...nurses' day...!!!

Emily, who went to help out in a big hospital in a crisis area ICU.


Mariel, who works in outpatient chemo, in a large hospital in the city...(with Aaron, who...


...Aaron, who lives in California and is an R.N./Nurse Educator at Stanford.

and Molly Rose, who works directly on a Covid floor...


So Happy Nurses' Day to my older kids!

blah blah blog...

It's darn chilly here in central NY state, but the sunshine is nice today.


I guess Anya really misses me.


Little Anne, the sweetie pie I baby sit for, or rather DID, way back when things were normal. I brought her some treats today, and visited with her from a safe distance, from outside. She is way too cute, and I miss her. I want her to come over and cuddle and read her usual stack of books...she would bring SO many to me, I would cut her off at eight or nine.

Ah well...it's cold here, we had to bring plants in for the night and put them back out in the sun this morning...I think they'll have to come back in tonight I think.

Spring will come, warmth will come...

before and after...again!

This end table (with Miss Suzanne Eleanor)...I of course forgot to take the "before" pics, as usual, so I had to hunt through my phone for pics that had the tables in them. I chalk painted them white, after having them gray for years. They came unfinished, and I bought them as a senior in high school, with my babysitting money, for $49 each. That was more than I made in a week, babysitting.


After!


Before (with Miss Sonja K. and Miss Sunny)...


They're not perfect, I'm running low on wax, and of course all of my favorite places aren't open these days, so they'll get another coat someday, unless I get tired of white by then and just repaint them.

Chalk painting is fun, if you look around your house through chalk paint lenses, saying to yourself, "hmmm, what can I chalk paint?" Or you go to other people's houses and suggest they chalk paint certain things...I do wonder what I can do next.

And, we had a glorious day on the deck yesterday...
First, brunch:

Char, Sonja, Camille, Abigail...

Evelyn opened the champagne for the birthday mimosas.


Miss Cam


Miss Char

We had some interesting dinner on Saturday night. The girls made sushi, and homemade egg rolls.


Yesterday we decided to make pulled pork nachos, and save making Mac and cheese for Miss Charlotte Claire's birthday, next week. So Sonja K. and I headed to town to get a tomato, an avocado, and some green peppers.



One of the bouquets Evelyn made yesterday...

And...our dear Emily Anne set out for helping out in Buffalo, New York.

That may be so, Mariel, but we have fanfare in our hearts. Emily is my oldest, the one who turned me from an ordinary girl into a mommy. She was my precious little one, fussed and fretted over, and just perfect. She could talk in sentences before she was two, could tell time when she was four, read fluently by the time she started kindergarten, and when she came home from kindergarten singing, "Skin-a-mar-ink-a-dink-a-dink-, skin-a-marink-a-doo, I love you...!", oh my heart. Anyway, she's one of my favorites, although they are all my favorites.

She did indeed drive away in her little orange car, and I'm praying that God sends his angels to watch over and protect her.

Our beautiful weekend weather has gone, now we're back to rain and gloom. It's cozy though, right?

happy birthday, dear Sonja!

Sonja and me, Miss Sonja K., and her with Kathryn...


Suzanne, Sonja, and me...with me at Mali's wedding...with Charlotte Claire and Jonathan.


With Charlotte Claire, Camille, Jonny, and me...with me, cousin Grace, and friend Irene.

She is eighteen years old today. I feel unprepared for the celebration. We are having brunch...berries and waffles, eggs and bacon. Dinner: pulled pork, and homemade Mac and cheese. Presents? We have two which came in the mail, Evelyn ordered them, one is from her. I have something ordered that's coming next week, and two little trinkets to wrap for today. There's a box of cake mix on the counter, waiting for someone to make cupcakes. Someone, ha, who is sitting on their rear end in their comfy chair.

I am still finishing up my little project, one more coat of wax, so soon.

