If you give a mouse a hammer. .

 I've definately been slacking on blogging lately!  Things have been busy.   But renovations have continued!  The front door was stripped and painted and all new hardware and locking mechanisms installed.  Stripping off the old paint was NOT for the faint of heart.  The stripper we bought was supposedly going to take everything off in one giant peel.  Um. no.  So we had to buy another stripped and used that, but eventually we got down to bare wood and were able to paint the door.

Hot on the heels of this front door masterpiece we moved to our back door.  Our previous back door was a hollow core door.  Not the best option for dealing with cold New England winters.  We removed the old door, took out the old casings and installed this new insulated door.  It has also since been painted red.  I love red doors because I feel they are so welcoming!  After that, we replaced the back exterior storm door.  By that time we had it down to a 90 minute install.  This door led to a very tiny back hallway.  Literally the space is 16 square feet.  It had dark dingy panelling and was not a well functioning space.  We took down all the old panelling and installed white beadboard.  We found lots of air leaks and sealed those up with foam insulation.  We caulked.  We removed the old yucky suspended ceiling and scraped and painted the original ceiling which looks much nicer.  Because the house was originally attached to a walkway to a barn there were multiple door casings that had been built out over the years.  We removed those that were either not appealing to look at and/or unnecessary.  I did save some lovely woodwork that I know my grandfather must have made.  I sanded it with my orbital sander and reinstalled that in two areas. 

Then I decided that the entry floor looked ugly.  So I took up the VCT tiles, scraped off all the old adhesive and laid a new floor.  I'd like to say that was quick--it is only 16 square feet, but it took me far longer than it should have.  I have a hard time visualizing how to cut around mouldings and I had some wonky cuts to make.  Eventually it was laid though.  I am awaiting the order of the floor trim that will go all around it and seam it in visually to the other spaces.  It should be in  by the end of next week and that is a quick install.

Isn't it bright?  It is also so much warmer in a space that was previously VERY drafty!  We are loving it.  Now I am starting to purchase the little decor items that we will deck it out with.

After I did that, I decided that the recycling closet which is located in this little space needed to be spiffed up.  After all, the outside of it all ready had gotten a face lift because we had removed the door and covered it with bead board and put on new hardware.  The hardware was reminiscent of what was originally there but more functional. (we need a latch that keeps the dog out of the recycling!)

I wanted to keep the feeling of the original work my grandfather had done making this closet and i think we stayed true to that.  That is also his woodwork that I restored around the door.  But inside, the closet was UGLY.  It had a tiny lino covered floor that was old (as in older than me and I am not young!) and it was dirty and dingy.  I took everything out, re-did the walls inside, laid a very tiny floor with left over tiles and put in a shelf and a hanging basket.

So much more functional!  So clean and organized!  LOL

The last thing I did was to replace our bathroom door.  That door was an old hollow core door with a thin veneer over it.  Years of hard use had caused the veneer to be peeling.  You could not hang a hook on the door for a towel or change of clothes because the door was hollow.  We are a family of 6. We need things like hooks.  The bathroom is also small and there is not a lot of hanging space for the myriad of necessities.  

 This is the bathroom door right after we hung it.  This was a pain.  The door size is not standard. Ordering custom would have meant at least a 2 month wait. (and I feel that was optimistic in these times of Covid.  I ordered a freezer in early May and delivery has been postponed three times all ready. We are now looking hopefully at an early December delivery.  But I digress. . . To avoid the delay of a custom order we ordered the smallest door we could and had a friend rip 1/2 inch off the door.  We could trim the casings ourselves but as yet we still only have hand tools, though I really want a small table saw! This is the door before it was painted.  You can glimpse it painted in the picture of the entry floor because the bathroom is literally right off that entry.  I still have to figure out what to do about the open space between door and tile.  It is not wide enough to really effectively put tile there, though I did salvage some and might try to see if I can make that work.  But thus far, I have not really moved into that space yet so I am just beginning to explore and see what will look best.

It has been fun working around the house.  Doing projects like this on an old house allow me to explore its history.  I am the fourth generation to live in this house.  When I did things like removed the paneling and found this garish asian themed wall paper it was fun to text my mom and ask her the story behind it.  When I removed a casing to install beadboard and found square nails, that was pretty cool as well.  

I don't do well with lots of down time, and I am very much an extrovert. So staying safe in Covid has been emotionally taxing and taking on these projects has been a productive and healthy way to stay sane.  Our space is improved both in the way it looks and in functionality.  I learn new skills and i have things to occupy weekends that used to be filled with gatherings, festivals, field trips and such.  I know we have done other projects too that I forgot to post but this catches up the biggest of those I missed!

Sprucing up the closet

 

I keep looking for projects and keep finding them!  This was from a couple weekends ago.  The first picture on the right shows an odd, less than functional kitchen closet.  Apparently many years ago, my grandfather built this closet, sealing off the interior access to our cellar in the process.  My grandmother needed a place to store her Christmas decorations and that literally was the sole purpose of this closet for my whole childhood.  Now in full disclaimer, it did not look as ugly as it does in the first photo on the left.  My grandfather had put up a wall paper that was supposed to look like knotty pine and had a dark brown lino on the floor.  Did that make it better than the picture on the left?  Only marginally.  The closet just did  not work for us.  It was where we wanted to keep cleaning things.  Brooms, cleaning cloths and vacuums, our rug cleaning machine etc.  But it was so dark and hard to see in there.  

So we ripped off the wallpaper, pulled up the lino, admired the newspapers from 1957 that he lined the floor with before putting down the linoleum. and made a plan.  We repaired the sheetrock where needed and put up a faux beadboard.  It is white and truly made such a difference.  We put a quick self stick tile floor in and hung new shelves (which you can't see from this picture) up high for odd things that typically live in this closet.  (it is the place where all our odd vases usually are stored but they were higgly piggly all over the place before.  

I put up peg board squares so we could  hang our cleaning tools and not have them falling all over the place.  I put in a new threshold and then we caulked and trimmed it all out.  It was a tedious job but not really super hard.  And the end result has been a huge improvement in the functionality of the space.

From there we moved on to stripping and sanding our front door but that is a story for another post!

Romance in the time of Covid

 Everything is harder in The Time of Covid.  Small errands take much longer, finding needed products takes longer and typically costs more.  And i our KC who is 16 has his first romance.  A is a lovely young woman and KC is a very caring and respectful young man.  He has been enarmored of her for over a year. She came to our church last fall and they bonded quickly over shared interests in dance and theater.  But they were just friends until the past couple of months.

