Life is a Little Surreal Right Now

You'll probably see more blogposts from me in the next couple of months. Maybe. Some of it will be about the COVID-19 stuff and some of it will be about other random stuff.

Virginia just got a stay-at-home order until June 10. That's two and a half months away. I'm crying right now as I'm writing this. This is so surreal. I don't even know what to say.

Here are some things I've seen on my walks in my neighborhood recently. Caution tape around the park.

Dog park closed.

 Some hopeful sidewalk chalk messages.

Morning Light!

I woke up a little bit before my alarm clock and decided to go on a walk this morning. I'm glad I did because the lighting was beautiful this morning!

I feel like it's been dark, dreary and cold the past couple of weeks here (except for last Sunday) and it was sunny and a little warmer today and it was just what my soul needed. :)

A Morning Walk!

Even amidst the COVID-19 virus, we are still allowed to go outside and go for walks. I often walk by myself but I do have some friends that I walk with when we're all available.

But since the start of social distancing, I've just been walking by myself. The first day of spring was a few days ago and I've been able to find a few trees that are blooming already. :) Yay!!

These pictures are from my walk this morning.

This tree wasn't blooming but these ducks were fun to watch. :)

 How many airplane trails can you see?

I like the trails near my neighborhood.

 I love spring time!

A breath of life amidst the bare trees. :)

Stay safe!

COVID-19 Virus

Life is a little surreal right. There is currently a worldwide pandemic of the COVID-19 virus that is easily passed from one person to another. And we, as citizens of the world, are encouraged to stay inside our homes and not to gather in groups of more than ten and when we do gather stay at least six feet away from each other (social distancing) and wash our hands frequently.

Because of these guidelines most restaurants only have carryout or delivery (no eating in the restaurant) and some have closed all together. Theaters (movie and live) have closed. NBA has cancelled the rest of its season, most schools and churches have been closed indefinitely. Disney parks are closed. Museums are closed. We are encouraged to not travel unless absolutely necessary (especially on public transportation). We are also encouraged to work from home if we can. There's a toilet paper and face mask and disinfectant wipe shortage. There are so many things that have been affected, I can't name them all.

And I must admit I've had a lot of feelings over the last few weeks about this situation. Anxiety about what this pandemic is doing to the economy and how will we get out of it once the situation has calmed down. Anxiety about the disease itself and how it'll affect me and my family members and friends and associates. Panic that I might get to a point where I need something from the store (like toilet paper, eventually) and I won't be able to find it. Uncertainty about what the future holds and how long this will last. Boredom when I have no social obligations and I shouldn't run errands or go on field trips. Concern for those who can't work from home but also can't go to work.

Hopefulness that eventually things will calm down. Gratitude for my family and friends who check up on me. Gratitude for the church and the ministering program. Gratitude for being able to work from home. Gratitude for being able to stock up a little bit on food. Gratitude for the people who are still working at grocery stores and pharmacies and hospitals and doctors offices and picking up trash in neighborhoods and truck drivers and restaurant workers (at the restaurants still open) and electricians and water treatment persons and many other people.

Although this is an uncertain time and we don't know what the future holds (I guess we never know what the future holds) let us be prayerful, let us be watchful (for those that might need our help), let us be careful (and social distance ourselves and wash our hands) and let us be hopeful!

And it's okay if we're anxious sometimes too.

Stay safe everyone!

My sister, K, went to the beach last week and this sign was up. I've also seen signs like this at grocery stores etc.

Old Newspaper Headlines!

At work my current project is looking for death dates and death causes for grandchildren of Civil War veterans. Many times we find obituaries for the grandchildren and often the obituaries are on the same page with other news stories. And can I just say that sometimes there are some attention-getting headlines next to the obituaries?! ;)

I've taken pictures of a few of them that I've found.

This one just made me laugh... Cow not a car. :)

I don't think that Consummation meant quite the same thing as we think of it now... but still, kind of funny to put in the newspaper.

Look how cheap things used to be in 1969!

Both of these headlines caught my eye.

Bride-to-be disappears, so sad. Hopefully there was a follow up article a few days later that she was okay.

Read this article. It's actually kind of interesting.

Well I just wanted to remember these headlines so I thought I would put them here. :)

Haircut!

I got a haircut!!! Not just a trim like I usually do but a big haircut.

 Before picture!

 After picture! I had 11" cut off.

This is the shortest I've had my hair in a really long time and I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it.

On the plus side, I can wear my hair curly again. :)

Music!

It's amazing how many emotions one can go through in one day. Sometimes music is the only thing that can calm my soul. 

Here are arrangements of two hymns I really like and listened to on repeat today!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty arranged by Mark Geslison and Geoff Groberg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0OBQSyHuf0

Joseph Smith's First Prayer arranged by Mark Geslison and Geoff Groberg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOYsX4M0hZI

Here is a classical music piece that I really love. :)