Weekending

Friday morning, after doing some grading and answering of emails for work, Charly and I went out to do our weekly shopping. We went to one of local Smith's grocery stores, which is a Kroger affiliate. We were able to find everything we needed, except the Kroger bottled water. We got another brand of water, but it was more expensive.  No big deal. Here's part of our grocery haul for the week.

We also went to Costco on the way home from the grocery store, and much to our surprise and amazement, we found our favorite brand of TP in stock.  

The elastic for face mask earpieces, that I ordered from an Etsy store, came in a day early, so I was very pleased about that.  

I made more masks and will be mailing some to friends in different states tomorrow morning. 

Saturday was another lovely spring day.  We took our time getting started Saturday morning, then went to a several stores and got some sewing supplies for mask-making and also some more plants for our back patio container garden.  Of course, there was an evening walk with Charly around the neighborhood where we enjoyed the spring flowers and plants and clear mountain views. 

This awesome variegated tulip, planted right by my front door, finally opened on Saturday.  It is probably the most beautiful tulip I have ever seen. 

Sunday, I had a nice morning telephone chat with a good friend who lives in Arizona. After that and church at home, Josh and I decided to go on a short hike in the foothills near the University of Utah where Charly and I went to college.  This area is about twenty minutes from where we live now. 

It was a beautiful day to be outside.  We enjoyed the hike and are looking forward to more hiking soon. 

When Josh and I got home, I did some indexing (Arizona birth records from the early 1900s) and scripture study.  I worked on more masks for friends, took a short nap, fixed dinner and then took a neighborhood walk with Charly.   It has been a nice weekend. 

More of the Same Friday Faves

I feel like every week is about the same, but then I am sure everyone else probably feels that way as well.  Nevertheless, there are still many, many things in daily life to be grateful for, so once again today, I am l linking up with Susanne and other bloggers over at Living To Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.

 

Springtime Flowers and Mountain Views - I continue my daily and sometimes twice daily walks.  I find that getting outside helps me to clear my mind and put things in perspective.  I feel so blessed to live in a beautiful park-like area where I can safely walk and enjoy a multitude of beautiful spring flowers and awe inspiring mountain views. 

Weight Loss - I find that walking as much as possible each day helps me physically and mentally. On the left of the above photo, you can see a list of all the walks I have done over the past few days. Added bonus - Although I am not on any kind of diet, and am not even really being that careful with portion control right now, I am still down about 5 pounds from before this stay at home lockdown began and I attribute that mostly to walking every day. 

Interesting Podcasts - While I walk, clean and sew masks, I often listen to interesting podcasts.  These are some I listened to last week. As you can see, my interests range from self-improvement to politics  and news to true crime. I am grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn while doing other things.

More mask making - I have been making a giving away more masks.  Most recently, I found out that my aunt and uncle who live in Colorado were stressing about not having masks, so I got some in the mail for them.  I plan to keep making masks and will probably donate to the Navajo Nation who is having a real challenge with COVID - 19. The cases of Coronavirus on the reservation are through the roof, with an infection rate 10 times higher than the states the Navajo Nation is located in.  Navajo Nation health care officials sent out an appeal for cloth faces masks, so I am planning to make as many masks as I can with the supplies I have and to send them down. You can read about this sad situation in the Navajo Nation here. I feel a special connection to the Navajo, having taught many Navajo students  both here in Utah and in Arizona. We have also visited Navajo lands frequently during vacations in the Monument Valley and Four-Corners areas.  

Fabric Stash and a Helpful Friend - I am grateful that I had a stash of cotton fabric put away in my basement, that I had honestly forgotten about until I decided to start making masks.  All of the masks I am making are made from fabric that I bought some years back. I am also grateful for a mask-making friend, who is a more experienced seamstress than I, who gives me advice, tips and encouragement through texts.  She told me where to order more elastic for ear pieces.  I made the order and the elastic is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. 

Easier Shopping - I am still not enjoying shopping during this pandemic, which is probably a good thing, but it is getting slightly easier.  There seem to be more products on the shelves than a few weeks ago.  The last time I was in Walmart, they actually had several different brands of toilet paper available. I had to go to Lowe's the other day and was not looking forward to it, but I managed to find what I needed quickly and the long, socially distanced line went quickly. I have also read, on the FDA website, that wiping down groceries and other purchased items is no longer necessary. so that also makes shopping less of a hassle.  

An Abundance of Books - I finished The Call of the Wild, which I was reading because I assigned it to my students, and I wanted to try and finish a third book this month.  I remembered that I have this book on my Kindle, that I had started a few months ago, but had not finished.  I like Brene Brown, so I decided to finish this before I start another book.  I am always grateful that I have plenty of books on my "to read" stack (and Kindle) right here at my home, especially when all the libraries are closed.  

