Easter, Covid Birthday Take Two and Accomplishments

We woke to a beautiful Easter morning. We had a very sweet breakfast display of treats and nibbled away at it. We ended up packing most of it up for desserts for the week. We just don't eat that much sugar around here. We then packed a picnic and headed out for Hickory (a town a little over an hour away). We were planning to visit and art museum which had told us was open on Easter Sunday. We were surprised, but headed out. Turns out it was closed when we arrived. I guess a volunteer or otherwise uninformed person had answered the phone.  But, we enjoyed the grounds and ate our lovely lunch. 

David and Grandma at the fully vaccinated table.

Since we had come all that way, we looked for an alternative and settled on a hike up Baker's mountain. We didn't put enough research into it and accidently started off on the hardest trail (we found out afterward). Grandma gave up very early in and headed back to the parking lot and some nice rocking chairs she had spotted. The rest of us forged on thinking that we were from the mountains and used to steep trails and it was only a bit over a half mile. This one was much harder, steeper then we were used too and filled with slippery rocks. It seemed like a mile straight up. Did I mention we forgot to bring water and that I had only had a few sips of liquid at lunch? Oy! 

We did make it to the top. Elijah laid down at the top and proclaimed that the view was not that stunning. We after all could have seen a more stunning view from the car on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I must admit I couldn't disagree with him. But, it was a relief to make it. We tried to spin the adventure to the top as a family challenge that we had conquered the mountain. That was mostly met with teen eye rolls. 

  The way down wasn't much easier and we were terribly thirsty and overheated. I turned beet red and became hot to the touch. My husband became alarmed that I was going into heatstroke. I must admit that I felt pretty awful and nauseous. His military training kicked in and he got us down and safely back to the car. So Easter was a true adventure and left us all grateful to be home safe and sound in the end. 

Tim had his second birthday in "quarantine" this week. We enjoyed our time outdoors playing darts for the first time. That was really fun and we will be doing it again soon. We also had barbeque and carrot cake. We enjoyed a bonfire and presents at the end. It was a lovely evening. Three of us (including grandma) are now fully vaccinated. Tim get's his second shot next week and the teens are scheduled for their first shots on Monday. 

All the Rest ~ Elijah has been earning money around the house and at Grandma's. He is strengthening skills and learning to work more steadily without breaks. Much past an hour is really a challenge for him. This week he put together some furniture, replaced outlet covers, helped lay a stick down tile floor, put allergy covers on a mattress and general cleaning. 

Rebekah continued to  plug away at school and work, applied for another scholarship and worked on her Depop  store. She was also asked if she could work more hours at the consignment shop after another employee quit on the spot. Since she only has two subjects left, she increased her hours to 25 hours a week for now.  Her boss is grateful and she is grateful to be able to sock more money into savings. 

Spring is here. I hope you all have a blessed week.

Blessings, Dawn

2020 Year in Review

It is that time of year again. Well, 2020, you were a rough year. That is for sure. We survived you. I daresay, we even thrived despite of you. Truth be told, our personal family has had worse years. This year has mostly taught us to count our blessings, walk more in faith and help those less fortunate than us even more. However, on the global front this has been the most difficult year I have seen our world live through. Here is my review of our year. Usually, I take the first two or so sentences and the first picture from the first post of each month. But, this is no ordinary year, and I felt like doing it a bit differently. I took a few sentences from the first post of each month and one of my favorite pictures from the month. That felt like a more accurate account of our year.

January ~ We had our annual New Year's Day party last week. I thought I would share how we create a fun party for less than five dollars a person. 

February ~ We had a solid week around here. I love my teens! They are remarkable young people.

March ~ There are moments in life when we get to stretch and grow a great deal in a short amount of time. This is one of those weeks. We are so blessed.

Then the world stopped and we faced a pandemic and a year like few currently alive here in the USA have lived through before. I have heard people call it a dumpster fire year and a waste of a year, but I choose to look at the positives. Every day is precious, and we need to look for the positives if we are able.

April ~ We are doing amazingly well with this Stay Home, Stay Safe mandate. We are learning so much about ourselves.

May ~ The big news is that Dean turned 18 this week! We had planned on taking a short trip to celebrate his big day, but the pandemic put a stop to that.

June ~ What a very hard season our nation is going through. My heart breaks for all who are oppressed and mistreated by those who are more powerful. Our country feels like it is being ripped at the seams. In what seems like another world, we finished our last week of school. Anne is done with 11th grade and Dean is graduating from high school today. 

