corona lockdown day 291- second lockdown day 6

 I went downtown to drop off the Rustle deposit- I didn't need to see anyone, just drop it into a slot. There was a new sign on their door verifying that there were no cases of covid in their branch, which may explain why they were closed on Monday. Maybe someone needed to get tested but the result was negative. At any rate, it was pleasant enough out that I could wear my rain shoes instead of my bulky winter boots.

I had an interview today and worked on contracts.

Made a chef's plate that we have pretty regularly some variation of beef Bolognese.

This evening I am watching elevation church praise party.

corona lockdown day 290- second lockdown day 5

 Today the locksmith came to fix the mailbox lock at Rustle and it had fixed itself, so that was good. There was a snow flurry about that time and it made it a bit difficult to walk as there was ice under the snow. 

I had interviews today and continue to make progress in the courses.

I received an email asking for support- apparently 2021's first victim:

Made Barbosa (?) tacos- quite good!

Have to tackle some more work before bed.

corona lockdown day 289- second lockdown day 4

 Today I slept in so didn't get as much accomplished as I hoped from the morning. I did get out for a walk. Worked a lot on the courses. There were only 3 new cases in Kingston today but there is some concern of a possible outbreak in a store at the mall before Christmas but as it has already been 7 days since the known infected people were there the outbreak appears to be limited so far but we shall see.

I watched an interesting documentary on South Africa while I worked.

The White Slums Of South Africa (Poverty Documentary) | Real Stories - YouTube

corona lockdown day 288- second lockdown day 3

 Today I got up early to go downtown. I needed to go to the bank for Rustle however, when I got there there was a sign that said they were closed for "unexpected circumstances". I didn't know if that meant a building problem or a covid but I was not successful in that part of the trip. I was more successful at Food basics as it was very quiet and pleasant to shop at even though they also did not have much meat. They did have the sale chickens (whole) though  and I put it in the slow cooker and it made a very nice meal. Whole chickens tend to cook the best even though I don't like dark meat, the process of cooking it altogether is better than the parts.

I then had to call the locksmith to try to fix the Rustle mailbox and I have an appointment for Wed.

Kingston's numbers have not been too bad 3-4 every day for the last few days. I find it odd the lack of reporting due to holidays in the pandemic. You would think if the pandemic was so important they would report every day.

I got a bunch of my contracts out today which was good. Still a long way to go.

corona lockdown day 287- second lockdown day 2

 So I started the day with a trip to a different dollar store as my regular one did not have James's dental picks. I don't like this other one so much as it has long narrow aisles and it is difficult to avoid people. There weren't many people except one of the workers was wearing the mask incorrectly and seemed to be coughing. But I made it through in pretty quick time so hopefully that was ok in the end.

Watched Rustle online (no inperson due to the shutdown)

Went for a walk with Christine as she was feeling low. When we came back I tried the Rustle mailbox and my key didn't fit and Todd came by as well and his key didn't fit either. He had opened the mailbox earlier in the day so it must have been damaged in the pervious few hours. I'll have to call a locksmith tomorrow.

corona lockdown day 286- second lockdown day 1

 No reported cases today- the lockdown worked. Haha- our assessment center was closed yesterday.

Last night it snowed but there was a lot of ice underneath making it very slippery to walk. I should have had my ice cleats out. I did make a very brief slippery trip to shoppers to pick up things from their regular saturday sales. I looked at their Christmas chocolate but the 50% off chocolate was still very expensive so I did not pick up any.

I did some work but have not tackled my email yet.

Made hamburgers for dinner- very easy and little clean up!

corona lockdown day 285- Christmas!

 This morning an old heritage building that was on a construction site fell apart so there was a lot of activity there. I took a walk in the morning and saw the activity from a distance. I also walked past the location of the fire from a week or so ago and saw that they had cleared up most of the rubble. You could see how the building beside it was singed. No injuries in partial building collapse – Kingston News (kingstonist.com)

We had a nice time Zooming with family and opening gifts.

Made bacon and brownies for dinner.

Last night I watched "Half Broken Things"(2007) which was an interesting story about wounded people working together to create a peaceful existence. The characters are all liars and are living a lie but they are all so likeable because of their brokenness that it is forgivable. But living a lie cannot go on forever and there are disastrous consequences.

corona lockdown day 284

 Today there were odd things missing from the stores.

