I know that it’s Friday, but I have no idea where I left off in writing. We have good days and bad days, as everyone does, I’m sure.
Here are some things that happened this week.
- I made some masks, and then I got some in the mail from my mom, and they were much better. But that was okay, and actually good, because mine were too hot, since they were made out of flannel.
- Porter loves to play with Legos. He got a little Easter money, and he got some tooth fairy money, and he’s going to get a new Lego set with it. It’s funny because right after we let him do that, some friends brought over some Legos they had out grown. So, now we will have a lot of Legos…
- As I mentioned last post, I’m upping my cocktail game in search on one I can adopt as a signature to serve to friends when they come to hangout (right now it occurs to me that maybe it should be a Cosmo, as I haven’t had one of those in years, and I used to love them). Anyway, last post, I showed you the Pimmlet. Last week, I made Manhattans (delicious) for a happy hour with a friend in which we both had a Manhattans, which is her family’s signature. Another day, I reprised Patrick’s cousin’s Ginger Lime Martini which is delicious. Finally, Patrick requested a Whiskey Sour, and since I’d made simple syrup, it was easy to make. I was annoyed by the fact he and Porter had eaten the last of the oranges for lunch, since it meant I couldn’t take a picture, because who wants to look at a fancy cocktail without garnish? It was a minor issue though.
- Games are getting us through. We play a lot of games as a family. Patrick plays Monopoly with the kids, I play Dominion or Ticket to Ride. Seamus and Gilbert have figured out how to play Dominion online with friends. It’s pretty fun. We set up a portable table in the living room for another place to play. We put out a puzzle, and after avowing that they don’t really like puzzles, they each came over to work on it. Porter did a section, Harlan found a few matches, Seamus worked on it for a while, Gilbert got fixated on individual pieces. It worked pretty well. A 300 piece puzzle was about right for them. They played Skull with the neighbors over FaceTime and were trying to figure out how to play the game from across the street. Everybody is adapting. We had been playing a lot of tennis, but the city has chained up the courts now. That’s sad. For his birthday, we are getting Seamus Bocce and Kubb, which was listed as a super fun lawn game, and I guess that’s all we have left in the world. 4-H camp for the summer has been cancelled.
- Buzz cuts. All the kids wanted buzz cuts. So Patrick set up a salon outside in the yard. He did Gilbert and Porter one night, and then when Harlan was jealous about wanting own buzz cut, we made him be good all day so he could have one. Patrick did Harlan’s, Seamus’s (which was really just a touch up), and himself.
- Outdoor time. We’ve been gardening, going for walks, taking bike rides, seeing how fast the scooter can go down the sidewalk. It’s fun, but like I mentioned previously, we’re investing in some yard games for the kids–Seamus wants them for his birthday, so that works out.
- The garden is planted. Gilbert and Harlan helped till up the dirt for me. We found a big wasp colony, but Patrick sprayed it. Here’s hoping. I swore I wasn’t going to do a garden this year because it’s a lot of work, we were planning to be out of town, and it’s always a challenge to get it in during the time of the semester when I have to do it. But this year, well everything is reduced to the yard. We refreshed our planters. With the boys, we planted lettuce, beets, cucumbers, okra, basil, parsley, cilantro, swiss chard, and bush beans. I already have robust mint, oregano, dill, thyme, and chives. We’ll see what comes up!
- The boys all have a quarantine journal. It’s been good to focus on a little writing prompt at night. We do a pretty good job of doing it every other night. It’s not beautiful prose, but they have things to say about the state of the world. One prompt was “Something your parents have done for you today.” Seamus professed to not be able to think of anything.
- Yoga at home is hard, but managable. After much trying, I have managed to esacape to the bedroom for practice. However, I got some of my home practice tools out, and the kids really love to play with them. Porter is easily the most flexible. He also is learning a lot of trapeze tricks on the swing set.
- Porter’s reading is coming along. He’s obsessed with Star Wars and he like to read to us about the different characters. He also likes to talk like Jar-Jar Banks, which is funny because I remember when this kid I used to babysit for in Kentucky was doing that. It’s a good time.
- Making small things fun. We did a taste test dessert, with Nutella, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Trader Joe’s Spread on crackers.
Academic Leigh Speaking 