Happy Hour With Mom

We had Happy Hour in our house this afternoon, and Mom was able to attend! Now that we've all had our vaccinations, and there haven't been any new cases of Covid recently in Mom's building, restrictions are starting to be lifted. It's like she's been set free! This really is a big deal, and it was so exciting to plan things out. Mom was able to sit on our new living room sofa, and of course the cats were curious about her being here. Minnie Mouse actually sat on her lap for a short while, though she doesn't usually stay put too long on anyone's lap with the exception of Bruce's. We had appetizers from Trader Joe's ... little parmesan pastry pups, mini quiches, spinach dip and potato chips, cheese ball and crackers, and some dark chocolate ganache cake. We drank root beer, which is Mom's favorite beverage of choice for Happy Hour ... Jake stopped by, too, which was wonderful. Being together with the family makes everything better!

Patches

Patches passed away last week. She was a loving, faithful friend to Mom for the last 15 years, and Mom will surely miss having her to sleep next to at night. She was a comfort to Mom, and this was especially true with all the isolation during The Pandemic. She lived a good life, and had a peaceful death. I wish she could have stayed with Mom a while longer, but I guess none of us can live forever.

One-Pot Spaghetti

My little free library was gifted with a Betty Crocker's Cooking with Kids cookbook last week, and I decided to hold on to it for a little while longer! And, although it will be a some time before little boy is old enough to cook with Grandma, I've already made one of the recipes for us in the book, the One-Pot Spaghetti. Bruce loves spaghetti, especially when the noodles are full of sauce, so this recipe was definately a keeper. I decided to add a chopped green pepper, a little more sugar than was called for, and substituted a can of tomato soup for the tomato sauce. It was delicious!

Aren't little free libraries wonderful?

Maryland Bed and Breakfast

We're back from Maryland! Our bed and breakfast stay with Katie and little boy was, of course, wonderful. Avi had to be away on a work trip this time, so we didn't get to see him. But, there's talk of another possible visit coming up in June, so maybe then.

We drove 17 hours there, and 17 hours back, but we had the first two Harry Potter Books to listen to as we drove, and that made the time pass by so much faster. We seem to learn new tricks with each road trip we take, and this time we agreed that there were some positive ones worth keeping. We decided to leave at 4 AM on both travel days, and that is very early! But, then we arrived by 9:30 PM instead of after midnight, and that was SO much better. I made bagel sandwiches, which were easier to eat while driving than sandwiches using bread, and we ate more grapes versus potato chips. Oh, and we brought hard boiled eggs! We finally figured out the correct left turn to take in Breezewood, Pennsylvania, so not adding an extra hour of drive time along foggy mountain roads ... We put most of our packed stuff into the car the night before, even the coolers, because the ice packs (received in the Purple Carrot Meal Subscription Boxes) seem to stay cold for at least a full day. I'm pretty sure that getting through the Chicago area will continue to be stressful, though.

We had Easter with Katie and little boy! Katie put Fruit Loops in plastic eggs for Aaron, which he loved. I made a fritatta and fried potatoes, and we picked up cinnamon rolls and orange juice at Wegmans. We gave little boy some books and two pull back toy cars that have faces on the front.

But, what Aaron really likes to play with, are the tops of plastic bowls, which he spins on the floor! He's really good at spinning tops, too, it's all in the wrist ...

Bruce likes to keep busy with projects, so he made daily trips to The Home Depot, and fixed things like the sliding door to the deck, Katie's tub faucet, the blinds in the guest room, and replaced multiple light bulbs. He also helped Katie with her garden by raking out the back yard and fenced in garden, turning over soil, and fixing leaky hoses.

We took little boy for walks, one day to Lake Elkhorn, and went on a few drives, listening to his favorite music on Youtube. I think Maryland is really beautiful in the Spring!

We even had daily Happy Hour after little boy went to sleep, and watched episodes of The Big Bang Theory each evening. (I've never really watched The Big Bang Theory before, I don't know why. But I think if I had, I might have had a better idea of how Jake's mind works ... just a thought) We tried to watch Game Of Thrones, but decided it was just too dark.

It seems like the last half of our stay always seems to speed by, and this time was no different.

Home now, we keep thinking about Katie and little boy, and we wonder what they're doing ...