The morning I heard the Library was to close I panicked and rushed down to Columbia City to get books. Already the aisles were full of parents and children carrying precarious stacks. It was early March, rainy, the perfect time to settle at home.
So while everyone was quarantined I travelled…to Scotland and the west coast of Africa on a middle aged Englishman’s futile quest to join the action of WWI; to a pacific island with castaways under the watchful eye of the mysterious Captain Nemo; to a mansion and secluded garden paradise in Greenwich village, home to the dark melodrama of an Indian Don Corleone and his three sons. Over lunch in the garden, while spring warmed to summer I took the train from Paris to Biarritz with a failing Jewish tycoon; strolled through the town of Loch Dubh in the Scottish Highlands following a grisly trail of murder, intrigue and strange country folk; and tramped on foot across Eastern Europe with a captivating young polymath exploring palaces and backroads alike on the eve of WWII.
Taking a break from re-building my porch, sun blazing, I travelled back to New York, to the sixties and Vietnam, protests, the Russians, the death of Dr. King and the daily struggles and joys of an immigrant mother and her daughter on beautiful Riverside Drive…and as my mind roved and I read in place, the world around me changed.
Life in the age of Covid-19 has heightened my awareness of sound. The absence of cars on the road has revealed the sounds of birdsong, of leaves rustling in the wind, of the occasional airplane in the sky.
Working from home, it became difficult to focus within the symphony of sounds all around -- children’s school Zoom calls, Sidonie’s stereo, neighbor’s weedwacker, sounds of food preparation. For a while in the slow, early days of quarantine, I enjoyed the sounds -- I imagined their source and appreciated the time to let them enter my mind. Later, I wanted to escape the noise and focus on my inner visions. I found refuge in my Bang and Olufson H8i noise cancelling headphones.
Inside the headphones, the subtle nuances and detail within the music of U2’s Joshua Tree, the MTV Unplugged album by Nirvana, and other favorite tracks keep my sanity and bring delight as I ride through quarantine inside my own personal universe of sound.
School feels like it's gotten more relaxed and independent. I don't have the equipment to do wrestling at home, but it has made me find different ways to exercise compared to having a school gym. The game I showed was League of Legends; I've been playing it since 6th grade. It's in the genre known as MOBA, a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena; in the game you're put on a team of 5 and you each select a character, you then play against another team, trying to destroy their base, each character and player is meant to fit a unique role in the game.
I’ve been doing magic tricks for a little over a year, starting with everyday things like paper and pencils and coins. Last Christmas I went to my grandparent’s house and found a deck of cards and tried to do a card trick. Ever since then I have been studying the more difficult style of magic (in my opinion) - card magic. Since the shut down I’ve been able to learn more tricks and study harder. Now I have the time, so I practice at least 2 hours a day watching instructional videos, reading books, performing for my family, and practicing in front of the mirror. I have a list of about 30 tricks written in my sketchbook. Some I have made up myself.
I like magic because it is the greatest feeling to have someone smile, freak out, be impressed, and be fooled by my magic. I enjoy the challenge of being creative, being a critical thinker and choosing one of countless sleight of hand moves to achieve the outcome of a trick. After getting introduced to the world of card magic I was frequently amazed by the very cool playing cards that were higher quality than the standard Bicycle cards. These cards had smoother edges, smoother faces, embossed tuck boxes and beautiful designs that catch the eye. I have now collected twelve decks, most acquired during the shutdown.
Kirk took a picture of me doing The Spring which took me about two months to do successfully. I’ve learned numerous sleight of hand moves, multiple shuffle styles and many different ways to cut a deck. One of the things I’m working on now is a move that I don’t want to give away.
Magicians never reveal their secrets.
Over the last few months I have been experimenting a lot with my pressure cooker (instant pot) with lots of success, and plenty of fails. I have found, however, instant pot will make the best homemade chicken broth with the least amount of effort.
