Daily Ooo's: May 2-3: Weekend Edition

[faerywings]

Finally!!!! :dance: There is the sun and no wind and the temps are gonna be nice!!!
Happy weekend everyone!!!

Who is ready to breathe in bright, warm sunlight? Deep breathe in..... see and feel the sunshine spreading through your body from your head, down your arms, into the abdomen, and down to your toes. Exhale...... One more time, inhale all of that glorious light- visualize it spreading through your body. And exhale!
Keep doing that while I let the dogs out. BRB!

 

[faerywings]

I am back- how sunny do you feel?

Good news about Ray, she didn't have an accident last night! I have enough chicken and rice for her tonight and then we will see how she does. I hope that it is more a stomach bug than anything else. But she is old. Can't deny that part.

I know you are all dying to hear about Carnival Night. We had a lot of fun. The pretzels are so good, I might warm one for my breakfast. Cait's funnel cake was made with pancake mix- and boy, were they good! The Wii Carnival Games are ridiculous. They are about as rigged as the real ones. ound: There is a Shooting Gallery one and it is impossible to aim correctly. The rest of them are silly- dunk tanks, cup tosses, skee ball. I actually did good at that one, came in second. There was one where you have to toss balls into holes that make your horse race based on the points of the hole you get the balls in. The three of us finished the race and Scott still had halfway to go. He kept laughing at how he felt alone while the rest of us watched- I had to tease him back that is how I feel when we play Mario Kart!

Today I have a busy day-- FP at 10 am, my parents are coming up at noon for Gary's birthday which is tomorrow. Then I am picking up groceries up the mountain at 3 pm.
Not really any free time to be outside in the dirt but maybe tomorrow.

Wishing everyone a very happy day!

 

[faerywings]

Oops, I forgot gratitudes!
- that I have a captive-- I mean *attentive* audience with all of you, Thank you for listening to me as a ramble on
- that it looks like Cait has the internship at the college-- she had three, maybe 4 different online interviews yesterday. She is going to be in charge of about 90 undergrads, a lot of them vets which is not the population she is used to working with but should be a good one for her too. She will have her own office as well. I asked her how many photos of rats she is going to put in there- she said "At least five"
- my ridiculous and silly and fabulous family

Nancy- I am so excited about our weather! Are you going to attempt a park today or wait a bit? I am sure that you will spend time out with Luther. How awesome to meander back home and see so many birds.
How nice to watch the railroads- even in winter. I had a dream that it snowed here-- and lots of it and I had to walk home in it, but not this home- my parents home. I always dream of my parents' home being mine now. Crazy times, crazy dreams!

Trudy- I wish I could send you some sun but I am going to be greedy and keep it here!! Bwuhahah!!! I hope that it doesn't rain all weekend so you and your Gary can enjoy your beautiful yard.
I am cracking up about your shock at SIL not having Netflix. I would be in shock too. When Brendan and Cait broke up, the first thing we did was sub to Hulu since we had been able to use his acct until then.
Your day on the phone sounded like mine the day before but at least you were able to see the kids and that was good.
Were you able to get anything creative done yesterday? Not me!

Felis- That is a very good beginning to your month. I hope that you are able to keep it going in spite of the rest of our day being not good. You are correct that in this age of the internet, you can find anyone to agree with your feelings. Out govt is doing the exact same thing here. DT says or tweets something ridiculous and the rest of the govt has to go out and find people who agree with him.
Hang in there, my friend!
There isn't anywhere to keep Ray since the house is all open downstairs. I know that when I get frustrated with cleaning up after her, there is going to a time in the near-ish future that I am going to be wishing that I had to clean up after her.

But that day isn't'; today and she enjoyed being outside int he sun, sniffing the air.


:hug:

 

[felis]

hello lOvelies!
Just a quick pop in to report that I had lovely day and now I'm waiting for Angelica's Live stream performance, and you know how much I adore her! So this will be wonderful day!
Also I hope to be able finally to scrap tonight!

Chris, it looks like snowing here as the wind blow the blossom of the cherry trees, SO pretty! Lovely weather for me as it's gloomy but warm. The Carnival night sounds fantastic! And I'm so happy about the Ray! I hope I'm right and its just a seasonal thing!

