Dan's doing great

I had a conversation with Dan the other day about how he's feeling about the state of our day to day life these days. I thought maybe he was suffering on the inside, but hiding it rather well. He brought to my attention that nothing has changed for him. He goes to work. He comes home. He goes to Home Depot to get project materials. Then he works in the backyard. And that's it. That was his life before Covid and that's his life now. He doesn't like going to the grocery store. He doesn't like going to social gatherings. He'd prefer not to leave the house. He loves watching church on the couch and he loves our empty calendar. So in case you are wondering, Dan is doing just fine.

 

I married my opposite in all the ways possible. So, I'm finding any way I can to get out of the house. I have a new hunger to explore the great outdoors. The accidental 90 minute bike ride last week didn't go well but that didn't stop me. 

I decided to take the kids to a place Mari took us years ago. It's just 15 minutes up the road and very outdoorsy. There's a stream, a small hiking trail and lots of dirt, sticks and rocks.  

In hindsight I should have mentally prepared the kids. Winter loved it when she was about 4 years old which is the last time we went so I thought she'd be over the moon excited when I surprised her with an exploration adventure again. She was not. 

Me: Guys, we're going to a place in Glendora where we can be outside and explore and there's a stream and stuff!

Winter: I'm staying home.

Me: You can't stay home. Everyone is going. 

Winter: Fine I'll stay in the car. 

Me: You can't stay in the car. I'll be too far away and I can't leave you there.

Winter: I'm wearing my PJ's. 

Me: Oh my gosh, get dressed! Everybody get dressed! Wear crocs so you can walk in the stream.

Winter: I don't have crocs. 

Me: Fine, wear tennis shoes.

There was so much more back and forth about shoes and socks and her wearing a shirt that showed her tummy but I won't bore you with it. Winter was in tears by the time she got in the car and she was grounded by the time we got to our destination. She came around when she saw the cool bridge and stream and rocks to jump around on. Everyone had fun for about 5 whole minutes. Then Winter tripped and fell and scratched up her arms and legs, but the worst part was that she dropped her precious pet jaguar (pictured below) into the stream and he got all wet and she had a break down I knew she wouldn't recover from any time soon. I wasn't ready to leave so I made her go on a little hike, still in tears, complaining about the flies and her scratches and the rocks and dirt in her shoes and her wet JaJa (that's his name), and the other three kids were worried that we were going to see a bear like the sign warned. Dumb sign. I eventually had enough and called it quits and we all got back into the car and drove home.

I posted a couple of stories on Instagram that I laughed at later because it looked like we were having the best time ever. Cute pictures and 10 second videos rarely communicate the whole truth do they. Now you know.

On the way home, Winter apologized to everyone for ruining their fun exploring adventure which I thought was very big of her. She admitted later that day that it was a really cool place that she would love to go back to. So maybe I'll take them again next week after the giant heatwave coming to town.

A few days ago, I hiked up to the highest street near my house then hiked up a fire road. It was probably illegal but what a view. I tried to take a panoramic pic but I couldn't see very well and there was a helicopter circling above and I thought they might tell me to get off the fire road on their loudspeaker or something so I quickly walked back down to the legal sidewalk below.

I've been struggling with purchasing things in the correct size online. It's hard because you can't see it in person. I thought this was a regular-sized journal. Turns out it's giant. I still love it. This looks like a yearbook photo. Like when high school seniors pose with a football. Do they still do that?

And I bought 10 rolls of this toilet paper back when you couldn't find any at the stores. It arrived several weeks later. It did NOT say anything about being miniature on Amazon. I put it in the kids' bathroom.

And I purchased a t-shirt online for a 4-year-old friend's birthday and it looks like a nightgown on him instead. Small is relative I guess. 

On to recommendations!

I bought a pack of these at Trader Joe's. The check out clerk told me I should mix them with Tequila and fresh mint. And so I did. It was amazing. Dan suggested I add lime. Even better.

This stuff is crazy addicting. You're going to want to put it in a bowl. Don't eat it out of the bag or you'll never stop. I don't even know what it tastes like because there are so many flavors in one bite. It's pretty fantastic.

Most of my TV recommendations come from a couple of podcasts I listen to. Most of the time, I love them. The show I'm watching these days is Timeless on Hulu. It was on NBC so it's pretty clean compared to some of the shows on Hulu these days. It's about a team of time travelers going back in time to stop another team of time travelers that are trying to mess with history. Normally this wouldn't ever be something I'd be into but I love it. It's more drama than suspense or violence. And there's a romantic element in it as well. It's only 2 seasons and I'm at the beginning of the 2nd one and I've had trouble turning it off and going to bed. 

Another one I love is Never Have I Ever on Netflix. It's a teen drama but it's so well done. It's probably not suitable for children younger than high school.

And one more is Kim's Convenience on Netflix. It's about a Korean family that owns a convenience store in an Urban area. I want to say it's in Canada? Not sure. They are short 30-minute episodes so it's good if you want a quick fun show to watch.

Well, it's going to be in the 90's all next week and our community pool is locked up for the foreseeable future despite my email to the association manager pleading with her to open it up. She probably doesn't have kids. Pray for me.

Happy Saturday!