HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It’s Labor Day. A holiday. Remember holidays? My mom used to say vacations were only fun if you had something to have a vacation FROM. So--yeah, a day “off” is hardly what many people want right now. A day ON would be better.
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| Hank's office |
Trying to persevere, I have claimed my office as my work space, just like “before.” (Except for the posters in the windows that block the too-much-light for the zoom camera.) Jonathan has been using the table in the den, very pleasant, short-term, but hardly like his law office. We have ordered a desk and chair for him, and we’re going to put it on the third floor and make a separate office for him. (Luckily it all comes disassembled, so we can carry the pieces up, and then put it together up there. Like a ship in a bottle.)
There are computer wires and light cords and extension cords EVERYWHERE.
Reds and readers, how are you and your families working these days?
JENN McKINLAY: Hub’s office is the living room, the Hooligans go to school in their bedrooms, and my office, which used to be in the corner of the kitchen before it become Grand Central Station as my people forage through the refrigerator and pantry ALL DAY LONG, is now a neighbor’s house. They live in Alaska and only use the house for winters, so I’ve been keeping an eye on the place and working there during the day in blissful peace and quiet. I hope the Hooligans are back at school and Hub returns to work before the neighbors come for winter!
RHYS BOWEN: Hank, I am in awe of you hauling a desk and chair to the third floor and then ASSEMBLING THEM! I have done more than my share of assembly over the years and it never gets easier. “Make sure sprog C is aligned with smurgle F but don’t tighten before you have inserted waddle K.”
HANK: Totally. We have not unpacked the boxes, just saying. And there’s always a missing something. Anyway.
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| Rhys's office |
RHYS: As far as work space nothing has changed for me. I’ve had my office in this house since 1980. It’s a small room and I could actually have any of the five bedrooms on this floor but I like to be surrounded by my reference materials, everything within easy reach. It is also, being downstairs on our hillside location, much cooler in summer. I do have a more elegant (meaning tidier) office for when I do Zoom interviews. It has book cases full of my books.
John has his own (very messy) office to which the door is shut at all times with a notice to cleaning lady not to enter. I really feel for families who are trying to make this online life work. My daughter Clare is running the online teaching for her school. Both kids are online. Her husband also teaching online but finds it easier to drive in to his classroom and work from there.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Nothing has changed work space-wise for me, either. I actually have two desks, one downstairs in our sun porch, which is lovely in the mornings--at least until it gets really cold. I can look out over the back yard, enjoy the flowers and the birds. But by midday it gets too bright and hot, so I usually move upstairs to my "real" office, in one of our two upstairs bedrooms. It's a lovely cozy room, but in neither space do I have a convenient bookcase to show up in Zoom! I do have bookshelves in the upstairs office, but they're on the same wall as my desk. Otherwise they're scattered all over the house. Rick's office is in one of the downstairs bedrooms, and although I have file cabinets in there, I do not touch his stuff on pain of death!
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| Lucy's--er, Lottie's--office |
LUCY BURDETTE: Things have changed a lot for me, but it’s not a direct result of the pandemic. It’s because of the pandemic puppy, Lottie. For years, I’ve written upstairs in bed. I know that’s ergonomically and sleep hygienically incorrect, but it worked, and I couldn’t break myself of it. Until Miss Lottie puppy came along. Now to spend time with her managing housebreaking and so on, I’ve had to move to the porch where John has his “office.” T-bone is often out there with us too. When it gets too cold outside, the whole family will move to the den. When I’ve had a Zoom event, I’ve moved upstairs to my little nook office off the bedroom, where I can control the chaos.
I also used to keep a neat house, but for now, this wish is doomed…
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, I think you may need to invest in a “She-shed” before your neighbors come back with the cooler temps. On my part, there are now fewer home office/school spaces since Youngest and the Guest Son went back to university. (I’m not moving any furniture around, though. If they make it all the way to Thanksgiving break it will be a miracle.) I’m still in my parlor office and the Maine Millennial is still set up in the kitchen.
My big work change has been the unexpected death of my ancient (7 years old) laptop. I’ve got a spiffy new one, but I’m discovering 1) I haven’t backed up nearly the amount of material I thought I had, and 2) I’ve been relying on the saved password function so much I’ve forgotten most of my passwords. Sigh.
HANK: Do not get me started on the password thing. Another blog, another time. YEESH. So how about you, Reds and readers? Are you taking the day off? How has your workplace changed? (And can you BELIEVE how different our offices are?)