Kisses and hugs to all, my personals are in my yesterday post!
Gratitudes:
blossom
music
friends

 

[nancyr]

good day! the sun is shining with a few white clouds. It is so nice. We went to a local park and I wore my mask and my glasses fogged a bit LOL but it was good and walk was 2 miles so that was great. People distanced but only about half had on masks. We are not required but it is suggested. Coumo reported that in greater NYC 19% of those tested were covid positive for antibodies. I wonder what the statistics are in NJ. Yesterday I dug out my old excel skills so I could graph the numbers and so typed in the numbers in NJ of this pandemic. We went from 1 positive to over 100,000 positives in 2 months. Deaths went from 1 to over 6700 in the same time frame and it seems 40% from our long term care facilities. How sad it all is. I am waiting for evening news to see if people in NJ behaved in parks. Forgot to tell you my good hockey story. Every Thursday the Devils host a Q&A with a player and questions can be submitted. Last Thursday was Mackenzie Blackwood our rookie goalie. Well they asked my question. That was pretty fun.

Chris your Carnival night sounds so perfect! I am going to have to get out our Wii and play against my DH. I never won at Mario Kart either. So glad that Ray is doing better with no accident last night. Congrats to Cait and the internship. It should be so interesting. Have fun with the parents!

Felis sounds like May is going to be interesting for you just like for the rest of us. Wear masks don't wear masks, open don't open, and you are so correct you can find an expert to back your opinion no matter which side of the fence you are on. Have a fun day!

Trudy wow what a day on the telephone! My sister does not have Netflix and I am always amazed but she leads or should say led such a busy life that she never missed it. Hope the rain ends soon but I don't want it coming this way! Our long range forecast is for colder than normal.

Grateful we are well
Grateful we can walk
Grateful for the sun!

 

[scrap-genie]

Yesterday I found evidence that April never happened. In my studio I went to change the calendar to May -- from March. I was never there in April. I still didn't do any art work, but did finally sew a face mask. Had been afraid the sewing machine was not working (could be an antique as it's over 50 years old) but it did fine. I used a really simple pattern and want to do some more. Watching videos of people sewing let me know the machines today are a bit different and maybe quieter.

This morning we had a Zoom meeting of a genealogical group and then I watched a nice webinar with one of my favorite speakers. This evening I found on YouTube a presentation called "Drawn to Yellowstone" from Wyoming PBS that covers art and Yellowstone starting with the painter Thomas Moran in 1871-72. Enjoyed that a lot. The weather was nice and warm but windy and we didn't do anything outside. Had a long talk with BiL, this time not having to help with his computer, just talking.

Chris, thanks for the exercise. Oddly it briefly gave me shivers. A sign of my tension, I guess. Adore the carnival night descriptions! Feels good to know someone is having fun. I think it will be great for Cait to work with a different clientele with the internship. And an office! Hope your busy day turned out well.

Felis, thanks for sharing more sunshine from your yard. Yes, ours is small, but we could find room for seating though in all the years have never done that, only chairs on the front porch that we don't use anymore. Such a nice day you described.

Nancy, you too have good things to share so that is super. Glad you saw birds the other day and got to a park. Sure hope folks don't abuse that.

Grateful for
sunshine
warmer days
sewing machine still going
all the bright goldfinches in the yard

 

[faerywings]

We have "gorgeous sunny day #2" on tap! It is already calling me outside. But I have to see what is going to be happening for Gary's birthday today. Not that we have *tons* of options... heh.
Yesterday, I said that I felt bad that he was going to have to spend hs birthday inside, just the four of us. Then I caught myself- it isn't any different than any other year for him which made him laugh. I think the plan is that we are ordering from the local diner who does delivery, that will be dinner. Not a single idea for dessert. Scratch that -- too many ideas for dessert and he won't give us an answer of what he is wishing for. pfft. We spent almost the entire time at dinner last night trying to pin that down and I got nowhere. What can ya do?

Overall, yesterday was productive. Darn face masks make is so hard to communicate. The FP people asked if I needed butter and American cheese and I said yes but they must not have heard me. Then there was something I didn't need that they added. I am grateful for everything and will find a use or be able to pass it along to someone who needs it.
The weather was so nice that I set up chairs on the patio when my parents came up. I told them we could be outside at a distance but only if they were comfortable with that. What a difference to be able to be sort of close instead of talking through the window.
They seemed ok with each other which was a relief. Or maybe they were being on good behavior so I didn't scold them.
It is always hard to not hug them.
My mom also was wondering out our shore trip this fall. She wants to go if the place is open but I am very, very hesitant. we will have to wait and see how things play out over the summer. It makes me so glad that we were able to go last Oct just for the one night. If it is the last time we are able to do that, I am happy that we did. If our "last trip" was marred by her being in the hospital, that would be harder to accept.
Again, we will have to wait and see.

I wonder what will happen at the parks overall. When Gary and I drove up the mountain to get groceries, the road was packed with parked cars. Every spot that people park to hike up to the trailheads-- not an open spot anywhere. The State park, Wawayanda was Full. I have only seen that in the summer when it is really hot and people come up to the beach there. Gray saw on FB that it was at all of the local state/country parks. Lots were full. I am so conflicted-- I know that it is safer outside and I did see people out of their cars wearing masks (some at one of the town parks we passed, not wearing masks- mostly teens ) But I worry that people are thinking the worst is over and will get lax.
As for my family, we are not taking any risks.

