affreca

This icon of Lju is appropriate so often these days. 

1. Are you an Essential Worker?

No. I am able to work from home, so that's what I've been doing. I'll likely be doing some delayed field work in multiple day trips, which I'm not looking forward to.

1a. Are you in a vulnerable category?

No, and neither is my husband.

2. How many drinks have you had since the quarantine started?

Maybe one or two. I've been fighting more than normal headaches, which means I'm less likely to drink even when I'm not in pain because I don't want to restart the cycle

3. If you have kids . . . Are they driving you nuts?

No kids. Cats.  Which I love, except Lju has learned that 6:30 is the new wake up time and stands next to me loudly meowing at 6:25, even on the weekend.  

4. What new hobby have you taken up during this?

No new hobbies.  I'd started baking bread over my Christmas vacation, so I'm glad that I had already purchased the accessories before this started.  Since I bought a large jar of yeast I haven't tried sour dough (I even gave away the bag of "friendship bread" starter that I had stashed in the freezer).  I've been obsessively spinning and watching youtube how tos (ceramics, living on a historic farm, cooking).

5. How many grocery runs have you done?

I haven't been in three weeks.  Lawnchair (my husband), has gone weekly.  He tends to buy more than we need, so I feel overstocked.  

6. What are you spending your stimulus check on?

Either paying off the annual car insurance bill or my dental bills.  

7. Do you have any special occasions that you will miss during this quarantine?

My annual spinning con (PlyAway) would have been this weekend.  WisCon has also been canceled.  At this point, I'm doubting my big trip to Mongolia in August will happen.  Sadly, I put down a deposit for the tour.  The tour company said that I could use it for a tour next year if travel is still disrupted, but I'm not convinced they'll be around next year.

8. Are you keeping your housework done?

Lawnchair is.  I'm doing the basics, like laundry.  I want to clean my crafting areas, but motivation is missing.  I'm trying to be gentle with myself on that.  

9. What movie have you watched during this quarantine?

Movies - no. 

10. What are you streaming with?

Amazon Prime, Netflix, Youtube, PBS and NHK.  I'm tempted to cancel my netflix because I'm stalled out on watching one series, and not really interested in anything else on it.  Mostly watching documentaries and how tos on YouTube or PBS

11. 9 months from now is there any chance of you having a baby?

Only if my implant fails.  

12. What's your go-to quarantine meal?

Toast or fry up.  

13. Is this whole situation making you paranoid?

What is paranoid in these times?  

14. Has your internet gone out on you during this time?

Not really.  Sometimes the home network is flaky, and I had problems with VPN at the beginning when everyone first started using it at once.  Work IT started up two more VPNs, since then it's been stable.


15. What month do you predict this all ends?

Fuck if I know.  I suspect we'll start doing something different in May.  We're lucky that our state is in the sane woman Democrat phase of the governor cycle, so we shut down early compared to the neighboring states (and were first in the nation to declare that public K-12 schools were closed until the fall).  I don't know how long until the pushback is to strong.  My work "stop travel" order will probably be handed to the local commanders in mid-May, and I don't know where ours are going to fall.  I have been told that we're pushing to get back to field work, since that's done in two person teams and can be done mostly six feet away (especially if we drive out separately). 

16. First thing you're gonna do when you get off quarantine?

Field work?

17. Where do you wish you were right now?

Ply Away

18. What free-from-quarantine activity are you missing the most?

Travel.

19. Have you run out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer?

No.  We're toilet paper hoarders in normal times, so haven't gone through what we'd bought in February.  And I don't use hand sanitizer unless I can't wash my hands with soap and water.  Since I havent' left the house, that isn't a problem.

19a. Have you run out of anything else?

Patience.  

20. Do you have enough food to last a month?

Probably.  Will be low on fruit and veg.  

21. Has anything major happened in your life during the lockdown?

A week in, had to put my sweet kitty Grok to sleep. We had almost 20 years with her, but it's still hard.  

22. What are you grateful for?

My cats, my job, my financial situation,  my husband.

23. Is there anything you'll miss about lockdown life?

Lack of commute.

 from yhlee
1. Possum.
I could write about how my husband identifies with opossums (awkward animals likely dead on the roadside).  Instead, since everything with me comes back to spinning yarn, one of the first spinning books I read had a serious of oddball suggestions of things to spin, including possum fur.  Which really confused me until I remembered that opossums and possums are different animals, and New Zealand has a large spinning culture (my main wheel is New Zealand made).  Someday I'll go to New Zealand and buy some possum fur to spin.  (Because there isn't enough on an opossum to bother with).


2. Legos
One of my earliest memories is my Lego Christmas tree.  Not sure why, but it dates back to the upstairs apartment in Brookings, when I was three.  Mom and I lived upstairs, while my aunt, uncle and cousin lived downstairs.  The two sisters were both going to college  as nontraditional students, and took turns watching each other's kids (I hear my uncle wasn't much use).  I suspect the bag of legos is still in my room.  I always tried to build houses, but didn't have enough of any one color to make a pleasing (to me) color scheme.  


