365 in 2021, days 26-37

Two bonus shots from 1/26/2021

We got a lovely snow storm and ended up with about 4-5 inches of snow. 

View out our front window about halfway through the day (about half the snow we got) and a shot of Leia running in the backyard with Chewie.

Fat fluffy flakes for several hours and it was really nice.  I got off work and drove down to Carus's work to see if she'd need help getting home. The main roads were fine so I just followed her home. Her little Kia made it fine until the top of our hill.  She slid a bit and got nervous so I took over and with the help of a neighbor pushing I slid her car up and over to the curb where she parks (our driveway is too small to fit a fourth car). 

Leia (and Chewie) love the snow. This little playtime showed Leia's age though - she was moving slowly the rest of the evening. I felt so bad for her. She didn't even do any of the jumping she loves to do. 

1/26/2021 

For the official day 26 photo - Chewie diving off the retaining wall (it's about 2-1/2 feet tall).

When it started snowing, Leia and Chewie ran from window to window anxious to get outside. 

They were so happy to go out on my afternoon break. SO HAPPY.

1/27/2021

We still had snow so the doggies got to go play again.  Leia did not really play this time. 

1/28/2021*

Heading out to the barn - Carus was driving - and enjoying the sunset colors.  Not a great shot, but I knew it wouldn't last until we got to the barn.  

1/29/2021

My yellow shrimp - Lemon

1/30/2021*

We replaced the front windows last fall and the frames still need replacing. Window frames and trim in the house have been a long term project for Robert.  All of the bedroom windows are done, now for the other half of the house.  And the trim. We have some BIG plans for this year in remodeling. Probably bigger than we have time or energy for, but plans all the same.

I was helping this Saturday, which was mostly just dusting and vacuuming the living room because I can't do the measurements he needs to do or the cuts to get them to fit just right.  This window is not squared - it's narrower at the top, for some weird reason. 

Two little windows done - now just the big window to do.

1/31/2021*

Trust Data, Not Lore 

I got my second Covid vaccine. I've got the Moderna version.  This second one burned going in. Still not as bad as Tetanus or MMR though! 

I got dizzy about 15 minutes after the injection and stayed that way the rest of the day. I'm not convinced it was part of the vaccination and feel it's more likely associated with other heath issues I'm dealing with. 

Otherwise, the injection site was sore for about 3 days and on day 1 and 2 (24-48 hours post injection) was warm to the touch and a little red. I never developed a fever, but halfway through the next day (day 1) the fatigue hit like a bus. I was so tired I had trouble keeping my eyes open. I used my sit to stand desk to stand up so I could finish work and then I just went to bed.  I also felt sore all over and like I was starting to have a cold. Not really horrible, but definitely not feeling well.  I also felt like I was on the verge of having a headache the whole time too.  I never got the headache though.  My injection was Sunday morning, felt like crap Monday, then woke up completely fine Tuesday. 

I'm about a week out and everything is back to "normal".   I've done my part to help herd immunity. I'm protected and I'm protecting others.  Those side effects aren't any worse than any other vaccinations.  Remember vaccines for babies? You have a cranky baby for a day or two cause they don't feel good and their injection site hurts. Same for adults.  I recently had to get the MMR again and also Tetanus. Both burn like a bitch going in and after MMR I couldn't move my arm for like 3 days. Vaccines suck, but they keep people alive. 

2/1/2021

Cherry, the cherry shrimp.

I remembered I had a macro attachment for my lens! It's focus is more particular and the subjects need to be on the closer side (and hold still) but it was fun to play with. The shrimp are cool to watch. We'd get to watch them more if we didn't have big predators (Angel fish) swimming around making them nervous. I started the tank so we could get Angel fish (they're so pretty) so c'est la vie. 

2/2/2021

Skarimps!

2/3/2021*

We were out doing barn chores and stepped out the back of the barn to head to the manure pile and saw sunset rays breaking through the clouds. 

2/4/2021

Macro lens! 

The fish are a bit harder to catch the focus right as they move more, but I got a few including this eyeball shot. 