Went to Metro first- while Loblaws didn't have turkey breast, Metro often has a better selection. Not today. They didn't even have any whole turkeys. So I would guess turkey is pretty much out in Kingston. We'll be having bacon for dinner tomorrow. Thank you frozen food box. (I could have ordered turkey from them if I was foresightful enough but I did not know the scarcity that there would be. I got cheese, juice and apples.

Went to Giant Tiger- James wanted a horrid kind of Doritos that they normally have in stock, but they did not. I am somewhat thankful for this. Picked up some buns to go with the bacon.

Went to the dollar store because James needed dental floss picks (he manages them better than real dental floss) but they didn't have any.

All this done in the rain and with minimal people around so I guess that was good.

There is a Christmas eve service at Rustle that I am about to leave for. Also in the rain.

corona lockdown day 283

 Today was a long day of interviews, then made calzones then worked into the wee hours to complete work I couldn't get to because I was in interviews. Things are getting rolling for the winter term though, which is good.

corona lockdown day 282

 The grocery store is where things are at. Like everyone was at the grocery store in the last few days. Partly Christmas. Partly lockdown. I went to Food Basics first thing in the morning and there was a line up outside so I turned around and went to Loblaws which didn't have a line up outside but had a line up for the cash all the way across the building. I picked up the essentials that I needed and went out the self check out (that did not have a line up). Looking on Google maps, the stores remained packed all day. What a time.

I did watch the Bach'ette tonight and while I thought I wasn't going to like it, I did like the ending.

I still have to contact our clients for the projects tonight before bed.

corona lockdown day 281

 Today was a very long day but I am hopeful that some things are coming together.

I did get a walk to Rustle and to see Tabitha. 

Stores seemed busy either in preparation for Christmas or lockdown. Our numbers were good today- below double digits. Hopefully that remains.

I made a nice chili type stew (lots of veggies to get rid of things that were on the edge of going bad and no beans)

corona lockdown day 280

While we technically will be in orange tomorrow it sounds like a full lockdown is coming on the 24th so we'll find out tomorrow what that may entail. I mean Toronto and peel have been in full lockdown and I'm not sure things have improved. 

Today I did get to go in person to Rustle and we did the gift giving. Likely the last time in person for a while.

Trying to catch up on work- have a long list of things to do tomorrow to get ready for the term. 

corona lockdown day 279

 On Monday we will move to Orange

I am not sure what changes this will make other than in restaurants and large events.

I did some shopping in the morning which for the most part was light. When I was at a self-checkout I heard a guy talking to the live cashier to say he was just in from Toronto. And I was like- dude- you don't want to admit that right now.

Made hamburgers for lunch before James went off to play pond hockey. Saw Deborah and her dog.

corona lockdown day 278

 I went to Loblaws first thing. It was a bit busy. Busier than you would expect for 8am. But I was efficient and made it in and out quickly.

I went to the online funeral for Amanda. It was pretty sad to see how all broken up everyone was.

Having fun with my new balance board. I trying different short exercise routines from youtube. It is pretty cool.

corona lockdown day 277

 Yesterday was exiting for this time I guess. James is not thrilled by the cold for when he needs to walk to school. Today is the last school day before the break and potentially for a while if rumors of the pivot to online learning are true.

There was a sudden death in the parking lot a block away. I'm guessing a medical emergency rather than a murder.

There is a covid outbreak at joyceville penitentiary- 84 tested positive

James drove out to get his award from last year in a small ceremony with just him and the coaches. I got to experience his driving. It isn't bad except the corners could be better.

corona lockdown day 276

 I made some progress on the projects for next term but have a lot more progress to make tomorrow.

In addition to Amanda's family the Rustle community suffered a loss: 

Body found near Tilton Lake Rd. that of missing Val Caron woman Amanda Oake - Sudbury.com

Amanda was a beautiful spirit who was always full of joy of life. She moved from Kingston because Ron had been working relatively close (but still was away a lot of the time) but he normally worked more in northern ontario. She wanted to learn to be a pilot.

Our case numbers were around 20 today so not looking as good.

corona lockdown day 275

 I didn't get much sleep as I had slept in so it took a long time to get to sleep. Then I had to be up early to be ready to get James out the door and for an 8:30am meeting. It was cold out but James didn't realize so he wore the wrong jacket. He now knows people who are in isolation as there was a girl in his year who tested positive. Her last day at the school was Dec 7 so they are all in isolation until Dec 21. Very hard for teenagers.

