gray wet morning... super sunny afternoon

This morning was gray wet and WINDY !! But this afternoon the sky is super blue!! How typical of Missouri where the saying is : don't like the weather? Wait five minutes and it will be different.

Went to the grocery store for a pick up. I like to get a "spot" when possible... just in case.
The store has changed its procedure and physical pick up spot...but not different enough to be a problem.

It is nice to get out of the house. We can see what progress the demolition guys are making on the motel  at the front of our subdivision.
 We stayed in the motel the first night we all arrived from Michigan...2 cats, 1 dog, 2 adults and three kids, one of whom was super sick. We snuck the animals into our rooms only to find out years later that the motel allowed animals!!  oh well.
It was the week before Christmas and who likes to move then! Plus the kids didn't really want to move anyway.  The next day the temperatures dropped and I mean dropped. It was minus 16 F in the daytime and minus 20 F at night... The furnace ran and ran while the moving men had all the doors open and were lugging our stuff in!
None of us will forget that move!

BTW... they are tearing down the motel because it had really become uninhabitable and no none would buy it and renovate it. And sitting there getting more and more run down, no one would buy the property as a tear down... What the next step will be... no one knows.
   The demo guys separated everything into metal, concrete  etc ....and are recycling it all!!

Another gorgeous day

Yesterday was gorgeous... it was 75 degrees out!! That meant work on the yard.  Bob ended up with 5 of the paper yard waste bags plus the dumpster by the time we were done.... full of leaves and sticks that had blown down!
Today was more of the same.... the beds were "deleafed" and Bob mowed the back yard. We have loads of English ivy crawling across the back yard - a volunteer from our neighbor.  I pulled up loads and noticed that some has started up our huge maple tree. Tomorrow I will pull it off.... not good for the tree
Today it's 75 again.... but as I look out the "office" window it has gotten quite gray and I won't be surprised to see it start to rain!

later... it did rain!!

Up EARLY

I have been dreaming a lot... A LOT... dreams I can't seem to stop and are frustrating. Last night's dream was of a friend I haven't seen in over 50 years. We were driving and driving trying to find an art gallery with a piece of some sort of art work with tulips. We didn't seem to be able to find something and I didn't really have any idea where we were...
anyway when I woke up I could not get back to sleep... it was about 6.30. So I dressed etc. and headed out to the grocery store with my list. The store was open... just... hardly any cars in the lot...people (old ones ! like me!)  wearing masks.
So I wandered around the grocery store ...wearing my mask... following the one way arrows. I finished up in the wine department to complete my list and then to the check out.... I was the only person in line !!

Back home for Bob to unload the car! Clean up for both of us. The newspaper and coffee waited!!

BTW... my daughter/teacher says these dreams are stress dreams and people have been having them a lot!!
Also doing laps around the downstairs is a good thing! But I am looking forward to warmer temps and no rain when I can go outside.

rain ... masks...PayPal buttons

I managed to keep myself busy yesterday. It rained off and on all day so I made masks, worked on my PayPal buttons for the online bear show coming up  and did laps around my house... and rearranged the freezer.

My non-profit working daughter sent boxes of candy to us and her sister. It was a fund raiser for the candy co and my daughter's non-profit.  One of the candies is a frog shaped gummy... since I don't eat things I played with as a kid, I didn't want to eat something so cute!  But Bob didn't have the same scruples and ate one and made me try it..Yummy... but I still don't want to eat them  I prefer the champagne flavored "jelly belly" beans!!

Thawed two small steaks for Bob to cook tonight... baked ( jacket) potatoes, fresh green beans and horse radish sauce...

BTW the girls and Bob and I check in with each other every morning via text... then they go off to work. One to online teaching of high school English.... the other as development director of a non-profit mostly working from home...... we go off  to  read the paper, drink coffee and figure out how to keep ourselves busy.

not going anywhere

It's a gray day... but that won't matter. I received a text yesterday from my teacher/daughter. People at her high school volunteer to help distribute food through Harvesters and are having trouble finding face masks to keep them safe.  Would /could I help by making more face masks???

Of course... started working last night! I will make masks until the elastic  I have runs out...


