Today was a dead car battery, talking to Verizon tech support, and trying to figure out how to log in to the Kaiser (health insurance) app.

Talking to someone at 1-800- because local bank is temporarily closed and my current statement has an error in the banks favor. Phoned my 96 year old Mom in retirement home two times as she doesn't understand why she can not leave her room and meals are being delivered instead of her going to dining room. ( funny note--she was livid that saltines were put on her tray but she ordered a different cracker.) Sent out e-mails I've been procrastinating over, to tell folks "Hello".

Work, nap, more of the incessant projects.

Wondering: did I just deposit my last ever IC paycheck? Hoping: nah.

New car battery, full tank of gas, stocked freezer, looking up tomato soup based beef stew recipes, homework

The clients have canceled all of my remaining March shop assignments.
Today: groceries, bathrooms, tidying kitchen, putting laundry away, filing Census report for this household. filing an invoice for some new-to-me IC work, bill paying, April budget.

Made a pot of black eyed peas for dinner, using broth left over from cooking the St. Pats corned beef and cabbage. Because I had all day to devote to the task I left the Instant Pot in the cabinet and did the beans old-school...quick boil, soak, then cook.

@JASFLALMT In middle school, they made us take French, Spanish and German in 3 month sections for 3 years. I moved to Germany when I was 9 months old and learned it along with English. My Mom said that if we were going to live in another country, we were going to learn the language, customs, etc. I only lived there until I was 6 and we got transferred stateside and never really got to use that language again, really. I was excited to use it again in school, but having to go from one to another without really learning, totally turned me off learning any other language. In high school, we didn't have to take it, but was suggested if we wanted to go to college. I was having none of it and I really wish my middle school didn't do that so that I could have been excited about learning another language or even remembering the one that I learned oh so many years ago. Flash forward many moons later and I took up Spanish, because..well, obviously, that's what you need to learn these days and I hate that it took me so long to realize how much I love it and I love learning (still learning now).
My uncle worked for the State Dept and has had to learn languages on the fly and he swears by Rosetta Stone. My brother was in Irag and Afghanistan and used the program to help him get by there, it quite possibly saved his life. Now that I'm stuck at home like everyone else, I'm thinking of studying Italian. My bf is Italian and I've learned a few things here and there and it is very much like Spanish. Maybe after this is over, I'll be able to speak several languages lol.

I'm excited about my current home project. My living room is not wired for cable, so I use a Fire Stick. My cable company has wireless boxes. They are being delivered today. I stopped by the hardware store this morning to get screws for the TV legs. I'm glad they know screws.

Beef stew is in the Crock Pot. I chopped up some veggies, seasoned carne picata and added tomato soup and onion soup mix.

Work. Nap. The nail project...

I"m ordering seeds to start indoors. I'm getting started on them late but I do have a sunroom which gets a ton of sunlight so I'm hoping that helps make up for it. Also planning to have a raised garden built if I can find a local handyman. It's sunny and mild today so after I finish placing my order I will go outside and begin cleaning the deck to get it ready for relaxing with coffee in the morning and maybe having lunch and dinner outside when the weather is nice. I guess i should order some plants to make it pretty too, since a trip to Lowe's is not going to happen.

Through a shop I came across a company called Handyman Connection. It is a franchise with access to a wide variety of service providers. If you can find one in your area, my experience with them has been positive.

@CoffeeQueen Where do you get your seeds? I used to order from a great lady on etsy that had amazing heirloom seeds but its looks like she's not doing it this year. I have a garden tower and about 5 "pockets" have come back or stayed from last year, but I need to get in gear for this year.

I started my windowsill seedlings in February. None have sprouted.

Teaching place values to daughter. Wanted to plant some carrot tops but we are out of soil. I will be making steamed rice cakes for dinner with a stew. Went out for a nice walk. Amazing how good sleep makes you lose weight. I have been getting more sleep now that there's no school. 5 pounds down!

