Week 49

Hello and welcome back!  How many days until Christmas?  Not enough!  I'm making good progress, but it still feels like there is so much to do.  We're also back to shelter-in-place mode so that makes it a little harder to get stuff done. Pray for the package delivery folks this season. So much will fall on them even more than ever.  I'm so done with this pandemic and really hope the vaccine helps us turn things around and soon. Until then we're trying to stay positive and enjoy the holidays as best we can so you will see a lot of festive pictures here and maybe they will help spark your holiday spirit as well.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 335- Monday, 11/30/20

We busted out the decorations over the weekend so we can slowly transform the house this week.  I'm also joining a another photo class centered around holiday magic. This first picture was taken for a prompt about holidays pasts, and we were encouraged to find a filter to add a little magic so I used the app Lumii to add some twinkle lights around a picture of John and I taken on our first Christmas in our first owned home before kids. I display it every year to remind us where we started from.  In other news, weekly COVID testing continues at work in the campus recreation center.  They actually have a very streamlined process that is quick as can be with more than enough socially distanced stations.

Day 336- Tuesday, 12/1/20

Happy December!  No one else wanted to pose with the monthly marker so it's me and the kitchen pig. LOL! I'm also sharing the before and after pictures of the boys' bathroom now that it's completely done.  Love how it turned out and the highlight with 3 grown boys in this house is the turbo flush toilet.  HaHa!  The older toilet was so weak!!!  For me it was getting rid of the shower glass doors which made it near impossible to clean the tub and shower in such a small space plus the shower curtain helps add a nice pop of color. The master bath pictures are to follow.

Day 337- Wednesday, 12/2/20

What a day!  It turned out to be my last in the lab for the next couple weeks.  I was tested for COVID on Monday and was negative.  Justin was also tested at HSU Monday and got word late this afternoon that his test is positive.  ACK!  Good news is that he is asymptomatic.  Had a little tummy issue Sunday night and Monday morning but that's it.  No fever, no cough, or anything else.  Thank goodness or I'd be freaking out about him being so far away.  The bad news is now we all need to self-isolate through next week since he was here over Thanksgiving break.  We're taking it in stride and will just see how this all pans out.  Tyler as an EMT was told to keep working unless he has symptoms, but the rest of us will work from home.  Brandon and John this evening watched Frosty together while also doing homework.  Life goes on!

Day 338- Thursday, 12/3/20

The pets are very interested in Tyler's lunch.  Since he's working night shifts this his usual time waking up for the day around 1pm.  I got the stockings hung and used this picture for a photo prompt.  Brandon was pleasantly surprised to see this done when he came down from ending remote classes for the day, and I loved seeing the smile it put on his face.

Day 339- Friday, 12/4/20

Speaking of that smile, he's been happily working his way through the advent calendar.  We even found ones for the pets this year from Trader Joe's.  Now I feel left out so next year I'm getting me a wine and cheese one.  LOL! Later I took Bella for a walk during the golden hour and snapped this shot of the bare winter trees in the park and also used it for a photo prompt about a winter landscape view--best I could do with no snow here.  Afterward I settled down by the fire to relax enjoying a festive drink to kick off the weekend and celebrate the start of the Christmas season.  Justin is still doing well with a nurse checking on him daily, and no one else here has any symptoms either.  One more week to go before we're in the clear.

Day 340- Saturday, 12/5/20

We got the tree today and John put up the house lights with Brandon's help so it's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here. I took no more pictures today so I'll share the before and after of our master bathroom even though we're still waiting on closet doors.  You can also see in the mirror reflection that I updated our bedding as well.  Everything feels and works so nice, plus I like the lighter and brighter look of it all.  The best part was getting rid of the carpet on the bath floor.  Why on Earth was that in there in the first place?  I'll never understand.  I'm also equally happy to be rid of the mirrored closet doors directly across from the shower.  Hated those.  The new ones will be barndoor style with frosted glass panels to help break up the wood a bit and give them a more modern look.  I'd be nice if they made it before Christmas, but I'm betting they won't arrive until just after the new year.

Day 341- Sunday, 12/6/20 

Today I had a slow and peaceful Sunday morning enjoying my coffee by the newly lit tree.  It smells so good in here with the fresh pine.  We also have our advent wreath out on the dining table to be lit nightly during dinner, and it's sitting on a holiday quilted runner my mom made for me years ago.  This picture was taken for a photo prompt about a table setting and the point of view was to be from the top looking down.  Can't say I would have ever shot it this way, but love how it turned out and grateful for the challenges that push me in new directions.

That is all for this week which was a lot! We're still all good including Justin but will continue to keep our distance from others as best we can until after our isolation period is over.  The rest of the state is currently back in lockdown so I guess the timing is good.  Thanks for checking in and I'll see you next week hopefully still healthy and back at work in the lab.