We also picked our next theme night. It is going to be favorite for the kids-- Pirate Night. Gary and Scott are going to eat some of the tilapia in the freezer, I am making macaroni and cheese with shells for Cait and I. Drinks with rum of course. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Other than Gary's b-day and dinner, not much else planned for today. I need to finish his card, I am struggling with that. His parents might stop by to say Hi. Then what to order from the diner! And dessert... (ugh)

Gratitudes:
- that Gary was born!
- sunshine
- that I already got a shopping spot for next Saturday!
-that virtual hugs can be a thing ::grouphug

 

[faerywings]

Felis- so happy that your day got much better, how was the live stream? Can you record them so you can watch again?
So far so good for Ray, no accidents last night either. Whew!

Nancy- I am so happy that you and the fam got to go to the park with Luther. I am relieved that it wasn't so crowded that people couldn't stay distanced. It is too bad that only half wore masks.
Those statistics are horrifying. We have 18 recorded deaths in my town and I think that most, if not all are from the nursing home. One of Cait and Scott's best friends worked there but quit right before things went bad. Her sister still works there and says or devastating and scary it is.
How neat to have your question answered!! I am glad that you are able to get a bit of sports in, in spite of it all.
If you figure out how to win (or get out of 11 or 12th place! LOL) in Mario Kart, let me know!!!

Jean- ound: :rofl: We said the same thing, we had March twice. No April. Glad that you found *proof*
I am glad that your sewing machine is working and that you made some masks. That is very good to hear about your Zoom meetings. My dad is able to use that for his fire dept meetings. My SIL is having Zoom b-day parties for Christopher. I was a able to dig out Gary's old laptop and I hope that will work. That is nice to be able to talk to BIL- just to catch up.
I am sorry that you are still feeling tense. It really comes and goes for me in weird ways. Same thing with sadness. A lot of hugs to you!

BIG hits to everyone!! xoxoxo

 

[BrightEyes]

Morning, gals.... somehow I missed posting here yesterday. Been a busy couple of days getting back into the swing of CT work and scrapping a few other challenges at other places. So glad that May is here and April is over. April was a hard month emotionally with our anniversary and my being down and unable to scrap. We have gone right into summer with hot weather [12 to 15 degrees above normal]. I changed sheets on the bed and packed away the down comforter as it is too hot at night for it. Turned the heat off and switched over to A/C. It won't come on for awhile as it is set at 80* but the house is so well insulated that it hasn't got above 77* inside. And that was when I was baking another Apple Cobbler. I even made American Hot Tamales - family's version of cabbage rolls spiced with Louisiana Hot Peppers. The freezer now have enough of both to last for awhile. LOL

I did sit out on the patio for a bit but the wind and allergies drove me back into the house. I noticed that the 'new' Graywood Ash tree I had planted last summer is now if full bloom with lots of green leaves. We lost to the top limbs to a wind storm last fall so was worried about how it would do over time. Glad to see that it seems to be fine. And the small trees/shrubs that were transplanted from pots in front yard to backyard are doing good. Still have empty pots in the front yard but no potting soil so they will have to wait until the crisis is over to get the daylilies planted. They are bulbs so can wait until later.

The restrictions are easing a bit and other nonessential places are starting to open with curbside sales. A few parks and golf courses have opened. I laughed and cried when they interviewed a person I know about how he felt to be out golfing again. I know that hubby would have felt and said the same thing.

Chris, I am with you in hoping that people still pay attention to social distancing and wearing masks but concerned that many will think the worse is over. The numbers of new infections are still going up here so know we are not at the peak yet. So glad that your circus party was a success... the pirate party should be great, too. Good news about Cait and her internship. Give Gary a Happy Birthday wish from us. Had to LOL about dessert... my DH always wanted a spice cake with peanut butter frosting for his dessert. So did my 2 boys. In fact, that was what my son made for me on my 80th birthday.

Nancy, glad you got out walking in the park with Luther. Great that it wasn't too crowded. How neat that your question was one they answered... bet you were a proud fan to have that happen!!!

Jean, glad your sewing machine held up so you could make some masks. Had to LOL over how old it is... I still have my old 'work horse' Kenmore that is 60 years old and I pull it out to sew anything heavy. Of course I also have my newer??? :becky: 2000 Brother embroidery machine that I use for most of my sewing. So glad you enjoyed your Zoom meeting with the geology group.

Felis, how wonderful that you had a sunny day. They make everyone feel better and raise the spirits.

