Hello Sunshine!

 

Delicious Dinner

 One of my go to recipes is a tomato tart from King Arthur flour.  Some would call it a quiche. It's good for dinner and then reheated for breakfast. 

The recipe calls for only tomatoes but I frequently add something else: onions, mushrooms, or bacon or ham.

This time I sauteed some onion and rainbow Swiss chard to put in it with a sliced tomato. The crust is made from white whole wheat flour from King Arthur flour which browns nicely and has a nutty flavor to me.

We had it with our first ear of corn (not pictured) from a local farm stand and the last of the water melon with blueberries Dan picked this morning from our neighbor's blueberry patch. 

A glass of merlot rounded out the meal.

Mink Brook

 I've joined a women's walking group that gathers at different spots to hike/walk on Wednesday mornings. Yesterday since I didn't know where we were to meet, I carpooled with two of the members to Mink Brook.

The temperature was perfect 60º with low humidity.  I took these few photos.

This single log bridge was closed.  We crossed the brook downstream where stepping stones had been positioned for crossing. (no photo)

This was the second walk I've taken with the group. The first one I went on didn't require me to drive since it was up a road near my house.  I don't know where the destination will be next week.

End of Story

 No covid here!

Dan tested again Thursday night with result negative.

My fear of it starting with a headache on Wednesday was one of my migraines instead.

Of the four in the carpool only one got Covid and didn't pass it on.

Thank goodness!

On a Lighter Note

 NOTES TO GOD 

Oh...the age of innocence!
 

A Nun asked her class to write notes to God.

Here are some they wrote:
 
Dear God:
I didn't think orange went with purple 
until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. 
That was cool.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones,
 why don't You keep the ones You already have?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Maybe Cain and Abel would not have killed each other
 if they had their own rooms. 
That's what my Mom did for me and my brother.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 If You watch me in church on Sunday, I'll show You my new shoes.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 I bet it is very hard to love everyone in the whole world.
 There are only 4 people in our family 
 and I'm having a hard time loving all of them.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Are You really invisible or is it just a trick?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Is it true my father won't get into heaven
 if he uses his bowling words in the house? 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:                      
 Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Who draws the lines around the countries?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 I went to this wedding and they kissed right in the church. Is that OK?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Did You really mean "do unto others as they do unto you"?
 Because if You did, then I'm going to get my brother good.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Thank You for the baby brother, but I think you got confused
 because what I prayed for was a puppy.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before.
 You can look it up.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big,
 but not with so much hair all over.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 You don't have to worry about me; I always look both ways.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 I think about You sometimes, even when I'm not praying.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 Of all the people who worked for You,
 I like Noah and David the best.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right.
 He is just kidding, isn't he?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 I would like to live 900 years just like the guy in the Bible.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dear God:
 We read Thomas Edison made light. 
 But in Sunday school they said You did it. 
 So, I bet he stole Your idea.

 

Thanks to my friend Marilyn for sharing these with me.

Update

  Dan is still symptom free, day 4 after exposure. We have stayed clear of family nearby though granddaughter #2 got exposed at summer school on Monday and is home today with an ear ache. 

Me? I woke up with a headache today and not the usual migraine type.  I tested and was negative. I'm thinking that Dan may have it symptom free and I am catching it from him. We have both had four shots.

His chorus of 20 now has 8 members testing positive for Covid.  The last person had symptoms for 4 days before she tested positive.

Our Covid Story

Here is our Covid story which doesn't have an ending yet.  

Dan is in a chorus that rehearses an hour and a half away from our home.  Fortunately he joined a carpool that meets a half hour from here.  The chorus had their first of five performances on Sunday a week ago. That Monday the director was exposed to Covid.  He took all the precautions and thought he was in the clear to direct their open rehearsal/concert on Thursday.  He even masked for that. Friday morning he came down with symptoms and tested positive!

Now the chorus is a rather elite group and some of the members are music directors as well.   There was a concert scheduled on Friday evening so the music directors in the group split up the 90 minute concert with one of them stepping up to conduct a most difficult and long selection. The concert went well.  I attended and was impressed.

