Hello November!

239th Day of Quarantine.

Today the high was 72F.

I woke up after a solid 11 hours of sleep!  This week was the busiest we've had in forever.  The cases of covid are increasing, and yet, we managed to go more places than we've been in forever. = /  Not the best combination.  

Billy and I enjoyed a full breakfast, thanks to our shopping trip Friday evening. We readied to go quickly, and ran to Sam's to pick up a surprise for William. (He saw a toy he wanted on our Wednesday trip, and I didn't get it, telling myself that I'd buy it online.  When I went out to order it, they carry it in store only!) = (  So, we made a special trip just for this birthday surprise. = )

After that, we went by Wendy's to pick up the lunch we ordered online.  It wasn't quite ready, so we waited for a while.  While we were in line the monthly siren test went off. In consideration of the announcement of Biden winning the presidential election, and our proximity to the capitol building, I'll admit, it freaked me out just a bit.  

It sounded exactly like the air raid sirens in the old war films, and my psyche is less stable than I've enjoyed for the majority of my life.  January 21st is a long way away.  Do I sound paranoid? I feel paranoid.  

This year has been a tough one.  

Between covid and presidential elections and governor kidnapping schemes and homeschool and cancelled everything and a weird Halloween I feel isolated.  Hopefully January will help restore some normalcy, or be long enough in this rut that it will start to feel normal.

For dinner we had a charcuterie board of all the things Billy and I failed to finish, as well as some of the bonus items we didn't even open Friday night.  

We finished the Hunger Games series, and watched Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

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238th Day of Quarantine.

The high today reached a lovely 74F!

I took advantage of the warmer temperatures to burn all of yesterday's tree trimmings, and then did some more raking!  There are so many leaves, I gave it an entire hour, and there are still leaves everywhere.

The vacuum truck came through before I could get the big girls back out for pictures, so we went out today after my leaf clean up.  Emily was a willing model, Alice not so much.

My mom came by after our dinner of cheesy chicken noodles, and surprised the kids.  She's been her in quarantine for 2 weeks, and I managed to not tell them!

She took them for a night at Aunt Rocky's for my birthday. Billy and I went on a "date" to Horrocks to get some tasty treats for a night in.

We watched the third hunger games movie, but were both so tired, we went to bed at our usual bed time, despite being kid free!  

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237th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was a lovely 65F.

It was our final day of Term 1 exams, and the big girls continued to plug away at their math.  Emily finished her third grade review*! And my amazing Alice worked through 3 units in 3 days!  

We took a break, with the unseasonably warm weather, to trim some of the low hanging tree and bush branches.  Also, I spent time raking up some leaves to the curb, and had a few helpers come help me. = )

For dinner we had teriyaki chicken with rice.

*A poor understanding of the software, led to much more than a review of her old material, and pretty much the big girls are completing an entire year of material in mere months. = 0 But, as we come close to the end of the year, we desperately need to get started on their current grade, so the rush is on.  

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236th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was a pleasant 72F!

After exams for school today, William and I headed out to his appointment with the orthopedic doctor.  The traffic wasn't bad (and there were no road blocks) so we arrived my 15 comfortable minutes early.

We waited for a while in the waiting room, and then even longer in the exam room.  It was an hour past his appointment time by the time we finally saw the doctor.  Thankfully, it was good news. He said William's ankles have improved, even more than the last time that he saw him!  This means that he is now released from this doctor (unless of course we have issues.)  So yay!

From there we went to QD to try and turn in a registration for my card, but they no longer accept them in person, so I am going to have to call.

Our final stop was Sam's to return a box of exploded cocoa (on and in a few other items.)  It was simple enough.  I also tried to swap out a package of dented chicken in a can, but the order wasn't finished in their system (or something) and they didn't have any in stock to trade out.  So, we bought our few items, thankfully the scan and go app was working, and then drove around to pick up our order.  Then, we found out that their system was also not working for the pick up and ended up in the customer service line a third time in one night.

By the time we finally got our groceries it was dark and I was tired and hungry. Billy fed the girls the sloppy joes I had planned, and William and I filled up on the Doritos he had picked out at Sam's.  I do not enjoy unloading groceries at the end of a busy, frustrating day.

But, we made it happen!  Now it's time for shots (of course) and then a quick bedtime for all! 

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235th day in quarantine. 

The high today was a pleasant and unseasonal 64F today.

For dinner we had Salisbury steak and potatoes.

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234th Day in Quarantine.

The expected high today was 47F, but it seriously felt colder than that, and I could hear each and every time the heater kicked on, since we were doing exams, which are a little quieter at the table one-on-one.

We finished around the time we usually do, but the big girls are knocking out some extra math (30 minutes worth) each day, so that they can get started on their current grade math.  I had them review, last summer, and thought that they would quickly move through the material, but it was so.much. And we weren't familiar enough for them to use the 'shortcuts.' So, now they are both in some end of year material that they weren't taught last year, and so the end is going slow, and we are playing catch up.  I'm hoping that they will progress quickly this week, since they are allowed to work on math when they are not testing.

I went to pick up my car this afternoon. Grace came with me, since she left her glasses on the floor yesterday with disappointing consequences. So, our next stop was the glasses shop.  We picked up my car first, then her broken glasses were given a temporary fix, and new frames ordered.  We were halfway home when the light came on in my car that we just paid $2500 to repair.... So, we turned around and dropped it back off, picking up Billy's car that we had left in the lot to retrieve once he got off of work.

I was angry and sad and annoyed. So, I tried messaging and calling Billy, but since his phone is not working, it made me feel even worse.  I ended up emailing his work account, so that he could contact me so that I could at least retrieve dinner while we were out.

For dinner we had Taco Bell.

I also read today that coronavirus cases are ticking up, again.  Many European nations are reinstating their lockdowns.  Here, in America, we are not. With the election coming up tomorrow, and coronavirus on the loose, I have an unusually high stress level.

Here's hoping for a happier birthday.

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233rd day in Quarantine.

I could hear the rain blowing in as it cooled way down overnight, leaving us with just a 37F high for today. = (

After church, Billy went to pick up the groceries and then went to the cell phone shop to see if they could help fix his connectivity issues.  The problem: his phone is too old. = /

We got some non-sticking snow today, first snow of the season.  I am still not ready.

We listed some of his 3D printed numbers in my Etsy shop today, maybe people will like them as much as we do!

For lunch I made a quiche, and for dinner we had chicken fajitas. 

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later days