2020 May 1

Friday

10:00am:

10 days ago, I decided to stop writing diary entries for awhile.

I felt like I was always writing the same thing — the minutiae was not longer interesting me — and I didn’t have anything I needed to say.

Instead of recapping the week in detail, I will summarize in point form and add some photos to illustrate.

I had the beginnings of suspected mastitis that resisted the usual “home remedies” and am now on antibiotics.
I went to work Saturday and Sunday.
I went to the grocery store for the first time in a month to pick up some birthday supplies, and found the whole experience so incredibly stressful that I bought enough to top us up for one more week so I can delay the “big shop” for May until next Tuesday night.
Our youngest, 1 year old, had a suspected reaction to peanut butter Sunday night (despite dozens of previous exposures) and we now have an epi-pen and a call into an allergist.
I made an “under the sea” cake for my 3 year old — the only thing she wanted for her birthday — and, in doing so, tried my hand at poured fondant. Verdict? I prefer it to rolled fondant, but need some practice with the technique.
We did lots of puzzles and drawing. We’re still not formally following the school stuff being sent to students, but the teens are reminded about work, the 9 year old asked to check in with teachers before he gets “free time” on the computer, and the 5 year old is obsessed with a math game website and thrilled to finally have her own profile on our computer.
Our eldest is finding being cooped up with everyone extremely challenging.
Our 1 year old was knocked down by her big sister, and now has a black eye.
My garden is starting to look pretty — our hyacinths are out in full force (my favourite), and I’m starting to divide and move some giant hostas. I dug a new garden around the base of a tree in the front yard that I hate to mow beneath.
I gave someone some summer savory, and she surprised me with a delicious blueberry pie in return.

So, despite all the pausing, Life moves along anyway.
Now it is May.

I’m making a list of the non-food garden priorities for this year and starting to plug away at those as time and finances permit. I had intended to delay all that for a year, but pragmatically decided that “all work” would make me a grumpy and begrudging gardener. I need to do other stuff, too, and fortunately have enough big things to divide and move that my garden plant “purchases” will be free for the next while.