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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): April 19, Day 42 (MY GOSH THAT’S WELL OVER A MONTH HOW DID THIS HAPPEN AAAAGH SEND HELP FOR THE LOVE OF PETE SEND HELP)

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:40:48+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Lovely start to the day. Cup of coffee, scrambled eggs, sunny skies. Feeling particularly well-balanced today in a mentally-healthy-no-especial-need-to-march-on-Montenotte sort of way. Older Child slogged through room to announce he’d finished Global History assignment on the Ottoman Empire, to which I, ever in possession of the latest nomenclature of today’s youth, responded, “Awesome sauce.” Older [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): April 18, Day 41

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:38:37+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Zut alors! A strange and mysterious email arrived for Older Child that began, “Bonjour!” at which, of course, my heart jumped. It continued, in English, “As you know Marking Period 3 ends today but I am happy to correct any work that arrives… blah blah blah boring academic logistical information…blah blah blah…” The mystery being, [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): April 16, Day 39

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:37:16+00:00April 24th, 2020|

O the excitement to be had yesterday! O the wonder of it! I had occasion to Leave the House and Drive. As in, a car. A vehicle of the automotive persuasion. Hadn’t driven in days. Wondered out loud to Husband if it were possible to forget how. Legend says it’s not possible to forget how [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): April 14, Day 37

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:36:22+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Have discovered a new and unexpected pleasure that may go far in alleviating the great mental strain of having to spend so much time with the people I love most in the world: grinding coffee beans. Have never bothered before because coffee to me is a vehicle for half and half, and if it were [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): April 13, Day 36

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:35:33+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Easter yesterday! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Day opened as usual to the sound of crinkling cellophane as Easter baskets were discovered and Vermont Nut-free chocolate bunnies opened and consumed along with Peeps and jelly beans. Younger Child later announced gravely, hand on stomach, in a gesture resembling Napoleon’s famous stance, “I regret [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED account of these dark days): Day 34

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:34:44+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Nosed around online and learned that 206 years ago TO THIS DAY, April 11, Napoleon was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. My gosh. The ultimate social distancing package. He lived with Mumsie and Sis in lavish mansions, snacked on cherries with a local mistress, and got to retain his title as emperor, bossing [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES (A semi-fictionalized account of these dark days): Day 33

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-24T02:33:34+00:00April 24th, 2020|

Every reason to believe I’ll have to shelve the catering-to-my-every-whim plan, at least for now. Told Husband this morning that I was planning to shower today, in spite of having fallen out of the habit, but was hoping not to wash my hair, and asked whether he thought my hair didn’t look mostly okay. Husband: [...]

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THE CORONAVIRUS DIARIES: Day 32 (or 53 or 106; it’s hard to keep track anymore)

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-19T03:05:01+00:00April 19th, 2020|

Older Boy is working quietly; Younger Boy is working sporadically, taking many breaks to interrupt me in my office and Husband in his office-cum-bedroom. There's a bird outside my window chirping. Thought it was charming for the first 12 or 15 chirps. Now want to kill it. CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP. The insistence, the sheer repetitiveness [...]

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Susan’s Almanac Project for April 9, 2020

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-09T16:36:40+00:00April 9th, 2020|

This is a re-post from last year because this guy is inspiring! It’s the birthday of Jacques Futrelle (1875-1912, #diedtooyoung), lauded for his ingenious mysteries and best known for the oft-anthologized story “The Problem of Cell 13.” Futrelle’s career was unfortunately cut short when he went down with the Titanic, which he did bravely and [...]

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Susan’s Almanac Project for April 2, 2020

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-04-02T13:09:15+00:00April 2nd, 2020|

A slightly rewritten re-post from two years ago. It’s the birthday of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (b. 1805), who wrote plays, poems, novels, autobiographies, and more, but is most famous for his literary fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 150 languages. (Be honest: can you even *name* 150 languages?) Some of [...]

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Susan’s Almanac Project for March 25, 2020

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-03-25T13:57:16+00:00March 25th, 2020|

A re-post featuring my favorite short story author. Um, has anyone else noticed how hard it is to homeschool and get absolutely anything else done? No? Just me, then... It’s the birthday of Flannery O’Connor (b. 1925), one of the greatest American fiction writers and a master of the short story form. As both a [...]

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Susan’s Almanac Project for March 21, 2020

By Susan Gilbert-Collins|2020-03-21T13:09:22+00:00March 21st, 2020|

Maybe one of my favorite posts, so I am re-posting. Stay well. It’s the birthday of Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), brilliant mathematician but also—because how else are you going to spend your time when you’re not developing an eponymous infinite mathematical series—a brilliant Egyptologist responsible for the publication of the 10-volume Description de l’Égypte, one of [...]

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