Crazy Week!

Monday we did our foursome run in the morning. I showered and attended my first Grief Support Group meeting since the virus hit. We met in a local park, sitting on park benches under a pavilion, all wearing masks. There were approximately 20 of us sitting several feet apart from each other. We shared some jokes, stories and laughed a lot. Good time spent together for an hour. I got home just as Rebecca and her girls were heading off to Jonathan's for a couple of days, and to pick up her Dan from the airport. Since there were two pounds of strawberries left behind, I made another batch of jam so they would not go to waste.

Tuesday I worked on the deck some removing old planks so the new could be installed. I also finished the steps since I now had the needed materials. The rest of the day is a blank.

Wednesday was lonely running all by myself. Rebecca did returned with her Dan and girls. Late in the afternoon we had a marvelous thunderstorm; lots of thunder and 3/4's of an inch of rain in less than an hour. And, it dropped the temperature enough that it was comfortable to work outside without sweating buckets. The older girls came and helped remove several planks and I was able to get a couple installed before it was too late.

Thursday morning was still cool enough that I was outside working on the deck by 630. Got most of the recently purchased planks installed before stopping.

I now have two more lawn mowers! Both Callie and Marian asked to learn how to use the zero turn mower, and who am I to deny eager workers the opportunity to work, especially when it means less work for me. They were quick learners and did a great job! Here they are hard at work Friday morning after running.

Miranda's family drove over Friday afternoon and Deborah's family joined us shortly thereafter. We set up 3 canopies in preparation for Saturday's celebration. Rebecca was busy making, or assisting others in making pies. The fridge and freezers were full with completed pies. Finding helpers to lick bowls was not hard.

Some were made at the last minute so they would be fresh. Sarah, Miranda and I all contributed to the 25 pies that were ready for the festivities.

Friday evening we did a mini fireworks display for the enjoyment of the children.

About bedtime, Isabelle and three of her siblings arrived to spend the night. We had 25 sleeping in the house this night. And no one was on the couch. We had enough beds and inflatable mattresses for all (okay, so one of them lost air over the night).

Saturday was a lazy morning. Emily and Samantha made biscuits; Miranda made pancakes. No one went hungry. We then headed off to the chapel:  Christopher was to be baptized! Andy's family arrived for the service and we had a short family oriented service. There were some complications (where is the key to the font; opps we forgot to fill the font). When it came time to for Ian to immerse Christopher, we discovered his deep seeded aversion to having his head under water. Ian was most patient with him, but in the end, he was not baptized. So this ended up being a practice round.

We came home and finished setting up tables and decorating the canopies for the afternoon Pie Day celebration, and cooking the last pies. When it came time to pre-cut the pies, which were downstairs, we had the grands carry them upstairs to be cut and then outside to the waiting tables.

We let the grands have two slices before others arrived, and then they ran wildly rampant while the adults enjoyed their pie.

The weather forecast called for the chance of thunderstorms and rain, but that had been the forecast for the entire week, so I was not too worried. Prior to 4 pm when we started, there was a lot of thundering, but no rain. Radar showed storms encircling the area, but avoiding us. And it did not start to sprinkle until after 5. We did not have as many people as in past years; I suspect many had rain at their homes and decided it would be raining at ours - when it wasn't. But we had more pies this year, and there are fewer leftovers. The grands may have contributed to that; they came back for seconds after 530. We did have a good time visiting with friends and neighbors and the rain did not dampen our spirits. Many of the grands took advantage of the situation and engaged in water fights. So a good time was had by all.

Andy's family headed home followed by Isabelle, so the chaos level was reduced for the evening.

I attended at-church church today. Because the AC is not functioning in the chapel, they only had the primary room and the cultural hall available. Not  a problem though; only had 61 attend the two. We could not combine them since the rule is a maximum of 50. Seems awkward to have a fast Sunday without testimonies though.

This afternoon Miranda and Deborah's families will be returning to the respective homes so life will return to a more routine pace - if such a thing exists anymore. We are still making plans for the family reunion and look forward to see family.