It is All About Perspective

Pre Covid gifts and Covid gifts are vastly different. Before this pandemic, nobody would even consider toilet paper, yeast, or hand sanitizer an appropriate gift, it was an essential and each household purchase what was needed. Proper gifts were chocolate, wines, flowers, books, or baskets of gourmet food, or for special friends, a box of Noah's croissants or Lukas' bagels.
Covid season brings a whole new set of fitting gifts - a coveted bottle of hand sanitizer or a bottle of Clorox spray clean are all of a sudden met with immense gratitude.
This week, we experienced pure bliss when stumbling upon three bags of bread flour - something the stores in town have been out of for a long time and can no longer be purchased on the internet for less than a mortgage payment.
It is all about perspective - new rules for gift-giving, one more effect of Covid.

And Then Son Number Two Left

The day after Lukas headed off to the East Coast, Noah packed his bags and headed to Florida for some fun and fellowship with a good friend. He kept us updated on his travel ventures - mainly sharing unusual behavior by fellow passengers. A few hours later, he texted 'arrived' and since then we have not heard much.  He is far too busy to be on his phone :-) Good friends are a true blessing.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Lukas' summer job took him to South Carolina this week. He packed up his stuff, loaded his phone with good audiobooks, and donned his mask, and off he went. Since he has quite a bit of travel experience, he kept us updated on how travel is different in Covid season.

Alpine Flowers

There is a surprising amount of beautiful flowers growing above 8,000 ft. The guys were patiently waiting for Christina as she stopped every few feet to capture yet another little colorful plant - many considered weeds but still beautiful.

This is not a wildflower, but the holes were too intriguing not to capture

Vacation

Although Covid has affected most of our plans for the summer and has kept us here at the house, we have not taken the opportunity to go away just for fun. On Wednesday, this was rectified. We left town for 24 hours, drove to a nearby camp site at 8500 ft, hiked an aspen grove and also wandered along the mountain range to capture the views from a different perspective. Bob was in charge of food, the boys enjoyed time in their hammocks, Christina plucked down in a chair with a book and a glass of wine, and once she headed to bed, the guys fiddled with ham radio and hung out. It was a lovely retreat from the normal routine and a fun memory to draw upon.

Hard to see, but there is still snow on the mountain !

Navite Neighbors

On Tuesday, we assisted in the box packing for the Native Neighbors' project. Every two weeks, 300 boxes of foods and paper goods are assembled and then delivered to people on the Reservation. It is humbling to see how many people are willing to come together, in the heat while wearing masks, to load these boxes with essential supplies.

We try to buy in bulk, and then the items are bagged for each family

Perfecting Croissants

Noah is continually tweaking the croissant recipe to obtain the 'perfect' pastry. I am pretty sure he is close to achieving his goal - these all disappeared before lunch.

Moving Experts

On Friday, we helped a family move. By now, we can be considered experts in packing, loading, and moving household goods. Fortunately, the distance between the two locations was short and the family treated everyone to lunch. It satisfied the "one good deed daily" part of the Scout oath.

Wood Working

As if the time spent at the retreat center was not enough, Bob and Noah have spent time building things for us in the woodshop. Rather than trying to fit a beautiful print into an 'ok' picture frame, Bob and Noah built one that fit the print perfectly. The larger project that is occupying their time is the construction of one more bench for our patio. Almost daily, they invest time in the project and it is coming along. Soon we will have three benches for outdoor seating!

Handyman

Bob and Noah have invested a fair amount of their spare time to fix things up at a local retreat center. Because of Covid, all the bookings for the summer are canceled, and it is the only revenue stream for the camp. The silver lining of not having any campers in attendance is that Bob and Noah are able to work at their leisure and tackle larger projects. Due to the complexity of some repairs, there are lots of power tools involved. This volunteer work involves long hours, sawdust and beating down sun, and the great sense of accomplishing something good.