Day 16 Sunday 03/29/20 Day COVID LOCKDOWN

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Not sleeping terribly well, up before dawn.

Finished reading Keep Near to the Stars (girl bird grad student and small child who comes to here unexpectedly) and Audible Book

10 AM Zoom meeting for Church: chaotic with folks who don't know Zoom leaving mikes on, but much more smooth than last Sunday.  Moo preached on prayer - supplication prayer is just fine - give your concerns to Jesus.

Leadership Meeting:  Church won't open till much later in year, discussed how to move fundraising to more prominent position, delay newsletter until Friday, set palms out on bench outside church on Thursday, with quarterly report, tell folks how they can spend their money, church in OK position for a few months with cash on hand, can borrow against Mission money from capital campaign (first back up) and against Trustee fund (second backup)j, alarm will be fixed later this week so don't come by church on Tuesday.

Worked on final topic groups, set up email to Advisees for Preregistration Advising,

Portabella mushroom Quiche with feta and shallots and salad for dinner 

8 PM with Book Club Ladies

Dav 15 Saturday 3/28/20 Covid Lockdown

Saturday, March 28, 2020

A beautiful morning, up at dawn to witness two mature female does stepping out between Mientka and our properties.  

Zoomed with girls after lunch (1 PM our time) 

Lots to get done .... 

• letter to BCBP colleagues regarding note to seniors about extension and senior comps and next meeting 
• CHEM100 Module 5 set-up
• Implicit Bias Session 3 to set up for WUMC
• Outside Chores: Work in yard to continue to haul brush, gutters, front brick walkway
• Inside Chores: laundry, vacuuming vents

Rain settled in at 4 PM, squashing our idea to have smoked fish, instead

Cocktails - Wildlife Show of doe and two fawns on our west property line

Dinner: broiled swordfish, peas

Movie: YoYo Ma and the Around the World Ensemble

Book Update
 Jojo Moeys: The Giver of Stars (audio) - biologist goes down to Tennesee to count birds after Mom dies, meets boy next door and mysterious girl who walks out of the woods. 

Sue Monk Kidd The Invention of Wings - story of two women bound together as mistress and slave

 

Day 14 Friday 3/27/20 COVID LOCKDOWN

Friday, March 27, 2020

Today is a rebound day for me - after the Zoom-exhaustion of yesterday -

CHEM100 work: spent some time responding to students e-mails (extensions (Elinton, Weston, Abby), questions about final projects (Felix, David).  Moodle Choice has been filled out with 24 students (out of the 37 students in CHEM100).  Most are naturally choosing "d" - which is essentially an independent project but alot are choosing "b" for baking.  Very few for "c" service.  Also heard from Pia Sorenson at Harvard - she gave me more resources for AmherstKidsCook@Home, choice "a".  Google Forms reported 8 students having finished Course Content with most getting 100% and some getting 8's and 9's.  The most common wrong answer was to the question - what additive to chocolate makes it Dutch Chocolate - the right answer is alkali - the popular wrong answer is "tulip dust."  Also spent a bit of time getting Module 5 launched.  Not there yet by any means.

Got to work a bit on BCBP minutes of yesterday's program meeting and working with Cathy to set up GOOGLE FOLDER for final drafts of theses.  Working on draft of letter to students.

CHEM-social at 3:30 PM - got to hang out with colleagues and students - Anna, Nate, Kashew, Alex, new sophomore major Eleanor with faculty - Sheila, David, Chris, Stephen, Richmond and me.  Stephen shared the moose on campus video while he was diffracting into his Science Center background and Anna shared with us the link to the ACS page with cool Zoom backgrounds.  Downloaded a few of the Chem images and added some olive images of my own.

Put in an Amazon order for folders, stickies, and small and big white board.

Rich had back to back meetings from  9 AM to 2 PM.  Teaching three classes, department meetings - managing breakout rooms and trying to get a handle on teaching stereochemistry (3 D thinking about molecules) when all of your experience is in 2 D)

Took an 11 AM solo walk - crocuses - frogs - balloon - brook - neighbors - Eddie,

First crocus of the year - top of driveway

Purple stars hiding in the myrtle

........ and later a 4 PM walk with Rich. Tried to order Mission Cantina first directly through their phone but they didn't answer or phone was busy. Tried through Delivery Express, but they were also unsuccessful.  We finally canceled delivery express order and had leftover meat pie with couscous.  Will try again midweek.

Put in a Zen and PeaPod Puzzle order for three puzzles - one for each girl and one for us.

