Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-05-10 Mother's Day Edition

Let me deal with one thing right at the top - no Mother was neglected due to the composition of this post.

• I phoned my Mom right after church (Zoom meeting church - not "drive to the building and sit in your pew" church) today.  While we were talking each of my siblings also phoned her* - but she was able to place me on hold, tell them she was already in a call with me, AND successfully get back to me without disconnecting the call.  And if you don't understand what an achievement that was - then you don't know my Mother very well.  So, anyway, the point of this story is:  I won the "first child calling on Mother's Day" derby this year (probably for the first time ever).  You may say that "it's not a contest" - but it is now, because I just won.
• The Mother of My Children was also attended to with donuts, an Etsy gift certificate (one man's way of saying "Honey, I'm BEGGING you to buy more stuff from Etsy!") and the order of a foot spa with heat, bubbles and massager - delivery expected later this week.  Just trying my best to address the needs of the "total woman".
• My exercise regimen has had its ups and downs since Easter.  This is the result of two primary factors - spotty weather (it snowed on Friday?!) and too many other things to do.  I did 45-minute sessions on the recumbent exercise bike yesterday and again today, so that was very good.  Here's the latest walking stats -

I've had some good streaks since Easter.  Factoring in my work on the recumbent bike, I only missed out on Friday this week. (I'm calling it a snow day.  If you even SEE snow in May, it's a snow day.)

• The Music Night Tech Team (if you're unfamiliar with the Music Night concept, click here) has been toiling behind the scenes to prepare for our first Virtual Music Night event this Saturday.  We had a dry run yesterday evening and 17 of our stalwart group showed up to test out their ability to connect to our virtual meeting space and swap stories of Life During The Pandemic.  The topic for our next collection is "Social Distancing" - and it looks to me like we are set up for a fine time on Saturday.  Until we can gather safely in-person, we'll find new ways to have fun.
• I've also been hosting our Virtual Bar Night on Thursdays for buddies on the old Spinners bowling team - and other associated ne'er-do-wells.  Attendance is up from what we normally used to see at the bar - but I suspect this will not last once some freedom of movement is restored.  For now, we have to deal with providing our own beverages - but, on the plus side, we don't have to listen to a bar band massacre classic rock tunes.  So there are some trade-offs.
• Ordered an Amazon Fire TV stick from Ebay so I could watch Apple TV on Jim's TV.  But I had to return it because the model indicated by the seller was not the actual model of the device he was selling - so it wouldn't run the Apple TV app.  So I returned that device and ordered the correct one directly from Amazaon.  It is now fully functional - and I was able to watch a good film called "The Banker" (with Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson).
• Jimmy decided to trade in the Nissan he bought from us and lease a new, blue Ford F-150 pickup.  Although I don't see the appeal of a truck, he loves it.  And it does seat five adults - which I could not do comfortably in my C-max hybrid.

I started to type that "I had better finish this and post it" - or I would never post it at all.  And then the power went out.  Lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you feel about the time you have invested in reading this) for all of us, the power came back very quickly.  I better post this now before I have a different excuse to delay the update.

Hope you are all feeling good and staying safe.  Be careful out there.

Take care.

*OK, Charlie didn’t call while we were on the phone – but who wants to let the facts get in the way of a good story?