Our numbers were not good today so we are inching closer to orange. A lot due to the house parties.

I made the chicken in the instant pot and it also was dry so I have come to conclude that it was the chicken not my cooking methods that was not great.

corona lockdown day 274

 The day before the return to school. I slept in. That was nice. I had heaps of email. Took James to the hairdressers. A high risk event before he starts his high risk schooling. He was very pleased with the outcome though. I went to Rustle to pick up receipts to send to the bookkeeper. Made plain chicken in the slow cooker but it kind of dried out because it was skinless so it wasn't as good as usual. I will make the rest in the instant pot tomorrow as that is probably  better for skinless chicken. Then had a board meeting. Then worked on PM assignments. Then made the spreadsheet for the bookkeeper. Now to try to get to sleep before an early wake up for both James' school and I have an early meeting.

Update on the COVID-19 Vaccine - Dec. 14, 2020

corona lockdown day 273

 It smells really bad. The wind has picked up. I walked to Food Basics (scored some toilet paper on sale and they let me buy 2 packages!) as I was about a block away from the charred wreckage I could tell it smelled really bad (like sour milk bad not like bonfire good) but I thought when I was out of wind range it was not so bad. However after I came out of Food Basics (which is a few blocks away) I had to rearrange my groceries for the walk and then I took off my mask. As soon as I took off the mask I could smell it again. I guess this is why people in toxic cities wear masks. By the time I got home my eyes were (still are) stinging. Powerful remains.

charred

 Yesterday I walked by the fire scene and it smelled very burnt and charred. They are clearly dismantling it. It looks like the firefighters did a good job keeping it from spreading to other buildings.

I walked by Canadian Tire today and they had no more live Christmas trees. Last week they had lots. Covid restrictions on trees? 

corona lockdown day 272

 Did a short trip to shoppers in the morning, in and out of the store in 5 mins thanks to the self check out.

Received a few packages today. Amazon bundled my 2 orders together, which was good of them but I don't get the intellicom emails anymore. Not sure why.

Waiting for the case numbers to come out today to see if it is an exponential day. They have already stated 2 Lowe's employees tested positive and I'm not sure if the KCVI numbers were in yesterdays count or not. The most exciting part of the day.

Skating for James seems to so far be unaffected. Not sure what happens if we go to orange. High numbers today I think would guarantee that.

Elephants Run To Greeting A New Rescued Baby Elephant

corona lockdown day 271

 A late night last night working on the project groups and they are pretty close to done now, which is good so I tried to catch up on some other things. It means I will need to do some work to help my body reset.

The case numbers are on a rather exponential trend here, though the MOH still seems confident in his video, except for the car dealership one he thinks things are under control.

2 students tested positive at KCVI and cohorts are now isolating. We'll see if more cases come out in the next few days. James is due to go back on the 15th to the new high school. Assuming it is still open.

COVID-19 Activity in KFL&A Update for December 11, 2020

corona lockdown day 270

 While the MOH seems to think that everything is under control we have had double digit days and there seem to be people down with it everywhere. There was a case at Metro in the township. It seems to be gaining momentum and not lessening.

I did go downtown to put the deposit in, it's a bit busier downtown.

Made black bean stew for dinner.

Worked late making project teams.

COVID-19 Activity in KFL&A Update for December 10, 2020

He doesn't mention this as maybe it happened after the video was filmed but I received an email to say that someone from Module Vanier tested positive (this is at KCVI) but no cohorts need to isolate so I'm thinking that this means they were self isolating early enough. Also, I guess there are still house parties.

corona lockdown day 269

 Today I walked over to the fire scene that still had the trucks on site (I think just looking for hotspots, there was no more visible fire). When the fire people cleared later in the day, the demolition crew arrived as it was unsafe to leave in the state that it was in. Speedy work on that.

Went to an online prayer meeting and an instructor meeting. I am waiting on a lot of people for a lot of things. I am still working on project groups.

Kingston had 17 new cases and a few new outbreaks so things are not looking good for us right now.

COVID-19 Activity in KFL&A Update for December 9, 2020

corona lockdown day 268- a flame!

 It was a long day today. I went to Loblaws first thing as we needed milk also picked up some other useful things. We had our last classes in the morning. Talked to the new Rustle bookkeeper and think that is on track now as well. Worked on merging 5 different spreadsheets to begin the group making process.