Pajamas and sweatshirt have been my new business attire. Though now it is summer, shorts and a t-shirt have taken their place. You don’t see it here, but close-ups would show my black (business attire) sweatshirt covered in cat hair.
Ever present, it seems these days, are my headphones for Zoom or Teams meetings which seem to happen hourly, if not more.
My image below shows the beginnings of an amazing instant pot chicken chili verde.
Since I, like most folks, am spending almost all my time in my house, I am constantly confronted/reminded of all the projects it needs. Prior to this time, I’d come home from work, look at the house, and just say “I’ll do it later.” There was always something else to do. Now, there’s more time, or I’ve made time...
We had been renovating this house prior to even moving into it. I’ve done a little bit of the work, but hiring out a lot of it. Now, being at home, I find myself more available to tackle projects and enjoying it. I spend all day designing and drawing things for others to build at some later date. There’s no immediacy. Now, I think of something I want to do at the house, make a quick sketch, diagram or what-have-you, and then I do it. I’ve been working a lot with my table saw. I spent much time in architecture school in the wood shop building things with a table saw. For some reason I’ve liked working with a table saw and figuring out all the things you can build with it. There’s a lot you can do with it, and it multiplies when you combine it with a chop saw and a router table.
I’ve been building more cubes. Something I started in school, re-started after I bought my first house in Seattle, and continue still. These little utilitarian 15” cubes, open on two sides, are incredibly useful. Bookcase, side table, stacked for more shelving, etc. My daughter wanted some, and you’ll do anything for your kids, right?
This little exercise has spurred me to tackle more projects in the house. Electrical, framing, finishing, the list goes on and on, and on. So, the pandemic has allowed me to reconnect with an early love: a table saw. And get me excited again about building more things with my hands.
As you can see in my photograph a lot of those books are new, as I have read them during the pandemic. I am reading a lot more than I used to because I don’t have to go to school, so I have more time. I still read a lot before the pandemic, but they came from the library. I am glad I have more time to read, and these pandemic books are some of the best books I have ever read! Because of “Clap When You Land” I learned of other fantastic Elizabeth Acevedo books. Like poet-x and with the fire on high. In the time since you took your photo I have read 6-7 more books, and right now I have like 4 books on my desk ready for me to read. Also, I have been reading books on my Kindle which I can't count because of how easy it is to read one and return it without a second thought.
One of my favorite books was “I Wish You the Best.” It is this book about a 17 year-old kid who comes out to their parents as non-binary and is kicked out and has to live with a sister they haven’t seen in over 10 years. They learn to be better without their parents. It's so sad, but also in the end, heartwarming. The reason I love the book in the photo was that it is written in verse form and you can tell this author is a poet because each and every line is so descriptive and detailed. It was like the narrator poured their heart and soul into the book. This is what I have been doing over this pandemic.
I have spent much of my time in quarantine protesting for racial justice and for SPD to be defunded. In 2019, the City of Seattle’s education budget was $105 million and their police budget was $409 million. More money needs to be put into communities, not into militarized police.
Participating in these protests has taught me so much. I have made friends and made art and hopefully been part of a larger piece of history. I wouldn’t spend my quarantine any other way.
Ravenna has a local wine store that I help keep in business. We had visited it on occasion, to buy a special bottle for a birthday or to try a couple new wines. But at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the initial lock-down, it was deemed an 'essential business,' and I was in total agreement.
I'd been working for a few months in a new position with a new company for the first time in two decades. The workload was already daunting, when all of a sudden I had both kids home from school - for who knew how long - as well as my husband working from home for the first time, a kitchen remodel, and a 115-lb German Shepherd who loved having me home.
A glass of wine or two became the norm with dinner, and we quickly went through the few bottles we had on-hand. Then we visited the store and stocked up. When we found out they did curb-side pick-up, it was a little too easy. But I looked at it as supporting a local business and the neighborhood economy, and as a way to get through my increasing work stress.