Oh, yes, Hank, I definitely need a day ON instead of a day off . . . .
ReplyDeleteMy computer has always been in the living room on one of those desks you can choose stand up or sit down to work; I mostly worked at home before everything closed and we all HAD to stay home so nothing much has changed for me in that regard.
Julia, I have a neat little book that I got in the Hallmark store; it’s tabbed [like those personal telephone books we used to have]; it has a spot for user names and passwords for every website you want to list and it keeps me from forgetting all those passwords . . . .
That is such a good idea, ‘Joan! I have an app called Keeper that I enter all my passwords in.
DeleteAnd how about when you try to enter a password, and it doesn’t work and you try and try and try it, then you finally have to change the password. Then you put in the one you tried, and it says can’t use previous password. Ahhhh
Story of my life with the passwords! Can't someone do something?
DeleteI keep a paper list, too, Joan, and I love the idea of a tabbed "address book"! I've recently had to install a new OS--not once, but twice! The process ate all my stored passwords.
DeleteI have a horrible scrap of paper--it is a disaster. this is a whole blog!
DeletePasswords, saved on paper, but I like the notebook with tabs idea. Thanks Joan.
DeleteI use Dashlane as a vault which should be foolproof but isn’t. Exactly what Hank said. You change password because former one won’t work then it says can’t use former password ! Grrrr
DeleteI use KeyPass, a password manager that syncs across platforms, so I have it on my laptop AND on my phone, and I LOVE it. The only problem is you cannot forget your master password!
DeleteI use Last Pass for those reasons, Debs. It syncs to my laptop and my phone. Heavenly. I also keep a Rolodex (remember those) with passwords. Since I began the Rolodex cards long before password managers were in existence it holds some of my rarely used but most likely needed at some time passwords.
DeleteNo big change for me. I either plop down on the couch with my laptop or work on my rolltop desk in a corner of the kitchen. Since I am retired/self unemployed my work is boring stuff like paying bills. Frank was having a last hurrah until covid shut it down. He was handed a consulting gig and was spending part of each week in Midland and elsewhere investigating white collar crimes. His computer setup is on a built-in desk in the hallway at the head of the stairs. He does some virtual Red Cross work there from time to time.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds interesting, Pat!! Any plot fodder in there?
DeleteAlways!
DeleteNo change in workspace here. My husband works in what's considered an essential industry and has been working at the plant this whole time. No kids here, so I still have my home office. Early on in this mess, I thought I'd declutter the house and tidy my office. Neither has happened. If anything, it's all much worse.
ReplyDeleteHank, I have great faith in your ability to put that desk and chair together!
We shall see! Thank you for the vote of confidence!
DeleteYou can do it, Hank!
DeleteYes, all your workspaces are so different from each other!
ReplyDeleteLike Annette, no change. I hang out in my upstairs office where I write, brainstorm, and monitor the street. I did finally clean my office a little - but not the rest of the house.
Oh , one step at a time!
DeleteChiming in late... Like Rhys and Debs, my work space hasn't changed. My office is a tiny room with windows on three walls and books on the fourth, with just enough room to turn around. It's the room that was the kids' playroom when they were growing up. Maybe that's why I waited until they were past "play" stage to get serious about writing. My husband who retired a year ago, is ensconced in a comfy chair in our family room, surrounded by his beloved newspapers and crossword puzzles, his computer, and an in-process jigsaw puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLove your office, Hallie! It is perfect. And love to your dear husband. Hmmmm. Does he do the spelling bees in the NYT Sunday Magazine?
DeleteI love your office too Hallie. It was especially fun when you had stacks and stacks of advance reader copies of new books:)
DeleteI was a telecommuter before telecommuting was cool. I started back in 1988, as a stringer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (newspaper) and have worked remotely off and on ever since.
ReplyDeleteFor the past ten years, however, I had been making the daily commute to an office in Dallas because my boss always wanted to see my smiling face. He is an extrovert, who wants to be surrounded by his people. It took a city-wide shutdown for him to let us all go home. I am an introvert, who loves the opportunity to work from home again.
So now I have my regular desktop computer on a table between my kitchen and den, and my work computer, with voice-over mic, all the files, and other office stuff set up on what would be my dining table, if I ever dined. The dining room/front room is still a fortress of boxes I haven't dealt with from the move, but working in there gives me some incentive to clear a few more of them out. It all fuctions, kind of, but I really wish my dining table wasn't round.
