Plague 2020#6

[geowench]

 We were told on Thursday that we have to come back to work by July 20, just as the Plague is really ramping up.  A foolish decision by OSU - actually OSU wants everyone back by July 7, so this week; our department has gotten approval for an extra 2 weeks for us to ease back into it.  I plan to go into the office 2 days this coming week, prob T/F, and then MWF the following week and then full time starting the 20th.  I could stay home the entire 2 weeks, but I know myself well enough to know that it will go easier for me to ease back into office life rather than suddenly make myself work full time in an office with no transition.

Today is Sunday, the final day of the long July4th weekend, which has been very low key.  On Friday we did our usual Saturday shop, and then when we got back E was an asshole to me and then he moped around all day.  He apologised and said he was feeling poorly and I figured I was in for a miserable 3 days.  But I think he was ashamed of himself for taking his bad mood out of me and although he's been quieter than usual, the rest of the weekend has been fine.  I bought a new pdf pattern which I printed out and spent most of Friday putting the pattern together, and Saturday cutting out the fabric.  I had planned on sewing it up today, but somehow I have not.  Instead I made a peach cobbler, which we'll have for dessert.  Yesterday I made E's favorite bundt cake, but I seem to have left out the baking soda, and the cake is weirdly deflated and dense, though it still tastes good and he says he doesn't mind (he take a piece to work every day for breakfast).  On Friday I made my favorite peasant bread for the first time in probably 2 years, and it was yummy.    

So this is why I don't post more often -- my life is boring.  But its my life, and I'm doing pretty well, all things considered.

Comments

[old_black]

UTS wants us back in the office in July too! It's all about being able to market yourself as being 'open for business'. They're wanting all courses to have *some* face-to-face event, so they can put their hand on their heart and say that f-t-f teaching is occurring. The thing is, they aren't allowed to fill classrooms to capacity due to COVID restrictions, so they can only have small classes and all mandatory coursework will still be delivered online in the coming semester. The f-t-f events are therefore ending up as maybe one optional review session in the week before the exams - and hoping not many people turn up because of the classroom capacity restriction.
Besides, many academics are finding they like sitting at home and doing their lectures on Zoom!

Peasant bread?! Sounds interesting . . . is it corn bread or similar?

[geowench]

When do you have to be back? I'm guessing most of us university folk are being called back this month, sigh.
The peasant bread I made is this recipe:
https://alexandracooks.com/2012/11/07/my-mothers-peasant-bread-the-best-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/
Unlike most no-knead breads, it doesn't require a super long rise time, and you bake it in pyrex bowels, giving a nice round loaf.

[old_black]

Our Spring semester starts at the end of July, and although the building where I work will be open again from then, I have told my manager that I don't want to go back at that time - and she seems sympathetic so far. If she allows me to continue at home for the Spring semester, I can stay home till October. Yay! Fingers crossed.

Bread recipe looks interesting. I don't know how available yeast is at the moment as there's been a new bout of panic buying due to resurgence of COVID-19 in Melbourne (that's 1000 km away!!).

[geowench]

It was hard to find flour and yeast here for awhile, but I had a stock, and now you can get it again - but what you can't find anywhere is whole wheat flour - the closest I've seen in unbleached white flour which is a step in the right direction, and what I usually use as the base for my baking, but I've been without WW for months now, and it's being peddled for outrageous prices online, so I'll just wait it out ...
Boy that's a run on sentence, but I'm too lazy to go properly punctuate.

[mrs_redboots]

I do hope E isn't sickening for the plague! What are the rules if he is, where you live? Here, you would have to stay at home for two weeks, and he would have to for a week after he felt better.

[geowench]

He accidentally perforated his ear drum, which is why he was grumpy, plus just feeling blue with the general state of the world. If he had covid, he'd have to stay home until he tested negative, I think - and certainly stay home during any symptoms. But OSU is taking things on a sort of case by case basis as far as I can tell, and no one seems to know how long you can pass it on once you've gotten it, so it's confusing... we've had a few acquaintances/coworkers have to be tested due to possible exposures, but they have all tested negative and not had any symptoms.

I am amazed and relieved that, even though your recovery is slow, you do seem to be recovering quite well.

[mrs_redboots]

Not really amazing - the vast majority of people do recover.  It's only really those who have to be put on ventilators who are at huge risk of dying - I think less than 1-2% of total cases.

[fineplan]

I like hearing about what's going on with you -- it's not boring at all. It sounds like you keep quite busy! I need to get back to my baking... I have pretty much stopped that lately, though I have been learning to mix drinks!

[geowench]

At this point in the shitshow that is 2020, making drinks is far more useful than making bread.

[fineplan]

Ha! That could be true. I swear every time I look at book Twitter there is a new scandal in the publishing/author world just to be the icing on the crap cake of this year... I end up feeling so torn. Like, I want to just not know bad things so I can have a more peaceful mental space. On the other hand I need to know to be good at my job, but also to make sure I'm understanding which materials are problematic to our customers when I'm buying for the library... Not in a censorship way, but insofar as I need to make sure to balance out what I get. Well, not that I have to buy everything... There are certain things I'm going to wait for someone to request before I buy them...