We will be having the family video chat this evening. Turns out the free Zoom will only hold 4 participants so we will stay with the Meeting that DD#2 can host which will allow us all to be there even if only 4 show at one time. I need to get on the laptop and download Firefox to see if it works better - and doesn't have me sideways!!! LOL... Will be a treat to see the great-grandkids again even if it is on-line. They are now at DD#1's for the next month - their mom and dad drove them over but had to head back to AZ the next day. Their mom will be doing antibody testing for the next month - she is a phlebotomist. She wanted to make sure that the kids were not exposed even though she is very good about changing clothes/showering/etc when she gets off work. I would love to see the kids in person but they are under 14 days isolation at DD#1's. Maybe things will be improved before they go back home.

I'm off to get a few chores done around the house. Hope everyone has a good week.

 

[taxed4ever]

Morning ladies... The sun is trying to come out this morning, but I think it will lose the battle with the big grey clouds that are coming up the valley :sad: Yesterday we had our adventure to Costco!! We must have been out of our minds to go there on a Saturday!! Got there at opening and they were lined up around to the back of the building. Only letting so many into the store at once, it took us an hour to get inside the building!! I was not too impressed with my DH let me tell you!! :rollpin: But we did not have much else to do yesterday, so once we got inside it was the best shopping experience I have ever had at Costco! Not many in the store and the shelves were well stocked! We got all that we needed and did shopping for MIL and FIL too. She will be happy to have her 10kg. bag of flour!! plus many other items she has had trouble getting. We will not be going back there for quite some time, when we do I think it will be just me going and in the middle of the week when the masses are not there! So today we are going up to MIL's and FIL's to drop off their groceries and the wine that we bottled for them. We will give MIL her Mother's day gift and card and will be meeting SIL Linda there as well. Bring some lunch and have a bit of a visit. We won't have to go back next weekend unless there is something that they need us to get done for them.

Chris - Happy Birthday to your Gary!!! :HapBirth: I hope he has a lovely day surrounded by all of you who love him so much! I am so happy that the sun is shining for you today again!!

I am :sorry: ladies, but I just don't have time for personals today, but will happily catch up with all of you tomorrow!! I have so much to get ready to take up to the In-Laws and need to start some :washing: and do a few other house work related things this morning before we go. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!! I will see you all tomorrow! :wave:

 

[felis]

Chris - Happy Birthday to Gary!!! I know you'll make funny family celebration for him! :bday:tea::choclove

I'll try to come back later, but if I left it for the morning I wanted to be sure that will post my wishes on time! Yes, as Jean, said I was able to take the sunny garden pic with better quality and this time scraped it. Have few more ideas, but I'm busy with house stuff today.

 

[nancyr]

good day! It is not as sunny as yesterday but still it was warm out for our morning walk. We went to another local park. The park has a nice path around a lake and usually you can walk however you want but they have put arrows on the path indicating which way they want you walk so you can distance more easily. Well twice I nicely mentioned to people that perhaps they should follow the arrows. The arrows were pretty obvious to me but the jogger said she did not notice. But they were nice and turned around. No rare birds just the common which is not bad just is. My girlfriend and her DH were out walking and stopped by and we had a nice talk. Just catching up on family and how we are all distancing. It was nice to talk IRL with other adults. She said they saw a fox and so had my DH and both say it is gorgeous and big. I think it is cool that there is fox running around but my girlfriend is afraid it might get her dog which is really small. My son sent me a photo of a nondescript bird and said what is it? LOL Finally thinking of all the common birds and based on what he said I narrowed it down to mockingbird and sure enough he called this am and said it had wing bars so I was correct. I am so glad he is out with his MG(main girl) and bird watching. He said they walked 10 miles yesterday but not all at once. Glad they are getting exercise. My son and his wife went to their fav park and said the distancing was good. Some of the parks were over crowded but not the ones by us. Yea! But still surprised by the lack of people wearing masks. Still working on scrapping.

Chris so glad you had a nice visit with your parents. Wish Gary and Happy Birthday! Hope you figure out the cake. Pirates sounds like a fun theme. Have fun outside!

Wow Kay so happy you are back in the swing of things with scrapping and CT. Have a fun time with your chat tonight! I hope you are right side up! Your cooking sounds so yummy.

Trudy glad the trip to Cosco went so well that you even able to get stuff for your ILs. Have a happy Mother's Day!

Jean I cant believe we are going to have cool weather all May. Why does the jet stream dip now? LOL Glad you had fun on your digital meetings.

Felis hope the live stream went well. One of my favorite country singer Kenny Chesney just put out a new album so I am looking forward to listening to it.

Grateful no rain
Grateful for friends stopping by and distancing