Outside Views.

The bitter cold is starting to get better. By Monday, we'll be at single digits again. I can't wait to have more ability to get out and about. When it's this cold, we prepare for staying home, then snuggle in and wait it out. But this spell has been very long and we're starting to feel a bit antsy. We get to go out today to our weekly Chamber of Commerce Breakfast @ 7:30 am, then we'll head in to the Big City to visit a local radio station that may be our Media Sponsor this year, then we'll head back to our little hamlet to visit one bank to move some funds over to our personal account at another bank, then I'll do the banking for our charity, and after that, we may do a bit of shopping if there is time but if not, we'll find a spot for a quick lunch, then head to our community centre to park downstairs while we attend a workshop for the afternoon upstairs. From there, we'll head home and I'm looking forward to a night without any meetings or work to do. Dh and kids will likely be watching the hockey game downstairs in the theatre room, so I'll either have a hot bubble bath then tuck in for some reading, or skip the bath and snuggle up with my book in the great room. If the game is going well, I like to head down in the 3rd period. If not, I'll stay upstairs, cozy and warm. We've now had 11 games in a row that our Edmonton Oilers have won, so it's been an exciting streak after not a great start to this season. Fingers crossed that we win once again!

I am looking forward to finally getting outside again and heading in to town. Feels like forever. Thankful the roads have been good and though we got snow, as you can see by my photos above. My brother lives on the West Coast and his home is covered in snow today, school is cancelled and no one can drive there. Other than the cold, we're still have a mild Winter in terms of snow, icy roads and closure. 

Wishing you a beautiful day and hope

you don't have too much snow and cold!

~ Chy

Life in the Woods.

Life in the Woods has become more settled ~ our new normal. Truth be told, we are scared. Scared that though in the moment we are healthy, that we'll end up sick. Both dh and I are high risk with asthma and bronchitis/pneumonia to worry about. We're home and have been for 12 days now. Little guy is homeschooling, dd1 is recovering from her surgery (doing really well) and doesn't go back to work as a nurse for 5 weeks (that terrifies me!) and dd2 is providing preschool online with her colleague each day. We're coping but the fear is there. There is comfort in knowing that the entire World is in this together and together we'll beat it. We all are worried. We are all scared. My hope is that everyone stays home and we get thru to the other side with far less impact than predicted. Stay home, stay well.

So what does life look like now in the Woods? Though we are home, both dh and I are able to continue to work each day. And both of us have worked from home regularly, so this transition is not brand new. What's different is we'd often be alone on those days at home. Now we're both home at the same time and the girls and little guy too. It's taken a few days to figure out how to navigate the noise, the activity and the fears. Here's the schedule at the moment:

We aren't waking up as early as we do when life is normal. I usually get up around 6:30 a.m. but right now, it's around 8ish. Part of that is there is no driving so we're still starting work around the same time. And we're going to bed later and definitely not sleeping well. A little lie in is how we begin our days now. And a nap later if needed.

I start each day with my workout in our little gym. I do 32 minutes on the treadmill at a 10.0 incline, then 100 crunches and 200 arm lifts. Loving this and it's given me more energy to cope. The plus side? I've lost 9 pounds in 4 weeks (started this before we were sent home to work). My goal is to be in better shape to cope but also for our son's wedding in early September. Hoping this special day can still happen.

Down my pills for the morning: 2000 of Vitamin D3, 1 combined Vitamin pill, 1 Oil of Oregano tablet, 1 Cold FX and 2000 of Vitamin C. I already did this prior to the virus but the amounts have changed and Oil of Oregano is new, added in last week by my Naturopath and the Cold FX too.

Shower and dress, make the bed, set up my desk. I work through the morning providing phone and video sessions for my grieving clients. Today is the first of 2 staff meetings by video. Looking forward to seeing my team mates in person. Right now, we communicate each day via internet but we haven't seen each other for more than a week now. Fun!

At lunch, we take a break to check in on the news and eat a bit. My appetite is not great right now but I know I have to eat to stay healthy. Yesterday we went for a walk to visit the horses above. The live on the first acreage on our drive in to our subdivision and often walk up to the fence when cars go by or walkers come along. It was fun to spend some time with them ~ little guy even named them. They seemed sad when we walk back to our cottage. We'll visit again. It was a good walk and added extra to my workout for the day.

Work through the afternoon and sometimes in to the evening. I do take realistic breaks as needed. I've been building a puzzle with little guy that is now finished and plan to start another one later today. He's doing his schoolwork and we've also stopped to take part in science experiments his mama comes up with. He's loving that part of school at home! He's incorporated recess in to our day too. He and dd2 often go out in the garden to play in the snow. 

Dinner is in our family room together and we watch Coronation Street. Just found out that they have suspended filming in the U.K. but we hope there is enough episodes to last while this is going on. We are 2 weeks behind the U.K. and they film well in advance. Fingers crossed. Happy though that they wanted to keep the cast/crew healthy and safe. 

Evenings are sometimes still some work as needed. And a game or tv or reading. We're trying to stay positive and have many laughs through the day. Coming up with projects to work on. And some that need to be finished up. Now's our chance to slow down, re~evaluate life, make some changes, cherish more moments and appreciate this time. 

I'm thankful we can stay home but still work so we're busy. Thankful we have a freezer full of food, a stocked pantry, lots of tp (already stocked as families do when we live in the country) and things we can do to keep busy. So appreciating our little gym, our amazing art studio and lots of space outside to wander. Thankful for our neighbors who are keeping in touch (one even came for a little walk with us the other day ~ yes, we were all 6 feet apart!). And our little guy who is keeping us laughing. Thankful for good health so far. And all of you, who have kept me busy reading your blogs and comments. Keep going ~ we can beat this!

~ Chy