Four days in and we're still here!

Part of me rekindling my blog is that I realize how I like to treat it like a scrapbook and go back and remember the times in old posts.  In my previous post I didn't really give much detail in to what is happening in our communities. So to set the scene:  Our reality right now is that schools, churches and many businesses are totally closed.  Most restaurants are only offering to go orders and grocery stores are running on empty!  There has been a run on toilet paper, paper towels, meat and produce. An odd scene in Kroger on Wed was watching a group of about 15 people follow a person pulling a pallet of eggs out of the back cooler. An image you think you would only see in a socialist country.

To see the hardships on hourly workers and small business owners is heartbreaking.  But a glimmer of hope in this uncertainty is watching how the community is coming together to give these small businesses help...ordering to-go dinners and buying gift cards for future purchases, landlords telling business owners to pay employees instead of rent, celebrities are donating large sums of money to pay employees of arenas and theaters that are closed and the examples go on.  It's definitely an odd time, with no previous experience to help us navigate what lies ahead, but seeing people pulling together is huge beacon for this journey.

On the topic of coronavirus... on Wed, the state of Georgia had 146 cases with 33 in Fulton. On Thursday it was at 197 in the state and 49 in Fulton.  It seems that we're doing a good job in keeping the spread slow, but I'm sure there is a lot ahead of us. Sadly, we are at 3 deaths in the state. To compare with the nation, today it was reported that there were 7,038 cases in the US and 97 deaths.

I posted this on my Facebook page a few days ago. Some great words that can help us through this time....

Today's school subjects for the kids were electives.  For Sam that meant Internship, which unfortunately he's not able to attend.  (He's interning with the Smyrna Police Dept., of which I'll go into detail in a future blog about this great program.) He loves this part of his curriculum and I know it pains him to miss out on his involvement.  Lily's electives are Spanish and Music.  Neither took a huge amount of time.  I loved hearing about her assignment for Music.  She had to pick six important life events and put them with a certain song.  I think it was a creative change for the online boredom.

Switching to the news from the pasture...the new goats are doing well. Pippi is still being kind of a bully, but we did catch the three of them sunning themselves together. I'll take that as a win!

For St. Patrick's Day, Lily made shamrock sugar cookies.  They were yummy and added some fun to the day.  It seems that this confinement has brought out the "inner chef" in all of us.  Sam was inspired to make a chocolate soufflé!  It was perfect! And I tried a new Tamale Pie recipe out of my Southern Living magazine.  Here are some of the images from our busy kitchen:

And here's a glimpse into the future, if this keeps up!

As you can see, we're settling in to our new normal.  We're getting along with each other and dare I say enjoying our time together?!?  Meanwhile, we're praying for this crazy virus to stop spreading and for everyone affected to recover!

Thankful for power, love and a sound mind~

Laurie  

P.S. Yesterday's "game du jour" was Clue!