It comes in pints?!

Well, I'm still alive. 

My last post saw me at my grimmest about my current situation (clearly) but I'm happy to report that, not only am I not displaying any physical signs of covid-19 (I've been taking my temperature daily as an additional precaution!), but I've been managing my mental health surprisingly well. I'll attribute it partially to M, my quarantine/life partner, and the fact that I've thrown myself into a project... more on that in a minute.

But first... P E T S!

...that aren't mine. I've had a love-hate relationship with the upstairs neighbors pug. He hilariously looks like this: 

I've entitled this piece: "The Loneliest Pug in the World"

But also, he apparently has a lot to say, considering the amount of time I am forced to listen to him bark. I tried to bond with him yesterday but he was mostly interested in trying to come into my apartment, probably, from the size of him, to scout for snacks.

I had slightly better luck with the cat, and by slightly better luck I mean it got within a whole one foot of me, but still refused to let me pet it or move.

Progress.

I'm sure a big part of my positive mental attitude is also due in part to the strangely glorious weather we've been having. Sunny and in the 70's in November?! Probably a sign that our planet is going to like, descend into a second ice age sooner rather than later but I'll take it!

M and I went for a walk, basically the only thing we can do that's not in our house during our quarantine, and I spent the better part of the late afternoon/evening on the porch working on my aforementioned project. 

This year, I'm making Christmas stockings for my brand new nephew and M who inexplicably doesn't have one of his own. I've blurred the one I'm working on above because it's a surprise for both of them! I'll be cross stitching the cuff portion of the stocking and my mom is making the stocking itself. I designed and created the pattern myself on my pattern making software which I'm super  proud of but I also did not measure correctly forcing me to make all sorts of frantic adjustments AFTER I had already put quite a bit of work into it which I am NOT super proud of.

All I have to say is, these guys better cherish the shit out of these things.

Because I'm in quarantine and can't go anywhere and I'm an adult so I can do whatever I damn well please I enjoyed an afternoon beer. I'm finishing the last of my fall seasonal stash (in very late-spring weather funnily enough) before moving on to the winter stuff, and this Festbeir called Inexplicably Used Umlaut from Singlecut is a pretty decent send off. It was my first foray into Singlecut, a brewery out of New York, but M is a huge fan of their 18-Watt so I thought I'd give it a try. I was not disappointed.

 When I'm not stitching outside, I find myself... stitching inside. Really making waves here with all my free time. I've embraced my inner grandma and started re-watching (yes, I've watched them all already) Columbo, one of my all-time favorite detective shows. Peter Falk is great as the bumbling but secretly super savvy detective and the 70s fashion in these are a m a z i n g. They're also long which I like, when I know I want to spend a lot of time on a project. 

I've gone full couch potato I guess because we've also started watching the Lord of the Rings movies. I hadn't watched them until now because I've always insisted on reading the books first which I somehow only did semi-recently.

We watched The Hobbit trilogy a while ago but we finally watched The Fellowship of the Ring last night. It's nice to be in that universe again, especially now. It's so comforting to me, aside from just being a good movie. We'll definitely finish the other two movies by the time I get to finally start work (the 20th). 

Our big plans for this evening include ordering out for some zero-contact takeout, specific kind TBD. Maybe a movie, maybe more stitching... who knows. All I know is, I'm going to enjoy the chilling as much as I possibly can before I inevitably lose my mind.

Source

Cheers! 

This is Fine

On Thursday, I completed my last day of work at the psych hospital. It was bittersweet; I'd fought so hard to shake off my complacency and finally leave, went though so many interviews and close-calls to finally get a new job and better (or at least different) opportunity, that it was strange to finally be there. Saying goodbye to the kids was harder than I thought. Sometimes you forget, as you slog through the everyday tasks and issues with the kids, that they might actually appreciate your efforts. I received a few super nice letters which I added to my 8 year collection before stowing it away for good. 

My coworkers were nice enough to bring in a cake (my ultimate weakness, though to be honest I have many) and as we all stood around eating it, I finally felt like it was the end. I left in high spirits, met friends for celebratory drinks, then headed home for a game-filled night with M. 

Little did I know, the next morning I'd be woken up to a phone call telling me that one of the coworkers I shared cake with, eating it with, of course, our masks off, tested positive for Covid-19.

source

I'd thought of spending my day treating myself to a super long peruse at my favorite garden center to pick out a celebratory plant but all that came to a screeching halt and instead, I frantically texted M who was at work, emailed the new job (the one I was supposed to start on Monday), and made an appointment for a Covid test of my own. 

Luckily, M didn't really have contact with anyone at work and is able to work from home for the most part- or until I get my test results anyway. And also luckily- VERY luckily- my new boss and everyone at my new job was super supportive and understanding and nice and quick to help me figure out what my next steps should be. Regardless of the test results, I'm going to quarantine for 2 weeks before I start my new job.

It's all a bit weird to be honest. After a while, it's easy to get that "it couldn't happen to me" attitude, even though we've always been sure to take the necessary precautions. And then I let it slip a little bit to eat my fucking goodbye cake for crying out loud, and here we are. 