Day 13 - Thursday 3/26 COVID LOCKDOWN

Thursday, March 26, 2020

OMG, what an exhausting day!  Starting with a 9:30 AM meeting with Sarah M. (a CHEM490 student SIP-ing in Boston) and moving along to my 4:30 - 6:00  PM meeting with BCBP.   The exhaustion, especially of the Program meeting with 14 people - many of whom tend to disagree - and moving them to a decision about thesis due dates, senior symposia recommendations, and a final meeting date.  My colleagues are understandably on many different planes - those who wish to be eminently agreeable to extended deadlines and special cases, and those who don't see that they themselves will have any extra time.

• 9:30 AM SM - Boston
• 11:00 AM MB - Houston
• 11:30 AM CS - Philadelphia
• 1:30-3:30 Virtual Office Hours - Cindy Lopez (Chicago) and Eric (Boston area)
• 3:45 PM Abigail - didn't show up - send her a video message
• 4:30 PM BCBP meeting

Got two "good job" responses after the meeting from Sheila and Caroline, God Bless them

Also worked on syllabus

Dinner - chicken MASALA and kale with bacon

PM - readings....

Day 12 - Wednesday 3/25 COVID LOCKDOWN

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Today started with a bit of a lazy rise - 8:30 AM, and then breakfast and some cleaning up 

Zoom with the girls at 10:30 AM
Zoom a Mellon meeting with Sheila, Lauren, and Stephen
Zoom a department meeting

fixing up website
letter to class
evaluation form
getting demo video out to Asha
e-books up

Zoom a comprehensive meeting with Maya

Dinner meat pies with filo - grape leaves 


 

Day 11 - Tuesday 3/24 COVID LOCKDOWN

Tuesday March 24

Impossible to sleep last night
Office Hours
Atkins

Day 10 - Monday 3/23 COVID LOCKDOWN

Monday, March 23, 2020

Cold gray morning that morphed into beautiful snow globe like snow....

Sent out quick responses to Marcia Grant, Jack Kaye and Cathy Bennett - all who wanted to check in. Rich shared the best video of the day

Email out for postponement of Committee on Student Learning and Success till next Fall and to students in CHEM100 about asynchronous online learning and virtual office hours tomorrow.

Remote learning started today - what a challenge.  Both the HSTEM Google Chat and the ZOOM chat for department were hopping.

While I did not have any class stuff today, I had 6 Zoom meetings.

• Thesis student Kat at 9:30 AM (Materials and Method draft submitted)
• Denver Girls at 10:30 AM (Sarah fearful of layoffs anticipated in 1 PM phone call with CEO, turned out they are all getting a $100/week raise; Denver governor declared closures of all non-essential stores - incuding liquor stores and one hour later - line 500 people long at most liquor stores - governor clarifies liquor stores will be classified as essential)
• Thesis student Kash at 11:30 AM (Materials and Methods on its way)
• Research Manager - Amari and Sheila at 1:30 PM (Amari still quarantined in Flatbush)
• ADC for BCBP Cathy Stillerman at 2:30 PM (Aurora and Gary have been laid off - Cathy can't get into college files at home - VPN not working? So, I was able to get out all the Zoom invites, agenda, etc. for BCBP meeting Thursday
• Jim Harvey and Bible Study at 7 PM

Only meeting I had any problem with was the last one.  Go figure.

LUNCH WAS LEFTOVERS

Set up Zoom meetings for all my Group B Special Topics students CHEM 490

For CHEM100 - Made new video for Video2 for Module 4 and uploaded it.  With Asha's help, able to set up a link in Moodle for set my virtual office hours for Tues/Thurs, checked that the choice poll working in Moodle,  set up FINAL PROJECT module with pointers to sample blogs etc in Moodle.  I have a plan for stitching together videos for SOUS VIDE DEMO

Also ordered food for curbside pickup at Atkins tomorrow- ordering was smooth, was very pleased by customer service hospitality.  I ordered tulips and woman was so happy, said floral department is really struggling.

DINNER IS last of corned beef made into hash - delicous!

Day 9 - Sunday 3/22 COVID LOCKDOWN

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Beautiful cold day 33oF but with bright sunshine

Difficult to sleep last night with concern about Zazzie Tobey-Roberts getting out of Istanbul

Stomach quite a bit unsettled - no hash breakfast for me today, we considered sous viding some eggs, but the Kenji Lopez-Alt method seemed (4 minute boil - ice - 45 minute sous vide) too much to manage in this morning.

10 AM Wesley UMC Church Service - characterization is joyful chaos, 53 participants - seeing Tricia's llamas, TT's head or ceiling,  ML's half a face, JS not knowing how to mute her microphone, so singing along, CB's internet going in and out 4 times,  unison readings being anything but, but SOOOOOO good to see everyone doing as well as they can.  Special prayers asked for Zazzie to get home.

