Week 14 & 15: The Bitter(sweet) End

August 04, 2020

Week 14 & 15: The Bitter(sweet) End

So the end of June got really busy for us and I just realized now that I never posted this! So pretend for a few minutes we're back in the end of June.

While quarantining is by no means over, our area of Ontario has entered Phase 2 of reopening and I've decided to end our weekly/bi-weekly updates. I will be posting more regularly on my Instagram (@cmjgrieve) again as we move in to summer adventures.

Click any photo to ENLARGE.

Sunday June 14th

We had a hot late spring day. Andrew's brother and his family came up for a visit and to celebrate three kid birthdays (E's and two of their kids). Four of the five kids went on a bike ride with their dads and explored the nearby forest then we had a bbq lunch and they all played in the backyard for a while. It was a great morning!

In the afternoon I went over to a friends' and did some more recording for our church's Vacation Bible School. When I came back E was working on his new puzzle from his aunt & uncle and T and I had a fun session of reading books and singing variations on the Farmer in the Dell.

Monday June 15th

Today I allowed E to start venturing out into the world again - he came with me to the grocery store pickup where we stay in our van and the groceries are delivered in to our trunk. For our one-on-one time he and I played the Old Maid card game he received from his aunt & uncle the day before.

We've been so fortunate with the hot/warm weather these last few months. The boys and I have been getting outside every day and they're really enjoying the play set. I spent the evening doing something I love and haven't done often enough - sewing! To finish off the lap quilt for E's teacher I needed to attach a binding (edging). I cut the fabric to size, ironed it in half and then sewed one side of the binding to the quilt by machine.

Tuesday June 16th

T had his first official online speech therapy session (assessment last week). I've been really impressed with how engaging it has been and if you've been holding off until it can happen in person (like I initially was) I'd love to encourage you to give online therapy a try! Also, if you ask T what sport that is, he'll tell you it's hockey - he might need some other help!

I've been enjoying my peonies so much this week - they smell so good! They are right beside the small deck the boys and I have been spending so much time on.

Wednesday June 17th

The focus of today was how we could show E's teachers we appreciate them. We painted two terracotta pots with black chalkboard paint and planted Spring Cactus and Coral Reef plants.

This evening, my friend came over for a visit and to keep me company while I powered through the 4 hours of hand sewing needed to finish off the binding on the lap quilt for E's teacher who is battling a very serious illness.

Thursday June 18th

E's teachers and principals put on a wonderful end of school pick-up your stuff and say goodbye to your teachers! It was extra special because E's English teacher who is ill was able to come before beginning treatment the next day and so the other teachers threw her (and the kids) a Mickey/Minnie party asking the kids to dress in something Disney or black/red/white.

Friday June 19th

Tea party! T is playing a lot of tea parties these days. After our party we went on a long hot walk. Because E was on his scooter I have more photos today of T on our walk. I think today is when T's interest in caterpillars began (he's now obsessed).

We did a library pickup!! We're all thankful the boys have some new reading material!

Saturday June 20th

Sun shower!! The boys and I also did some Father's Day preparations.

Sunday June 21st

Father's Day! We had a great day celebrating Andrew.

Monday June 22nd

Lots of errands (virtual and in person) happened toady but thankfully moments like these fit in around all the to-dos.

Tuesday June 23rd

Today was a busy day getting stuff settled to purchase our cottage - lawyers visits, long waits at banks, lots of paperwork. We also had our final Small Group with some people from church before the summer break.

I also had an optometry appointment to check on my cataracts that we discovered in December. I haven't talked about it much on this blog, but I'd been noticing some changes to my vision in certain situations (really sunny and wearing my polarized sunglasses, late at night driving with oncoming car headlights) and sure enough cataracts are starting in the middle of both my eyes. They're quite small and initially the right eye had an even smaller one. But after today's appointment (and what I've noticed) the cataract in the right eye has caught up and they're both about the same size now.

Eventually I'll have to have laser surgery to remove the cataracts and at that point I won't need the long-distance glasses I've been wearing since I was a child!

Wednesday June 24th

E and I put in some last minute effort to finish up tidying his bedroom before Saturday (his deadline). It was great finally vacuuming and doing a bit of dusting in there - it's been a while.

I did a run to the grocery and dollar stores to pick up a few items we knew we'd need at our new cottage.

Thursday June 25th

Random update: our travel insurance money from when we lost our bag in Denmark over a year ago finally was approved and came in, so I bought myself some new Birkenstocks to replace the brand new ones I lost then. Sadly my sandal tan isn't so awesome.

Andrew and the boys went on a bike ride and did some forest exploration since we knew we weren't bringing up bikes right away to the cottage.

Friday June 26th

For one-on-one time with T we spent time kicking/throwing a beach ball and playing with a frisbee.

I've been spending Friday nights this past school year with high school kids from my church and tonight was our final night. I'm so glad we've been able to get together in small groups that last couple weeks around a campfire.