...country life...

On Friday morning, while Ashley went to the grocery store, I went over to stay with their two little girls. When daddy (Ben)is an essential worker, and stores run out of things quicker than ever, and you can't go early in the morning unless you're a senior citizen, well, you need to go to the store, and what's better than bringing your kids along? Gramma watching them!


They live ten minutes away. After years and years of only seeing them a few weeks out of the year, when they were on the west coast, it's still amazing to have them so close by. I pretty much missed out on the first few years of little Anya's life. We behaved ourselves and didn't see them at all, then I went over there a few times and we kept our distance. Then we decided to start spending a bit of time with them.

On Saturday, for Joseph's birthday, we went over there again...

Benjamin with Elise...(doesn't he look a little like Chip Gaines?)


Jonathan with Wulf


Paul and Camille


Joseph and his wife Bethany with Anya, and social distancing Emily...


Mariel and Emily...they only visited outside, and left when we went in the house for dinner.


Anya showing Paul their garden. He's a good grandpa.


...just some early morning pics, Saturday.


We had some beautiful fruit platters, this is the remainder, all dumped in the container, but oh it was still so enjoyable.

The weather was beautiful here yesterday. Evelyn, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and I played some badminton in the front yard. They hit the volleyball back and forth for a while. Margaret and Adrian came over with Wulf. Jonathan grilled hot dogs, sausages, coneys. We put some water in the little pools on the deck for Wulf.


Slowly, slowly, expanding our interactions, being careful, washing the hands...but living life, too. It's a strange world we live in, where just getting together with your family is actually illegal, especially when your family is as big as ours. I don't actually know about all of this, I certainly do believe that this virus is awful. I know some people get really really sick, and so many die terrible, lonely deaths. I know it spreads easily and is no joke. But I also know that MOST people will be fine. Life here in central New York is opening little by little. Beaches will be open this summer, with more rules, of course, and you know how much I love rules. I've been working on that though, the tendency to be such a rebel about everything. I don't just want to be proud and arrogant, and know-it-all-y about this. But the reality is that even if we do get a vaccine in the next 12-18 months, will it work? The flu vaccine for example, don't thousands still die from flu? I don't know. I can't NOT see my grandkids for THAT long! What about them?, you cannot just keep children all locked up for weeks and weeks and months and YEARS, and expect them to be fine! Anyway. It's a very hot topic, and very controversial, but we here in our house are choosing, little by little, to be with family.

This is also controversial, but this is a good time to try to get healthier! Cut out the sugar, cut the carbs back, move a bit more! I do try, then last night I made a huge-0 batch of stove-popped popcorn, with lots of butter and salt, oh how yummy. We had leftover pulled pork for dinner, with all the fixings: tortilla chips (I love the lime ones from Walmart, I try to be so low carb, but they are my weakness!), chopped tomatoes, cilantro, red and green peppers, sour cream, etc.

Anyway, I am thankful for another day. I shall use it wisely, listen to hear what God would have me work on today, and be faithful to that, the small quiet voice which tells us right from wrong...