Four weeks in self-quarantine

Today marks the end of the fourth week where I have been under self-quarantine. Here in Vermont, like much of the rest of the country, we have to keep at least 6 feet from other people when we have to go out, and we have to wear a mask. I have been stuck in the house for 4 weeks with a couple of exceptions. I went shopping in Littleton a couple of times with Liz, although I stayed in the car and she did the shopping. Other than that I have been twice to a bank to pay a bill (most all banks here in the USA have a drive-through, and this means that you get to stay in the car.

At long last, the snow has gone away, hopefully until November. On a couple of the warmer days, I have been in the yard planting bulbs, corms, and seeds. g We also invested in a small greenhouse in which I have been planting my pole-beans in peat growing pots. In a few week's time, I will be able to transplant them outside. I am an avid reader, but have been unable to visit the local library for 4 weeks,

Trump continues to make a fool of himself, treating his daily Coronavirus briefings as a campaign rally. We are at the peak of the outbreak and he wants to open up the economy in three week's time, which he can't do because he has no control over what takes place in individual states. Only the governors of each state can re-open businesses such as banks, restaurants, gymnasiums and retail outlets. At the latest count, some 16 million people were out of work in the USA. He can't get it into his stupid head that if he opens up the economy too soon there will be another surge in the infection and ultimately the death rate. I personally hold him directly responsible for a large proportion of the 22,859 deaths that have occurred from this virus in the USA at the time of writing.

Self Quarantine

The present COVID 19 scare has shown just how incompetent our so-called president is. Today the DOW fell more than 2,500 points in the first 2 minutes of the opening bell and within a few points of 3,000 by the close of the day. For my part, I have decided to self-quarantine at home for the foreseeable future. This is because of my age together with my condition (COPD). This also means that for the present I will not be carrying out any substitution at the Academy, which may be closing down for a period anyway. All indications are that the country is falling into recession.

All of this is bad news for our egotistic president, who is completely fixated on self-image and on how well the stock market is doing. Only since Sunday night's Democratic presidential debate in which both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders showed themselves to be far more presidential than Trump, has he changed his tune somewhat regarding the Coronavirus pandemic.

I just spent 20 minutes chatting on videophone with my sister in the United Kingdom. She, like me, has self quarantined at home and is pretty depressed about it. Here in Vermont and neighboring states, all schools are closing at the end of classes today, restaurants, theaters, gyms, bars and many businesses except for grocery stores and pharmacies are banned from opening to the public. For my part, I have canceled a planned visit to my ophthalmologist down in Lebanon in early April.

I can't wait for Spring. My sister turned her camera outside to show me her magnolia tree in full bloom and her spring flowers. I have a bunch of bulbs to put in as soon as the ground unfreezes; daffodils, narcissi, croci, gladioli, and freesias. I uncovered my rose bushes a couple of days ago when most of the snow had melted, but guess what! We have a white carpet on the ground once again,

Back to school

Last week on Friday I went back to school - no, not as a student but as a substitute teacher. I have been appointed in that position at the Saint Johnsbury Academy, a prestigious 9 to 12-grade high school in the Northeast Kingdom - the far Northeast portion of Vermont, bordering the Canadian border.

This change so late in my life comes as a result of several different circumstances. Liz and I recently took ownership of a ranch-style house just five minutes from the Academy but frankly, I have become bored with being at home every day, and when the opportunity came up of being able to spend some time helping out at the Academy, I jumped at it. 

At the time of writing, I have sat in on two hour-long sessions of Grade 11 American History,

tow of Grade 12 English and two of Grade 11 English. The students are mostly American, but with a smattering of Chinese and other nationalities. 

The Academy offers a wide range of subjects and has a particularly wide range of the Arts, including  Visual Arts Courses comprising Foundations of Drawing and Painting, Anatomy and Figure Drawing, Printmaking, Photography, Fashion Design, Filmmaking, Digital Design, Clay, Sculpture, Water-based Painting, Oil Painting, Portfolio, AP Art, and Visual Art Capstone.

