TUE 01 FEB 2022 to MON 28 FEB 2022
TUE 01 FEB 2022
Zoom All-Staff Meeting led by Gretchen with 3 guest presenters. M had an appointment Uptown. Then we went to get 2 kitchen appliances and groceries at a superstore; Mexican food at the drive-through, and a prescription at the drive-through in North Oakland. Boy, did we need those drinks from the drive-through after shopping!
Attended Akwasi's SEED meeting, and announced my Grant Committee Chair position for PAPAGP. So happy, but sad that I am attending the last meeting of the Seed Committee. A new Grant Writer will be hired this Summer.
Zoom All-Staff Meeting led by Gretchen with 3 guest presenters. M had an appointment Uptown. Then we went to get 2 kitchen appliances and groceries at a superstore; Mexican food at the drive-through, and a prescription at the drive-through in North Oakland. Boy, did we need those drinks from the drive-through after shopping!
Attended Akwasi's SEED meeting, and announced my Grant Committee Chair position for PAPAGP. So happy, but sad that I am attending the last meeting of the Seed Committee. A new Grant Writer will be hired this Summer.
WED 02 FEB 2022
(With help) I assembled my back kneeling chair this morning. There will be rain, then wintry mix and a couple inches of snow the next two days or so. Nap early afternoon. D and I went to pick up a prescription, distilled water, and crunchy snacks and Beyond Meat at the drugstore in North Oakland. Dinner was leftovers, after watching the local NBC affiliate for the local news. Watched NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, then watched Jeopardy! with M. Catching up with blogging. Still just one line short of submitting an application for volunteer org. Bible Study cancelled, for the celebration at the Oratory of the Presentation of Our Lord is nigh this evening!
THU 03 FEB 2022
J, our secretary had good news about the overdue annual tax payments---we should be receiving them from the management company at some future date. Tax season for 2021 started 24 JAN 2022.
WA stopped by chez D and M before and after teaching his class. I marinated some portobello mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) caps which I subsequently grilled, as well as tomatoes and garlic bread. Also made sweet white corn, and served roasted sweet butter corn popcorn. Then WA came over for dinner at D and M's, because the freezing rain and its following snow were still yet to break the rain.
FRI 04 FEB 2022
The Carnegie Museums had a 2-hour delay today because, well, the freezing rain and snow fell overnight...and heading over to D and M's, their parking lot was a skating rink. I bicycled for 10 minutes before heading over to their home, then had a video physical therapy appointment. Nice long nap afterwards, then time to focus on dinner (kare kare). Watched Jeopardy! with M (how nice to see Mayim Bialik as the host, again!), chatted back nerve exits with A Chi, as well as ways not to bend. The weather was crummy this evening, so I stayed at D and M's place.
SAT 05 FEB 2022
Attended SCN's yoga virtual class this morning. Wrote emails addressing issues for the Grants Committee, then, mid-afternoon, sent out a reminder for this week's meeting, with attachments. Worked on documents based on our text and email discussions.
On the NBC Nightly News Stephanie Gosk spoke about the Winter Olympics from Beijing: "Stay positive; test negative."
SUN 06 FEB 2022
Prepared/switched out medical equipment this morning before attending the televised Mass from Saint Paul Cathedral, which was celebrated by Fr Kris Stubna.
Brunch was pancit, a mid-afternoon threes-es was a pate and spinach dip sandwich, dinner was sweet longsilog. Family zoom with dinner (I set up D and M's first). The Zoom session featured a Show and Tell section.
MON 07 FEB 2022
MON 07 FEB 2022
Attended the virtual Moriarty Series Talk by Samantha Fontaine, a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsiburgh. She is interested in the microbial fauna in the gut of fresh and of preserved specimens: Fish, amphibians, reptiles, and a mammal from Pymatuning (PITT's ecology reserve) and from Powdermill Nature Reserve (Carnegie Museum of Natural History's nature reserve). She did a great pilot project on comparing the distribution of gut microbes in various species of fresh and preserved vertebrates. Her second project which she presented dealt with keratin-digesting bacteria and museum Aves specimens. I asked her a question about electronic color measurements. Turns out she utilizes a model by the same company which I used while working at UCR and NASA.
In the evening I led a GComm meeting, held virtually. We were productive.
TUE 08 FEB 2022
TUE 08 FEB 2022
Spoke by phone with NB re: GC. Went to the FO website. Worked on GC work.
Had a virtual medical meeting.
WED 09 FEB 2022
Took care of medical administrative stuff in the morning.
Made spaghetti for dinner with M.
