Pandemic Summer - Week 12

Pandemic Summer

Week 12

Day 77 – Sunday, May 31, 2020

I slept in yesterday and today (if you can call 7:30 sleeping in) and it was delightful.  I’m going to save that for the weekends though because I also enjoy getting up early and exercising before the kids wake up.  

I mowed the lawn yesterday, some of the grass was starting to wave in the breeze… so it was a little long.  I normally mow the back first because it’s more strenuous to mow the hill and leave the front for last.  The last few times, my mower has run out of gas 75% through the front yard.  I didn’t have any gas left in the gas can (I just didn’t feel like going to the gas station before mowing), so I mowed the front first.  I did manage to mow the whole thing without running out of gas though I’m sure there is hardly anything left in the mower.  I hope to never mow the backyard last ever again!  It’s amazing the difference in effort between doing it first and last.

I have an older neighbor who walks his dog, Bentley, passed my house a few times a day.  He has stopped and commented on my cats who sit in front of the glass storm door.  I don’t know his name, but I will have to ask the next time I see him.  Anyway, he knocked on my door last evening and asked if I wanted a garden flag with cats on it.  He said his wife passed away three years ago, and he’s going through their things.  He found this cat flag, and he wanted to give it to someone with cats.  His wife always had several cats, but they got Bentley, the dog, a few years before she died.  I said I would like the cat flag (how could I decline?), and he told me he’d leave it on my porch in the morning.  I woke up to find the cat flag (picture in the comments).

Yesterday, I read over half of the book, Dragonflight, which I’m obviously enjoying.  I think the reason I didn’t read this series as a young adult is that the library didn’t have a copy of the first book in the series.  I believe I tried to read one of the later books but didn’t make it past the first chapter.

Last night we grilled burgers and air fried tater tots.  Tonight, we are grilling corn on the cob and marinated chicken.  I’m not sure there is any way I’d rather cook than to grill.

Yesterday, every time I sat down in my recliner, Trent hopped in my lap.  This morning, he actually sunned himself in front of the storm door.  I’m glad he’s enjoying himself.

Day 78 – Monday, June 1, 2020

Holy smokes!  It’s June!  How did THAT happen?  Well, 2020 will certainly be memorable.  I had honestly hoped to stay clear of the curse, “may you live in interesting times”.  That does not appear to be happening.

Today will be full of adulting.  I got up early and did 30 minutes of aerobic dancing, then I went grocery shopping.  I have to call the mortgage company and make my first payment, for which I’ve received no information besides the phone number.  I tried calling it last week, but they didn’t officially own my loan until today, so they couldn’t find it.  Maybe I’ll get an email with instructions… I’ll probably have to call.  My new garbage disposal is scheduled for this afternoon.  I will be very happy for that to happen, but I have to clear out all the stuff from under the sink before they get here.  Thankfully, it’s super organized since I had to replace the faucet back in the fall because of a leak.  It’s much cleaner and more organized than it was before then.

Tomorrow, Hannah wants to go to Target and buy some Corelle dishes.  I think that’s how you know when someone is nearly grown.  They start purchasing for their future abode.  The Christmas that I was 16, there wasn’t anything I wanted so I asked for kitchen stuff.  My mom got me dishes, silverware, a Crockpot, utensils, and other miscellaneous kitchen ware.  I still use the majority of those things.  I had to replace the Crockpot and some utensils, but I still use the same dishes and silverware 30 years later.  

I’ve been a reading machine and have finished another book and started yet another.  That’s what summer is all about in my opinion.  

For a grocery store update, the things still on my list this week include Diet Dr Pepper and cream soda.  Elijah requested cream soda and there was NONE to be found at Walmart, not even 2 liters.  I’ll have to see if Target or Schnuck’s has the soda we are looking for.