And Covid makes this so complicated.  A does not live in our city.  So her "bubble" is not really the same as ours. She is schooling remotely, but like my wife and I , her parents both work outside the home.  (Mom is a university professor)

We had to have a weekend where they did not get together because A's mom travelled down south by plane and was down there for a few days to help a friend in crisis.  K and I were just not comfortable with A then coming over to our house for the day.  It was understood by her  parents but it was a hard conversation to have with my teen.  It isn't that he was unkind about it.  He just looked so crestfallen and it literally made me cry inside.

Her trip  quarantine is now over and KC will see A at youth group tonight.  He asked if we thought it would be okay for him to hold her hand when they walked to their cars after youth group.  We said yes, just to please use the hand wipes in the car afterwards.  At some level this all just feels so surreal.  I am so proud that he was careful and mindful of the fact that we need to still take precautions, but my heart hurts for the two of them.  First loves are supposed to be that time of giddy-anything is possible-the world is full of wonder times.   It's not that for them, but it is still special and magical and I am so grateful that it is that.

Camping!

 Last weekend we went camping with friends.  Good friends and good coffee make for a grand weekend.  And I was lucky enough to have both.  I am a tent camper--which appears to be a declining form of camping as I saw RV's everywhere but very few tents (except those doing duty as overflow for the RV folks)  I find this interesting as to me, an RV feels like I am a hermit crab, carrying my house along with me.  I enjoy the freedom of choosing minimal essentials and making it work for the time we are there.  I usually forget something--the only thing that would ever cause panic would be the coffee pot!  The pot above has camped with me for more years than I dare to count.  It was falling apart til I had to lend it to my friend this weekend and he fixed it before returning it to me.  Clever guy can fix anything. But, I was able to fix their caffeine deprivation because I had an old fashioned perk pot and they had a Keurig and the electricity at the campground went out!  Old school to the rescue!

Between our two families we had 10 kids, ranging from 3 to 17  It was so much fun.  Evening campfires, games at the picnic tables, several communal meals.  Lissa got to night swim, which is always a big deal at 13.  I remember how special that was at that age.  There were smores, laughter and a birthday celebration for our friend's son who turned 14.

This will be our only campout this Summer of Covid.  But it was a most excellent one, with warm and wonderful memories that I will grasp as tightly as I do that coffee on a chilly camping morning!

A shiny new door!

 This weekend we tackled installing a real storm door on our front porch.  I wish I had been smart enough (or not embarassed) to take a picture of the old screen door that was there for literally years.  It was slightly too big for the opening and did not close all the way.  The screening had been busted out on the bottom level by a youngling trying a karate kick and the upper screening was in no great shakes as well.  I wanted a true door that would help block some of the wintry elements so that when you reach the porch in December through whenever winter leaves you have a bit of protection.  

It took most of Saturday but we got the door installed and it is lovely.  There is a screen but the solid bottom will hopefully give stability and prevent cats from trying to climb the screen.  This picture does not show it but above the door is a bit 6 ft long and 36 inch wide opening that we made a frame and screening for as well.  Oh, and the door has an after market door handle with a key lock.  This is so that we can secure the porch if we are in another part of the house and want to give the pets access to the extra room.

Today, we made screens for the top two "windows" beside the door.  That was practically a cake walk for us at this point.  The two openings below those small screened windows though took a goodly amount of time.  Those are plexi glass windows that we made and framed.  We did not want screening because we figured the pets would wreck it and we did not want an indoor pet gaining access to the great outdoors via a torn screen.  Plexiglass is  a bear   interesting to work with.  It is probably easier with a power saw.  Because we don't have that (yet!) we had to score it with a utility knife and then snap it. It did work. There was one jagged section but it is thoroughly covered by the framing so it was not a problem.

The last thing we did was hang out the new mailbox. I bet the mail man is going to be so happy that this job is nearing completion. Our mailbox has been getting moved around a bit while we worked!

Here's a close up of the window!  It is so clear that the cat ran head first into it when they went out onto the porch the first time!

And here is the cat enjoying his new space.  We still have to paint the floor but that won't happen for a few days as I am going camping next weekend!

Screening our Saturday

 You can't really tell from the picture but we built three ginormous screens and installed them on our front porch.  The openings are about 6 ft x 7 ft so it was quite the experience.  We got a good groove on it though and they look really excellent. (pats self on back)  

The next thing we are doing is putting on a new storm door.  We bought that yesterday at the orange big box store.  We want to be able to lock the screen door because we envision times when the indoor cats will be enjoying this space and we don't want a delivery person to open a door and have an indoor furry suddenly outside.  We found out most storm doors don't have locks unless you want to pay a LOT for them.  I am doing this as frugally as possible so that is not an option.  We found out that we can buy an after market door handle that is lockable and install that ourselves on the door.  It cost like $6.00 and our door way under $200

Today I took off the old door, sanded the framing and patched for painting.  I'll probably paint after work during the week so that we can jump right into door installation next Saturday.  After the door is installed we have two side panels that need plexi glass installed. They are down at eye level for dogs and cats and I don't want screening there because I know if they see a squirrel they will blow through it!  Then there are three small upper screens around the door frame to build and install.  After that, I paint the floor and we will be done!

This is by far the biggest project we have done and we are also sandwiching it around my wife's business work.  She has picked up some extra clients to help off set a whopping dental bill, so time is not always available for us to work together.  Big projects like this need two sets of hands frequently.  I can sand, patch and paint on my own. But I don't think even home improvement experts could build 7 foot screens without two people!

My thoughts unmasked!

Since in pandemic times the renovations just.don't.end.  (because seriously what else is there to occupy my time and energies?)  My wife and I need to start making ginormous screens for our front porch. They will be about 7 foot by 8 foot.  We went to the orange big box store for supplies last night.  We had a question on if a staple gun or a brad nailer  would adequately fasten the mitered edges.  We asked an employee if this would work or if there should be some other type of stabilizing agent.

The employee looked at me and said (and I quote) "you mean a paper stapler?"  I'll give you I still had my work clothes on.  Picture older woman in office wear asking this question.  Still. . .  wouldn't the fact that I even used the term "mitered corners" have indicated I had at least a rudimentary knowledge of carpentry.  (or had binge watched 50 million home improvement videos during lockdown?)  Technically both statements are true.

I looked at the fellow and said "I'm a girl, not stupid!" and thankfully he had the good grace to appear abashed.  For the record, I can you the staple gun according to this fount of information.

The incident did not really annoy me as it was such a whacked out comment that I just responded in kind.  But it points to assumptions which are never good.  And in our society at present so many assumptions are being made in so many arenas of our lives, that I am mindful of how scary that is.

