When I Last Left You....

When I last left you we were all awaiting baby Sadie's arrival. She came along last Monday, 3-23-20. The doctor decided to induce at 39 weeks to try to get mom and baby in and out of the hospital before the Coronavirus gets even worse. All is well with both mom and baby. And I'm loving(!!!!) being a grandmother! 

As of Wednesday, I changed my quarantine location from the lake to Auburn at our daughter's home to help with meals and anything else that is needed. Hubby's still at the lake with our dogs, though he's had some wonderful visits with Sadie and adores holding her as much as I do. Her other set of grandparents have also been able to visit and love on her. We take temperatures before grandparents come in and make sure everyone is washing their hands well and often. But at this point only immediate family are allowed. We are trying to be so very careful.

Of course, Sadie is the cutest thing ever and we are so thankful for this bright light in a time of uncertainty and fear. She brings us all so much joy.

Sewing? What's that? I haven't sewn in weeks and that's okay. All in time.

And the new house? We closed today, though I wasn't there. We got a Power of Attorney signed so that Hubby could sign for me. He took care of everything and even arranged to get the Internet connected today. Hubby will also coordinate the move one day next week, though we will let the furniture and boxes sit in the house several days to let any germs die before we actually start unpacking and living there. All in time. 

Hasn't the way we view time changed? I know it will be weeks or even months before things are back to some kind of normalcy. As long as we stay healthy and isolated, I'm okay with waiting it out. No rush. All in time. I just feel for all those personally affected and pray the curve is leveling out for us all. 

Stay safe.

Coronavirus Soup and Retail Therapy

Wowzer. I know you are like me....shocked at this state of the world with Coronavirus. None of us ever thought it would come to this.

I had said over and over that I wasn't stocking up. But then Monday evening everything got more serious. So early Tuesday morning we headed to Walmart in the nearby small town and we did stock up. But not on toilet paper - we already had plenty. We bought meats (chicken, ground beef, steaks, corned beef brisket) that could be frozen. We bought frozen vegetables. We bought plenty of fresh oranges. And potatoes. And cashews. (The store was not crowded at that time and there was plenty of everything.)

These are our staples these days as we continue eating in the Whole30 mode. Yes, we have splurged a couple of times here and there, but for the most part we've stuck to the program.

I also bought the ingredients for this soup - a friend shared the recipe with me. I am calling it Coronvirus Soup. I hope you can zoom in enough to read it - yes, it's absolutely wonderful! It is a bit of a splurge for us because of the flour, butter, and cream, but there is not much of these ingredients in the recipe. I substituted riced cauliflower for the rice.

We are staying put here at the lake, trying to avoid being around people. As you know, one of our daughters will be giving birth soon and we want to be able to see the baby after she arrives. The hospital has decreed only one visitor per patient. And that, of course, will be her husband. So FaceTime will become our best friend until they get to go home. We all really hope the baby comes early so she can get in and out of the hospital before the madness really hits this area.

Yesterday afternoon we did drive to Auburn to check on the new house. We didn't see a soul or interact with anyone. Mickey like to ride in my lap, on top of the mastectomy pillow I still use in the car. Excuse my hair - is anyone worrying about styling their hair or putting on makeup these days? Not me!

The house is looking good. There is still a small handful of things to be done before our blue tape walkthrough on Friday. We've been wondering if we should delay our move because of the Coronavirus. But we're thinking now that we'll go ahead and schedule it, providing hand sanitizer to the movers. Over course, this could change on a dime. We hope it will work out - I'd rather be stuck in the new house unpacking boxes than in a holding pattern at the lake.

Meanwhile, I did do some online shopping. I decided on ORANGE for my March color and picked out a few pieces.

And yes, I treated myself to a fat quarter pack of Tula Pink's Homemade. I've been looking forward to this being released. I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet, but I'm sure it will come in handy down the line.

So...stay safe. Stay home. Be careful.

The Design Wall Experiment- Part 2

And so continues my quest for a new design wall surface...

Here is a second wool felt sample I received. Fabric pieces stick to it very well! Also, the back side is peel and stick, making it easy to apply.

However, the surface looks like it's covered with lint, though it's not. The product is made this way. And so I will pass on this option because it doesn't give the clean, neat look for which I'm aiming.

Which brings us to the third samples I received.

These samples are much smaller and much thinner. They have a clean look, which I love. They are peel and stick on the backside...another plus. The fabric pieces seem to hold well.

I'm still on the fence. I think I will still get some insulation board to use as a base and either use this product OR go with the tradition method of wrapping the insulation board with flannel. I'm leaning toward this stick on product though... It's made by Zoro.

Remember how I said I'm picking a color each month and replenishing my stash? I decided on pink for February. I picked out a nice assortment of modern fabrics, don't you think? For years, my pink stash has been very limited. And with a new grand daughter coming along soon I needed to remedy this situation! I ordered these from Whittle's - one of my favorite online sources for fabric! They have wonderful prices!

I'm not sure what my color will be for March. But I do know I'll wait until after we move to get my monthly allotment.

We have our final walk through for our new home in only 10 days! We have had nothing but rain, rain, RAIN for the last few weeks. Monday when we last visited, workers were out in the rain installing the sprinkler system in a sea of mud. The toilets and faucets were in boxes in the living room, along with the boxed kitchen appliances.  A lot needs to happen in a short amount of time, but I know it can happen. It cannot happen fast enough!