January 2021

 

It's a new month in a new year. People were hoping that 2020 was going to be all hindsight, and that things would improve with a new president and a Covid vaccine on the horizon. January had its moments though! An almost insurrection at the capital, Bernie Memes, and amateur investors buying GameShare stock overtook the internet this month! Closer to home ...

• Virtual Reality: The Occulus (Christmas gift from GraysonSanta) has been a hit. The boys look pretty funny when they have the headset on and are flailing around. Keaton has added after-market accessories and "moded" it so that they can get a lot more songs for the "Beat Saber" game. There's also an "acorn" game that multiple people can play on their phones while one (the tree) wears the device.
• Getaways: Gray got away twice ... once to Bear Lake (checking out a friend's cabin) and to visit family in Seattle. Cal and Kate hit sunny St. George. Landon and Sol left for a vacation in Mexico (more on that next month I'm sure). 
• Eye Issues: Jen has been struggling (almost a year now, coming and going) with the skin around her eyes. It was especially bad this month. Maybe an allergy to eyeliner? She has been going without makeup, which is easier with Covid limiting social stuff, but ... forever? Also ... sitting in the stands watching basketball games, Jen has realized that she can no longer see clearly. Everyone is blurry! She's outlasted all the Westra Siblings when it comes to getting glasses. Did you know Gray has glasses (he only needs them for viewing distance also, but he does wear them for watching TV). 
• Basketball: Jen has been getting out to basketball games, only missing one night so far (in Farmington, Gray hit that one, just five minutes away from his work). Colton has been getting a lot of playing time in the sophomore and JV games, and has played some varsity (he even started one game!) Most of the games are streamed, and Jen is recording and making highlight reels. Jen even stopped by Cal and Kate's house on the way home from a game (it was on the way!)
• Fitbits: One reason Jen stopped by Cal and Kate's, was Cal had texted saying his Fitbit strap had broken. Of course, Jen had extras, so, she wanted him to be back in business, as he's the only one still wearing a Fitbit (even Dad/Grandpa switched to an Apple Watch!). BUT ... Cooper asked for his and has been wearing it again! He's been hitting the treadmill, and he and Jen play ping pong almost every day. Cooper said "I've noticed on the days we don't play ping pong, it's detrimental to my step count!" *Ü*
• Kitty: Our Joy goes into heat here and there ... she's normally uber ornery, and only Cooper and Keaton can touch her. When she's in heat though, she wants love from everyone, ALL the time! She's very vocal too, meowing and moaning, sometimes all night. It's adorably irritating. It seems like she's been in heat this entire month! 
• Cars: The Durango had a tire losing air (slow leak) so into the shop for a repair. Of course then it was recommended that new tires be purchased, and it wasn't just a sales-push, they did need it. Now there are new tires on the car. Colton also practiced his driving and has been taking practice tests for whenever Jen gets around to scheduling an appointment at the DMV. Maybe Cooper will try for a permit too?
• Work: Gray's work continues to be busy. He got a salary bump this month. Landon has moved to a salaried position. Cal and Keaton continue all electrical. Coop had just been a sub at his cleaning job (guaranteed one day, and he almost always picked up more shifts). He is now officially on the job Mon-Fri. 
• School: Colton's semester ended and with some class changes, he now only has three in-person classes (moved one more online, just scheduling issues). So his pickup is earlier each day now. Coop has started some new classes this semester too. The all-online schooling is going good.
• TV Troubles: Our TV had been getting darker and darker, until one morning, it was SO dark it was almost impossible to tell if it was on or off. At about two years old, we had a couple warranty options (we had bought a SquareTrade warranty, bought it from Costco Concierge ... but when reaching out directly to TCL, they are covering it ... repair didn't work so a new TV is being sent out). 
• Food: Gray has been making fried rice fairly often,  and made shrimp one night too. He even tossed it to Coop and Colton just like at Tepanyaki! He smoked a bunch of meat for french dip sandwiches and made Philly Cheesesteaks. Fancy hot dogs with all the fixings. Gray's (well, Pioneer Woman's) tatertot casserole has been a hit, so Jen has now made it too. Made Ziti (one gluten-free for Grandpa) and lasagna. Homemade Oreos, and Wacky Cake (that was actually part of a school project for Cooper ... it's also called "Depression Cake" as it was made during that time when supplies were scarce, as it has no milk or eggs in it). It was also National Chocolate Cake Day ... really! We started off the New Year with the famous Blackham Pastry Wreath, Clayton continuing Pammy's tradition that goes back years and years.

