Spring Is Almost Here

I can tell it’s almost spring because Mother has been outside gardening almost all weekend long! She has most of the lawn raked and ready for grass to grow, and is even getting some plants outside in their winter pots, to toughen them up and get them ready to plant in the ground again. Temperatures are rising and it’s actually been raining enough that the snow has almost disappeared.

Bryan was out there with her on Saturday, getting the shed organized and the catio roof re-attached after the big wind storm. Fairly soon we’ll have to tackle the pile of lawn clippings and random twigs that piled up over the season last summer: load it up into the truck and take it down to the landfill. He’s also eyeing the old treehouse to try and figure out how to demolish it. it’s not safe for kids to climb on, so it’s best to just get rid of it. He even got Mother’s Lincoln out of storage and running again for her. It weathered the winter rather well, although it did have a severely flat tire.

Naldo and Viktor have been supervising all this outdoor activity from the safety of their catio, although I do have to admit that Naldo doesn’t really like going outside all that much. I think it’s still a bit too chilly for her. Viktor has a thicker coat, so he’s out there as much as he can be – as long as we’re out there with him, that is.

I can’t say that I’ve been out there much. Lawn work just really isn’t my thing. I’ll happily help out if asked, but much prefer to sit up in my craft room and play with my paper cuttings.

Actual Faces!

I’m actually getting quite comfortable with the whole idea of staying home to go to work. Things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing – but when you’re dealing with a computer, that’s to be expected. I think they are the most exasperating contraption that has ever been invented! Thank goodness I have my IT guy handy whenever I need him. There hasn’t yet been an issue he can’t fix eventually!

The biggest speed-bump has been connecting to the network in Anchorage. Apparently they installed the necessary software onto an old computer that doesn’t get used very often. We have learned by trial and error that the computer needs to be left on at all times, and cannot be allowed to go to sleep. I have only had to send a cry for help (otherwise known as an email asking them to turn the computer on again) twice today! That’s quite the improvement from Friday, believe me.

Other than that, work is going very well. The Architect sends me directions via email, along with red-lines that he’s scanned and any supporting documents I’ll need. Then I log on to the network, grab the files I need to complete the task and save them onto my computer. When I’ve completed the work, I just upload them back onto the network and email the Architect letting him know they’re ready for him to print.

My non-work hours are going well also. Bryan installed a video camera onto my computer this weekend, and that I think will be a HUGE relief to this forced isolation. Just this Sunday we had a Family Zoom Meeting, hosted by my sister-in-law Heather. We had all the family logged on: Reed, Heather, and their girls out in the Butte - Me, Bryan and Mother here at this house - Kelly, Tara, and Laurel up on the mountain - and Noel, Katy, and Lauren out in Anchorage. It was so nice to be able to see everybody again – we all chatted and laughed for a good hour.

I even got to do some Face-Time with my good friend Anne, in Anchorage. I used my phone for that one, however, so the screen was teeny-tiny. But She’s stuck in her house with two little boys (one almost 2 and the other about 6) so she really needed an adult to talk to for a while. It was good to see her again. 

No Zombies Here

Today was the first day I’ve left the house in over a week. Aside from a few brief walks around the neighborhood, that is.

It felt very strange – I was almost afraid, even. Of course, I know that’s silly – but I half expected to see zombies stumbling around! Thankfully, all I saw were fellow Palmeranians picking up their groceries.

We did the whole “order on-line, curb-side pick-up” thing earlier this week. It went surprisingly well. Navigating around on the website took some doing; it’s not exactly intuitive. We eventually managed to put our list together and then went to schedule a time to get our groceries – only to discover that the nearest timeslot available was 4 days later! That was a shock. We went ahead and scheduled it, though, figuring we didn’t have anything else to do – and anything we might consider “an emergency” could always be picked up the normal way.

When our scheduled pick-up time finally arrived, I got dressed (yes, I’ve been wearing my pajamas at work all week) and hopped in the car to head on down to the store. It was quite easy to find the designated pick-up spot, and I chose a space separate from other shoppers, just in case. A quick phone call alerted the store that I was there, and a mere 5 minutes later a nice young man named Hunter brought my groceries out. I stood well back and let him do his thing, figuring he knew what to do and how to do it safely. I even got my Monopoly Tickets – because, you know, you might as well have some fun in this time of uncertainty.

As a bonus, Viktor and Naldo got to play in the paper bags after I put all the food away!