that feeling of accomplishment...

Sonja and I sanded the rail of the deck yesterday. She started at one side, and I the other and met in the middle. I like using a sander, it feels like "wow, I'm using a power tool!", yet it's just a harmless little sander. (We sanded the entire deck last week, after the failed promises of the deck stain remover, which was supposed to come off with just the garden hose, ha, even the power washer didn't get it all off. We had to wait for it to dry, then start sanding...ugh. Evelyn and Sonja did most of it, thankfully.)

So yesterday we sanded the railing, then stained it. Charlotte Claire and Camille were staining the front porch. I continued touching up spots on the railings, and still have more to do, but I was at it for hours, and it was dinner time. Sonja so nicely went in and got the food ready. She browned up some ground beef and put some onion, garlic, pepper in it, since we ran out of taco seasoning. She warmed up the taco chicken from the day before. (It's so easy to make, just put boneless chicken in the crock pot with a jar of salsa, and bingo, later you have pulled chicken, so good and simple.). She cut up peppers, tomatoes, black olives, cilantro, and got out all the rest of it, sour cream, ect. If you haven't noticed, we eat Mexican style stuff like three times a week, so we keep these things stocked.

Yesterday I also spray painted some outdoor furniture that needed touching up. We have these three chairs from the thrift store, they were rose colored seats with cream colored frames, so I painted them black. The pink started showing through...so they needed fixing.

Our deck stuff is still out in the yard, but it's time to get it all back on the deck. I am thankful for having the kids around so much these days, and actually getting things done. Things are slowly opening up here in central NY state, so they have done a few things with their friends now. We're allowed groups of up to ten for church gatherings...

The pool is getting better, I don't know why it's taking so long to clear up this year! I wonder if the filter needs some maintenance. Paul says he can take it apart, but I almost don't want him to, because something will be broken, and then we'll need to order a part...the reason I'm so antsy to get it clear and clean this year is because, like I mentioned before, we are getting a deck for it!

In any case, I'm heading out and about this fine morning, to get some shock for the pool, and more fresh supplies. The kids all have lots of school work right now, getting it all finished before the end of the year. So I think I'll just go by myself. Then I can dawdle and find myself murmuring to perfect strangers that I'm hurrying, almost done.

This afternoon, I will have a baby in my arms! We have mostly kept away from my daughter Molly and her husband and two little girls, because she works in the hospital, and with virus patients. Well, she hasn't gotten sick, in fact she tested negative a few weeks ago. And all these weeks and months of being away from us have been difficult on poor little Lydia! Baby Ophelia is growing up without me, and it's just wrong! So here's the thing: they are moving from their apartment in the city to a town ten minutes from here! This weekend! So tonight, they need me to watch the baby so they can pack and start moving things. Yes, I said YES, I will. She was born in January, and I've only seen her from a distance a few times since March, so I NEED her! And well, they cannot move, with two small kids, all by themselves. So things are opening up, and hopefully, we'll all be fine.

I almost wonder if we're just being conditioned that: outside BAD, inside GOOD, outside SCARY, DANGEROUS, home - safe. Breaking out of this pattern might be challenging for some people. The virus is still out there, still wreaking havoc, but in such a small number of people now. I'll still social distance in Walmart, and wear my mask if I must wear my mask, and wash my hands, keep hanitizer, as Lyd calls hand sanitizer, in the car and wipe down my credit card with a Clorox wipe, but...life has to go on.