It's a sunny and beautiful Saturday! The Gov has allowed parks to reopen, as of today, with the caution that if people act like knuckleheads, he'll close them again. Our numbers are still high here in jersey, and it's heartbreaking and scary.
Tina cat is not worried.
Lucy, Daisy, Bob, Friday and Donald are all lined up!
Our local ice cream parlor is running a special! Not pictured are the four cones. Three pints of ice cream, two wet toppings, four dry toppings, jimmies, and cones.
My cousin posted this pic of my maternal grandmother, in 1966. That house dress, the hair and the glasses!
This poor kid fell and landed on her arm, fracturing the growth plate. We can't figure out why they braced her wrist, Manda is waiting for a call back. Ben thinks (and is probably right) that they looked at last years X-ray.
Snakes on a loveseat! The year and the snakes are 1/3 done, yardstick for perspective.
We just did our second grocery curbside pickup, we got about 90% of what we ordered. Our time slot was 10 a.m. and they called at 7.30 and said it was ready and could be picked up any time. So yay!
I signed up for Libby, the library app, and I've gotten a few books on my list from it. It sends the books to my kindle, which is great. I've been trying to read some of my own paperbacks also, so they can be donated.
I'm so glad to live in a state where the Gov is relying on science rather than emotion to decide when and how to get the state going again. I don't think we'll get back to a pre Covid state of life again until we get a vaccine. We'll keep using a mask when we go out, because somehow, when we weren't paying attention, we got old!
I have to look at my devices each day to know what day it is! I think we're in week 5 of staying home, maybe.
We all miss this guy, and were joking about how he'd hate the whole mask thing, but he'd do it because he loves us. I can't believe it's almost ten months since his death. Love you, Joseph.
These guys came to have a socially distanced visit! Eddie loves the opportunity to drive anywhere, of course. They were delighted with their snakes in progress. Eddie named his Covid, and Julianna named hers Quarantina! At that point, the snakes were done thru the end of February.
As of yesterday, Eddie's and Julianna's were done thru the middle of April, and Amary's and Garrett's were done thru the end of February. By the weekend I hope to have them all done thru the middle of April, then I'll update them every two weeks or so.
I made chicken enchiladas on Tuesday, and we had leftovers of them yesterday. They warm up great in the microwave! I hadn't made them in quite a while.
We ordered a freezer, which probably won't be in til July. Ours is a 9 cubic feet upright, from Ralph's parents' house. Florence has been gone for 6 years, so we don't know how old the freezer is. It's working fine, but. So we ordered a 17 cubic feet upright, with useable space of 14 cubic feet. I'm going to be prepared for the second wave of Covid19.
I saw a tip online, that when you freeze bread or rolls, put a crumpled up paper towel in the bag. It really works! When defrosted, the bread tastes so fresh!
Almost every day I watch Gov Cuomo's briefing. It's clear, concise, and informative, unlike the WH ones, which I haven't watched in weeks.
Sheets are in the dryer, and I'm pondering what's for dinner.
It seems as if we've been in lockdown forever.
I started with this.
Progressed to these.
They got eyeballs.
One month done on each of them! Temperature snakes for my grandchildren! Eddie's and Julianna's are the high and low temps for Mays Landing, Amary's and Garrett's are the high and low temps for Mill Creek.
My late dad, with a flag I made for him for Father's Day. I was about 16, so he was about 45, so it was in the late 1960's.
Mmmm. Quiche from the freezer, Brussels sprouts, and dinner rolls made with mayonnaise. They did not brown well, but were perfectly cooked.
Garrett and Amary had a good Easter!
So did Eddie, Jules, and the chickens!
Our favorite nurse, all decked out for work.
I've been watching NY Gov Cuomo and our Gov Murphy for updates on the virus. I refuse to watch the shit show from the White House. I only believe Dr Fauci, the rest of them are trying to rewrite history. Our state is hard hit, and we're very sparing with our going out. My tendency to overbuy and keep the freezer filled is paying off.
So the days consist of watching Gov Cuomo, reading, working on the temp snakes, walking laps in the driveway when it's nice out, and cooking. We have gotten curbside pickup at Texas Roadhouse and Bertucci's, and this week may do Olive Garden. Tonight's dinner will be chili over mashed potatoes.
I have plenty of physical books and kindle books, but it's hard having the library closed- I'm in the middle of a few series, and they are not all available on Libby or Overdrive. But if that's the worst of my problems, I'm lucky.
I'm getting to the point of having to check my phone or iPad to know what day and date it is.
I finished the afghan I was working on. It's called Ribbons of Joy, or some such. It was a kit. I'm happy with the way it turned out.
Neighbor Dave was shopping, and gifted us with a rotisserie chicken. I heated the whole thing up, and made risotto, glazed apples, gravy and cranberry sauce for a yummy dinner, with enough left over for a second dinner.
