One 'Stay At Home' Month

It was exactly one month ago today that George and I returned from our trip to Dubai and started the 14 days of self-quarantine recommended by the CDC in O'Hare in Chicago.  A few days later our governor also issued a stay at home proclamation to match the Federal 

15 Days to Stop the Spread.

In the last month I've been out to get a Fred Meyer grocery pick up three times and we've gotten restaurant meals from curbside service 3 times. 

 I have never loved the beautiful walking paths in our subdivision more than I have this last month!  We have been able to go on walks almost every evening.  Sometimes during the day, I go for a walk by myself and listen to podcasts.  My latest theme is Ireland.  I'm dreaming of a trip to the Emerald Isle and making my list of things to do.

What else have I been doing?  Well the baking continues.  I think I found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I've made cherry pie and baked bread.  I even made homemade noodles to go with our stroganoff. 

Delicious and very easy to make homemade noodles. 

I've finished my Blog Books for the last 3 years!  And I've started going through my old journals and redacting information that is too personal for my children to read.

With Matt's help, I've been working in the yard.  He very happily chopped down this bush that had gotten huge and had big thorns. I've been raking and trimming and thinking of what plants to add.

It was so much fun to have a Zoom Book Club with my Portland Book Bunch.  These ladies are just great.  At the end we each shared something we had learned from Pandemic 2020.  My favorite was Robin who said that she had learned that 4 squares of TP is sufficient!

I've even ironed my old Barbie clothes that have been sitting in a box for more than 50 years.  I never iron..  Amazing what a Grandma will do for the love of a cute little 4 year old.

Now I am mending those clothes and sewing on teeny, tiny little snaps....again I never sew.  Isabella is going to be so happy! 

We had 'Zoom' Church and heard two fantastic missionary reports.  I miss going to church although 'home church' is pretty wonderful.

It is definitely spring as the goose and duck families are everywhere.

Can you see the heron?  He looks almost like a statue as he 'fishes' in the pond.

I started reading Wuthering Heights.  I read it in high school but that was a few years ago.  It is quite a story. 
 I've organized every closet and drawer.  The donation places like Goodwill are going to be inundated with stuff when this is over.  

We have a family challenge to walk or run 50 miles before May 13.  Now I need to figure out how to make appropriate 'Coronavirus Pandemic' medals.  

So far, I'm not feeling stir crazy!  I'm really glad that we aren't still living in the tiny little apartment in Lake Oswego.  I have a lot of projects to do here in this house.  I'm also glad that we aren't stuck inside in the winter when it is dark and dreary.

Favorite Memes of the week

I think the end is in sight for at least a soft opening up most of the country in early May.  I've been reading all the pros and cons  of opening and not opening.  I'm just glad that I don't have to make this decision which is truly life and death for so many.

Thoughts on Covid-19

I am sharing my thoughts about Covid-19 and how it has affected my life.  And also a list of things I am thankful for during this pandemic.

First of all, I love this painting. It gives me a lot of peace.

 I feel so thankful for some of the little things that bless the Lewis family:

·       Modern Technology so that we can stay in touch and that I can see those loved faces!

·       That all of the ‘kids’ have someone to help them through these tough times of ‘stay at home’ – a husband & a wife or good friends.

·       I’m thankful for food and shelter and books and TV and Netflix.

·       I’m thankful that Dad has a job!

·       Thankful that Mark and John’s jobs are considered essential.

·       Thankful that Dad can work from home.

·       Thankful that all this is happening during the spring so that we have more sunlight, flowers blooming and ducks and birds coming back!

·       Thankful that Dad and I made it home safely from Dubai.

·       Thankful that Mary and Mark were blessed with Jackson and Christopher in their home.

·       I love reading stories to Isabella every night….and even having her read to me!

·       I am staying busy with my ‘to-do’ lists

·       I love that mostly, all of you are willing to play along with my Quarantine Games!

·       I’m loving baking and cooking.

·       Feeling blessed that we came home to a full pantry and freezer thanks to Matt.

·       And of course, the blessing that none of us are sick.

Now how has Covid-19 affected my life.

·       My schedule hadn’t been super busy before but now it is wide open!

·       Honestly, I kind of like being able to stay in my pjs or sweats all day with no makeup and not fixing my hair!  

