for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[Keksie]

I am not sure where you live but some of things we like to do are to take day drives just to see the scenery here.  We have not been here that long so it is nice to just look around.   Maybe pack a picnic lunch and plan a drive with a stop at a park.  It might not feel so hot if you get away from homes, find a breeze and some shade.  We have been eating at restaurants since they reopened in May and never felt in danger.  I think I heard that AMC theaters were opening but we are not big movie people so I have not kept up with that news.

[Lois R]

More than just AMC theaters....Cinemark and Regal are opening too.

[awhfy]

We stayed home & the balloon festival (that was cancelled) flew over & beside our house this morning. Enjoy a few

[Sailor_Sally]

I think we are all getting tired of the home routine . We usually go to a local park to walk and then stop for something to eat . We are all missing traveling and having a break from household duties . The thing that saves me is being a reader . I have read tons of books since this all started . I do love the movies but nothing really great at them yet .

[Keksie]

Since they started opening things up in May I have gotten back into my regular routine.  Of course it has never been that exciting and we are not bar or movie people anyway.  We have been to the beach, on drives, I have been meeting up with my knitting group, my husband went to a big tractor show, I have been getting my nails done and my dogs have been getting groomed.  The only thing that is different is we don't have any travel plans other than my husband and his tractor shows.  That I really miss because I was always planning a trip or two in advance and researching what to do and what to see.  We always had a cruise or two booked for the future too.

[cruisemom42]

I wouldn't feel comfortable going to the movies. Theaters JUST opened here about two weeks ago. But as I said, given that my company doesn't feel it is safe enough to bring people back to work (even socially distanced), I don't really feel it is safe to go to the movies and sit in an enclosed room with more than a hundred other people for several hours... 

 

Also, I'm sure every nearby park is going to be packed this weekend due to the holiday.

 

Maybe, just maybe, we will consider dining out IF we can find somewhere with an outside patio.

 

Sailor_Sally -- I also have read a lot of books and I totally agree that good ones can really "take you away".  Guess I am just tired of the same four walls though, the moment I put down the book. 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Cynthia, good morning (((((((hug))))))))sending you a virtual one this morning.  I can't think of anything really.........

you said something fun without leaving the house?  I was going to say you could go to a movie (theaters have 

opened this weekend)....wear your mask and go escape at the movies. But if you don't want to leave your home

that may not work............

 

 

 

Thanks Lois -- I feel better today. I got a good night's sleep.  I think it was just that moment at the end of a long work week where you have nothing really to look forward to on the weekend.

 

(And P.S. our favorite local bakery in town just went out of business, so not even a sweet treat to be had!   )

[slidergirl]

Sherri - I think I would really like your husband!

 

Cruisemom - sorry that you hit the wall.  We all do, multiple times.  I know you're not the "roadtrp" kind of person, but it would get you out of the house and into the fresh air.   Take a drive that's a 2-3 hour round trip.  Stop to say "hi" to any cows you see (that's my weird thing).  You're in the greater Atlanta area, right?  Do you like boiled peanuts?  Take the drive up to Dalonega.  A friend took me on that drive when I was there once.  Nice drive, and we stopped along the road to buy peanuts from the people boiling and selling roadside.  Or, check out if any place in the vicinity is having "drive in" movies and go!  I'm excited to do that tonight.   I will say that telecommuting takes a certain kind of person.  I telecommuted for my networking company for 10 years.  Just me, my dog, my cat, and my 3 computers.  I'm actually a bit of an introvert, so it wasn't hard for me to adapt.  You have to be able to self-amuse, remember to get out of your work spot to take a break.  I never ate my meals where worked - I'd go down to the kitchen and stay there.  You do what you have to do.  Just keep at it.  

Actually, you need to do a little trip to find a new local bakery!

 

To the Southern California girls:  I just saw that it's going to be another HOT day.  Man, no one is getting a break this year.  Try to stay as cool as you can and hydrate.  

