March 14th, 2020

Here I am sitting at home, planning for the next couple of weeks of being under self "cocooning" (that's my absolute favorite term). My building at the university is closed until further notice (the first case of COVID 19 on campus was in my building). Schools are shut down until April. I have to somehow make it up to my daughter that we had to cancel her birthday trip to Chicago. Poor thing doesn't exactly understand why we can't go to the museum or have a party, but she's taking it surprisingly well for only being four.  

I am not under quarantine (I haven't had direct contact with a sick person, that I know of), but we are practicing self-distancing. That means, no large groups, going to the store at non-peak hours, having food delivered, etc, etc. I am doing this to help slow the spread of this novel virus. 

The good side of all of this home time is I'll be able to work on a ton of new patterns and maybe I will reach my yearly goal (I'm way behind right now). I'll also be able to bead. I have a really neat project that I can't wait to work on some more. I also have some beady gifts I need to make for some friends. I'll share some progress pics with you as I go. 

The main reason for this email is not to sell you anything (though getting some patterns and beading at home is a perfect way to self cocoon), it's to remind you to take care of yourself, check on your neighbors, be good to one another, and, of course, wash your hands (the molecular biologist side of me can't stress this enough).