Date night at home... again

 Still trying to keep it lively and interesting around here. We have now been doing "date night" almost exclusively at home, for 9 months. Dining out is a distant memory. As is meeting up with friends to go bowling, see a movie or hang at someone else's house.

I know... it sounds like I'm sad or whiney. The truth is, I'm doing ok thanks to a combo of things. We are healthy, creative and have resources. Plus not a lot is all that challenging to our situation, relatively speaking. No kids to homeschool or simply parent 24/7. Our weather is good - interesting, varied and still cooperative when we want to fly or hike etc. We have the means to have delivered, some tools to stave off boredom. We are learning new skills and games, doing projects around the house and eating well.

The biggest contributor to my happiness and wellbeing has always been Mark though. And throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he has only gotten better at entertaining me, participating in my hair-brained schemes and ponying up as chief guinea pig for new recipes - IE experimental food!

Want to see a darn near perfect Friday in my opinion? Of course you do! 

This was me in the morning.

I took my latte back to bed and began cruising around the internet, seeing what was new with the world. It sounds like I might have been reading the news... but that is not my thing these days. I'm drawn to exploring original art and learning about the artists that create such thought-provoking, timely or timeless, beauties. My latest addiction is scouring Saatchiart.com. With all the Black Lives Matter, Me Too and Pandemic issues of the last few years, it is super interesting to see another persons perspective. Especially those who go deeper and travel the tangents, then express that in a unique way.

Most mornings, I have a visitor. A feline friend who is besotted by the gadgets and willing to suck up to me with all kinds of sweetness in order to get close to... my cell phone. I'll take what I can get. Rusty is Mr Independence between 9am and 7pm. He doesnt have time or inclination to be all attentive to me during this time!

Having gotten myself out of bed, I did attempt some exercise today and felt good about the biking, walking and indeed some jogging that I logged on Fitbit. Oh yeah... and I scored a 91/100 for my "Sleep Score" on Fitbit last night too! It comes as no surprise to anyone that I'm an over-achiever in the sleep category, right?!

Dinner at home is mostly homemade, but honestly, it lacks variation at this point and often is a 30 minute effort after a long day of staying home and trying not to catch COVID. Today I put some thought into a healthy, vegetarian meal that I'd not made in years. A seasonal treat.

Stuffed acorn squash. I cut the top off and hollowed out the squash, then baked it really well. Meanwhile steaming rice that was laced with turmeric and smoked paprika, while I sautéed a mix of finely chopped peppers, onion mushrooms, cranberries, apple and pecans. I added some baking spices and a pinch of brown sugar at the last minute and stuffed the waiting squash until it was overflowing.

Comfort food. A bit sweet, bursting with complex flavors and definitely healthy. It was the dish to sandwich between my blue cheese and crackers appetizer and much awaited tuxedo cake dessert.

We then turned out attention to the next self-care step planned for tonight. Spa-like activities!

With a bottle of bubbly and wine glasses in hand, we began applying peel-able face masks to each other. It doesn't have to look good to feel good!

Following it with foot massages and then hand massages. Bliss.

Just enough time left in the evening to relax on the couch and veg out to a old episode of Grey's Anatomy. Then... I was ready to set another restorative sleep record.

Winter storm in summer: How very 2020!

We knew it was coming, although I'm not sure how many of us truly believed it 

After two and a half months of hot summer days, the forecast called for Monday to be 97 degrees and Tuesday to have a high of like 32 degrees and low somewhere well south of 30.

Putting it in perspective: The leaves are still GREEN on the trees. Its not even autumn yet.  With a forecast of 3-6" of snow,  all over Boulder, we started prepping for tree damage, downed branches and associated power cuts. Sudden temperature swings also spell death for smaller trees who are not yet equipped to deal with crazy changes like this, so we try to cushion the blow a bit.

I spent a hot afternoon wrapping young fruit trees at my rental property,  in foam wrap with packaging tape.  Its not that I didn't understand they make actual tree wrap for this, it's that everyone sold out of it days prior. 

Ash was raining from the sky as I drove back to Boulder. Somewhere, not to distant, wildfires were still raging and the smoke-filled air had been making outdoorsy things unpleasant and unhealthy for about 3 weeks now. We were praying that the winter storm would dampen the flames and let our exhausted firefighters win the battle of containment.

Then I scooted over to Kathy and Mikes.  They had "emergency harvested" 120 lb of mostly ripe plums and I was the lucky recipient of a generous bag. 

Later that day,  Mark and I pulled container plants into the garage and wrapped several young trees at our house, then covered the less hardy blueberry bush and tomato plants. It was a case of doing your best, crossing fingers and just waiting it out.

6pm Monday night... a gusty breeze brought the temperature crashing down.  

By 9am Tuesday, it was snowing.  And snowing, and snowing!

That night as it started to accumulate, Mark and I did our best to shake off trees twice before bedtime.  The leaves caught every flake and brands were arching under the weight of heavy snow. 

Wednesday morning was about the time things broke. Literally.  Branches could be heard cracking and falling, creating plumes of snow as they came down through the trees and hit homes, gardens,  sidewalks. 

Destruction. Danger. Sadness. 

We lost a major branch from the beloved front yard peach tree. Otherwise, got off lightly, with just a couple of the neighbors' smaller branches on or near our house. 

The rest of our neighborhood was not so fortunate.  A quick walk around the block revealed days of clean up work and decades of growth scattered on the ground. 

I turned and walked home.

2020 strikes again. 

Self isolation lessons from my cat

Once upon a time, we came home to our pets. We marveled at how they were overjoyed to see us, dying to get outside for a quick walk, were grateful for a breath of fresh air or the chance to greet the neighbors with SUCH enthusiasm.

