Spring Break Take 2

L had her Spring Break over Easter weekend.  J didn't have ANY days off for Easter, but we decided to get an airbnb up in Erie (just an hour and a half from YSU) for the long weekend.  We picked up J on our way there on Thursday afternoon (she skipped her Friday class), and we left early on Monday morning to get her back before her 9 AM class.

This time we stayed downtown, instead of close to Presque Isle.  We were able to walk to a lot of restaurants.  JP and I walked to a diner one rainy morning while the girls slept, and I got delicious peach cobbler french toast.

We walked in the oldest cemetery in Erie, and discovered some very old gravestones.  

We were also close to the old Sigsbee Reservoir - it's closed now, but the caretaker's cottage looked amazing.

Of course we went to Presque Isle and walked there too.  The girls found several pieces of lake glass.

The weather was COLD, and many of the days were drizzly and dreary, so the rest of the time we just hung out, watched movies, and J (who has taught herself to crochet) worked on the sweater she is making.

It was a nice little getaway, and it was wonderful to have the whole family together again.

J's last final is May 6th, so she is coming home then for the summer - hooray!

Normal

 I realized as I was cleaning downstairs today, that last year at this time, I was furloughed, JP was quarantined, and the girls were home from school.  How different it is this year!  We are all fully immunized, except for L, who is too young.  The girls are back to school 4 days/week.  I am working again, and doing many telemedicine visits.  The girls and I have masks to coordinate with all of our outfits.

This is our new normal.  We are going on with life.  We did our annual Easter Egg hunt outside on a beautiful April day.  J said that she wanted to continue to do this as long as possible because "I always win!"

Even Stella got Easter Eggs!

The girls are currently at their first dress rehearsal this afternoon for the Spring play, which opens in 10 days.  I am worried that things are opening up too much and too soon.  JP is seeing a huge increase in the numbers of positive COVID tests every day he works.  J is planning for prom.  I typically work at one vaccination clinic per week, and I see shots going into the arms of hundreds of people, but I don't see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow yet.

But we continue on - what else can we do?  J has been accepted at YSU (#goGUINS) and I am effectively blocking all of the emotions that go along with that - at least for the time being.  She recently sent in audition recordings for the theater program, and had a virtual interview with the director and several instructors of the program last weekend.

I keep cooking and baking, with many successes and several fails - such as this Angel Food Cake.

Spring keeps advancing - the tulips that we transplanted from raised beds in the garden to my flower bed by the house are in bloom.

The peeps were racing across the feed trough that we started them in, flapping their tiny wings ferociously, so we moved them into the hen house.  It didn't take them long to settle on the next-to-highest roost!  Unfortunately, I found one dead this morning of unknown causes.

The redbuds and the dogwoods are blooming in the woods.  The grass is growing.  JP will soon have to get the mower out!

My seedlings are going crazy in the house.  I am hoping that we can soon till the Rye cover crop in the garden so I can plant them because I am going crazy in the house too!

So embrace the new normal.  Keep going, because giving up is not an option.  Be careful, because the virus is still raging out there.  Dig in the dirt because it is good for the soul.

Happy Easter!

The girls begged to have an Easter Egg hunt today, so we still had one.  It was a beautiful day to be outside - temps in the high 60's and sunny.  I had mowed the grass the day before, so it wasn't too shaggy.

L hid some Pup-peroni filled eggs for Stella as well.

We had turkey and dressing for dinner, and L made a key lime pie from scratch.  It was delicious!

Spring Break

This year, JP managed to get time off during the girls' Spring Break - and miraculously we had the entire scheduled break off because of no snow make-up days.  At the last minute, we threw together a Rock-N-Roll Spring Break for the girls.

We started it off with a trip to Wheeling to see a Beatles tribute band (Classical Mystery Tour) that played with the Wheeling Symphony.  We got really great seats, and really reasonable rates, and had a fun time!

"Paul" and "George"

A day later, we drove up to Cleveland.

The girls by Lake Erie

There we visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

There we saw more Beatles,

and some of this,

 

and MJ's glove,

and a bit of that.

ZZ Top's drum kit

It was fun too.

We got home last night, and had our Easter Egg hunt in the barn today due to rain. 

 

It has been a really nice break, with lots of down time, as well as some work and long over due appointments.  JP saw his retinal specialist, who told him that the poor vision in his "bad" eye is now due to a cataract (an expected complication of his past surgery.)  I have another appointment tomorrow, and we are expecting our friend, C, to spend the day with us.  L has been working on her Science Fair Project, and it hasn't been working - she is starting a new experiment now.