Now that we're pretty far into things, and this 'new normal' is, well, feeling normal, the consumption has subsided to be more occasional than necessary.
But thank goodness for the wine store.
The wrecking bar is an indispensable implement of destruction…and improvement.
Since purchasing our first house here in Seattle last fall I have been working through a lot of latent desire to build things and, for now, almost all that building begins with deconstruction or demolition. Thankfully, my wife has been both patient and appreciative as I tear pieces of our home apart and re-construct them anew. The house was originally built in 1916 and the previous owners lived here for over 60 years so, to date, there remains an ample supply of project material.
As a teenager I spent much of my summers working in various construction jobs alongside my grandfather, uncles, and others – learning about the trades while repairing, remodeling, gutting, and rebuilding rental property. My interest and experience in various types of construction work continued through college and beyond but, over the last 8 years of urban apartment living in Shanghai, China and Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood, opportunities to engage in large-scale physical building had been extremely limited.
Now, in our new-old home and a historically unique period of compulsory confinement, I have been spending a lot of time with wrecking bar in hand. It’s such a simple tool but the weight and proportions provide a powerfully focused force of leverage - cleanly cleaving fasteners and materials from one another. As I peel away the layers of our house, I am reminded of past life chapters while preparing for the new.
Instead of listening to music on the phone during my workout, I now Zoom into conference calls with the camera off and work out on the stationary bike at the same time. For sure, my colleagues would notice that when I tried to catch my breath and talk at the call! In the past I couldn't take any Zoom calls while working out in the office building's gym room, as most of my discussions contain sensitive and confidential information. To me, exercising and working in a private and safe environment is a nice add-on during the quarantine.
At the beginning of the quarantine period, I felt like I was saving time from not commuting to work, no school drop-offs/pick-ups, nor kids' after-school activities. I could use the time on my other projects like sewing and drawing again. Besides work and exercises, I now spend most of my spare time preparing meals since we can't dine out at restaurants or order take-outs that often. I spend more time strategizing my grocery shopping list and taking house food inventory to minimize the trips and exposure to other people. I get stressed out from doing all of that, in addition to worrying about the kids having too much spare time on gaming and streaming, the country not reacting to the pandemic quickly enough, and the uncertainty of the economy.
I think I have developed cabin fever already and need a staycation!
When I feel a soft little nudge on my ankle, I know Sturgill is asking for Love and attention. I get down on the floor and look deep into his eyes, recognizing his heart and soul. He responds to my presence by staring back into my eyes with trust and leaning into my body for snuggles. In these moments of connection, my mind goes completely quiet and my awareness is brought to Love. Each time is as profound as the last.
There is such power in being fully present to Love. This has been the ultimate healing for me during the chaos of COVID. I wish for everyone to find that for themselves - to find the thing that quiets your mind and fills your being with the healing energy of Love.
What my Juicer has meant to me during this time of Global Pandemic? Suffice to say that my alcoholic consumption has increased since the pandemic began. But also, I’ve grown quite fond of my morning grapefruit juice with Ashwagandha root.
Fundamentally, tools that I use the most frequently I value the most. I used to make smoothies each morning and so my blender was my favorite tool for many years, but like Forrest Gump (who ran for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, 16 hours), at some point you are just done.
Brenda gave me this juicer as a gift to assist with her 2nd favorite of my labors, making Friday evening cocktails. Now I realize that in the face of a Global health crisis this seems a bit shallow (and it is), but when confronted with work-from-home / stay-at-home for months, the list of distractions is quite short.
And so I gaze longingly at my juicer and think of the hour when I will step away from the laptop and the constant Zoom meetings and squeeze juice into a shot glass…
I (Alissa) chose to hold the cookbook because I like baking. I like baking because it is fun and also I like eating the things I make :). I like baking with my mom because she is really good at it. I chose to hold my phone because I like that I am able to text and call my friends and grandparents. I also chose my phone because I can play games on it and use it when I’m bored.
