Tuesday, March 31 - last camp paycheck.

Well, it is a new horizon of homeschooling ... as we wait to see what the school district rolls out for my highschool kids, we will work on other skills ... starting with Elliot finding a recipe and making pancakes for breakfast .... they were awesome .... now we need to work on his skills of cleaning up as he cooks .... 

I am trying to touch base with at least a couple people each day via facetime .... these are long, isolating days .... Jinny has been on my mind alot lately, so I reached out to her this morning ... she has been busy taking care of her mom .... and harry is still working ... so life still feels ok for her still ... she does have a new sweet grandbaby that she hasn't been able to hold yet, Bo, but that is the most exciting news in her life.

And this boy has been staying up WAY too late and getting up WAY to late ... but thankfully once awake, he moves fast.  He has always had 2 speeds .... on and off .... here he is putting his shoes on after (late) breakfast to help Chris with building the merchandise hut.

We were surprised by this crazy crew this afternoon .... after learning about Chris's layoff, she went into overdrive putting together the nicest gift basket of treats I have ever seen!!!

This isn't even all of it!!  $50 tims card (to bring Chris the ultimate joy), her famous nettle lasagna, cozy socks, chocolate, wine, cookies, tea, candies, KD, a game for Isaac to play and build a new one of, a 'shank' wood spoon as their kids called it, a cozy hat ....

Also this castille soap and more hand sanitizer!!!!!

Love the new hat!!  We felt really spoiled ... it all came in a wicker basket that Elliot unloaded and handed back to her .... no words for that girl ... she works well in a crisis ....tomorrow she is apparently delivering food and supplies to over 60 families in the valley through her work ... she is definitely flourishing. Such a helper.

Another joy was a Hello Fresh delivery .... so since Isaac is working at camp, Elliot was on dinner.  I was his assistant.

Using Mike's 'shank' spoon lol

Shrimp and Avocado couscous .... very pretty and the shrimp was amazing but we all agreed that we aren't a fan of couscous ... be rice, or be pasta, don't try to be both!

Looks pretty though hey?  Hello Fresh has never disappointed with their meals ... they are always so tasty and yummy ... and todays was yummy too, we just aren't a fan of the couscous.

Upside to all this together time is that these boys are finding time together ... here Elliot downloaded some stick game for the 2 of them to play .... it was nice to see.

And even this grump has been around alot ...sore tail and all and she comes and sits near which thrills me ... as long as I don't touch her!  Only with my eyes!! lol

Today marks the last paycheck from camp .... holding our breath, here we go!!  The waves of grief and sadness mixed with hope gets very tiring ... it is quite the ride we are all on.  Thankful for my family and my friends .... and for technology .... and coffee with baileys....

Monday, March 30st - Weird Layoff Day ....

Hard to tell here, but its trying to SNOW!!!!

 It was quite the day with Scott delivering the news that all the staff, except for him, have been laid off as of tomorrow, the 31st.  It was a stressful day for many of us.... Lisa seemed to take it really hard and we are all just pretty concerned about how camp for summer 2020 will look and hopefully proceed?  That is the base of the worry because of how important camp is to so many people .... it was quite a shocking blow to get.  We all knew something was bound to come, but it was just so swift.

So we continued with our day ... I worked online for CLBC .... then after dinner we had an outing for milk and snacks to the grocery store and for some reason, Elliot was wearing Isaacs PJ pants and he wanted them back ... so Elliot popped out of the car with no pants on .... quick pic as he ran away ... I laughed.

 Everything is planted and new lights have been re-strung on my pole bean pole!  The lights bring me so much joy when I approach my yard in the dark ....

 And this is pretty much mittens .... she is so miserable .... this cats face totally reminds me of Mittens ....

Sunday, March 29th

A more manageable puzzle!  Finished it in one long sitting .... much more enjoyable and still a challenge ....

My office companion lately ... I am wishing we had another cat or a nice dog these days ....



On my Mesachie Run this afternoon ... the cherry blossoms are starting ....



Iced coffee once home ... Elliot loves these too ... it reminds him of Thailand he says ...