Good thing the dinner I planned for tonight is an easy one.... a knock off Panera cheese broccoli soup.

out of the house... hooray... but in the car

My husband bought a piece of electronic gear at an online auction and needed to go and pick it up... and to drop off something he had for the next auction.  Funny how these guys pass things around among themselves.  Anyway we had to drive to the other side of Kansas City... about 1/2 hour away. We took masks and hand sanitizer and I took a mouse I am hand sewing for my time sitting and waiting.
The men wore their masks ... stayed 6 feet apart... and exchanged things without coming near to each other.
Then we drove home... stopped at a hardware store for electrical conduit connectors and next door for gas on the way.


When I went out to the mailbox I found a very nice thank you card from our mail lady thanking me for the face mask!! I made it out of Royal's baseball fabric which "hit the spot"!! Guess she is a fan!!

Last night I found an email from a grammar school class mate now living in Florida asking if I could send her a mask or two.... hers had gotten worn and couldn't find another.  Put two in an envelope and out to the mailbox this morning!!

Even if it rained both ways and we had navigate road construction and detours, it was nice to get out of the house!!

Another day at home... ho hum

Another day at home.... I've done laps with Tigger the Tripper, had my coffee and read the paper... and cut out some more fabric for masks.  Now what ?!

as the day goes on... reading on my Kindle... sewing masks ( put one out in the mailbox for the letter carrier) ... made pasta salad for dinner....more laps since I was falling asleep in my recliner after reading ( it helped).....

  working on a grocery list for Monday or Tuesday.  I used to just dash out to the grocery store when I needed something. After all it was only a mile or so away... but now I am going once a week  for needed staples and FRESH stuff....  and cat supplies. It's amazing just how much these two eat.

 more reading and then dinner preparation.  I cook and Bob cleans up afterwards. This is the agreement we made when he retired. If perchance he cooked dinner I would clean up. Fair is fair.

Two episodes of "Silent Witness"  and more laps..
Not very exciting was it??

Art show story

I follow Joanne from "Cup on the bus" and  today I found myself reading a "story" about when she and her sister were attending art shows and selling their weaving.   It brought back a memory of when I was first making and selling teddy bears and my daughter, who went along with me, was 9 or 10 years old. Since she is now a teacher and the mother of my grandchildren 13 and 17, you can see how long ago that was!  Anyway I would set  up my booth and she would take off to see "everything". But she also would take one of my bears along with her, As she wandered around she would tell people that her mother had made the bear and that I had a booth...being a cute little girl, people would listen and then come and find me..

Still housebound and somewhat bored. I am reading a lot and today I made masks. I have been digging through my bear making stash and sighing.I will cut out some bears and maybe start on a few.

The weather is not nice... it snowed this morning when I went out for the paper and it is gray and cold. A walk doesn't seem to much like fun so I have started doing laps around our main floor - dining room, kitchen, living room and family room. Last night Tigger the Tripper followed me while I did 10 laps. So far he hasn't gotten between my feet!!  Fingers crossed! His curiosity must have been satisfied... he didn't follow me today.

New Vivien Howard series

Bob and I had missed the beginning of the new Vivien Howard series "Somewhere South" on PBS. We enjoyed the last series " A chef's life". So we caught up on Xfinity. The last episode talked about dumplings... everything from the Southern chicken and dumplings or chicken and pastry to Chinese/American  dim sum from Alabama to Matzo balls from the Carolinas made by a German emigre ( here 30 years) with Holocaust parents.  
  Anyway... the point was ..from a visit Vivien Howard made to a Chinese/American grocery store  in Alabama where a jar of Kool Aid pickles was on the counter. She took a bite , made a face and never referred to it again!!  Have you ever heard of them before?? Not me!!

Kneader's had another bread special ... $1.00 a loaf or white or honey wheat. Good deal ! Did an online order adding  chocolate croissants to boost the total up !!  Froze the bread and took two of the croissants out to one of my daughters'.  Social distancing we had a short chat so I could see for myself that she is fine ( she is an essential worker ... somethings from home and sometimes delivering food supplies to her non-profits' clients - so more of a chance she could be exposed) and  a chance to pet etc her dog!!

Actually... a car ride to her house which is about  10 - 12 miles away was a good change of pace. I am feeling claustrophobic and a car ride interacts with no one!! And even if it was cold it was sunny !!

Had a nice Zoom chat with my other daughter last night and my grandson used the opportunity to rehearse for his 9th grade band's audition which is today... also on Zoom. Who knows whether he will have band camp this summer ... or Boy Scout camp...

