As we settle into our new routine of isolation, I’m trying to find ways to make this experience sustainable for my family. Our school district is closed for the rest of the school year and our state issued a stay at home order last Wednesday. Many of you are in similar positions and no one knows exactly when (or how) we’ll return to “normal.” To cope with this uncertainty and disruption, I bring you a...
It’s all pandemic all the time around here. Try as we might to be normal right now, this is not normal. There are semblances of normal, such as our family breakfasts. There are unexpectedly wonderful things, such as my sister and her kids reading my kids a story over Skype. And there are weird things, such as not seeing the friends and neighbors I rely on, count on, depend on seeing every day. We’re in...
I hadn’t planned on writing about the Coronavius again, but when I sat down to write what I’d previously planned on my editorial calendar (don’t be impressed, it’s just my regular calendar, but “editorial” sounds so, well, editorial), I realized I had no enthusiasm or energy for “regular” topics. We’re all feeling the impact of the Coronavirus in some way, or we will soon, and we should all be preparing for what’s almost certain to...
As COVID-19–the disease caused by the novel Coronavirus–ravages the world, I feel fear and helplessness. My children’s school–and every school in our state–is closed until April 6th (or later). Bars and restaurants are closed. In neighboring states, everything save grocery stores and pharmacies is shuttered. The NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB all cancelled their seasons. Broadway is closed. Disneyland shut its doors. The stock market is spiraling down. Things are not looking good, folks. So...
February 2020 In a winter populated by snow storms, in a climate where cold is more familiar that warmth, and a region mythologized by horse-drawn sleighs breaking through snow, February went above and beyond. Several overachieving storms bent tree branches to the earth with the weight of snow piled on ice piled on snow. Crunching through this ice/snow laminate on snow shoes breaks the silence that follows a storm as all critters, save we humans,...
Alex is on leave from a Materials Engineering PhD program and, while on leave, happened to get a dream job and is now faced with choosing between the PhD program and the job. Alex recently left an abusive marriage and is thinking critically about the sort of future they’d like to create. While the most pressing issue is deciding whether to return to the PhD program or stay in the job, Alex is thinking broadly...
Despite the fact that February brought us immense snow and even though it’s sleeting as I write these words… spring is, according to our spending, somewhere on the horizon. Advertiser Disclosure: Frugalwoods partners with CardRatings for coverage of credit card products. Frugalwoods and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers at no extra cost to you. Here’s a boring (but important) explanation of how Frugalwoods makes money. Maple Sugaring Last spring, we made our own maple syrup...