On Tuesday, it will be back to work and school, with no more breaks until Memorial Day - right before the end.   Sigh...hopefully the Rock-N-Roll memories carry us through!

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

Well, it was back to school today on Poplar Ridge. We rearranged schedules a bit, since we were actually supposed to be back to school on Monday. That's one of the nice things about Cyber School: we did 2 days of lessons during Spring Break, then took 2 other days off when JP could be home with us.

We had violin lessons this morning, and then I wanted to take the girls to the Surgical Open House at our local Hospital. I decided that this would be the closest thing to "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" that I could arrange in my position, which requires the utmost of confidentiality.

While they couldn't actually go into the Operating Rooms, the girls (and my Mom) met all the OR staff: surgeons, scrub techs, nurses and anesthesia crew. They looked at anatomical models and attempted to intubate a dummy, take endoscopic biopsies of a hot dog, and use laparoscopic instruments to pick up beans and put them in a cup (J was pretty good at that...I think my boss might be thinking of hiring her!) We had a nice lunch provided by the Hospital, which included way too many cookies.

We got home later than I had hoped, but managed to get our school work done before dinner. I would consider that a successful school day!

We also had a lovely visit with our friends in Kentucky over Easter weekend. JP went to Med. School with him, while she and I worked in the OR to support our families. We have been friends for a long time, and while we haven't seen each other much in the last couple of years, we always pick up where we left off. That is always incredibly comforting for me.

Both of our dogs made the 7 hour trip with us. They joined the menagerie at our friends' of 4 cats and one enormous Irish Wolfhound, Chewbaca. Here's a pic of the dogs...I call them small, medium and beast!



The other day, our friends all congregated here for a potluck Birthday party for our 4 year old friend, B. We had 35 people here altogether, which I believe is a record for Poplar Ridge. We are so glad that we are able to fit all our friends here together...even though it gets a bit chaotic and loud at times.

We finally had a quickie Easter Egg hunt for the girls yesterday morning. It was so cold outside that we urged them to be as quick as possible! This morning we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground. Although I'm incredibly eager to get things planted in the garden, this has been a message to me to slow down, take it easy, it is still early Spring.

So, that's my report of all the happy-nings going on around here. I hope your Easter was equally lovely.

Spring Breaking

It is Spring Break week here on Poplar Ridge. We are all kicked back and taking it easy.



If you believe that one, I'll tell you another one!

Stella has been sleeping better since we are kenneling her with Kali at night, and therefore, so have JP & I. I haven't had to take her out in the wee hours of the morning for the past 2 nights either, thank goodness!

Since Spring has sprung, there is endless work to be done in the garden. Dad tilled the bottom stretch between the last raised beds and the asparagus bed, so we were able to get the potatoes, onions and shallots in over the weekend. JP used the broadfork to loosen the soil in 3 more beds. I have worked the soil in all of them now, and Mom and I got one of them planted with lettuce, spinach and radishes.

I've also been weeding the flower beds, and readying them for new mulch.

We've given up on keeping the dandelions out of the yard. The girls think they are wonderful, and the bees like them too.



The girls and I have actually done a couple of days of school work, so that we can take a couple of days off next week - one of the benefits of doing cyber school. We also have 2 specialist visits in the big city this week.

So no, we haven't been just lying around. It hasn't been as crazy as normal though, and we are even looking forward to spending Easter with some old friends...should be nice. We will be sure to do some breaking during our Spring Break as well.

New Additions

Happy belated Easter to all!

We had a sick child here, so our guests (Mom and Dad) decided to stay home (we took them over some of the feast) so that they wouldn't be exposed to anything nasty before their big Africa trip (leaving at 4 AM tomorrow). J had a high fever, tummy ache and no appetite. She crawled in bed with me on Sunday morning and said "I'm worried that my tummy won't be ready for ham!" She had mashed potatoes and red Kool Aid...yummy yummy! After lunch she was feeling well enough, however, to have a photo shoot with her sister in their new dresses.



Today I found only one Easter Egg that we missed.

This evening, our latest addition to the farm was delivered: a hive of bees. They are down below the garden, near my pear trees where we can easily keep a respectful distance from them! Apparently they need to face the morning sun, and be relatively sheltered from the wind.



The past several nights we have heard cats fighting on our back porch. Most of the time, they take off as soon as they hear us coming out, but we have never seen Bert and Ernie involved. Tonight I am hearing strange barking and howling outside through the open windows. One of our neighbors recently asked if we had been hearing the coyotes...could this be them?

I need to sign off and iron some clothes for work tomorrow. I also need to change this background...the dots are starting to get really annoying!