Wednesday, June 02, 2021

Currently: June 2021

I looked back and I've been linking up regularly with Anne at in residence for her "Currently" posts for over six months now, although I used her prompts for blog posts a few times before that. Since Covid and lock downs (we're hoping to come out of our current two month lockdown in the next few weeks...ugh) have stolen all routine from us, I really look forward to monthly blog link ups to help bring some consistency to my life. So read on to see what we're doing this month...

Also, I should clarify, our province has been in some sort of "lock down" since April 3, and under a strict stay-at-home order since April 16 (Maybe? Time has really lost all meaning...). Technically our stay-at-home order ends today but we don't go into Step 1 of our reopening until June 14th so these next twelve days are... unclear. Everyone is confused but we still can't do anything.

Lastly, we have no clarity on whether or not our kids are going to be able to go back to school this year. Our last day of school is June 28th and our government is supposed to announce "any day now" what the plan is. Try living in limbo (with your school aged children) for over two months -- and most intently for the last few weeks. I talked to a few friends yesterday and we used the words like "depressed" and "frustrated" and "angry." Imagine a whole province of people in that space. It's not pretty..

With all this out there to explain some of my answers, let's move on to "currently..."

[celebrating]

Well the biggest things we're celebrating lately are that Dave and Sam both got their first doses of the Covid vaccine in the past couple of weeks. It feels like Dave was among the last of the adults we know to get his shot and Sam was among the first of the 12-17 year olds we know to get his shot so they were almost exactly a week apart in getting their first vaccines.

Trust me, when there is something to celebrate these days, we celebrate BIG!!! (I can't wait until the blog can be filled with nothing but all the small normal things -- every day will be a celebration around here!!!)

[collecting]

Ummm... I really struggled with this one. I guess we're collecting "a list of things to do once our current lockdown ends" -- for so many things we (or the kids) want to do, our answer is always, "Once the lockdown ends." I want to buy some new capris, Dave and Sam need haircuts, Rachel wants to get her ears pierced, we all want to see friends, Rachel needs some black craft paint, the kids want to get back to school in person, Sam wants to play baseball, we want our pool to open up -- we have quite the list! Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, we'll get to do all these things in the next days, weeks, and months, but for now... we're still waiting. sigh.

[gifting]

 I know this should probably be what we're gifting to other people but I'm going to talk about a couple of things we've been gifted recently. Our friends divided their mint and gave us a bunch of it. I planted it in our raised beds and I'm really hoping we'll have fresh mint all summer! Whooo hooo!!! And another friend gifted us a package which included a delicious pie! I might have eaten some for breakfast yesterday :)

We do need to figure out what to gift Rachel for her birthday in a few weeks but I'm hoping our restrictions will have lifted enough by then that she can have a few friends over to play in the back yard for a couple of hours, which after two months of not seeing any friends in person, and not getting a birthday party last year, will feel like a HUGE gift. Plus the ear piercing if the salons are ever allowed to open again...

[thinking]

I've been so focused on getting all the beds in our yard edged, that I haven't yet planted my planters. I need to get on that so I've been thinking about how I'm going to combine all these flowers into fun combinations!

I ended up with an unexpected few hours yesterday afternoon so I did start to tackle my planters but I still have a few to go. I was so happy to get some of that done. 

Plus, honestly, pretty much everyone in our province has been thinking about, wondering, and talking about if our kids are going to get to go back to school in person this year. Our last day of school in June 28th so we've still got enough weeks of school left that an "in person" return would be totally worth it. Our province has been pretty much silent on the topic which is really frustrating for many people -- parents, kids, people who work in the schools, etc.

[trying]

Every month I try to read every single blog in the "currently..." link up. One blog I read in May talked about making "garden focaccia bread" and I spent fifteen minutes down the Pinterest rabbit hole drooling over this amazing bread art. So I decided to try some. I made two pans of it in May and I was thrilled with how it turned out and I loved how much fun it was! I will definitely be making more of this.

So that's what's up with us "currently." As I've said for most of 2021, let's hope that by next "currently..." life will be in a much better space and I will be cheerier. I'm so tired of feeling so discouraged all the time and I'm ready for better times. Thanks for reading along today.

20 comments:

  1. Yay for Sam getting his shot!!!!!! I hope your lockdowns ease and life can resume. It's starting here and it's amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope you can have the kids back in school this month. I know I'd feel the same way if I was you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want to try that bread! I have been researching some recipes and ideas for it lately. I am glad y'all are celebrating at any chance you can after such a long lock down. My daughter finishes her school year, which has been all virtual, next week. We are looking forward to school in person this fall and hope y'all are able to have the same.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your bread turned out amazing. It's so pretty! I hope things open up a bit for you soon so you can start to really enjoy the summer. I can imagine a lot of people are feeling depressed and frustrated right now.

    -lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sure hoping you can move forward with lifted restrictions soon! I feel for all of you. I would just need to eat more of that bread:) It looks amazing. Do you have the link...or remember which blog you found it on? Would love to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on vaccines and hope you can enjoy some more freedom this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your focaccia is gorgeous! When I saw it on the link party page, I thought it was a needle felted craft project! But edible is even better :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. The bread looks tasty and amazing.
    Hope things get easier soon. Here in Georgia the vaccine is available but not enough people are getting it. Lots of places are open though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am really hoping that your province can start opening back up and have answers for all of you living in limbo. I can absolutely see where the not knowing would be the most frustrating part.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I still am in awe of that bread - its so pretty
    Totally celebrating you all are getting vaccines too!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well we know the answer for schools now, I hope that means less disruption for summer camps and sports. We are currently waiting to find out when Nova Scotia will allows vaccinated people in without having to do the 14 day quarantine, hopefully by the fall so we can go to a wedding!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, that limbo is so hard! Nice to hear that this is a nice touchpoint in the month though :) Yay for vaccines, and that focaccia is GORGEOUS! So cool.

    ReplyDelete
  13. That bread is gorgeous and congrats on the vaccines. I have my fingers crossed that your numbers drop and your province opens back up ASAP.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow that bread looks really good. What a great project. I'll be hoping that things open up for you soon!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your bread is beautiful! Hope it tastes as good as it looks!

    Also - beware of mint - it may spread and take over other areas in the future. The mint in our work garden always does TOO well.

    I'm very sad that the kids won't get to go back to school. And mad that he doesn't want to open schools but thinks we should open everything else earlier? Where are the priorities... I just can't understand. I'm sad for kids (and their parents) and all they've lost this year!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Natasha, I am so sorry to hear you're still on lockdown. That just seems crazy to me in comparison to how things are here. Here's hoping you are able to begin to have some normalcy soon!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love the look of that garden focaccia bread!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just joined in for the first time. That bread looks amazing. I've seen it too and have thought it would be fun to try.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gosh, your focaccia is cookbook worthy!! Well done.
    Glad things are beginning to loosen up for your province. And hallelujah that your fellas have their first vaccines on board.
    I have tried to grow mint a zillion times but always kill it. Everyone I know starts growing it and it thrives. Wish you could send me some!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. WOW I'm SO JEALOUS that Sam is old enough for the vaccine! That's so exciting. Hard to believe you have just one final family member left. I'm really hoping by early fall they will have a vaccine for the younger kids? I have not been following the vaccine news closely (it stresses me out) but the general timeline seemed to be early fall which would be amazing for back-to-school!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for being interested in my life as I blog it and for leaving a comment. Comments make me happier than reading a good book and drinking a cold Coke. Almost :)