Post Office

Bob and I had too many boxes for our mailbox....our nice mail lady drives through the subdivision to pick up or leave our mail. She is very willing to come to our front steps for boxes if we leave a note for her in the mailbox.  But the way things are... we didn't want her to have to get out of her mail vehicle.
So with boxes loaded into our car... a bottle of hand sanitizer and our masks ... we went to our local Post Office. Usually the parking lot is full. There are lines inside of people paying for stamps and boxes... getting passports and so on. But not today. There were a two/three people on line and that we it. Since we pay online for our boxes' postage, we just put them in a roller and away we went!  We were careful with anything we touched - doors, roller handle and so on and sanitized our hands when back in the car!!
Nice to get out of the house... nice to see the demolition of a motel near our house progressing quickly.... but nice to get home too!

Milk for my coffee

No coffee without milk for me!! I woke up early and cold this morning so I dressed, made coffee and brought in the paper. Since the DH was not up I got ready for a trip to the grocery store... for the necessary bottle of milk, Bob's bananas, OJ and his CoffeeMate.
More traffic than usual but the grocery store parking lot was reasonably empty... as were the inside aisles. Lots of stocking going on.... no toilet paper to be found... good thing we didn't need it. There were many items put on sale - Easter stuff... tomatoes, cheese etc. I ended up with more than I had anticipated but my philosophy has always been that food will be eaten sooner or later!!
Checking outside at the garden/plant area I noticed that they had covered up lots of the plants. No wonder I woke up cold. Also noticed ice on top of the puddles.

I wore my mask the whole time. I noticed my friend in the fish department did too. I told him I still recognized him.. he laughed and said that the only place he doesn't wear one is in the bank!!

We should be well stocked for at least the week!! I think I'll ask Bob to bake another load of Irish Soda bread tomorrow!!

Easter Bunny arrived in a KIA

The doorbell rang and an Easter basket was on the steps... chocolate,peeps.  plastic eggs and a bunny.  Four "bunnies" were standing out in the cul de sac behind a white KIA car... waving and saying the "  bunnies"  had planned to come late at night and hide things in the back yard. But night long thunderstorms and rain put an end to that!!
We all got a quick chat and virtual hugs....here they are!

Lili...Dominic...Carolyn...Paul

Still getting used to Lili's hair... LOL

Another day

For some reason Bob woke up really early this morning and so as soon as we did our ablutions and and got dreseed we snatched up our shopping list and headed to the grocery store... to get the fresh stuff our pick up grocery shop didn't have.
The store has made changes since our last trip.... a path in and out of the store boxed in with grocery carts....  a worker keeping track of the goings in and out and the number of shoppers.  The store had more elderly shoppers than I expected even though we were there during the time slot set aside for us oldies. All the shelves had something.... and the meat and produce sections were full.... now that I think about it, the store looked pretty much as usual.  Wonder if the store will look that way by the end of the day??
The checkout area has plexiglass between the shopper and the cashier...

Our gorgeous 89 degree weather yesterday has gone... we are still going up and down. This weekend is supposed to be wet, cold and nasty.... maybe that will keep some people home from church. They can watch Easter services online !  BTW  our weather man  is televising the weather from his driveway at home...the tv with his maps is sitting on the back end of his SUV..

This afternoon Missouri's governor  cancelled physical school for the rest of the year... though online learning will still go one.  My daughter's superintendent just emailed the teachers etc. I think she is glad just to know definitely.

a pretty good day

Our first online order from the grocery store for pick up went well though it was missing salad mixes and tomatoes and 409 cleaner... The young man came to the car window ( staying 6 feet away) asked our name and then brought it all out and loaded it into the trunk of our car! The three bottles of wine I ordered WERE there!!  Hooray!!

It was a gorgeous out so I brought the chair cushions out onto the deck ! Our daughter texted and said our grandson wanted to come over and play catch with his grandfather. Of course I said OK. They came over and they went around back  and met us on the deck. My daughter and I talked sitting 6 feet apart and Grandpa and Dominic played catch in the back yard ... again more than 6 feet apart.

Dominic has had another growth spurt... he's a 13 year old and 6' 4" tall. He complained that he couldn't hug his grandparents... we did the virtual hug. Second best. He's managing to keep to a schedule and get his online school work done... cheers to him!  Wonder how tall he will end up being??