There are the people who are making the assumption that being asked to mask up in public is an infringement on their rights. It isn't.  If you don't like it,  please stay home.  Have a friend shop for you if it is impossible to mask up.  Order on line.  Use one of the burgeoning delivery services.  I respect your PTSD, your belief that you are dying of carbon dioxide poisoning, your COPD.  But realistically if you have COPD you are at such high risk of complications with Covid that frankly you should be staying home anyway.  Is being asked to wear shoes in a public building infringing on our rights?  Nope. Because we are a) used to it. b) puritanical about our bodies and c) we have learned that it is no fun to catch athletes foot fungus from walking around bare foot with lots of other folks in the same space.  I have spent the last month communicating with my sister long distance as she fought Covid. She lives in AZ which is a hot spot state. She has asthma.  She appears to have made it through okay but it has been 25 days of worry and she still has pneumonia. She caught it giving a co worker a ride home from work.  They were not masked up in her car. The coworker had no symptoms and did not cough or sneeze once in the vehicle.  So, seriously,  mask up folks!

More renovations

Early on in the pandemic we made a "to do" list for the house. My thought was that if we had something tangible to focus on it would keep our minds off the crazy.  It would help me think less about the fact that I have camped zero times this summer, hung out with friends zero times this summer been to the beach zero times this summer, seem my mother zero times this summer. . . You get the idea.

The biggest project we decided to tackle was our front porch.  I binge watched youtube vids and shared them to my wife, pumping up her enthusiasm (while she pretty much enjoys this journey now she was a lot less confident than I was that we could do these things.)  And initially, our project pretty much mirrored the helpful videos that we saw.  I got myself an orbital hand sander and got the beams sanded and we painted to a fair thee well.  I ripped up old flooring and sanded the floor.  We inspected said floor for damages.  And just like the videos there was a small section that needed repair.  

Armed with my boundless enthusiasm and said videos we pulled up the punky boards and discovered!  A missing joist.  Hmmm. Odd but this is an OLD porch on a 200 year old house.  Stranger things have been found working on this house.  We put in a new joist where there was not one, we married a new sturdy 2 x 4a to a less sturdy one and framed it in nicely.  Doesn't it look lovely?

Then we removed the last punky board and discovered that the support post to our porch was disintegrated.  As in, 40 years of hard living had turned it to dust.  I called a good friend in a panic.  He came over and looked and said well Sh### !  There was talk of jacking the house and contractors and all I could see were dollar signs.  And lets face it, while working on my home in the pandemic is fun--I am still very mindful of our money right now.  My wife is only recently back to most of her work. My middle son is not back yet.  And unemployment tanks next week unless there is a miracle. But back to the porch.

We called another friend.  He loves old housing and works for  a contractor.  One of my big worries was losing the fancy gingerbread trim if the whole post had to be replaced.  Yes, he agreed, nodding sagely, that would be horrible and very expensive to save.  However it was not clear if we would have to replace the whole post.  It was possible that this damage was caused by faulty gutters and moisture and that it only went part way up.

A glimmer of hope!  Back to youtube I went.  The next week armed with a 4 x 4 fence post that we got free from a job site my wife worked at, some 2 x 4s and a lot of prayers we went to town on the porch. We dug out all the punky wood.  We discovered good and bad things.  Bad.  There was no real footing for the porch post.  Good. The post was not a single entity.  At some point my grandfather had replaced the bottom half of the post with a couple of 2 x 4s joined together.  

We debated trying to make a nice footing for our post.  But as you can tell from the picture there was not a lot of room to dig.  I would have to use a hand trowel and I would likely still be there. LOL

In this picture you can see that I braced the porch with a 2 x 4 and inset my fence post.  We set the post on bricks which was the "footing" my grandfather had used. Why mess with what worked for 40 plus years?  We also had to take off that weird green stuff which was a thin, sort of papery backing board that he used before putting the finish boards over it.  My guess is it was all they could afford and it most definately was not rated for exterior work.  We took it off (but only in that section, I am not up for redoing the whole porch!) and put up exterior rated backing board.

Here's the exterior backing board we installed and you can also see that we had repaired the floor at this point as well.  It was starting to look like we would finish and that it was going to come out ok!

And it did!  Here is the repair with the new finish boards, ready for painting. (they have since been primed and I will paint this weekend.)  I will also paint that small area beside our repair where my paint was damaged by having to open the wall up. All in all it was about 8 hours of work and 5 trips to hardware stores as our efforts revealed new and different issues to address.  I should also mention that we don't own a power saw.  This stuff was hand cut, though we do have a drill and a few other small power tools.  I am beginning to dream about a small table saw set up!

Aside from painting the repair our next part of the project is making screens.  Another new skill to learn.  And yesterday the gutters were replaced so hopefully the water issue will also be a thing of the past.

Reaching for the new normal

Most of the state I live in has cautiously re-opened.  There are differences though.  It is not a return to what we had before.  I am not sure it ever will be.  For instance my bank is still in person by appointment only.  Most transactions are by ATM or from a remote teller during the day.  They are still not open extended hours and my son has to use the night depository for his paychecks as a result.

My beloved yoga studio is opening for two months only with severely limited numbers in the class and a requirement to wear masks the whole time.  I have thought this over and I can not see me successfully doing yoga with a mask on. So I will revert to my home exercise program with Beachbody.  I can't do yoga successfully without someone really watchng my posture for me.  What feels straight to me is not, because I have scoliosis and am always slightly off kilter as a result. But I can do barre, I can do a lot of strength training, those things I can do without issue here so I have to resign myself to that being my only official exercise.

Today Elisabeth is at a social distance birthday party for a close friend. They are having dinner for 5 girls at a local restaurant. The restaurant has social distancing.  You wear a mask till the food arrives.  The wait staff are masked. The menus are disposable.  After the dinner they are returning to my friends home where they will sit on the patio and watch the present opening and have cake.  Is it perfect?  Probably not.  But I let her go because as worried as I am about Covid (and I do worry) I also worry about my kids emotional well being.  For Elisabeth particularly, the need for some in person socialization is very evident. And if this thing is going to be around for the long haul, my gut feeling is that hiding in our homes is not going to save us.

