May 2nd, 50th Day of Quarantine

The expected high today is 73F.  It's currently sunny and looks like it will be another pleasant day!

Billy and I spent some time outside working on a few small projects.  Sarah brought over some soil yesterday, so we were able to plant two tomatoes & move some of the strawberry plants to the big planters on the back deck. = )

He also finished moving up some of the bricks to the front flowerbeds.  I need to get some fresh ground cover to add in, but I'm excited that this time, at least, it won't be washed away into the rest of the yard. = )

We also fixed the drain on the gutter of the shed. And I cleaned out a little more of the 'wild' at the back of our yard so that I can mow a little closer.

The kids got fun mail from Cali!

Grace wasn't feeling great, and napped a good portion of the day. = (  Emily and I also snuck in a nap.

For dinner I headed up some leftovers, to clean out the fridge.

We finished out the day with some of us watching Kim Possible, before doling out shots and going to bed. It was a pleasant enough end to a pretty day.

later days

April 6th, Properly Socially Distanced, Day 24, 4th Day of Spring Break

The expected high today was 60F.  It was sunny and pleasant all day.

Since we are on break, but Daddy has to work, the kids are still responsible for reading for 20 minutes each morning before they get on their electronics.

William had a 10am Zoom with his class, and Emily made a card to send to one of Avia's church ladies.

My Kroger appointment wasn't until noon, so I had a later start to the day than I prefer.  I dropped of the recycling at Sarah's, got gas, and then picked up my order.  The parking lot seemed to be slightly less congested, but 5/6 of the pick up slots were filled.

I dropped some mail in the slot at the Holt post office, then went by to drop off a food bank donation.  Sadly, the sign indicated that they were no longer able to accept food donations from the public!?! = (  I'll have to read up on this and see if they have an alternate way to donate.

At home, after putting away the groceries, I brought the kids out during Billy's meeting and we got everything ready for summer.  All of our winter tubs are stored in the shed, with the shovels and snow blower and salt. Once everyone else went in, Juliet helped me trim back the unruly part of our yard.  Sadly, we are under a burn ban right now, so all of our clippings had to go in the trash bin, instead of our usual lovely fire. = (

After a dinner of breakfast casserole and pineapple rings, Billy tried his hand at making a hot air balloon.  He constructed a thin wire frame with a tissue paper cover.  I didn't get a picture of the finished product. = (

Since we don't have a tea light, he used a charcoal brick instead.  The demise of attempt #1.

Undeterred, he repurposed the wire frame, and tried again with a duct tape cover instead.

Well, the second attempt allowed for more learning at least.

I've been feeling upbeat all day with the temperatures rising, and even an 80 degree day in the forecast!!!  Storing away all of the winter gear always puts me in a good mood too.  Tomorrow maybe I'll tackle the boots.

later days

March 20th, Day 7 of the "New Social Disorder," Day 5 of School at home

The expected high today is 52F, and it is a wet start to the day.  It isn't raining terribly hard, so I'm thinking it will still be outside recess. = )

We front-loaded the week, so today is pretty lax.  William must have pushed himself hard last week, because he is having a bit of a lay-in (it's about 9am!)

Today was supposed to be popcorn Friday at their school, so I honored that tradition and home and bagged up some popcorn for each of them. ; )  After first recess, we put on a show for them to snack and enjoy.

William rocked his spelling test this week (10/10!)

We had planned on a lunch from Charlie's, but they were having staffing issues(?) so I heated up some leftovers instead.

During art/creative time we created a "masterpiece" to send to a nursing home, and packed up some "happy mail" to go out next week.

School wrapped up early, even for William.  The temperature of the day was decreasing back into bitterly cold temperatures, so the second recess was shorter than the first.

I saw a picture cross my feed to chalk up the sidewalk to make our world a little brighter.  Emily, Grace and Juliet went out to make it so.

For dinner Billy walked to pick up some pizza for our local pizzeria.

William spent some time making videos to send to his teacher, and then Emily did the same thing at the very end of the day to post in her new google classroom!

We rented an old movie, that it turns out we had seen, Star Trek: Into Darkness.  And then a new release, as in it should be in theaters right now and I got to watch it on my couch: Emma (2020).  But it's a long movie and we went to bed before finishing it.  Luckily we have it available to watch for another day.

As far as Friday's go, I would rate this one pretty high!

later days

January 10th

Today the high was estimated for 49F, but we aren't supposed to reach it until late tonight!?  It was cold at 47F according to my car, but without the wind, it didn't feel like a biting cold.  As the day progressed it became foggier and foggier.  We are anticipating our first winter storm of the new year tomorrow.

After sending my dear ones off to school, I checked the mail, and sorted it in my car.  My next stop was to pick up some potting soil, because I woke up several times last night worried about my wilting outdoor, but currently indoor plant: Ward.  His new leaves are browning and a few of his shoots were wilting. So, I bought some rich soil, and moved him to a bigger pot.  I hope he makes it through the winter, because he was thriving outside all summer!

Once I had the soil, I headed to Meijer for Billy's ice cream cake, but we decided to meet for coffee, so I stopped by the bank and then went to a thrift store to bide my time. = )  I spent almost two hours shopping, but only ended up buying a handful of books.  One of them was a Geronimo Stilton, a series I hadn't found a supplement for since May!

I went by Burger King to redeem the last of our 'prizes' a freebie chicken fries!  Then on to Panera to order some real lunch. = ) I had a gift card from my mom, so I splurged and bought an iced cookie to go with my sandwich.

Billy and I spent a nice lunch at Biggby (since we'd both already eaten) before he had to go back.

When I got home I started in on my plants (because I knew that once I went inside, it would be hard to go back out in the cold. Also, I tried out the new mower key that came yesterday.

While I was moving Ward (far left) into his new home, I also mixed in some fresh soil for my other plants.

While I was working on my 'gardening' (lol) Sarah called to see if I wanted to take in my mower.  I was excited to do so, now that I had the key!  It took us a bit for just the two of us to maneuver my lawn tractor into the bed of her truck, but we made it work.*  After checking it in, it took him a lot less time to take it out, than it did for us to get it in.  Hopefully it's something simple and cheap to fix.  At least if it takes them a while to look at it, I have the time.

After we left the repair shop, we went to Carl's to pick up an Ice Cream Cake for Billy's birthday tomorrow!

I had just enough time to sort through my catch-all (Texas) bag that had the mail, trash, receipts, thrift store purchases, etc. before running to collect my dear ones.

Fridays are a shortened piano practice time, and since Grace and Emily had both worked on their time this morning, piano practice did not drag on as long as it normally does.

Billy went out to celebrate one of his co-worker's retirement news, so for dinner we had a choice of a hot roast beef & swiss or PB&J.  Most of my children chose the peanut butter. Even going out after work, Billy was still home by 7:30, but the kids thought that was "so late. It's dark!" lol

I also had to fill out the annual forms for the kids' supplemental medical insurance.  I never regret having it ready to roll for when we file our taxes, but man is it a pain to fill out. Luckily, I had the foresight to keep last year's so it was just a matter of copying all the information that never changes. x3.

later days

*After clearing it out of the shed, naturally I had to sweep, and much to my dismay found the missing key in the leaves that were underneath the mower.  The safety pin was closed, which probably means that when I had 'attached it to my shirt' after my final mow, I had missed my shirt and it had fallen under the blade. = /