The Academy also offers Performing Arts Courses comprising Acting, Stagecraft, Popular Dance, Dance, Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Strings, Guitar, Music Appreciation/Theory, and AP Music. I believe that the coming year will certainly not be boring,  

The power of Positive Thinking

Much has been written in the past by many authors about Positive Thinking, and I would like to add my small contribution.  Does Positive Thinking actually work? Can your life be bettered by practicing it? The answer is “Yes, it can and it does”. I believe that Positive Thinking is directly related to the Quantum Theory – for the uninformed that is the science of physics, but at a sub-atomic level. You are probably unaware that millions of dollars are spent every year on Quantum Physics research, that there have been major breakthroughs in recent years in such subjects as c and in Quantum Computing.UU

The Quantum Theory is said to be linked to or responsible for a number of common phenomena. These include extrasensory perception, telepathy, telekinesis, and similar phenomena. It has also been theorized to have links to near-death experience, ghosts, the afterlife and more recently with UFOs. There is also a school of thought that hypothesizes that consciousness is a quantum event that takes place in the brain. Have you ever been thinking of something only to find out that a loved one has been having exactly the same thoughts at the same time? That is a quantum event, and it is more common than you may think.

What has this got to do with Positive Thinking? One of the principles of the Quantum Theory is that everything in the Universe is interconnected at a sub-atomic level. It is a proven fact that, at a quantum level, information can be transferred from one point to another instantaneously, no matter what the distance is between them. This can account for two people thousands of miles apart thinking the same thoughts at the same time.

Your mind is a very powerful weapon that has been encoded throughout your life by your memories, experiences, and environment. All of these memories are buried deep in your brain and are the reason for your present state of mind and self-esteem. Many people have developed a low frame of mind because of their jobs or the kind of environment they exist in, one of extreme negativity. But low self-esteem can be countered and turned around. There are a number of recognizable signs that will tell you that you are suffering from low self-esteem. Typically these are depression and possibly, in the extreme, suicidal thoughts.  People suffering from low self-esteem frequently turn to drugs.

It is important that you recognize that you are suffering from low self-worth in order to reverse the process. If you find yourself in such a position, if you think that you are stuck in a rut. Once you have made up your mind to do something about it, all it needs is a little positive thinking. To drag yourself out of that rut you have to make a determined effort to employ the use of positive thinking. One way is by using the Law of Attraction, one of the spin-offs of Quantum Theory.

Most people unconsciously allow outside influences to control their lives. In order to change this, you have to let your inner thoughts do the job, not outside influences. This calls for serious positive thinking. When you concentrate your mind on positive things, then positive things will happen. Let me give you an example. If you think all the time of having no money, guess what – you will never have money because that is a negative thought. Rather think positively and use visualization and you will attract the positive.

The Law of Attraction states that whatever you concentrate your thoughts on will be attracted to you. This law works for everyone all of the time. It works for rich and poor, young and old, and for all races and religions. By getting rid of your negativity and concentrating on the positive, you will put yourself onto a pathway that leads to abundance and contentment.

Getting settled

We were devastated at the time, but in retrospect when our landlady phoned us on that Sunday afternoon in late March and gave us 60 days to vacate our apartment, it was the best thing that could have happened to us. It is now late July and we have just celebrated Independence Day. The house is starting to look very lived in, although we are still unpacking boxes, some of which have been sitting unpacked for more than two years. I can say with absolute certainty that we are both extremely happy in this house, and even happier that all of the paperwork is now over and we have the Deeds in our possession.

The country is warming up for the 2020 election, and more than 20 Democratic hopefuls are campaigning hard, with the first of the debates now behind us. It is no secret that I cannot stand that idiot Trump. More than 10,000 lies have been recorded since he took office. In fact, he lies so often that it has become patently obvious by his lead in when a lie is about to be told. I didn't really understand the political system in America before I arrived here five years ago. But having now witnessed it first hand, I do understand it. I know that nothing will ever persuade me to vote for any Republican candidate. At the same time, I will stick by the Royal Navy ruling for mess dinners - no discussions of a political or religious nature in our house.

The road our house is on is named Sunset Drive, and the above picture, taken a couple of weeks ago, is a good example of why. For a change, this year, we are going to be able to host the Thanksgiving Dinner in late November. One of our rooms is easily big enough to seat more than a dozen people - and our stove is massive. Yesterday we picked up a garden table with 6 chairs and a couple of matching loungers for a very reasonable price, and we have a dining room table and six chairs as well as some other furniture on hold for us.

The yard is starting to look good too. We have removed a rather ugly fence, originally erected to keep in small children when the previous owners were running a day-care center here. We have put out bird feeders and so far have seen a pair of red cardinals and of blue jays and a  nesting robin as well as a number of species that I do not know. One songbird wakes me every morning at about 0430 with the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. Other wildlife includes a grey squirrel and, next door, a groundhog or woodchuck. No chipmunks, skunks, bears or deer as yet though!