July ~ It is Friday and Anne is finishing up her dance intensive with UNCSA. We are staying in for the holiday weekend and starting on our next house project. Like so many others, we plan to watch Hamilton on Disney+, eat great food, have our own fireworks display and do tons of yard work. The Covid-19 numbers are climbing around here, and we would just as soon not contribute to the pandemic by going into any tourist-driven crowds.

August ~ I have struggled with my attitude this week. I think it is mostly a result of hoping that we could go on a small overnight vacation next week. That will not be the case. COVID-19 gets worse and worse all the time.

September ~ I love Fall. I am so happy it is finally here. Our week passed without anything monumental happening on the home front.

October ~ Twice this week we awoke to gunshots outside. The first time it was a few blocks away. The second time it was on our street and some shell casings were found on our next door neighbor's lawn. You might think we live in the hood, but you would be wrong. In fact, prices are so high in our neighborhood, we couldn't afford to move here if we weren't already here.

November ~ I have been craving beauty and peace lately. I feel that we are planted on this earth to do good and find contentment in everyday life. I think this cat may have it all worked out ~ LOL!

December ~ I love Advent. It is my favorite time of year.

Blessings, Dawn

My Favorite Time of the Year

I think I'll get the hard bits out of the way first. It was a hard medical week around here. Monday, my husband returned to work. He had a weird episode of dizziness and shortness of breath midday. He was so obviously in distress that his coworkers got him down to the ER. He works in a hospital. He spent the rest of the day in the ER being tested for Covid-19 again and testing negative again, having an EKG, having a chest CT scan because some of his blood work suggested a blood clot, and being hydrated through an IV. He was sent home with a suggested follow-up on his thyroid and an ultrasound on his kidneys later in the week. Long story short, we are still waiting for the results of his thyroid test, but think it may well be that. Also, it seems he had an event of a resolving blood clot, as well as major dehydration (for which he has been hospitalized in the past). 

I wish that was all of my medical news, but alas it is not. The pandemic has loomed large in our life this week. My stepmother was diagnosed with Covid-19 this week. She is feeling intense flu like symptoms. Her doctor warned her that these are the early days and she may progress to worse. My aunt (in another state) also has it and says it feels like a bad case of mononucleosis. She slept for 10 days and is starting to feel more normal. My adult daughter, Katie, was exposed at work to Covid-19, and she is quarantined while waiting for test results. Twenty-two people were sent home from my husband's work this week, having been in close contact with someone with Covid-19 in a lunch room setting. None of them are allowed to return for two weeks and must have negative test results before returning. Lastly, one of Tim's friends has it as well as her whole family. Her parents are medically fragile. Lots of praying going on around here!

Now, on to the fun in the week. I love Advent. It is my favorite time of year. If you want to see our Advent plans you can read this post. This week we managed a charity four of the days and made Christmas cookies (round one). We did our Secret Santa mission on Tuesday. The kids pick someone each year to secretly treat. This year they picked Miss Nancy, who is an older woman who lives at the end of our street. She purchased an overgrown waste land of an empty lot several years ago and has lovingly cleared it and landscaped it with nothing but her hands, shovel and axe. Now, she has built a tiny 300 square foot house on it with just a little bit of help. Her work ethic is amazing, and the kids easily picked her this year. 

We also purchased two animals through Heifer International for needy families this year. Elijah picked a share in an Alpaca and Anne picked a flock of ducks. We also dropped off dog and cat food at the local no kill shelter and toys at the local toy drive. 

We also made two of the four Christmas cookies we hope to make this year. We made chocolate surprises and molasses sugar cookies. We had a few for movie night in which we watched The Grinch.

Anne started filming with part of the adult dance company a short dance film for the Fringe Festival. They are doing a dance about the spread of Covid-19. They did the cover photos for the posters this week. I took a few shots behind the photographer. 

Elijah and Tim worked on adding lots of Christmas lights to the front yard. It sure is festive around here. 

That about wraps it up. Hopefully, next week will have less surprises (at least unhappy ones).

Blessings, Dawn

A Spot of Beauty

I have been craving beauty and peace lately. Today, I thought I'd do a post style that I used to love that was hosted by Like Mother, Like Daughter. They don't do it anymore and I sometimes miss that platform. It is called Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real. The point is to find contentment in everyday life.

Pretty

I'm giving you a little peek of our fall table. I saw the white roses at Trader Joe's for a steal and couldn't resist them. I have always loved white roses. These smell as wonderful as they look. Now if I could just keep people from dumping stuff on the table and messing up the landscape ~ ahem!

