Sunday, March 22, 2020

Sunday....

I love a Sunday.
 After waking up at 10:00 and getting my first cup of coffee, it was time to go to church.....online.
I watched Fellowship Live in my nightgown while still in bed.
Churches are being innovative during this never-before-seen time we are in right now.
As I heard one pastor say on the news tonight - "The church has left the building!"

This has been such a wet March....one of the wettest on record.
Today was the 11th day in a row that it rained.
It was on the chilly side, as well. 60 degrees for our high.


Good weather for a big pot of Great Northern beans cooked with the ham bone from Christmas that I found when I was cleaning out the freezer on Friday.
There was still plenty of meat on that bone and sliced onions and home made cornbread made a hearty meal.

Louis Dean has pretty much watched news all.day.long.
I can't do that and maintain a good attitude.
It gets depressing and they just say the same things over and over and over again.
And I am sorry, but I can't watch The Virginian or an old western right now either.
I simply don't have the patience for that.
So Louis Dean has stayed in the den and I have roamed around the rest of the house.



I'm new to watching movies on my laptop and I sometimes forget about being able to do that.
This was my movie of choice today and it was a good one!


I took the laptop to my favorite place to sit in the living room and had the best time!
Should have made popcorn!

Amber sent me a pic on text.....


She was watching some of her old synchronized swimming routines!
That's Amber's legs in the photo.
I said I wish I was there and then - thanks to modern technology - I was!

*Facebook*

In a way. Amber called me on Face Time and I answered on my iPad.
Together, she and I watched well over an hour's worth of routines - including her very last solo which was in 2002. It was the one and only meet I missed.
SO many good memories today! Amber and lived them together back in her swimming days and we relived them together today.

Here's what Amber said......

Corona Chronicles photo no. 5: I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been grateful for technology these past few weeks. πŸ™ŒπŸ» This evening, my mom, Linda, and I spent about an hour and a half on FaceTime together watching old videos of several of my routines from when I was a synchronized swimmer. (Kailey told me I had “a lot of episodes of swimming!” and I told her that’s what happens when you swam for 11 years lol.) πŸ’¦ I created a makeshift iPad stand so Mom could see the tv and sat “beside” her as we watched, talked and reminisced. The husband was working at his desk upstairs but said he knew just from the sound of things that was I smiling ear-to-ear the whole time. πŸ’• Don’t hesitate to connect with friends and family, it does the heart and spirit so much good! #coronachronicles #quarantinelife #stayconnected


The Bells are enjoying this extra home time together.
I'm certain they are enjoying not having to be at school by 7:30 in the mornings!
Amber and Mike have set them up with their own desks and work area and are keeping up with their studies as well as doing all sorts of life lessons.


Last week after Harrison had outgrown his bike, Amber showed him how to research the Facebook Market Place and gave him a budget to work with.
He studied all the options and chose this bike for $20.
He and his dad met at a parking lot and made the exchange.
Mike had plenty of Clorox wipes to wipe it all down before they brought it home.
It was perfect timing since their spring break had been extended and he's been able to ride his bike along with his sisters.


This afternoon they all went out and wrote words of encouragement for their neighborhood on the sidewalks.

For the third day, I MEANT to start deep cleaning the kitchen and, for the THIRD day, I didn't.
I am going to tackle that tomorrow for sure!

We had meant to go to the ranch in the morning but the rain has made it pretty wet down there and there is news that Dallas County will be under a 'Shelter-in-place' order at midnight tomorrow night.
Since this whole Covid-19 virus started - Louis Dean has been home.
I hesitate to take him out.
When I have gone out for medicine and groceries, I make sure I change my clothes and scrub my hands when I get home. I want to keep hime safe and home is the best place to do that - for now.

Speaking of Louis Dean......for 4 nights he slept like a baby!
But that was over a week ago. Since then he's got up and gone in the guest room to keep from disturbing my sleep....and I thank him for that.
However, the other morning I could see the light around the door and knew he was in his music room.
It was 6:00 and he had not been asleep yet.
I assumed he had been working on his music and wasn't surprised when he slept until noon.
I didn't turn the lights on in the hall so it wouldn't wake him up.
Later - I noticed a sack of potting soil sitting on the clothes hamper - weighing down the flimsy lid.
Then I noticed the smudged dirt on the carpet and the potting soil that had been dropped on the carpet and then walked over.....like a bread crumb trail......all the way from the music room down the hall through the dining room and sewing room and out the French doors.
Instead of playing music when he couldn't sleep - he was gardening. INSIDE the house!
So I am glad there will be days this week with no rain and warmer temps because I am going to send him OUTSIDE to play!!

I'll close tonight with a couple of funny things from Facebook!


Man! This is the truth!!!


Louis Dean said he was out of toilet paper in his bathroom and I was so grateful Amber had picked up a package for us that day the kids came over to spend the night.