Today I decided to go raspberry picking.  I have always picked a lot of fruit. When the kids were little I had 2 helping me pick and one strapped on my back and one I dragged along beside me in a car seat type gizmo.  We would do strawberries, raspberries, blueberries peaches and apples.  This year our state did no pick your own strawberries, but they are doing raspberries.  Like everything, this is a familiar experience with unfamiliar guidelines.  We used to ride a wagon down to the fields, the benches filled with laughter and chatter as groups of us became acquainted and talked about our plans for the fruits of our labors.  We'd have cold water in water bottles with us because this is thirsty work and the sun is hot. We would wander through the rows of produce looking for the biggest berries or the juiciest ones.

Now you have to make a reservation to pick (unless you show up super early like I did!) You must wear a mask the whole time you are in the field.  There is a mandatory handwashing station.  You have to walk down to the fields, no more tractors pulling a wagon of eager pickers. And just like the grocery stores, the rows of fruit are one way rows with arrows to show which way to go.

It was definately not as pleasant--picking with no hydration in a mask will never be something that could be called comfortable when it is 85 degrees and humid.  But it felt like at least in some way I was doing something that I was able to do pre-Covid. There was something important about that for me--especially as I keep in contact with my sister in AZ who has the virus and is trying to get healthy.

(note: I actually picked four containers but didn't think to snap a pic until I had the first one flash freezing!)

Mini Vaca post (from a couple weeks ago!)

I am back from a mini vacation at a friend's waterfront camp.  The location was only about 10 minutes from our home but felt literally worlds away.  M found out that we had to cancel our planned camping trip out of state due to Covid. (I can not sign the required affadavit that I have self quarentined for 14 days before entering the other state)  She offered free use of her family's camp.  It was somewhat 11th hour so my wife had a lot of cleaning jobs lined up and could not be there as much as we would hope.  KC had work and had the same issue.  Elisabeth had taken on pet sitting for a friend and would need to go back and forth from camp back to our city so she could fulfill those duties.  

Despite all that, all of us got to spend some time at the camp and we made the most of every minute of it.  It was amazing how much cooler and comfortable the temperatures were.  The little camp was sweet and the kids were loving the fact that it had a/c if you wanted to use it. (we have none in our old house here in the city and survive with fans only) I loved how quiet it was.  Our city is loud and busy with traffic and the sounds of those we share the street with.

There was a night I was there alone with all the kids and my wife heading home after a day spent on the water.  I am rarely alone and typically don't enjoy it.  I am a people person in the purest sense of the word.  But either my spirit really needed this or the space was so different that I did not feel lonely.  Or maybe both.  I went on walks around the camp community.  I sat by the dock and watched the boaters and the sun set. I read, drank tea and watched bunnies romping.  I sat so quietly a duck swam past me close enough that I could have touched its feathers.  

The next day the family rejoined me after their various duties had been attended to.  More water fun.  KC and Rob kayaked together.  My wife took Chet out in a kayak.  Elisabeth and I spent time lounging in very comfy floaty tubes on the lake.  Elisabeth spent the night with me that night and that was fun.  We rarely have time just the two of us.  We walked together and chatted about nothing serious. She loved watching the rabbits and the fact that the room she claimed as "hers" had a big double bed.

The last day after the family spent the day, Rob and KC spent the night with me.  Before everyone left we had a campfire and then the boys and I spent time gathering our gear.  The next day we would leave in the morning but would climb a local mountain on our way home.  That was so much fun and really special. We made it to the top in a record time--one of my weird habits is that I am always trying to beat either the book time on a hike or my own personal best time.  This hike did both.  And gave me time with my sons.

Quarantine life has taken things from us most definately.  I really miss seeing friends.  I miss spontaneous gatherings. I miss the occasional restaurant meal.  But I love the deepening relationships and increased family time. I love the conversations around the dinner table and as we hike or joke around at the camp fire. And I loved the three days at the camp and hiking with my guys!

The Reno train keeps moving along!

The renovation work has continued since Covid-19 still keeps us socially distanced from those we love and many of the things we do.  We find joy in working on and around the house.  This shot is of Chet washing siding. This is something he does well as long as I have the time to stand there with him.

Another big project has been painting all the white trim on the house.  It has been labor intensive--lots of scraping and prep is needed before the paint actually goes on.  A good paint job is 90 percent prep and when one is dealing with areas that have not been painted for many years this is especially true.  On the upside, it was a good reason to buy a small orbital hand sander for myself!  The trim looks fresh and crisp now. The only trim that remains I have to rent a big ladder for as it is under those windows at the very top in the picture above.

I have now also begun work on the porch interior.  That space you see in the picture will someday have screens that my wife and I want to make. Today I sanded the floor. It has been covered for 40 years by that fake grass stuff.  It is now sanded and it appears there is only one area that really requires some attention.  I think there is a rotted joist that we will have to sister a board to and then put a patch of new tongue and groove there.  Can you tell I amuse myself watching DIY youtube videos?

The floor will eventually be painted with gray enamel.  Then we will put an indoor outdoor area rug down and my wife will have a nearby little oasis when she has a few minutes to relax.

Home Inprovement with Chet

Another weekend in quarentine, another weekend of house projects.  Saturday the weather was damp and threatening most of the day. So the day of painting that I had planned could not happen.  However it was warm enough that Chet could start washing the siding of the house.  This is how we spent Saturday morning, he and I. He can't do the job without active supervision but if I am there to keep him focussed, he does very well and is always very proud of his efforts.  We got one and a half sides of the house washed and he got to stand on our new 6 foot step ladder (successfully with no forays to urgent care needed!) He was extra excited and proud of that.  Finding ways Chet can help without injuring himself or someone else is often a challenge.  This is a job that will keep him busy for a while as our house is really big.  We can't get up to the very top of our house but we can get way up past the average sight line and the lower areas are the areas with the most dust and dirt anyway!

Rain came in during the afternoon and prevented our Saturday fire pit gathering.  Actually we got in about 20 or 30 minutes before the rain came back and chased us inside.  Today K and I were able to start painting our front porch.  We have decided we don't like the way the columns came out and I went out and purchased a small orbital sander to take down the paint more on those and get a better smoother coverage.  We painted the walls on the inside of the front porch as well and those look good.  Tomorrow I will test out the sander and hopefully have a smoother surface for a more even coverage.  I am picky about things like that.  It is better to take the time and get the job done correctly.  

We also planted potatos and onions at our community garden plot.  And because summer should always have some silliness-even in times like this--we had ice cream for supper from one of the best local ice cream stands around.  You can't get cones and only one person can pick up the order and you can't eat (even outside) on the premises, but it was still fresh home made ice cream and sooooo delicious.

I thought I would be sanding the porch and hall floors this weekend but unless i have time to sand and paint after work that may be another week out. We shall see!

 

More Renovations!

