pandemic diaries: week 19

...and a half? 

Pandemic time has me thinking about Beanbag Frog in 'The World Champion of Staying Awake'

I'm a little late to post an update from last week and there's no zine for this week of #momcamp. I made a plan, I just never got around to putting it into zine format this past weekend, which was busier than usual between painting a wall in the 7 year old's room...

...and helping out with another kitten adoption event at the shelter. Since week 20 is already 2/5 over, I put the various daily suggestions for the week in a treasure map format (with links!). 

Lots of food holidays this week so maybe this will give you some ideas for what to make (or order) for dinner (or takeout). Otherwise, here's what happened last week...

You can now download high-res prints of Audubon's Birds of America for free! I've downloaded five so far. Sadly, my local framing shop is still closed but I'll have a couple of these matted and framed eventually. 

Our elementary school held a virtual town hall last week and there is already much talk of pandemic pods. I'm not sure how I feel about any of it just yet, but I do sense my multi-faceted anxiety increasing as the first day of school (August 10) approaches. 

I did a fair amount of (vegan) pandemic baking last week, including these chocolate cupcakes from this cookbook. With the leftover aquafaba from a can of chickpeas (the chickpeas I later turned into hummus) I experimented with vegan meringues. 

Not sure they're worth the effort (even after 20 minutes of whipping they never really made "stiff peaks") but making something from a byproduct you'd otherwise discard is pretty cool. 

Finally, this past weekend, we whipped together our entry for Trader Joe's ice cream sandwich contest (see more images and read all about it here). They announce the winners early next week - wish me luck! I seem to be in the contest and giveaways stage of this pandemic.

Now to burn off all those calories. Here are a few masked, outdoor activities we enjoyed, playing hooky from work for an hour or two after lunch most days. First, quite possibly my first time at Indian Rock Park in Berkeley (although I'm not sure how that's possible).

A hot hike to Little Yosemite in Sunol.

And a weekend afternoon stroll in nearby Sausal Creek...Back to week 20!