Easter 2020

We spent a quiet Easter at home, as the same as everyone this year. We wanted to make it a bit less boring and decided to sit and write out a scavenger hunt for Skylar to do, in order for him to "hunt" for this Easter basket. It took him about an hour to go through all of the clues and a few of them were in unusual places like, Hardy's dog collar, while he wore it. A few other places were around the duck's necks with bandanas, and hanging from strings in random places. Each clue before it gave the location of the next. He had a lot of fun searching and wondering where his next clue was. He had a total of 35 clues. We also dyed eggs in a new way. With my surgery being only a month before, and the pandemic, we used some food coloring instead of a more natural way of dying the eggs. This year, we tried the shaving cream and food coloring trick. It made for some pretty pastel-colored eggs.

 

 

 

The ideas for our scavenger hunt came from random accounts on Instagram. It seems we aren't the only ones to have the scavenger hunt idea this year.

 

 

 

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Five Simple Things (April 10)

 Hello.

Tax week here. Not fun, but I'm finally able to sit up in the bed and get a bit of work done. Every day Jeff and Skylar come in at the end of the day and let me know what's going on around us. I haven't been able to get out of bed much, except to go to the bathroom. I'm actually glad I can sit up and and eat, and brush my teeth. It's weird brushing my teeth in bed, but it's better than not. I've heard so many weird things from them this past week, masks being worn now, people distancing at six feet, first person in the state of Oregon dying (a 70 year old man), and how people's attitude is during this time. Our county of Linn, is the worst in the state right now, they tell me, and that's heartbreaking. On a positive, I guess I picked a good time to recover from a surgery. I've spent part of this gray day preparing for our tax filing coming up in five more days. Our taxes are pretty easy to file, but I'm glad we only do them once a year. Skylar bought me a new candle, so he's been lighting that in the evenings when everyone is in my room, and we're talking about things. It smells less like a hospital room in here, and everything is better by candlelight. 

1. This Frosty Window.

Even in early April we had some frozen days. With living in a house that's pretty old and needs updated windows, the benefit is that you get some cool ice formations on the glass.

2. This Hawk.

We aren't quite sure why it was only running and not flying, but we ended up leaving and turning around to coming back and it was gone. So, maybe we interrupted it during a "stalking" moment. Seeing a hawk run down the road, though, was amusing. We love birds of prey, so any moment we can get to be up close and personal, we enjoy it.

3. This Dinner.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic hit, we went to eat at P.F. Chang's. Little did we know, that would be the last time we ate at a sit-down restaurant for awhile.

4. This Rainbow.

Life at a Swells pace.

5. Kitty Tricks.

Eleven is such a cool cat. I taught her how to roll over and also how to sit up on her back legs. She's been laying with me a lot and following me around to make sure I'm okay. Some mornings she will come up to my face and meow at me, just to make sure I'm doing okay. She's such a loving cat and she's been looking after me well. 

Positive affirmations this week: "Which three words describe you best?"

•Empathic 

•Patient

•Logical

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (April 3)

 Hello.

Well, here we are in the thick of things with the Coronavirus pandemic and hearing and reading stories from across the nation and across the world, is very sad. So many people dying, yet there's people that still claim it isn't really, or true. I am actually glad I am confined to this bed and this room, for now. My surgery checkup is coming up next week, to see how my stitches are healing and see if anything needs attention. I am still taking pain medication, but have now only been taking one at night, so I can sleep soundly without waking up too much from pain. Keeping a body pillow on either side of my body with my arms on top of the body pillows as helped a great deal with taking pressure off my sides. Again, I will elaborate more on the surgery at a later time. Jeff has been telling me about the "outside" world, a bit. He went to get groceries after work, this week, and he said he watched a woman at the grocery store making a huge scene about wearing a mask. It hasn't been mandatory yet, just advised, but he said she was yelling about everyone being sheep and living in fear. Ridiculous. I did read that Governor Kate Brown, here in Oregon, issued a statewide mandate, banning public gatherings of 25 or more, and restricting restaurants to take-out or delivery. Essential businesses like, grocery stores, pharmacies, and workplaces, weren't part of that. I jokingly asked Jeff and Skylar if it was like the apoloypse in public and they told me how bare the streets were and the stores hardly had anyone in them. Which, to me, that's a good thing. Less people, less spread. Here are five things for this week.

