Where've I Been?

I hardly know how to describe recent days. We've had our kids in town with us for the past week with so much excitement, exhaustion, laughter, eating, dogs (and more dogs), beach fun, tent camping, cooking, napping (and more napping). Adam's steroid shot nine days ago helped keep his symptoms in control so he could enjoy this family vacation time better. Maybe I'll just post pictures of it all and hope it makes sense? Okay, I'll do that.

Snoozy girls

Adam's Father's Day Card:

Playing games together ... male bonding

Julia:

Uncle Philip asks, "More?"

Charlie Dog:

Daddy Gramm on Father's Day:

Beau says, "What about ME?"

All five dogs watch Isaac eat a pop tart.

Playing with Auntie Ellie:

Isaac loved the beach!

Home, Sweet Home

Hello, friends. Adam and I went to Chattanooga for a visit with the kids (AND ISAAC, OF COURSE!!), and now we are home again. Like you, we're wondering how much "home" will play a part of our lives in the coming weeks, or even months. Coronavirus seems to have taken the mind of the world by storm. Some things seem certain though:
1) It will spread, and then it will decline.
2) Many of us will get ill. Very few will die.
3) We want to slow down the spread, for the sake of our hospitals and everyone.
4) We have to adjust our lives for a while.

For a while. This too shall pass. Life will go back to its usual: Hectic. Boring. Routine. Same old same old.

One thing's been bothering me -- why is it that I get the feeling that humans somehow like a good catastrophe? I don't mean we have a death wish, but just that we really want (enjoy?) the occasional massive disruption to our lives. The way we rush to shop. The way we seem to come alive for a disaster. It reminds me of Y2K. I knew a family, who had never before canned anything, but for Y2K they canned meat. Meat! They were united in their anticipation of a good hunkering down and were deflated when it came to naught. I remember the wife's dismay when she realized she'd be throwing out all that canned meat, because they weren't eating it -- it was nasty!

Of course, Covid-19 is already much worse than Y2K, and I think it is indeed a worldwide emergency. However, not all areas will be impacted. Every square inch of the U.S. is not going to be like Milan or Wuhan or Kirkland, WA. High-density populations will be hit harder. A certain percentage of the population -- 40%? 60% -- will get the viral illness. Some will end up being protected by herd immunity as it passes over us like the Angel of Death in Egypt. 

We've stocked up. We're hand-washing. But for now, we're also still going to our local eateries to support them at a time when some customers might avoid a restaurant, even one in a county with no virus cases where only 25 people can fit in the dining room. I never thought there would be an advantage to having a church with only 20 people on a good Sunday, but now I know -- it's a good number for a time like this. We'll have our service tomorrow and evaluate week by week. We'll wash hands. We'll pray.

Can we get all the sick people to stay home? Can we get testing and accurate information? Can our economy coast through the coming weeks? Will our hospitals be overwhelmed? I'm glad to be home. Here's some photos from lately -- I've been quite bad about posting on the blog!
A few cards:

 This one was for my mother for her birthday:

 Chattanooga:

 I love this photo of Kara and Isaac, looking at cars out the window.

 Beau was exhausted by his week with dog-cousins.

Y'all stay healthy. Wash those hands. 

Stay home within reason. 

A Smattering of Pictures

Thank you for your sweet comments after my tour-around-the-farm post. It doesn't seem like a farm most of the time. It feels like 4 acres that require lots of mowing. Maybe someday we'll figure out what to do with it.

Adam and I dashed over to the North Carolina mountains to see our youngest girl in college.

We decided to stay in a KOA campground. Did you know how cheap they are? Goodness!

I was glad to find a cabin during peak leaf-color season.
Julia gave us a tour around her very favorite place on campus, the Printmaking classroom.

She loves this discipline and works in this studio on the weekends.

We toodled around Asheville for the day with Julia and her best friend, and enjoyed a visit to a super-cool tea shop, Dobra Tea, where you sit on little round pillows on the floor and ring a bell for service.

Adam and I viewed this as a mini-vacation too. On the road, we found a park in Greensboro and stopped for a lunch picnic. Much nicer than fast food.

I wanted to share a few pictures from a copy of The Wind in the Willows I ordered lately, illustrated by Tasha Tudor - what a lovely combo!

The wintry adventure to Badger's home is my favorite part of the book.

This past week Adam made the prettiest veggie plate for dinner -- simple, delicious.

his homemade ciabatta, spinach, potatoes, fried okra and squash

I have a few fun photos of our grandson Isaac from a recent trip to West Virginia he took with his delightful parents to see family up there.

Do you have time for one more thing? Here are a few cards I painted before the trip. I think I'll paint lots of seasonal wreaths. They're so fun!