Cynthia Ivy, OTD (Lithograph)

Meet Cynthia Ivy, OT, OTD, M.Ed., CHT

Associate Clinical Professor, NAU’s Dept. of Occupational Therapy

Describe your morning – what time do you get up, what do you do first, next and what is for breakfast?

I try to sleep in as I am trying to get more sleep since I don’t have to commute. I usually get up between 7 and 7:30. I first make my bed, brush my teeth and put on sunscreen and get dressed. Because my room is upstairs it is easier to do all of that before going down for breakfast.

I have been eating breakfast with my son. He is home from college as his summer internship was cancelled due to COVID-19. He is vegan so we have been having homemade vegan pastries, good crusty bread, jam, peanut butter and fruit with delicious French Press or heated Cold Brew coffee. Once a day we read a small passage and question from a philosophy type book he has and answer the question together. This is usually outside on the patio during breakfast but if I need to get to a zoom meeting, it is sometimes during lunch or dinner.

What happens next?  What do you do for lunch?

With my son Jonah home, we have been grabbing a quick lunch together. Often leftovers from the night before or a salad or fruit or sandwich. My days can get kind of tight with meetings and teaching on zoom so sometimes we just eat on our own.

What do you do for dinner?

We have been trying a lot of great recipes for dinner. I just love the recipes by Ottolenghi and the New York Times. I have learning to cook vegan. We are able to walk to Sprouts and two other grocery stores so either my son or I will walk to get a few ingredients if needed- with sanitizer and a mask.

How do you end the day and what time do you go to bed?

I am trying to get to bed a little earlier but have not been entirely successful with this. I have been walking, reading and looking at some social media, especially NPR before bed. I am going to try to stop the latter but continue with the walking and reading. I usually end up going down around 11:30 p.m.

What art are you doing and when do you do it?

The two main forms of art that I have been doing since the coronavirus restrictions have been creating vegan deserts and good-looking meals and creating comfortable inviting outdoor spaces. That isn’t really art in the traditional sense, but I have been getting into the look of the food and the colors, textures and flower smells in the outdoors. I have also blockprinted several cards to send in the mail. There are so many people working major hard and overtime during this stay at home period and I am trying to send all of them a homemade card. I have sent 11 so far and have a list of about 14 more people to make and send cards to.

What are you reading?

I recently completed Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens and I am about halfway through Dreamland by Sam Quinones. I HIGHLY recommend both of them- FANTASTIC reads.

What are you streaming?

A lot of Trevor Noah and Randy Rainbow. I want to watch Tiger King but haven’t started. There is actually a lot on my list that I haven’t started. Teaching and graduation responsibilities have kept me busier that I would have thought.

How are you feeling?

I am feeling pretty good & enjoy being home, but I also get very reflective about the pandemic and everything surrounding it. At night I think a lot about how the quarantine/virus will change things in the future and also about the people suffering from all of the consequences right now. I also ponder a lot about climate change and want to learn more about the science surrounding that and be a bigger part of the solution.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when the quarantine ends?

I will reschedule my plane tickets to see my 85 year old parents who are quarantined with my 25 year old daughter Caroline in an independent living facility condo in Madison, Wisconsin. I hope I will be able to see them safely later in the summer.