1. Skylar's Permit.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic hit us here in the United States, Skylar took the driving permit test, before it came to the point he wouldn't be able to. He passed and is now an official "permitted" driver. He is wanting a motorcycle, so that will be something that comes much later. Baby steps for now. It's weird to even mentally process that he can drive a car that isn't made of plastic and has pedals.

2. Brake Pads.

Because of my surgery, Jeff has put off replacing the brake pads on his car. But, this past week, since I'm feeling a bit better, he decided to take the time and do it. He normally does car repairs himself, so he had to find the time to do it. With the stress of everything this year, so far, it's one of those things that kind of gets pushed aside. He was shocked to find they were a lot worse than he had expected. But, he replaced them and it's good to go now. Take away here: Be sure to get your brake pads replaced the moment you hear them grinding. The grinding you hear is metal on metal and it can actually get so bad, it will affect the rotors. Once that happens, it's an expensive fix.

3. These Clouds.

Skylar and Jeff know how much I love clouds and weather, especially when the clouds are unusual. While there were out picking up a few supplies I needed, they stopped and shot this picture for me. This is one of the best displays of cirrus cloud streaks, I've seen in a long time. It really was thoughtful of them to take that for me, and it made me better seeing a bit of sunshine, too. 

4. Anxiety Support.

Anxiety is a very real and manageable mental health issue, but when it's paired with PTSD and other trauma, it can sometimes become extremely debilitating. I've suffered with this all of my life, but up until about three years ago, I had no idea what it was. Even when I was young, I used to refer to it as, the "trouble feeling." I would ask other people if they ever got the feeling in their chest, like they are about to get into trouble. Most people knew what I was talking about, but no really knew what it was. The best way to describe it is, the feeling you get before you go over the top of a rollercoaster. That scared, excited, heart racing feeling, that can last moments, hours, and sometimes even days. It's kind of a relief, in a way, to have a definition for what I've felt all my life. Supporting someone with these symptoms, is not only important, but could save someone's life. Most, if not all, people that suffer from some form of mental health issue, don't do it for attention. Anxiety is a physical pain. It could be compared to feeling like you're having a heart attack. Don't assume someone is wanting attention by coming to you for help. Help them and be supportive of their issues. (Photo source)

5. This Flyer.

I have been seeing a lot of posts online about "how to properly wash your hands." It's kind of comical a lot of the ones I've seen and it's even more comical reading people's comments about handwashing. As if handwashing is something that's new and mysterious. This flyer is the most accurate I've seen, as well as the one from the CDC. I read a Tweet where they woman took a plane from JFK and there were two women in front of her discussing hand washing. She said the women were all in a huff about the hand washing stating things like, "I am not going to wash my hands every single time I eat." All I could think, while reading that was, gross. 

The flyer above, you can print your own, here.

Positive affirmations this week: "How do you know what you're doing and how do you navigate through the pressure to have it all figured out?"

Well, I don't. No one has it all figured out, and I don't let other people's opinions dictate my choices, and/or decisions, that are right for me. People are always going to push their views and opinions on you, but ignore them. Take away the positives and the encouragements and ignore the others. You will waste a lot of your life, time, and shine, waiting for validation from others. I've been there. You are worth so much more than people that can't seem to figure out how to build people up, over tearing them down. Feel sorry for these people because these are their issues, not yours. 

I would love to just travel and feel alive. Id love to create community and thrive. Slowly, but surely, I will have that chance in my life. I look forward to it. 

Have a nice weekend.