The Last Day of 2020

I don't have it in me for a long, emotional post about this year.  It is what it is.  We are all still here, along with all of our grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  We still like each other a lot - we've survived all of the togetherness, home-schooling, working-from-home, weird schedules, canceled vacations and loads of stress.  I know that the turning of the calendar won't result in drastic changes for 2021 but some days it feels like maybe just maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel. 

In 20 years, when I look back on this year, I hope I remember all of the sweetness, too.  The daily walks with dogs and Glenn and a kid or two.  Will and his games on Madden that became our sports when there were no other sports to watch.  Reina and I reading The Ickabog and Glenn and I watching videos of hunting on Instagram.  Yes, I really did that last part.  Zooming with friends and walking outside in the cold with Vicky and cousins.  Hikes - so many hikes when Alena and then Ben came out West.  Reina asking me during a work presentation if she could have hot dogs for breakfast - the consensus of the group was a resounding "YES."  Glenn ironing fabric for me while I made masks and the little assembly line we had with Vicky and friends to get the masks made and delivered to the Foundation.   Our twice a week takeout dinners to help local restaurants and fine, some chain ones too.  Sometimes you just really need soup and salad from Olive Garden.  Socially distanced baseball games and watching the men in the family pace when Will came up to bat. Group texts with friends that helped me see it was normal to want to cry over Jr High math.  Will's elaborate back stories for all of our pets that change daily (Charlie used to be a quarterback for the Denver Broncos, our cat worked at the ball drop in NYC, Tootsie was in Isis....) 

I have many other things to be thankful for but I'm done writing because I plan on ending this year with Netflix and the Ipad and some brownies that are just out of the oven.  Here's to a boring 2021.  

How cold is it?

We are having typical Wyoming winter weather this week.  We only have about 1.5 inches of snow on the ground but it's chilly.  How chilly is it?  Well it's 9 degrees outside tonight and inside it's cold enough for Coco to tolerate a little snuggle time with Charlie.  For the record, Charlie loves the cats.  He wants to play with the cats but his version of play is not something that they are interested in participating in.  Soxy usually keeps her distance from him but Coco will let herself be nuzzled for a few minutes before she hisses, swats at him and walks away.  But not tonight.  She let him curl up on the sofa next to him and while he tried to stay awake, he eventually napped too.  

The Day After the Day After Christmas

 We had a nice Christmas, so nice in fact that I haven't had time to write about it.  This year definitely looked different from previous years.  No Pop-pop and Grandma visit, no Christmas Eve church service, no friends at Aunt Vicky's house.  But we had some new traditions too.  Delicious brisket for Christmas Eve, kids that slept until 7 on Christmas morning (!!!), a buffet of leftovers for Christmas Dinner, Zooming with both sides of the family and getting to see their smiling faces.  It wasn't an ideal holiday but we are happy that we are all safe and sound and next year's holiday is going to be especially joyful.  

I took a quick survey and here are each family's members highlights. 

Glenn's favorite gift was an electric hand warmer that Lucy and Will picked out and that Lucy plans on borrowing for cold football games - maybe even baseball games in Wyoming?   His favorite food was Uncle Matt's brisket on Christmas Eve.  He also enjoyed surprising me with a really pretty sapphire ring that he disguised in a box that looked like he bought me wildlife license plates.  

Reina loves her hoverboard but also wants me to write about the new keyboard that she received.  She has mastered riding the hoverboard around the living room and she makes it look so easy.  Its not that easy for the older members of the family.  Glenn can ride it if he has two people to hang on to and Lucy's one shot ended with her lying on her back in the hall closet after getting bucked off the hoverboard.  

Will loves his new tv that he got for gaming.  He figured out how to get NFL games broadcast and if he only had an attached kitchenette and bathroom, he might never have to leave his room.  

There are so many other wonderful presents that were gifted to us and I'll try to write more about those later.  For my part, I can't pick a favorite but filed under "gifts I didn't know I needed" Will picked out a pillow that you can set the Ipad on and it's perfect for lazy viewing in fact I'm using it right now while I also type on the laptop.  Multi-tasking for the win!  

So that's all I have for now.  We had a nice holiday.  The kids and Glenn have the week off. I'm going to work from home this week and we'll have a fun week and lots and lots of family time.  

Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve

 Reina saw a meme tonight with the above title and liked it.  A lot.  She is counting down the minutes until the big day.  I, on the other hand, am sitting in the the darkened dining room waiting for a cat to come back inside so that I can go to bed.  It's pretty cold and windy so I don't think her little sojourn will take very long but she might also be able to sense that I'm tired and I'm still working tomorrow and shall instead take her own sweet time.  Last month, I made the mistake of checking on all of the pets one night before I went to bed (did I write about this already?) and I couldn't find Soxy in any of her usual places.  She's the culprit running around outside right now, for the record.  It was a warmer than usual night for November and so I started to wonder if she'd snuck out when I was letting the dogs out before bed so I went outside a few times and called for her, no luck.  I finally went to sleep but I worried about her all night.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and decided to go check on her.  I came downstairs and found her in the catbed next to the printer. Long story short, she made herself a lovely little bed in the lining closet and I only know that because a few nights later, I accidentally locked her in there and found her in the morning because of all of the meowing.  Yes, this turning into a cat blog. 

She's back inside so I can stop writing now but I'm on a bit of a roll.  The kids holiday break has started.  They have two weeks off and we are going to do our best to enjoy as much of it as we can.  I'd say "enjoy every minute" but I'm the mother to a teen and a tween and let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  I'm working a few days this week and most of next week but I will be at home so at least I'll have company.  Glenn is working tomorrow and then taking the rest of the year off and is planning a few outdoor adventures for the three of them.  I'm more ready for Christmas than I've been in years.  Having to get packages ready to send all over the country instead of just putting them under the tree certainly helped my organizational skills.  Pop-pop and Grandma are staying put in Arizona instead of driving back here.  It was a tough decision but the right one.  We can see the light at the end of this COVID tunnel and we just have to hang in there until we are all vaccinated and then we can all hang out as much as we want to.  We can have dinner parties, we can go to the movie theater, we can go to Target on a busy Saturday - the possibilities are endless!  

Wyoming's case numbers are coming down and actually starting to stay down.  The Governor instituted a statewide mask mandate a few weeks ago and numbers have dropped.  We've had somewhere around 36,000 cases but the number of currently infected people is lower than it's been since earlier in the Fall.  The vaccinations have started in each county and that's great news.  In this household, we are still taking it pretty seriously and masking up, etc., but we are planning to spend Christmas with Aunt V and family and nobody better even cough between now and then.  

