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!

Coronavirus got me blowing the dust off my blog...

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?!?!

Well, with the new normal, with the uncertainty, with the thousands of new thoughts running through our heads, I decided now would be a good time to get back on my blog (what...it's only been 5 years!) and document our thoughts, our activities and how we as a world, nation, community and family are dealing with this crazy Coronavirus pandemic.  It is surely a scary time, but for our sanity, we need to realize that there are still some good things happening around us. So, here goes.....

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, yesterday started our "social distancing", digital learning days at the Moore home.  So far, the largest challenge has been the kids wanting to treat it like a vacation day...stay up late, sleep til noon, etc.  I have a feeling it's going to take a few days and lots of work to get into our new schedule. At the end of the day, they both did their work and were able to connect with their teachers via email for clarification on some questions.  It was a Language Arts day and I was so impressed with the organization and availability of the teachers!  Kudos to them for stepping up to this challenge!

A couple of bonuses of the day were:

1)  We became proud owners of two new goats!  Meet Kenny and Dolly...

Kenny and Dolly came from a local farm...actually from a farmer who is a local legend, Farmer Billy.  Here are a couple of links to find out more about his history in Roswell:

https://www.familylifepublications.com/titles-and-blurbs/620-farm-raised

Please watch this sweet video of Billy and a friend...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXnGQ-u1gok

but what's so neat is that my "human kids" and I use to visit his vegetable stand and we'd spend time talking with him and touring his garden.  He even invited us into his home one afternoon to sit on his couch and just talk.  What a wonderful history lesson we would get! (And yes, I bought one of his books and he kindly offered to sign it!) So, when I answer the ad to help with "re-homing" some goats, I was super excited to know where they were coming from!

2) My second bonus was found after I had been in the barn a couple of hours getting the new goats acclimated.  I walked into the great room and found Sam and Lily playing a good old fashioned game of Life!  Without being asked or forced!  I know it's a small thing, but it warmed my heart. (Unfortunately, I didn't get an action shot. but here's proof they played. Still waiting to be put away.)

Yes, we have some uncertainty ahead of us, but each day, if we focus on some of the positives, it's going to help us all get through this!  

We've got this~

Laurie

Breaking news -- Lily knows how to grow cabbage

You bet she does!  Her school participated in the Bonnie's plants cabbage program and this is the cabbage start that she was given about 2 months ago...

She submits her picture in September to be in the running for a $1,000 scholarship! Fingers crossed!

Girlfriend's got a green thumb~

Laurie

P.S. Here's the "before" pic... 

I am Amsterdam...

Well, I'm not, but that's the slogan for this beautiful city that I had the luck of visiting while tagging along with John on one of his business trips!  We took this trip back in September. (Hey, no hassle on how long this post has taken to write!  Just love me for my determination to get it completed!)   One way I can easily remember the date is because we were out of the country on Lily Clare's birthday.  BELIEVE ME when I say that I was given a very hard time about not being with Lily on "the most important day of her life".  Yes, I felt guilty, but --really-- am I supposed to pass up a week's trip to Amsterdam and London with a paid hotel room?  We left the kiddos in the loving hands of their grandmothers and Miss Lil had a lot of attention and spoiling on her special day!  (I even had an incredible friend deliver surprise cupcakes to Lily's classroom with a note from John and me.)  So, see?!?!  I'm a loving, thoughtful mother...right?!?!

So, John and I flew nine hours overnight and awoke to a new city and new adventure.  He had meetings to handle the first couple of days, so I had to do some exploring on my own. (Hence the many selfies!)

I fell in love with these powdered sugar covered babies!  Poffertjes -- a street food must!

Rembrandt's - The Night Watch"  Did you know that it is 12' x 14'?!?!  Huge!

The view from our hotel room

But eventually, he had some free time and we got to explore together! The best day was the day we rented bikes and rode 1 1/2 hours out to the incredibly fairytale like town of Weesp.

The scenery was unbelievable!  Here you'll see the reality of the old saying "black sheep of the family"! 

We visited Muiderslot castle.  It was built in 1285 (what?!?!) and was just amazing to think of what kind of stories those walls had to tell!

A not so tiny fireplace with a not so tiny tour guide! 

We stopped for lunch at a small canal front cafe and listened to the church bells ring and watched the drawbridge open to let passing boats through.  

Never has a sausage, fruit and cheese platter tasted so good!!!

The next day brought a little more sight seeing around Amsterdam, then we were off to London for a few more days.  

As I add to all of the posts about these trips that I've been fortunate to take...we could never do this without the help of our moms and friends!  Knowing that we're leaving the kiddos in the loving hands of these people helps to increase our enjoyment and relieve A TON of stress!!  And everyone knows...

  

 Ready for my next trip~
Laurie

Full of surprises!!!

Who knew that I would be taking an eight month blogging sabbatical?!?  Not me!!  I'm not sure exactly what happened...but, I'm back and I'm ready to start posting on my page again!  So, as I collect my thoughts and review my hundreds of pictures that I've taken since last August, here's something for you:

"Poor, dear, silly Spring, preparing her annual surprise!"

~Wallace Stevens

The surprise of Spring is definitely something that has made me smile this week!  What has made you smile?

More to come~
Laurie

Ready to hit the books

OK, I'm not sure those were the exact words out of the kids mouths this past Monday, but they did get out of bed and get through five days of early mornings!

Lily Clare started the third grade and was excited to get the teacher that she had hoped for!

Biscuit and Gravy sent her off with some encouraging words!

Every girl needs a little "bling" on her first day of school!  (That anklet has been on her ankle since it was purchased in Costa Rica.  Girlfriend will not take it off....)

Sam is starting seventh grade!  Unbelievable! 

It's gonna be a GREAT year~

Laurie

Dirty fingernails and all.....

So, one of the things that we were most excited about when me bought this property was the opportunity of having a garden. We tried our hand at it last summer and things were ok, but this year we went head-on into a variety of fruits and veggies and not to brag....but it was a HUGE success!  (And to prove that I'm not cocky, I'll refer back to this post  http://moore4u.blogspot.com/2014/01/farm-to-table-moore-style.html  -- my seeds were a HUGE failure!  See, I'm grounded, I accept my faults!)

Well, when the weather warmed up and the ground was ready we started planting.  We planted cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos. While we did kinda overdo it on the quantity of some of the plants (our garden runneth over), the quality was perfect!

We loved being able to share our harvest with our friends and I put myself and the kiddos to work and we canned some pretty awesome pickles and salsa, if I do say so myself.  (Dang, more bragging.) 

While our family and friends call our home "a farm", we do know that we are only a speck of the real deal.  But my friends love to drive by and honk while we are out in the garden or pasture and they laugh at me in my red boots and sometimes dirty fingernails.  

But, really? Would I want it any other way?!?!

 Playing in the dirt~
Laurie

Smart words, Audrey!