Another Day....

There were times this week when I didn't know if I could make it...

But Grandgirls were excited to see my ladybugs.

Then they all died...shipper is replacing shipment

Grandgirls were sharing cookie via messenger

They are planning a virtual "Sleepober"

Judah is just happy all the time (3 hours away)

I haven't seen my Pier 1 Peeps for 5 weeks, but we made a poster together

I was going stir crazy by Thursday. I hadn't had class or homework to do since my last class ended Sunday. Thursday is the day my landscapers arrive and being on the second floor all the exhaust and noise seems to head straight for my apartment. 

I took my cat, Molly, for a drive to find snow. We found a patch just past Lassen Park entrance. The park is closed.

Molly loved the snow. At noon we headed home and I was going to support a local business, but the car lines were too long. The stores that are opened had packed parking lots....I felt closed in, but lonely all at the same time.

Gourmet lunch

I went home and made myself a gourmet lunch. Sweet potato fries, sweet little peppers, hamburger with mozzarella strips and chick-fa-lay sauce, with mango chunks. At that moment of despair, I decided to start making myself a fancy plate of food every day.

The following day I cleaned out my pantry and made a shopping list. Saturday morning, early, I went to Trader Joe's and bought two bags of mostly fruits and vegetables. I had meats and cheese at home.

In my pantry I had a supply of Tapioca Wraps. Today it was shrimp and fresh asparagus wraps with fresh Strawberries. 

My splurge was to order this poster. I already had a frame
and I  finally got the grandgirls pictures on the wall

Molly really misses her lady bugs

We await the new shipment with new artwork
first time painting reverse on glass

and there are the nails of a woman who has not been working enough
I will paint them before this weeks installment of Read Out Loud Grammie

How am I doing you ask? I am okay. I am grateful that no one I know has died from this virus. I am making more money on unemployment than I would if I was working. Making a schedule each week and putting down big chores, like cleaning the pantry or the bathroom closet are a must. Molly makes such a stink that I clean her box twice a day. 

Having my little buddy crawl in my lap a couple of time a day is therapeutic. I go over and visit with my Dad once a week to share the family pictures and hear about his latest project. At 87 he has taken up riding an exercise bike 2 or 3 miles a day and has fired his landscaper. Yesterday he bought a new lawn mower and has been planting Gerber Daisy all over the place. He has the prettiest roses too. He also has a little dog, Duke, who keeps him company. 

I have worked full time most of the past 4 1/2 decades....never taking off 6 weeks, even to have a baby.  I always worked, a lot. I designed the nest as a place to entertain one or two people. Just entertaining Molly has been a challenging. I have not needed to escape in a book. Now I will need to read a book, just for something to keep me busy. 

In past summers I would read 5 books a week easily. Every summer I would win a library prize in the drawing, because I stuffed the ballot box with entries. In 5 weeks I have hardly picked up a book for pleasure. I felt the need to be ready for something...but now it seems I am not essential. I suppose that it what is the hardest to accept. I have to be okay with the idea that I am not needed by anyone, but that is not bad.

I have always sought ways to be useful. That is a very hard thing to do right now. I have been told the most useful thing I can do is take care of myself. Eat right, exercise, yoga, feed and care for Molly, clean my apartment and grow my little terrace garden....polish my nails and read a book to my grandkids online....and write down my thoughts for another day.

Another Day

Another day we will walk in the park.

 Another day we will drink coffee at the shope.

 Another day we will sit in a theatre. 

Another day we will sing and  dance together.

Another day we will play games on the playground.

 Another day we will read stories in the back of the classroom.

 Another day we will kiss our grandchildren and remember.

Ladybugs in the Mail

My Postal Carrier Hand Delivered Live Lady Bugs Today

1,500 Live Lady Bugs

Since I got Molly a month ago my terrace has become organic and cat friendly. In the past few years Rose Dust has been my way of controlling aphids. Last week my daughter, Mary brought me 2 tomato plants. Between the roses and tomatoes I needed something that was Molly friendly and would remove the aphids that are expected soon. My local hardware store did not have lady bugs yet, so USPS delivers life critters.

   Molly was very excited to have friends. We put them in the refrigerator and will be sprinkling a few at sunset and a few more in the morning. I will give Mary a lot of them for her place.

We started our day with all our ducks in a row

Molly wasn't too sure about the duck idea

Last week we got the terrace weeded and gave Mary a lot of violets that had taken over the rose bed.

