You’d think during lock down I would have had more time to keep this blog updated eh?
The lock downs continue! Though the world is slowly getting back to “normal”. The extreme shutdowns are now relaxed. Stores are opening for the most part – albeit with safety precautions in place. Frankly it sucks. Haven’t been out to eat in a restaurant since early March. This past week is the first we’ve been able to meet up with people outside out family to socialize. Kids, despite handling it amazing for the most part are slowly getting stir crazy. Baseball season was cancelled, gymnastics, parkour, silks all cancelled. Our vacation to California for Joe’s 10th birthday was cancelled. At this point I’m just praying schools go back to normal come September. I can’t imagine doing more homeschooling after all this. Come September the kids will have been out of school for 6 full months. That isn’t good for anyone.
As I mentioned in my last post : the best way to get through this is with distractions. Boy have we had distractions! Despite having to do the deal virtually, I was finally able to pickup a new bike! I decided on a 2020 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 “48”. Black with the Vance and Hines short shot exhaust. I’ve also picked up some trinkets to make the bike more suited to me. Slowly chipping away at installing them. Shes loud and pretty. Taking some getting used to riding it as I have only really ridden sport bikes to this point. Feet out front / cruiser style is very foreign to me, but I’m getting the hang of it. I was also able to take both kids on a couple short trips around town. They loved it!
In between rides, I have decided to trash our home. Through some conversations and planning we decided on some changes needed to be made around the house. What was the office is now a Kawasaki green bedroom for Joe. The master bedroom that Shannon and I have had since moving in is now Abbys room. Currently – being painted. Which left two empty kids rooms and a husband and wife with no bedroom. So we knocked down the wall between the kids old rooms, sanded down the popcorn ceiling, rewired the lighting to work from one switch, installed a couple new outlets, built a new closet, drywalled over one of the doors, carpeted the floor, and painted the room twice (realized after it dried that we were given the wrong paint). Finished off with a couple new dressers and all new baseboard and door trim and we finally have a bedroom. Thanks to Alex, Tom and Matt for pitching in to help when my knowledge and hands weren’t up to the tasks.
Ya, as for my hands — if anyone ever says stick your fingers in between panels of a garage door and close it — don’t do it. It frigging hurts. Two badly injured fingers and a broken one on the other hand later and I was pretty much crippled for 2 weeks. It’s been 3-4 weeks now and I am finally getting to the point where I can do most tasks but the broken one is still causing some significant discomfort when using it.
Finally (for now) the pool reno’s are also coming along. In the same time that we’ve been rebuilding the bedroom and smashing fingers, I have been busy doing the pool deck area. Dad gave me a hand framing it up and Shannon and I finished it off. The deck is now 3 times the size of the original and feels much more open. Still need to replace the fence boards all the way around and the panels that surround the pool itself but shes coming along. Time and money are making this task drag on a bit. Hoping by the end of the month I can be done with construction and get the liner installed and the pool up and running. Lots to do before we get there though!
I’m sure I’ve missed a ton of updates, and I’ll likely try and add them to the next post, but for now – that’s all I wrote!