My phone is important to me because I (Cameron) can talk to my friends on it. Talking to my friends is something I like to do because if I can’t see them then I can text or call them. I held the bowl and spoon because I enjoy baking. It keeps me busy when I don’t have anything to do. Another thing I love about baking is that I eat what I make. When I bake, I like to do it with my mom because she is so good at it.
My object is my Xbox. Through these isolation periods it has really been hard to stay connected with my friends. Logging on every night with a chance to talk to someone who isn’t my family has allowed me to still feel connected.
Whether playing NBA 2K or Call of Duty, it has given me the chance to interact, even if it isn’t in person.
I learned to knit from my mother and her mother, which connects me to family and memories. I started knitting again as an adult about 10 years ago because I liked the idea of being creative and artistic and getting something useful at the end of the process. Knitting has a discrete, project-based nature: I can leave the project behind if it fails to engage me or I can take the object apart and create something completely different.
Knitting is very Zen for me - meditative and philosophical. Knitting engages my body and my mind at the same time. If I’m making a basic sock or hat, enough of my mind is free to absorb a tv show or a movie. If I’m working on a more complicated pattern, I have to concentrate to communicate what I’m reading on the pattern to what my fingers are doing – it’s like playing music or dancing because the kinetic sense has to engage with your mind.
In this time and space of a physical health crisis, a civic health crisis, and a moral crisis as I engage with my white privilege, knitting helps me reflect. The physical act of knitting soothes and smooths my anxiety so I can make thoughtful and deliberate choices about who I want to be as a person.
I have knitted six hats, six pairs of socks, a pair of baby booties, two lace scarves, and half a dozen washcloths. I have started creating my own Fair Isle and color-works patterns. It’s been fun. I know enough now to be able to envision a pattern based on the yarn that I have and create it for myself. I will never be able to draw or write music, may never write a play or paint a picture, but I can make unique wearable art with yarn.
All of us need a place to go to keep us centered…for me that place is the exploration of memories through art.
Art is an escape; escape from rules, duties, regulations and responsibility. It is a place that I can explore what feels good, what looks good and most importantly what expresses the feeling I get from a place. I find photos do tell part of the story but that I need to ‘dive’ in to the image and explore what is captivating about the place.
In my work I understand that every line has meaning - whether you intend it or not. Achitecture has a strict definition of every line’s meaning - something that takes years to fully understand and appreciate. With my art I am able to explore the less concrete side of each line’s meaning…the feelings, thoughts, memories of the place that they can evoke. In that way art is a beautifully inexact process, an ever evolving representation of your intent. Art allows me to explore and set rules (as needed!), but most importantly, to go places that are not part of my normal life. Art creation allows for free thinking that life does not always allow, but is much needed.
We all need a space (even if it is just within your mind) to explore. For me that is art creation.
As a person born with hearing loss, I'm already isolated from the world and I have had to learn how to undo the isolation hearing loss has given me. Throughout my life I have been given devices and tools that help me interact with others and not be so alone.
The device in my hand is one of the few devices that has helped me. For the longest time music and audio has been one of my greatest challenges, and I was never able to experience nor understand it fully. Then one day I got the Roger Pen and learned what it could do. Eventually I was able to overcome an obstacle in my life and the Roger Pen stands as a trophy for overcoming it. Now in quarantine the Roger Pen has been something that I can rely on to connect to music and destress from the craziness this world is currently going through.
The garden is my sanctuary. I love the physical work of it, the smell of freshly turned soil, the smell of rain on that soil and the newly sprouting greens of recently planted seeds. This place allows me to think differently, escaping urban life, if just for a bit. How can I best nurture these young plants to eventually bring nutrition or simply joy to me, my friends and my family?