Day 79 – Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Who could have predicted that Pandemic Summer would turn into The Summer of Our Discontent?  Not me.  The year 2020 is turning into a Billy Mays’ commercial “But wait, there’s more!!”.  We have police violence turned peaceful protest turned rioting and looting turned “bring in the National Guard” turned “don’t make me send in the US military”…. Young white men are inciting violence for their own anarchist agendas.  I thought the Pandemic was The End of Days… but wait, there’s more!

I spent way too much time on Facebook yesterday, getting riled up, while waiting for the garbage disposal installer to arrive.  On a side note, all you young 20 something ladies need to be checking out these young plumbers.  Holy smokes!  This was the second in the past year that have been in my house to fix things.  Just WOW!  I’m glad these young guys are getting into these necessary trades as well, but who knew they would be so good looking, lol.

The new garbage disposal is SUPER quiet.  So, quiet that neither the plumber nor I thought it was working at first.  I did pay a little extra for the one with sound insulation.  Also, it’s nice to not have to scrape the dishes into the trash before rinsing them.  I’m spoiled, I know.  I can only think of a couple of places that I rented that didn’t have garbage disposals.  

I also figured out how to pay my mortgage payment online.  While there was never any statement of “your account # is…”, there was a random number above my name, and it turned out to be the account number.  I just think it’s a little weird that they didn’t give step by step instructions for paying.  

Animal Crossing changes with the months and seasons, so the girls and I were excited to catch new fish and bugs yesterday.  I’m not sure what we would have done without this game.  It is such a soothing, mindless distraction.  

We got unexpected Pandemic-EBT cards in the mail yesterday (food stamps for the kids) because they qualify for reduced priced lunches.  Seems weird since we can still pick up free breakfast and lunch from the school corporation over the summer.  Who knew Republicans could be so generous with money?  We are going to bankrupt the U.S. at this rate.

Day 80 – Wednesday, June 3, 2020

I got up early for the third day in a row for 30 minutes of aerobic dancing.  I went with release #30 which I haven’t done on TV, but I did learn in person at the Y.  Les Mills uses all cover music, but I think the Y teachers may sometimes use the real versions…. I don’t do as well when the music sounds different.

I sat on the deck for breakfast because it was absolutely perfect outside.  I got a mosquito repellant device that uses butane to warm something to keep the mosquitos away.  Supposedly, you shouldn’t be able to smell it… but you can, just a little.  I don’t know if it actually worked, or if there was enough breeze to keep the mosquitos away anyway.  Regardless, it was pleasant.

We have been invited to go swimming at a teacher friend’s house, so I went to the nice grocery store this morning to buy stuff for a picnic lunch and lots of individually wrapped snacks.  We are excited to have something fun to do today!!  

Tonight, we are going to grill marinated porkchops.  I’m pretty excited about that!  As long as we apply enough sunscreen and drink enough water, today ought to be a FANTASTIC day!

Day 81 – Thursday, June 4, 2020

We went swimming from 11am – 2:30pm, well, we weren’t in the pool the whole time.  We swam for about an hour and then had lunch.  The kids got back in, and took lots of snack breaks.  I always make sure Elijah and I have plenty of sunblock since we are pasty white, but I don’t police the girls’ sunblock use anymore.  Leah generally just turns brown, but since she hadn’t been out in the sun in nearly a year and failed to use any sunblock, she was a bit toasty.  When she wakes up, probably all the pink will have turned brown.  I missed a spot on my right shoulder and it got pink as well.  

The grilled, marinated pork chops were delicious, but they cooked so fast (they were pretty thin), that the zucchini foil pack didn’t get cooked enough.  I will definitely be making that meal again!  I’m all for grilled food!  Hannah requested a pork tenderloin, so I will have to see what I can find.  Usually, Walmart has pre-marinated tenderloins.

Leah went to a church youth activity with her friend Libby (who went swimming with as well).  So, she had a super busy day, and I’m sure she was exhausted.  Who knows what time she will emerge from her room today…

I’m taking Elijah’s textbooks back to Signature School early this afternoon.  It’s another drop-off situation, so no point in taking Elijah with me.  I’m glad to get that taken care of.  Unfortunately, we won’t be able to pick up yearbooks yet.  He’s bummed about that.