This is Elisabeth's room after a renovation weekend.  We painted the walls and trim, laid the new vinyl planking floor (also a new skill for us!) and put the new bed frame together.  It was almost completed in one day, but a bit of the work was finished up on the second day. Laying the flooring was not as hard as we feared and though there is a learning curve, it came out really well.

In fact, we may want to put this type of flooring in my wife's bedroom and in our living room in the future.  Elisabeth loves the room and the new bed frame (also put together the same day.)  Now we are moving on to the front porch which needs a bit of love after not having much attention for many years.

Saturday NIghts Fireside

Last night after the sun went down we had a fire in our fire pit.  This amazing pit was built by my wife and our two boys last year. It was late in the season though and although Rob used it a number of times with friends, there never seemed to be time for all of us to gather there.  But time is more available these days in the time of Covid.  Living in a state with the 3rd highest rate of infection has meant lots of time doing things as a family unit.

That is an upside to all of this.  I have had times to cook with my Rob.  Chef by vocation, he and i have worked in the kitchen together.  He has helped plan menus for family meals, and has been here for game nights and fire pits. Up till Rob was probably 17 or so, he did virtually everything that I did with the younger kids.  His choice,not a requirement.  He came on every camping trip. He went with us to the park and would play soccer with the youngers and I , there were hikes and bike rides. He came food shopping and sat with me at dance classes.  Not that he did not also have things he did without his siblings and without me.  He was part of youth group, mission trips, homeschool classes , a week away at summer camp, and had a wide circle of friends that led to a variety of experiences.  But as wide as his experiences were, he wanted and needed a close touchstone of family.  I was always more than fine with it.  And as I suspected, when he went to college the ties loosened naturally.  There were friends and experiences engendered through college life.  He began working and had more relationships and experiences through that as well.  He began to be around less and less.

Pre-pandemic I saw him at night when he came home from work--usually around 12:30 a.m.  He was sleeping when I left for work in the morning.  We always talked briefly when he came in and if he was going back out with friends he always let me know.  I am a light enough sleeper that his tread on the stairs always has woken me enough to chat and see how his shift was, what his plans were.

Now we have time for lots more talking.  Last night we were the last two at the fire pit.  There were marshmallows and laughter for several hours and then one by one the others all began to drift away, looking for showers and bed.  He and I sat out with the dogs watching the bats flit across the sky, seeing the stars gleaming, talking but also enjoying periods of pause. 

I'm thinking that this is a great gift. When eventually the world resumes something resembling normalcy, I know I'll see him much less. I know that he hopes to be living somewhere else in a few years.  Though fledging may look differently post-covid I know that there will be a time when he makes his own home somewhere else.  The virus has taken much.  KC's first recital in the lead role at the dance school.  Elisabeth's Girl Scout encampment. My Sunday mornings in community with my church. . . but there have been unexpected gifts as well.  This is a big one.

Em-purpled!

Today we put the color on Elisabeth's walls.  Earlier in the week we primed all the surfaces getting them ready.  As you can tell from the picture her room has very little actual ceiling, the slanted walls nearly make a point over head. There is about 16 inches of level space with a flourescent light and acoustic tiles in between them.  Elisabeth hates the acoustic tiles. She is convinced bugs hide in them.  I am going to cover those with self stick wall paper.  We are replacing the really old, really ugly light fixture with a flat profile LED one that will fit the space the same way as the old flourescent one does. 

All the dingy trim has yet to be painted bright shiny white.  That is this weeks job.  We are also removing the heater in the picure so that her bed can be flush against the wall.  The rug and padding has all been removed and next weekend we will install the flooring if all goes well.  Purple is not my favorite color but the paint job came out well and she is happy with the transformations going on in her space.

Tonight we will have another fire in the fire pit and some adult beverages for those 18+ and marshmallows for all who like that kind of thing.  A nice end to a busy but fulfilling day.

Mothers Day is Reno Day!

The DIY train keeps rolling along here at the 10 Green as my kids used to call our house when they were little.  The bathroom hallway got its coat of paint today now that all the old wallpaper (4 blessed layers of wallpaper!!!) has been removed. The seams have been caulked and the walls mudded and sanded smooth.  The paint is a creamy yellow and will brighten the space greatly.

Elisabeth's room is almost empty and ready for us to prime the walls today.  I had Elisabeth help me rip out the rug and padding and showed her how to remove tack strip.  I have a lot of the staples that used to hold down the padding removed but will need another evening of work to finish that up.  My wife primed the back wall.  This room has only one window so we didn't want to prime all the walls at once because the smell would overwhelm.  While I have no sense of smell a boat load of Kilz is good for a migraine so a slower pace is good for me too.

We stopped work about 12;30 and I picked up our Mothers Day meal from a local restaurant.  It was meat based so I ate sides but I knew my wife would love this meal and she did. The kids had cards and gifts and it was lovely.  I made a pineapple sunshine cake--which is kind of a cheater dessert to me as it uses a cake mix as a base but there was no flour in the store this shopping trip and I only have a 10 pound bag left here at home. (I realize that sounds like a lot of flour but we bake a LOT, especially in pandemic times.) So since there were cake mixes at the store I reverted to this old "recipe" that did not deplete my precious flour stock!

Later that night we went outside and had a fire in our fire pit.  It was chilly out and a perfect night for it.  Lots of chatter and laughter, only Chet would not come because we had no marshmallows.  That made a fire "pointless."  (laughing)  He has promised to come to the next fire when I am able to find marshmallows.  Understanding the realities of pandemic shopping in our area is hard for him.

We also called my mom and wished her happy mothers day.  All in all it was a lovely day and we feel very blessed.

DIY Time!

The slowing of the world and the confinement of the pandemic have an upside in the areas of home improvement.  I have become a major DIY fiend and spend weekends and often week night evenings working on various projects.  This is good as our house has needed attention and I have not had time to devote to it. I am also dragging my beloved into the DIY land!

Today my wife began her part of finishing the ceiling in our workroom. I spent last weekend scraping loose textured swirls off it.  However not all the texture was loose and we decided it would likely damage the horsehair plaster that was underneath to try and get them to part company from the ceiling. So after the loose was all taken off, she went in and caulked around the edge of the ceiling and swirled the ceiling.  Then, it was time to paint it!

I am also taking down wall paper in our upstairs bathroom hallway. When it is down we will mud the walls and paint them a creamy yellow color. By next weekend we should be ready to start work in Elisabeth's room. That is a paint job , new light and a new floor.  We have also built raised beds for veggies and repurposed an old wheelbarrow into a raised bed for herbs.

