Slowly reopening....

Today is Mr’s birthday! Thank goodness the state is slowly reopening because he loves his yearly onion rings and big boy burger at Fosters. Today was no different. We ate outside and he practically licked his plate clean!

We finished hauling and stacking all of our firewood into the wood yard and moved to inside chores as the weather changed. We have since cleaned out every closet and have a large pile ready to go to Goodwill. During that excavation we unearthed a bunch of figurines of mom’s that she still had boxed up. That lead to the discovery that not one more of those gorgeous items would fit in my curio (that came with the house). An Internet search rewarded me with a larger lighted curio that now houses all of our little lovelies. Although, getting it into the house was a feat that involved ancient Egyptian methods of moving super heavy items. (The heaviest part? The glass shelves, of course! Once we got those out of the box, the unit was much easier to move around and put into place.)

Now that summer is here, we are spending time by and in the pool - which was 86 degrees of pure bliss until it rained and the temp dropped to 83. We are hoping that some sunny days this week will increase the temps a wee bit. 83 is refreshing, but 86 makes it warm enough to float around and spend time in the water.

I’ve also finished a few projects including baby blankets, baby sweaters, shawls, spacemen, a wool wedding blanket, and yet another Yoda. I’ve ordered some more yarn because I need to make a wedding blanket for a very special young lady whose mother is my oldest and dearest friend. As soon as that yarn arrives, I’ll get to it! Covid-19 had made a wedding filled with friends and family impossible - the venue cancelled the wedding. They will tie the knot surrounded by family in the back yard. It’s not what they wanted, but it will still be beautiful and memorable!

In other news, my copy of Animal Crossing New Horizons for the Switch arrived in late March. I have been playing daily. Yes, I’m actually a closet video game addict. LLB and I played the Wii version back in the day. It was our “snow day” and “school vacation” activity. We loved it then and we love it’s now, especially since we can play together over the Internet even though we are apart. Yep, it’s fun and we all need a little fun these days.

Quarantine 2020

Covid-19 and it’s requisite shut down of the economy, church, and life outside the home began for us back in early March. Mr started working from home and all of my volunteer activities ceased. 

We looked at this sudden stop of every day life as the blessing of a huge gift of time. We used it wisely. We started by cleaning out the sheds. We gave things away. We sold things. We tossed a lot - that meant many trips to the dump. We went to the dump in town because their bulk waste container is easier to access - as in you don’t have to lift it over your head into the container. We went so often that the staff got to know the car! But, we had cleaned out both sheds - a chore we had been wanting to do for years! Success! 

Once we finished that task, we decided that we would start to tackle the yard. Our yard is big and our chores are many. We started with mulching the flowerbeds. 50 bags of mulch later - we could spread another 10, but really... enough is enough! 

We moved on to cutting and splitting some of the ash trees we had taken down two summers ago. A very sweet neighbor pulled down some logs off the pile with his tractor. Mr cut them up with his chain saw and I split them with my new favorite power tool - the log splitter! Then we had a couple more dead trees taken down. We cut and split them, too. 😏

Next up - putting all that new firewood into our wood yard. 

Christmas and beyond

Well, Christmas has come and gone and it was simply wonderful. All the children were home. #1 and Yellow Rose and flew in on Christmas Eve.  They came to church for the 9.  LLB arrived on Monday, so I got to spend some time with just her. She played her trumpet - beautifully, I might add - and I attempted to sing (in tune) in the choir. Mr was the usher - yep... we all had a job to do. We took our requisite family photos on the altar and then we went home.  We’ve never opened stockings on Christmas Eve before, because the service has always ended too late - as in midnight - but this May be a really nice new tradition.  We had mulled wine, snacks, and stockings. I’d do that again!
The next day Yellow Rose experienced a “real” Ladybug Crossing Christmas complete with presents, food, drink, and a new game! I guess Santa thought we were really good this year! We all got some really nice things. LLB got her sword and case (which we hung in her condo and seems to still be on the wall). #1 and Yellow Rose got many of their requested Amazon list items and a trusty check because there’s only so much room in a suitcase! Mr and I received a lot of really awesome things including an instapot from Auntie - which I used for the first time yesterday - and it was pretty awesome!
New Years Eve took the younger set to the city to celebrate. They went to a masquerade party and based on the stories, they had a fantastic time! They met up with old friends, made new friends, and danced all night long. We had a New Years Day brunch instead of our regular Christmas Party and the younger set made it to the party on time and in one piece.  My breakfast casserole was a hit with them, as they all devoured it. (I think it was a good cure for the proverbial hangover.) I’m glad I made 2! We had a house full of friends who brought lots of great food and conversation. It’s a nice way to start the year!
Now it’s January 10th and time marches on. I’m in the process of putting Christmas away. It always seems to take so much longer to pack it all up! I’ll get there...
This weekend it’s supposed to be warm and sunny - if you need us, we will be splitting wood. Because - wood stove!

Pain in my... lower back

So I’ve had back pain for at least 10 years. It finally got bad enough that I gave in and went to the doctor and he sent me to PT. I think I may have finally turned the corner. I’ve taken no meds since Friday and I’ve had not too much pain. Today I had PT and came home and did my 3 10 minute walks at speed. I didn’t have any pain while I was walking. This is huge!
I keep doing my pushups. Those hurt, but the pain will dissipate if I hold the final one long enough... I’m making progress!!
Tomorrow is another day full of exercises... and walking... and chores.
Life is good.

Sunday...

It’s Sunday morning  - early.
The air is crisp and the leaves are starting to turn.
We returned from Canada yesterday after my mother in law’s funeral. She was 93. She lived a long life. She was an amazing lady who loved her family, loved ice cream, and definitely loved to laugh.
She will be missed.
Now it’s back to regularly scheduled programming - PT, general running, and more - until Friday when I head to Florida with my dearest childhood friend for some well deserved fun in the sun. I guess I’d better check my sun screen supply!
This morning, I’ll be at church... singing - ok attempting to sing - and reading the “prayers of the people”. Afterwards, I hope to be sitting, listening to Mr’s sports on TV, and crocheting. No promises, there, of course, but I can hope, right?!

August? Already?

Wow! July blew by in a blink!
Not only are we searching for a new Rector for our church, but we hired a new organist/music director. She seems lovely and motivated, but change is hard.  There are a big bunch of unknowns. She seems to want to do a lot of things, and at the same time,  appears to have forgotten that the group is small. I’d like her to eventually take over, but I’m not sure the group is ready for that. Only time will tell.
I’ve been really busy getting ready for the handbell year for both churches. We’ve got a lot of events scheduled and I can only hope those who can benefit most from the workshops decide to go. Sometimes I think I’m the only one who wants to do these events... if I could get them to go, I know they’d have a great time!
We had a couple of trees come down in the front yard. Today we started the cleanup process. We are doing a burn pile for the first time ever. We just have way too much tree shrapnel not to.  We have a decent sized pile started and will add to in on a cooler day. My foot did ok. It is tired. It’s getting hot out, so we are done for now.
Happy Friday, all!

A month out...

Well, it’s been a month since the surgery and I’m back into my tennies - both the same size, I might add! (I wish I could say that about my pants...) I’m allowed to walk on the treadmill again, but only 15 minutes at a shot. I’ll take it!
I can swim. I can shower. I can jump up and down.
I cannot walk in bare feet. I’ll manage.
I have to stretch my toes... it’s weird, but whatever. It beats going to PT.
So, I’m almost back...