Quarantine Log, July 5 - 11

Sunday, July 5

Busy Day!  The morning and early afternoon were spend getting ready for David, Owen and Allison to arrive.  That included a grocery run, picking green beans and prepping supper (Steaks, dill potato salad, 3-bean salad with garden fresh green beans and Owen's favorite corn-on-the-cob). 

Shortly after I sat down to sip on a healthy dose of "back medicine" they arrived - earlier than I expected.

Later in the afternoon, the Matzeks arrived and stayed for supper on the deck.  Fortunately, a thundershower had passed close enough to cool things down, but not disrupt our ourdoor plans.  We had a great family event even though we missed Trisha, Evangeline and John David.

Numbers:

Loudon County - 288 cases; 221 recovered; 67 active; 4092 neg tests. (6.6% pos rate)

TN - 52,155 cases; 663 deaths; 31020 recovered

Daily new cases continues to rise; hospitalizations & deaths, while still low in Knox Co are also rising.

Monday, July 6

Non-stop!  We managed to have our coffee while the kids watched cartoons.  Thank God for the Kratt Brothers.  After breakfast, David set off to meet Mike and Amanda for golf at Willow Creek.  Owen & Allison played outside and even got into the hose.

At 11:30 we went over to Laura's to play with the kittens for an hour.  Laura and the girls are fostering 6 adorable kittens for Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville. By the time we got back, David was home.  We tried to have some quiet time in the early afternoon.

Late afternoon, our gang went down to the lake for a swim.  Even Bill joined in!

Tuesday, July 7

David left early for his conference in Memphis.  I made picnic lunches, we loaded the kids in the RV along with Claire and Amanda and headed to Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg.  We hoped for some creek exploration and maybe a hike to the waterfall after lunch.  The waterfall hike didn't materialize - too many people on the trail and too little water running in the creek.  The kids, older and younger, had a lot of fun wading in the creek, throwing rocks and just being out and about in nature.

Wednesday, July 8

After French toast for breakfast we took Owen and Allison for a hike/bike ride on the "North Boundary Trail" Oak Ridge near the intersection of Hwy 58 & 95.  It was pretty warm, but we managed 1 1/2 miles, a little more than an hour.  Owen got a commendation for following instructions and Allison got a commendation for not complaining.  The awards were a scoop of ice-cream each. After lunch we spent some quiet time inside because of the heat.  I took the kids to the Matzeks about 4 where they played and had pizza supper.

After supper Bill & I joined them for a campfire and s'mores.  Great fun day!

Campfire concert

Numbers: 

Sevier Co has a mask mandate starting Friday and joining Knox Co.  LoCo Mayer has decided to suggest, but not require masks in public.  TN has a record of new cases and deaths: +2472 new cases, +909 recovered, +20 new deaths. LoCo has 302 cases, 288 recovered; 4224 neg tests.  From now on, LoCo Mayer Buddy Bradshaw will report the number of "active" cases.  Makes sense because that is the stat that really counts!

Thursday, July 9

In the morning we played/worked outside and in the garden.  Claire and Amanda came over for pancakes & bacon for lunch.  After lunch we (except Bill) went to the lake for a swim.  We all had great fun.  I even swam out to the pipes with the kids.  We swam and played for about 2 hours on a very hot afternoon!  We stayed in the cool for the rest of the day.

Allison's room with no prompting

Owen's room all week

Friday, July 10

We travelled with Owen & Allison in the RV to take them home to Cape Girardeau.  The kids were good travelers and we got them Chick-fil-A for lunch.

Owen's etch-a-sketch art

David got home from his conference/seminar on racial justice just a few minutes before we got there.  Friday is usually pizza night at their house, so we treated everyone to pizza from their favorite cafe, Paglaia's. 

Saturday, July 11

In the morning before it got too hot (it was already hot!) everyone went to the Mississippi River boat ramp for a walk and bike ride.  We then went to the playground to play in the creek.  It was a very hot day, so we spent the afternoon on quiet activities indoors.  After supper, it had cooled enough to play outside for a little while.