One more animal story.  I took last Friday afternoon off and I planned to finish up some last minute shopping and present-wrapping while the kids were in school.  Before I headed out, I took the dogs to the field for a quick 20 minute run.  We still have snow on the ground from last weekend's storm but that doesn't deter them but it does make them more tired which is a win-win for me.  I got all three dogs back in my car and headed home to drop them off before I went shopping. I looked down and noticed bloody paw prints on the seats and discovered that Trigger had just about torn one of his toenails off.  I called Glenn, he met me at home with one of his co-workers who used to work in a vet office. She confirmed that we'd have to take Trigger in because the tear was too far up his toenail to fix at home. I called the vet office and got an "emergency" appt which is super helpful but also more money. I left the other two at home, drove Trigger across town, waited with him in the vet office, left him in the vet office because he had to be sedated, raced through Target for last minute items, went back and picked up Trigger and came home.  No presents were wrapped.  No quiet afternoon to reflect on the holiday season.  Instead of last minute gifts, people will get a picture of Trigger's wrapped up foot because that's where all of their stocking stuffer money went. 

So that's where we are on Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve.  

It's beginning to look a lot like the second week of December

Apparently Christmas is 16 days away or something ridiculous.  I'm trying to wrap up my shopping for the out-of-town relatives and I'm having a modicum of success.  I have yet to wrap a present or send a Christmas card but the house is decorated and the kids are getting excited.  The older they get, the harder it is to find something to surprise them but hopefully I've managed to do that this year.  Well, since this is an honest family blog, I have to report that Reina has already stumbled upon her big present.  We were hiding it in Glenn's hunting room and she went down there to get ready to go goose hunting with her dad and there it was sitting under the desk.  Her sweet conscience wouldn't let her keep that news to herself so she told her dad and then she told me and then she apologized like 20 more times even though it wasn't her fault that SOMEONE couldn't hid things better in his hunting room.  So that's where we are.  

Tomorrow Will gets to lead the school in the pledge of allegiance and read the morning announcements over the intercom.  It's part of the curriculum for his speech class.  Mr Introvert if very ready to have this project be completed.  He's practiced the pledge several times and I think he's ready to go.  Glenn was encouraging him to read the pledge passionately and with conviction but it comes across a bit Mussolini-like when Glenn does that so I think Will is going to go a different route.  I wish I could hear it in person.  

The rest of us are getting by, trying to enjoy this wonderful season even with all of the changes and weirdness.  

Will wrote Thanksgiving letters too!

I was trying to declutter the counter yesterday and I found two envelopes with 'mom' and 'dad' written in Will's handwriting.  Turns out he wrote thanksgiving notes to his parents last week too!  I don't think he was going to point it out.  I think he was just cleaning out his backpack and that was the result.  But look at the results:  

Dear Dad, thank you for always being there for me and teaching me lots of life lessons. 

Thank you Mom for always helping me in my life and providing me with food and shelter everyday of my life.  (Mine has two hearts drawn on it.)

I'm not going to quibble about the wording of 'food and shelter' and how it makes it sound like something that I'm contractually obligated to do and instead I'll just focus on the two hand-drawn hearts while my own melts a little bit.  He might be a teen but he's still our boy.  

Thanksgiving Weekend

A five-day weekend is unfortunately coming to an end tonight and it's back to the Monday routine tomorrow.  We had a nice break.  The kids were off school on Wednesday and I took the day off to bake some pies and make cranberry sauce.  We had a different Thanksgiving this year.  To be careful of germ-spreading, we opted to all eat at our own homes but we still shared a Thanksgiving meal with Vicky's family and some friends.  We provided the cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie and received a delivery of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and pumpkin cheesecake in return. I dusted off the fancy china and moved my office off of the dining room table and the four of us had a nice meal.  On Friday, I masked up and did a little bit of Black Friday shopping.  Saturday, we masked up again to visit our favorite small businesses downtown but the rest of the weekend was a combination of football, crafts and long dog walks.  Not a bad way to spend a few days.  

We are all still healthy.  Kids are still in their classrooms.  I've lost track of case numbers in Wyoming but they continue to be alarming.  HOPEFULLY people have heeded the warnings and we won't see a spike from Thanksgiving but who knows.  Man I'm tired of writing about it but it fills up space in my head and in our conversations so it shows up here too.  

Glenn was hunting today so the kids and I hung up the Christmas lights outside.  That's usually Glenn's job but so many of our neighbors have hung up their lights early this year, I though it would be a good way to get us in the spirit too. I had two willing helpers who eagerly climbed up on the roof and we got it done.  We'll get the tree later in the week. I had big plans to deep clean the house before we decorated for Christmas but those plans are changing to a 'deep clean after Christmas....' but we'll see how the week goes. 

Reina's Thanksgiving Letter

 Reina's class wrote letters of thanksgiving to their families this week.  You are in for a treat because Reina went above and beyond and wrote Glenn and I our own individual letters.  Here you go. 

Dear Mr. Pauley

Hello Glenn, this is your landlord.  I have some unfortunate news.  You have twenty-four hours to pay your bills or you will be evicted, you and your family will leave your home and live on the streets if you don't pay your bills!  I'm sorry that I must be the one to tell you this sad news, oh and one last thing.  Thank you for being there for your daughter when she needs you.  She enjoys practicing punching and kicking.  She also feels happy when she scares you, it makes her laugh.  One of her favorite things to do is fist and hunt with you.  Thank you Mr. Pauley for being there for her.  Remember, you have twenty-four hours.  Sincerely, Mr. Landlord. 

Dear Lucy Rebecca Hansen or Pauley

Lucy my love, it has been ages since I last laid eyes on you and your curly hair. I miss your gentle eyes and your beautiful daughter Reina who loves you almost as much as I do.  My love, I feel a jealous rage to know I'm on not the only one to love you.  Your extremely lucky to have such a kind loving daughter who misses you every minute you are gone.  I thank you for being there for her. I am certain that your daughter would crumble without you.  My love I wish to see you soon.  For we are like lions of love.  Yours forever, Alfrendo Loveheart

So she's going to be an attorney based on the first letter, a screenwriter for Telenovela with the second letter right?  Help us all.  

Day 248

For posterity, here's a quick COVID update and a short anecdote to file under "working from home with a pack of wild animals." 

Wyoming has had over 25,000 with COVID, 800+ in just the last 24 hours.  We've had days in the last week where that daily average has been over 1000.  I think our state is in the top four for cases and deaths per capita.  Not a great statistic, Wyoming.  155 deaths as of today.  More counties are passing mask mandates but there are still big chunks of the population who think that masks are an infringement or they just don't work.  The outbreaks aren't coming from the schools in our town at least.  It seems to be tied more to bars, restaurants and gatherings.  The Governor may announce new restrictions soon, but he seems to want to leave it up to personal responsibility and that just doesn't seem to be working.  I'm trying to focus my energy on things that I can control - my family wearing masks, limiting our contact with the general public, good hygiene and staying sane.  Some days it's easier to do that than others. 

UW's football game has been canceled for the second week in a row because once again the other team has too many cases.  The college football season just seems like a big random mess at this point, although I have appreciated the distraction and a little bit of a normal feeling Saturday afternoon every once in a while.  I don't see how basketball at any level can happen but we'll take that one day at a time, too.  