Though we missed it (and, too, Bible Study was cancelled),
This evening was the Olympics' Men's Free Skate Program. Nathan Chen went into it as the USA's favorite. And boy, was he great. See the videos below, highlighting his skate to Elton John's Rocket Man and other tunes from Sir Elton:
Nathan Chen delivers free skate of a lifetime to win
gold | Winter Olympics 2022 | NBC Sports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVL9WY3dUw
Nathan
Chen: behind the scenes of his gold medal performance | 2022 Winter Olympics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSDOmL-BQiQ
THU 10 FEB 2022
No ndra. Worked more on PAPAGP committee work.
This evening I did BFRinse (brush, floss, rinse).
FRI 11 FEB 2022
Went grocery shopping with D at Palenkeng de Malaking Aguila in Shadyside, and at Friendship/Shadyside. D, M, and I enjoyed chicken for dinner.
SAT 12 FEB 2022
Saturday morning remote yoga class led by SCN. Took a break from some committee work.
SUN 13 FEB 2022
Bishop David A Zubik celebrated the morning Mass for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time. He delivered an extraordinary Homily today. Nathan S was the cantor, the servers were led by Erica Gamerro, Episcopal Master of Ceremonies, Antonio, the usual 10 AM older teen, and the short, bespectacled student, and a possible (seminary) student---all common servers at the 10 AM Mass. The Eucharistic Ministers were Thao D, Nancy H, and Audrey C, all familiar faces.
Bishop Zubik's homily was about a communications commercial in the 1960's, one of a series that featured Franciscan priests from just outside of Hollywood. At the end of the commercial, a person says, "If you haven't (found) God out here, you're not going to find Him in there (in the church)."
Bishop Zubik then compared today's Gospel, the Sermon on the Plain, better known as the Beatitudes (Luke 6:17, 20-26) to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, which was at the beginning of Jesus's public ministry, with 9 Beatitudes. Luke's Gospel today, in contrast, had 4 Beatitudes, 4 woes, and Jesus was speaking from the heart to those who were already His disciples. Some of them were already being persecuted....Some of the disciples could be likened to the listeners to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount: Curiosity Seekers, dependers on themselves, only turning to Jesus when they needed something.
He asked, "Why are you at Church today? What made you pull the handle on the door, or push the button on the clicker to see the livestream?" Some may have reasons other than to meet the Lord. He told a story of a woman who was not a church-goer, with an 8-year-old son. She brought her son to Good Friday service----her child's first time in church. The priest spoke about what Jesus went through on Good Friday. At the end of the service, the people filed out, untouched and unmoved by the service; and the boy was crying. His mother asked him why he was crying. "What they did to that man and nobody (here) cared." She told him to wipe his tears and stop crying (because) "people will think you are strange."
The Bishop said, we may "see Jesus outside or in church: In people we meet, and in one whom we see in the mirror."
After the Liturgy of the Word ended, the Catechumens were dismissed to contemplate the Word, the General Intercessions were for "the People of Our Parish." We also prayed for the cessation of war---perhaps in response to large numbers of troops from Russia massing on the Ukrainian border. NATO troops (including US troops in Poland) are been being sent to Eastern Europe.
Bishop Zubik said hear, heal, and help (each other).
The Communion Hymn was "The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor; Blessed Be the Lord."
Recessional Hymn- O God Beyond All Praising (Gustav Holst)
D and I picked up Chinese-American food which M had ordered. We enjoyed it for lunch, then I took a nap, did some Duolingo, enjoyed dinner, and updated the blog. JO and D and I chatted briefly by Zoom, then it devolved into each home watching the Super Bowl 56. M and I watched part of a Monk Marathon, then Ed Sullivan, followed by The Carol Burnett Show, and Olympic Free Ice Dancing competition.
MON 14 FEB 2022- Happy Valentine's Day!
Called the insurance company this morning, had spaghetti for lunch before heading out to my physical therapy appointment. D and I watched some of the Olympic Rhythm Ice Dancing competition from earlier. Worked on committee items for PAPAGP before having dinner and watching Jeopardy! and watching Season 4: Episode 4 of Monk. Did some more committee work before starting my nighttime ritual.
TUE 15 FEB 2022
Work Virtual Meeting online for the morning. Chatted with DW after, in preparation for Lent. Chatted with someone from our committee. Helped place an online order with M. Virtual meeting with ~As; met with KR and NB after the meeting!
TUE/WED News 15/16 FEB 2022
On TUES, Sidney Crosby scored 500 career goals in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers TUE evening:
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2022/02/15/pittsburgh-penguins-philadelphia-flyers-sidney-crosby-500th-goal/stories/202202150014?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editors-picks-frontpage-frontpage&utm_campaign=Headlines-Newsletter
WED 16 FEB 2022
Remote meeting in the morning by computer. Contacted someone re: meeting tomorrow.
