Creature Comforts for Quarantine
First of all, how are you? How are things going for you out there? I’m honestly starting to settle into the acceptance phase of this whole thing. Of course I don’t prefer quarantine life, but it hasn’t felt like an outright assault on my mental health the last for 48 hours or so. So, you know, I’ll freaking take it!
What has helped me most this past week is spending less time on Twitter. Reactions to Trump’s daily briefings combined with reactions to his toilet tweets, were really wearing me down. Don’t get me wrong, all the outrage is entirely justified. I just desperately needed to limit my exposure to them.
It’s like limiting my sun exposure. Sure, I need my body to make vitamin D, but that doesn’t mean I should be exposing myself to direct sun for hours a day. Right?
Right. So here’s a photo essay on some of the stuff that’s been making me feel almost human the last week or so:
Zentangle Videos
I’m still uploading new videos on my channel. Most recently working with supplies from Project Pack No. 8. I really enjoyed drawing the black Zendala tile with the brightly colored Gelly Roll pens. It’s so satisfying to me to see the ink roll over the page that I’ve watched my own video at least a half dozen times. Don’t judge me!
Coloring Page for Patrons
I’m really proud of this! You might recall that at the beginning of the year, I listed making a coloring page as one of my goals for 2020. Well, I did it! I scanned a full-page Zentangle doodle from my notebook, scanned it, and used it traced the pattern using Krita so I could remove the dot grid and clean up the lines for coloring. It’s now a download for my Patrons. I also posted short videos of the process to my Facebook and Instagram. Go me!
More Cooking and Baking
Homemade FroYo
I promised in an earlier post that I’d tell you about the Dreamsicle flavored froyo recipe. It’s so simple. Three cups of plain homemade yogurt, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Then you just churn it in your ice cream maker (I used my handy KitchenAid ice cream attachment) until it’s the consistency of soft serve. So. Much. Yum!
Banana Bread
The banana bread is from a cookbook my mom sold as a fundraiser in high school. The book isn’t dated, but she guesstimates it is about 54 years old. This is the recipe we always used when I helped my mom bake as a kid. It’s my favorite for that simple reason alone.
Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole
And then there’s this chicken casserole, a recipe that came from the church potlucks of my youth. It’s chicken pieces and frozen broccoli cuts covered in a simple cheese sauce, then topped with Stove Top stuffing and baked and until everything it’s all bubbly and warm. Ah, casseroles. They aren’t fancy, but sometimes they are the only thing that will do.
Cutting My Own Hair
Yep. I really did. My mom was supposed to give me a cut, but it got delayed by coronavirus. And let me tell you, I absolutely cannot stand to grow my hair out. Not only is it impossible for me to deal with from a practical standpoint, but it also sets off the already waaaaay oversensitive nerves in my neck and shoulders post-brain surgery. So, while I’d love to have my old hair back, I have accepted that it will never happen. I have made my peace with it and I have embraced the clippers and an edgy undercut.