So yes, there is much to do this fine morning. Evelyn and Sonja K. are actually out at the store right now, getting...flowers. Flowers and more flowers, to make bouquets for some special people, and I won't say right now, in case they were surprises, and they happen to read this blog.

One reason I am just sitting here in my comfy chair, aside from the fact that I have a hot cup of coffee, and it's my favorite place in the world, is that I am reeling from the after effects of...a horrible headache. It went on and off yesterday, then picked up the pace in the evening, then when I went in to take my shower, I thought it'd get better, but ugh. No sir. It was digging in it's heels to stay a while. It was so. awful. It hurt too much to sleep, even though I had taken two ibuprofen, then another one an hour later...I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach. I finally got up and took two migraine relief tablets, then crawled back into bed, waited and waited, tried to relax every muscle and stay still, it still raged. Finally, oh blessed relief, I found myself waking up this morning. It was only a bit after seven, and I should have gone back to sleep, but the morning after a headache like that, one is so EXCITED, to feel better! Everything seems bright and happy! Except for me, I'm tired and washed out.

And it's Sonja's birthday, there's much to do...that pork has to go into the crock pot soon...and the cupcakes and the waxing...and the deck is calling me, it's a glorious morning!

working on a project!!!

I was rumpling through my paint supply this fine morning, choosing something to paint just one wall with. It's the one little laundry room wall which shows with the door open, I found a small jar of sample paint for it, and this lovely chalk paint from Target.

Chalk paint, oh I love it. Hmm, what could I paint? Well, tomorrow, maybe I'll show you.

It took half the day, I'll tell you that.

The other half was spent doing dishes, cleaning up, helping the kids do their school stuff, and drinking coffee. We also watched a phenomenal youth meeting. Then, dinner time! We had some leftover homemade chicken soup, an assortment of yummy appetizers which were on clearance the other day at BJ's, and some coneys. I had sugar free jello for dessert, with some frozen berries.

Abigail and I took a walk in the rain when she got home from work.

The kids are getting ready for some Wii bowling. Evelyn just made them caramel lattes, and a decaf coffee for me, with no sugar.

The kids are restless today. Thankfully tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, so we can get out and start preparing the gardens for the rototiller...

In the morning, wax will be applied to the chalk paint...and I'll take a few pics.

Oh, the dryer is NOW FIXED! Paul ordered a part from eBay, a part for the door, which keeps it closed properly, which means the clothes actually DRY! In one ride!

sixteen years ago today....

...there was a beautiful baby boy, born into a family SO excited to meet him, they could scarcely believe he had really arrived. Mama had lost a baby boy at seven months, June 16 the year before...so this new baby boy, Mama was actually in disbelief, until he cried...and announced his...alive-ness. I'm serious here, when you hold a tiny, perfect baby, a baby who ISN'T breathing, a perfect little guy, all wrapped in the familiar striped hospital blanket, and then have to say goodbye, and visit that baby in the cemetery, well...your trust that a pregnancy will produce an actual crying, breathing baby...well, it's just not something you ever take for granted again. So when Jonathan made his entrance into this world, he was the loudest crier, and he cried for the first hour of life...I didn't have a name yet. All babies are blessings, and all of mine, I've received with thankfulness, straight from God, straight from heaven, but oh dear, can you just imagine how much of a blessing little Jonny was, right from the very start?

He's been a sweetheart all of his life.


With Lydia, with Elise, with Wulf...what a good Uncle Jonny!


With newborn Achilles, and newborn Ophelia...


With Paul, and with me...


(with Abigail and me...and with Paul and Emily)
Jonathan liked his brownies, with peanut butter (melted in the microwave, with some powdered sugar, and brown sugar) swirled in before baking. Camille made peanut butter buttercream frosting, and we bought chocolate ice cream. His gifts: a new phone case, some good coffee, a nice water bottle,(Emily) the expansion pack for The Settlers of Catan, a new x-box controller (thank you Sam!), and gifts from Evelyn: more coffee (Starbucks expresso), a nice coffee mug, and a silly one too.

