Embrace

Once again, time got away from me!  We have all been going at 90 MPH for a few weeks.  We are just days away from Thanksgiving Break, so I'm hoping we'll have some down time for a change!

JP and I have been working hard to winterize the garden.  I dug all the carrots a couple of weeks ago, which was the last harvest to do.

Two of the carrots were locked in an embrace.

We have put many, MANY loads of leaves and grass clippings in there, hoping for better yields and easier soil to work next year.  We keep hoping...

L's theater production, "The Elves and the Shoemaker" went well, with 3 shows. 

The following weekend was the Cinderella Ball (CB.)  L went with a group of friends, and even got to ride in a limo!

Last weekend was the annual Turkey Trot fundraiser for the Library.  J came home for the weekend specifically for her birthday (can I possibly have a 19 year old daughter?)...

...and to volunteer at the fundraiser.  She sang the National Anthem before the race, and helped out in general where needed.

She is working from home today and tomorrow until her Thanksgiving Break officially begins on Wednesday.  L has a half day of school on Wednesday, and then she is off for several days as well.

My Grandma, affectionately known as "Tiny Grandmom" by my kids, turned 106 yesterday.  Hospice called all her children 2 weeks ago to say that they didn't think that she had long.  She rallied (again) and is still hanging in there!

Yesterday we all managed to get away to the city to our South to watch "Dune."  It's the first time we've been to a theater in 2 years!  It was a nice get away!

In between all of these beautiful things, have been some really hard and scary things happening too.  I'm not ready to share those on this platform, but let me just say this - hug your kids.  Let them know that you love them without bounds.  Be thankful that your family can gather together this Thanksgiving!

Vacationing During a Pandemic

 Up until the day we left, I wasn't sure we were going to be able to take a family vacation this summer, and I expected JP to not come with us.  He had been self isolating here at home, due to the fact that he is seeing a couple COVID positive or presumptive COVID patients every shift that he works.  The schedule happened to work in our favor, however, as he had 2 weeks scheduled off (asked off MONTHS ago) and had several days off prior to the vacation days.  It ends up that he was EXTREMELY close to the 2 weeks of quarantine recommended after known exposure, and NOT having symptoms the day we left, so he came along!  It was the first time we've done anything as a family in close to 5 months - haven't been in a car together, haven't eaten meals together, haven't hung out within 6 feet of each other for MONTHS.  It was wonderful!

We took our yearly trek up to Lake Erie - I figured this was relatively safe as we weren't going out of state, so no quarantines on return.  We wiped down all the surfaces in the (very clean) house that we stayed in before moving our things in.  We got all of our meals (that we didn't make ourselves) as take out and ate at the house.  We went to beaches that were not crowded so that we could maintain social distancing.

We rode around Presque Isle again on our bikes - it's a 13.5 mile loop.  This year I wasn't sure that I was going to make it!

We picnicked by the lake, and rescued these 2 dehydrated raccoons from a dumpster.

We visited one of the lighthouses (none of them were open to the public this year.)

This year we tried out the Aqua Cycles on a pond - pretty fun!

The owners of the Air BNB house that we rented had this gorgeous 1946 Jaguar in the garage and promised us a ride in it, but sadly it never worked out.

Unfortunately, JP was back to work this weekend, and back to self isolating downstairs.  J goes back to work tomorrow, and I head back on Tues.  L is finished with her job, but is planning to see a friend tomorrow that she hasn't seen since March.

It was lovely while it lasted -  Pandemic Vacation 2020.

Mother's Day in the Woods

After another night of frosts, Mother's Day dawned warm and sunny.  The girls and I donned our masks and ventured out to the nursery -  the first outing the girls have been on for many, many weeks.  We arrived fairly early, and luckily there were not too many other folks there, but by the time we hade made our selections of annuals, herbs and plants for the garden, it was starting to get busy.

We all went for a hike in the afternoon.  J and L led us down the hill to an area they had been exploring recently and where I had never been. 