Today I gave a presentation online to about 130 people.  Everything was going well until I knocked on my table to emphasis a point. Well, the dogs lost their ever-loving minds thinking that someone was at the door. I couldn't mute my microphone in time and the sound of my dogs barking ignited other dogs listening to their owner's zoom call to also bark and chaos ensued.  Everybody had a good sense of humor about it but I did wish I could rewind time just 10 seconds or so and not knock.  Anything but knocking.  I have to give the same presentation tomorrow so I'll either be looking up the hounds in another room or working on another way to speak with my hands.  

Earlier in the day, I participated in a different training and the presenter was talking about all of the ways that people manage their stress.  She mentioned that she watches NCIS-New Orleans and just typing that still makes me giggle.  Apparently, that's the worst of the NCIS options.  So we all jumped in with shows that help us distract ourselves. I admitted to Murder She Wrote.  Murder shows were actually pretty high on the list.  Who knew?  

One week from tonight, I'll be baking pies and hoping that we are getting together with family members the next day.  Fingers crossed.  

Our 15th Anniversary

 

I interrupt this quarantine diary to write a quick bit about our 15th Anniversary.  FIFTEEN!  Our marriage can get a learner's permit.  We celebrated like we usually do, ordered takeout and made vague plans to buy a new compost bin.  I was on board with this plan until I learned that the 15th anniversary's gift is alexandrite and now I might need to rethink that compost bin.  

I posted this picture on Facebook today with a comment about how Glenn asked if I wanted to split a fun size candy bar leftover from Halloween yesterday and despite that ridiculous request (just eat the dang candy bar Glenn!) I'd marry him all over again.  In some ways, the last fifteen years feel like they've flown by.  Other times, I forgot that I didn't know Glenn in high school because it feels like it's been that long.  Do I write that every year?  Well it's still true.  Happy Anniversary honey!

Day 238

This is my first post for November?  Yikes!  So much for writing once a day this month.  Truth be told, I think about writing a quick update just about every evening but by the time the monsters are in bed, my brain is struggling to play the word jumble game on my phone and those are usually just 3 or 4 letters.  So here we are. 

Everybody is healthy.  Everybody is still at school.  I'm still at home.  Glenn is still at work although his agency is scaling back the number of people in the office so he might be home more. I'm excited about that but I also have my little routine and hours and hours of enjoyable silence.... Wyoming has seen an increase in case numbers in the last few weeks.  On Friday we had almost 1000 cases in one day.  Today's total was almost 700.  I saw a statistic that said 1 in 100 Wyomingites have COVID.  We are doing what we can to reduce our exposure but also trying to support local businesses (versus everything online) and maintaining our mental health. I think that's been the goal since this whole thing started.  So Reina and Will trick-or-treated, Glenn went bird hunting with friends and I took a quick trip with V and a few friends to the Denver Art Museum last week.  Some days I'm so tired of all of this and just wish that I could jump on a plane like it was 2019 and go somewhere fun.  Other days, I'm excited to wash masks and refill hand sanitizers and place an order for grocery pick-up.  It continues to be a weird world to live in. 

Last week was the end of the first quarter for school.  We had a Zoom parent-teacher conference with Reina's teachers.  We heard that she's kind, follows directions well (?!) and is working hard.  She's getting good grades and we proud of her progress in math.  Sixth grade history is studying the ancient world right now (Egypt, Greece, etc.) and as the kids say, that is Reina's JAM.  She's continues to love all stuff old and isn't squeamish about mummies but is indignant about Greece's inability to recognize the value and contributions of women in Sparta.  Non-school related, Reina has been very interested/invested in the presidential election and had a few sleepless nights waiting for the election results. 

We opted out of junior high parent-teacher conferences but I did chat with Will's English teacher and got a nice email from his Speech teacher.  The speech teacher said he was a nice young man and he was doing well in her class.  Considering that public speaking (well actually drawing any sort of attention to yourself that's not taking place in a sporting realm) is probably the least favorite of Will's activities, I'm proud of him for working hard.  His English teacher said he's doing great.  Will's favorite class seems to be his Science class - they are studying the planets and the solar system and it's generated a lot of discussions that I'm super unprepared for but I can say that after helping him, I now know the difference between the waning moon and the waxing moon.  Will was also pretty interested in the election.  He woke up early Wednesday morning and the first thing he asked me was if there were any results.  He usually saves that kind of enthusiasm for late night football scores but he continues to be surprising at 13.  No sports for Will right now, basketball will start closer to Thanksgiving. 

Glenn had fun hunting in South Dakota.  He and his friends packed a bunch of food so they could limit public dining and he came with a bunch of birds that I probably won't eat but he loves them.  We all missed him but made it through the week relatively unscathed. I didn't even resort to making pancakes for dinner which is usually one of the my go-to meals when he's gone.  

I still need to write about Will's confirmation but Reina just got out of the shower and we're going to watch the next episode of The Mandalorian.  Grandma H, if you are reading this, we are kidnapping you over Christmas break and you are going to watch all of the episodes from Season 1 and 2.  Be ready.  

Day 226

I have a big post to write about Will's confirmation this past weekend but I'm tired and had to help with graphing points on a line (8th grade math!) tonight and I have no more space in my brain for thinking.  So here are a couple of pictures from the last few days.  

Reina discovered my high school yearbooks and peals of laughter could be heard from the den.  

"Mom, your hair!  How did you get your hair to do that?"  I'm glad that my fashion choices of 1991 can be so entertaining.  

We had a big snow on Sunday and Monday - a record 14 something inches. I can't say that I was ready for this much snow but it's helping put out the fires in our region so that's nice.  

Here's the COVID update.  Unfortunately, Wyoming is now in the top 5 states for COVID infection rates.  We have passed 10,000 cases.  I know a few people who are dealing with infections.   We are trying to be careful with our trips out of the house - the kids are still in school but they both have days off this week for the end of quarter parent/teacher conferences.  We all feel a sense of fatigue from living this semi-quarantined life, but we're trying our best to keep everyone healthy.  I miss the ability to hop in the car and go bounce around Denver for the weekend or head to a football game.  Football!  But we are hanging in there and doing the best we can.  And eating a lot of Halloween candy early.  

Day 219

Reina has spent the last two days schooling from home.  She started to feel yucky on Sunday and had a low-grade fever and sore throat yesterday and a sore throat today.  In 'normal times,' I probably would've given her a few tylenol this morning and sent her on her way.  But today, I let her stay home and she was able to follow along with her class on Zoom and keep up with her work.  In history, they are studying Egypt so I got to sit next to her while she made a poster about daily life in ancient Egypt.  She had to include several illustrations on her poster which she drew herself instead of printing something off of the computer.  Her artistic skills are pretty amazing!   

Reina's 'rich Egyptian woman" with a modern twist.  

Solomon and Snow with Oreo and Black Chicken in the back.  Without combs, I think they look like weirdly sized eagles. 

So it's been a more hectic start to the week than I anticipated but if I haven't learned to take one day at a time during this crazy year, well... when will I ever learn?  I'll just keep looking at my cute chickens from the basement window and see what Wednesday brings.  

