And A Few More Pictures

Life is still so strange to me.  I wake up every morning hoping all the corona virus trouble is a dream. But no,  we're still "staying home, staying safe", social distancing, not seeing friends, not going to church, not going anywhere, not even the grocery very much.  (I think it's been about 10 days since we've been to the grocery and I'm compiling a list for our next outing.)

Our Bishop scheduled an online get-together for our ward on Sunday.  It was lovely to see some familiar faces. Though we kept our camera off until we were like the next to last people to leave, just so we could wave at the Bishop and his wife.  That online meeting was followed by our own household Sacrament meeting.  Every time we take the sacrament here at home, it becomes more valuable to me.  It's so different in a home setting with only 4 people versus in a chapel at church with several hundred.  It's so much more intimate and in some ways easier to focus on our Savior. It has such meaning to my soul.   It was kind of hard to feel like Easter.  Though we did watch several Easter videos that again brought tender feelings.  Celebrating Easter brings recognition of that immeasurable and precious blessing for all mankind.

"Street of Trees"

I took this picture of what I mentally call the "street of trees".  There's a grass lined drainage canal down the middle. Rows of these ornamental pear trees line the sidewalks on each side and then also both sides of the canal so there are four rows of trees down the street.  It's just heavenly.

Saturday The Husband was a bit restless.  He needed to get out.  So we did.  We took our little coupon over to Waffle Love (wish I still had the picture of that yumminess - he did the strawberry nutella waffle and I had the banana cream with chocolate.  We have pretty much shared one in the past but not Saturday, I wanted my own.  I'm so greedy!) and drove off with our bounty to sit in a parking lot, looking out over a field to devour our treat.   Then because we're supposed to be "quarantining" and we couldn't think of anywhere else to go that didn't involve people, we just drove home. 

Icy Yard.

It's still so baffling to me to feel like we're supposed to stay at home all the time, which we do, and then go out somewhere and see all the streets filled with cars - people coming, going thither and yon. Are they not staying at home?  Does that not mean the same thing to others? Are they (like us) just so full of cabin fever they had to get out for a drive or go nutty? It's an odd juxtaposition to me to see the stark contrast between the constant peace of our home and the constant traffic outside.

Thirsty grass meant The Husband spent some time getting the sprinklers going on Saturday.  Found a bad leak (or break or whatever it was) where the city's water company had put the meter on the irrigation water. That took some extra time to figure out and fix.  This morning's walk (after doing a couple short online yoga videos) took me past several yards looking like an icy wonderland.  Those people had obviously not gone outside at ten p.m. last night (like The Husband did) to turn off the sprinklers knowing it would be a hard freeze overnight. Pretty but I can't help wonder at the long-term effects.

Icy fence, so pretty.

And today, I'm the one who is restless.  Came straight home from my walk and with The Husband's help pulled the lace valances (and bedroom sheer curtains) off their rods and into the washing machine.  It's so embarrassing how dirty they all are. That action prompted The Husband to wash the inside of the windows (the spring is always so "revealing" of how grungy our windows are on the outside and last year we skipped the outside washing, so they're doubly bad).  And I don't want to put the curtains back up without giving the wood blinds at least a token swipe through the dust.  Thankfully the curtains have to drip dry, giving me some time to do that. 

I need to go for a drive, I'm sure my car needs to get out.  And my gas tank is down to half so it's time to fill up.  Maybe tomorrow we'll find some take-out lunch across the valley giving us a chance to take care of several needs at once.

I'm so grateful that we're in a safe place.  That prayer is constantly in my heart helping me feel a small measure of peace, reinforcing my hope that our Heavenly Father is in charge and that He is mindful of all the suffering.  I'm grateful that so far we've enough to survive on:  food, clothes, money - all those things that help us navigate life.