I am planning out the repairs and renovations that our front porch needs and am going to assign painting our storage shed to our kids once we get a better weather pattern. There may be mulch to spread if the social distancing drags on and no vacation can be taken. 

It is a good use of time. I am learning new skills. And it is honestly, fun! 

Cards of Hope

Today I asked the kids to make cards and/or write letters to my mom. She lives two states away and is greatly feeling the impact of our inability to visit the way we usually do.  She is getting on in years and has some aches and pains that are not unusual for her, but which I think feel magnified in this period of anxious isolation. I write to her by email twice daily and call several times a week but it is not the same.  It is not filling her well with what she needs.

When I got home from work today all the cards had been made and they were all so beautiful. Cheery thoughtful loving messages that I know will help.  KC in particular had written a lovely letter that also gave insight into how he was feeling--always a plus for a mom of a teen!  He said that he thought she was feeling pretty lonely because this was hard on all of us and he felt that way too. But that he was trying to keep busy by staying connected with friends on line. And that he had been enjoying family dinners which he had really been missing. That he enjoyed games and movies with the family and that we would all get through this.  That he could pass on what I have been trying to create and model for them here, gives me hope that they are absorbing this.  I don't want them to be nervous and fretful.  I also don't want them to be reckless with their health or that of others.  But there has to be a middle ground where we live the life we have, the best way we can. Those cards give me hope that will happen.

2020 The year the world was cancelled

Thus far in our state most of what was "normal" has been cancelled.  There will be no dance recitals. No graduations. No proms. No church services. No non essential businesses open. No face to face banking. No proms. No school for the rest of this school year. (this probably impacts us the least as we homeschool) No Scouts. No encampment. No Coming of Age in person for Elisabeth. No work for my wife and my son until goddess knows when.  Probably no camping as the campgrounds we typically use are only allowing RV campers among their many restrictions.

At different times, some or all of us mourn the loss of the normal.  My wife had to drive to a store to do a socially distanced pick up of an order.  The trip did not even involve exiting the car and my daughter begged to go.  Weather hasn't cooperated for much outdoor walking as it has either been rainy, snowing or we have had high winds (high enough for warnings)

However I am resolute about making the best of what we have. /We have each other and are blessedly, very thankfully, healthy thus far. We have good music of many genres to listen to and lift our spirits.  We have humor, books, games and time to enjoy each other more deeply than we usually do.  We have family dinners and enough food to let us linger with enjoyment at the table. We have enough DIY projects in our old house to keep me busy for a loooong time. I have been organizing family game nights, movie nights, and with summer looking very different I am thinking of social distance fun that we can do.  Bike rides, cooking supper over our fire pit to pretend we are camping, finding a drive in movie. (the 2 youngest have never been to one and what is more perfect social distancing than a drive in??) We are hoping to put in a veggie garden- we are checking the amount of light our fairly shady yard gets. (I don't  think the community garden will be open this year) We are keeping a journal of what this time is like. We are being careful with spending because it is so unclear how this will all play out financially.

I try not to worry, but of course it creeps in from time to time.  I find myself worrying for my kids who should be stretching their wings and trying new things and instead are hunkered at home.  I worry that this will be a long term life change and not a blip on the time line.  I have one confirmed case of Covid-19 that I know of in the apartment community where I work.  Due to social distancing and the precautions our staff has taken for a long time I am not worried that I will contract this at work.  But at some level I worry about either my wife or I contracting it because we are over 60 which places us in the lower end of the high risk zone. 

But worry can not and must not consume us.  Life still must be lived because that is the way we cherish our days, and make memories to sustain us.  Tonight we are buying movie popcorn from a local theater and having a family movie night at home.  Be safe everyone! Make memories! Live as fully as you can.

The Day of Celebration

The 17th was KC's 16th birthday and he had a wonderful day.  Despite the challenges of Covid-19 we were able to give him an amazing day.  It started with his favorite breakfast--home made cinnamon buns.  KC is the kind of kid who understands that the fact that I took the day off from work so that I could make them for him is a gift in itself. 

At 11:30 the folks I work with paraded by honking horns, with balloons and posters wishing him a happy birthday.  KC does not know all of those people but he was very shocked and touched that they did this for him. 

At around 1, a close family friend drove by, played Happy Birthday on their car stereo and had a birthday poster for him signed by all the family members. 

At 2, a caravan of more than 11 cars drove by honking and waving.  More posters, more joy.  Many of the cars held friends from dance and youth group.  A number were adults that care deeply about him.  People from church, and his godparents.  Some of these people drove more than 30 minutes to get to our house so that they could do this for him.  That measure of love and caring was not lost on him.

Later that evening we had our family party.  The dining room was decorated with a broadway theme.  Home made decorations that he loved, his favorite meal, and a delicious home made cake. He got some great gifts--money from K and I, his aunt and grandfather and grandmother and from Chet. These funds are to purchase a fancy light and fan combo that he wants for his bedroom.  Rob gave him running shoes and a record player and his first vinyl.  It was definately a day filled with love.  In his thank you note he wrote to us that he had thought it was going to be a depressing day but it was so much more than he could have imagined.

He too, is so much more than any of us could have imagined.  He is such a gift.

The Post I've needed to write

One thing about life in the time of Covid-19 is that I have a lot more time to write.  That is a good thing I guess as it gives me time to examine my thoughts more fully and well, people can read or not.  The scroll on by feature of the internet saves anyone who finds this dull!

About 4 months ago I got a call from Fiona's DMH worker.  Because Fiona's case was finally being transferred to our area where she has lived for many years now, this somehow also triggered re-doing her guardianship.  I remain confused by that as the guardianship paperwork all said it was permanent and we always treated it as such, but I also felt it was not fair to argue.  The reason was the worker had asked Fiona if she wanted me to continue being her guardian or not.  Fiona said she would rather that her cousin N become her guardian.

Back story is that in the perfect storm of relationships, Fi had earlier in that week asked me for money she did not have to buy a brand new iphone.  I had explained she could save for it and I would help her work out a plan but that we could not just go buy a phone.  She had then asked if I could give her money for her birthday and Christmas early so that she could go buy the phone. I had explained that we celebrate on the day and not before and that even if I did that she would still be short of funds significantly.  She had hung up in a huff.  Conversations like that are not uncommon as she has a hard time grasping costs and savings.  Usually this results in another call a couple days later when she is calmer and we are able to work out a plan.  Except that this time before that happened, the DMH worker talked to Fi.