2/5/2021*

Full tank shot with hornwort that needs trimmed. The dang stuff grows fast! But I like it, the ghost catfish like hiding in it, and the shrimp (including some new babies) hide in it too, so it stays.

2/6/2021

After the trim.

(I'm typing this up on 2/9, three days later, and the hornwort has reached the surface again.)

Life keeps happening

I keep feeling like things will slow down next week or next month; and then next week or next month arrives and everything is just as crazy and busy as it was before. 

Or it feels more crazy and busy than it really is and I'm just losing my marbles. I don't know anymore.

The horse that Carus started the 4H year with, Caly, didn't work out.  They weren't connecting and it just became a battle of wills between a young horse and a frustrated kid. We were sad as Caly is a sweet horse that Carus did enjoy riding, but it's not fair for her or Carus to keep trying where it wasn't working. 

Also, I had incredible amounts of anxiety over quitting too early.  I do not like to "give up" even if it's in my best interest and I'm more realistically just moving on.

We asked around a little and quickly got a few geldings to try (Carus insists that she can connect to geldings better cause mares be crazy).  

Introducing (sort of):  New lease horse, Chester.  (This is totally old news if you're on Facebook.)

So far Chester is working out great.  If you ask Carus how it's going you will get no words, but instead some excited squealing while she clutches her hands to her face and/or bounces up and down.

She hearts Chester.  

She's still finding school tough to navigate this year; mostly the 2 AP classes and 2 honors classes have her feeling a bit stretched thin, on top of the emotional lows of losing Scout.

My washer motor broke a few weeks ago.  The direct drive motor is not supposed to break EVER but yeah mine did.  Thankfully I have a handy husband who was able to get the parts ordered despite the customer service reps saying "yeah, no the motor can't break it's not the motor" and then got them installed. I was only without a washer for a week.  Surprisingly...not surprisingly?  I was anxious about not being able to do laundry for a week. Cause I'm a weirdo. Or I have issues.  Both?

The master bath is still not done.  We had to save up to purchase the vanity and then we decided the shower stall was beyond cleaning up so we had to search for new glass walls and doors that would fit our the insert which took forever.  Since the new floor was already in we were not replacing the whole thing.  Then, the granite counter top we like is now out of stock.  We found a new supplier so now just saving up a bit more so we can order because it's more expensive than the first one was.  (And yes, all of the we's in that above paragraph refer to Robert. He's doing all the leg work and hard work. I'm in charge of painting.)

Adam is now coming up on the end of his second semester of college and seems like he's floating along.  He is still doing a general transfer degree with plans to transfer to a 4 year college at the end of 2 years of community college and still isn't sure what the end goal is. Occasionally I panic for him and start worrying that he hasn't figured it out yet. 

Stuck

 We're replacing the doors and trim in the house to a more craftsman style. It's a project that has been on Robert's to-do list since we bought the house but other projects and funds have delayed it. He has spent months mocking up the trim and redoing it and just as many months debating the style of doors he wanted. I would have preferred my kitchen counters replaced but I know this will be an improvement too (just not as much as new counters! I hate those things. So much!) and is a cheaper project.  I've been just letting him do most of the deciding, though the third (or fourth?) revision of the trim style is the last one. Dammit, that looks good too just leave it already. (I do like this last version the best.)

We have three pocket doors in the house, two in our bedroom for the closet and the bathroom, and one in the kitchen. They are being replaced as well to match.

Robert has replaced all of the bedroom doors and the kid's bathroom door (ours and Adam's pictured here) and the closet pocket door.  The master bath door is all that's remaining and it was waiting because of some roller smoothness issues discovered with the closet door.  He removed all the trim around the door a few days ago.  When closing the door, if you're not careful, the door can swing out a little bit and get caught on the wall.  You can't open the door from inside the bathroom when it's stuck because there's nowhere to grip to pull the door towards you the few millimeters it needs before you can slide it back into the pocket in the wall.

I've gotten stuck in the bathroom like four times already.