Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter Nicole. She was 10 days late entering this world. 9 1/2 lbs with a head full of hair. She has a heart of gold and I am so glad she chose me to be her mother.
I mowed this morning while JIm slept in. I got most of the big back yard done. I still have about 20 more minutes of mowing to do in the back yard and then I need to do the small front yard. It got too hot for me to be out mowing this afternoon so I came in and took a nap. Slept for two hours.
Fixed crustless chicken Pot pie for dinner. I tried a new recipe and it is a winner. It was easy to fix and tasted delicious. It uses mashed potatoes instead of a crust. It is the ultimate comfort food and a good way to use up the rest of the chicken I roasted two days ago.
Got a dozen face masks made today. I had two requests for more masks so got those packaged up and ready to mail. I’ll take them to the grocery store post office tomorrow morning and get them sent off. I have another dozen masks pinned and ready for the final step of sewing. Have lots more material to cut to make more. I found some elastic and am using that this time as well as some more with ties. The elastic ones don’t fit Jim’s face but I like the elastic better than the ties.
Jim is starting to pack the cars with the stuff he wants to take to KS on Monday. He is taking two bookcases and is cutting some boards to fit them so the shelves will be stronger. I think he is going to put cameras on them but not sure what his master plan is.
We need to go for a walk tonight as we haven’t done that for two days now. My shoulder is hurting though and not sure I am up to walking tonight. I activated it when I was mowing. I realized today that ibuprofen or Tylenol doesn’t help relieve the discomfort. Sure hope my doctor can figure something out on Wednesday. I’m tired of it hurting.
Hard to believe tomorrow is my last full day here. We will be coming back for a week in June but KS will become our permanent home as of Monday. I have come to enjoy Stillwater and the city conveniences it provides without feeling like a big city. Although the last two and one-half months we haven’t taken advantage of many of them. It will take us a bit of time to find our rhythm in KS. We will only be there for 12 days then come to Stillwater for a week and then two weeks later we plan to go to CO for four weeks. So it will be the end of August before we really settle into our KS home. We will probably come spend a week in August in Stillwater too.
I applied for and finally received the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for the loss of income from the Airbnb. I will continue to receive it through the end of July unless it gets extended by Congress. That makes up for the revenue I lost from the Disc Golf tournament, the Rodeo, the Symphony on the Flint Hills and regular guests through out the summer. Still not sure when I will start accepting guests again. I’ll wait and see what the case counts do when we return in August to see if I feel comfortable having strangers come in my house then.
I encourage any small business owner that hasn’t applied for the PUA to do so. It is a simple process especially if you have a copy of your 2019 income tax return that shows the revenue you earned from your small business. If you need help holler at me and I would be delighted to help you. There is a weekly claim you have to enter but that is simple and doesn’t take long to do. There is no minimum income earned requirement and you get $600 a week that you had no business due to Covid-19.
I haven’t written any letters for a few days. Sent eight earlier this week. I might get on Jim’s computer while he is out working and get a few more written. I’m so glad I thought to start that project. It has given me much joy in writing the letters and receiving some responses. I might keep that practice going into the future even as our restrictions are lifted.
My heart is heavy listening to the news of the protests that are happening all over the country. I read a report today that most of the riots and fires are being caused by ultra right groupS that are coming in from out of state. Their main claim is to cause division between races. How terribly sad. My heart aches for all the injustice that has been done to POC over the years. I pray their voices will be heard and systematic change will happen in our culture. It breaks my heart to read some of the comments condemning them. We have a long ways to go to find equality for all. I feel my white privilege tonight and it is weighing on me. I ask forgiveness for the times I was insensitive and ignorant of the rights and needs of POC. May I learn to do better in the future.
Grateful most of the yard is mowed, grateful more masks are being made, and grateful for the PFA I received yesterday.