I have nothing against Fiona's cousin. She is a lovely person and in the past 5 years has become consistantly present for Fiona in ways that her other first family appear not to be.  She is the person who helped me loc Lissa's hair and is a person I like and respect greatly.  I did not feel that I could in all honesty fight against her for guardianship.She is competant and would have Fiona's best interests at heart. It also goes against everything I beleive in to try and shut out first family members by fighting this.   I explained this to the DMH worker who initially asked if I would consider co-guardianship.  I said I would not, because I know that there was a strong risk of two problems developing. The first would be Fiona's natural desire to play us off against each other.  You know how kids don't like parent A's answer so they go to Parent B?  I can so see this happening and neither N or I live closely or can communicate easily and quickly enough to prevent confusion from arising.  Secondly, I just deep down believe in the rights of first families.  And I believe that Fiona has a right to choose.  I told the worker that regardless of my legal standing, Fiona was my daughter in my heart and I would still be in relationship with her and did not see that changing. Worker said she did not expect my response and was grateful.  I guess lots of people fight in these situations. I wrote a long text to N explaining my response to the DMH worker and we had a good conversation regarding things.

What I did not count on was Fiona. I knew she would be afraid to tell me, so I called her.  I explained in detail to Fi that I had been informed of her wishes and that I respected them. I said I would still always view her as my daughter. That I had before I became her guardian and I still would feel that way afterwards.  I said I would always love her and always be there for her the way I am for all my kids.  It was a decent conversation but what I did not grasp was that deep down Fiona  still has trouble believing that people love her.  She has been rejected a lot in her life because her choices and behaviors make being in relationship with her hard sometimes. 

As the paperwork and legal wheels ground forward on the guardianship change she became increasingly distant. I had a hard time connecting with her. She cancelled visits, she called infrequently. She sometimes did not return my calls or texts.  When the guardianship change was finalized she ceased communication all together. 

I kept trying to reach out to her.  I sent bitmoji pictures (which she loves) I left messages at the group home. I tried everything I could think of.  Then I sent a final text saying I did not want to make her feel pressured and that she needed to know that I was always here when she wanted to talk. That she would always be my daughter and part of the family.

A bunch of weeks went by with no contact.  I felt so down about this that I could not even write about it. I tried many times, thinking it would be cathartic.  But it just made me feel like I was writing a post that should be titled Parenting Fail-Loser Alert.  I don't want our relationship to be a failure. Fi's been my daughter of my heart since she was 9 and she is now 27  That is a lot of years of love, and laughter, tears and worry.

Yesterday afternoon, she called. She said she was sorry.  That she loved me. That she wanted a relationship with me, and with the kids. It was a good conversation. She seemed able to hear me saying that I loved her and that I wanted to always be there for her. She wanted to talk to KC and wish him happy birthday. I hope it was the beginning of finding the road that walks her back to us.  I hope that she will feel that it is safe to love and hear me when I say that I am not leaving her.

KC's Birthday

 This was to be the "big" birthday.  The kind we NEVER do.  With a tent in the back yard and friends and music and food that was catered.  16 is  a big one!  And KC had asked for that.  He does not ask for much and gives greatly of himself so we had agreed.  Then, Covid-19  And in the scope of the world problems, how to celebrate a birthday is small.  But like a paper cut, small wounds can hurt deeply too and this one did.  He has been great about it.  Honestly I think I think about this just as much as he must.  I hate that my son--and so very many kids--are missing mile stone moments that can not be recaptured.    However, I am not going to sit and sob.  So I set out to make a home party that would be fun and memborable.  KC loves dance, movies and musical theater.  So I got foam board and with an old piece of PVC, an empty flower pot and an oatmeal container covered in black paper I made what sort of resembles those big moveable spot lights they use on stage.  I have tested it and a high powered flash light fits into it and shines ib the big glittery 16 that I made on the foam board.

 To further have the movie theme, I found images of movie reels, spent a ridiculous amoutn of time trying to find movies with the number 16 in them (that was crazy hard!) and wrote those on the "film."

 My wife took two pieces of white foam board and made these awesome happy and birthday signs.  I know KC who loves to save memorablia will save these.

 We had a left over star from some other birthday and I printed a picture of him and put him on it.  There are also a few other decor items that we have saved from prior decorations--those wire and foil 'sprays" of stars  Those can't go out till right before the party because one or all of our critters will try to eat them. 

There will be two parades past our house that KC does not know about.  One is the folks I work with.  My boss had everyone make birthday posters and they are driving by between 11;30 and 11:45  At about 2:00 p.m. a parade of his dance and youth group friends are going to drive by as well.

I made home made cinnamon buns for breakfast--I suppose I could have included a pic of the nearly empty pan as those went FAST and we are going to see whatever movie he wants later today or this evening.  We are ordering out for supper and will have home made cake and his party then.

The bottom line is that we can choose to celebrate or we can choose to be sad.  We choose to celebrate KC and all that is amazing and joyful and full of promise!

5 Crowns Night

We had a family game night again on Tuesday night.  It was a lot of fun.  I do love that all the kids are willing to play, even if it is not their favorite game that night.  Tuesday we played 5 Crowns which is a rummey-esque kind of game with a few twists.  When Chet was a middle schooler it was his favorite game. I think next to Magic (which I will not play) it remains his favorite game. 

Playing in the evening is a bit hard for Chet as he is even less socially adept but we have been able to get through about 90 minutes of game time in the evening once a week.  I balance his desire for routine with the fact that life can get so dull in quarentine that changing something up a bit spontaneously has a valid benefit to the majority of family members. 

Though KC really did not love this particular game (I had not realized that he has never played rummy) he is a good sport and so ready with funny quips that it all worked out well.  Elisabeth has played rummy before and caught on quickly.  But it was Rob who won the game.  I am glad that it has also been a different kid that has won each week thus far.  Even more than that, I am grateful that for 90 minutes we all forgot all the scary stuff around us and just concentrated on each other, on love and on laughter.

Covid Easter 2020

 One thing that doesn't change despite Covid-19 is the chaos of a family picture!  A bunch of out takes of the efforts.  There was much laughter as Luna, Elisabeth's job got into the act.

 And then Blake, our elderly Brittany joined KC for the shoot.

 And they argued over who got to hold Luna.

And we finally got a shot!   We still had a clue hunt for the kids.  Fiona was not here as we can't visit, and she has stuff going on that is impacting our relationship anyway.  If she could be here, I am not sure she would, but I will write about that (I hope) at another time when I am not so emotional about it.

On the plus side, Rob was home for Easter dinner which has not happened in several years. The restaurant where he works is always open on Easter, they are known for an amazing brunch--we actually went last year.  This year I did not want him to have to cook.  I also did not want my wife to cook, because she has been doing a lot of kitchen duty during the Time of Covid.  She is not working much outside the home and I am still working so it has just naturally evolved.

