Sunday, October 25
We resumed in-house worship today and Sunday School as well. I facilitated my class and probably will most Sundays through Advent and until we start a new topic in January. Church attendance was 34.
The afternoon weather was lovely for a walk through the park and back around the corner for a picture of the Dinsmore-Jones house. I got my 10,000 steps today!
After supper I got a "Marco Polo" response from Owen regarding my latest "Science Challenge." I had sent him a video picture of two leaves and asked him to find all the similarities and differences. He did a very good job of noticing details. Marco Polo is a video sharing app that David's family uses for safely sharing.
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| Marco Polo Screen Shot |
Monday, October 26
I woke up thinking about the basket of pears I picked a few days ago. Today is the day to do something with them. I have enough pear honey, so these will be canned in a light syrup. They will make great salads all winter. From start to finish took all day. I started with about 17 lbs of pears and ended with 3 quart jars and 4 pint-and-a-half jars for the pantry.
For supper I made lemon-sauced chicken thighs. I hardly left the kitchen all day!
Tuesday, October 27
Between picking up Amanda from early work-out and taking her to after-school batting practice, Bill and I went to Knoxville. These days, that is an occasion! Our primary goal was River Sports on Sutherland Ave to look for a replacement kayak. We didn't buy anything, but we settled on getting a Wilderness System Tarpon 105 in Mango (color scheme) to replace the one that was lost.
On the way back down Kingston Pike, we stopped at Whole Foods and the Asian grocery. After a take-out burger from Backyard Burgers, we made one last stop at the liquor store to stock up.
Later in the afternoon, Bill found a visitor (actually probably a resident) on its way to the garage. He manage to detour it but it will be back, no doubt. It is a harmless Eastern Garter Snake, but we still don't want to run into it unexpectedly in the garage.
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| Eastern Garter Snake, a little more than 2 ft long |
I got a new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen last week called simply "Bowls." With some of the special ingredients from the Asian market and left-over chicken thighs, I made Bibimbap. It turned out great!
Wednesday, October 28
Santa's Helper at Family Resource Center kicked off today when Judith and I met with Susan to start buying gifts for families on the lists who have not been "adopted." Families apply and are approved by the FRC using income guidelines and their own knowledge of the family needs. So far, there are 125 families on the approved list. I don't know how many children. Our church adopts 5 children and the mission committee will shop and wrap for them. We will dedicate the gifts in a church service on the 2nd Sunday of Advent and deliver the gifts to the school FRC for distribution. The sponsor only knows the first name of each child, their clothing size and gift wish list (limited to 3 items). This year many more sponsors are electing to give money instead of adopting children and shopping for them. As FRC shoppers, Judith and I will be busy. We will purchase as much as possible online from Walmart and Amazon. We will not focus as much on wrapping gifts since we have more shopping to do. We will provide gift wrap for the families instead.
For supper, I made another new dish - cod, baked on a bed of sliced red and orange sweet peppers, served over vermicelli with asparagus on the side.
Thursday, October 29
Hurricane Zeta cam ashore in Louisiana last night, but also left a lot of damage on the Mississippi gulf coast. It is the 27th named storm of the season and the 5th to hit Louisiana this year. It was predicted to be a Cat 1, but came ashore 1 mph short of Cat 3. The powerful storm raced through AL, GA, NC and VA on its way our to sea.
We had a lot of rain overnight in advance of the storm. School was called off for the day. I'm not sure it it was weather or covid related. Either way, Amanda didn't have workouts and I didn't have to go out early on a rainy morning. Instead, she and I went to Chik-Fil-A and took our lunches to LC Park to feed the ducks.
Later in the afternoon, Bill and I had a lovely walk up Brock Way. Pork chops, purple hull peas and green beans for supper. The garden is still paying dividends from the freezer.
Friday, October 30
Is it Friday yet? All day yesterday, I had a Friday feeling. But today must be Friday because I had lunch with Bonnie, even though we're no longer having Friday video sessions. I first went to Walmart at Turkey Creek to pick up a gift item that I had order for Santa Helper and then delivered it to FRC.
I finished my online course. The final assignment was an online prayer for unity. I will use some of the ideas of unity for my SS lesson this week. There was nothing else remarkable about the day except for our taco supper.
Election day is getting close and COVID is getting worse. These are anxious times. I've been thinking about Anna and Jake all day. This is the day for packing the truck for their move to Newport. Deb and John and helping, along with Heather and Jarrett. Anna has everything packed in boxes and labeled, I'm sure.
Saturday, October 31
I enjoyed a day without getting in the car, after an active week. I prepared a Sunday School lesson, did some laundry and went for a walk. I also made a few masks- one for me and four to share. The best thing about the day was its simple ordinariness.
Anna and Jake are having anything but an ordinary day. This is moving day for them. Truck was loaded and they stayed with Heather's family last night. Heather and Jarret are driving them and a loaded U-haul from Virginia to Rhode Island. They have all been in our hearts and minds all day.
This afternoon I picked another basket of pears with the intention of sharing most of them.
Halloween never brings trick-or-treaters to our country door. However, I texted Amy next door to bring Lincoln and Tucker over to show off their costumes and get a little candy. They were adorable as the Hulk and a Swat Team guy.
Daylight savings time ends tonight, so I enjoyed one last long evening and a beautiful sunset. Then Fried Rice for supper!
Numbers: Oct 31
TN Dept of Health: 260,672 cases; 3353 deaths;
0-10 - 12,733 cases; 11-20 - 34, 477 cases
Loudon County: 1711 cases; 155 active; 13 deaths;
26.2/100,000 case rate; 12.2 pos rate
White House Orange Zone. The White House category is looking back and comparing to previous weeks.
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