A photo journal of 6 weeks "stay at home"

I thought about putting together a photo book of our six week quarantine but decided a digital photo book would always be at hand so here's a blog of our time together. The font I used is “crafty girls”. I thought that was pretty appropriate.

It wasn't long before we were in the kitchen baking up something good.

Saige made blueberry crumble the day they arrived. 

We went through lots of the food you brought. This is the second box.

Helping Poppy cut down trees.

After all day working on her online classes it was good to get outside.

Learning to use the chain saw 

Balancing on the tree stump 

Gathering the cut up tree branches to burn

Saige and I bought some clearance plants at Walmart to put in my "rockery". 

Before

After. The planter came from papa's. I gave him the cardinal garden stake (he had been looking for one forever). And the big rocks are from his patio (originally ones my granddaddy  collected). I gathered all the small rocks from around our property. 

Since Bowie Trade Days has been shut down due to the virus, the plant man has been selling plants from his house so Saige and I drove out there and got a few things also.

Sawyer and I planted my tomatillo seedlings outside and they are coming along nicely.

The very next morning Saige spotted four deer out back.

Now this is a classroom. However, she mostly sat on the couch from 8 to 3:40 everyday to do her school work. I was very impressed with her commitment to get up on time and stick with it earning several credits. 

Some days her lunch break just needed to be a nap break.

Driving practice

Cat

Friends 

A lesson in stained glass - cutting the pieces she's drawn.

The cut pieces (moon and sun) all fit together. Success!!

Cutting and fitting the lead

All put together and ready for soldering

She did an amazing job soldering. This was a very difficult and ambitious first project. Curves and angles and small pieces and she's not finished yet. 

Remember what I said about cutting circles? Well she did it!!! Even though we worked on this project over several weeks I'm going to put all the pictures here together.

Soldered and puttied and ready for cleaning. 

Soldering jump rings is my least favorite thing to do and we had to attach 21 of them for this project.

Absolutely amazing job Saige!

I showed these pics to a couple of my friends (one of whom is doing stained glass right now) and they were super impressed. 

This isn't a very clear picture but Sawyer wanted to make you a syringe as her stained glass project. 

Your girls don't pick easy projects.

She cut glass and lead and learned to solder too. We decided the blue stuff in the syringe is a COVID 19 vaccine. 😁

Sawyer helped poppy for about two hours one day gathering branches and burning them. He said she sure worked hard.

She also helped me pull up a gazillion oak sprouts and clover from the yard.

Back in the kitchen. Here are just a few of our accomplishments. Saige made these awesome cinnamon rolls,

Sawyer baked crisp on the edges, soft in the middle chocolate chip cookies.

We made sourdough bread,

And blue corn tortillas

And the world's best chocolate cupcakes

with chocolate cream cheese frosting.

We couldn’t decide what kind of ice cream to make so we just made two kinds 😁
(Mocha and vanilla bean)

Getting ready for Easter

On the hunt

Hiding in the tree

I almost got a picture of Grady  

But it was Bailyn's new puppy Hattie that stole the show.  

 Had to cover the plants one night because it got down to 28°. Sawyer thought it quite comical that I used garbage bags.

At uncle Aaron's brushing the horses.

Helping to plant the garden at uncle Aaron’s. 

Just chillin'

Took a morning off from school work and went to work cows with uncle Aaron and family. 

Snapped this on my way back from the mailbox one day when the song popped into my head "It Is Well With My Soul".

Speaking of the mailbox, after the day I took a running face plant in the rocks and poppy had to come get me, Sawyer  started walking with me to get mail. Guess she thought I needed supervision. Regardless of why she did it, I really enjoyed our walks.

Speaking of mail, it became the daily quiz about how many Trump surveys papa would get in the mail that day. One day we got this signed photo. Sawyer thought it would be hilarious to put it on the bathroom mirror for Saige. She didn't think it was so funny! 😆

One of Sawyer's theater projects for school.

And this was a science class project. Changing the properties of an object, in this case making an egg shell rubber. This is the raw egg in vinegar.

It's starting to change and making the vinegar foam a bit.

After 24 hours it is rubberized. 

Soft and squishy

Shining a light through you can still see the yoke inside.

The result of trying to bounce it 😂

Poppy did lots of tree trimming while they were here.

They worked really hard one day helping him pick up and load branches.

Driving the tractor back to the burn pile.

Catching a ride.

At some point during all the cutting, loading, and burning, poppy lost his glasses. We never did find them (although all of us made multiple treks up and down the road looking) and suspect they ended up in the ash pile.

Sawyer and I (mostly her) worked this puzzle.

It may not look like it but there are lots of white pieces that all look the same in this puzzle. We took a break from it for a couple of weeks.

We had just put the final piece in the book puzzle when sawyer ran upstairs to get this one. It's a nightmare and is still sitting upstairs unworked. 😕

Saige enjoyed my craft room and my pens, markers, paints, stamps and an old old old tin of artist's watercolors.

This is watercolor 

Markers

Resin

 She is an incredibly gifted and talented artist.

Sawyer and I examined my first magnolia bloom,

My tree has a disease and it looks like I'm going to lose it,

Water bead on my hosta.

Water beads on a spiderweb.

Speaking of spider webs.

We have lots of critters out here: deer, armadillos, wild hogs, racoons, cardinals and lots of other birds, snakes, lizards, mice, to name a few and most certainly no shortage of spiders.

Posing in a tree.

3 weeks in we got to meet you for an outdoor picnic.

They sure did want to go home with you.

Saige and I made gumpaste flowers.

We were going to bake you a cake to put them on but you were able to come a couple days early to surprise them and we didn't get it done. 

There were lots of other things we didn't get done as well: like sugar cookies with royal icing, meringues, creme brulee, embroidery on the overalls, a cat teepee, etc. etc. etc.

Leaving for an interview at Charis Hills Camp. Can you tell she's excited? And yes, of course she got the job!

Sitting on the cast aluminum patio furniture that Sawyer and I scrubbed.

One thing I didn’t get a picture of (but of which I’m super proud) is Sawyer writing 103 cards to all the first responders where you work. It took her several days but she stuck with it and I’m so glad to hear it meant so much to all the nurses there. Great job Sawyer! 

Adding these pictures that were taken after receiving the notes:

Just a few of the many notes

I couldn't get the few videos to load. I'll text them to you. The 6 weeks went by really fast. We tried to keep them busy and fed and on top of their schoolwork (although Saige's was mostly over my head). Hopefully we made some good memories too. So glad you are all together again and just in time for mothers day. We love you!

Meme and Poppy