 

Me:  I did take my roadtrip yesterday.  I did the Alpine Loop road through the mountains.  It's the southern "over the mountains" road in the area.  It's in a National Forest, so my Senior Pass got me through without  fee.  I forgot how narrow the road is - if 2 vehicles pass, each has to put the outside tire just off the pavement.  lots of blind turns and some yahoos don't understand that you don't take those turns at 35mph - I had a few close calls.  Not too many places to pull over, but you go slow enough (most people) that you can do a slow look as you drive.  But, the scenery is beautiful and the drive through the trees just smells so good.  It took a little over an hour do to the 19 miles of the scenic drive with an extra 2 hours of other driving to get there and get home.  Since I ended up at the southern end of the SLC Valley, I decided I could to a late lunch.  I went to Shake Shack.  SS is my go-to when I'm doing a connection at JFK or LAX airports.  One showed up in the Valley last year.  I got my order to go: a "Sroom" Burger.  The best mushroom I've had.  It's a portobello stuffed with shredded muenster & cheddar cheese, then dipped in egg and rolled in Panko crumbs, then fried.   Put on a bun with lettuce & tomato.  So crunchy and the cheese oozes when you bite.   First one I've had in 2 years!!  They also have good milkshakes too, if you want to indulge.   

 

OOTD:  I discovered I had another hoodie dress - this one from JJill years ago.  I'm going to wear it today with one of my pairs of tennies when I go to the movies.  Dinner tonight is a grilled cheese sandwich from the caterer at the movies (no outside food allowed).  

[slidergirl]

Brain fog:  I forgot to post the 2 photos I took yesterday on my little drive.

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by slidergirl

[Lois R]

Hi Kat, wow, beautiful photos........thanks for sharing🙂

 

Cynthia, glad you feel better today. 

[cruise kitty]

Hi Ladies, greetings from the furnace that is CA right now :)   

 

Lois, I'm so glad your scan turned out to be mostly clear :)

 

Cynthia, I understand sooo much where you are coming from....  there's nothing quite like working form home all day & then, well being home again....   glad you are feeling better, I think Kat had a great suggestion about just going for a drive somewhere different.  For me, running in the evenings is what keeps me sane, but today & tomorrow will be too hot for that. 

 

Kat, how fun to do the drive in movie!  & the pictures of your mini road trip were beautiful:)

 

Melody, the balloons are gorgeous, how wonderful to have them flying over your house! 

 

I did get to "do" something last friday,   the zoo reopened ( even though we're members we had to have reservations & masks at all times for age 2 & up)  we took our granddaughter, & it was so nice!   It was decent weather, with a good breeze & a very minimum of people....  then it was back to our lockdown lol ;)

 

Sailor Sally,  I totally agree with you, a good book can transport you a way for a while, right now I'm rereading Atwood's The Testaments,  which may or may not be a wise choice in the current climate lol ;)

 

Keksie, my life could not be more different than normal,  here in L.A. county salons just reopened 2 days ago, at 25% capacity, but nothing else indoors, no movies, restaurants, etc.,  we do takeout once or twice a week, although now that I think about it's actually been a while since we did even that.

 

I hope everyone else is doing ok & staying safe & healthy!   I'll share a pic from my zoo day,  OOTD:  Cloth & Stone dress & Johnny Was mask, with my 2 year old granddaughter

 

 

[slidergirl]

5 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

Hi Ladies, greetings from the furnace that is CA right now 🙂   

 

Lois, I'm so glad your scan turned out to be mostly clear 🙂

 

Cynthia, I understand sooo much where you are coming from....  there's nothing quite like working form home all day & then, well being home again....   glad you are feeling better, I think Kat had a great suggestion about just going for a drive somewhere different.  For me, running in the evenings is what keeps me sane, but today & tomorrow will be too hot for that. 

 

Kat, how fun to do the drive in movie!  & the pictures of your mini road trip were beautiful:)

 

Melody, the balloons are gorgeous, how wonderful to have them flying over your house! 

 

I did get to "do" something last friday,   the zoo reopened ( even though we're members we had to have reservations & masks at all times for age 2 & up)  we took our granddaughter, & it was so nice!   It was decent weather, with a good breeze & a very minimum of people....  then it was back to our lockdown lol 😉

 

Sailor Sally,  I totally agree with you, a good book can transport you a way for a while, right now I'm rereading Atwood's The Testaments,  which may or may not be a wise choice in the current climate lol 😉

 

Keksie, my life could not be more different than normal,  here in L.A. county salons just reopened 2 days ago, at 25% capacity, but nothing else indoors, no movies, restaurants, etc.,  we do takeout once or twice a week, although now that I think about it's actually been a while since we did even that.