At the close of service, Marilyn texted that Zazzie got on a plane to San Francisco - YEAH she should land tonight around 8 PM.  Power of Prayer!

11 AM Wesley - Wesley - COVID Response Team- 90 minute meeting - discussed need to continue to get financing, put DONATION buttons on top right of website and newsletters, most rental groups have cancelled for the foreseeable future, desire to keep committees working to consider how their individual tasks can be completed in this new format, Moo will send out letter extending suspension of church activities until mid-April as per Governor's recommendation, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday - will have to be creative.  Flower order for Easter never went in.

Left totally exhausted after 150 minutes of Zoom

Lunch- homemade bean soup - interesting that despite 3 hours of cooking, beans are still a bit hard - Rich said that he read that when beans are soaked/cooked in an acidic medium, they soften more slowly - I had used the whey to soak the beans, which was definitely acidic
Now I'm hungry!

PM yard work and walk, I so needed the fresh air - 1-3 PM, lots of people walking on the road, down at the farm, heard frogs at the bottom of the hill (not peepers yet).

3 PM heard that Rosemary's son arrived in Newark after harrowing time getting out of his study-abroad placement in South Africa. God is Really Good!!!

Finished listening to my AUDIBLE book "The Giver of Stars" by Jojo Moyes, set in 1930s-ish Kentucky, which I would give five stars.  Back country traveling librarians weave a story of the frustrations of being a woman, the segregation, and the xenophobia of the time. I just love Moyes characters. 

Also Olivia Hawker's "One for the Blackbird, one for the Crow" set in 1870 Wyoming prairie, Beulah and Clyde young adults neighbors, struggling to keep their families afloat after Beulah's Dad was put in jail for murdering Clyde's Dad for having a dalliance with Beulah's mother.  The two families (widow of killed jiggler and wife of jailed murderer but also woman with him the jiggling happened) had to co-exist in the same sod house over the next prairie winter to conserve fuel/food/energy and hope to survive. It put our own sheltering in place in perspective.

Did a beautiful puzzle of Northern Lights (Zen and Pea Pod Puzzles) -  remember when we were going to go there after Christmas with the fam, then Sarah bought her house and Becca didn't feel she could reliably get time off - ahhh, that seems like a lifetime ago.

Rich went to CVS and curb-side pick up delicious Pasta e Basta for dinner and we got some gift cards

Zoom meeting with Ladies Book Group -were supposed to talk about Robert Brooks, the second mountain, but talked about everything else instead.  Good time!

Worked on BLOGS and watched Masterpiece Theater tonight.
    

Day 8 - Saturday 3/21 COVID LOCKDOWN

Saturday, March 21

Slept in a bit this morning until 8:45 AM, beautiful but cold sunny day
home made ricotta for breakfast, YUM

Spent AM trying to trim some edges with CHEM 100 and CHEM 490
Got all special topics students DROPBOX folders shared, email to both groups
Got email out to Jack Fergus and Chris Durr about baking project option for final project
Got email out to David Hansen about LAX issues

Lunch was leftover spinach pies and mangos

 Zoomed with the girls - Sarah is happy to have Julia home, Becca is home both having slept in a bit. 
We will go to MWF check ins rather than every day.
Got call from Marilyn - Zazzie is stuck in Istanbul, took last plane out of Nepal, not worried about border closing out of Istanbul, called Zeynep and approved to have her phone number shared with Zazzie.

Afternoon was outside yard work.

Dinner was Cooking Demo with Sous Vide which we filmed.  Final grilling - unbelievably delicous.

DAY 7 - Friday 3/20 COVID LOCKDOWN

Friday, March 20

rainy cold day
Zoom with Girls
Corned beef w endive taco's for lunch - COLD FUSION??

Intense work day on class -

• new syllabus linked to class. 
• Set up repeating Zoom virtual office hours
• checking on-line books
• made welcome video, linked to class
• set up Module 4 on Moodle
• new forum repeat
• Final Project schedule

Dinner w. pulled pork leftover from my birthday party and Beans and rice

Zoom with Matt and Leah in PM, they are quarantined in Baltimore - had to go to Florida to deal with Leah's Mom who had a cancer surgery and is in rehab, but Leah thinks the news will be bad

PM - watched House Hunters International, 1963 version of Bewitched -

DAY 6 - Thursday 3/19 COVID LOCKDOWN

Thursday, March 19 - First Day of Spring!