I feel the same way. Earlier in the year I did a shop for the company; after I was sure the report was approved I called the handyman back and scheduled the job.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Through a shop I came across a company called Handyman Connection. It is a franchise with access to a wide variety of service providers. If you can find one in your area, my experience with them has been positive.

It's been gloomy or raining every day since Sunday. Today was a blip on sunny weather before the rain comes back again tomorrow. I took a long walk and came home exhausted.

Thanks @LisaSTL I will check that out. @Jenny Cassada I ordered from Burpee because I didn't have time to wait for the organic or heirloom seeds I would have liked to have get back into stock. Everything I wanted was sold out. However I use seedsavers.org when I remember to order in time.

Today was a much needed (free) oil change at Nissan. The showroom was empty, so the sales people pounced on the people waiting for service. It was not pleasant.

Today I did yoga with 3-year old grandson via a YouTube video on a Zoom meeting. It was much fun.

During my free time, I contemplated the best potential future mystery shop days. In this fantasy, I work two days per month and split my time between two cities. I earn several hundred dollars per hour for selected shops and do what I want to do the rest of the time.

Drinking, reading, and avoiding cleaning a dirty floor.

I have now converted my PV-500 and video eyeglasses into educational resources.... Last weekend, I took the glasses on a hike, set them on my pack and recorded myself outlining class expectations for my "remote" classroom with a snowy mountaintop in the background... Today, I attached my button camera to a steel rod to hang it over my desk, pointing down, to make a very effective document camera for math lectures.

Hmm...

- 'What I did on My Corona Vacation' (an original online story by MFJohnston)
- 'Where Math Meets Mountains' *nuns sing 'Climb very Mountain'*
- 'The Mountain Came to Muhammad, or Maybe just to MFJohnston' *malaproprism pros groan*

Great thinking outside the box!

@MFJohnston wrote:

I have now converted my PV-500 and video eyeglasses into educational resources.... Last weekend, I took the glasses on a hike, set them on my pack and recorded myself outlining class expectations for my "remote" classroom with a snowy mountaintop in the background... Today, I attached my button camera to a steel rod to hang it over my desk, pointing down, to make a very effective document camera for math lectures.

Yesterday I spent 3.5 hours (combined) waiting online and then on the phone to get a case number for my claim against Citibank for nonpayment of a $500 account opening bonus. The guy in the online chat room was totally incompetent. He, literally, did not know the date of yesterday.

He finally said that he had verified that I had met all of the qualifications. that took 45 minutes. Then, he said that I had to call their "expect team" on the phone to set up a claim. I was cut off once on the phone and had to start anew. The final person on the phone, Sabrina knew just what to do and did it quickly and competently.

Today I am making chili, doing a load of laundry, cleaning out my car, and will have a televisit with my doctor this afternoon. (Routine because I want an Rx refilled that requires a follow-up visit.) Also, finalizing my April budget, finishing the "big dig" of my desk surface (Hurrah!), thinking about resuming work of tax forms now that I have located the records needed.
Oh, almost forgot! In the desk clean-up I found a cashier's check issued when I closed an account several months ago. It has expired, so I will need to make a bank visit sometime to get a new on. But, it was like finding $87.50 in the pocket of a coat you haven't worn in ages, lol.

There are only a few things to do here. First, pay attention to what the House does with the $2T bill. Rumors indicate that pork is to be added to this or held for another bill. Second, add fifteen minutes of exercise to my usual amount. Third, remind the hubby to put together a shelf unit that we need for useful kitchen and pantry supplies that have no other place to be.

We had the electrician here for the morning, replacing our old panel box. So in addition to being locked in the house, I couldn't do anything that required electricity. Now that he's gone I'm doing a quick swing through the internet, then going out to take a walk before some expected rain arrives later in the day.

I got my living room set up with a wireless cable box. It does not play well with the Amazon Fire Stick. No surprise there.

Early job was early again, which seems to be the new normal. Hmm. But this is a good thing, both to have the humble job and to perform it during the necessary hours to meet the daily deadline.

Today I'm setting out cool weather veggie such as sweet peas, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and lettuce. The greens are on the way!