in Kirchheim unter Teck, 4 April

My husband, my three kids and I have all been home since mid-March: schools will be shut until at least after the Easter holidays, and probably much longer. The children are sent homework by their teachers regularly, and are managing very well with working alone. We go out rarely, only for the very occasional shopping trip or for a walk with our dog, Molly. My husband and I are now working from home, which is surprisingly effective. Work in the GS is like nothing we have yet experienced: we have meetings via zoom and rarely, if ever, see each other in person.

Answering Pattreeya's question, above, of what we are doing in self-quarantine, I can say that we have stocked up on action videos (3 teenage children), and are currently working our way through The X-Men series. Excellent (pun intended)! I have two new books and am planning on starting one of them, which is about the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper, this afternoon.

Along with everyone else, I have been looking at the numbers of Corona cases every day and am shocked by this situation. Today, there was a report that the number of new cases in the Esslingen region is increasing significantly less than the number of people recovering from the infection: possibly a light at the end of the tunnel? In the midst of all the fear and uncertainty, however, I am touched by the values that are emerging: people are sticking together, helping one another, talking to people they haven't contacted in years, and showing their appreciation for those who are out there helping us get through this time. I am very glad to hear from so many of you, and hope that you and your families all stay healthy.