 It was gorgeous - mossy and shaded, with a tiny stream running through steep walls.

 

The clearings were studded with wildflowers, and we finally chanced upon the elusive Trilium, that I had been searching for in vain this spring.

I slid down the bank at one point, and landed on my knees on sharp rocks in the stream (which I paid for the next day.)  L too slipped into the mud, but it was overall a lovely expedition, and allowed me to forget about COVID for several hours (which is glorious in its own right.)

JP ordered dinner from Bob Evans and picked it up so that I didn't have to cook. 

I hope that all of you Mothers had an equally wonderful Mother's Day!

Vacation and the Rest of June

Some how most of June passed me by without me posting regularly.  We have stayed incredibly busy, which is part of the issue.  There are many days that I don't manage to get anything done between getting the girls where they need to go and life in general.

We did manage to take a long weekend mid-month to visit Lost River State Park in WV.  It is a beautiful mountainous and wooded park, that JP selected especially so the girls could go horseback riding.

J on "Fred"

L rides "Skipper"

The first day we rode for about 45 min to the top of a mountain.  Beyond the little building, you can see about 270 degrees!  The second day, we rode through the woods, up and down mountains for 2 hours.  It was gorgeous, but a little scary at times - I forgot how high up one is when seated on a horse!

We stayed at a B&B nearby that was pretty nice.  Unfortunately the caretakers both smoke, so we had to wash and febreeze EVERYTHING when we got home.  The B&B had a nice game room, and we spent a lot of time playing Foosball and darts.

We saw a little building out back, which looked like a hobbit hole, so we checked it out.  It was not populated by hobbits at the moment, but perhaps they'll be back soon?

We were actually staying very close to our college town, so we stopped in before coming home.  The first thing we did was get ice cream at Kline's.

L had her second basketball camp of the summer the week after we returned, and continued the league games at the Rec Center every Monday night.  Her last 2 games were this week.

J started her summer job at the Library on Monday as well.  She often has fun stories to tell about patrons that she meets, or brings home movies to watch.  Her job runs for 6 weeks, and she finishes up the end of July.

Meanwhile, the strawberries finished in the garden, and the peas and blueberries have started.  I picked 5 gallons of blueberries this week, and spent about 4 hours weeding around all of the bushes.  I finally finished taking care of all of them this weekend, and it is time to pick again, so I have recruited a couple of friends to help out tomorrow.

On Friday morning, L and I drove North to the surgery center, where she  had her adenoids removed.  This occurred after a year and a half of snoring accompanied by apneic episodes, and a thorough evaluation by her family doctor, the allergist, the ENT, a sleep study, and finally the ENT again.  She is doing very well, but fairly uncomfortable because of the swelling and soreness in the back of her mouth.

In July, we are having a family reunion.  My brother from TX and I have been calling each other about once a week in preparation, as we are in charge of the planning.  My youngest brother won't be at the reunion, but his family will come here for a few days before hand to visit with everyone.  I will have 8 extra people sleeping at my house, and 10 extra people for meals for a couple of days!

I'm sure the blueberries will need to be picked several times yet before they arrive!

More Summer

J has spent the last week at Myrtle Beach with a friend, she had quite an uneventful trip home on Allegiant Air into Clarksburg, WV, as compared to the relatively awful trip there.  She was supposed to ride down to SC with her friend's family, leaving last Friday at 5:30 AM.  They decided to leave Thursday night, and drive through the night in order to have an extra day at the beach.  J called home Friday morning, and reported that they had been camped out in a parking lot about an hour from home the entire night, with a flat tire.  They finally got repairs and headed south by 9:30 Friday morning, but lost their "extra day."

On the way home from the airport, we stopped at a little restaurant that we were told had amazing desserts, for dinner and amazing desserts.  Lauren got a slice of "mile high pie" to go, as she wasn't feeling great.  This is what JP, Jenna and I got:

Yes, these milkshakes are in quart jars.  Yes, mine actually has an entire slice of pie on top AND a sparkler.  Yes, they were a bit pricey...but oh, so worth it!