Seeing Hank's table, and your comment about your round one, I wonder how comfortable it is for you guys to work from a table at that height. I noticed Hank's chair has two cushions, but normally a dining room table is 2-3" too high for good ergonomics. You should be able to put your feet flat on the floor, and have your keyboard at a level that allows your forearms to stay roughly parallel to the floor.
DeleteA round table just would not work!
DeleteYes, Karen, to work from my kitchen table (where I plop the sewing machine on an as-needed basis), I need a cushion to get me up to a workable height, then there's the dangling feet problem.
DeleteBoth my desks are actually tables, but the one upstairs I had made 3 inches lower than dining height, and on the vintage library table downstairs (which Gigi helped me get home from a yard sale) I got Rick to cut the legs down. But the floor in the porch slopes, so the legs had to be a bit longer on the down side! I also use ergonomic footrests and ergonomic chairs, both places.
DeleteSo, Karen, do you think I’m too high or too low?
DeleteDebs, is your office what might have once been considered a nursery?
ReplyDeleteHank, for lighting you could just bounce light off all those golden statuettes!
We have not changed anything, and have settled even more firmly in our respective work spaces. My pretty antique early-Craftsman desk is perfect for the study/guest bedroom. I can answer the door from here, hear the microwave ding, and even know when the washer stops, or I can close the door and work in peace. Steve has his workspace in an upstairs bedroom that has a door to the upper deck, so it's filled with light, and surrounded by tall trees.
It's not quite the physical separation we had when his office was half a mile away, but it's working, to our great relief.
The transition to two people home was not easy. Then everyone had to do it, and we're just LUCKY it's only two! Plus pets of course
DeleteKaren, my office used to be Kayti's bedroom. But as she was twelve when we moved into this house, she probably wouldn't appreciate it being called a nursery, lol
DeleteKaren that sounds perfect! Yes, from my office I can hear the dishwasher, and the washing machine in the basement. And the phone and the doorbell. So funny what we need!
DeleteKitchen table for me, office adjoining the kitchen for my husband, which also houses the printer. We each get half the dining room table for spreading out projects. During hubs's Friday afternoon conference calls with his grad students, I evacuate to the screened porch or upstairs. We're making it work.
ReplyDeleteTeamwork!!!
Delete"Middle Room," as it is called has been my office since 4 out of 5 kids moved out. Former husband lives just down the street, so the office is all mine. Cleaned out 3 big bags of "trash", at the and of June to start school year "fresh." Have my "needed," books here from school to give me since of security. As a teacher, I spent 4 hours yesterday becoming familiar with the wonders of ZOOM. From March to June we used GOOGLE meets. Going back teaching remotely now we have a new platform. Today I expect to spend at least another 4 hours becoming familiar with the new LMS curriculum, with all it's bells and whistles. Starting 24th year teaching and each year has been a change in curriculum as well as rooms/grade(sometimes). Have felt like a stationary duck in a carnival shooting gallery, with everything and everyone taking pop shots at me. Daughter who lives with me, uses the extended living room for her work. Can't imagine what it would have been like if pandemic had happened with all 7 of us in the house as before..EEKKKK
ReplyDeleteYou are so tough! I am so intrigued by all these stories of perseverance and flexibility. Don’t you think?
DeleteFirst, Roberta/Lucy, the blueberry coffee cake is delicious, with or without ice cream. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteWe are both retired and you'd think that with all of the time we have that I'd have cleaned everything up and out by now. But, I have not. The house is twice as messy. The office is Jonathan's old bedroom. I share my computer with Irwin and he uses it much more because he plays bridge on line. (Sharing, remember!?) My papers are all over the house. I have not gone through the back issues of cooking magazines as I promised. I have not gone through the photos which are now sitting in cartons in the guest bedroom because our lower level flooded and I took them upstairs to get them out of danger. And, I have not gone into the basement to un-save all of the toys and books I put there when we changed the kids' bedrooms into office and guest room. So, bigger messes and let's not discuss this here again.
I just burst out laughing, Judy! Point well taken!
DeleteWe are sisters of the heart, Judy.