Then we became our pets. Trapped inside, day in and day out, little faces pressed against the window starring with wonderment at squirrels in the trees, the Amazon delivery vehicle and jumping at the chance to drive to the supermarket while wearing something akin to a muzzle.

Our pets are now teaching us how to find zen in a life of limited outings and few friends.

For me personally, lessons are being learned left and right, from Wrigley the Cat. Here is a chap who delights in chasing bugs, sniffing flowers, watching birds and daring to cross the street to meet a new person. He is a constant source of entertaining antics, a snuggly body when loneliness sets in and a grand (understated) teacher of life's little lessons.

Don't put your hands on others people's food. You'll get in trouble.

Stop to smell the flowers. They won't be here next week.

It's ok to pretend your life is more glam than it is. Imagination is important.

Nothing beats clean sheets!

Don't have PJs of your own? Borrow some. Get comfortable for the long haul.

It's ok to be be vulnerable.

Projects are the key to self isolation. Take frequent naps to stay focused and productive.

Human contact is vital for happiness. Reach out to someone who is also alone.

You don't have to explain all of your behavior in isolation. 

There will never be a better time to catch up on naps missed since 2018!

Cranky days happen. Embrace all of your emotions.

Relearn to play. It's good for mind health.

Even indoors, opportunity knocks. Be ready.

Vit D from sunshine is better than Vit D from milk.

No point in eating pizza if you are just gonna feel guilty about it.

Find new paths to friendship.

Snow days bring their own kind of beauty and challenge. Suck it up.

In self isolation, there are more opportunities for breakfast in bed!

Gardening... to take away the COVID-19 blues

Getting ones hands dirty actually does feel good. Physically satisfying, mentally upbeat kinda good.

I'm running out of photo archiving work just in time for planting season.  I'm guessing we've seen the end of snow and when I embarked on the following projects this week, I ardently hoped not to be met with loss and heartache due to sudden temperature swings again!

Project#1

Planting an orchard and about 27 evergreen trees at my Dyer Rd property.

NOTE: There a many places to buy trees but when you need 40 or so, delivery is a must. On top of that, I am a novice and was looking for a tree farm/nursery that was heavy on the education part of the shopping experience too. I stumbled upon FastGrowingTrees.com in February and have been super impressed with the education, quality of service, ease or ordering and now, delivery too.

Check it out... a FEDEX tree delivery from North Carolina! While the boxes weren't entirely square on arrival, I quickly discovered that the roots/pots were in each end and the middle part of the box was skinny branches and leaves and not really impacted like you'd think after seeing the dents.

Right now my acre of property is just begging for more trees. A sturdy wind-noise-view block starts with planting fast growing trees along the back property line. I chose Green Giant Thuja for their privacy, speed of growth, deer resistance and disease resistance.

The fastest way to dig holes apparently by skid-loader with mini bucket-thing. Thanks, Josh Mitchell!!!

Planting was a 2 day affair. And I had help! It is nothing short of hard work and lets not sugarcoat how it really went:  For weeks I looked forward to the outdoor task, the physical workout, the joy of watching it come together. Then I tortured my muscles, skinned my hands and tweaked my joints to get things planted quickly. I ate Ibuprofen for dinner and still woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a bus.

Long story short... I'm built to sell real estate rather than haul trees and soil, dig clay and rocks. I am so looking forward to getting back to my real (estate) job!

More exciting though, is the beginnings of an orchard.  A dozen or so trees will bear peach, plum, apricot, pear, apple and cherry fruits in just a couple of years, fingers crossed.

I dug these holes myself... 

  

Project #2

A wee raised bed garden at home.  Something to direct love and attention toward as a pandemic rages. And perhaps organic veggies and herbs to add to meals well into 2020 too.

Since Airbnb is canceled until further notice, I turned a guest room into a temporary greenhouse. For the past 1-2 weeks seeds and baby plants have been thriving near sunny windows, behind a locked door. Growing silently in baking dishes and recycled containers as Wrigley tries his darnedest to find a way in.

A baking dish covered in plastic wrap means you almost never have to water it.

Radishes sprouted in just 2 days!

Mark got this strawberry before the cat or the squirrels got wind of it.

Basil... ready to become Caprese salad?

Success! This was as close as Wrigley got to investigating the wee plants.

 

About the raised bed; soon to be renamed The Isolation Farm @ 285 Martin Drive.

I bought this little number on Amazon. It came flat-packed and I followed IKEA-like cartoon directions for assembly. One hour and one screwdriver was all it took. Then 10 bags of high quality garden soil later, it was ready for planting.

It could not have been easier and smells deliciously like cedar!

I'd like to say that I have the patience of a Buddhist monk and diligently "hardened off" the plants by bringing them in and out of the house for several days to acclimatize them. The truth is that one balmy evening, I opened the door, pulled them outside and planted them. The next morning, I checked to see if any had up and died from shock or overnight temps and delightfully (luckily) discovered, they had not. :-) 

The next day, I also planted seeds. Right now the bed contains tomato, zucchini, strawberries and herbs such as dill, oregano, cilantro basil, sage and chives. There are Mesclun lettuce and bush bean seeds planted here and in the "greenhouse" guest room, Swiss chard, radish, parsley, hot peppers and yellow squash are still germinating.

 

I connected a couple of fine sprayers to my my irrigation system already present in the yard so that each morning around 6am the garden is dampened and the plants are ready to face the warm spring sunshine that is Colorado (this week). 

Wrigley the cat, update:

So far, so good. Wriggles has left footprints in the raised garden for sure. But the plants are intact and his penchant for litterbox use over outdoor pooping, is finally paying dividends! 

(Yes, week 7 into the Self Isolation Experiment of 2020 and I can still find things to be grateful for!)