Its April!! HOW?!? I can't say it snuck up on me really because March seemed a million years long (but so did January), but all of a sudden April is here!! I love April...one of my all time favorite months. I'm not so sure why, and I guess the reasons aren't all that important, I just like it. Our wedding anniversary is at the end of the month, and while we never make a huge deal of it, it's nice to have something to look forward to and get excited for. I strategically wanted my wedding in the spring because I like the season, its not as hot as summer, and its about 6 months from my birthday - spread the gifts out. haha. But that isn't at all what I wanted to talk about - although I could...maybe later. ;)
These last several days have flown by for me. There is the looming dark cloud of stress about the store, the economy, peoples health and safety, financial well being, all of that, but for the most part, in my bubble of home, filling web orders, and playing with my horse, I've been pretty content. I've refinished a bookcase, made a bench for our bedroom, made 2 quilts, made dinner every night (but twice!), and am working my way thru my Bread, Toast, Crumbs cookbook, one loaf of bread at a time. I've enjoyed the time to really get to do things, and enjoy them. That's so rare in our busy lives, and I'm savoring every moment. I get to spend hours out at the barn, sometimes working hard, sometimes goofing off, and not have to check the time to make sure I'm out of there at the right time to get to the next thing on time. When I'm not feeling it anymore, or Zinc is done with me (which is usually the case), I have time to leisurely put my things away, and enjoy the scenic drive home while listening to my favorite songs on full volume. The other day I actually had the time to brush the dreadlocks out of Zinc's tail. I haven't done that since I got him, and thought it was fine before...but couldn't believe how good he looked after a full and complete brushing! I think he was feeling himself a little too. When I turned him back into pasture with his friends, there was a notable prance in his step.
Everyday at 4 my friends and I have Quarantine Cocktail Happy Hour, and we Zoom chat to catch up on the events of the day. There isn't a whole lot to catch up on, but one of my friends is a nurse at the VA hospital here in town, so we get updates from the frontlines from her, talk about what we're making for dinner, how our husbands or kids are driving us crazy, and what we're most excited to do when life gets back to normal, or what we're missing the most. I actually get to have good conversations and see my friends more than I usually would, and I love that!! I am going thru wine at an alarming rate, but one of my besties made a sneaky, contact free delivery to my driveway to keep me stocked up.
There is a small, local flower farmer that is making bouquets once a week, and delivering them to your front door, contact free, so I've been getting flowers from her, and delivering them to my friends to help brighten their days - of course, contact free! I just set them on the front porch, drive away, and then text them to tell them to check the porch. ;) Its amazing what a little pop of fresh flowers does to cheer up your house - aka, your whole world. haha.
I also made sugar cookies and 7 different colors of frosting to deliver to my friend that has 3 little girls, and lives with her sister and her 2 kids. That's right - she's quarantined with 5 kids and 3 adults!! While sitting here with just Todd, and him being the only person I've seen in real life for about 17 days now, a house full of 8 people sounds like a fun party - it also sounds like the house would feel really small in a short time. ;) So I made a little frost your own cookies kit to help spread happiness, and keep the kids occupied for at least 5 minutes I hope. I am not a baker, and have literally never made sugar cookies myself, so I didn't have any cookie cutters. I had a dog bone one when I made homemade dog treats once, and some cups...so it was a lot of circles, rings, and dog bones. haha. I thought the idea was awesome, and the frosting colors were great, but the cookies were less than pinterest worthy, at least in looks. ;) They tasted fantastic. The girls made Todd and I a post to say 'thanks', and stood outside of our living room window to show off their artwork - it was SO sweet and totally made my day!!
There have been a lot of self care and face masks happening, and I'm determined to get out on the other side of this with the best skin ever. While my brows are completely out of control (I have the thickest, bushiest, darkest brows, thanks Dad, and sorry LV!! I usually have to thin them out, lighten them, trim them and wax about every other week, I'm currently about 6 hours away from being full on Frida without my usual maintenance), I will have the most glowy skin ever! Again, its awesome to have the time to do these things. In a perfect world, I would do a facemask/exfoliating treatment at least once a week, but in reality, it ends up being more like once every 6 weeks. LV told me today that she heard from the New York Times (I think it was, but if not, I remember thinking it was a credible source, because I wanted it to be something I could put stock in.;) that they're recommending not to be productive 100% off the time. Its okay to sit back and relax, and slow things down. See! I'm ahead of the advice. haha. She was telling me that the article explained how much energy stressing takes, and that its important to take time to not feel pressure to get it all done. So do the face mask, make the cookies, have an extra slice (or two!) of bread...we can't change what's happe ning,but we can make the best of it! Or at least try. ;)
Signed, ME {AT}
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