 

I hope everyone else is doing ok & staying safe & healthy!   I'll share a pic from my zoo day,  OOTD:  Cloth & Stone dress & Johnny Was mask, with my 2 year old granddaughter

 

 

I LOVE the Griffith Park Zoo!   I'm sure all the animals loved having their visitors back.  

 

I just got back from a little walk around the neighborhood.  30 minutes and it got hot real fast.  It is another Red Flag day for us.  I can't imagine the heat all y'all are getting in LA today!  No place to run & hide - too many people at the beaches already, it doesn't get cool up in the mountains.  Sounds like a day to find the best A/C and just hide out!!  

 

 

[cruise kitty]

49 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

I LOVE the Griffith Park Zoo!   I'm sure all the animals loved having their visitors back.  

 

I just got back from a little walk around the neighborhood.  30 minutes and it got hot real fast.  It is another Red Flag day for us.  I can't imagine the heat all y'all are getting in LA today!  No place to run & hide - too many people at the beaches already, it doesn't get cool up in the mountains.  Sounds like a day to find the best A/C and just hide out!!  

 

 

 

Hi Kat,   I think the seals & primates (esp. the Orangutans) were happy to see us :)   yes, we are staying home,  they are forecasting 112 f today, which is insane!   spent the morning covering up our magnolias & japanese maple with light fabric,  going to shade one with an umbrella as well :)  unfortunately there are thunderheads over the mountains, which means lightning, which means fires, hopefully not too bad.

 

Hey, if you follow the LA zoo on instagram, there was a baby condor that hatched a couple weeks ago, they posted the whole process of how they saved the chick (it had some problems with how it was situated in the egg)  just last week, they put it in a fake egg, & planted it in the parents nest, to "pretend" hatch for them, & now they are caring for it on their own :)  

[Lois R]

WOW 112 degrees?  I thought it was hot here.........(and it is humid here too) but not 112!

[cruise kitty]

1 minute ago, Lois R said:

WOW 112 degrees?  I thought it was hot here.........(and it is humid here too) but not 112!

 

I know, it's absolutely crazy... it's 1:45 here right now, and it's 107 already,  our zip code is predicted to get to 110 but I guarantee if I drove down to the blvd it would be at least 5 or 6 degrees hotter  I'm super cooling the house right now, because from 3 to 9 we have a flex alert for power...  which means turn the thermostat up to 78 & turn off everything else to avoid black outs

[Lois R]

Debbie, I had no idea........you have to turn everything off? You mean unplug even what you are not using?

And you have to keep the house at 78?

[Keksie]

Wow I would have to have a serious discussion with my power company if that happened here.  As soon as we get a few other projects done we are getting a whole house generator.  The only time we have been without power was when someone had an accident with a transformer but I want to be prepared in the case of a bad storm.

[PurpleHays]

On 9/3/2020 at 2:52 PM, purduemom1 said:

 

PurpleHays, , that was quite a day you had-just like the good old days! I have no idea what a vinyl cutting machine is. What can you make with it?

 

Sharon

I made iron-ons for the three other women going to the Outer Banks with us next month. A vinyl cutting machine will cut other things, but I am doing vinyl for now. So far, it's mostly shirts and the spice jar labels hubby and I made for the new spice jar rack he made.

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

 

I know, it's absolutely crazy... it's 1:45 here right now, and it's 107 already,  our zip code is predicted to get to 110 but I guarantee if I drove down to the blvd it would be at least 5 or 6 degrees hotter  I'm super cooling the house right now, because from 3 to 9 we have a flex alert for power...  which means turn the thermostat up to 78 & turn off everything else to avoid black outs

I'm so sorry.  That kind of heat in LA is just cruel.  I would fill up the tub with cold water and just live in there!  I hope the winds shift and come in off the ocean for you!  It's not a Santa Ana yet, right?

 

One of our wildfires up in the mts decided to flare up again today.  So, the smell of smoke is back.  It put out a big smoke plume again - we thought it was a new fire.  But the forest service said it was a flare up of a fire that was around since the 26th.   At least we only got up to 80 today.  Going to be around that for the next 5 days.  