I got out the tub of yarn that I use for temperature blankets, and asked the 4 grandchildren what their favorite colors are. I plan to make each one a temp snake. I've been documenting temps since January 1. Eddie will be high temp for Mays Landing, Jules will be low temp. Amary will be high temp for Mill Creek, Garrett will be low temp. I'll use their favorite color for the head of the snake. I printed out a free yarnspiration pattern for the snake.
I've been watching Gov Cuomo's daily briefings for info. I don't believe anything that lying bastard in the WH says, and no longer watch his, or keep it muted til Dr. Fauci speaks. We need real info, not lies.
I'm still reading a combo of library books and kindle books, of the several series that I'm enjoying. On nice days, I do laps up and down the driveway. We catch up with neighbor Dave when we're outside, and I talk to my brothers at least once a week. Ralph, the girls and I have a running text stream, so we all know what everyone is up to. Saturday night while Heather was working, Ed and Eddie called to check up on us, which was nice.
So we're surviving the self isolation well, so far at least. It's such scary times!
So far, so good. We've got plenty of food in the house, plenty of books to read, plenty of crafts to work on.
LOL, Ralph, day 5.
My afghan is moving right along! I love the way it's coming out, it's a kit, and it's Christmas colors.
Manda had asked me to take a pic of my hands when crocheting, she wanted to know if I extend my index finger. Of course, it's to put some drag onto the yarn.
We did a little gambling yesterday, opened an ameritrade account and bought 100 shares of Royal Caribbean and 100 of Carnival/Princess. Prices are so low! And with 100 shares, you get $100 of onboard credit per cruise. I asked Mike about opening an account, and he said to use Ameritrade, it was easy to open the account online, and manage it. And of course, never gamble more than you can lose.
Corona virus is so scary. And yet there are still those that are not taking it seriously, like the idiot spring breakers in Florida. And we're so far behind where we could be, thanks to our idiot in charge, the liar.
We are going out for a bit today, just to the drive up at Chick Filet. We both want a salad, that's the one thing I don't have any more of.
My kids and I keep in touch by phone and text, and my nephew Mike called yesterday to check in on us, which was so sweet. I've talked to both my brothers in the last few days, and Ralph and his brother text or talk.
Times are scary. Corona virus, and prez that lies every time he opens his mouth. No wonder people hibernate!
We lived dangerously yesterday, had lunch at the diner. We've been staying home more than usual, as per CDC advise. The diner is usually filled up, and there were only people at about a third of the tables. I had my usual jersey shore salad, and Ralph had chicken parmigiana.
Projects really do go faster when you actually work on them! This is a ripple, in double and single crochet, with 12 stitches in each arm of the ripple. I love the way it's looking, sort of Christmasy.
Last weekend was the annual St Patrick's Day party at Heather and Ed's. It was fun, as usual. Ralph looks like something from Back to the Future!
This showed up in my memories, from 8 years ago. I'm not sure what they were dressed up for, but by the pic in the back, we were at Heather's.
I can't believe how big Amary is getting! Washington just closed all the schools, so she'll be working on schoolwork at home for a while.
And this beautiful (inside and out) girl is now a teenager!
I'm anticipating the library being closed down due to Corona, so I requested extra books (like I don't have a zillion on my Kindle!). I'm reading several series at once, and instead of one of each series, I requested 3. I'm reading both the Pendergast and the Gideon Crew series by Preston and Child, the Jack Swacki series by James Grippando, Deborah Crombie's series, Diane Kelly's Megan and Brigit series, the yard sale series by Sherry Harris, and the Diane Fallon series by Beverly Connor. All are excellent and I highly recommend, or I wouldn't be reading them. I'm also working thru A Very Stable Genius by Phil Rucker, a chronicle of the worst prez ever.
And it looks like a nice day again- yesterday it was 70 and I had windows open! March is a strange month. Happy Pi Day!
It's been a weird month weather wise. I haven't worn anything heavier than a sweatshirt yet! And in the car we turn on the heated seats rather than raising the temperature.
Daisy and Bob love to curl up in the penthouse.
Manda and family sent me chocolates for my birthday! And Eddie drove up to see me, with Heather supervising and Jules in the back.
My adorable grand dog, Mocha!
My mojo is finally coming back! This is a ripple done in double crochet variations.
Manda and Steph got some sister time in with the kids.
An oldie but goodie! Taken in about 2000, Steph, David and Manda.
I've been reading a lot. Escaping from the insane world we live in. I just started Thunderhead by Preston and Child, a thriller. I'm reading my way thru several series, via the library and Kindle. I love our library, I can look up books in their database, request they be sent to the closest branch, and they email me when the book arrives! I can also renew books online.
