Coronavirus, Creativity, & A Couch
Surprise! It snowed on Saturday! Roughly 4 inches of wet, heavy snow that was perfect for building a snowman!
Scott got tested for coronavirus and it came back negative. No surprise there. There was a concern, however, for the military personnel on the base since there were a few cases that had emerged. After 80+ people were tested, less than 10 were diagnosed as positive for the virus. None of them were in Scott's circle of associations.
He described the test process as follows: They took out a giant swab and explained what they were going to do. They told me not to jerk. So I tipped my head all the way back so I wouldn't jerk, and they shoved the swab all the way up my nose, past my eyes, and up to my brain. They jiggled it around for about 3 seconds and then pulled it all the way out. All done.
I can't imagine a test that requires a foot long swab going all the way up to my brain in order to get some results. There's got to be a better way! I'm proud of him for not jerking or coughing during the collection process. It makes me gag just thinking about it.
Here he is during the week and during one of our video chats. He called me just as I was finishing up a much needed rest, so I was snuggled into my blankie. He was working on calculus and computer programs that are way above my pay grade.
He also reports that the Bangladesh cooks returned, bringing joy to his meals and a smile to his face! Before their magical return, he was trying so hard to endure overcooked chicken, dry pork chops, and overcooked salmon, and at the same time he was definitely shrinking in overall happiness.
He's been keeping busy writing computer programs, working on calculus for hours every day, and exercising daily. He is, and always has been, motivated to be productive. (one of the many reasons we are a match made in heaven) :)
Tonight, he took me on a tour of downtown Riyadh while he was out on a walk. He was walking past all the embassies and it was a very clean and beautiful part of town.
As for my week, I have made a lot of progress with painting the kitchen cabinets. I am about 80% done now and it looks so beautiful!! Here is a picture that I took one evening while priming the cabinets under the kitchen sink.
Since I took over the entire kitchen area with all my supplies, I decided to make it fun for the girls. I moved all the dining chairs into the living room and lined them up in a row. I suggested it could be a "tunnel" that they could crawl through to get to the fort that was already in place using the couch and ottoman. But Abby, always so creative, announced, "It's a giant bus! Hey Mimi, can we make it our own Magic School Bus?" So that's what it became for 2 days.
At one point, Abby was my personal bus driver, too. She asked where I needed to go, to which I replied: the clothing store so I can get dressed to run some errands, and then to the hair salon so I can fix my hair to go run those errands. She happily dropped me off at the "clothing store", and I quickly ran to my bedroom to get dressed. Then I got back on the bus to head over to the "salon". They were so curious that both girls came with me to watch me do my hair in my "salon" (bathroom).
Later that evening, Amber grabbed a book and read to the girls under the deserted dining table while my painted cabinet doors & drawers finished drying above them.
I pretty much sprawled everywhere I could to get a good station for painting. The kitchen counters, the dining table, a table in the garage, etc.
Yesterday morning (Saturday), we woke up to snow. A LOT of snow!! It snowed all morning until about mid-afternoon. When Abby woke up and saw that there was snow outside, it was like a dream come true for her! She has repeatedly said that winter is her favorite season and she can't wait for it to snow so she can build another snowman with Papi and go sledding.
This was her face when she saw that her dream had come true:
She and Amber made a snowman out front, and another one in the back yard.
Since the leaves on all the trees have fully emerged, the wet and heavy snow made the branches VERY weighed down. I was lucky that none of my branches broke off, perhaps due to my tromping out there to shake them off multiple times. I did see some downed branches in other areas of the neighborhood.
These are my apricot trees out front, all slooped down with snow.
I also sent Weston out back to unhook the shade canopy that he had just put up a few days ago when it was actually warm. It was so heavy with snow that I was worried it would break or damage the house where it's hooked up to!
Jacob and Hannah also drove up yesterday from Provo, Utah to visit for the holiday weekend. We made a strawberry-rhubarb pie yesterday and enjoyed a slice last night together, then today we made another pie to take to Rigby for dinner. Because it was my Grandma Zoe's favorite pie, I established a tradition several years ago that whenever I make her pie, I also grace the top with a "Z" or something to pay tribute to her. Jacob wanted in on the action, so I invited his help and even allowed him to decorate the top. He always likes to be involved when it comes to baking.
Today, he took it one step further and spelled out her name. "Zoe"
He even allowed Abby and Gwen to flank him while he rolled out the dough. They mostly just wanted to eat ALL the leftover pie dough.
We took the pie to Grandma and Grandpa Harmon's house for dinner and had a really great visit with them. After lasagna, breadsticks, salad, and pie, I think I've had enough carbs for a while!
Abby and Gwen enjoyed eating their ice cream at Grandma & Grandpa's house tonight, while the rest of us relished the strawberry-rhubarb pie.
I also got Jacob to help me with a couple projects while he is here. He hung up two more hooks out front over the brick wall so that I can hang 3 flower baskets if I want to. It looks great!
And he helped me put up a few more cabinet doors in the kitchen. Hannah was kind enough to take a few pictures for me.
After much thought, I decided to sell my living room sectional couch. It has been a wonderful couch for about 8 years, maybe more. But the synthetic leather surface started peeling something awful several months ago. There is no good fix for that. I tried ordering a couch cover, but it wasn't a great fit and it cost me $180. I ended up sending it back.
I listed the couch on Facebook Marketplace a few days ago, including a description of the problem areas and some photos. A group of 3 friends bought it last night and off it went to their apartment. The buyers were young, about 19-20 years old, and they were so great! I was really impressed with them. They all work at Cafe Rio together, they all have plans to attend (or are already attending) college this fall, they were conversational and made good eye contact. They even spent several minutes admiring my family tree wall! I'm glad my couch is going to such a good home.
Now the living room is wide open and empty. But that allows me to look for a replacement option and I'm excited to do a little shopping in between painting and mowing lawns this week. I'm not going to lie: I do like to shop.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I am grateful for all of my ancestors and family members who have served in the military throughout history. I'm grateful for their service and especially for those who gave their lives fighting for freedoms and privileges for the rest of us. I'm also grateful for all of my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other family members who have since passed away but who also left a cherished legacy behind for me. I'm grateful to be where I am right now, living this beautiful life, weary . . . but at the same time content.
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