Neighborhood Birthday Party

A neighbor had her birthday this past week. As everyone is free these days, they celebrated during usual school hours on Wednesday.  I let our kids have a lighter day of school so we could join in too. It was unicorn themed, and they asked Liz to make the cake. It was an adorable cake.

Liz Photography

A Celebration of People Gathering

Texas is opening up from the lock-down. 

San Antonio is not allowing all that our Governor is allowing (not sure how that works), so still no libraries, no church gatherings, no schools. But the malls are open for those stores that want to be open (maybe 1/6 of the mall stores are open near us). Some of the stores allow you to use the dressing room, some don't. Some restaurants allow you to dine in, some don't. You never know what you're going to get when you head out there. I guess that's kind of adventuresome though. And I've always liked a little bit of adventure.

I was very happy to see a number of social gatherings this week. Not necessarily planned gatherings; people were made by God to be in community and they will wander toward each other. 

I pass by this home on one of my usual walks. I really love this clean, earthy set up. There's an RV in the driveway. The yard is bare dirt, but the kind that's hard packed and swept clean like Ma Ingalls used to live on. There is a clothesline from tree to tree. Nice set of wooden chairs and bench under the tree, lovely plant life. And often easy, relaxing music is pumped out into the yard and is so pleasing to hear as I walk home. 

Yesterday as I walked, I heard these neighbors loudly solving the world's problems. I think they were talking so loudly because they were sitting so far apart. I asked if I could take their picture. They offered me a beer. I thanked them, but left with just the picture. :-)

And we took another walk up Comanche Lookout Hill. A family of eight (or so) was there. You can see all the little kids sitting on the ledge. So cute.

A guy was there playing the ukulele. I'm pretty sure he was playing at Rolling Oaks mall soon after the shooting a few years ago. Someone else in my neighborhood plays their trumpet in the evening. I can't tell exactly where it's coming from. Jon thinks they're playing because their family wants them to play outside the house. I think they just want to share music with the downtrodden world. 

One of the neighbor boys went with us to the hill. He's a nature-loving kid. He's always capturing bugs and wanting to discover a new species. He said this was the best time he's E-ver Had. 

Ahh, a kid after my own heart.

And we walked one round of the mall tonight. The hat store was finally open, so Phillip could get a new Cardinal's cap. This barber shop is always a hoppin' place. It's very welcoming; I always want to join in the fun when I pass by. I was glad to see them open. They didn't have any extra people sitting around like they usually do (although there was quite the crowd in the hall ~ waiting their turn, I guess). 

Two more weeks of school!

Masks, Outdoor Walks, and Corona Cuts

Despicable masks. 

I can actually breathe with this scarf. But you can't see smiles. There are no smiles now. Not in the grocery store anyway. 

I tried another of the customary masks when I shopped yesterday morning, and I just about had a hyperventilating breakdown. So I pulled it down unless I was near people. And Walmart wasn't requiring them last night. I only put a mask on if store personnel ask me to put it on. Don't worry, no one is within 6 feet of anyone else.

There are smiles at Comanche Lookout Hill. 

There are so many people there now! And most of them mask free. I found these bunnies one afternoon. I really love that people have found this hiking spot that is so close to our neighborhood. I appreciate nature being available in the midst of the city. 

Neighbor kids use Phillip's truck as a clubhouse when he's using our garage as his office. 

And we have our first Corona cut! 

Dad only knows how to use the clippers, so a buzz cut it was. 

Mom tried cutting hair when Liz was a baby and it was not good. No one wants me to try that again.

He's got cowlicks, so we have some sticky-outty pieces, but it really doesn't look bad. 

The youth minister from church stopped by our house and dropped off a gift box. This was what was left right after we opened it. It was a big hit! And really great to talk to someone.

Phillip and I found a restaurant that opened for dine-in service today, so we had wonderful evening out on the town. It was a pretty hopping place too; mostly with take-out orders, but there were a few of us sitting in to eat. 

In other news, three more weeks until school is over. All summer activities are being cancelled or moved till late summer, so I guess we'll do lots of spring cleaning in June. 

Woods

A drawing by Phoebe

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

My neighborhood path through the woods.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

My Developing Relationship with One-Ply

The shelves offer more toilet paper now, for which I am grateful. I can live without pasta or Del Monte Cut Green Beans, but TP is essential -- a tough item to lose.

These shelf offerings are unknown to me. Where is my familiar Charmin Essentials Soft?! I see Angel Soft over there, but I've been down that road before and it was disappointing.

We have strange faces staring back at us: Aqua, Rojo, Hill Country Essentials. I recognize the Hill Country label so that's the one I choose.

I take it home. It is dense. Hefty. Promising a substantial roll instead of a readily emptying one.

But, oh! Discoveries! Alas, it is one-ply. The dreaded, joke-inducing one-ply. So thin. So..... cheap. It doesn't tear at the perforations! Are there perforations? An attempt, presumably, at perforations.