DeleteLaughing, Lucy/Roberta, sorry-not-sorry--that Lottie is a force to be reckoned with! Luckily our cats and the mini-dach are older. But I won't show you the results of having a 5-year-old home with no one to play with. Once upon a time we had a rule that toys not played with got retired to the basement and could only come back up if something else went down. Ha! I have conceded the kitchen/dining area, the living room, foyer (extra piano) etc. and now have a desk in a corner of my bedroom. Of course, the little guy likes to hang out with me when dad is busy with classes, so the creep of toys is slowly making its way into my territory. I do work part-time at the local library, so get to escape home, and we've recently re-opened to the public as our county went down to orange from red level. People are SO happy to be allowed back into the library and are really good about mask-wearing, getting new materials, and not lingering. School started back up (the middle school is located in town) and the kids aren't allowed to hang out in the library after school, so that's very different. We're a small, rural school district, but I'm holding my breath and praying we won't see sick kids/teachers/staff.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of juggling! Please keep us posted…
DeleteI work at a nursing home so no change in my work either. I'd love a day off here and there, especially since the board decided last year that we are no longer able to accumulate vacation hours. Instead of a set number per year we've always built up vacation based on hours worked, so each paycheck you're earning a percentage of vacation and it just collects. They decided to do away with that and everyone had until March to use it or lose it. Me and a few others have about 4 months worth of vacation (previous supervisor used to only let certain staff take vacation) so no way we could use it all in time. Then the virus hit so the board decided to hold off in case we got short staffed. We haven't had any cases and staffing hasn't really changed so we're assuming any day they'll go back to the original plan and our vacation will suddenly disappear. Still not sure how to use all that though.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about this… are you sure they can do that ? Are you in a union or anything, now that it’s Labor Day :-) seems like a time to ask.
DeleteNo union around here. Small enough place they can pretty much do whatever. Everybody's complained and tried to explain we accrue vacation every time we work, there's no way to use literally every hour. They've never listened about other issues, we have no reason to think this will come out any different. Just have to wait and see.
DeleteIf they won't listen to your explanations, take the damn vacation. Take it all at once. The whole freakin' month. When your supervisor says you can't do that, bring a calendar in and tell him/her you're willing to work around his scheduling issues, but you earned that vacation, and you're due. Also, figure out what that vacation is worth in dollars earned, and if they continue to deny it, ask for a lump sum settlement. Take it to the corporate level, or a state employment board, or wherever you have to go, but they can't promise it with one hand and take it away with the other. If they fire you, sue.
DeleteYeah. I don't think they can make it impossible to use. I know it seems difficult, and goodness knows I have worked for employers like that, and ultimatums are hard. I mean, if you are going to work-to-rules, they have to pay you what they promised. You call, though, you know what's best for you.
DeleteOh, Julia, I'm so sorry to hear about your computer. I hope you haven't lost any vital files and that you recover your passwords soon.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is always incredibly traumatic.
DeleteJenn, I agree with Julia that a she-shed is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteHank, I am working on setting up an office corner at home. It is slowly developing.
Diana
Yay! By the time Jenn’s neighbors get home, you have to hope everything will have changed. Or yes, she shed it will be :-)
DeleteJulia, how awful about your computer. I keep an external backup - religiously once a month and then for any new work on a daily basis. It makes changing computers easy when I am absolutely forced to do so. Many folks I know keep everything in the "cloud." I am old and suspicious and don't trust the "cloud" which is really a comforting name for someone else's server, thus an external backup drive for me.
ReplyDeleteMy office has changed and not changed. I've worked remotely since 2006 from either Maine or Florida so my day job office and my writing office were all set up with two sets of everything. In July we returned to Maine and I lost my day job so when I set up my Maine office I only needed one desk, chair, computer and printer. It was a pleasure and feels so much more spacious! Hubs is retired but hobby rich. He is all set up in the basement with a desk, computer, printer, easel, model building table, tools, and the spare refrigerator.
Hank, about those chairs and desks - I bought a new Temperpedic chair that needed assembly. I was happily impressed at how easy it was - and no missing parts :)
Oh, that is good to hear! The chair I used for years suddenly was so uncomfortable, then I used a dining room chair and that was worse. so I will work on the new one ASAP!
DeleteGood luck with the chair, Hank!
DeleteI bought a new chair when I brought my 'office' office home. It came in a big box, which I dragged into my front hall. The light was good there, and I had room to spread out, so that's where I assembled it. It wasn't that hard, even considering that the instructions were written in a form of English I have never seen before. Ths pictures were good, and the chair is very comfortable.