Doing some wood turning ...

It is so strange to have all this time, with nothing we have to do and nowhere we have to go .... the days are long .... but they are overall pretty sweet.

Saturday, March 28th

When your walking partner still wants to walk but is still in quarantine ..... we did an hour like this ...

And this came up on facebook memories for March 28th and I really wanted a 2020 version but it was pouring hard all day ....

After a long week at home, we took a drive to DQ .... guess it was too much for some of us ...

Once we got home, bannock was on the horizon for this carb loving kid to go along with the kale and sausage soup I made for dinner ....

Yanins family had the same idea .... with bannock ...

I like re-creating pics ....

Bannock Boy ....

I just got up from the nicest visit with Judy. I can’t really remember the beginning of the dream, but the end I was talking to her on the phone on the way to, I think a superstore, because I was looking at my Google maps while I was talking with her and I had taken a wrong turn down a place it looks like I’m in a highway or one of the long stretches the outskirts of Winnipeg. I had turned right when I should’ve turned left. And we were talking about how I should bring the boys to visit her this summer. I was telling her it’s hard to travel with a 15 year old now. But the boys get along and they’re nice to travel with. I asked if she lived near a beach, and she scoffed and said yeah it’s just down the road, and I can picture it in my mind what she was talking about. She told me she worked afternoons in a little office but she had mornings off which is why I wasn’t bothering her by talking with her that morning. There was also a little dog in the dream, it looks like Martha’s old dog Frankie.  I thought I would put these words down before I fell back asleep. I’m just going to lay here and enjoy the feeling that’s left over from that visit. It was really nice. I really loved her, she sure is missed.  I wish she was still here for mom.  Moms life would be nicer with her sister around to talk to. 

Friday, March 27

Friday we started with this very cool cereal puzzle .... we started ... and left it up for a few days ... until realizing "who has never done a puzzle before and starts with 1000 pieces?  No matter how fun it looks?"  It was just turning into a real bummer lol...so I put it away and took out a smaller one to attempt.

Isaac and Chris work together on the new merchandise hut ... lol "Hut" ... it is such a beautiful building!  He has milled all the wood, and run it through the shaper for the beautiful edges .... 

And look who is learning to use the nail gun?

Mittens is currently a mess .... no idea whats happening with her crazy tail, but there are like 4 abscesses that have burst ... they look very sore, but she is no longer hiding from us (when it happened on her neck, she hid for a few days, and then it burst and looked awful but it must have been a relief because she started to be more social, though it looked back) .... so my cat crazy friend suggested getting some Goldeseal and using the powder on the open wounds.  So ... Elliot and I braved the grocery store and got everything we needed (including some immune boosting vitamins).  We put the powder on her ... and if she licks it (though its super gross), it acts as an antibiotic internally too ... by the next morning, she was running down the hall ... so its been quite the difference.

But she still loves to hide in Elliots bed.

The facetime moment Shannon and I realized we own the same amazing cozy white coat!  (Thanks Jenny!!) ... we are calling it our Covid Loungewear ....

Evening walks to clear your head are super important these days since emotions change by the hour sometimes it seems .....

And then facetime dates with mama are always good too ... I am always more free and relaxed by 9, which is normally when she is in bed .... not sure how I got this pic on my phone, probably pushed a button by accident, but I liked it ....

Thursday .... March 26

Chris and Isaac went to work together this morning to work on the merchandise hut.... I FaceTimed with Catherine from work, Cristin, Carrie and Aisha .... figure it helps people feel less isolated ....

This afternoon, here is what Elliot and I are up to!

And mittens is sore again at the top of her tail ...

So she is stepping pretty lightly around here today ... poor thing.

Had a broccoli and cheese quiche ready for the hard workers when they came in from the day ....

 And tonight after dinner, Chris walked me down to show me what they worked on ....

 Together they ran these boards through the planer and the new shaper!  It is going to be beautiful.

Wednesday, March 25

Worked at the kitchen table this morning while the boys puttered around....at noon, Lisa and I went for a 3 k run through Mesachie together ... it was really nice (and spaced out)