Dusting Off the Keyboard

 Hello, is this thing on?

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I didn't really have the motivation to keep up with this blog during the beginning (2 years) of the pandemic.  After the novelty wore off, it was depressing and incredibly boring. While the kids were off school, I spent my days immersed in virtual schooling, which is not my strength at all. When they went back to school, there were still restrictions, mask mandates, etc. All restrictions have since been removed in England, so we can move around freely, get our hair cut, and attend events. And more importantly, we can travel again!

For our first trip since 2020, we decided on a short break to Glasgow during the kids' Easter break. However, plans were changed when Lily and I both got Covid. Although we missed our holiday, thankfully we weren't extremely ill. 

We have since been able to leave Yorkshire, yay! Details will be coming on that trip soon.

 

We did have a few exciting things happen in the past couple of years.

 Last year we bought a house! Going through lockdowns in an apartment without a yard was so difficult. We knew we didn't want to do that again- plus there was a nice tax break going on. It's still smaller than what we could have in the US, but it's been really great to have our own place, no downstairs neighbour, and a backyard for the kids. 

We love the door to the backyard!

Living room

Kitchen/dining room

Utility room!

During this time, we also had another exciting addition to the family - Matt got a plot at an allotment (community garden)! He enjoys the planting and being outside, and I enjoy the food he brings home. Last year he grew onions, garlic, rhubarb, peas, lettuces - just to name a few. 

These next photos show the beautiful handmade raised beds he built. I was very impressed with his hard work!

And here are just a few shots of some of our harvests!

Different kinds of beets

Purple potatoes

I think those are the two major things that have happened. Stay tuned for a relaxing island vacation!

 

 

Lockdown 2020 - Rules and One Walk per Day

We've been on lockdown since the end of March, though it feels like much longer (I'm sure everyone can relate, right?).

In the UK, that meant pretty much the following:

- if you can work from home, do
- most places are closed, including beauty salons, parks, non-essential shops, and eat in restaurants. Several restaurants introduced or continued takeaway services. Most places that stayed open only accepted card payments.
- only go out for exercise once per day (and much of the time the instructions were to stay within walking distance of home)
- while out, stay 2 meters apart
- no meeting with people outside of your household.
Since so many people are out of work, the British government has provided aid to millions. I think it was up to 80% of salary, depending on different factors (it didn't apply to us, so I didn't pay much attention). 

Matt has been home more during the lockdown, so many of our walks have been family walks. We are lucky to live close to open space, and most of the time have been able to easily keep our distance from others. Our walks contain a lot of tree climbing and pretend games.

We found loads of tadpoles in the boating pond at the park.

For the most part, the weather has been sunny, and for me, it makes it so much harder to stay inside.

Lockdown rules have recently relaxed slightly, though vaguely. We're allowed to spend more time outside, and sitting or sunbathing is allowed as long as you stay 2 meters apart. Schools are planning to reopen in June, but only certain years will go back, and there is a long list of guidelines there. Only 15 children per "bubble," freshly washed clothes each day, staggered drop off and pick up times, etc. Clara is in the age group that is invited back, but the older children are not. They will continue doing virtual school until their years are asked to come back (more on updated homeschooling later). It's a really hard decision to make, whether to send kids back to school or not. No matter which way I lean, it feels like a wrong choice (and oh, the judgement I've seen by parents on both sides).

How has the lockdown been in your area, and how is it changing?

Stream of Consciousness - Coronavirus

I have more of our trip to Manchester to write about, but it feels a bit weird in the middle of a pandemic.

When we planned that February trip, we had originally wanted to go to London, but decided against it since it's one of the biggest tourist spots in the world. (I felt slightly paranoid at the time, because no one was altering travel in Europe yet).  Right before we left, we booked a pre-Easter trip to Rome and Naples, and days later, the outbreak in Northern Italy began. 

School has just been closed here, as of 2 days ago. Our school has been working extensively on setting up Google Classroom for the students, as we don't know when they'll get to go back. I've received several emails on how to access their work, and what time they need to log on to "meet" with the different classes. This all starts tomorrow, and though school will be understanding while we get used to this, I am nervous about keeping everything organized. I'm also nervous about being stuck in the house with the kids indefinitely. But I'm working on keeping my attitude positive, because I don't want my stress to rub off on the kids. Lily is already anxious about the whole situation.

So far we are all well. We can continue to do things like go for walks outside, we will just stay away from busy areas (not that many areas are busy these days). Matt still goes to work, but is on an adjusted schedule. We will keep busy with schoolwork, and we also bought a PS4 and subscribed to Disney+. There are loads of ideas floating around on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest on how to keep kids busy during this time, so if we get bored I will check them out.I'm also planning to start showing the kids videos about US history, so they can learn more about their background and culture.

This is by far the hardest time we've spent so far away from family. Even if we were in the US, we wouldn't be visiting everyone, but it's different to know that we can't get on a plane if there's an emergency.  The kids are really missing relatives, and I'm thankful for video chats.

Oh yeah, today is Mother's Day in the UK. Before school shut down, the kids drew and painted pictures for me. Lily brought a tulip home, and Clara made a bracelet. There is usually a Mother's Day assembly with the younger kids, but it was cancelled this year (hopefully just postponed - we'll see).

My portrait painted by Clara

Matt had to work, but the kids and I did go for a walk outside.

We passed by the park on the way home, and Lily desperately wanted to stop and play. There were a few families there, but I didn't feel comfortable stopping. It was difficult because she was upset, and I imagine there will be many more instances like that.

A near empty park on a sunny Sunday

For now I'll just focus on trying to help the kids with schoolwork and keeping myself busy. How are you all coping with everything so far? What is the hardest thing to deal with so far?

New Camera - Trip to the Park

A couple of months ago, Matt surprised me with a new camera- my first "real" camera. It's a Nikon D3500, and I'm slowly learning about it. Of course, I am having a great time practicing with it, and here are some of the first photos I took with the kids at the park.

I was just trying out the auto settings this day. The kids were happy to let me capture their play.

This spinny seat made Miles dizzy.

Oh, this face. 💓

As the youngest of three, Clara thinks she can do everything the bigger kids do. And to her credit, she does well keeping up.

All three kids love the zipline, and these are some of my favorite photos from the day.

We had such a nice time, and I look forward to learning more about how the camera works.