Day 217ish

 Another week has gone by and somehow we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of October.  Reina is busy planning her Halloween costume (witch with a Sanderson's sisters vibe).  Will says he has no Halloween plans but we'll see if that changes.  I'm debating whether to design a socially-distanced candy distribution machine.  Glenn has a giant cardboard tube that one of his fishing poles arrived in but my mechanical engineering skills might not be up for the task.  It's Wyoming.  It could be 20 degrees on Halloween night and all of the germs will freeze in the ice.  Stay tuned. 

Both kids have covid cases in their schools but neither one of them is quarantined.  Wyoming has had their largest daily totals in the past 10 days several times and case numbers are above 7,000.  It feels like it's inevitable that we will catch it at some point but I'm still trying to keep all of us socially distanced and masking up whenever we can.  The kids and I got flu shots last week and Glenn's getting his at a health fair next week.  Whenever I take the kids for flu shots, I remember picking up Kindergarten Will up from school, going to get Reina at Montessori, buckling her into the car seat and Will turning to her to say, "Reina, you are getting a shot."  She wailed all the way to the children's clinic even though she's stoic about needles.  Thanks buddy, that was super helpful. 

I feel like there should be more to report after a week of no blogging but life just keeps clicking along over here.  Glenn got to get out of the house and duck hunt yesterday.  I worked on a few sewing projects.  Will had to paint a wooden CO2 car for his shop class.  After presenting him with all of paint options I have in the house, he chose a blue sharpie and an orange sharpie and drew two thin lines on each side of the car.  He's a minimalist when it comes to artistic expression.  

So that's where we are.  We have a week of seasonally appropriate cold weather coming up.  That just means I'll have to wear one of my dressier sweatshirts when I'm on Zoom calls this week and retire the capris and tshirts for another season.  

I'm not even sure what day it is anymore - 210 probably?

 We are at the start of another week!  Here are some highlights from last week. 

1.  In Will's last junior high football game (sob), he got a solo sack on the opposing team's quarterback. I've never yelled so loud for my kid to get another kid.  It was fun. I wish I could've taken a picture of it but it probably would've been all blurry anyway. 

2.  Glenn and Will went antelope hunting for a few days so Reina and I had a fun girls' (part of a) weekend.  We picked out some fabric for her Halloween costume online, painted and watched some movies.  We had a nice time.  

3.  We have had unusually warm weather lately and there's a big forest fire burning about 50 miles from here.  We've had lots of smoke in the air and it's been difficult to exercise outside.  Today the weather finally started to feel like Fall and the mountains got some snow so that's good news. I hope it keeps coming.  

4.  Basketball season must be around the corner because I can hear Will dribbling in the den.  These are the times I remind myself that I support all of their athletic endeavors and if this helps his ball handling for 8th grade basketball then I can suffer through it.  

5.  Glenn caught all of our colds last week and actually stayed home from work on Monday.  He worked from home but he decided to keep his germs out of circulation.  That is definitely a COVID-19 development because 2019 Glenn would've gone to work and shut his door.  

So that's all I have for now.  This will be our first week without Will having practice after school which will technically open up more time for him to complete his homework before 9:00 p.m.  Sometimes I really make myself laugh.  The kids are also getting flu shots this week so that we can stay one step ahead of that nonsense.  Bring on another week!  

Day 204

On Day 204, I'm still working from home.  I go into the office on occasion but most of my time is spent at the dining room table hooked up to multiple screens.  Sometimes I'll work from the kitchen island or I'll take the laptop out onto the deck.  I've appreciated the flexibility to get my work done and be in a comfortable environment.  And I'll admit it, it's been fun to have the pets around.  Granted, both cats decided to try playing the piano while I was teaching a workshop online and the piano shows up on my computer's camera so the workshop participants were treated to a short little concert before I turned around and yelled "get down!"  The dogs follow my around the house when I move to a new location so I'm rarely alone, even when all of the other humans are out of the house.  On Friday, I saw Coco sitting outside in the fall sun and I snapped a picture.  She always has a grumpy look, but I think she's a pretty happy cat.  

 

Day 200

Everybody is back at school.  After our sicknesses last weekend,  Reina ended up with bronchitis too but after a few days on meds, she is feeling much better.  Side note, when Glenn took her to the doctor on Sunday, the dr asked Reina if she preferred a liquid antibiotic or pills.  Reina was thinking of the chewable kid's tylenol so she picked pills.  She came home with a bottle of giant antibiotic capsules.  She hadn't ever swallowed pills before so when we explained what she'd have to do, she freaked out a little bit. Well 20 seconds later, she successfully swallowed her first pill and now she doesn't even need water to do it.  I told her that's weird but also a little awesome.  

Glenn has stayed healthy.  I'm still coughing but feeling better.  Case numbers in Wyoming continue to grow.  The 7th grade football team at Will's school has had to quarantine but nothing at the elementary level yet.  

The Broncos are on tv tonight and its starting to make me angry so this will be a short post.  Hopefully I'll be able to write about a victory next time.  

Day 194

 A lot and I mean A LOT has happened this week.  It's time for another list. 

1.  Will had cold symptoms most of last weekend.  Much to Will's disappointment, he had to get a COVID test on Monday.  Once I got him in the car, he was a trooper about the test.  

2. I kept Reina home Tuesday because our initial guidance from the health dept was that we should quarantine in case Will was a positive test.  Later, they told us that we didn't have to quarantine but that they recommended it. I was already working from home and Glenn was on a hunting trip so it was pretty easy to hunker down. 

3.  Will cold got a little worse but no fever, just a sore throat and achy body and congestion.  He and I started to get convinced that he was going to test positive.   Just as that scenario started to kick into full gear, we got the call from the health dept saying that Will had tested negative.   Yah!  Negative!  

4.  A few hours after that call, I started to get Will's cold symptoms. 

5. Glenn came home from his hunting trip. Yah! 

6.  Reina went back to school.  Yah! 

7. I finished teaching a workshop online and my cold symptoms got worse.  But I got the workshop done and I didn't have to worry about getting anyone in the class sick. 

8.  Glenn took me to the doctor today because I had a fever overnight. I got my own COVID test (not fun, that swab is up your nose for a ridiculous amount of time) and have bronchitis.  I was given a breathing treatment at the doctor's office and sent home with a bunch of medicine. I'm sure I'll be on the mend soon. 

9.  Reina's showing some cold symptoms tonight.  Glenn, save yourself.  

Day 189

 Will's officially OFFICIALLY quarantined.  After my post last week, we got an email the next day saying that the A team football kids could back to school on Friday.  So off he went Friday morning.  He wanted me to bring him his football equipment because there was still going to be practice Friday afternoon.  When I went to drop the stuff off, I was informed that he was officially being quarantined.  We have a letter from the Dept of Health and everything.  It's a little intimidating but basically, he can't leave the house until school on Sept 29.  No visitors to our house.  We're monitoring him for symptoms and he'll get tested later this week.  So far so good.  Although every time the kid sneezes or coughs, I want to take his temperature.  That level of scrutiny is super fun for him, as I'm sure you can imagine. 