DeleteI will keep you all posted!
DeleteAnd, in office sharing difficulties that could only come during the pandemic, turns out Jonathan and I cannot be on separate zooms at the same time! So if I have an event, and he has court, someone has to reschedule. or do it on the phone. seems like that should not happen, doesn’t it?
ReplyDeleteMy home office is in a loft overlooking half the first floor. The shape of the vaulted ceiling makes it so I can hear anything that occurs on first floor better up here than if I was down there. Which is fine when the dogs are sleeping. And the Zoom! I can't do a deposition while the kid is on line in school. Don't know how this is going to play out.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Keep us posted.xoxooo
DeleteSince I work from home full time, not much has changed. I'm still at my little desk in a corner of my sunroom. The change is that when the temperatures dip (not expected for many months now), I'll be able to move upstairs into The Boy's newly-empty (and newly-cleaned) bedroom. For Zoom events, I move around to whatever place has the best light.
ReplyDeleteThe big change for me is The Hubby has commandeered the desk in The Girl's room. He's also commandeered the desk chair that used to be in The Boy's room, so I see a chair purchase in our future.
I will let you know how ours works!
DeleteI am looking at desk chairs now, Liz. I need one desperately.
DeleteI like the one I bought from Staples a year ago, but I'm always on the lookout for something better.
DeleteI'm back at work and since I work in a warehouse with a small staff, it is pretty easy to keep distant from each other for the most part.
ReplyDeleteI'm off from work today and like any day that I don't have to go into work, I am relaxing as much as possible. I slept later than usual since I didn't have to set the alarm clock. Once I was up and presentable for the day, I wrote up a CD review and submitted that.
Otherwise, I don't plan to do much of consequence. I'm hoping to finish my DVD rewatch of NYPD Blue Season 7 and then catch a movie on PPV (Deep Blue Sea 3). And I'm going to finish reading Paige Shelton's 'Lost Books and Old Bones'.
My "office" is my bedroom since that's where the computer and stereo are located. Everything I need to work on is in the room so there's no need to spread out across the house. And since I'm alone, I don't have to worry about tripping over other people and I'm the only hooligan foraging for food in the kitchen.
I also don't have anywhere near the kind of deadlines that everyone else has so I can do things at my own pace. Hell, I already submitted article #151 in my Cassette Chronicles series a couple days ago so I don't have to worry about that next one for a few days.
Relax! Yay!
DeleteInspired by this post, I actually spent a little time yesterday tidying my downstairs desk. Which mostly means I piled more book on every other surface in the room....
ReplyDeleteWe are inspirational! Love that. We should do a whole post on "books on surfaces"!
DeleteDebs, I'm trying to figure out how I can buy one more small glass-fronted book case to display some of my hardback collectibles, like the the seven hardbacks I just bought of your series. I had the paperbacks, but I wanted the hardbacks, and I ran across a friend selling lots of her first editions and signed hardback books. Now, how two sneak a case in without husband seeing it. He is going out of town, so I might have a window to do that.
DeleteYou go for it, Kathy!!!
DeleteI'm reading everyone's responses and smiling, nodding and then I got to Alicia's and I said "yup, me too". I work for home care agency so I still get to go to work everyday sit in my little cubicle and schedule staff to see patients and do all those lovely little computer reports that are necessary to keep the "powers that be" happy and so everyone can get paid. But I'm also supposed to taking time off. It was one of my goals, believe it or not, when I had my annual review - take more time off. An odd goal but it was mine and it was embraced because I rarely take time for me. At one point in my life with this agency, if you reach the maximum number of hours that could be accrued you were forced to take the off. I think it's only be enforced on two people, me being one of them. I'm still dealing with boxes after the move, really need to get that done so I can have my new couch delivered. I do get today off, full time office staff get holidays off. I'll move around some boxes until this afternoon when the over 100° temps are supposed to happen. Then I'll huddle in my cushy chair, read, watch the Giants game and drink lots of water and diet soda and pray we don't have any rolling blackouts. I actually have an air conditioning home for the first in my life.
ReplyDeleteIt was 107 here yesterday when I finished running at noon. We reached 114 at 4:30. We went ti dinner in Cupertino, and it was still 104 at 7:00 pm. Enjoy your air conditioning! We didn’t have it until about five years ago, but the summers are so much hotter it has become a necessity. I’ve been working from the family room couch when I’m working from home. I still have an office, so I use that most days too. Hubs is now full-time remote and is using the dining room table. We bought him a new chair. I have a nice office set up here at home but rarely use it.