Bible Study for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Fr Mike led the meeting, with 8+1 people Zooming in. I read for the group the 1st Reading: 1 Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
After hearing the 2nd Reading (1 Cor 15:45-49), Fr Mike stated it was like hearing half of a telephone conversation. The Gospel was Luke 6: 27-38. LD was absent, so Fr Mike read the prayer of Cardinal Newman.
THU 17 FEB 2022
ndra stopped by.
FRI 18 FEB 2022
SAT 19 FEB 2022
D, M, and I had lunch. k and K stopped by W's to bring I. Then we prepared dinner of shrimp ring, mussels with rice, lobster tails, spaghetti with clam sauce, corn bread, spinach dip/spread, pineapple upside down cake, with freely flowing wine and filtered water.
D, M, W, K, k and I enjoyed playing games in the evening.
Spoke by phone with MCL re: an application.
SUN 20 FEB 2022
Delicious 3 flavors of longanisa as part of longsilog for breakfast. k announced and wrote up a schedule for Stay-at-Home Cruise, starting with eating-eating-eating of breakfast; D, M, and I attending televised Mass (celebrated by Bishop Zubik, concelebrated with Fr Kris Stubna).
The next activity on the ship was the "Newlywed Game," asking the couple of the day the same questions independently of each other. Lunch followed, folks rested. I watched the recorded Figure Skating Exhibition Gala from the Beijing Olympics afterwards. Dinner followed.
MON 21 FEB 2022
Went to a medical appointment in the morning. Headed back in time to see k and K leave for home. Afternoon physical therapy appointment with CW. Late today U DRV reminded us that Tuesday is a palindrome, but also an ambigram!
TUE 22 FEB 2022
Many items were in the news today---Ahmaud Arbery's shooting death in the state of Georgia while he went on a run went to Federal Court. It was said that the convicted individuals had lied about the circumstances so that they could make a citizen's arrest. It was the first time that a hate crime in Georgia was convicted by a Federal Court.
Also today the thousands upon thousands of Russian troops amassed at the Ukrainian border moved into the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which Russia's president claims are "independent" regions.
WED 23 FEB 2022
I spent the morning going through and organizing a current work tote box. I paid a bill I received. No Bible Study tonight. On NBC Nightly News Richard Engel was pictured in a video clip from a Ukrainian trench near the front. There were sounds of explosions audibly present.
To MVK, who asked why Russia would even want Ukraine. "John Kerry is right---it has to do with Global Warming. Much of Russia is covered in frozen tundra, in permafrost. As global temperatures warm the earth, the permafrost is no more (and the frozen decayed vegetation in the soil will release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas). When permafrost in a predominantly permafrost landscape minimizes, problems occur for structures such as long-distance pipelines. There are also mines, including uranium mines. That's why Ukraine is so appealing---Resource-Rich in a world struck by Global Warming."
THU 24 FEB 2022
Creamy mac and cheese and bacon for breakfast. ndra stopped by for 2/3 hour. Went through a box of books I have collected. Spoke to the administrator at the Commonwealth re: an application. Updated this blog.
Note the NEWS:
Received an announcement re: another application.
FRI 25 FEB 2022
Christmas in February!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgiuo4lHFt4
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's 1984 Olympic Gold Medal winning Ice Dancing performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8obUdxnTlc
Spoke with A Chi after Jeopardy! this evening.
SAT 26 FEB 2022
Zoom Yoga class with SCN and 5 others.
Just this afternoon saw on the news a direct plea from a civilian mother at a bomb shelter in Kyev, Ukraine: "Please come and help us."
SUN 27 FEB 2022
KGD's student is featured in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article:
D, M, and I attended the 10 AM televised Mass from St Paul Cathedral. After Communion, during the meditation, we heard the strains of the Ukrainian song.
High participation rates in the Family Zoom, followed by a trifecta party celebrated by GKay for her international relatives! k and K, ARM, DM, and MJV all joined us.
MON 28 FEB 2002
Missed a work Moriarty seminar talk (but SCN wrote notes for RFF and me) to go for administrative work, 2 South Hills appointments--D and M, and for me. Before the appointments, we stopped in Oakland for a gallon of gas, and went to Get Go in the South Hills to fill the tank. After the appointment, we stopped at Office Depot, got information, and then had dinner at the Double Arches. Had a visit from AAA.
Watched Jeopardy! with M.
posted by Grace @ 2/01/2022 06:46:00 PM
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