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OK....Now I'm making gnomes. This was my first. I have enough stuff to make 50 of these things. But yesterday Ron and I delivered this one to the porch of a friend whose company I miss very much! I'm going to make some boy gnomes next dressed up for Christmas. I'm doing anything to keep myself busy and away from the tv and news which is too depressing to follow. I'm trying not to lose complete faith in this country and its people but it is getting harder every day.
This morning Mike called and said he fell again. I don't think he was hurt other than a skinned hand. His psychiatrist has already decreased his meds to try to counteract side effects. I think today's fall was just an accident. He may have tripped or was tired after taking a walk. Our weather is so humid right now and hot that may have played a part as well. When his meds are reduced he gets a little more agitated and increased anxiety but its a trade off for a decrease in physical side effects. Such a balancing act.
We haven't gotten the results of his recent CT scan so guess we will talk about all of this when we meet with the doctor to discuss the scan.
Well even the doctor is getting fat from the isolation. The vet said Ellie needs to lose a pound so despite her obvious displeasure she is no longer getting treats. She's lost 1/2 pound so far so we are on the right track. Wish I could say the same for myself. I keep losing and gaining the same 5 pounds over and over. It all depends on my mental mood at the time. I am definitely an emotional eater and I've found a lot to get emotional about lately.
As all the craziness continues I had to find something to pass the time. So I started painting rocks again. I've been dropping them around town as a subtle reminder to all the idiots out there!
I had run out of rocks so Ron picked up a few from a parking lot. I have 3 baskets full of painted rocks. I need to spread them around I guess.
Our city council meeting was live on Facebook last night and the vote to make mask wearing mandatory passed 8 to 1. It was an interesting meeting. We listened to all the public comments and I was sickened by the level of sheer stupidity. So much crap about "you can't make me wear a mask" and conspiracy theory garbage I told Ron I'm ready to go find an island to live on.
The only no vote was explained as a philosophical opposition. He was in favor of wearing masks but didn't know how it would be enforced. Frankly I don't know either. People are ready to shoot each other over the least thing right now and I just know some Oklahoma yahoo is going to threaten someone who asks him to put on a mask before entering a business. You know it's coming!
It's just an absolute shame that it is necessary to mandate doing what is responsible and ethical. I read an article that said it may be necessary to wear masks for another 4 years. Realizing that many many people will not get the vaccine if and when it does become available! So guess we just better get used to the idea!
The mandate is for everyone over the age of six.
Sometime this week our city council will be voting on a mandatory mask requirement. I'm waging no bets on how that will turn out. Interesting enough even if they pass such a requirement in will not apply to schools.
Last night Ron and I listened to an online town hall meeting with one of our state representatives. Basically what we learned is that there is no final plan on returning to school. I understand that this is a very fluid situation that is ever changing but if you are pretty certain school will be open there are just some common sense things you would or should have in place and ready to go. I think this biggest deterrent is there is no money. A public school system already gutted financially from years and years of cuts is certainly not prepared to cover the cost of a pandemic.
Wow, twenty-five years ago when I encouraged my daughters to seek degrees in education I never thought it would be a high risk profession. But from school shootings to pandemics I've changed my mind. It was bad enough to think they would be expected to shield students with their own bodies during a shooting. Now they have to fight an invisible enemy. There are no virus drills for this threat. Children won't be hiding under desks or in bathrooms to protect themselves from this boogie man. Teachers can't just lock doors to keep this threat at bay. And I can assure you that whatever defense they implement it will come out of their own pocket.
And I promise you....if a child becomes infected who do you think will be blamed? Yep...now this I will bet on!
Happy 4th of July! Although it is really hard to find something to celebrate about in the midst of a pandemic. Of course our commander in chief doesn't seem to have any difficulty in that department. He's just gathering a few thousand of the closest enablers and throwing himself a party!
Enough of that..............I can't even stand hearing from my own head anymore. I've read too much and think too much.
I've been concentrating my thoughts on what to do to help my daughters prepare for the upcoming school year. I'm preparing a list of purchases they will need such as hand sanitizer in bulk, disinfecting spray, clorox wipes, individual clear plastic boxes for each student to store their personal supplies (no sharing of supplies). Disposable masks for those parents who show up unmasked and disposable gloves. The list keeps growing. So far I'm up to about $1000. They are each given $200 to spend on supplies. Of course most of the stuff will have to be purchased several times as supplies run out. Oh in addition each of them need no touch thermometers. They run about $69.00 each.
None of the above will be supplied by the school system.
Every year I usually spend $500 on each classroom. It's the best way I know to help out. I know how much they spend out of pocket each year so I just want to help a little. Ron and I both volunteered every Thursday last year to help stuff take home folders and anything else they needed but this year we won't be able to do that. So I guess $ is about the only thing I can contribute at this point.
Again I ask the question...Why would anyone want to become a teacher today?
This morning I read that 318 child care centers in Texas have had over 400 positive cases of COVID19 with over almost 300 of those in children. These were while they were following recommended guidelines of screening temps. and controlling access by visitors while following strict sanitation protocols. Hearing that just confirms my feelings about resuming school in the Fall. I shared the information from Texas on my Facebook feed and immediately received a reply from a former worker stating she had just seen a video from a physician in Okla. City who says that no one under 17 can be infected by the virus because they don't have the necessary "receptors". She said he is an "expert" on the subject.
So........1 doctor in Okla. City knows more than all the infectious disease specialists world wide! In order to believe this 1 doctor either the Dallas Morning Sun is lying or the 318 child care centers are lying or the Texas State Health Department is lying and lets just throw in Dr. Fauci and every other front line medical provider here and around the world. They all are conspiring to hyperbole a pandemic. OH DEAR GOD....you can't get 4 people to agree on where to eat but you can get THAT kind of cooperation from millions of people?????
Question anyone who claims to know everything! Even the President!
Our local school system surveyed teachers several times asking for their input on how school should be resumed in the Fall. What kinds of precautions they would like to see in place and input on online teaching etc. They must have sent them 3 or 4 different surveys. At the same time they surveyed parents. Well after much deliberation teachers were informed today on how school will resume in the Fall. School will resume without any precautions or changes what-so-ever. No social distancing, no reduction in number of students, no masks, no limiting of visitors, no additional cleaning or sanitizing, absolutely nothing! I am totally disgusted! Basically it's teach at your own risk!!!!
Should I be surprised? I guess not! We've been warned, we have been told what to do to suppress the spread but because we have no leadership and a loon steering the boat, it is now a political statement to ignore any recommendations by experts. The number of people being infected every day is predicted to reach 100,000 new cases per day.
November can't get here soon enough!