Time passes and I grow to appreciate my one-ply. It is indeed a hefty roll. Though thin, it be sturdy. It lasts a long time between tube changes. If not the handsomest of packaging, it is reliable and not altogether unpleasant. I come to be surprised at how much I delight in one-ply when compared with other knavish plies I have purchased.

During this novel coronavirus, I have learned true love. A love for the vexatious, the irksome, the infernal. A love that has not only come to tolerate one-ply, but may even keep him around when new choices appear on the shelves.

Birthdays and the Elevation of the Family

Phoebe turned 14 this week! 

She had talked about going to one of those Old-Timey Photo places to get some pictures taken. But everything is closed right now. So we had her meal of Stromboli, her cake of Boston Cream Pie, her opening of gifts and the watching of her choice of movie. She wanted a funny Western. We found several suggestions, but she decided on a familiar one.

Maverick

Phoebe has been doing some sewing lately, embroidery, drawing, listening to books, reading books. She's gotten Harrison to listen to Harry Potter. Phillip and Jon got Phoebe to read Lamour's Down the Long Hills. I'm trying to get Phoebe to read Love Comes Softly. Liz is going back to Mere Christianity because when I had her read it a few years ago, it was a little over her head. I enjoy a little book swapping and chatting amongst the family.

Snowball fight! 

Jon's fake snowballs gave them a few minutes of fun this afternoon. 

It's been surprisingly cool this past week. I was glad because I've been wanting to have one last backyard fire. It was a good fire too ~ we aren't always successful at building one. We cooked bacon. Campfire bacon is the best. 

Our neighborhood found out this week that their schools are shut down for the rest of this current school year. We weren't too surprised at the news. Our family has 5 weeks of school left, and we're keeping at it like we were before Corona. Except I do half a math lesson with Harrison per day instead of a whole one. That's my one little concession to lighten up our days. 

I feel bad for all the high school seniors who are really celebrated their last year of school. No proms or Skip Days or graduation ceremonies. If I had been looking forward to all of that, it would be such a depressing bummer. Liz wasn't going to have a graduation ceremony. She was going to attend a prom, and that's up in air as to if it will happen. She also had a graduation party date picked out, and we'll have to see if that can still happen. Her college is getting kids registered early for classes, so they'll be calling her soon to get her college freshman classes set up. She's out shopping with her dad right now for a car. Life is moving on, if a little differently than planned.

Around our house I see old advertisements for daycares and preschools promoting early education and such. It made me so, so happy that the family is being elevated right at this moment of crisis. When it came around to hunkering down, they didn't separate family units and put them under an authority the government deemed a better fit. They actually said that the family, the home was the best place for everyone. What a testimony to the reality He put in place from the very beginning. I don't like quarantining. But I'm super thankful for my husband and kids and our home.

Celebrate!

This Easter has been a real day of celebration. 

I feel our family has found its routine after three weeks of Covid Quarantine. Routine is truly cause for celebration. There's something calming and comforting about it.  

Jon is almost done getting his driving hours in. He drove to Krispy Kreme this week, and I was enraptured by these Spring Minis. They are disgustingly sweet, but they were so cute.

The neighbor shared the egg-dying experience with the rest of the kids who were outside playing. I'm not sure Harrison has ever dyed eggs. Have my others ever dyed eggs? It's never been a thing that I felt the need to do. But they sure enjoyed it! So, thank you, Ms. T for letting the kids in on it.

This looked like a William Tell reenactment, only with a shoe on the head and a stuffed soccer ball "arrow." I asked the kids if they were doing William Tell, and they said, "Huh? We call this Man-Ball." The little "man" was hit by the ball quite a few times. 

We did Drive-in Church at Castle Hills again. It was a really good Easter sermon: Silent Saturday, the day when you think nothing is happening and you have lost hope. The day right before the miraculous is going to happen, but you don't know it yet. The day you must trust Someone who is above it all and knows.....

We are grateful our church has kept up services through all the Quarantine stuff. It's not the same. We can't get out of our cars, and you feel like you're singing by yourself. It's sad really. But it's something. I can't wait to gather together again. 

And then we had the most bestest Easter Hour with the neighborhood! 

Some of the moms and I had been talking this week about doing a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. I told them we were planning to do one for everyone, so they gave us their eggs and candy to add to ours. Several neighbors also contributed cascarones. We had over 200 stuffed eggs and probably 200 cascarones. 

While my older kids and neighbor moms hid the eggs, Phillip did the Bible Easter Story using Resurrection Eggs ~ the kind that each have a plastic symbol inside. Like, there was a donkey for Palm Sunday and 3 silver coins for Judas' betrayal. I've always loved these for telling the Easter story. 

And then they were let loose to gather the eggs in their baskets! 

I'm sure they'll be finding eggs in the days to come, but all the Golden Eggs were found. 

Here they are getting the candy out and a neighbor mom is saving the plastic eggs for next year. 

So many cascarones! 

Jonathan had looked for these at Walmart and couldn't find them. Turns out we didn't need to provide any! 

Cascarone fight! 

I got exactly one cracked on my head. One is all you need to have a mess on your hands. 

And so it turned out to be a very celebratory Easter. It was so good to be IN something together with others.  I love my neighbors!