The rest of us are good.  Reina and I stayed home most of the weekend, except for a few essential errands and we did curbside pick-up wherever possible.  Glenn was hunting, which is the perfect definition of social distancing.   The dogs got some long walks and jogs and the cats got more attention than they feel is necessary. 

I took some pictures of Will's game on Wednesday and I'm so glad I remembered my camera.  The team still has two games on the schedule for when quarantine ends for them, but I'm not sure if those games will go.  We'll just have to wait and see.  For last week's game, the team was missing about a 1/3 of the players so Will got a ton of playing time on defense too.  The score was not in their favor but I think he had fun out there.  

Will, his water bottle and the corner of someone's head.  

Getting ready to play some O-line 

I know someday I'll look back on these pics and think that he looks so small, but right now?  Who's that giant man/child out there?  

Day 185 and Quarantined for real (sort of)

 On Monday night, we got a message from the Jr High that someone had tested positive for COVID-19 and an entire core (like a really big homeroom, the school is divided into 6 cores... or maybe 8) was being ordered to quarantine at home.  Will wasn't in this core but 1/3 of the football team was.  Fast forward to tonight . We got another message from the school stating that the 8th grade football team had been in contact with someone who tested positive so they are supposed to stay home until further notice from the County Health Dept.  We assume that Will is quarantined for two weeks but we're not sure when that two weeks will start.  He's mostly nonplussed (am I using that word correctly?) but is bummed about the possible early end to the football season.  I'm not as stressed as those of you who know me might think.  One dang day at a time right?  You can bet that I'll be monitoring the heck out of every little sniffle and cough he makes, while also cataloging my own aches and pains.  As far as I know, the rest of us don't quarantine unless he tests positive or shows symptoms.  I'm still working from home but Reina and Glenn will both head to school and work.  In the meantime, I'll be placing another grocery order for all of the frozen burritos in town and coming up with ways to keep Will entertained.  Oh who am I kidding. I left his room a few minutes ago with the words "turn off the XBox, you still have a normal schedule mister..."  This is going to be an adventure.  

Day 182ish

Here's a big list of stuff that happened this week. 

1.  It snowed! And froze!  We ended up with just a few inches of snow but some cold temps at night so the gardening season is officially finished.  My flowers in pots and some odds and ends survived in the garage so we'll have a little bit of color to get us through the fall... or until is snows again. 

2.  We made it through another week of in-person school!  Reina and Will are both doing well.  They have a lot of homework at night and by the end of the week, they are both pretty tired.  Reina's dance classes start back up this week and Will's football season is still going strong. 

3.  Speaking of football, Will played some defense yesterday and recovered a fumble on the 1-yd line.  It was so exciting!  He did the right thing by falling on the ball instead of trying to scoop and score but oh man, it would've been fun to watch him get a defensive TD . 

4.  Glenn was gone most of the week on a work trip.  It was the longest we've all been apart since this whole thing began back in March.  I missed his company and the extra driver for school runs.  The kids miss his calming personality when mom is losing her you-know-what.  

5.  Glenn and I ran a race yesterday.  It was a fundraiser put on by Aunt Vicky to benefit projects at the hospital.  Glenn ran the half marathon and I did the 10k.  The race takes place on a buffalo ranch and it's gorgeous scenery with a lot of hills.  I was slow, Glenn was a little slower than he wanted to be but we both finished without barfing and made it back in time to catch most of Will's game.  A win-win for everyone.  

On to a new week!  

Day 175ish

We all made it through the first week of school!  I had planned to write a big post tonight but (1) I'm really tired - it was 90 degrees again today and we worked in the yard and blah blah blah and (2) Will has to look at the constellations every night for his science class and 45 minutes ago he panicked because he couldn't find the worksheet so of course I had to help.  Glenn even got in on the search. We looked in every folder and backpack, the recycling bin and other random, weird places (the back of the toilet, behind the sideboard, Reina's closet because why not?) and we (I mean "I") eventually found it under a blanket on the living room floor.  Naturally.  

That sums up our first week of school nicely and I'll try to be a more thorough storyteller tomorrow.  

First day of school 2020 style

We made it through the first day of school.  Despite some early morning jitters (mostly by me), everyone got to school on time, with their masks and lunches, backpacks and jeans.  It was cold enough for long pants!  They both woke up early enough that I could get in a few pictures before the 8th grader (gulp!) headed out.  

First day of 8th grader.  

Day 165 and the one with all the ear wax

Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation and I have a lot of thoughts about it.  But first, let's talk about the second to last day of summer vacation.  Tuesday night, Will and I were up watching the Rockies game and I started to have a bad headache.  It turned into one of the worst headaches I've ever had and I even woke up Glenn to get some help.  My forehead was aching and I felt so queasy and of course my brain went immediately to "I have a brain tumor and there's brain fluid leaking out of my nose."  I'm pretty rational at 11:00 p.m.  The next day I realized that I probably had a sinus infection. I tried a bunch of over the counter stuff yesterday but was still feeling droopy so I went to the doctor today.  It turns out, you have to have two weeks of a sinus infection before they will prescribe antibiotics so I have 10 more days to go. I did pick up some more OTC meds that are helping.  While I was at the doctor's office, the PA discovered that one of my ears was completely blocked with wax.  Does this blog get anymore glamorous?  So after two rounds of ear wax treatment and an unspeakable amount of wax pulled out of my ear, I'm happy to report that I can hear everyone grumbling and complaining about the lack of snacks in our house so much more clearly.  I still have a headache so the ear wax isn't completely to blame for my condition but at least my ear canal is clear.  And who knows, when I get on the scale tomorrow, maybe I'll have a lost a pound or two.  Of ear wax.  How's that for a visual?  

All grumbling about snacks aside, we have had a pretty sweet week together.  It's still hotter than necessary for the last week of August in Cheyenne but we had some rain today and the forecast shows things cooling off.  Will is tired from football practice and Reina has had some time with aunt and cousins this week and she and I tried to make a doll's outfit on the sewing machine yesterday.  Let's just say that we hope outfit #2 turns out better.  

Glenn and I walked Charlie tonight and talked about this summer wrapping up.  As hard as it's been with everything going on in the world and the worries about getting sick or someone we love getting sick and all of the TOGETHERNESS, this has really been one of my most significant summers of being a parent.  I feel like I've really gotten to know the kids on a different level.  Maybe that would have happened if it had been a normal summer.  13-yr olds and 11-yr olds are pretty cool - there's a lot of good stuff going on there.  We've developed little patterns - Will and I watch baseball, Reina and I take Charlie out for what she calls his midnight walks.  It's more like 8:15 p.m. but who's counting.  Will keeps me updated on his fantasy football team and Reina and I read the same books.  Glenn's here too - practicing tackling drills with Will in the backyard and letting Reina stay up until 10:00 p.m. watching a documentary on Nefertiti.  We've cooked more meals than I care to count and the dishwasher is always running.  

