Most of us have barely gotten out of the house for two weeks.  For those who were interested in getting out, and also interested in being outside, we offered a hiking trip in the Lakes Region.  The actual hike we chose was to the summit of Mt. Roberts, looming over the Castle in the Clouds  It was suggested to us by our friends, the Goldsmith-Steele family.

The last college acceptance photo for a while

It’s rare that we have a spare Saturday to get out and hike;  there’s usually lots of other demandson our time.  We also curently have a new appreciation for anyting outside of our yard, so our steps were lighter than they might have normally been.  Beyond that, we were also celebrating the end of college acceptance season.  That season ended on a high note this morning with a positive email from Olin College of Engineering the last place Zoe had been waiting to hear from.

Here are some sights from our hike:

We are so frequently glad we found a home with places we can walk and ride to.  I rode my bike to work at the high school today. Then, when we were all done working, I jogged out to meet some of the family at the Longmarsh Conservation Area. After a little hike there, I did not feel like running back home, so I accepted a lift.

Jen cleaned up at Splendor.

Here are a few more things from today:

We reserved books for pickup at the library.

Busy beavers at Longmarsh

Ready to rock

The traffic in masks and mask components is booming  The snow is melting.  I started my recording career with a video of my cover of Bingo was His Name-o.  it’s my contribution to tomorrow’s remote kindergarten learning.

Bio lab

Speaking of remote learning, Zoe finished a bio lab in her bedroom (with two lab partners in completely different places).  She and Nadia both took math tests, and Lanie finally returned a library book, and the governor announced that school won’t start up again until May at the earliest.

Video check-in with orchestra director

The govenor’s press conference had the effect of sending people to the Market Basket for fear that all the stores were going to close soon, even though he specifically said that grocery stores and hardware stores (and breweries) were considered essential for public welfare and would remain open despite his stay-at-home order for other non-essential businesses.  The check-out guy’s nerves were frayed by the time I got to the front of the line.  Still, we have egss and bacon, now and even all-purpose flour (though I did not get it at Market Basket and I refuse to reveal my source).

Jen enjoyed a nice virtual happy hour with co-workers.  Tomorrow is Friday.

We celebrated with lemon cake and Azul.

Here is more from today:

Zoe accepted to Brandeis

We continue to learn.  Today we learned that Ebby really doesn’t like to swallow pills and Home Depot really doesn’t want people to enact buyer protection plans.   We’re cautiously optimistic about overcoming each of these roadblocks.

Here is more about today:

We became a supple depot for Seacoast Mask Makers.

We played Dominion. It’s not important who won.

It snowed last night.  This conveniently allowed me to run the gas out of the snowblower — a task I’ve considered undertaking several time over the past several mild weeks, but I never got around to it.  Now, instead of just letting the thing run until it was out of gas, I moved some snow around.

So close

There was enough gas to finish 95 percent of the driveway, so it all worked out nicely.  Here’s to procrastination.

The snow cover also allowed us to have a camp fire in the newly-cleared fire pit withouth having to obtain a burn permit.  It was a lovely evening to cook out over a fire.

Then, after Brooklyn 99, Zoe unveiled her Bakeshop project: eclairs.  Everyone was delighted.

Here’s what it all looked like:

Studying by the woodstove

Cooking on the campfire

Ebby resting comfortably next to Jen

Ebby came home today and spent much of the afternoon resting on our bed.  She ate a little and purrs when we lay next to her and pet her.   Everyone is happy to have her back.

Cutting cotton and watching Brooklyn 99 (Halloween episode)

Today many of us embarked on a humanitarian mission to help especially the medical community.  Jen has joined a club working to sew respiratory masks out of cotton material to help protect nurses and physicians.  She picked up the fabric from a friend, and measured it into the right sizes.

Then we helped cut them into the right shape.  Jen is going to iron them and return them to her friend, who will sew elastic flaps onto them to hold the masks in place on the person’s face.  Judging by the material used, the medical professionals will be quite fashionable in the coming season.