Covid 2020

  Oh, the memes!

I titled this post "Covid 2020" ... although of course it's actually Covid-19, as the first cases were documented there at the end of 2019. But it was 2020 when most people realized that this coronavirus was going to impact everyone and everything. 

It was just a little ironic ...

As the year started, "Coronavirus" and "Covid-19" was something many people had heard of, but it was something that was a world away. It got closer. It was January when the news announced that the first case was here in the states. In March, there was a case in Utah. Still, it didn't seem real. 

It was March 11 when Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive, and the NBA shut down. (All other sports would follow suit. There was no "March Madness" and the NFL draft was done virtually, no school or community competitions allowed. The 2020 Olympics were postponed). In the following days, everything changed. Schools attempted to move to online learning, churches and temples shut their doors, missionaries came home and countries closed their borders. Employers transitioned to "work at home" for all who could. For a time, playgrounds were taped off. Funerals and weddings could only allow limited attendance. No big graduation ceremony for college/high school seniors. Drive-by parades became the only sort of celebration.

Restaurants were open only for take-out (this was encouraged, to help keep the economy going). Movie theaters, gyms, libraries, salons ... all closed. Disneyland closed and the Las Vegas strip shut down. Only "essential" businesses are allowed to remain open, and most would offer "contactless" shopping (order online and pickup). "Essential Worker" was a new buzzword, as was "social distancing".  Other phrases: out of an abundance of caution, super-spreader, uncertain times, flatten the curve, contact tracing, bubble, quaran-team, remote learning, new normal, "blursday" (as time lost its meaning), Zoom and P.P.E (personal protective equipment).

Stores and supplies were hit hard. There were shortages of sanitizer, disinfectant ... toilet paper. Many food items would be very hit and miss, and there were limits placed on most items. Pasta, yeast, flour, sugar, milk, bread. You never knew if you'd be able to get what you wanted/needed. Stores that had previously been open 24-hours now closed for cleaning, rest and restocking. For a time, the number of customers was capped. There were lines outside Costo. There were arrows indicating one-way aisles. Soon masks were mandatory, and there were plexi-glass dividers between workers and customers. Home delivery became very popular! There were other shortages ... bikes, trampolines, game systems, home gym equipment. Almost everything was affected, timelines for manufacturing and shipping were much slower. There was an aluminum shortage that affected cans of soda. Even money ... a coin shortage!

Masks, gloves, face shields, respirators ... there wasn't enough to go around. There was a lot of back and forth about masks. First saying that PPE should be preserved for the medical community, that they weren't really effective for the general public. Many doctors/dentists shut down ("telemed" appointments were encouraged) for all but emergency services, as much to control materials as contact.  People started sewing handmade cloth masks, but there were then shortages of elastic and fabric and it was still questioned if they provided protection. The thought was that wearing a mask may not protect the wearer as much as those around them. "I wear my mask for you, you wear your mask for me."  A few months in, and masks were mandatory and were being sold everywhere. Reusable (washable) fabric masks and disposable - the more protective N95 masks continued to be in short supply. SO much contention and politicizing of masks and procedures.

As things escalated in March, the Governor of Utah issued a "Stay safe, stay at home" directive for two weeks. Only essential movement outside of the home. This was an attempt to "flatten the curve", knowing that there still would be spread, but trying to control/slow it so that the hospitals would not become overwhelmed. Some obeyed, some pushed back. 

Restaurants, gyms and salons opened up again, with restrictions and safety protocols in place. Many people went back to work, but "work at home" will likely never be as limited, often still an option. Some businesses did not survive the shutdown, and unemployment/layoffs were issues for many. A stimulus package put money into most American's bank accounts ($1200). The NBA finally finished the season, with the players staying in a "bubble" with no contact with the world outside. School started up again in August. The Salt Lake School District was only online, but all the other school districts offered options for online or in-person learning. The kids had to wear masks. There were many quarantines and school shut-downs as positive cases were tracked. 

