Distance Learning

One of the new catch phrases from the Pandemic is Distance Learning or what use to be called home schooling.  Rory is only in Kindergarten and it is a challenge to keep it up.  I do not like the new math and it really seems like it is making it tougher to learn math but hey, I am old fashioned.  1+10=11.  However, it can also be called 10 and one.  So, I cannot pass Kindergarten math.  The rest is pretty easy to follow.  Yesterday we took a Distance Learning field trip.  Rory had an assignment to find a body of water, observe it and then write a paragraph about it.  We decided instead of using one of the ponds in the neighborhood that we would go to Doctor's Lake.  I took Rory there a couple of years ago to the boat dock and she loved watching the boats launch.  So we went back to observe the lake.  We did have our first lunch in a restaurant since this whole Covid started too.  It was kind of nice to feel a little more normal.  I know we have to cautious and we were.  It was good day spent with Rory and Jenny thanks to Distance Learning and getting an extra day off from work!

The New Hot Tub

With stimulus checks arriving we are making sure we spend it to boost the economy.  Jenny and Nate used a portion of their check to buy an inflatable hot tub.  Now that may not seem like much but I have to tell you, this hot tub is really something.  For being inflatable it is solid as a rock; you can even sit on the sides of it.  They built a deck in the yard for the hot tub and have just finished the yard with white rocks to dress up the area.  They did a great job working on it and they were rewarded by enjoying a glass of wine in the hot tub last night.  Great job Jenny and Nate!
I am using my stimulus check to buy a desk top computer.  I have not had one in ten years so I am really looking forward to having one again.  My laptop and iPad have been great but I am ready to have a desk top again.  My SIL Nate is an IT guy so he is building my desk top for me.  The parts are now starting to arrive and pretty soon I will have it put together; hopefully by next week end.  Along with the computer I am also getting a new corner desk which will give me space to have the computer on it and still be able to use the desk for crafting, etc.  I just have to wait for IKEA to open back up.  Since retails stores are allowed to open up again tomorrow I am hoping that IKEA will be too!
Enjoy the pictures of the hot tub; it really is a very good item for the money!

A Walk With Rory

My granddaughter is one terrific kid and watching her grow up and being a part of it is something I was always hoping I could do and now I am totally involved.  We started to do some morning walks on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays ( my off days).  Rory rides he bike and I walk.   I am in a StepBet competition right now for the next four weeks and I have daily goals that I must make or I will be out.  Rory helps keep me going.  We took a really nice walk this morning to her school, then the park (we did not play at the park) and then home to get busy on her school work for the day.  Rory was infatuated with the magnolia trees that are really blooming right now.  The white flowers are beautiful and they smell even better.  Every tree we passed, there are quite a few in our neighborhood and sub division, she had to stop and look at.  We took a few pictures too!  There is one portion of the walk where she likes to hike so I get to take care of her bike.  I love our morning walks together.  I never know what topics she will bring up or new sights she encounters but it is always fun and exciting especially seeing it through her perspective.  She is quite a kid!❤️

My "New" Room

For the past month I have been talking about me moving into a bigger room and it has been completed or at least the first phase has.  I have moved into a Master suite in my daughter's home, she has two, and the extra room is really nice. My previous room was great and right next to Rory's room but now I have my own space and bathroom!  When you first walk upstairs you see the 'bedroom" portion of my room then once upstairs you turn and see my crafting area.  Two distinct looks in the same room. I have a huge closet too!  Why the move?  Well my new room was my daughter's studio but she decided she wanted to downsize now that she is a teaching tennis pro and so we swapped rooms.  I guess you could call it a win win situation for both of us.  I already received my mother's day gift from Jenny, Nate & Rory; a really nice chair and ottoman for my new room. I love it and it is so comfortable.  Once I get my stimulus check I am planning on getting a desk top computer and a new crafting desk but for now, phase 1 is complete!  Check out the pics!

How Is Your Coronavirus Going?

I don't know about you but I am ready for this coronavirus stuff to finish up.  I know until there is a cure or vaccine it will not be gone but to be able to get back to some normalcy would feel good.  I have continued to work throughout this process so I have not gone stir crazy like everyone who are doing the self quarantining. Since I also live with my family I have not been alone either.  My extra curricular activities have come to a halt but that has not been that bad either.  It has given my the chance to get some things done around the house and get caught up with things I have not been able to get to in awhile.  I could still use more time but I would not have the world hold up just for me.
Here are some of the things I have accomplished:
     I have gotten to spend some great quality time with my family - watching movies, playing games.
     I have cooked more and that has been fun! Yes, gaining weight too!
     I now appreciate running to any store that is not food related!
     I have grown closer to Our Lord. This is a huge bonus!!!
Things I still need to do:
    Finish my new room that I just moved into. (which will have to wait until stores are open again)
    Get caught up with my card clubs...it is getting closer to catching up.
    Finish up some art projects
Things I really miss:
    My Church...I work at it and get to be together with the staff but I miss worship and the choirs.
     I miss my friends and doing things together.
     I miss going out to eat, going to a movie, going shopping, sight seeing, etc.
The fact that I am actually living in a history making moment is something surreal and I know this Pandemic is history making.  It has shut down the world!  Think about it; this is a history making moment and I am not sure it will be well documented.  If I were a better writer or a writer at all I would be recording everything going all.  I hope we get true historians to document this and not just someone wanting to make a buck off of it.
Stay safe and healthy.  It is the least we can all be doing during the history making period.

Happy Easter

This is a different  Easter with the social distancing and everybody staying home.  Easter is a time to celebrate but this year we will be doing on our own.  With orders to stay at home there will be no big church services where people can dress up for Easter.  There will be no Easter Bunny events, egg hunts or big family gatherings. There will be some churches having an Easter service and hopefully they will keep the 6 foot rule otherwise there could be a new outbreak of the virus.  I personally will be watching my church’s service on my iPad  to be followed with Rory’s Easter egg hunt and dinner.  

It will be a quiet Easter but still the message and the meaning will be there.  Happy Easter!

So Tomorrow Turned Into Two Weeks!

It has been kind of crazy around here.  Florida is now a stay at home state and unless you are an essential worker or going to get groceries you are pretty much having to stay home.  You might as well anyway because there is no place to go.  All non essential stores are closed, parks, beaches and attractions are closed.  Sports teams on hiatus, tv shows ending early, new movies being streamed to your home (for a hefty price) and now suggesting we where masks when we go shopping.  It is getting scary and the next two weeks we are going to be even scarier  as the virus begins to peak and the death toll is going to shoot really high.  On the positive side, people are surviving and it would be nice to get those numbers instead of how many more cases and deaths.
I am an essential worker so I am doing my job daily and I realize how lucky I am to have a job and not be furloughed.  I did make the move to my new room and will share that in the future.  It was quite a job but well worth it.
I still feel like I am living in a sci-fi movie but the script keeps getting changed.  So folks, stay home, stay safe, stay healthy.  Do your part and protect others too!  Until next time...take care!