The Weekly Digest

This week: The kids did lots of rollerblading and took long walks, practiced drawing together with Wendy Mac, and watched the first two episodes of National Parks on Disney+. Skyler joined some of her kinder buddies on a zoom meeting, Hudson played chess and homemade battleship, and I joined in two zoom bookclub meetups.

Aron and I watched Tiger King on Netflix Party, caught up with Better Call Saul, and played trivia with friends. We also, every night, exchange NYT-Mini-Crossword times with another couple (often with our drink handicap) and the ensuing banter is something to look forward to.

I cleaned the house (over and over) and made the kids cry with my April Fool’s Joke (I put confetti in place of the cereal in a box of Lucky Charms), and froze toys in ice water to occupy a sunny afternoon. Aron worked from home at the end of the week—maybe for the first time ever?—which was amazing, and we did some work in the garden. I finally downloaded the TikTok App and an hour of watching funny animal clips with Aron had us shriek-laughing. It helped me forget that, tomorrow, we were supposed to fly to Mexico for spring break—for a little while

Late last night, we got the notice that school is officially cancelled the for the rest of the year and I cried when we watched a “Miss-you”-video from the kids’ teachers. On the other hand, this clip made me tear up in joy. My friend Courtney sent me the link and, if you haven’t seen it, it was my favorite thing this week.

Some more links for this week… 

What is Fluffy Coffee—And Why? 

100 Screen-free things to do with kids, and a great list of free educational apps, from Mother Mag.

My friend opened ROWDY—a club-inspired dance cardio & HIIT workout studio last year—and they have started streaming on Tuesdays and Fridays (tonight!) at 8PM PST. It’s a great way to dance, alone or with family or friends, and get in a workout—and the first class is free. Follow at @getrowdy.official and then clink on the link in bio to sign up and try it.

A new favorite Ikea Hack. But I’ve published lots of round-ups of great ones, if you need more.

Grown-out manicure trick.

$75 Denim at Madewell this week. (Under other circumstances, I’d be ordering multiple pairs to try on—like these—but I’m in need of more stretchy joggers right now.) And Everlane is 25% sitewide.

Speaking of which, here’s an old post on great joggers. Most recommended to me lately have been these ones.

Life skills for teens to learn right now.

A new transparency.

A case for being unproductive.

Other countries reporting on the U.S. (via Design Mom)

A family of four weathers a week of Coronavirus.

Don’t know how to sew? Here’s how to make a no-sew, cloth face mask. Wash often in hot water. (Please leave the N95 and surgical masks for health professionals. Tell everyone to donate their purchased masks.)

A powerful essay from restauranteur Tom Colicchio. “I’ve seen how the charitable response winds up masking the need for government intervention. This problem was too big for charity. Our government needs to step up.”

Do we have an exit strategy?

Some good news.

Which memes or articles are making you smile lately?

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