I've calmed down a lot since yesterday though. I have a feeling I'll be fine. Currently, I feel in good health (though I will closely monitor myself and take my temperature daily) as does the individual who tested positive. All I can do now is wait anyway.

More waiting. It feels like I've been waiting for my life to change a bit for ages and just when I thought I had it, I'm met with multiple hang-ups. My natural inclination is to get overwhelmed by all this but assuming I do not have covid-19 of course, things are still progressing, I'm still doing alright. I have to keep telling myself that. No getting overdramatic Ashley!

I started this blog to remind myself that I have plenty of things to keep me happy and engaged with life because sometimes I forget that and allow myself to sink down into a puddle of blah. Especially in times like these, where a lot of things beyond my control come at me all at once. It's important (if a little cliché) to look on the bright side and I want to focus on using this blog as it was intended, to document all the amazing (maybe...??) ways I utilize my 2 weeks of quarantine, that keep me afloat, mentally. 

I will be fine. Everything is fine.

And hey, at least Trump lost right?

Halloween for Hermits

Happy Halloween! Well, happy day after Halloween anyway. 

Halloween isn't something I usually go out of my way to make a big fuss about to be honest but this year, it was on a Saturday AND there's a whole pandemic stopping people from getting together to do fun things so naturally I wanted to do something fun that involved leaving the house because, of course, as soon as you tell me I can't do something, I immediately become consumed with the desire to do it (what can I say, wanting to do the opposite of what is wise is apparently a popular American trait).

Anyhoo, of course we stayed in because we're Responsible Adults, though we probably would have regardless because we're also Hermit Wannabes. We'd been watching scary-ish movies leading up to the big day but last night we decided to mix it up and play a s p o o k y game instead.

First though, here's my beverage of the night, Rouge's Dead Guy Ale out of Oregon. I thought it would be appropriate for the day given the name but it's been one of my go-to's for ages. I like to stay local usual (New England has me spoiled for choice, its not hard) but Dead Guy ale is such a good, solid option that I can't help put pick up a six pack every once in a while. There are plenty of beers I love but have to be in the mood for given their unique flavors and styles, but there is never a time when I wouldn't enjoy a Dead Guy Ale. Also, I'm super partial to brown ales and their Hazelnut Brown Nectar is an excellent example and one of my all time favorites. 

On to g a m e s! Last night we played Mansions of Madness, yet another of Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror games, like the one I posted about a while ago called Eldritch Horror. Same art style, characters, monsters, etc, but Mansions is app driven, meaning game play is moved along by an app so we have to have a laptop set up to play. This element eliminates the need for some of the million tiny decks of cards and a few of the tokens of Eldritch Horror, making it a little quicker to play (depending on the scenario anyway) and better if you're low on space (or don't feel like taking all your plants off the table). 

Speaking of scenarios, here are M and I choosing which one to play. They vary in difficultly and length of play, information that's included in the description. The big draw of Mansions versus Eldritch for me are these different scenarios- most of them involve an investigation of some sort as opposed to just fighting monsters and I do love a good creepy mystery. Also, it includes more puzzles which I love. They're usually used to open safes and locked drawers/chests and are often logic puzzles (for M) or those sliding block puzzles (for me). 

Another cool thing about Mansions is the modular game board. You have a ton of different "room" tiles that gradually come out as you "explore" whichever area you're in- the app will tell you which ones to take out. If you look closely, the red tokens indicate a room to be explored and is mirrored on the computer screen.

A little closer view of the board. Like I've mentioned before, I love the art. Like Eldritch, you get various tool/items to help you out along the way. That shotgun on the far right of the line of cards really came in handy for me for instance.

Aaaand here is the board once we finished and won! ...sort of. We got the ending that wasn't ideal but the bad guy didn't win and we didn't die. M was stuck in the future though.

I very much enjoyed the game and it was a good Halloween activity but I still like Eldritch Horror better, millions of tiny cards and all. I feel like in Eldritch you have more control over your own destiny. In Mansions, you can't take an action to heal yourself unless you have an item or person specific action that will let you (so once you start losing health/sanity, you're usually screwed), and improving/gaining skills, tools, items, and spells are done at the whim of the game and not something you can set out to gain yourself. Also, we feel like sometimes our loss was inevitable given the time constraints and vast amounts of items and rooms to search. Eldritch can also be frustrating, yes, but in a less... frustrating way. 

That totally made sense, sure.

Finally, Halloween wouldn't be compete with out a treat, right? I didn't feel like putting a lot of effort into it though so I just whipped up some chocolate coconut haystacks. Very easy, just pour melted chocolate over crunchy chow mein noodles and toasted coconut, mix, drop in blobs on a cookie sheet, and put in the fridge until hardened and voila! A super easy (yet ridiculously messy to eat) treat with maximum chocolate and minimal effort. 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Enjoy a little last minute spookiness with Screamin' Jay Hawkins before you go...