In the Spring, everyone watched as the numbers of cases increased ... in Utah, cases topped 100, then 200. Then there were 500 cases in a day. At first, testing was limited. Specific criteria had to be met; certain symptoms, travel from certain locations or contact with a positive person. Still there were long lines for an uncomfortable test (nasal swab). Soon there were options for a saliva test. Tests were required for travel and before medical procedures. As school started, there was required testing (every two weeks) for college students and student-athletes. Now, the norm for daily positive cases was in the thousands (2000-5000), with a number of covid-related deaths reported daily as well. Controversy and conspiracy theories were everywhere (the "plandemic", it's all a ruse, EVERY death is counted as Covid, people are testing positive who didn't take the test, it's all so the government can take away all our freedoms, the virus was made in a lab and released, everything should open/herd immunity, masks are dangerous or just don't work, this medication or that could be a cure, it's just the flu, etc, etc.) There was some good too though, as people attempted to work together, and there were many stories of environmental recovery. 

As time went on, most hospitals were at capacity and doctors and nurses were exhausted. Some states had crises earlier on (New York was hit hard in April/May) and every state was attempting control in their own way (as were countries around the world). The Governor of Utah set a second two-week shutdown mid-November. People were encouraged not to gather with family for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  As the year ended, a few companies had come out with vaccines, which were starting to be distributed (more controversy), but no one really knows how effective they will be, or if people will even remain immune after recovering from the virus. But there is a feeling of hope ...

Some days, life still felt normal (especially for introverts) ... 

Other days you'd open your eyes and see how odd it all was!

Check out this TIMELINE.

In the Blackham home ... there were no Covid-cases in 2020, although it did hit the extended family. I was a little surprised, as we weren't super careful, still out and about for the most part. Grayson, Landon and Callahan kept working. Keaton's job (Nike) closed, so he immediately went to work with Callahan/Camsen again. Sol (ortho unit at the U) kept working, but all the libraries closed, so Kate was unemployed. Colton is ever adaptable, and handled the school/sport/social shut down better than I'd expected. Things didn't really change for Coop much, as he was already online and didn't go out much. He would miss movies with Landon and Sol. Jen's Zumba was affected, stopping as the churches closed ... then she started teaching a couple outdoor classes a week once the weather warmed up. There was one church building that allowed their small Zumba class to continue when Fall rolled around. Colton ended up quarantined once, and Gray self-quarantined a couple times, getting a test done twice. Sol and Kate got tested - but no one else really had close enough contact or any symptoms. Cal and Kate had a Covid wedding, with reduced attendance. When school started up, Cooper was online again (and would have been regardless) but Colton went hybrid (four classes in person, three online) although that was more because of basketball than Covid concerns. Life went on ...

... and did I mention the memes?

See my Meme Album here.

Almost 400+ playful peeks at the pandemic.

#jenBsbooks 2020

 

I think everyone will say that 2020 was an unexpected and odd year. Definitely not normal! When Covid started to shut down everything, I wasn't sure how that would impact my reading. I was already a digital girl, so the libraries closing their doors didn't impact me as much as those who still checked out books physically. On one hand, I had MORE time to read, but on the other hand, I wasn't doing many of the things (driving, games, practices, shopping) that were my multi-tasking/audiobook times. Overall, I think it was a wash, and while I didn't get in quite as many books as last year, I still got a lot.

 

I would create a monthly recap - a picture collage with the covers, and stats (see them below) ... if I read the Kindle copy or listened to the audiobook (if it was KindleUnlimited, I had both options and would often switch between the two, although marking those as "audio" still). Where I got the book ... from the library, from KU, if it was a copy given to me for review. I bought a few (a very few!) With SO many books out there, I haven't been much of a re-reader these last years. I switched that up this year, and started listening to some old favorites I'd read previously. I also decided not to feel bad about not finishing a book if I wasn't enjoying it.

I track these things on different GoodReads shelves, as well as the categorizing the book by type (fantasy, dystopian, historical, etc). I LOVE GoodReads. It helps keep me organized, and I am a numbers nerd. I did a #jenBsbooks2020 post for my personal blog and you can check out the GoodReads recap HERE.

Bring on the books for 2021! But here's a scroll through last year ...