I resolved this by doing something sort of hybrid.  I ordered them all dinner from a restaurant where I could pick it up curbside. There was beef for the beef eaters, chicken for the chicken eater and since I never got around to doing my quinoa and veggie bake, I just ate off the sides.  There was an amazing gigantic salad that I had two helpings of, seasoned rice and broccoli.  We had home made parker house rolls, and Elisabeth made cupcakes decorated to look like bunnies for dessert.  The table was pretty, there was laughter and the memories will hopefully be good ones.  That has been what I have worked hard on during this time of uncertainty and worry.

Sending bright blessings and healthful energies to all as we work our way through this scary time.

Sunday thoughts

I read or listen to the news only once daily, and try never to hear the White House briefings.  I do listen to our state governor as I respect him and feel that he is doing a very good job in very challenging times.  I am realizing that much of what I am missing are the small things that I took for granted.  In my daily life I did not recognize the magical of the minute.

I miss going to the Dunk's on our way to church and getting the kids their "second breakfast" while I get a cup of hot black coffee. Yeah, I like my coffee black.  And routinely my order would get messed up because I think most people order with cream and sugar. But seeing the familiar counter staff, waiting for the first sip of the hot brew while conversations swirled around me--I miss that.  I can make coffee here.  I do make coffee here.  (and it never has cream and sugar in it LOL) but I miss those moments when I would chat with the kids about their food choices of the day and get their input on which donut their big brother would like most.

I miss going to the library.  No lie, it was hard to fit in library trips this year.  The kids had so many activities that sometimes I felt stressed getting there.  I went mostly for Chet who likes to hold a "real" book, and who has all ready destroyed one Kindle.  But even though it was stressful to get there, I loved seeing the librarians. Most of them have known my kids their whole lives and watched them grow.  I loved the conversations. I loved wandering through the stacks choosing Chet's books.  He is still able to read during the pandemic. We have a large collection here at home and he has adapted to using a kids Kindle that has parental controls that will hopefully help keep him from destroying it.

I miss sitting in the sanctuary at church.  I usually sit in the same pew and there is a high window up to the left of where  I sit.  Our church has a very modern architecture.  Frankly it is not a really pretty building.  But I have spent years looking out that window as I meditate and listen to the music, the readings and the reflections.  There is a single branch from a tree that goes across in front of that window and I watch the leaves bud, green color and fall off. I watch the clouds scud behind it on windy days.  There are trees outside my windows here and I look at those too.  But there is a sense of absence and loss for that particular time and manner in which I marked a time in my week for over 20 years.

These are little things.  I know that.  And my post is not expecting pity or pats on the shoulder.  There are others facing much greater losses, and I hope that if I am truly blessed, losses such as these may be all that touch our family.

Rather, this is a reminder to myself. To never ever take for anything for granted again.  To embrace all the small joys I am offered and to offer as many to others as I am able.

KC is nearly 16

This guy is almost 16 and the party planning has had to be severely adapted.  This was the year he was going to have the "big friend party"  Either a restaurant gathering or a big gathering in the back yard with a lot of catered food, a bonfire and musical theater karaoke.  Except of course, we can't  He is good about the family birthday party and we will find ways to make his day feel special and for him to be enfolded in our love.

What is tearing him up though is the lack of dance.  This picture was from last years recital. It was his lyrical dance which was one of my favorites.  This year I don't even know if there will be  a recital, and this year he earned the lead in the production. Costumes were chosen and purchased.  It is a disaster.  Is it as bad as being hospitalized with Covid?  Of course not, and I am grateful beyond measure that thus far we all remain healthy as do my extended family.

But it is huge for him and for all the other dancers.  For KC this is literally what he wants to do for his career.  And at the moment everything that has meaning to him is on pause.  16 is a hard time to press pause.  Your life is just launching in so many ways. We await a newsletter from the dance school that will let us know the direction that they are taking with regard to recital.  I have my fingers crossed but I know he is very worried.

K and I asked him to choreograph short dances for he and his sister and perform them for us last night.  He complained.  Not much room to dance (true) But mostly I think it was the depression.  We insisted and they did the dances last night and I could see how much it lifted his spirit.  He becomes one with the music when he dances and all his feelings just poured out.

Today, shopping with a mask on and maintaining social distance I found myself silently invoking the goddess for our families continued safety.  I do believe we will come out of this okay--I am an optimist by nature.  But the worry is there.  Such is life in the time of Covid.

Quiet midweek post

It is mid week and I have time for a blog entry!  I have not had evening time like this since the kids were very little.  After dinner tonight Elisabeth, my wife and I took a walk. We are helping Lissa train her dog Luna to walking.  Truthfully, Lu naturally heels, most of the training involves teaching her that the world is safe to walk in.  Which I realize is a bit of an oxymoron right now.

Numbers continue to rise for those who have tested positive for the virus.  Preparations are being made in our state for the "surge" that is expected between 4/7 and 4/17  It is deeply unsettling to read about temporary mortuaries and  convention centers being turned into medical facilities.  However the flip side of that is that preparing ahead is wise, and perhaps, (hopefully) we are over preparing and some of these drastic scary things won't be needed as fully as we fear.

Meanwhile I will focus on family game nights, and dinners with laughter and washing hands.

Sunday, week three of Covid

I am here to sit with myself again.  Virtual church will start in about 20 minutes.  I have sterilized all the knobs and switches in our house. I have dusted. I have put away laundry and done dishes from breakfast.  After church I will clean and sterilize the island and counters in the kitchen and deep clean the bathrooms.  In reality a lot of these things are normal tasks that I do routinely in our home.  But in the time of Covid-19 there is a heightened sense of urgency to remain a clean space that no germ would want to hang around in. 

Increasingly I feel the loneliness and isolation of this experience.  I have my family and I am blessed beyond measure in that regard.  But even at work we are isolated, safely having staff meetings by phone trying to not be in the same room with one another.  As a highly people oriented person, I find myself feeling down quite frequently.  Not depths of despair, just lonely.  I am grateful for technology but media does not feel the same as face to face.  Not being able to plan a party for my son's 16th birthday party not meeting friends for coffee or a quick chat outside the market etc.  I never realized how important things like this are to me.  I suppose the upside is that i will never ever take such experiences for granted again.

Meanwhile in far more serious matters, the number of cases in our state continues to rise. I am grateful and blessed that we all remain healthy and that we have been able to meet our financial obligations.  Hoping everyone stays safe!