Corona Virus

I've not written in this post since January.  I know. Bad.  But since I got my new computer I haven't been able to access my post page.  Until now.  Rayne, Dom and Allegra are here right now and Dom, after months of frustration on my part, figured out the problem.  So now it works; I can post.  So I am.

The blog format is different now.  And more frustrating.  It just erased my total catch-up entry!  No amount of "undoing" helps.  Sigh.  So now I begin again.  

These are unusual times.  Never-before times.  In March we, and the rest of the world, received a gift from China; the Corona Virus.  It spread quickly, inciting panic all over the world.  The almost universal response was to quarantine EVERYONE!  This has never happened before so no one knew quite how to respond.  Our state governments responded in various forms of pressure for everyone to stay home.  Businesses and schools closed.  Nothing was happening for several months.  Those who ventured out to shop for food wore masks.  In some places they were mandatory.  Life changed as people locked themselves away.  For about a month it seemed to work.  But as time went by people began to risk venturing out.  Many continued to wear masks.  Some businesses failed with the shut-down; many workers lost needed income.  The Government sent most of us money to compensate.  It is a crazy, new world!  How dangerous is this virus?  We don't really know, except to say that it prefers the elderly and those with compromised immunity.  These are not normally in the work force.  So why lock up our workers, who have a high resistance to the virus or who tend to quickly recover when they get it?

It is June now and after going through various stages of reopening the economy, things are almost all opening up.  How will this all turn out?  We have yet to know.  And so I proceed with our lives here, beginning in February.

February offered Seth and Angelica a chance to go to the High School's Sweetheart Ball.  They each had dates and planned it for weeks.  Seth ordered a special jacket for the event.  What do you think?

Angelica also looked lovely but I didn't get to take her picture.  Gerald and Frances were here for awhile.  We so enjoy them and it is good for the kids to have their folks nearby, parenting them in the flesh.  Frances is a wonderful cook and made meals for us most nights they were here.  She's also an enthusiastic photographer.  Here's a sample of one of her shots.

Gerald always get involved with all the kids' activities.  He is a gifted Dad and a blessing to have with us.  

Here's Gerald and Frances, in Taiwan.

We had other family visitors too.  Rayne and Dominic have visited several times.  Dominic loves Idaho so they come to take in the world of Idaho quite often.  In fact, they came just this past week, with Allegra.  Dom loves to bake so he made bread several times.  He also loves to set a fire in our fire pit. We enjoyed a marshmallow roast one night as we took in a beautiful sunset.

Before the lockdown my girls and Rayne came for a girls' weekend.  One of the things we did was paint to a youtube video, using acrylics.  So fun.  Here is the result, showing me, Jessica, Rayne and Audrey.

When the lockdown began, school was cancelled and the kids were home all of the time.  So I began home schooling.  After awhile the high school figured out how to offer classes online so the kids continued their studies that way, ending my homeschooling efforts.  In spite of no outside school, they keep busy.  They are keen on exercise and cooking as well as online school.  Here is Seth working one of his culinary creations.  He shares!

 

Seth is moving in on 6'5" tall now!  Angelica is way into dancing.  She's been working hard on doing the splits.  With lots of stretching, she has accomplished it.  Here she is working on it but not quite there yet.

The glam flavor was accomplished by one of her friends, eager to try her hand at creative photography.

Spring came under quarantine.  Blossoms sprouted all over the neighborhood.  It is hard to imagine a lovelier sight.

We are blessed by regular visits from family, even with the ever-present virus threat.  Thankfully, no one we know has been victimized by it.  Here is a taste of our family visits.

Audrey and Cliff came one weekend.

They were joined by son Chase, his wife Morgan and kids Hunter and, here, Hazel.  Chase just earned his Master's degree and is so excited to be done with school and on the brink of a new job in Utah.

Here is a close-up of Hazel, who we all agree, at one year old, is a feminine version of her Dad.

We had some fun adventures with family but mostly we just hang out together.  Here you can see some genuine bonding between Layne, Angelica, Rayne and Dom....or can we?

Reed and Dorothy live near us now. What a blessing that is.  Here we are immersed in a card game...that I lost soundly with every round.  You can see observer Reed, master players Dorothy and Morgan, winning hands of Audrey, sitting by the hands of Angelica.  I stopped losing long enough to take this shot.

This past week we have enjoyed a visit from Dominic, Rayne and Allegra.  Allegra's birthday is this month so I took her shopping one day and we planned a special dinner for her on Saturday.  She wanted homemade potstickers, and made them herself with the help of Angelica and Rayne.  

As of today, things here are opening up. We can go shopping now and do just about everything almost normally.  It is a new normal.  The death of a black man at the hands of a policeman has set off protest demonstrations all over the country as protestors cry foul, enraged by extremists who love to create chaos and destruction.  What will come of it?  I can't imagine any good thing.  But our life right here in this spot is peaceful and lovely.  I'm grateful for that and pray that peace, intelligence and goodness will be the forces to spread, and that we will be better for the struggles of the past few months.  Here's hoping.