It's not all peaches and cream - there have been fights about electronics, differing opinions about the role of the police (really) and most nights end with me saying to one or both of the darling monsters, "I love you but I really really need to not talk to anyone right now." But we have made our way through it.  

The kids go back to their school buildings on Monday.  Most 'experts' (other parents, teachers and the nurses at the doctor's office today) agree that they probably won't be in school long.  I've read the school district's plan for keeping everyone COVID-free and I'd say there's a pretty good chance that they'll be online-schooling from home sometime this fall, but on Monday we will embrace a little bit of normalcy, even if it's just for a day.  

Day 162

 It's another Monday.  We had a busy weekend with projects, a visit to the in-laws, a trip to the farmers' market, canned some pickled beets, sweated in the 90 degree weather and brought home three new chickens.  It's a good night for a blog post - list style. 

1.  Glenn woke up Sunday morning and announced, "we are getting three new chickens today."  Okay then.  We stopped at the poultry swap and picked out three pullets, a leghorn, an easter egger and some blend that I can't remember.  Two are mostly white so Reina named them Snow and Oreo (has a few black feathers.)  The third chicken is white and red and Reina suggested "Ginger" but Will wanted the opportunity to name one.  Her name was "the chicken to be named later" for a day and a half and today Will decided on Solomen (with an E - I asked), named after his Madden 20 quarterback.  Naturally.   I could write paragraphs about how Glenn spent an hour building them their own enclosure so that they could be kept separated from our current chickens and then in about 5 minutes, they flew over the coop and explored the yard.... but I won't.  So far everyone is being chill except for Charlie who would really like to see what the new chickens taste like.  

2.  School starts one week from today!  I'm more excited about the forecast for next Monday which is currently predicted to be 67 degrees.  Please please please.  

3.  Reina got a haircut today, several inches off the length and shorter bangs.  It looks cute and fresh and a good start for the school year. 

4.  I read an article about a shortage of canning supplies this summer because more people are home doing crafts and making jams and jelly. I'm running a little short on lids so I did a quick google search and it looks like the article was right.  I have about 30 lids and twice as many jars right now but if all else fails, I'll just buy more jars that come with lids.  What a weird but also typically-2020 problem to run into.  Maybe I can trade some toilet paper or Clorox wipes for canning lids?  

5.  Wyoming has about 3600 COVID-19 cases tonight and 37 deaths.  

Day 157

 I've had the urge to write on the blog lately, even though there really isn't anything new to report.  We are still preparing for the kids to go back to their school buildings on August 31.  We've received a little more guidance about what the school days will look like, although I'm still waiting to hear more about elementary plans. I just looked up the plan online - masks in the hallways and in common areas.  Cold lunch but they'd like everything to be able to be thrown away (but I'm trying to have more reusable containers!), no drinking fountains so water bottles are a must. 

Back to our planning, all of the school supplies are bought and waiting in backpacks.  Reina just informed me that she wants to trim her bangs again before school starts so we'll add that to the list.  (I trimmed them earlier in the summer after a very careful Youtube search and a couple of helpful videos.)  Will has ordered every single pair of Nike pants currently in production - that's what it feels like anyway - so once those come in the mail, he should be all set.  

Will finished his third day of football practice.  It's been a warm week but the weather cooperated today with practice moved to the afternoon.  It rained for like two minutes but it was cloudy and everything cooled off.  I'm ready for fall weather.  That's one drawback to not being in the office this summer - no air conditioning! 

Charlie got to go to the field tonight for a walk.  It may be anecdotal evidence, but so far on the nights he goes to the field, he sleeps all night in his kennel.  We are back into the days of toddlerhood (puppy edition).  Will he sleep through the night?  Will he wake up at three because he's lonely and make his sad warbling noise that gets louder and louder until someone comes and gets him?  If I let him outside at 3:00 a.m. to go potty, he'll go back in the kennel but only after I offer him a dog biscuit.  As certain people have pointed out recently, he's training me well.  Charlie is zonked out on the rug right now so maybe this will be a sleep-through-the-night night.  

Night night from me, too. 

Day 155 and Dance!

I can always tell how tired I am by how long it takes me to do the math and figure out how many days of quarantine we've been in.  At this point, it's not really 'days of quarantine' since Glenn's back at the office and Will had football practice this morning, so let's consider it 'days of the pandemic.'  

We had such a busy end-of-the-week and weekend.  On Thursday, I took the afternoon off to go to McCormick's orientation with Will.  We wore masks and had a health screening on the way in to the school, things that will be part of Will's daily schedule.  We sat through a presentation about the plans for school (lunch in the gymnasium, limited time in the hallways, different entrances and exits, etc.)  He took his school picture for his id and it turned out great and then we snuck out so he could get ready for baseball tryouts.  

On Friday, I took the day off to help Aunt Vicky and family start the move to their new house in the country.  It was fun to help and I got a billion steps in.  On Saturday, we helped move more boxes and then Reina had her dance recital in the evening.  The recital is usually held in early June but just like everything else, those plans changed this year.  Reina took Hip Hop 2, Jazz 2 and Ballet 4 this year.  We love watching her dance.  

Hip Hop 2.  They danced to the Pokeman theme and it was a lot of fun - very energetic and animated.  

The Ballet song was from Hercules and they were dressed as Greek goddesses.  It was really pretty and Reina's really learning how to leap.  That's our girl in the middle. 

Jazz 2 danced to a song from The Greatest Showman.  This was my favorite outfit and Reina is so close to nailing her splits.  

 

I took a bunch of pictures but these were the only three that are even slightly publish-able.  I was sitting too far away to capture the action shots and there are a lot of blurry faces.  Reina requested that I put this one up because she thinks she looks like Bigfoot.  

Day 149

This week is a whirlwind of mostly good stuff but a lot of *stuff* happening.  We are less than two weeks away from school starting.  I think - the school board was meeting tonight but I had to run Reina to dress rehearsals for dance and then decided to give my sanity a break and read the highlights tomorrow instead of listening to it.  Will had another pre-tryouts baseball practice tonight.  He wasn't happy with how he played so we spent part of the night talking about playing fall baseball so he can keep working or just focus on football.  He and I did this while simultaneously watching the Rockies who almost blew a 6-run game in the 9th inning but thankfully (for both my sanity and Will's) won the game.  Reina and I took a late evening walk with Charlie which is becoming our new tradition.  Glenn was here too - just doing chores and looking for side-by-sides online and running Will back and forth to baseball. 

It feels like we are all a little on edge.  It's almost like it was when all of this first started. I think the uncertainty of the next few weeks is affecting us.  Will there be middle school football?  Will the kids make it through a week of school before getting sent home?  Will we all stay healthy?  One day at a time.  Tomorrow the cousins are coming over and that's what we'll focus on right now.  