There's always something to be thankful for!

14 comments:

MadSnapper said...

I am rationing my sheets of TP, only 2 sheets per potty break. trying to get bob to ration the eggs, as in 1 per day not 2. when he runs out he says he will eat cereal. I said I hope you like it dry, because we need to ration the milk too. he drinks a full glass each night with a sandwich. I also told him there is no sandwich meat. oh well... I nearly died thinking what I would do to bob if he gardened in the house. you would hear the yelling all the way to Texas...I can tell you I am doing the same thing with him, keeping him at home and going out just me. I also can say, if we both make it through this shelter in home thing, without killing each other, it will be a miracle. I love that you and amber could watch together. I don't have that ability since we have no apple products at all. I wanted to try skype but my kids, brother and my best friend in Savannah, don't know how and don't want to learn

Changes in the wind said...

I thought about cleaning and my heart just isn't in it. I did wipe down the kitchen. We too watched out church service livestream on the computer and it was wonderful! Like you I can't watch a lot of the news so end up playing games on the computer. we faced timed with our kids and it was great, so grateful for that. I learned how to order groceries on line only to find there were no times available for pick up. Guess I will be going today but have a better idea of what we need to keep this up. Glad to still have the grocery store open.

Arlene G said...

Marvin joked that we took off our regular pjs and put on our good pjs to watch church online.:) So many changes. I too hope they work and we see an end of this virus soon.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

How special to have that time with Amber! I love technology.

Glad LD is willing to stay home, and I hope he can get outdoors today!

I showed time those memes from Facebook! We both got a laugh out of them!

Stay well friend!

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Best to stay home especially with the rain the ranch does get muddy and you don't want to get stuck there and not be able to get out if you need too. We're pretty much locked down here too. My friend is having me watch her cat while she is in hospital and the only time I go out is to feed the cat for awhile anyway. Don't have to worry about him spreading germs anyway! Still no cleaning done here but i've read another book. Mostly Danielle Steel these days. I am very thankful for the internet that keeps us all in touch. I'd be lost without it.

Bluebird49 said...

Love that Bell family!
It's so nice you can visit with Amber that way. πŸ’• Sherry and I would so be doing that, were she alive. She'd have loved all this technology. But, she was such a social person, this social distancing would have blown her mind.

Gardening.in.the.house. Slow down Louis Dean!
You're cleaning...he's gardening! 😎

Movies on computer are good! And lots of older tv series, too. I can't want to watch Gunsmoke and Andy Griffith every minute, either. 😦
Enjoy your day, sweetpea!

photowannabe said...

Oh my, LD gardening in the house...Hope you can "send him out to play".
We sure are doing a lot of puttering around here too.
We have been taking a walk around the block but today its threatening to rain and is windy and cold.
I guess there will be more puttering inside today.
I am so grateful for online church. It's not the same but so thankful anyway. I like sipping my coffee in my "play clothes" and worshipping.... (:0)
Glad you and Amber could watch together..fantastic.
Take care..we WILL get through this intact !!
Sue

Ginny Hartzler said...

I am glad to know you are both alright. How wonderful that you got some really good close virtual time with amber! Louis Dean must have gotten so much sleep that he couldn't sleep anymore! Our church is meeting with ZOOM. It is virtual, we can all see each other and talk to each other, just like being in church!

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Carole said...

Just as well you like cleaning stuff, Linda - unlimited time for that now... my better half is already getting a bit stir crazy... talking about projects he has been planning for ages (and not doing) and how the the lockdown is stopping him now - as if! NZ hasn't had any deaths yet and only just over 100 cases - mostly related to travel - our government has decided to go to strict lockdown to see if we can beat the critter - like Taiwan has - wish us luck. Cheers and stay safe

Rain said...

Hi Linda :)) So nice to read your blog post! I've been a little swamped with the home buying process! Oh I'm like you, I can't watch any news...I check out the headlines to stay informed, but I can't watch constantly like that. I'm glad you're both doing well! Take care my friend! xx

Saimi said...

FaceTime is the best, I truly love it! My husband watches and listens to the new all the time, I can only take so much of it too.
I'll do my part and stay home, wash hands and all the good advice. I even cleaned my house today but thats really because it was time and needed it haha. I'm glad I can still go to our farm and tend to the horses but thats about as far as I go.
Take care and stay healthy!

Vee said...

Always. I’m thankful for wonderful blogs to read. How fun that Louis Dean’s medium has gone from glue to dirt. I suppose staying home has the advantage just now, but soon you’ll be back at the ranch. What a brilliant life lesson Harrison got!

Anonymous said...

I am so impressed that Amber and Mike are teaching their kids life lessons like this. I know Harrison must be so proud of his bike, because he put a lot of effort into the purchase. So much better than Mom and Dad just making one appear when he needed it. You raised some great kids, and looks like it is paying off for the next generation.