Happy

My mother bought this bookend from an antique store when she was a teenager. It has sat neglected for a great deal of time on her bookshelves and then mine. I decided to polish the silver this week and return it to its glorious past. My mother was told that this bookend was from around the time of the Civil War. The details are incredible. There are windmills, people dancing, churches, dogs and sailboats. The emblem in the middle is made of real human hair and real butterfly wings under a thin piece of glass. There is still tarnish to remove from spots, but it is vastly improved. It was black before! I am glad to have this lovely piece that was so lovingly created in a bygone era.

Funny

We have spent the last 20+ years being dog people. We had a cat here and there, but always along with having a loving dog or two. When our beloved dog, Boomer, passed in the first few weeks of the pandemic, we felt adrift without a dog. Then we decided to get a second cat for my daughter's early, early graduation present...like a year early. It just feels right to have two cats right now and no dog. During this pandemic season we decided to just stick to cats. They are less expensive and need less care. When this pandemic is over, we are hoping to take a big trip. Once we are home, we will consider adding a dog again to the mix. But for now, two cats are filling our lives with a great deal of laughter and joy. Two cats (that are friends) are definitely better than one. They are always up to crazy antics.

Real

Our studio's adult dance company

My pictures are pretty bad. I am asking too much of my phone camera and need to pull out a good camera and learn how to use it in the dark. However, we are excited by the progress our dance company is making to find ways to safely perform during the pandemic. One idea that they are working on is a dance performance in the stairwell of  a parking garage. They plan to perform this piece on two different occasions in the next few months for an audience in the parking lot.

Elijah did two job samplings this week through Vocational Rehabilitation. One was working in a grocery store and the other was working at the food bank. He preferred the job at the food bank. He will be paid for these jobs and it gives him and his evaluator lots of information about what might be a good fit for him in the future. Hopefully, in the next week or two, he will get to go on an informational interview at Target and learn about all of the possible jobs there.

Blessings, Dawn

The Leaves are a Changin'

We have had a very foggy and rainy week here. Last Sunday, we headed out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to check out the gorgeous leaves. It was foggy and drizzly for most of our ride, but the teens just thought that made it spooky and increased their enjoyment of the adventure. I am so glad we made it before tropical storm Zeta's high winds knocked most of the leaves down. Nature and beauty are so good for the soul.

There is a beautiful valley behind these three that you cannot see through the fog.
There was no way Elijah was getting out of the car in this weather ~ LOL.

Tim had his cardiac and pacemaker checkup at Duke this week. It was a 450 mile round trip and the farthest we have been from home since last October's trip to Duke. That just blows my mind. Only Tim and I went, since the COVID 19 restrictions meant that only one person could accompany Tim into the hospital. He had an echocardiogram, pacemaker checkup and visit with the doctor. His heart is doing great and responding well to the medications he was put on over the last few years. His body is tolerating those low doses without any side effects. His pacemaker is going to need replacing, but should be able to hold out until next fall. They did say the next surgery would be more complicated because he needs new pacemaker leads. He has had the same ones since he was nine years old and they are showing their age. 

While we were in Durham, we visited the mall to pick up lunch and get a few Christmas presents from a store not located in our city. The mall was huge compared to ours. We also noticed that there was 100% compliance on mask wearing, which was refreshing. No wonder their COVID numbers are better than most of the state. We also had to make a stop for gas on the way home in a city that is being completely overrun with COVID right now. It was night and day to Durham. Only one elderly gentleman and I were wearing masks at the crowded gas station. Some young men across the parking lot heckled us for wearing masks. I finished pumping my gas before the elderly gentleman did. I stuck around until he finished and left, because he was African-American and the bullies were heckling him more. It is disgusting that anyone needs to fear for their well-being because they choose to wear a mask or because of the color of their skin. I was glad to get back to my own little city where racism is not nearly so intense. 

The rest of the week was consumed with school, house cleaning and taking Anne to her dance classes. Our dance studio has decided to create a dance film based on Thumbelina. Anne was selected to be the lead, Thumbelina, and will be in every single scene. She will have to put in lots of extra hours at the dance studio. This film is the first for our studio. They are bringing in a filmmaker to help them. The release date will be some time in March, depending on any additional complications caused by COVID-19 and how easily the process goes. Anne is very excited about this project. It sounds like a perfect wrap-up for her senior year.

They decided to dress up as Wizard of Oz characters this year at Anne's work. She was the lion.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Halloween (if you celebrate it). We are having a backyard bonfire with a bowl of candy. Then we are going to have an indoor hide and seek in the dark (at Tim's request) and a Harry Potter movie. 

Blessings, Dawn