Fresh Herbs that are Cat friendly

3 hours of redecorating the Fairy Garden

The walls look bare after cleaning out all the violets

St Francis and the Turtles in the desert

Molly inspecting the new tomato plants

Easter News from the Chicklets to The Nest

Tim, Abbie, Emelia and Ellie

Ellie modeling one of Auntie Joey's Etsy outfits
with Em chasing her with Bubbles

Since I can't see them through this Shelter in Place I read
a story to them and recorded it for after nap

Meanwhile...

Judah was eight months old on 4.10

Steven, Johanna and Judah

He is such a big-little man

In another part of the state...

Mike and Mary have been together for 2 years
They just moved into a new to them house

Elsewhere in the state...

Ian, Lucy and Junior

  I am thankful for Facebook Messenger, Facetime. Abbie and the girls as well as Joey and Judah have visited me this past week with video chats. Mary had a birthday last week. Molly and I spent Saturday at her house. This was my first time there in 6 weeks. We all hope that once Tim and Abbie have moved into their new house next month I can go visit them. Then a few weeks later Judah and his parents.

  I finished all my Simpson Classes for the semester. I am taking off the summer to regroup. Today I was sent information that tuition may be paid through my union at school. I will be sending an application in for the program tomorrow. Meanwhile, I am on unemployment for Pier 1 and getting paid by the school under my contract. For once in my adult life money is not a worry. Keeping my mind and body active while observing Shelter in Place guidelines is my challenge. A month with only a couple of hugs from my dad and one from Mary....thankfully I have a cat who will cuddle on my lap once a day.

  In upcoming days we will be making some art for my blank terrace walls. There are so many projects I can do and I won't need to buy any supplies. Molly loves when I cut out pieces. She will play with a scrap of paper for an hour. 

   It is nearly 8pm. Time to free some lady bugs.

🎜Onward Little Soldiers🎜

Yeah, I don't think I will be needing 1,500. Anyone need a few ladybugs?

 

 

Peace Be Still

Jesus controlled the storm

 Lent 2020

    On Wednesday February 26,2020 when I took the ashes on my forehead to begin the season of lent I had not given a lot of thought to the world health situation. My professor in my Math class on Thursday night spoke briefly of his concern about friends in Wuhan, China and the virus outbreak. The following week we were all aware of the VIRUS. By the end of our class on March 12th, the 20 students who assembled in person for the last time were more nervous about the Covid-19 coronavirus than we were about our final presentations of Math manipulative.

    The following week we met for the first time in our Zoom classroom for our Earth Science class. That night, March 19th is when the world we had known ceased to exist. My school district had made the decision to close school in Redding, California the previous Monday, so I was off work already. On Thursday, March 19th the governor or California declared a Shelter in Place order. We were in our Zoom classroom online and watching our phones blow up with messages. My Pier 1 manager had closed the store and was telling us that the store would remain closed until further notice.

    The next day I adopted my cat, Molly and began adjusting the new normal of my life.

Molly watching me while in my Zoom class

   Lent took on an entirely new meaning. I was giving up take-out coffee and fancy fingernails for Lent to put my spare change in the Mite Box. Now it appeared that I would be giving up my employment and visits to see my Grand-babies as well. Within a few days Molly had given me a routine. Get up, feed her, clean her box, feed me, do my devotional, hold her, take a walk, feed me, play with her, hold and pet her, do my university school work, feed me, hold her, feed her, clean her box... That has been the course of our days. Without getting to go to church services to make any day different than the next; I call all days Caturday.

Silver Lining

My silver lining is that no one in my family has gotten sick from Covid-19.I get to see my grandchildren everyday in pictures on my phone, video calls or videos sent by their moms. 

Ellie in a cute outfit made by Auntie Joey

Emelia and Bear
 Modeling her headband from Auntie Joey

Some days we have video of Judah eating and cooing

Some days Judah is clean,
but every video and picture is precious

I love the video calls even when the kiddos get fussy

   I have kept up on my Duolingo app for French for 188 days. Yesterday I started a new app from Caroline Leaf called SWITCH. Dr. Leaf is an author I have been following for almost a year. Her book Switch on Your Brain  explains the premise of the app. She teaches that you can change how you think in 21 days. Her daily 5 steps help you correct toxic thought patterns. I often listen to her podcasts when I feel anxious to help me rethink my toxic thoughts. 

   I hope you all are doing well with Shelter in Place. It seems that we, in California, won't be free to hug a neighbor for another few weeks or more. I am getting paid for my school job under contract, but I really miss all those little huggers. 

In the Morning of April 12 Around the World

People will be saying:

ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Shalom, Deena🌍-🦋