·       I love grocery shopping and I can’t go and shop like I want to.

·       This has forced me to really think of what food we already have and what we need.

·       And I’m shopping online which is weird but strangely kind of fun too!

·       When I go for walks in Lexington Hills, it is so odd to cross to the other side of the street or go into the grass or road to avoid people.

·       And it is really odd, but strangely comforting to have ‘home church’.

·       It is sad that John, Monica and Isabella can’t come over for Sunday dinner.

·       I miss knowing that I could visit Mary and family 

·       All of this has helped me realize that it is the ‘small things’ in life that matter the most. 

Under Orders to STAY AT HOME

That's what I am trying to do!  Not worry and be happy!  

With so much uncertainty and panic in the world, I'm limiting my exposure to negative posts on social media and not paying a lot of attention to the news.  All I can do is take care of myself and my family.  It does me no good to worry.  This old but still very relevant quote has been almost constantly in my mind. 

That said, I don't intend this to be any kind of philosophical post but just a snapshot as to how I've been spending my days at home.  We returned from our trip to Dubai on March 20th and were asked to do a self quarantine for 14 days.  On March 25th,  Idaho Governor Little imposed a Statewide Stay At Home Order.   Since the 20th I've been to Fred Meyer twice to pick up our on-line grocery orders and once to Cafe Rio for a curbside pick up. (Which was delicious, by the way!)

George and I do go on walks almost every evening.  Because his company is considered essential, he has gone to work a few times for meetings but he is mostly working from home.  His company is enforcing strict social distancing and checking everyone's temperature as they come into the building.  We still have our N-95 mask that Fun For Less Tour Company gave us when we were in Dubai so we  have worn those on those 3 trips out.  We don't wear them on our neighborhood walks.  I find it quite amusing to see how everyone crosses the road or goes into the grass rather than walk near anyone else.  Amusing but necessary for sure.  Because we are older, we are in the group that is most at risk so we aren't taking chances.

So what am I doing to keep busy....well baking.  I've made cookies and bagels 

And bread!

I believe that this will be true for me... 

George and I have had a little friendly competition with a  Quarantingo game.  The winner will get to pick where we go out to eat when restaurants open again.  It is definitely a win-win.

I made another one for our family but it must have been a 'girl game' as only Monica, Mary and I have participated.

I've listened to my first podcasts.  Totally enjoyed learning about Ireland so much that I'm planning a trip there someday!

I've done some 'on-line' tours of art museums including a really fun interactive one of the Dali Museum near Barcelona.  I 'virtually' walked around London and found some pretty amazing street art, including this one by Banksy.

Never knew how valuable these Lysol wipes would be. 

I've done my best to keep things sanitized.

Totally disinfected and organized my refrigerator.

Put a bear in the window so that the neighborhood children could go on 'bear hunts'.

Speaking of the neighborhood children....cute Emma wrote notes on the sidewalks outside each house.

Are you as shocked as I am about how much you touch your face?

Had a 'through the door' visit with Isabella

Best of all, she calls me every night and we FaceTime so that I can read her a story.  I just love this so much.  I hope we continue after things return to 'normal'.

Dune Bashing

It's a beautiful earth-quake free day here in Eagle, Idaho. I'm having fun remembering our 'dune bashing' just outside of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

36 SUVs all lined up and ready to take to the hills - the hills of sand!

Before we started, our drivers let out some air in the tires.  When I asked George why he said that it is the same reason camels have big wide feet....now we had big wide tires.

Our guide was a new driver.  I just loved that he said his evening prayer before we left.

He was from Pakistan and came to Abu Dhabi 6 months ago to work.  The company also employs several of his brothers and cousins.  I worry about them now since the tourist industry in the UAE has been essentially shut down.

What a fun time!  Racing up the dunes, over the dunes, and down the dunes!

I loved it!

At one point we all stopped for pictures 

You know how photographers talk about the 'golden hour'?  Well this was the golden hour!

I never have considered myself a 'desert person'.  I am more of a mountain lake kind of person but this scenery was dazzling! And as always, it was fun to share it with John and Katherine.

Walking up a hill in that fine sand gave me new respect for the Children of Israel and the family of Lehi, who wandered for years in this type of desert.  It is hard work!  I'm quite sure that I would have been a complainer.

