Advent Calendars

This year, for the first time ever, I bought the kids chocolate advent calendars. I left them on the table, and I was not home when the kids came home from school. When I got home later that evening it was supper time, so we sat down to eat.

"What happened to the advent calendars that were on the table?" I asked.

Asher answered, "I put them here on the chair because I had to set the table. Who are they for?"

 Me: "I bought one for you, and one for Chancery, but you need to share 5 of your chocolates with your dad and I."

 The kids were very surprised to have chocolate advent calendars. It was as if an alien had replaced their mother and brought this special gift for them. After a few moments Asher inquired... 

"Wait, I have to give you 5 chocolates, and dad 5 chocolates?"

 Me: "no, you share with dad, Chancery shares with me."

 All was well for a few days until I went shopping again.  I told Chad I bought our own kind of advent calendar, but now the kids are jealous! 

Shopping Cart Sally

 I went shopping a few weeks ago at the thrift store.  I always look in the Tupperware aisle. I'm on the hunt for more canisters, I don't know if I'll ever have enough!

So I was in the Tupperware aisle, and there was a woman ahead of me who was looking at all the Salt & Pepper shakers.  She'd pick up a set, examine them, put them down, grab another set... She was taking her time, & I was ok with that. It's very important to have GOOD salt & pepper shakers!

There was another woman who came up behind me, and started looking as well.  We'll call her Sally. Sally was probably in her late 50s I'd guess.  Suddenly I felt a shopping cart nudge my bum.  At first I ignored it. I figured it was an accidental nudge, perhaps Lily had been so engrossed with what she was looking at on the shelf that she didn't notice she had pushed her cart into my bum.  But the cart started pressing harder!  I turned to look at Sally. She was now pushing her cart into me quite insistently. I figured if I made eye contact, she'd stop for sure. Instead, Sally looked at me, then craned her head to look around me at the Salt & pepper lady, and kept pushing me with the cart.

At this point I'd had enough. So, I looked Sally in the eye, and said, "You can see that this lady is in front of me and I have nowhere to go. You don't have to keep bashing me with your cart."  Sally replied, "oh, sorry." Then she backed up, and went down the small aisle beside her. Unbelievable!  Perhaps too much time being cooped up at home is making people forget their manners...

Laundry Balls

A friend of mine suggested I share this handy laundry tip with you.  So, here goes.  If you have long haired people in your household, you know that you sometimes get hairballs stuck on your clothes when they come out of the dryer.

Like this lovely example that was on my sock the other day! I have found an easy way to prevent this from happening.  All you need to do is put 2 or 3 clean tennis balls in your dryer with your clothes.  I also use a dryer sheet with every load to prevent static. Yes, it's a bit noisy, but the hair will stick to the tennis balls instead of your clothes!

 All you need to do is pulls the hair off the tennis balls after your load is done. Easy Peasy!

 

Staying Home, Week 44

I've got a "counter" on my phone that has been counting the days since we first entered any kind of lockdown for Covid.  Today is day 310.  We have had many varieties of lockdown...

-Stay in if you can, kids doing home learning, working from home

-Small gatherings permitted inside, with distancing

-Only outdoor gatherings allowed, with masks

-Kids back to school, with masks

-Kids grade 7 & up stay home & do Zoom classes

-No indoor or outdoor gatherings

Now we are in the weirdest one for me.  The kids are back at school, but no indoor or outdoor gatherings have been permitted for the past week.  So I have lots of time to myself, which is really quite nice after 5 weeks of the kids being home from school, but I'm not supposed to go anywhere.  I've been shopping about once a week, which is my only outing.  Wearing a mask is almost second nature now, but with the weather being cold I've been wearing a toque when I go to town, so all that shows is my eyes.  I call it my "incognito" look.

Thankfully, we are still encouraged to go outside & exercise, and I've got a local friend who I've been going Cross-Country Skiing with.  We have lots of trails just past our backyard that go through the campground, so it's been fun being able to ski so close to home. Chancery comes with us sometimes, & she really enjoys it too.  I declined an invitation to go xc skiing this weekend, & Chancery was quite upset that she didn't get to go, thankfully we were asked again for Sunday afternoon, so it wasn't a total bust!

I've watched lots TV, read quite a few books, sent out Christmas cards, drank gallons of coffee, moved to a new house, unpacked (still haven't hung our pictures yet!)...  It hasn't been all bad, but I'm eager to see people again! And DO things together!