DeleteOh so scary. And yes, "time off" takes on a whole new meaning. (We don;t have AC, and there are days...Yikes.) But yikes, Susan, not 114!
DeleteYes, and the fires continue to burn, our air quality has improved a bit, but it is still smoky here in the Bay Area.
DeleteAt 2pm it's 106 in Santa Rosa. It will get warmer. I didn't have AC until 3 months ago. I'm trying to remember to keep the fan on auto and not continuous.
DeleteYikes. I am so sorry to hear that...oxo
DeleteWe reached 113 at 4:00 pm.
DeleteI'm working at my kitchen table. I'm also working from home for the first time in my life. I'm discovering I really enjoy it. I'm going to miss it when I go back to the office. No idea when that will be at this point. We've been told we are working from home through the end of the year at least.
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't it a weird thought? I've been wondering about that, too.
DeleteThanks, Rhys
ReplyDelete“Make sure sprog C is aligned with smurgle F but don’t tighten before you have inserted waddle K.”
And when I get to page 6 of the instructions I find something wrong. That means undoing multiple pages of directions and then starting again. (I speak from LEGO experience here).
Oh, yes. And "the kids" don't even look at the instructions! xxx
DeleteI've been busy lately carving out my office space. Some of you may have seen my FB post showing the close-to-finished product. We inherited the desk from my mother-in-law's living room, a lovely piece made by a local furniture maker years ago. MIL had it as a decorative piece. For me, it will be a working desk. It's not what I would have chosen taste-wise, but I'm okay with it. I needed a desk from which to write reviews and have a good Zoom background. That background is a built in bookcase unit I had done about 20 years ago. It contains lots of books and some of my quirky toys and treasures. There are cabinets on the lower half. Part of getting the office area ready was cleaning out those cabinets and cleaning out paperwork. At least I now have all our important documents in filed in the important papers binder and other items in their proper folders. We had to move the desk to the area it needed to be, and I found out just how heavy it is. So much cleaning out and cleaning involved in a small space. Who would have thought it. To my left are sliding glass doors, never used as doors, but as big window, so I can look out back, which is nice. My Canterbury Tales large framed print sits above my desk, and I love to look at it. I've got a bit more to go, but I'm happy with the results so far.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just read Debs' comments above, and I'll have to add that I've been doing a lot of book shifting and weeding, too. It's a losing battle, but I try not to admit that.
ReplyDeleteI am so very late today, and I keep thinking of things I left out. Julia, I just got a new computer, an HP that I am happy with, so far. I got the new one before the old one completely gave out, so I was able to copy the material on it, and now I need to work on transferring it from the thing-a-ma-bob.
ReplyDeleteYou have been SO busy,Kathy! (And the important papers organization is very very wise!)
DeleteAbout the vacation days, years ago the bank gave us 2 personal days a year but each department told their workers at different times. One jerk never did but Freda knew so she just called in and took the day off! I hope you get your days off.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm retired and live alone, I have the whole house to suit me. So my comics and neck rolls are on Mom's old chair where I can reach them. The dining room table has things to go outside or go upstairs, etc. Stay safe and well.
You, too, dear Sally!
DeleteMy hubby bought me an antique desk which he retrofitted to have an ergonomically friendly keyboard holder, I ordered a chair and printer from Staples, and since May I've been up at our camp in Northern Ontario on Lake Superior (10 hours north of Toronto, to give you an idea). I usually have author events in Southern Ontario, and so I'm back and forth a bit, but this year, I've just stayed put. It's been quite lovely, being by the water, seeing the sunset over the lake each night. But I do miss being Author Judy, signing books, going to conferences and bookstores and bookclubs. One day...maybe.
ReplyDeleteJenn, how fortunate to have your good neighbor watchfulness turn into a great workspace! <3
ReplyDeleteHank, I also moved disassembled pieces a few at a time when I couldn't possibly have carried the heavy box up to my 2nd floor condo. May the assembly go well. ;-)
My heart goes out to all, especially teachers, trying to achieve a semblance of normal activities in this scary pandemic.
Retired now for so long that I echo the Dowager Duchess, "What's a weekend?" but I did tell colleagues that I'd help however I can because it's HARD.