otherwise Grim Situation:
(Your turn again.)

Bright Spot:
Thanks to technology and online everything, I am 13% fluent in Swedish and gaining proficiency every day. I must believe this will come in handy...

Otherwise Grim Situation:
(Last one! Make it count!)

Bright Spot:
Out of necessity, our parents are learning technology. There are really few things funnier. This morning I got a text from my dad: "I'm trying to Zoom you...". After connecting, I watched as my mom stared down at her i-pad like she was peering into the darkened toe of a problematic shoe in search of an offending pebble, all the while hollering, "Mine doesn't say that! I don't have that button!"as if only some i-pad designs (the ones she doesn't have) come with volume control. Quite possibly the highlight of my weekend.

Hang in there, all. Spring is here and Easter's on its way! There aren't many more hopeful seasons, and certainly no holiday is more hopeful. Seems to mean a bit more this year, eh? If you care to comment on how you plan to celebrate below, I'd love to know with enough time to plan on copying you!

Be well and be blessed by the Bright Spots in your own lives,
Anita

St Paddy's Day Cake

2020-03-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate cake recipe pretty sure I halved it for these three 6-inch layers) with chocolate buttercream and crushed Thin Mints for the filling.

"Hand-picked" sprinkle blend at the bottom: that means that I picked orange, green and white sprinkles out of other multi-colored mixes. Yeah. I did that. When I have a vision, there's just no stopping me.

From the top; I placed a shamrock cookie cutter on top of the dark chocolate drip and used a spoon to fill it in with green sugar. The cookies are Girl Scout Thin Mints and the swirls are vanilla buttercream tinted orange and green and left white. I put each color in its own bag then put them all in one bag to get the multi-colored swirls.

Shelter-In-Place SF: Week 1

2020-03-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Sooooo...what's on your mind these days?!

I've been wanting to start a blog for awhile and, given that I've recently uncovered A LOT of hours at home with my computer, it seems like the perfect time.

My idea is to take notice of little things that make an otherwise grim situation seem, maybe, not so bad, and share them with you. Hence, "bright spots."

Well then, for heaven's sake, let's get started, shall we?!

Otherwise Grim Situation:
COVID-19. You've heard of this, right? Yeah.
We're doing "shelter in place" here in San Francisco; it started Tuesday, March 17 and they're saying it will end in three weeks on April 7 "or until it is extended." Good times.

Bright Spot:
My 5-year-old and I took some laundry next door to the wash-and-fold and Lisa, the proprietor, was working on an alteration. This means that, though he is almost certainly working from home in pajamas at the moment, some optimistic man out there is planning on wearing pants again--presumably in public AND to be seen at a distance closer than 6 feet because he wants them to fit properly.

Otherwise Grim Situation:
Shelter-in-place due to COVID-19.

Bright Spot:
There were some nice occasions this week that provided thematic entertainment, even at home. St. Patrick's Day was Tuesday, so we made a cake with green and orange sprinkles and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies we had in the freezer. We continued to eat it on Wednesday, my birthday. That was fun; forty-six looks to be quite a year... . Thursday was the first official day of spring, so we put out some rabbit decorations. Friday was trash day. That was cool.

Otherwise Grim Situation:
Lots of places closed and off-limits due to COVID-19.

Bright Spot:
We can still go to Walgreens. The Walgreens 4.5 blocks away sells the Stinky Pig game. This game makes my indescribably sweet, very well-mannered 5-year-old daughter giggle until she is breathless. It is a squishable, plastic pig that hums "Pop-goes-the-weasel" while you pass it back and forth until it farts on one of the players. This player, usually me, is then the loser. Ah, how like life! We made a special trip to buy this game. It cost $10 which is actually a sizable portion of my retirement investment funds which continue to dwindle in the current crisis.

And thus concludes this week's list of bright spots. You're welcome!

I hope this has made you feel better about the way things are going at present!

But, seriously, as annoying people keep saying, we really are all in this together. And when I say "all," I don't just mean California, or even the U.S. I really do mean ALL of us ALL over the world. For example, an Icelandic cat I follow on Instagram is in the thick of things posting photos with mask-wearing handlers and admonishing "hoomans" to wash their hands.

So, should you need a sympathetic shoulder to cry on, it won't be more than 6 feet away!

Til next time,
Anita