9 AM - Skype w Zeynep from Istanbul

• Kutsi is quarantined at home after traveling to southeast corner of country to deliver a camera. 
• Zeynep has caught a cold that she said everyone in Istanbul has - but no fever
• Esin is doing great, but getting antsy in their small apartment. 
• Parents are fine - Mom in Izmir for some dental work, Dad in Istanbul, now they worry that they are stuck in these two cities
• Will continue teaching her course at Sabanci, since normally online anyway, not a huge change - Course on Sustainability to 700 first year students, Zeynep has responsibility for a fraction of those (about 100?).
• Concerned that the neighborhood is very busy, too busy to keep the social distancing
• Remarked on the irony of choosing an apartment that would be safe in an earthquake, giving up the older garden apartment with a yard in favor of a modern building on an upper floor, now has no private access to the outside and no balcony as this was converted to the second bathroom.

10:30 AM Zoom w girls

Leftover lunches

Had "Phun with Phyllo" Day - made Spinach pie, and pistachio baklava
Also made home made ricotta with quart of milk that was on its way south

WORK
Got Choices set up for Final Projects on Moodle
Got Google Forms set up for Content Check-Ins on Moodle

DAY 5 - Wednesday, 3/18 COVID LOCKDOWN

Wednesday, March 18

 Zoomed in AM with girls

Had Cafe al Fresco cocktails with outside fire circle - beautiful day

Made pasta and meatballs for dinner

DAY 4 - Tuesday 3/17 COVID LOCKDOWN

Tuesday, March 17

St. Patrick’s Day,

Remembered that I needed to get into work to get my larger monitor, and then over to Ford Hall to pick up supplies to do cooking demos from home.  Also picked up some more food from Greenway pantry.  

Academic buildings were nearly empty, but I saw several groups of students, and student families that were packing up to go home.  Processed some oxidizer that got delivered Monday afternoon to department. 

DAY 3 - Monday 3/16 COVID LOCKDOWN

Monday, March 16

Monday. In Dept -

Last meeting with Kat - she is totally bummed (also LAX scandal with men's lacrosse).  Her senior year has just been a disaster.  Her work with me has been great, but she is so very close to having results that are meaningful and important - and she can't get to them.  It must be so frustrating for her!  All deliveries have been delayed, so Kat's project stuff won't get here AND we can't get into the building to do the assays anyway.

Last meeting with Kashew who is staying on campus and seems to be better off psychologically, she has results to work on with her FCCS, but since she can't get into the department, she can't complete the activity assays or the FRET experiments.

Last Dept meeting in Room E201 with social distancing, Alberto, Ken, Chris, and Sandi zooming in.  Great pep talk by Anthony, we worked on plans to put dept. to bed.  NMR will be cared for by Joe, Cathy will come in once per week on Thursday, Chris and Mark have instrument stuff to worry about.

Afternoon, cleaning out kitchen over at Greenway with Dylan.

Tried to do a few chores on the way home - over to CVS (line too long) then over the Black Sheep to buy 3 loaves of bread to hold us over, then home.

Made a Meditteranean chicken, feta, olive with cream from home.

Julia finally made it back to Denver from Logan Airport - it took her 3 hours from the time she left the plane until she got to baggage claim and Sarah could pick her up.  Sarah had to wait in Cell Phone Lot with Podcasts - and said she was a bit worried the car's battery would fail.  This was the first day that the International Health Check-Ins were instituted, 13 airports approved to take in international flights - Boston was one.   Apparently Mayhem broke out in the airports as facilities could not handle the crowds.

DAY 2 - Sunday 3/15 COVID LOCKDOWN

Sunday, March 15

Irish Soda Bread Muffins for breakfast

No Worship Service but 11 AM WUMC Hadley Leadership Emergency Meeting

No church for the time being. 

Working hard to get Lenten Implicit Bias Workshop online. 

Over to Onawumi with extra corned beef - said hello to her from our social distance

Nice PM walk - seems like everyone is out walking and saying hello (at a social distance) to each other.

Salmon for dinner

DAY 1 - Saturday 3/14 COVID LOCKDOWN

Saturday March 14

CANCELLED - Our St Patty’s Day Party

CANCELLED - Becca’s Spring Break Trip

CANCELLED - Baltimore Trip to see Matt and Leah

I am trying to be upbeat and spent part of the morning decorating for St Patrick's Day,
Zoomed with the girls - Becca and I both had googly shamrocks on our head....

cooked our corned beef, make our baked potato skins, and had a Guiness inspired beer. 

Happy Birthday to sister Janet - turning 59 in the face of this Pandemic is sobering.