There was much more good this week, but I will close here because I am already late in getting this post linked up with my other Friday Fave friends.  

Mid-April Weekend at Home

Friday I was able to take two walks outside - two miles in the morning and two miles in the afternoon with Charly.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, but a little more cloudy in the afternoon. I love that we have such a beautiful, part-like neighborhood in which to walk. 

I have some new tulips by my front door that have bloomed.  The white tulips shown here are more stunning than they appear in this picture.

  

I finished this book.  It was interesting and well worth reading. 

You can see from these colored tabs, I thought there was some important and powerful information in this book.

Now I am finishing up this book, which I have assigned to my students, because it is available free online.  You can see that I got this copy of this book years ago, when Walmart was selling classic titles 2 for $1. It is not my favorite book, so I am looking forward to finishing it and moving on to something I will enjoy more. 

Friday night, we went here to pick up dinner and support a local eatery trying to stay afloat during this time of lockdown and stay home directives.

This was the "full house" pizza we enjoyed for dinner.  It was a delicious way to celebrate the beginning of the weekend.

Saturday morning was grocery shopping. It seemed like there was more on the shelves than there had been in several weeks.  We followed the usual protocol to keep things clean and safe.  I put all the grocery bags on the back patio...

...then I unpacked and wiped down each item and put everything on the floor of the dining room inside the sliding glass doors leading out to the patio. It takes a significant amount of time and effort just to unpack groceries - yet another reason to limit trips to the store. 

I got some more plants for our container patio container garden while I was at the store, so we spent some time Saturday afternoon planting and transplanting.  I always look forward to having lots of plants and flowers out on my back patio. 

I also spent a lot of time this weekend making more masks.  These were some I made for family and friends using cotton fabric I had stash away.  Charly and I delivered the masks to friends who live close. We put the masks in ziplock bags and left them by the front door - a sort of Coronavirus ding-dong ditch (although we had called or texted everyone in advance).  Masks for family and friends farther away went in the mail. More will be sent out and delivered tomorrow, and all this week.  This is my way of helping others and giving back at this time.  I find that I am a lot more upbeat, positive and happy when I am doing things for others.  I have a good friend who is doing the same thing.  We are both working from home for our jobs and then spending a good part of each day making masks.  

Charly and I did more walking Saturday and Sunday. Of course my daily walks are a big part of my self-care, no matter what we are going through.  We had sun with some clouds and rain off and on all weekend.  The temperatures were pretty warm though, so it was nice walking weather. 

We had church at home on Sunday morning, as usual during this Coronavirus time.  The song, A  Child's Prayer, is one of the hymns we listened to as part of our at home service.  I can never listen to this song with dry eyes - it is so beautiful, powerful and touching. 

Sunday afternoon, I did some indexing of 1916 and 1924 voter registration records in Maricopa County, Arizona (where we used to live). 

I used some bananas that were going brown to bake some banana nut bread that turned out delicious. This is a great recipe that uses honey and yogurt instead of sugar.  It is very tasty. 

Sunday dinner was ham, stir-fried vegetables with ramen and an Irish mashed potato dish that Charly made.  The dish is called Colcannon and it is basically mashed potatoes made with cooked cabbage and green onions.  It was excellent. We all enjoyed  Sunday dinner together.  

Busy Week Favorites

Another week at home has come and gone. This one has been a busy one for us for several reasons, but even during busy weeks, there is always much to be grateful for.  Today, I remember the best parts of the week by joining once again with Susanne and other blogging friends who link-up over at Living to Tell the Story. 

Siblings -  Last Friday was National Sibling Day.  I am grateful that I have siblings and even though I wasn't raised with them, I am very grateful that we found each other as adults.  These are pictures of my siblings.  The top picture is me, my son Josh, and my younger sister.  The bottom picture is my older sister.  We also have a brother who I don't have a current picture of.  I think there is a bit of a family resemblance between us. I appreciate knowing my siblings and having them in my life.  

Spring - These are some of the beautiful springtime sites I have seen this week when we were out walking.  We have had some rain and cooler temperatures, but there were some beautiful spring days earlier in the week.

Working from home - Our Governor announced last week, that school will remain recessed for the rest of the school year.  We will continue to do lessons and grading online. 

We had a virtual faculty meeting we had last week that lasted almost two hours.   One reason this week was so busy was that it was mid-term week, so there was lots of grading to do as students tried to get caught up. Our principal also gave all the teachers a big data-entry assignment that has taken a lot of time.

I got this very nice email from a student last week and it really made my day.  I am grateful for my job and the ability to work from home during this time. 

72-Hour Kits - I finished updating our 72-hour emergency kits last week.  The basics are inside, although I will probably add some more items a bit at a time. 