Saturday the group traveled by carpools for 2 hours south and west of here for a concert. That one went well too.

Sunday afternoon was to be the last concert. That morning the pianist sent out an email that she had tested positive for Covid.  There was no way another pianist could step in to replace her. The concert was canceled.

Sunday evening, one of the members of Dan's carpool, that he had spent a total of 4 hours in the car on Saturday, with tested positive.  He had tested himself Sunday morning before going to work at his church and was negative.  Then symptoms set in and 12 hours later: positive.

So Dan has been exposed! Maybe from the director, maybe from the pianist, but definitely by his fellow carpooler.  We tested Dan last night at 8:00 pm and he was negative.  He had no symptoms then and none this morning. Yesterday he tried to sign up for a PCR test for this morning but with no symptoms he didn't meet the criteria.

As a precaution I slept in the guest room last night but is that going to make a difference to my exposure level? He could be contagious now before showing symptoms.  If he does test positive, what do I do? On one hand I feel like "Let me just get it over with." On the other hand despite being double boosted I worry "What if I get a severe case?"

As I said the story has no ending yet.  Dan thinks if he doesn't get symptoms by Thursday he's in the clear. I think we will need to continue to test him.

What would you do?

Barn Renovation Complete

 Here are photos in chronological order of the barn from when we first purchased it through the renovations all last year to the completion of the painting this week.

The barn shortly after we moved in December 2020.

The back side was not completely painted.

Dan removed one of the lofts and lifted the floor boards on the side that was to be the garage.

The barn had sagged so had to be lifted on this side.

Concrete floor poured so it could be used as garage.

Driveway graded and filled with hardpacked gravel.

Winter 2021-22 Sill work on other side of barn.

Clapboards replaced.

New garage doors and garden room door installed.

July 2022 Barn painted.

Compare above photo to bottom photo and you can see how much work we have put in.

Visit to the New Hampshire Coast

New Hampshire's Atlantic Ocean coast line is miniscule - 18 miles only in length with Massachusetts to the south and Maine to the north..

I took a day trip there on Monday with Emily and granddaughter #2.  Granddaughter #1 had gone with Matt to Annapolis, MD to a family reunion.  Emily stayed home with #2 because she had a fever, not Covid.  They tested her. By Monday fever was gone for 24 hours, hence our excursion.

Our first choice in beach was a town park in Portsmouth but sign at kiosk where we were to pay said no swimming because of fecal matter contamination.  So we traveled south to Wallis Sands State Park instead.

It was a blue sky day, the tide was going out but the water was frigid.

More people on the beach than in the water.

#2 considers and then goes in.

Emily went in with her.

 

Me?  I got my feet wet.  Water much too cold plus wind was blowing off the water which made it cooler.

This rock jetty divided the bathing area from the rockier section of the coast.

One of the children in the group in front of us left his bag of chips.  The gulls found it to fight over it.

The last time #2 went in she took her boogie board and did a good job with it.

It was a two hour trip each way.  Coming home we stopped at Wendy's for dinner. A nice day and out of the ordinary routine.

Some Additions and More Blooms

Here's the Sculpture Garden with a new addition under the category Garden Art.  We went to several yard sales last Saturday and I came home with some pots and some garden art.

[A side note: notice not much growing in this bed.  The hosta I planted which are supposed to be mammoth size are much smaller than I expected.  I'm wondering if under the hemlocks is a problem or if the bed is just too dry? Gardeners out there please weigh in.]

Actually we came home with two of these - each $5.  The second one below is in the Maple Garden.

Both are made by Planet Jr USA.

See more about the company here.

Found some on eBay selling for a lot more than $5!

They each has a different uses but don't ask me what.  I think the one below is missing a smaller wheel and a seed cup.

More lilies opened up.

Also this lovely that Emily shared with me from her garden has produced blooms..

I have this volunteer plant.  Beatrice though the blossom on my earlier post was a zucchini or squash.

Here's what's growing.  Not sure what it is. The seeds came from my compost. It's so lush that I hate to pull it out though it crowds some new daylilies. I'm just curious as to what it is but need to keep it off the grass.