I keep dreaming about going to back to the office.  In one dream I was really worried about being around too many people.  In the second dream, my boss had brought in a cat and said that we could keep it in the office.  That was super exciting (for me) especially since it was an African Serval cat (google it).  At our staff meeting the next morning (in real life), I floated the idea to my boss and co-workers.  Shockingly, it wasn't greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. I think it would really help with social distancing.... if I had an actual wild animal in my office.  

We found out yesterday that the Wyo Cowboy football season has been pushed back or possibly canceled.  I hadn't cried about COVID related stuff in at least a month but I have to admit that it brought about a few tears of disappointment. I completely respect the need to keep players safe and the uncertainty of the long term health effects that may occur but dangit. I think I needed football on Saturdays to make me feel like things were getting back to normal even though they really aren't.  I'm also mad that we as a society couldn't come together and get this thing figured out.  

So instead of ending this point on an even more downer moment, here's a Charlie story.  I took Charlie on a walk over the lunch hour.  He's getting braver about being out in public and even a little friendly with other dogs we meet.  It was warm at noon but he and I walked for a while.  Finally he laid down under a tree to signify that he was done with the walk.  The only problem was that the tree wasn't in our yard and we were about a mile from home.  Nice try Chuck.  

Day 147

 Another summer weekend wraps up.  Without baseball, you'd think we'd have a lot more free time.  We did have a baseball bbq yesterday and it was fun to see everybody one more time before summer ends.  Will socially distanced himself from us and hung out with his teammates because of course he did.  Grumpiness aside, I'm glad he likes his teammates and I hope they all have the chance to play together again next summer.  

Glenn started staining our deck which he did a few summers ago but the kids and I were out of town at the time.  Its a messy project but he does a good job.  We are truly running out of home projects which is shocking.  

Will was supposed to read the lesson during today's Zoom church service.  Even though my computer uses Zoom every day during the week for work, today it decided to have the microphone be all wonky (technical term) so after a few tries, our Pastor had to take over.  I sent a message apologizing for the technology and she wrote back that my computer must be observing the Sabbath.  We both agreed that who knew it was so devout?  

The rest of the day involved baths for all three dogs, some weird cleaning projects and my latest craft project - reusable gift bags.  I like sewing stuff that has straight lines. 

One last bit of good news.  I discovered the Otter Pops that I've been snacking on all summer are only 90 calories for SIX pops.  I thought they were 90 calories each.  This is big news and guess what's for breakfast? 

Two weeks tomorrow until the possible first day of school.  Stay tuned.   

Day 143

The kids and I masked up and headed out to do some back-to-school shopping.  We've done most of it online but a few things (shoes, football cleats, Freddie's lunch) we had to get in person.  After a delay of about an hour while I ransacked the house to find my wallet (in true Lucy fashion, it was in Glenn's backseat and I had to drive to his office to find it), we shopped.  We were successful in getting shoes for both kids and a few more clothes for Will.  We finished up ordering shoes and cleats online tonight and fingers crossed, I think we are all set.  

School is supposed to start on the 24th but we received a survey today to get feedback on whether or not the first day of school should be pushed back, to give everyone more time to prepare.  I voted to give everyone a few more days to get ready.  I've been listening to the school board meetings online for the first time in my parenting life and there aren't any easy solutions.  There are also some micro-managers in the mix but that's a conversation for another day.  Right now the plan appears to be in-person school with social distancing and mask wearing.  Will won't have a locker at junior high - which is not a big deal because last year he used his locker maybe 4 times.  Hot lunch at Reina's school will look a lot different but that will just mean more cold lunches from home. 

I bought Will football cleats and assorted equipment in the hopes that by doing that, we don't jinx the season.  I have mixed feelings about him playing but I'm also wanting to feel like things are normal so it's a weird place to be.  Football is not an easy social-distancing sport but it is outside.  Baseball has been fun for all of us and it's giving him a team to interact with.  The school district is planning on fall sports moving forward but there are a lot of unknowns - what happens if someone on the team tests positive?  The first practice is scheduled for August 17.  We will wait and see.  

Day 141 and baseball pictures

This weekend Will had his last baseball games of the season.  His team went 4-0 over the two days including a dramatic walk-off walk against an obnoxious team.  It was a fun way to end the season.  I tried to take some pics to capture the last weekend so here we go.  

Glenn rarely sits in our chairs when Will is up to bat or on deck.  He and my dad migrate to the bleachers or behind home plate.  Here's Glenn wandering back after Will got on first base.  

Will on first base.

Will on second base.

Will and teammate chilling in the dugout. 

Base running

Look at those wheels. 

Last at-bat.

This baseball season wasn't what we thought it would be, traveling baseball without all of the traveling.  But he had a good season, he learned a lot and had a good team to play with.  He gained new skills and a lot of experience.  He worked hard and has the bruises to show for it.  We sure love watching this kid play ball. 

Day 134

Another list! 

I made my first batch of zucchini bread for the summer.  Between our home garden and the community garden we share with V and a friend, we are living in Squash Town.  We have yellow squash, pumpkins, a few little cucumbers and a bunch of flowers getting ready to produce something.  The zuc bread was delicious and surprisingly a few slices made it through the day.

Will slept-walked  (sleep-walked?) last night but none of us noticed it (including him) until he woke up this morning to find a tote of old legos and toys on his chair next to his bed and his Harry Potter wand on top of his desk. Glenn thinks it's his inner child trying to play with more toys. 

This afternoon, I was getting off of a work call when I heard Coco start to gag nearby so I zipped over there to try to put a kitchen towel under her and instead I caught her barf in my hands.  That was fun. 

Reina was feeling a little under the weather but is better tonight, fever free and all of that good stuff.  She at an entire container of cherry tomatoes yesterday so that might have had something to do with it.

Wyoming has 2,520 cases and 25 deaths as of today.  Most of the big retailers in town are requiring masks and you definitely notice more people wearing them all over town.  I don't know what to do about school clothes shopping. I think I'll try to order some stuff for pick-up here in town but we'll probably have to do some online shopping too.  Reina wants a Hamilton tshirt - so do I!

Day 130something

Things that happened this week: 

1.  We ate an entire loaf of banana bread in one day.  Granted it wasn't the biggest of loaves but that's a sign of teens and tweens in the house, isn't it?  Okay okay, I had my share too.  It was delicious.  I haven't been baking as much lately because we don't need something else that makes the house warm but it was a crisp morning and the brown bananas were perfectly ripe.  Yum! 

2.  I broke down and bought Reina a kiddie pool that's actually designed for dogs but pools-for-kids are hard to find right now.  She loves it.  The dogs are scared of it - apparently it's too much like a bathtub.  When it's set up, Tootsie refuses to leave the deck.  

3.  Our camper was hauled away.  Last month's hailstorm that dinged up the garden ended up totalling our cute camper.  We decided to get our money back and save up for a more durable version, instead of fixing up this one.  I was sad to see it go. 

4.  Reina and her friend held a funeral for her rat Simon who passed away in February.  He was a good rat. 

5.  Glenn installed a new disposal and we got about 75% of the way done on a new storm door but we didn't read the directions closely enough and now we have to order another part.  We are so close to being handy. 

