Today was better than yesterday. Still some glum, but much less. Thanks to all of you who said you sometimes have Weird Glum/Droopy Days too and then things get better again. One of the characteristics of a glum/droopy day is that it can FEEL like it is THE NEW FOREVER.
I am reincorporating a technique I found helpful in 2016, both pre- and post-election: if I want to scroll Twitter for extended periods of time, I have to do it while walking on the treadmill. I don’t have to walk FAST, but I have to walk. This shortens the amount of time I spend scrolling, and also gives me an immediate way to spend the adrenaline.
I finally made a Tater Tot Casserole/Hotdish! I read through all the recipes you mentioned and tried a sort of composite, in part because I wanted to simultaneously make a smaller pan of vegetarian version for Rob and Elizabeth. It was pretty okay! Nobody raved; I was the only one who went back for seconds, and I’m the only one working through the leftovers. I want to try some other versions now that I get the gist of it, maybe lean a little harder on the Velveeta, maybe try a spicier edition, maybe pre-bake the tater tots to get them crispier.
I took considerable comfort from all your stories about trees you were forced to cut down; it made me feel like maybe my Coping Thoughts about my former maple tree (“Maybe it got a terrible disease, maybe it was hit by a truck, maybe something bad happened to the roots”) could be real, rather than mere consoling fiction. When we first moved into that old house, we noticed weird black spots on a couple of pretty plum trees, and we brought in a tree guy, who strongly advised removing the trees because they were seriously diseased and could not be saved; and we DID remove them, and we were sad about it (the thought of having our own plum trees had been a happy thing when we bought the house), but we didn’t have a moment’s thought about the previous owner. Who, in our defense, was no longer alive. But still! The trees needed to be taken down, as trees sometimes do, and we didn’t do it lightly, and we were sad about it, but there it was. Perhaps soon we will see that our old house’s new owner has planted a replacement tree! Maybe a similar maple!
I recently made the NYT’s recipe for Tater Tot Casserole and it was very, VERY good. May be worth a try!
We have had a weird and sudden loss of trees around/at our house lately and it stresses me out so much. First, my neighbor had a tree that died and it was right outside my kitchen window- so that got taken down. Then the power company came through and gave my neighbors the choice of cutting off the top 6’ of their three huge backyard pine trees or taking them down entirely- they chose to cut them down, which made me want to throw up. (The trees were so tall that taking the tops off wouldn’t have been as bad as it sounds). Finally, our big and beautiful crabapple, which our side yard patio is built around, has had fire blight and I think this year it will have to get cut down. This also makes me sick to my stomach. I also think I take losing trees way too hard. :(
I am glad today was better. Hoping tomorrow continues along on the upward trajectory. I too had a bad day yesterday and this is so true: “ One of the characteristics of a glum/droopy day is that it can FEEL like it is THE NEW FOREVER.”
Swistle, I would love to hear how the new house has been to quarantine in. I know some things (like being near shops/restaurants) are not relevant right now, but how is the house as a space to be in all the time for your family?
I wondered about this too, especially when you have college students there unexpectedly.
Our college student was gone for the first month and a half of sheltering in place, and I missed him, but I used his room as my home office. Now he’s back, and I’m happy about it, but I miss having the spare room.
Having a glum day today after a rather exhausting day of Zoom meetings and phone calls yesterday. Reading the last few posts has really helped. Also, cheezburger network has had a few good doggo posts that made me smile. Then I remembered my sil had a rough day recently. I sent her a bunch of The Latest Kate pictures. They are an angel’s voice if the devil is telling you that you suck or that it will never get better or that you are and always will be a failure. The words of encouragement are paired with cute animal drawings. It’s a worthwhile google.
I have never cooked Tater Tots, and I have just decided that that will be remedied THIS WEEK. I deleted Twitter off my phone a couple of days ago. Every once in a while I realize that it is giving me nothing good anymore and I spend too long on it and end up with a rage headache after arguing with ignorant strangers about feminism and vaccinations and unemployment insurance and LORD there are a lot of things that a lot of people are loudly stupid about. If I do go back to it, I’m going to adopt your treadmill rule, which is brilliant.
I may have to try your technique for the few times a week I pop onto Facebook and find myself in an absolute RAGE over something stupid.
I’m sorry you old maple is gone and that your plum trees are too. We had to have two beautiful, decorative plum trees removed earlier due to disease. It tore my heart out.
Adding another to the tree stories. We had Gypsy moths kill a TON of trees in my neighborhood, to the point the tree companies were just knocking on doors up and down the street for business. We had to get all of the ones in our lawn cut down, plus a few others along the woods behind the house, and it was very upsetting and cost several thousand dollars. Fun!
I’ve clawed back to almost normal from the weekend’s terrifying depressive sinkhole-hurray! I, too, would like an account of how the house has been to shelter in. Also, did you ever hang your art?
I HAVE NOT. Not one single thing! I still have some hope: there are still 7 months left of the year. But several times I’ve gone to the storage area full of intent, and poked at some of the pictures, and then have come back with none. Which seems like a bad sign.
The yard is the best part of our house and one of the best parts of the yard when we moved in (second owners, the original owners built it in 1947 and we bought it from the wife, who was widowed) was the part of the yard with two GIANT oak trees. We hung a swing from one and it was pretty much a perfect place to be. Then, the year after we moved in, gypsy moths killed them both, along with all our pine trees and several others. We had to cut them both down. I was heartbroken for us, but I always hoped the family never saw them cut down because I made up this story in my head of how much they loved those trees apparently to TORMENT myself.