On the home front, the blueberries are still producing, although we are down to the last few pickings...I think.  I have frozen some more, and made syrup and another cobbler, including some wild blackberries that I picked out back, plus peaches.  On the docket after I pick today:  blueberry pie.

I will bake said pie in my new oven.  My top oven died a couple of weeks ago, and after the headache of it croaking and having to be home between 10 and 2 for the repair men on 6 separate occasions before it was finally repaired last summer, we decided to just get a new one.  Although JP ordered one that was 1) on sale, and 2) supposed to be the same size, it was not.  He and my dad worked for the better part of Wednesday getting the cupboard renovated to install the new ovens, and actually getting them in.  I did try them out right away by baking my friend, T's, amazing molasses/ginger cookies, and a batch of dark chocolate/peanut granola.  It works just fine!

During all that renovation on Wednesday, L had a friend over for the afternoon.  They spent most of their time in the pool, which JP finally finished working on.  He has now surrounded the pool with netting in order to keep balls and assorted pool toys IN, and a gate to keep various and sundry random people/children OUT.  I think it is very innovative, and looks great.

I'm sure we will need to get in to cool off after picking those blueberries this afternoon!

I hope you all are staying cool this summer!

Back From the Beach

We actually got back from the beach about a week ago, but I have had problems transferring photos from my phone to the computer.  JP finally moved them all for me this AM, so I am FINALLY posting about our wonderfully relaxing vacation in Erie, PA.

We stayed in a great Airbnb house about a mile and a half from Presque Isle, that was completely tricked out with screens in every room and fancy lighting.  There was even this guy in the garage (with 2 screens of it's own.)

We rode bikes on Presque Isle a couple of times.

The water was cold, but the sun was warm, and the beach had lots of flat rocks that were perfect for skipping.

One day we took a day trip up to Ontario, so that the girls could visit Canada and Niagara Falls for the first time.  We rode a boat down under the falls, decked out in red ponchos.

This is where our boat sailed...

J was completely closed up in her poncho!

This is what it looked like up under the Horseshoe Falls

We had a really great vacation.  Due to his new job, JP did not spend the entire time working.  We came home refreshed and (for a change) not exhausted.

This past week has been spent getting caught up around Poplar Ridge, and heading back to work.  L spent the week at Basketball Camp at the new Rec Center in town.

The Great American Eclipse 2017

We finished up our summer vacation this week, by taking a road trip down to SC.  No, we didn't go to the beach, although that would have been fun.  We went to see the solar eclipse in an area of totality, and that was awesome!

Since we left the house at 5:30 on Sunday morning, we were ready to turn in early that night.  We met up with JP's niece at our hotel, and she spent the night with us.

Around noon on Monday, we went to the local library, and sat in the air conditioning to read until around 2 PM.  Then we went outside to their good sized yard, where we found a spot near a tree so we could have a bit of shade (it's HOT in SC!)  We laid on a blanket and watched the earth's shadow slowly cover the sun.  It was amazing that we still had a decent amount of light, even though the sun was 95% or more covered.  The light was eerily flat, and the shadows were unusual.  The crickets began chirping as the darkness increased, and stopped again once the event was over.

 

JP took some really good photos...I'm just going to post them in sequential order.

After we got our fill of eclipse (although we are already planning for April, 2024), we headed north 3 hours to visit with JP's sister and family for a couple of days.  The girls got their cousin fix, and it was enjoyable to see their home and get our Carolina BBQ fix.

On the way home, we drove through Mt. Airy, and decided to stop at the Andy Griffith Museum.

 

 

We had a nice vacation, but it's good to be home.

Today we braved the crowds at the Outlets, and finished our back-to-school shopping.  J has a home soccer game tomorrow, and school starts for reals on Monday.

Whew...welcome to the real world!