Day 145 - 159: Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Summer is winding down and we've shifted gears. The theme has changed from How do we keep the kids entertained while self-isolating at home during the summer? to How do we keep the kids educated while self-isolating at home during the school year? So we prepare and we brace ourselves for the coming onslaught of having a kindergartener and a third-grader e-learning in the house.

The worst part is that we have been overcome with smoke from wildfires in western Colorado and southern California. For almost two weeks, the mountains that are just a dozen miles away were invisible. Friends in Denver reported a layer of ash coating their properties. Eventually rain and wind prevailed and filtered the air, improving its quality in spite of the fires still blazing out west. But the extra long week of even more intense self-isolation indoors with sealed up windows and doors took its toll.

Oh, and in the midst of it all, my neighbor hired a band to play a gig in the middle of our cul-de-sac, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

What I'm listening to these days

Stay F. Homekins (2020, podcast) - Comedian Paul F. Tompkins and his wife, actress Janie Haddad Tompkins, are self-quarantining in their home. Since they're stuck in self-isolation, they're making the most of it and recording their ridiculous conversations to share with the world. I'm a few episodes in, and this podcast is every bit as funny as it is relevant.

What I'm watching these days

Parks & Recreation (2009, Netflix streaming) - I hadn't ever really watched this show, so I decided to binge it before it leaves Netflix in October. It's such a great show. Sure the first two seasons are a little rough around the edges, but the best aspect of the show is that it is able to evolve while still holding onto what makes it great. I'm now in a race against the calendar to finish the series before it disappears. 

What I'm doing these days

Redecorating - The 8yo starts 3rd grade in a little over a week, and he's going to be e-learning from home, thanks to the pandemic. He's been bugging me about getting his "office" prepared for school, so I shuffled a bunch of junk from the spare bedroom (the office) down to the basement and shuffled a bunch of junk from the basement to the spare bedroom. We set up a table/desk and cleared out a large space for contemplative pacing, visitors, yoga, trombone lessons, etc. We added the cheapest whiteboard that Amazon had to offer, and now at least he has a room where he can sit while his e-learning instructor tries to figure out what their job is.

There used to be mountains here.