I put the 72-hour kits under a desk in our home office, so they would be available if we ever need to leave our home quickly.  Interestingly, we had two strong aftershocks to the 5.7 earthquake we had a month ago.  One aftershock was Tuesday night and another was Thursday morning. They were strong reminders that it's always good to be prepared for an emergency. 

Comfort food - There has been more time to cook since we are staying home all the time. This was a dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, kale salad, and triple-berry muffins we had last week.  It was delicious. Tonight, I made a taco casserole bake, corn and Texas toast.  I forgot to take a picture, but it was another good dinner, that I might not have taken the time to make during normal times. 

Cleaning and planting - I spent some time last week cleaning up our back patio and planting a few plants in containers out on the patio.  After I did this, the weather turned quite cold, so I may have been a bit premature in planting, so I covered the new plants up until we are back to warm springtime temps. 

Making masks -  I have spent a lot of hours here at my sewing machine this week. One of the reasons this week has been so busy is that I have making face masks for friends and family members. 

On Easter,  I was texting one of my daughters and found out that her and her family had only mask between them.  I got busy and made everyone in the family (my daughter, her husband and all five of her children) a mask.  I also made masks for my son and his wife who live in California.  I found out that some of my friends and work colleagues also needed masks, so I made and delivered them.  

My latest mask-making project was for my older sister and her family.  I finished those and got them in the mail earlier today.  Tomorrow, I will make more for friends in this area.  I also plan to make some more masks to donate. I am not a great seamstress, but the more I make, the better I get.  I am grateful for my basic sewing skills that are allowing me to help out. 

I will end this post with this scripture that reminds me of the opportunity I have had to help others by making masks this past week. 

Have a great week and stay safe and well.  

Holy Week Favorites

Hello and welcome again to Friday's Fave Five where I link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, and other blogging friends to look at the good in the last week. 

 

Easter - Easter has special meaning for Christians around the world.  It is the day we remember the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over the grave. 

This most important event is certainly one thing I am grateful for every week.

Prayer - First and foremost this week, I am grateful for the power of prayer. Today I am participating in Non-Denominational World Wide Day of Fast and Prayer for relief from this COVID-19 pandemic.  Thousands of people from around the world are praying that the present pandemic may be controlled, that caregivers can be protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized.  I completely believe in the power of prayer, so if any of my blogging friends would like to join us, please do.

Working  - While I admit to sometimes getting tired and frustrated with my job (who doesn't)  I have always been glad and overall grateful that I became a teacher.  During this uncertain time, when so many are out of work, I am especially grateful for my job, (and Charly's) and our ability to work from home, keeping our income coming and some semblance of normalcy for our students. Last week, I had to go into the high school one morning (here I am in front of the school) to get some things from my classroom.  It was a little eery to be in a huge high school  almost all by myself, except for three or four other people down in the main office.  

Sewing Skills  - I am not by any stretch of the imagination a talented seamstress, but this last week I have been grateful the basic sewing sewing skills I learned in my teen years.  I made these masks for Charly and I, using fabric from my sewing stash.  We now wear them whenever we go out. 

I watched several DIY Youtube videos and so far have made five masks using three different patterns. 

I have a small fabric stash but I did not have any elastic, so I got creative and used ponytail holders for the ear pieces.  I plan to make more masks this weekend.  The more I practice, the better I get at it. 

Spring Flowers - The tulip bulbs I planted just outside my front door have come up and are now out in bloom.  I love looking out my front window, or going out my front door and seeing these lovely blooms. 

Rain and Rainbows  - We have had some rain this week, which I am grateful for, because, after all, "April showers bring May flowers."  A couple of days ago,when Charly and I were out walking, we saw this beautiful rainbow.  It reminded me of this current storm of life we are going through with COVID-19.  I know we will get through it and the rainbow reminds me that there are better days ahead.

Supplies - We went out just a few times this week, and I am grateful we found some things that we were looking for, including hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes and toilet paper. 

Today, I had to go to the Dollar Store to get some birthday cards for two of my grandsons.  We went to the  Big Lots store next door, and found some anti-bacterial hand soap, which we were getting low on because we are washing out hands so much.

Cleaning - We have been trying to keep our home even cleaner and more sanitized than we normally do during this pandemic.  I clean surfaces and floors ofen, but I still do a complete cleaning of the house, usually on Thursday. Charly and I worked together today to get everything deep cleaned and sanitized.  I am grateful to have the supplies and help (from Charly) I need to get the house thoroughly cleaned. 

Time - On a Thursday night, under normal circumstances, I would come home tired, take a walk with Charly, then figure out the quickest thing I could fix for dinner.  However, times are not normal, and I now have time to do more things I would really like to, like cook dinner for my family.  Tonight, inspired by my blog friend Mari's Cooking Thursday post, I fixed fried potatoes and onions and steak.

It was delicious - comfort food that I have enjoyed from my youth, but seldom have time to fix on a weeknight.