Another week in the books.  Still no word on official school plans and our county's case numbers are fluctuating.  We'll keep taking it one day at a time. 

Day 128

Has it really been almost a week since I wrote about rotting potatoes?  The next day, I was convinced that I'd lost an entire rotisserie chicken somewhere in the house (it's really not that messy, I promise!).  I'd searched the car a couple of times, check random cupboards and weird places for it to be hiding, but no freshly cooked chicken was found.  On Friday, while driving to Casper for baseball, I had an epiphany that I'd actually left the chicken at the self-checkout at the grocery store. I hope somebody had a delicious lunch.  

Will played a tournament in Casper this weekend.  Reina and I and Grandma H drove up for Friday's games.  Glenn, Will and Pop-pop stayed in Casper for the duration.  Back at home, Reina had a birthday party and a sleepover so I had one of the rarest of the rare events - a night at home ALL BY MYSELF.  As usual, I had big plans but mainly cleaned some random areas in the house, watched murder mysteries, missed everyone and went to bed early.  

Is Frontier Days week without Frontier Days and it feels strange.  I"m glad we aren't dealing with massive crowds and stupid traffic for Cheyenne but it also highlights just how weird everything remains.  I'm still working from home mostly, Glenn is back at the office and we don't have any concrete plans for school.  Baseball winds up in a few weeks and then we await word on football or fall baseball.  

Tonight, Will had a doubleheader starting at 4:00.  Despite storm warnings, it only rained a few drops and was a little windy at times.  Until about 5 minutes before the end of the last game.  You could see the clouds rolling in from the north and they just looked ominous - that weird purplish gray that means something bad is probably going to happen.  We made it to the car just as the big drops started.  We had a little hail but nothing damaging on our side of town.  Other areas were reporting ping-pong sized hail and broken windows.  Oh Cheyenne.  

Day 122 and how I know I don't have COVID-19 today

Glenn is back at work so the dining room (home office central) is quieter but I still like to escape to the basement because it's cooler down there and since it's not right by the kitchen, no one asks me to make them ramen.  For the last week or so, the basement has been a little stinky but I brushed it off to normal basement funk, we've had some rain, the dogs sleep down there, etc.  Finally today I couldn't ignore it any longer.  I threw all of the dog bedding in the wash, which is no easy feat because there's enough dog hair on those old towels and blankets to make another dog. I even threw some of the older rugs away.  I smelled everything and it mostly smelled of dog.  But I thought well maybe that'll take care of everything.  I resumed my spot on the couch and the smell was just as bad.  It hit me what I was smelling.  Something was rotting.  In our basement.  I knew it wasn't animal because if the cats had caught a mouse, they wouldn't have been able to keep it to themselves and I have no doubt it would have been paraded through the kitchen like a trophy.  It hit me.  A giant bag of potatoes, one that we bought in our more desperate "we'd better stock up on stuff" was literally turning into liquid on the basement carpet.  I threw the pre-vodka potatoes (is that how they make vodka?) into the trash (I couldn't even carry them to the compost because it was really gross and there were already bugs) the garage and sprayed the carpet with every cleaner we had in the house.  There's still a slight rotten-y perfume but I'm taking the steam cleaner down there next.  So, yes.  We've been in the house for 122 days straight and still didn't notice a bag of potatoes turning to dust.  Well not dust, I'm looking for a metaphor that won't make anyone gag more than they are already. 

So I know I don't have COVID-19 today because my sense of smell is still very intact.  Ewwww. 

Day 119

Another summer weekend in the books.  We had fun watching Will play baseball even though his team had a tough row to hoe.  The weather was HOT.  After the games on Friday, we came home and were all really grumpy with each other.  Okay, fine. I was mostly grumpy with everyone but we survived.  We don't need air conditioning in Wyoming very often but boy this was a weekend when it would've come in handy.  Instead, we took turns trying the Glenn strategy of taking a shower right before bed and turning the water as cold as you can stand it before getting out.  It's not great for water conservation but it works well.  The weather was slightly cooler on Saturday and then today we sought out more projects in the shade, or in my case, the basement.  Glenn decided to create a hail tent over the garden and he made amazing progress.  I'll take pictures of the finished product but I think it's safe to say that the baby beets and whatever squash things that are going will be well-protected before the next storm. 

Reina told me today that she's pretty nervous about going back to school.  We don't have a final plan from the school district yet so I reminded her that a lot can happen before the first day of school.  We talked about how she likes being with her friends and learning from her teacher, but she's also scared of the germs and kids being all in the room together.  So just like everything else, we will take it one day at a time.  I went through my fabric stash and she picked out some Harry Potter fabric for some special Reina masks.  It was fun to pull out the sewing machine again.  Glenn has some tote bags he wants to me make and Will's baseball pants need a mend.  Too much sliding in the dirt.  

One day at a time.  One week at a time.  Bring on a new week!  

Day 116 and some pictures

Will was watching me type the last post and when he saw the number of days I put on there, he was surprised. "Has it really been that long mom?"  Yep.  Some days I feel every single hour of those 116 days and then other times, it feels like it's just been a moment since we started staying at home.  But here are at Day 116.  Glenn may be going back to the office next week, his agency has provided a plan for bringing some people back . My office is still telecommuting for the near future.  Our case numbers are still higher than they were a month ago so I don't know what the plan is.  Quarantine and significant budget cuts are making it an interesting time to be a state employee.  

Let's talk about fun stuff!  Glenn and I are taking tomorrow off because Will has an actual baseball tournament!  The first game is at 9:00 a.m. and it's supposed to be hot tomorrow.  We've been using the shade canopy we bought specifically for baseball but I know we'll need it tomorrow.  We had to order some extra tie-down straps and tent stakes that look like they could drill for oil because of the Wyoming wind but it works.  

Reina's art class this week had a Wyoming theme so she's been painting the state flag, a buffalo, Indian Paintbrush and a bunch of fun things.  Tomorrow is Statehood Day so we are all in on Wyoming this week.  Most of the teams coming up for the baseball tournament are from Colorado so I'll have to make sure I'm wearing the attire that clearly states my allegiance.   

What else is going on?  Between Will's baseball practices and Reina's dance classes, our evenings feel a little more like 'normal times' than they did a few months ago.  We still have time for dog walks in the evening and random home projects so things are quite back to normal.  I'm still doing most of our shopping online and doing store pick-up which is probably helping our budget because I'm not distracted by shiny stuff in the sale bin.  

I'm finally getting my camera out a little bit and here are some pictures from our week.  

Will's on first and those pants will never be white again.  I've tried.  One parent takes her kid's pants to the car wash and apparently that does the trick.  I'm not there yet.  

Jogging back to the dugout after crossing home. 

Our reluctant baseball game attendee.  Last weekend was the first time he actually played with a toy during the game.  Picture by Reina.  

Our hail dented camper that we bought last October.  Sigh.  

Momma and twins!