Quarantine Random

Still here. I may have just had Milk Duds for breakfast. Don't judge me. I'm coping with quarantine on a day by day basis. Some days I am highly motivated and some days I am not. And it's okay.

Years ago I bought a pasta maker from Goodwill and never used it. Hubby got it out and now he makes fresh pasta on Saturdays. Ravioli, fettuccine, spaghetti, lasagna, we've made it all. #pastanotherweek

It's been a fun and delicious way to mark another week of quarantine.

 Our windows in the Stone House originally had black grid, someone painted them white. I have been getting them all back to the black. The ground floor is finished and the sills and surrounds have been painted a pale gray.

 It is a ton of prep! Hubby is going to refinish the front door to charcoal gray.  He built our front door and it's impossible to keep it looking good with stain and sealer.

I'm focusing on windows and sewed curtains for the milk house/ back porch.

It was a milk house originally and now it is the cross I bear. It's unfinished. Friends and family know that an unfinished porch isn't grounds for divorce, so here I am. I love the guy but I do not like the back porch issue.  The whole ugly story isn't for publication but if you're curious ask my sisters or my guys. Oh, they'll tell you.

Hubby on his commute. He goes into the office one day a week and the other four he is upstairs. It's been great having him home. I now know how hard he works and he knows how little I do.

Hubby is a mixologist and it comes in handy during quarantine.  Life is too short for a bad cocktail.

He makes me a fancy drink for cocktail Zoom parties.

I cleaned a closet and found my honeymoon lingerie. Since it doesn't fit (obviously) I made us a cocktail as a nod to it.

I'm shopping from home. Aren't we all? Hubby has a new office chair, we have new camping chairs and our grand baby has a new wardrobe.  He's arriving in June. Sam lives in the US and mama Katie lives in Canada. It's a problem that needs prayers. I'll probably meet the little guy in a ditch on Boundary Road.

 In my humble opinion, the Covid-19 has stolen anticipation. My vacations, meeting our grandson, sub jobs, for others it's been their weddings, family reunions, graduation, the list goes on. While I am choosing joy, or at least attempting joy everyday, the virus has it's control some days. 

I'm keeping busy because I live in the Stone House and it takes a lot of maintenance. I'm thankful for Hubby's job and that our kids are working. There is always good in the bad and I hope and pray each one of you can find the good. 

I am also so thankful for my kindle. I use my local library card on the Libby App and have had some good reads. What have you been reading?

My list:

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (run, don't walk for this book)

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid (it was free on Amazon)

A Beginners Guide to Free Fall by Andy Abramowitz

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

I enjoyed each book, genre is a mood thing for me.

Meanwhile., I'm not camping but I am hopeful that we'll be allowed to be outdoors in the forest, by the ocean, lakes and rivers soon. Annie is prepped and ready. Camping is how I social distance. I didn't realize that's what it was called but that's what this introvert was doing all along.

 Friends and family, I am praying for you. I'm thankful for my faith in our God who it unchanging.

This too shall pass. Please continue to give yourself grace and to give grace to others. 

Grace will get us to the other side.

And you can all start by giving me grace for eating milk duds for breakfast. I know I did. 

Thus Concludes January

Hubby and I had no plans to go anywhere in January, February or March.   Sort of the calm before the storm and a good time for projects.  The best laid plans and all that...

January turned into a fun and busy month.  Our friends, Jeremy and Rene' youngest daughter got married and we went to Winlock, WA for a weekend.  If you ever need a wedding within three weeks, call Jeremy and Rene' for tips.  They emptied a barn, made it beautiful, created guest housing, and cooked and baked for 60. It was so pretty and the food was delicious.  We had a good time with them and with their kids.

 The next weekend we went to Enumclaw, I had a Sisters on the Fly luncheon and we got time at Larry and Shelly's house. I don't know how Shelly did it but she had a full house for lunch, house guests and then her and Larry made dinner for eight. It's so good to see our camping peeps in the winter.

 The next weekend my brother, Ken and Carolyn got married.  It was a beautiful wedding, Carolyn wore my Mom's going away wool suit.  It was in Lynden and that was good since our crawl space flooded and we needed to take care of that issue.  Actually, Hubby and Max took care of it, who are we kidding. 

 A few of our guys and their girls came home for the wedding.  We love having them around and Max and Kassie brought Bo. We love their dog and hadn't seen him for a long time.  He's such a good dog!

#goodtoseehisownerstoo

 I've been painting a small cabinet for silverware storage. Why do projects look like they will take me two hours and end up taking days? And days. Ugh! I'm close and my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint expert is chiming in to get me to the finish line.  I'll share the finished picture in February or when it gets finished. June?

Hubby and I are hitting the oranges hard.  I had a sinus infection in January and it has settled in my ears. Does anyone else take elderberry syrup and chews? I have been but how does anyone know if anything really works? Would it be worse?

I stacked coupons on Loft and bought a soft jacket for under $12. The soft, yummy, lounge wear jacket is fantastic to wear with pj pants and a tank.  Sizes are disappearing so hurry!  And the coupons aren't as good now but keep watching and stack'em!

Y'all know I love snow and Tuesday the snow fell straight down. I had the day off and it was the stuff that winter dreams are made of.  Yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition. 

