I have had a blast writing up blogs to post every day for December and beyond. But it is time to refocus my writing time on academics and authorship. Post-Christmas life here on the farm in wintery Canada is a bit different than other years at this time. We are in lockdown again, but this time the schools are closed for at least 3 weeks. This means the grandchildren are doing home learning. With the joint custody thing, I get the privilege of overseeing them 2-3 days a week on this. We got through this week. Sort of. I got a new internet provider that finally kicked in New Year's Eve at supper time, but the promised higher speed forgot the memo. So, Wed morning, while the 3 girls were all on with their teachers, I called and was on hold for most of an hour with them tweaking the connection and increasing the download speed, which means they turned off the signal not once, but twice, while the poor little girls were trying to do interactive, live schooling with their classes. Oops. But all is good now. The whole purpose of getting a new provider was to get faster internet for the schooling thing.
One girl was on Daddy's laptop in the living room. One was in the quilt room on her cell phone and laptop, and one was on my desktop. So where was Grampa supposed to watch his Good Morning Foot Ball show? Not in the living room nor have his after-morning-chores nap on the living room couch. So, upstairs he had to go. Speaking of Grampa, we gave each of the grandchildren an Amaryllis bulb to plant and have been enjoying the flowers. Each bulb came up different.
And where was Gramma supposed to do her stitching and reading and "other stuff"? At the kitchen table of course. Those wooden chairs are hard when you have to sit in them for up to 6 hours.
But all is good. the girls have scheduled nutrition breaks (they no longer have lunch and recess) twice each day. They had smoothies with dad at 6:30 and a bit of tv but breakfast wasn't ready in time for them to log in at 9 so they had their bacon and eggs for the first nutrition break at 10:40. As it turns out, Gramma has to get out of bed before 9 am in order to have them ready. They had to wear real clothes, not pajamas.
So I will be posting only once a week for now and try to get everything in. FNWF is happening right now (I think). It is 1:10 AM Friday, Jan 8 here in Canada. I did hand stitching for a couple of hours today as I was listening to lectures from my writing coach. Great insights into why I am struggling with my writing. So, I get to log in with 15 Minutes to Stitch with a perfect score for this week, even though they report on Sundays. This brings me to Sunday Slow Stitching. I will continue working on these hand appliqued blocks for the 50th Anniversary Quilt aka Ella.
The Amaryllis flowers are so beautiful! My buds are just starting to open, should be blooming next week. I hope your inspiration for writing the school work kicks in full force gear, happy stitching or writing!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a busy time helping with the home schooling. Glad its all working out.
ReplyDeleteSounds like online schooling has taken over the house! Glad you were able to find a spot to do some stitching. What about making some breakfasts at night they can warm up in the morning? Muffins, breakfast burrito's, etc... Sleeping time is important =)
ReplyDeleteWe got new internet over the summer and DS1 checked the speed for us. Not good! Turns out the problem was an old wire (which slowed down our previous service, as well.) He changed it out and we are zooming along the information super highway! :o))
ReplyDeleteSounds like homeschooling is time consuming so well done Gramma
ReplyDeleteAs we are at opposite seasons... your winter lock down should be all about sewing... but being a great gramma you have given up your time. Well done...xox
ReplyDeleteHome schooling has taken the routine out for many families around the world.
ReplyDeleteAmarilis are beautiful flowers and it was a great gift for the little ones.
Good luck on the home schooling. My two high school grandsons had several days of in-school learning, when they are on lockdown at home again because a kid they really didn't have contact with tested positive last week. They had been studying at home up until last week. I think they should have just stayed at home this year. I didn't get much done the week I had my two youngest grandchildren here for 3 days.
ReplyDeleteWe're doing some home schooling here too with our oldest grandson. One of the hardest parts is keeping the 4 year old and the baby from disturbing his class! Times like these, we all pitch in, and just roll with whatever happens. Hope things go more smoothly from here on out.
ReplyDeleteGosh, it's all happening at your place! 'Tis a good thing all the internet issues have been fixed. "Nutrition Breaks".....really??!! There is just something comforting with the words "lunch" and "recess". Guess I am showing my age. =) Love each of the Amaryllis, and of course Grampa's smiling face. Thank goodness it is Sunday there and you can put your feet up and enjoy a little stitching.
ReplyDeletePretty applique! Home schooling is hard enough without internet problems. You're doing a big thing for your grands. Happy Stitching.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've kicked off the new year with lots of out of the ordinary stuff. Hopefully with the vaccine available the kiddos will all be back in school by the fall. Congrats on all the stitchy stuff you got done. I agree working at the kitchen table isn't ideal, but we do what we have too sometimes. Have a great week and thanks for linking up with the 15 minutes to stitch this week.
ReplyDeleteLook how pretty the Amaryllis came up! Love the colors. Your stitching blocks are pretty, too. It's weird that they changed the words for lunch and recess. Who wants a nutrition break? lol! You're wonderful for helping with their schooling. I know it can't be easy, even after many months have given schools and teachers time to figure out how the heck to handle this. I hope Grampa does OK on the days he misses his morning football! hehe
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Chris! I can only imagine having three kids trying to do remote learning from the same house! We've got both boys home right now. Anders started back with remote learning for his senior year high school classes last week. His older brother was supposed to go back to college next week, but then they changed him to remote learning (and are keeping residence halls closed) until February 1st, so he'll be doing online classes for at least two weeks. I really hope they both do get to have some real, in-person classes before the end of winter. Such a mess! Well, you're appliqué looks fabulous although I hear what you're saying about 6 hours in a kitchen chair. Do you have a cushion you could put on the seat to make it more comfortable? Hang in there -- this too SHALL PASS, eventually...
ReplyDeleteChris, Oh dear, this is going to be a very busy time for you in Lockdown but how lovely to spend some special time with your family. We had a very long Lockdown here in Melbourne, Australia (115 days) but we have been out of Lockdown for a number of weeks now (thank goodness) and life is getting a semblance of normal as we currently have no community transmission cases (just a few in hotel quarantine as more Aussies are trying to get home). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, more locking down, gosh, it pays to be flexible these days, doesn't it? Good on you with the opportunity you provide your grands. I love the idea of the Amaryllis bulbs for them too. Well done on your blogging efforts through December - no mean feat, and I've enjoyed reading back on your posts :-)
ReplyDeleteSo many of my friends are also doing the home schooling with the grandkids as the kids go to work. Good luck, I wish you well with that. It's quite a responsibility! Your blocks are looking really pretty. Glad you're still managing to find a little time for yourself!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that you can be there for the grands! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeleteGrampa could pose as Santa Claus if he wore a red suit. It was fun to get to see him in a photo.
ReplyDeleteHi, I am in Canada too! The home schooling is a reall challenge! I have a different "Grandma" problem ,a new family baby! Since we are their "People", we get the call for help with groceries, child care and home repairs since one is working full time and doing a degree and they have a two year old. Great fun but lots of work, we just keep isolating from everyone, so we can stay healthy for their little family. Stay strong.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and sew on ! I may sign up for the sew ins, I really miss sewing with Friends!