Day 82 – Friday, June 5, 2020

Yesterday, I went to Schnuck’s to pick up an Rx and checked out their soft drink selection.  I hit the jackpot!  They had diet DP in cans (something I haven’t seen since March), cream soda (Elijah’s request… it was Schnuck’s brand “red cream soda”, but still), and Powerade zero!  I also replenished Elijah’s supply of Grippo’s (spicy BBQ potato chips, that are unlike anything else).

Even though there are no birthday in our house this week, it’s been birthday gift week.  Elijah’s birthday is in 9 days, but his new Chromebook arrived yesterday.  He finally decided that taking notes on the AlphaSmart was not the greatest, and he needed actual technology for school next year.  Leah’s birthday isn’t for 5 weeks or so, but her gift of roller skates from her dad arrived yesterday.  She skated around the house, then ventured out to the driveway last night.  This morning, she got up at 6:30 so I could take her to a parking lot to skate before it got hot.  

I did 30-minute Sh’bam dance workouts for five mornings in a row.  I will take the weekend off (I have to mow whatever day is the driest), and next week, I’m going to do the full 45-minute dances.  My heartrate is staying in a good range now, so I feel like I can push a little more.  My scale says I gained 2 lbs on Wednesday (it has to be water, but the scale claims it’s fat).  Today was down a pound, so… 

Day 83 – Saturday, June 6, 2020

Yesterday morning, I went to a locally owned athletic shoe store , Ultimate Fit, to be properly fit for a pair of cross-trainers.  First off, I haven’t had anyone actually measure my feet since I was a kid.  My mom always bought our shoes from Striderite, and since my feet were ridiculously narrow (AAA, I believe), I usually had the option of about two shoes that were in stock.  My feet are more of an average kind of narrow, lol, and my arches are low but apparently “flexible”.  Not only did my feet get measured, but she watched me walk barefoot, then put me on a machine that measured pronation.  After she chose half a dozen pairs of shoes, I tried each pair and she watched me walk in each one.  Then she went back for a different pair of shoes (the ones I ended up purchasing).  It was amazing service, and I highly recommend it to everyone.  The next time I buy Elijah shoes, I will take him there, he has some funkiness going on with his gait.  

While I was on that side of town, I stopped by a friend’s house to pick up some fabric to make a couple of test masks for her and her college age kids while her sewing machine is in the shop.  That encouraged me to finish up the 15 masks I’ve been making for us.  I finished the masks last night, and I’m just working on the ties right now.  I think I have 9 more ties to make.  I will never make more than 4 masks at a time, lol.  An assembly line might make it a bit quicker, but 15 is too many.

Last night was pizza night, and we got two deep dish and a thin crust (we had a free pizza).  We got too much pizza, even with two teen boys eating…. I put two halves of the deep-dish pizzas and ½ of the thin crust in the fridge.  I think we will be going back to regular crust, lol.

Today, being Saturday, is a “rest” day, lol, that consists of laundry and lawn mowing.  I think the lawn mowing may have to wait until the sun is setting because of the heat and humidity today.  Around 6:30am I popped my head outside to see if I wanted to eat breakfast on the deck.  Nope.  The temperature, at the time, was fine but the humidity was already unbearable.  Now it’s 84 degrees and feels like 90 (9:15am).  This evening, the grass should be dry, at least.  

Leah roller skated in the garage for about 5 minutes last night (it was hot), and it became extra-obvious to me that I need to do some cleaning out there.  I have half a dozen bags of outgrown clothes that need to be donated (they need to be laundered first, since they’ve been out there so long!).  I’m also considering (finally) getting my bedroom organized.  We’ll see what happens!

Elijah found a college age Twitch streamer to edit videos for, and he made a little cash.  That kid loves video editing!