Time to leave the house, everybody!

And … exhale.

When your only recreation outside the house is walking, chilly, gloomy days make you feel cooped up, held inside the four walls.

However, when the sun comes out and the temperature is warmer, it feels like a release … like you and the world are breathing normally again.

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All the shows you’d ever want

With concerts basically being cancelled until who knows when because of … you know … you’d think my pal Al Gorithm at Live Nation would have nothing for me. You’d be wrong.

If you’re not busy at 4 p.m. (Eastern), you have an open invitation for tea with Tori Kelly.

Or, more accurately, the invitation is for #QuaranTEAwithTori.

I have no great interest in her Instagram live stream, where it looks like she’s talking and singing with friends, but at least I’ve heard of her.

Let’s go to some games

C’mon in, there’s no social distancing here.

I know it looks like the sports room in my house, but once I close that door, it’s going to be something else.

After all, if someone is suggesting escaping … you know … by sleeping in the guest room and imagining it’s a trip, we can turn a room full of sports books, pictures and other memorabilia into a portal to where sports haven’t changed.

Just ignore the scratching. Our cat Sasha hates when I shut the door.

The week gone by — April 26

In my second year of graduate school, for reasons that I think had to do with lack of professors, there was a shortage of elective classes in my department.

To make up for the shortfall, the department developed a list of courses from other departments that would be acceptable.

The list wasn’t particularly inspiring, but I needed to choose a couple classes from it to finish my requirements.

Looking for a little adventure

We’re going to Lowe’s.

Because we actually got the leaf guy to come last fall, we don’t need him now, but when he comes in the spring, he also cleans up the yard and puts down mulch.

Instead, Suzi and I going to do it, but we need mulch.

Hence the trip to Lowe’s. (We’re also going to order takeout from the nearby Cheesecake Factory.)

Someone help me figure this one out

It must be summer, because I’m driving with the windows down. I must not feel like running the air conditioning.

I’m on the Northway in my home state of New York, in that spot north of Albany between Clifton Park and Colonie where traffic picks up but is still moving.

In my passenger seat is something much to small for the box it’s in … clearly inspired by Amazon.

What we didn’t know then

I’m not entirely sure what we’re all doing in the photo, but if I remember correctly, we watched “The Hitcher,” so maybe that was it.

I think lots of people met untimely and fairly gruesome deaths, but don’t ask me the plot otherwise. Go read about it on Rotten Tomatoes.

It was May of 1990, after my high school’s senior prom. If you must know, I’m second from the right, in the Bart Simpson T-shirt and blue sweatpants. My date was at the party, but she’s not in the picture.

How are you keeping yourself sane?

“How do you keep yourself sane?” was an interesting question two years ago. It’s a really interesting, and likely far more difficult question to answer, now.

It should tell you something about my personality that one of my least-favorite expressions is “Don’t worry about the things you can’t control.”

After all, the alternative is to worry about things I can control, and what’s the point of that, since I control them?

The week gone by — April 19

The process of selling our previous house and buying our current one was … eventful.

Yes, “eventful” is a good word for it, up to and including when our mover no-showed, forcing us to improvise and making for a very, very long moving day.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Anything is possible, until it isn’t

First the was the flight — overnight, over water, over-tired me at the end because I didn’t sleep.

Then there was the train from the airport to the hotel, keeping an eye on our luggage so it didn’t roll away.

Then, before everything else, there was this view out the hotel room window.