I'm reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.  It's an easy, fun read and that's just what I needed.

Love Week is coming up and I am putting together a few special Valentines.

I'm dreaming of summer, camping, the rivers, the sunshine.  Until then I am making some changes in the living room and plan to deep clean the laundry room. Working now so I can play all summer!

This concludes January. It turned into a jam packed month with weddings, weekends away and weather events. Now for some February projects and Love Week. Enjoy!

Bryce Creek

 Last week I took Huaka'i Annie up to Bryce Creek Campground.  Hubby had to work but encouraged me to go with our church to camp for a few nights.  He came up for dinner on Friday night.

 I had Melanie Shankle's new book, Church of the Small Things, to keep me occupied. I'll share more about the book later but know that presales are happening now on Amazon.

 I went on hikes.  If a four year old was going I figured I could keep up, and went on the hike.  Good camper logic. In theory.

 It is so beautiful and peaceful at Bryce Creek.  A group makes breakfast for all of the campers on Saturday and Sunday. They made me a special pancake.  It's Annie!

 There were 30 littles at camp and on Saturday evening they performed a circus for us.

I enjoyed watch all of the kids on this trip.  Several Moms came with their kids and tented it.  Kudos to those brave mamas.

I came home to a lot of mail for Ava Jean.  I love her new key chain from Down River on Etsy.  Thanks Rene!

 All of the lighting has since arrived and I picked up the flooring yesterday.  This trailer needs to get finished so we can reclaim our living room.  The picture was taken before lighting and flooring arrived.  #trailerrestorationproblems #thestruggleisreal #ibettergetbusy

Easter, What I'm Reading and some Random

First, an Easter recap because I want to remember this Easter.  It just felt extra special to me.

Our church gives us an opportunity to share a white lily, azalea or an orchid in memory of family or friends. Our church is full of flowers and it's a blessing to remember the hope we have in Christ.

We sang Up From the Grave He Arose, In Christ Alone and other favorite Easter songs. At the end of the service our church invites anyone that knows the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah to sing in the choir. 

After Church we went to dinner at Jeff and Kathi's place at Birch Bay. And then it was time for the Easter Egg hunt.  Uncle Jeff laid out the rules.  Yes, those are some big kids hunting for eggs.

 The Grandmas watched from a great vantage point.

 Washington beaches are rocky!

It was sunny, which was an Easter miracle, and Mt. Baker was gorgeous.

This week I've been substitute teaching.  I'm still having fun.  I love the actual teaching and the kiddos. Yesterday I had a kindergarten class and at one point a para educator came in and told me she was putting me on a prayer chain. Not just any prayer chain but her mother-in-law's heavy duty Southern Baptist prayer chain!  I needed it.  It was a really cute, energetic group of kiddos!

Yesterday, Hubby had a day off and I came home to dinner. Yes, those are some delicious beef ribs, roasted asparagus and whipped cauliflower.  He's figuring out that if I have kindergarten I may be a little tired when I get home.

 I did a lot of reading in Maui and I've kept it up since I got home. Hubby had some shift work so I filled my evenings with some good books.  The Nearness of You is a quick and enjoyable read.

I am reading Eliza Waite and enjoying it. The author is local.

As Good as Gone is my next read.

Max is coming home this weekend.  He's a groomsman for his college roommate's wedding.

Won't Max be surprised?  There is food in our fridge!  His last two visits happened while we were in Las Vegas and Maui and the cupboards were bare.  Mama's in Maui, get your own groceries!

Bo is coming too so I am dog proofing the house today. And I'm starting to clean the patio because eventually Spring and even Summer are going to show up in Washington.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Maui 2017

Hubby and I go to Hawaii with our friends, Mark and Karen once every three years.

This year it was Maui.  We go to the beach. Everyday, it is a beach day.

We visit different beaches to change it up.

 We find good food.  We are always looking for the best Mai Tai, the best coconut dessert and the best food truck.  Oh, and the best music.  We found the best food trucks, music and beer at the Maui Brewing Company.  Kimos, in Lahaina is a tradition too.

 At the beach, every day, all day. Like a job!

The best Mai Tai was at Monkey Pod, a Peter Merriman restaurant. 

The coconut cream pie at the Monkey Pod was disappointing.  Sorry Chef Merriman, my coconut cream pie is heaps better.

I don't have a picture of the pina colanda cake at Tommy Bahama's restaurant but I can vouch for it.  It was full of favor, moist and creamy.

 Surprise! Another beach day.  We do go for walks and we spend a lot of time in the ocean bobbing and body surfing.

 While on the beach, we read and always go through a pile of books.

 Some days we sit by the pool and read after we come up from the beach.  This was our last afternoon before our red eye flight.

 If you see a theme of beach, delicious cocktails and food and  relaxing, you'd be correct.

 I usually take a lot of pictures of the flowers in Hawaii but I was *sick this trip and I didn't take as many pictures.  A flower garnishing a cocktail was an easy shot.

We had a wonderful vacation and we are counting down the days until we can go back.

Aloha!

*I had a disgusting cold that ended with all sorts of complications.

I slept most of yesterday and have antibiotics so this can only get better.