3. Olive oil. 
I love fancy olive oil and vinegar stores.  I'm not sure why; I don't actually like vinegar.  Maybe the fancy taste testing without getting drunk? 
I also love how important it has been through history.  All those jars of olive oil shipped around the Mediterranean, and then we find the jars in shipwrecks or broken in giant piles in Rome.  

Via yhlee: Find the nearest book to you, turn to page 45, and read the first sentence: this describes your sex life in 2018.

Between the Kansas border and a little town called Genoa, Interstate 70 crosses coarse Tertiary gravel that surfaces the central and southern High Plains, gravel carried here by streams flowing eastward from the Rocky Mountains. (Roadside Geology of Colorado, pulled to review the geology I will see from the train on my way to New Mexico)

I Am A: Lawful Good Halfling Wizard (5th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-9

Dexterity-11

Constitution-8

Intelligence-18

Wisdom-12

Charisma-11


Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.


Race:
Halflings are clever, capable and resourceful survivors. They are notoriously curious and show a daring that many larger people can't match. They can be lured by wealth but tend to spend rather than hoard. They prefer practical clothing and would rather wear a comfortable shirt than jewelry. Halflings stand about 3 feet tall and commonly live to see 150.


Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

I feel so guilty that I've let this meme slip. But I was reading enough other posts... For once I don't have a list of new books to try - instead the theme is Barbara Hambly. Maybe I'll have to reread some of hers. Or finally try her Star Trek novel.

Currently Reading
Sarah Ash's Prisoner of the Iron Tower. It's book two in her Tears of Artamon trilogy. This is a reread. Tasty epic fantasy. It reminds me of the Ile Rein books by Martha Wells or Paula Volsky's books in being post Renaissance !Europe. A lot of angsty "I won't eat young women" drama from the main character, but does include a couple of good young women. And a crotchy old witch. I shall probably continue though to the duology set afterwards.

Recently Finished
Lord of Snow and Shadows is book one of the previously mentioned trilogy. I think I picked up this paperback on my grand backpacking trip, as the cover price is in pounds.

I mainlined all 23 volumes of Fruits Basket. So very sweet. Thankfully is no longer crazy popular, so the library's copies of volumes 21 and 22 were on the shelves, because for no good reason I own every volume except those two. It's pretty much the only manga I reread. I thought the parts about Tohru's parents was hard the first time I read it. Now they make ball.

I also read three Sector General books by James White. While the sexual politics is somewhat dated (these were three of the last books, so written post 1980), I like the scale of the conflicts; all the books are set on a inter species hospital. I think my favorite is the alien chef who just wants to improve hospital food, but keeps causing minor catastrophes. Eventually he saves a newly contacted species by showing vegetarian food can be tasty.

And it's Wednesday again. This will not be terribly in depth, as I've been headachy all day (enough that I emailed in sick this morning and napped most of the day).

What are you reading?
Nothing right now. Finished my last book a minute ago and about to go back to bed.

What did you just finish reading?
After highly enjoying her podcast Galatic Suburbia, I decided to try Tansy Rayner Roberts' Love and Romanpunk. Very enjoyable collection of short stories. Not deep, but a fun romp. I shall keep an eye open for her other books.

My favorite read this week was Nicola Griffth's Slow River. I'm also worried when a book touches on my area of specialty, but this is my favorite science fiction novel partially set in in a high tech sewage treatment plant (with a side of bioremediation). I was in the mood for more like Ammonite, and remembered that I had this on my "to read" shelf (which I don't actually use). Good choice.

Ilona Andrews' (actually, written by a couple named Ilona and Andrew) Steel's Edge was my light and fluffy read of the weekend. I can't handle their other series due to world building choices, but for romance fantasy, I like their Edge series. Someday I'll fully develop my rant about the continuum of urban fantasy, but this is of the type that gets its plotting from the romance end.

Karen Lords' Best of All Possible Worlds. Enjoyed. Plot seemed very random at time, but I enjoyed it, especially it realized that there is enough room in a planet for a variety of cultures.

And I finished Karen Healey's Shattered. Now I want to go to New Zealand. Sadly, I think Lawnchair will veto the idea with the fear that I would spend all my money on wool.

What are you going to read next?
I plan to start Judith Herrin's Women in Purple. After reading a good review in someone's Reading Wednesday (see, I'm keeping up this meme because it has really helped my reading list recently), I complained because the public library didn't have a copy and it wasn't cheap. Lawnchair helpfully asked if I'd checked the Uni library. They did have a copy, so he checked it out for me (and pointed out that if it was a subject that interested me there was plenty of other books on that subject shelved nearby).

Graydown loaned me Elizabeth Bear's Shoggoths in Bloom. I'm usually not a fan of short stories, but Bear is really good at them. Not sure what I'll start as my lunch book, but I've got a couple of unreads on the Nook.

List of all the places mentioned in Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere. Bold those you've been to. It doesn't matter if it is the biggest town of that name. For example, Ottawa includes both Ottawa, ON, and Ottawa, KS.
( Cut for length )

Note new icon. I chatter about books enough, I need a picture of my internet face (Lju) with a pile of books. Yes, that is food I tried to bribe her with.

( Cut for length. Despite my addiction, I'm not terribly well read )

What do you call?

( Cut because long )