The tools that I use are the simplest of objects, hundreds of thousands of years old, but they are still highly effective and allow me to engage the earth. Comparatively my hat is utterly temporary. It was my favorite hat some 20 years ago, representing me with my team’s logo. But it got “old” and other newer favorites came along, so this hat became my “work” hat. No less important to keep the blistering Seattle sun off my face and to keep the sweat from running into my eyes. This hat has faded from a dark blue to almost white, showing years of toil and layers of dried sweat that have been washed away only to be realized again and again.
I hope it lasts forever.
One of our favorite Christmas gifts of 2018 was a collection of small cocktail recipe books from our friend Tina. Each book showcases cocktails made from a different liquor. Since the start of the quarantine and seeing all of my patients over the computer all day, I find myself exhausted by the time 5 o'clock rolls around and even more desirous than usual of a cocktail. I decided this would be a great opportunity to explore a few new recipes from the Tina books.
I happened upon the Corpse Reviver #2, a pre-Prohibition drink that I had never heard of. Equal parts gin, Cocchi Americano, Cointreau, and lemon juice (I leave out the dash of absinthe), it has become my new cocktail fave!
My object is my trampoline basketball. I chose this because it has been something I use almost everyday, especially during the pandemic. Playing on the trampoline is fun and it is something to do outside for exercise. I can do this whenever I want, for as long as I want, and it gives me a way to burn energy when I am bored.
I play basketball on the trampoline with my brother and we throw alley oops to each other...and my dad throws us football passes and we jump up to catch them. I have also played real basketball with my friend that lives near me.
All of this has helped me get through quarantine more easily.
For me, this time has been characterized by screens (and our dog, Otis). My screen time has certainly increased since the beginning of this year—and I had already spent a fair amount of time on my phone. Given that this is the only way we can connect with colleagues, friends and family, and that the lines between work and home are non-existent, I find myself on my devices now more than ever.
While it's nice to connect with others during this time, I'm looking forward to spending my time with people in person.
I wanted to read something a little depressing because it reminds me that, while things are bleak right now, I am doing ok and am fortunate for that. Jane Eyre was an orphan who grew up in an unloving home and was deprived of simple comforts that many of us take for granted. So I read this book and feel fortunate that I have a comfortable home, a job, and family and friends who support me.
Strange, uncertain times like these may bring intense emotions that are hard to let out. You want to keep everything in so you don't go crazy and let everything out at once. Reading books and watching movies can help focus that emotion. This pandemic is a good opportunity to slow down and reflect on the good and the bad in life and books have helped me do that.
The cover is called a 'Portrait of a Young Woman' by Vihelm Hammershoi. It is actually a portrait of his sister. The book recounts Jane's life from age 10 to when she turns 18 and becomes a governess and falls in love, so it is a sort of coming-of-age story which is why I assume they chose to have a young girl on the cover.
I am only 1/3 of the way through the book, and Jane is at an all girls school for orphans, so maybe a happy ending is coming!
My object is my football. I chose it because during the quarantine it has helped keep me from getting bored. Also it has helped get my dad and me outside and to the park more often.
Before quarantine my parents would always tell me to put down my phone. That was also when I was able to see my friends every day and couldn't even imagine there would be a time where I couldn't interact with them face to face. I was on my phone a lot more when quarantine started, always communicating with my friends and going on social media. TikTok is one social media platform that my generation seems to be obsessed with, especially during the shutdown. TikTok was originally just a fun place where I would watch funny videos or get creative ideas, but it has become a place where I’m able to connect with my generation and feel inspired by the amount of political power we have and the real impacts we have made, and we can make in the future.
At the beginning of the shutdown whipped coffee was trending on TikTok and everyone was making it. I tried it, and it turned out to be some of the best coffee I’ve had.
My name is Pilar. I am an exceptionally good looking cat, my main hobby is perfecting my reproachful stare, and I am in lifelong quarantine.
Once my cat mom and dad let me out of the house to see if I liked it. I didn’t. I was scared and so I meowed a lot, and loudly. And if you know me, you know that I rarely meow. Anyway, I ran around the yard for about seven minutes and then ran back inside where I cleaned myself extra vigorously to remove the strange outside smell.
