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. 

I'm Here

 I've been here all along.  It's the blogging that has been missing.  As much as I enjoy blogging, my icloud photos and Blogger are fighting and I feel as though I am caught up in their ugly break up.

I battled through this morning and so let's get caught up.

In August we camped in Naches at our favorite spots with some of our favorite friends.

Sheryl and I boated to Roche Harbor where Shelly met us and we had a fun girls' trip. 

There was gorgeous scenery at Shelly's house on the cape, trips to Roche Resort, Vervue Clicqot with M & M's in bed and a lot of sunshine and yakking.  Nonstop laughing and yakkin' it up.

We went to family camp and celebrated Alex and Serena and Sam and Katie with a couples camping shower.  We had a cast iron cook off and good visiting with family.

 The Mt. Baker Rally in Lynden had a Wild West theme in September.  My friend Annette joined us this year and got to meet some Sisters on the Fly.  She brought her western theme Shasta on her first trip.  Giddy up!

Our besties, Jeremy and Rene' surprised everyone with a pop up wedding.

Hubby and I took a weekend trip to Silver Lake this fall.  It's a favorite camping trip for us, very relaxing.  Annie is snug in the forest and we are snug in our flannel sheets.

Since Steve and Jean were in town we went to Bayview  State Park for some fall camping.  The guys went to town to watch the game and the girls got busy crafting.

 We had Diner en Blanc one evening.  Glamped up the park and had a delicious dinner at a pretty table.

 It was fun to celebrate with Jeremy and Rene' with a small group of friends.

Our family headed to the mountains to celebrate with Alex and Serena at Cabin Creek Lodge.  It was a pretty wedding and a fun family time.  We lunched at the Brick in Roslyn, toured Heritage Distillery and visited Owen Meats in Cle Elum.

 Congratulations to a special couple and sweet Rory!

I've been busy substituting this fall. I run into my friend, Ella on the playground and she always has a hug for me.  Of course, I've had a cold that was flu like that ran for 4+ weeks. Job hazard.

 Hubby and I had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Sam and Katie and Max and Kassie. Sam and Katie haven't set a wedding date yet, they're waiting on some career changes and immigration.  Max and Kassie are busy on the farm and ready for things to slow down this winter.

Hubby and I are spending the holiday with Danny and Jess in Michigan,  So. Excited.

On Saturday, Karen and I got on the Polar Express to go shopping in Seattle.  Terrell, Lindsey and Tory make it fun and the swag bags are amazing!

I have three trees out and ready to decorate.  My goal is to leave for  Michigan with a clean and decorated house.  It's lofty goal but I am going to give it my best. The problem is that when I start decorating I see other projects, last week I painted two tables, reorganized the sitting room and cleaned the trailer.  Annie got cleaned and decorated for Christmas.  She's taking a Christmas trip in December!

Now, we're all caught up and probably bored by now.  

The blog is hard to write with the photo issues and I almost gave up completely.  Some sweet friends miss me though and I do like to document and write so we'll see what is next. 

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving and I've missed all y'all!

Finding the Good

Last night Hubby and I had a million things to do at home after work. Our family has had some changes and stresses lately, good stuff, but big decisions.  We decided to leave our responsibilities and go to town to the home improvement stores and then to Kulshan for a sandwich and a beer.

Sometimes you just have to step away.

We weren't looking for the good but it found us.

At Kulshan, we asked two young women if we could join them at their table, they were at the table that we know to be the warmest spot outdoors. Hubby and I visited, made some decisions and enjoyed dinner. Then we started chatting with our table mates.  We had such a fun conversation with them. I think I recruited them to be Sisters on the Fly! It was so fun to get to know these women, to laugh with them and enjoy a beautiful spring evening.

On our drive home the sunset turned wild with color and light bouncing off the mountains.  As we approached the Wiser Lake roundabout I asked Hubby to turn and stop at the lake.  We enjoyed the sunset with an elderly couple that were fishing from the shore. Sometimes it was difficult to understand their English with a heavy Asian accent but we visited and laughed with them.  They weren't just fishing, they were catching.  Nooo, they don't eat them, but they have friends that will.  Apparently, it was hilarious that anyone would eat them.  But they enjoy catching and fishing and were happy to share cooking and preserving tips with us.

Sometimes it's easy to focus on all of the bad in this world. The media shares the news of horrible things happening.  Last night was a good reminder for me that there are a lot of good people and that there is middle ground over a beer at Kulshan or while sharing a glorious sunset.

I'm so glad we played hooky from responsibilities last night.

Sunshine and the Super Bloom

Hubby and I went to the desert for spring break this year. Mark and Karen came with us and Kassie's parents and friends were there too. Hubby's Mom shares her timeshare with us and one of our favorites is Wyndam in Indio.  Thanks Es!

 Karen and I love coconut cake and Tommy Bahama has one of the best coconut cakes. It ties for first place with House Without a Key on Oahu.

 When our guys were still traveling with us, we tried to have an educational day on our trips.  Once they were gone that fell by the wayside.  You may remember the Palace on Oahu or Pearl Harbor with the guys in earlier posts.

This year we brought back the field trip and went to Joshua Tree National Park.  It was in full bloom and we had a good time hiking so we actually went back for a second day. 

The field trip days are back!

 It was fun to climb on the rocks or walk on the trails. We packed a lunch and entered the park at the north entrance and exited via the west entrance on the first day.  The second day we used the south entrance and after some time in the park we left the way we had come in that morning.

 I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Sheaffer. I wanted comfy walking shoes that were more like a sneaker and she found them for me.  They were great in the park and for morning walks, and just to wear with shorts or jeans. I'm wearing them with my favorite skort from Macys. These skorts are comfy for walking and great for camping and can be dressed up and worn out for a casual dinner. I have black too. And I think I may have to order the orchid print for Hawaii.

 The west park entrance has a cute little street of artists' shops and galleries.  All are closed midweek.

 I had a fun trip with Hubby.  I make the trip arrangements and get us there and set up and he then takes over and does the driving, mixes the cocktails and grills. #teamwork

 I wanted to pay tribute to U2 and their album Joshua Tree and my peeps are willing to play along with me.

Our travel day to get to PSP was a little crazy.  Our flight got changed due to the 737's falling out of the sky. We decided to only use carry on luggage. Seven nights, eight days and one carry one.  Stay calm.  It was a challenge for me and my shoes! Another blogger I follow is Shay and she has posted about packing cubes several times.  Her and her husband travel with their four kiddos and she loves the cubes.  And now so do I.  I drank the packing cube kool aid and loved using them. In one small/medium cube I packed 3 swim suits, 3 cover ups, 2 skorts, 2 tees for walking, yoga pants, sports bra, 1 tank and socks.

 Besides the packing cubes and an educational field trip, I have one more trip tip.  Instacart! I created a group cart for Karen and I, we filled it with breakfast items, we each did a dinner, a picnic lunch, snacks, liquor and sunscreen and lotion.  It was so great to have our groceries delivered within an hour of our arrival. Especially since our travel day was hectic.  Our stop in Seattle involved a bus, two trams and very brisk walking on the people movers to make our flight.

It was a wonderful trip with a lot of relaxing by the pool.  #poolside

Next spring, the Big Island of Hawaii for ten nights.  Aloha!

In the meantime we are getting excited for camping season,  Hubby is practicing his Dutch oven game plan.  One night we did rustic bread, baked spaghetti and a chocolate caramel cake. Delish!

Okay friends, I think we are all caught up and I need to clear the dining table today...

Yep, it's going to take all day.