 

[purduemom1]

Also checking in  from CA where it is currently only 103 but going to 113 tomorrow. Heard it was 120 in Palm Springs! We are still dealing with awful air quality and smoke warnings. Looking at the beautiful blue sky in Melody’s hot air balloon pics and Kat’s mountain pics was especially nice because it’s likely that soon I will forget just what the sky should look like. Above our area it has been  grayish yellow for weeks. There are now 2 fires burning in the Sierras near two lakes that are big destinations for many residents here. Guess some Labor Day plans have now been cancelled!?!

 

Lois, our flex alerts mean that we should not use any power unless necessary. So wait to run the dishwasher, washer, dryer etc. they want us to set our thermostats at 78 or higher. Ours is at 80 and we also have ceiling fans. Not too bad if we aren’t doing anything too active. If everyone doesn’t do their part then we could have rolling blackouts which can last 1-2 hrs. In addition to that, PG&E sometimes has a hard time keeping the power on anyway. They also will shut off all power to those living in areas prone to wildfires. Those shut offs can last for an indefinite time. We are fortunate that we don’t live in a wildfire area but we are subject to the other reasons for electric shut offs. I ordered 2 battery powered fans from Amazon. With a full charge on the low speed they are supposed to run for 24 hours. 
 

Melody, those balloons look like the are landing in your yard! Must have been lots of fun to watch them go over.

 

Kat, OMG-Shake Shack-love their burgers! Always try to enjoy one when we are in Minneapolis.  We have several in CA but not near us. Did eat at the one at LAX -we got off the plane and there it was. Couldn’t pass it up!

 

cruisemom, your quarantined kitty looks like I feel on many days. If you come up with a fun activity please share.

 

Purple Hays, the vinyl projects sound like fun. 
 

Sally, I bet there are many interesting political discussions going on in your home-especially now.

 

Debbie, what a nice day you had with your granddaughter! Fun to make some special memories for her and for you.
 

To everyone else, I hope you are enjoying the long weekend-wait a minute, is that even possible these days?

 

I put make up on today, third time this week! Did a Zoom get together with my 94 year old aunt, 2 cousins and my sister. 

 

Take care everyone

Sharon
 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by purduemom1

[Sailor_Sally]

Love the mountain pictures and the balloon pictures and especially the cute granddaughter at the zoo.It is rainy here so I am just re arranging some new framed art I bought . I have to keep myself amused .Who would have ever thought this would be going on so long with no end in sight .

[cruise kitty]

Hi all :)   Sharon I think 108 is as hot as it got here today, they are predicting 112 for tomorrow though....   I so feel for you dealing with fire fears & bad air...  this is not going to help things right?   I hope you don't have any problems or rolling blackouts!

 

Lois,  the flex alerts are a pain, but if they can keep the power on for everyone, we all try to do our part,  from 3 to 9 today, we'll have the AC at 78, unplugged the microwave, pool pump won't go on till 9, etc....  unplugged the cat's water fountain, anything that can be unplugged, is.   We're doing take out sushi for dinner...  & then at 9 that AC is going down to 72 lol    well headed out to pick up the sushi  :)

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

 

I know, it's absolutely crazy... it's 1:45 here right now, and it's 107 already,  our zip code is predicted to get to 110 but I guarantee if I drove down to the blvd it would be at least 5 or 6 degrees hotter  I'm super cooling the house right now, because from 3 to 9 we have a flex alert for power...  which means turn the thermostat up to 78 & turn off everything else to avoid black outs

 

OMG that sounds bad!  Stay cool. 

 

Here it feels like what I lcall lukewarm soup -- about 90 degrees and 65% humidity.

[cruise kitty]

38 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

OMG that sounds bad!  Stay cool. 

 

Here it feels like what I lcall lukewarm soup -- about 90 degrees and 65% humidity.

 

thanks!  right now it's 100° w/23% humidity...  what's crazy is that they are saying it will still be 90 at midnight!  Monday should be cooler, but more humid, not my cup of tea :)

[Keksie]

Sushi sounds good.  Yummy.  We went out for Mexican so I got to wear one of my cruise tops with capris and sandals.  Those flex alerts sound awful I hope they are working to keep that from happening very often.  Heat plus humidity is not fun.