We had his favorite: hot sausage with peppers and onions, onion rings, tater tots, and a huge tossed salad. I'm not sure salad is his favorite, but anyway. It has been a cozy evening, as it pours rain outside. There are candles lit, and we're happy.

hmm, what shall we do today?

The girls made cake pops yesterday...vanilla cake, homemade buttercream frosting, then dipped in white chocolate. I had the great idea to put them in the empty egg cartons as they dipped them...:). And no, I did not eat one.


We went for a walk the other night...Paul lets the dogs off leash for a bit, on an uninhabited part of the road...


Yesterday was supposed to be sunny and warm. Well, it was neither. Since the clouds refused to move the heck out of the way for the sun, it was just that coolish, 50+ degree day, which was okay to be out in, but just a hint away from being gorgeous. I wanted sunshine on my skin, darn it!

Spring time in central NY state, I guess.

We "need" a new gas grill, as the old one is all rusted through. Is it worth it to spend a little more, or just plan to replace it in two years again? We use it so much, winter time too. I don't know. It is a luxury, isn't it?

The dryer if fixed, but it still stops frequently. So in you go to the laundry room, open it up, close it again, place the black electrical tape across the door to help it stay firmly closed, turn it on again, and sometimes, most of the time, it works fine. I had to really stop myself from grumping about it this morning, and be thankful that we have one.

The kids are not up yet, probably awake in their beds...I have to admit, I am feeling like this whole thing is getting old, but I am not going to give in to that feeling. As the mom here, I acknowledge that like it or not, I do set the tone here. What good will it do if I give in and cry, and feel sorry for myself? Honestly, I do feel a bit sorry for the kids. Sonja is a senior in high school. She is in this excellent program where she went to the hospital every day, witnessed procedures and learned about different medical specialties, first hand. She misses it, misses her friends. I know she is one in several million across the world who is in the same boat, but I still feel bad for her. It's the old, "Just because other people are suffering, that doesn't negate one single person's suffering." (I just made that up).

In the big scheme of things, there is no cause to "feel sorry" for Sonja. She has a loving family, a warm home, plenty of good, hearty meals, siblings to "lockdown" with...and she is being a great sport about everything. But, she is turning 18 years old on Sunday, none of her older siblings, or her friends, will be able to come over to celebrate. Again, just like everyone else in the entire world. But still, right?

Jonathan turns 16 tomorrow. We'll make his favorite dinner, hot sausage with peppers and onions. Then, peanut butter fudge brownies with peanut butter frosting. I have one gift for him, and yeah, I do feel a bit bad for him. He has been trying to get his four wheeler working lately, I wish I could just go buy him one that works, but that ain't happening, ha.

Miss Charlotte Claire turns 14 next week...maybe we'll order food out or something...curbside pick up. :)

The bottom line is that I want my kids to have a good life, but apparently we all need a good shaking up, and we KNOW that tribulation produces perseverance...(Romans 5). Our faith needs to be tried by fire.

So maybe I'll look through my paint stash and decide on a color to paint the laundry room door. Maybe I'll drag the sewing machine out and make some more masks.

My daughter Emily is heading to Buffalo this Sunday for a six week stint in the ICU, Covid patients. She has made herself available for NYC, Boston, ect., but hasn't been needed. She was actually offered a position in NYC, but it was rescinded because they don't really need more right now. I don't love it, but she has been adamant that she would help where needed, sort of like when war breaks out and all the young men line up to join, they want to do their part.

Have a really good day...are all doing okay? I do have concern about a blogger named Tracy, she writes linesfromthevine.com has 14 kids, she was writing every day, and the last day she posted, she wasn't feeling well...it was March 23rd. She had a cough, ect. Now she hasn't updated, so I've been praying for her...anyone know anything?

Are all of you doing okay?