Our young Pakistani driver had a lot of trouble driving.  George and John thought he was burning out the clutch and several times he killed the car and we slid back down the dune.  Finally we got a new driver and, as it turns out,  he is the boss and the 'fix-it' man.  Normally he would be the last man in our caravan, alert to any problems.  And there was a problem! We got to stop and help a car that had gotten stuck and whose tire had come off the rim.

In the back of his car were all the tools needed to fix anything.  This fellow was from Yemen and had 7 children.   He was fun to talk to and he loved my camera.  I think he took something like 50 photos!  And most of them were very good!

Our destination for the night was a Bedouin encampment/tourist spot.

We had a delicious dinner with no camel meat!

I got a henna tattoo, which is something I have always wanted to do but have never wanted to pay for!

The tattoo artist was very fast and did a different design on each woman.  I'm just sorry that I was in quarantine and no one got to see it.

Reclining on pillows and eating on low tables is quite exotic but no easy feat for some of the senior citizens on the trip.  It was a prefect place to listen to Michael Wilcox.

What better place than the Arabian desert to learn about T  H Lawrence, 'Lawrence of Arabia' ( you probably know about him from the movie) and the Muslim leader Saladin who defeated the European crusaders in 1187, which paved the way for Islamic re-conquest of Jerusalem and other Holy Land cities.  During the next crusade he was unable to defeat the armies led by Richard the Lionhearted and lost much of the territory he had conquered but he was able to negotiate a truce that allowed for continued Mulsim control of Jerusalem.  

We ended the evenings entertainment watching a whirling dervish!  Just watching him made me dizzy!

A perfect end to our crazy COVID 19 trip!  

Earthquakes and COVID 19

I had actually planned to do one more blogpost about our trip before posting anything more about COVID-19.  That post was going to have pictures of all the things I have been doing during our 14-Day Self Quarantine.  I've felt quite safe here in my little bubble. Except for walks around the neighborhood, we've been out twice, once to get some groceries from Fred Meyers Pick up Service and another time to Cafe Rio for their curbside delivery.   Neither of us have had any symptoms and our twice daily temperature checks have been further evidence of an article that George read a few months ago concerning a study that indicated the average normal temperature of people was dropping.  It appears that 98.6 is no longer the norm.  My average temperature has been 97.5.

I've been good about not inundating myself with news thus not terrifying myself.  I have watched quite a few of President Trump's updates, and while he still is not a good speaker and says some crazy things, mostly I've felt proud to be an American as I listen to all the amazingly good things that are happening during this national emergency.  I've felt like I knew enough to be informed but still remain calm.

Yesterday I was doing some dusting on higher shelves in my office. I had just stepped off a step stool when the whole house shook.  My first thought was that it was a really strong wind, but when it went on and on I realized it was something else.  Next I started wondering what Matt was doing in the basement that was causing the house to shake!  After a couple of seconds I realized that it was an earthquake, the first one I've ever experienced.  It is scary!  My Southern California roommate at BYU used to demonstrate earthquake safety to us by bracing herself in the doorway and singing, "I feel the earth move under my feet."  I didn't think quickly enough to get in a doorway or sing but I was immediately thankful that I hadn't still been standing on the top of a step stool!

The peace that I've been feeling disappeared and just as our house had been shaken, so was I.  The earthquake, rising death rates, horrors in Spain, another month of staying at home and the fact that George is going back to work at the office tomorrow, all combined to just totally knock me from the calm place where I've been living.

My feelings about George going to work is a microcosm of the worry of the whole world.  On a personal level, we need this job but we also need to stay healthy.  On a global level, we need to get the economy going again while slowing the spread of the disease.  What is the balance?  I pray for the leaders of the world who face this question everyday.  And for the experts who give advice to these leaders.  And for the researchers who are feverishly working to develop a vaccine and medicines that can help when the virus is contracted.

Scriptures, prayers and a good nights sleep have restored my equilibrium.  George did go to work, armed with hand sanitizer and a mask and my admonition to WASH HIS HANDS A LOT!  I am hoping that he will mostly be working from home in the coming weeks.

I'm looking forward to this weekend when we will be listening to the leaders of our church, men that we revere as prophets, seers and revelators.  That will be so calming.  I am sure their message to us will echo this admonition from Isaiah given thousands of years ago.