Didn't really feel like cooking... so grilled ( toasted) cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with applesauce...
Managed to avoid the Presidential briefing and the worst of the nightly news... one way of keeping relatively calm!!

out and about

I needed to drop off some bear making fabric at a friend's house... so off Bob and I went after first checking to see if she would be home LOL. My friend is an 89 year old widow so of course she was home!
After a 30 minute drive we pulled into her driveway and took the three bags of material up to her front door... and backed off. She came out onto her steps and we had a nice chat 6 feet apart!  I included one of my face masks for her ...that I had made using bear patterned fabric!!

Actually talking to a person is really nice nowadays and the weather outside is almost conducive to standing around talking !

We drove home another way so we could see what had been changing since our last "roadtrip".

Tomorrow is our first grocery store curbside pick up appointment... we drive up and let them know we have arrived and they bring our order out and load it into the car... We are looking forward to seeing how it works!!
The store is so busy it took awhile for us to get an appointment!!

Magnolias , Bradford pears, red buds are blooming. The maples have hugs buds. The lawn has lots of violets blooming.  Lots of bags of last year's leaves that we filled yesterday are waiting for the garden waste pick up tomorrow.

The weatherman says 80's Wednesday!

I know we are to stay home... but outside is ok as long as we stay 6 feet apart.

birthday

I have been dreading my birthday... my 75th... sure it will be dull as dishwater. No hugs at all...WRONG!....no hugs but flowers, frosted cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries and cute fabric for masks.   And lots of birthday wishes on facebook....
Made masks for my daughters and their families... my grandson ( 6' 4"....13 year old) texted me a happy birthday picture of himself  in a mask holding his sister's cat! My granddaughter came over needing Grandpa's car help and wore her mask the whole time... They worked onthe car outside and stayed 6 feet apart.

Here is the picture my grandson sent

pick up dinner

Bob and I ordered dinner from Olive Garden yesterday... part of our help restaurants make it plan. The restaurant had painted numbers on the parking lot and so we pulled into number 10. The lot was pretty full when we arrived! Someone came and checked out our name and in about 15 minuted came out with our order and placed it in the back seat of our car.
There was enough for two nights ... so leftovers tonight!!
I finally managed to get a time slot for a grocery store pick up... it won't be until Tuesday but I have enough to last till then.  Much to my delight, they have added wine to their grocery store selections!!
We are to park in a special area and call the store to let them know we have arrived . They will bring out my order and place it in the trunk.  It will be interesting since I ok'd that the store could choose an alternative if it was out of an item!!
The store has an early time slot for the elderly ... 6 to 7 am ... too early for us.
We will wear our masks...

ps... Spring is hiding today. The temps dropped to almost freezing and we have had loads of rain and thunder...

face masks and deck dining

It is so nice to have dinner on the deck... just the right time of year! That period before the mosquitoes and other bugs arrive. The peepers were serenading us !! Since it has been so wet this spring there will be loads of them..

I finished a few face masks and have more cut out and ready to go!!  I made two with bears. One for me and one for a friend who also makes bears


. One of the Royals ones is for my son-in-law... a major fan!

I found skinny elastic in my stash... good thing since it is hard to find in the stores with all the mask making going on!!

Bob read about the " teddy bear in the window" hunt on Facebook. I had put a bear in our dining room window but Bob said it couldn't be seen. So he a took a chair onto the front steps and moved the bear there and posted on our subdivision's website.

Deck Time

We have been housebound "forever".... yesterday we ordered online from Applebee's!  After picking our order we went home... I poured two glasses of wine and took our order out onto the deck where we sat in the sunshine... and ate!!
Tonight we will do the same but with something I cooked!

My non-profit working daughter will spend her day doing food pantry deliveries...

With the possibility of the CDC telling everyone to wear masks, I think I will make a few more for us.  Luckily , since elastic is in low supply, I still have some ! I wonder whether my husband would wear a mask with little monkeys and hearts. Or should I find fabric in my stash that is more "masculine"...    Homemade fabric masks are not the best... but better than nothing and can be washed.   Made masks using our local MLB - Royals - fabric !

Bob has to go the pharmacy to pick up his pills. I have asked him to buy milk while he is there. Saves me a trip out . I am still stocked up on the rest of our grocery needs.