This and That

   Life goes on here in Minnesota. The shelter at home order has been extended for two more weeks. We are getting used to what seems to be the "new normal" for now. We have been keeping social distance from everyone except ourselves, the cats and my co workers when I'm at work. C does most of the shopping.
  The cats are enjoying this time. In their world, not much has changed. In fact things may have gotten better for them. They have food, water, treats unlimited nap time and the attention of their humans most of the time. Scamp and Colby have been groomed much more often than usual and seem to like it. (Well, Colby would prefer a bit less, but he knows that grooming keeps the hairballs away.)
   We have got our storeroom mostly organized. You can now see the floor and the shelves have been ordered so you can find things. Items we wish to donate are sitting in boxes. Some of the items require cleaning before they can be donated. I'm pretty sure that we will have to take these things to Goodwill slowly. Many people have been doing the same thing we are doing and secondhand hand stores will probably be overwhelmed with things that people have brought.
   In the process of organizing I have put all my books into a closet in a room downstairs. All of my Robert B. Parker Spenser novels are on a shelf in order of publication. I've decided to read the whole series starting at the beginning. It's been fun to see how Spenser evolves from the character he was at the beginning to the kind of man he is in the later books. I've also discovered that they are hard to put down. I can easily spend an entire afternoon finishing one book. Robert B. Parker is very descriptive without being wordy. Sometimes when we are out walking I think about how I would describe what I'm seeing using as few words as possible.
   I have been continuing on my yoga practice. I've embarked on a new 30 day challenge. Most of the practices are a little too hard for me, but I do my best. Some of the classes have been nearly an hour long. I've never done yoga that long before. I expected to get bored or tired before it was done. So far, that has not happened. I've gotten through them and felt accomplished for having done so.
  One of the things I wanted to do was learn how to make what is called a Ten stitch blanket. It's called that because it is a strip of ten stitches that moves in sort of a spiral. In order to learn how to do this you have to learn how to make a corner and you have to learn how to pick up stitches since it's worked in a continuous strip and attaches to the strip next to it. It doesn't look challenging,but it is. I'm practicing by making a washcloth. It does not look pretty, but it is helping me to practice the skills I need before I do it for real. I've also tried a bit of Tunisian crochet. I'd like to do more, but I don't have long crochet hooks.
  I'd like to find something to do with all the plastic bags have have accumulated. The grocery stores will not allow bags to be brought in, which forces us to use plastic bags. The stores are also no longer taking the bags for recycling. It's very frustrating for someone who wants to reduce waste and hates plastic grocery bags. I have heard that the  bags can be made into strips that can be knitted or crocheted. maybe I can make some mats to put in front of the cat boxes so that they don't track litter all over the place.
  Last week we got a notice that all employees will be required to wear masks at work. Thanks to the sewing skills and generosity of a few women, I have a nice collection of masks to wear. Enough that I have a clean mask for two weeks before I have to wash them. I'll be honest. I don't like wearing them. They are hot and because most of my face is covered up you can't tell if I'm smiling or frowning. If I don't get them adjusted just right, they make my glasses fog up. However, if it helps to keep people safe or even to make them feel better, I'll wear it.
  Now since the weather is nice, I'm going to stop here and take a walk......