Busy Week in November

 

I've been creeping around my little place picking up little pinecones and decorations the cats have knocked off tables until I've decided to call the fall holidays over.  We're over the pumpkin spice candle and into the iced gingerbread cookies now.  

These cookies were a hit.  Our neighbor Wes is always bringing us something from TJs, and this box didn't last long!  The girls say it's the best cookie ever!

I also ordered this set of Swiss Mix flavored chocolate from Target for December after-school warm-ups.  It's packaged so nicely I hate to open it.

I'm getting myself psyched up for real winter and finding things that will make it better.  I even got some new warm boots for that afternoon walk.

I don't see any forecasts of snow any time soon, but it can't be worse than this awful week of rain and wind we've just had.  Just horrible.  I would have to leave 30 minutes early just to get a parking space closer to the school than my apartment and then sit there and freeze and listen to the wind while waiting for them.  I really worried about those big old trees dropping a limb on my car.  Traffic is then a mess, and we still got wet just getting into the car with all their stuff. 

We had sunshine yesterday though, and it was so welcome. 

 For the next four days, the kids get out at 12:15, and yesterday the book fair set up outside under the covered area for last-minute shopping.  Emily and Ryan had teacher-parent conferences, so I got to take them.

The had their little purses and were ready to go at 1:00.

That little moss-covered wall is impossible to resist, and the girls always have to walk on it.  I saw some of the landscapers this week, and they did mention that they're going to start working on our street this year.  Heaven knows, it needs work. I don't even have the wall in front of my unit.  It's just squishy grass.

The girls are passing by a daycare center, and I feel so lucky on two counts here.  I get to enjoy these leisurely strolls any time I want to and have for the past five years, and they are not confined behind those bars.  It's a great daycare center and much needed here, but I'm so glad I didn't miss this precious time with these girls.  Soon they'll be too grown-up to walk with me.

I'm not sure why I forgot to take any pictures at the book fair.  I guess we were too busy looking and greeting friends and making decisions on how to spend their money.  I even ran into a friend, Liz, who introduced me to her granddaughter as her "only friend in Snoqualmie."  She lives in Redmond and comes to visit her family on the weekend.

It was extra fun to get a chance to play together on the playground without a ton of other kids.  I love it that they enjoy playing together so much.  It's made first grade easier to adjust to for Katherine having a big sister there.

Their purchases were well thought out, and they were just thrilled at the things they got, coming in just under their designated amounts.

Graysen was thrilled over this chocolate-scented calculator.  Go figure.  She says one of her friends has one and it's cool.  It actually worked, but when we got home it didn't.  I was about to mark it up to a waste of money when I read that it was solar powered.  Oh, well.  It did work under a lamp though.  I think the novelty of it is enough for her.

And it's vaccine time for all of us.  Emily got her booster shot last weekend and had a reaction just like last time except much less severe.  Thank goodness she's over it now.

I got mine on Wednesday.  The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital is so close and has car vaccines, so I made an appointment and just drove in and followed the signs.

It wasn't a long wait, and it was easy as could be.  I drove into the waiting area and waited my 15 minutes and went home.   I had no reactions whatsoever to my two regular vaccines - Pfizer - but I got the Moderna booster, and when I took my Band-Aid off, I saw that I had what's called Covid arm.  It may have something to do with taking blood thinners too, but there was definitely a little knot at the injection site and some mild itching.  I'm glad I had read about it earlier and didn't worry.  I believe it's better now, and I'm all done for a while.

The hardest thing was letting the girls get their first vaccine.  It was a no-brainer for the adults, but letting those little girls get theirs was harder.  There was an event at Mount Si High School today, and Emily and Ryan took them.  They were pretty excited and felt like they knew what was happening and that they were doing their part to try to get rid of this horrible pandemic.  They again ran into friends and got lollipops, and when they just called, they were stopping at Starbucks for another surprise.  I feel like nobody cared enough about me!!

Our first polio vaccine way back in the '50s wasn't nearly as much fun, but it turned out to be a miracle drug.  We were lined up at school and walked to the health department where we got a sugar cube with the vaccine on it.  We may have gotten a lollipop, but probably the sugar was enough for us!

I'm feeling a little emotional after all that and praying that there will finally be an end - or at least a slow-down - in the disease and that these kids will grow up unafraid.  They have learned so much though in these few years and learned how to sacrifice and to bounce back from hardships.  

While not "blood kin to us," my brother- and sister-in-law lost a precious member of their family this week.  Chad Morris, Kathy & Alan's nephew, of Andalusia died last Sunday and will leave a big hole in their hearts.  So young, so sad.

Holidays are still hard for us too, missing Mike always and all our parents.  We'll just do the best we can and make it a time for being grateful for what we do have.  Our first vegan Thanksgiving - but with dressing somehow.  I won't miss the turkey myself.