Updates and Getting Things Started In the Neighborhood

 

   Thank you for the prayers for those in our family with Covid-19...we sure do appreciate it.  They are doing really well and should be fully recovered within the next few days.  We are so thankful!  Three other family members just tested negative after direct exposure by one of them to someone who was also Covid-19 positive...again so very thankful and relieved for God's many blessings!

   I know that Jeff and I have both struggled with depression surrounding this whole long mess with the virus severely disrupting our lives, as it has so many of yours also.  My cousin Jeremy expressed what it has been like for him too.  I think it really helps when we share how we are feeling and to know that we are not alone and that hopefully there is an end in sight to all of this.  It may not be here as soon as we want it to be, but at least it is there at some point.

  

   Jeff and I had a long talk about this all, again, and he decided that he wanted to do something to brighten things up for our neighbors and help lift their spirits also.  He went outside and started stringing up lights.  I stayed inside and put up more pickle lights in the living room window and worked on transforming the Fall themed tree into a Christmas themed tree. 😊  Still not quite satisfied with what it was looking like outside, Jeff spotted some fun solar lights later that evening at the Dollar Tree while we were there picking up a few things and running the rest of our errands for the week.  We purposely shopped when we knew everyone else would be at home or still out of town.  Once we got home, he got them all set out lining our front steps...I love it and so does he!  He still has some more plans in the works for later on.  We noticed after doing this that our neighbors started to follow our lead and started putting their stuff up early too. 💖  Things are definitely looking a lot cheerier up here on the hill now.

   With the Christmas décor started, we decided to continue our holiday theme and watch Christmas movies.  We ended up watching Home Alone  and Home Alone 2.  I have not laughed that hard in a good long while and it felt wonderful! The night before we had watched Rick Steve's Christmas in Europe dvd.  Right now I have instrumental Christmas music on lightly in the background and I am loving it.  It is calming and so beautiful!

   

   I'm back to menu planning and trying to make comfort foods for us that warm us from the inside out while making use of things in our pantry and freezer so there is less shopping to do and less chance of exposure to the dreaded virus.  I pulled some homemade turkey enchiladas out of the freezer last week and served it with yellow rice and a side salad.  We have also had lamb chops with mashed potatoes, homemade applesauce and homemade bread, a pork chop and rice casserole that is one of Jeff's favorites along with side salads. Tonight we are having meatloaf (another favorite) with squash and leftover rice from the pork chop and rice casserole and more of the homemade applesauce. I think Jeff is going to have some potato salad with his instead of the squash.  Later in the week I have a salmon loaf, yaki soba, pulled BBQed chicken on rolls, and burgers planned for our main courses.  

   Plans for projects this week are getting the pantry organized since I let it go again and stopped putting things away in their proper places, more bread will be baked, a deep cleaning of our bedroom will be done including washing the curtains (which I did not get to this Summer) along with some serious purging of things we no longer want or use.  I realize that I have neglected deep cleaning due to depression and anxiety and that has to stop.  I know I will feel better once some of these bigger projects are tackled.  I made a dent in things this past week, but there is still a lot more to do. 😄  There is ALWAYS more to do right?

   Speaking of more to do, I'm going to go and switch on the outdoor Christmas lights, plug in the pickle lights in the window and then get going on making dinner.  Be blessed, stay safe and wear your masks please.