I’ve noticed that my cat mom and dad have been spending extra time at home lately. At first it was weird and I was annoyed (more than usual). But I’ve gotten used to it and I like it. I get more play time and more snacks. And now, every day at 10:30am I go see my cat mom and roll around on the floor and show her my belly. When she tries to touch my belly, I bite her. I like this game. Especially the biting.
Since my last day in the office March 6th, I've been working from home. Eating at home. Sleeping at home. Everything at home. Running has been an escape for me. A chance to get out of the house and do something 'normal.'
Frank LOVES to run. He's our 115-lb German Shepherd, and he knows the squeak of my dresser drawer that holds my running clothes. As soon as he hears that, he gets excited...super excited. It means he's going somewhere!
We run about 3 times a week, Monday thru Friday; it's usually before work and 2 to 3 miles. On the weekends, he has to be patient, but we'll run longer distances, up to 6 miles right now. Our annual half-marathon in Vancouver, BC was canceled in May, as was a Half Ironman, so we're not really training for a long-distance event. But this keeps us busy and in shape.
Anne's job has her really busy, so I've taken over as Frank’s primary walker, too. Mornings, evenings. I've started listening to podcasts, so I plug in my earbuds, and we'll walk for 20 minutes up to an hour around the neighborhood.
Now that I have him out more, he follows me, rather than Anne, around the house. When I get up in the morning, he follows me into the bathroom. He points out my running stuff from the day before. If I hop in the shower, he goes and lays down, looking really sad. When I finish washing the dinner dishes, he gets super amped and shows me where I keep my jackets hung up.
He's happiest when he's out running (or walking), and so am I.
I chose Carlos as my Covid-19 object because he is good to talk to when I can't talk to my friends. Even though Carlos is a dog, he is smart and it is fun to train him and funny to watch him looking at the bunny next door. One time, the bunny got into our yard and Carlos and the bunny were chasing each other for like 5 MINUTES!!! before the bunny FINALLY escaped!
Anyway, that is why I chose Carlos as my COVID-19 object.
During this pandemic I feel just as connected as I was before the pandemic. With my phone I am connected with my friends and my cousins. I generally see my cousins often but obviously during the pandemic I am unable to see them in person. But with my phone I am able to call and face-time with them, same for my friends. For many I believe it is harder to connect in this time. For example, my parents, because their lives and jobs were designed to be around people and to talk to people face to face. That’s why I believe having the ability to have time to spend with others over the phone is very important.
In your photo I am by a tree. That tree is our maple tree. It is over 20 years old, which is older than me. My favorite memory with the tree is trying to climb it with my friends.
I like the beach. I like the beach because it brings more adventures in our life. You can collect shells, rocks, and you can swim in the water. in my hands were flowers and beach items. I collected the flowers because I like to water the garden and go to Lowe's to buy plants and seeds. In Washington, I admire the beach because there are no sharks and beautiful water and fish you can see. It is fun when I go to Vashon. I bring my dog, Carlos.
There is also a tree in this picture. I admire my tree because it is a wonderful place and I have my own spot. The tree is called Mapleville because it is a maple and I like to climb it. I like to climb the tree because when I go to the tippy tippy top I can see the people across the street build their house and it is fun. The tree is a beautiful place - I can go in many spots EXCEPT for the Queen's Throne, because that is Mazie's spot and she will kick me out. In this tree there are many swings and seats which are my swings.
There are also plants in this picture. I like the plants because they are all different colors and they are pretty much all my favorite color - like a rainbow, which is the best.
All of these things help me get through quarantine because they are fun. I also like to go to the pool because at the pool there are flowers that I like to pick and a blueberry patch. I also like to go to Etta's house. Etta is my best friend. We pick flowers and they are wild flowers. We go to a secret place - which a lot of other people know about - and pick just a few flowers. The tree has pretty bright green leaves and the sun shines through them. The sun is very pretty.