Around 10pm there were a lot of sirens  and I tried to look on media for what it was but couldn't find anything. There were so many it did sound serious though. I found an article now though. Apparently a large fire a block away. Fire department battles blaze on Bath Road | The Kingston Whig Standard (thewhig.com)

COVID-19 Activity in KFL&A Update for December 7, 2020

corona lockdown day 267

 

The numbers are looking worse by the day in most locations. There is an outbreak at Kim's church.

I worked on updating the onQ site for the Winter term today. Then needed to make a copy of it for another section but alas you can only copy past courses and not future courses so I had to put a ticket in and hope that I can sort this out tomorrow. Tomorrow I also hope to make the Winter term project groups, I just am trying to understand the residence cohorting system before I start.

Yesterday I put in 2 amazon orders. When I put in the first order, it immediately broke it into 2 orders both arriving on Monday. One of the things I ordered was a 1 kg package of M&Ms. (I know that it sounds like a lot but it lasts a long time). I had been watching it on Amazon- at the start of the pandemic they were $10 but for the last few months they had been $17. They had been sold out in stores here but recently were back and $15. But this is still too high for me to purchase. So yesterday they were $12. So I gave in and ordered one.

But then James realized that his hair clay was out and the only place to get it is amazon and it had been out on amazon but I looked again (after I put in the first order) and the original listing that I had purchased from was out but a very similar looking pot was available (I only just read it and it is not the same, so we'll see what James thinks) so I put what I thought was the hair clay in the cart and guess what Amazon suggested? A 1kg bag of M&Ms for the original $10! Was it just waiting for me to purchase it at a higher price? Sneaky amazon! 

At any rate this second order is due to arrive a day before the first order- on Sunday. Their delivery speed has slowed as they must be managing high volumes.

Tomorrow I have to scoot to Loblaws to pick up some things. I'll go first thing in the morning when it hopefully will be clean and quiet. James has a bunch of hockey in the evening. 

corona lockdown day 266

 Today I got up early and went to Food Basics. When I arrived there was a long line at the cash but after I quickly went through there was no line. It was pretty efficient overall. I got juice for the week.

At Rustle Ebe was speaking and he told a story about teaching the youth group about justice. He and Al and Kat run the youth group. When they go for snack all the kids sit at the tables and the table that is the quietest gets the snack first. So on this day of the story, he and Al went and sat at a table and were very quiet. So Kat was handing out the snack and she gave the snack to Al and Ebe first and she put one snack on the table for herself for when she was done handing out the snack. Ebe objected to her sitting at the table with them. When Kat asked why he said that she smelled. The kids were getting upset at how Ebe ws treating Kat! Then when Kat went to give out the snack to the other tables, Ebe threw his snack wrapper on the floor. The kids were incensed with his actions! Thus leading to Ebe being able to talk about justice and how justice is needed for peace. I think they'll remember the drama!

corona lockdown day 265

 I ventured out shopping this morning expecting things to be a bit quieter with our high case numbers yesterday but instead things seemed busier. And people no longer seemed to follow the arrows on the ground. Giant Tiger was out of sanitizer at both the entrance and the exit.

Planning the Mexican Turkey Albondigas Stew for tonight. Thanks Chef's plate.

 

corona lockdown day 264

 Today was rainy and grey. My students were ranking their projects. The new cases in Kingston were up to 14 when we had been at a steady +3 or so for the last few days so that is not so good. I took a walk in the dark when it had stopped raining and saw the silhouettes of the crows in the "crow trees" which was a bit weird. 

There is one case at KCVI  but they say no risk to students or staff so no cohorts are isolating. James hasn't been to the school in over 2 weeks so no risk to him!

corona lockdown day 262 and 263

 Yesterday I don't think I got out much. In the evening it was announced that one of out IT guys who runs the servers would be leaving for another job. Within the hour the server had shut down. I think it will miss him.

Thursday is always my busiest day but today was the end of the Thursday training sessions, so that may change. I had to run out to Loblaws to pick something up later in the day than normal and there were long line ups. Then had a board meeting in the evening.

corona lockdown day 260 and 261

 Day 260 was rainy and dreary not much to write about there.

Today I went to Loblaws in the morning, pretty quiet and efficient. In the afternoon I went to Rustle. It was mildy rainy so I wore my rain boots but it was also cold so my feet were cold when I got home.