Wednesday afternoon things

* I got three of my four syllabi written today, which is kind of a big deal, because I was basically rebuilding them from zero in order to account for all the changes due to the pandemic. I also tested out and found that I CAN do share-screen with SPSS in Zoom (I will just have to remember to toggle between the different windows I want to show) and that means I can teach biostats with an analysis package EVEN IF we can't all cram into the lab room, or EVEN IF the students have been sent home (but faculty can still be on campus) because I can do it from my office.

My plan now is to do those tutorials remotely like that, and....if it's possible....assign homework for the students to do on their own time, with the understanding that they can e-mail or Zoom in if they have trouble.

The fourth syllabus is for the gen-ed class, and I am one of three teaching it, so I need to collaborate with the other profs. I have a couple weeks yet so I can hold off a little. But I do feel better for having the main syllabi done. Even if they are extremely provisional in the sense of "I don't even know what's going to happen, LOL"

* I also came to a decision for weekends/days off for the nonce: there are a number of low-traffic trails around here, places I could go and walk. Based on how much better I felt after Monday's day out, I'm thinking once every week or once every other week - weather permitting - I should go out to one of them and just walk around. Bonus if I come up with some kind of future research idea while doing it. Most places here are pretty safe, and I will have my phone in case I get hurt or something (I suppose I should put the Corps of Engineers' station number in my phone - most of the land I'd go to is Corps land - so I could call for help if I stepped in a hole and hurt my ankle or something)

Saturday I am thinking - if the weather is good and I get myself together early enough - I am going to go out  to a horseback trail about 15 miles from me. It's a nice place to walk, an easy-enough trail. I'll go early, and anyway, I can always step off the trail a moment if someone comes along on a horse.

I can probably do without restaurant meals or even in person "fun" shopping for a while longer if I can get out periodically somewhere in nature and just walk. (Added bonus: another form of exercise). I might also go out to the area that we used as a research area some time; it has some trails. And if I get very ambitious, and can find a day when they're unlikely to be very busy, I could go down to Hagerman and walk around there.

I have Friday afternoons scheduled to be "off" and my plan now - because of viruses - is to not be on campus except right around class time (most of my office hours are going to be from home via Zoom) so I could even take some Friday afternoons once it's a bit cooler and do that.

That is much better than just driving aimlessly around - that can make me sad, because there's so much empty space and so little to "do" from the road. But walking is different because you can see stuff and hear the wind in the trees and smell the cedar needles and sometimes flowering plants.

* I pulled out the big fuzzy blanket I was knitting of a yarn called "Hygge." I'm about 3/4 of the way done but I made an error (purled where I should have knitted). I mostly fixed it but the blanket may still look a little funny, though I am telling myself it's just one row (so probably not that noticeable) and also the blanket is still *functional,* it won't unravel. But I admit it bugs me and I find I make a LOT of little mistakes now and I worry that my brain has permanently been damaged by the months of stress and isolation. Some days I can't even play piano very well and it makes me rage. (My teacher e-mailed me a while back about lessons but I admit I was in a Slough of Despond on that day and never e-mailed her back, anyway, at this point, I'd rather wait until next spring because God only knows what my teaching may look like this fall and also if I have to self-isolate because of an outbreak on campus. And anyway, I don't play well at all some days. I should e-mail her back though)

* That said, hope springs eternal and I bought some Lett-Lopi today for a sort of ombre-striped sweater called the Cooper Sweater (I got the pattern free off of Ravelry, which is now its own hotbed of controversy over issues for people with various visual disturbances being unable to use it, so no link....the designer is Jaimie Bortolotti, they are also on Instagram (which I have now joined, so I can see their stuff)). I am doing it in a dark brown, an oatmeal, and a cream color....well, I will, once the yarn gets here and I decide to start it, but it looks like a fairly simple pattern and might make good knitting for while I sit in virtual office hours....

I've also been picking away at the vest I am knitting on; at least that's fairly straightforward knitting.