Other things that went on here today:

It had the feeling of a snow day. We’re expecting up to six more inches overnight.

This device helps make wontons, which look like this right before they’re cooked..

Online fellowship

We enjoyed the virtual company of our Durham Unitarian Universalist friends for a Zoom Sunday service today.  It was a unique pleasure.  We don’t want to place anyone above anyone else, but hearing Carmen play piano all the way from the West Coast was a definite highlight.  Sunday actually felt like a Sunday, even if the rest of the days last week felt pretty much the same as one another.

Some of us got outdoors, much to Daisy’s delight.  Paths at Wagon Hill were a little crowded, by we managed to keep a safe distance from anyone we encountered.

At Wagon Hill

Also today:

Practicing for tv theme medley

Being Saturday, today was light on the demands of remote working and a heavy on the desire to be out among our friends.  Then we realize our friends aren’t really out either, and we find stuff to do around the house.

A few shelves were decluttered.  Some laundry was processed.  More firewood split.

Lanie’s Suzuki Book 4 violin Recital was put on indefinite hold.  If we can get a copy of the piano accompaniment, we’ll figure out a way to live stream her performance to the world at large. She has been practicing a lot and knows the songs very well.

We picked up local produce from Tuckaway Farm (eggs, potatoes and spinach) but continue to strike out with all-purpose flour.  We keep hoping it will get restocked soon and we’ll catch some before it all sells out again.  That’s about the only thing we lack, but Zoe needs some for her Bakeshop class.

Other things we were thinking about today:

Daisy eviscerated a stuffed chipmunk.

Zooloretto

Chinese takout for dinner

Quick cleanup

Jumanji: The Next Level for movie night

We’re still waiting for Ebby to come home.  Her temperature was up a bit, according to an incredibly early-in-the-morning phone call from the veterinary hospital.  She still is not eating, but her temperature was back down when the called again at a reasonable evening hour, and the doctor sounded hopeful.

Zoe’s string of acceptance letters was snapped by a wait-list notificatoin from Colby (Colby!).  She seems unphased by this news.

I got to help distribute GoBags to homes of kids from our school, and felt useful doing so.  I did not get to drive a school bus, a possiblity I mentioned to my family.  The driver of the van I was in chuckled at the thought of me driving when I mentioned it.

Here is more from today:

Talking onf the phone to Grandma, who knows all about what we do because she reads this blog

Paiting the Terraforming Mars counter trays

We didn’t drink all of this tonight, just some.

Paisano goes good with pizza.

Terraforming Mars again tonight

Lanie’s cake creation has home-made mango curd inside and that is as good as it sounds.

Bad news first: Ebby’s apetite wasn’t coming back and she threw up again, so we brought her to the emergency veterinarian.  A sonogram and complicated surgery later, the surgeon says she’s still not out of the woods, even though all the thread is out of her and multiple holes in her small intestine have been sewed up.  The next 72 hours will be very important for her.  If she is able to eat tomorrow, she may be able to come home and gain her strength back here.  We are all hopeful.

Only one of these people has been wait-listed at Amherst.

On the plus side, Zoe got acceptance emails from two colleges, Amherst and Mount Holyoke.  She is now four-for-four in acceptance letters.  Too bad she won’t be able to visit either of these colleges for accepted student days because accepted student days are off.

We also started online learning in earnest. For dinner, Lanie made an extra lasagna, which we carted over to friends who are suffering through quarantine and sickness at the same time, though we are hoping they’re not suffereing from the sickness which is causing everyone else to be quarantined.

Here is the day in pictures:

From my workstation, I could turn around and see Lanie, and there’s Jen working in the dining room.

Ready for Lanie’s lasagna assembly line

Dream come true: I sat in with the Indigo Girls during their Facebook livestream.  This number is called “Land of Canaan.”  

Catan tonight