Monday Musings, May 4

Hello friends…

I hope you and yours are all well.

This Monday finds me, well, a little blue…but really trying to not be.

I’ve mentioned in the past that my dad has Alzheimer’s and is residing in a Memory Care facility. His facility has been on lockdown since the beginning of March, so we haven’t been able to see him for two months. The excellent staff there tries to Facetime with my mom several days a week, but it is a bit hit or miss on whether he is able to engage.

Well, today is my dad’s 85th birthday, and we will not be able to be there to celebrate with him, and that is making us all a little sad. Mom and I made cupcakes, and I will be taking the cupcakes and a bunch of balloons and leaving them at the front desk to be delivered to him. We will try to Facetime with him to wish him a happy birthday, but…you know, it just is not the same.

In all honesty, he most likely won’t understand why he is receiving balloons and cupcakes today. But we want to send ‘all the party fixings’ so that he and his friends can have a little fun today. And we know the incredible staff will make sure to make a fuss over him on his special day.

I know my family is not unique. Throughout the world, families are having to put birthdays and celebrations on hold. Even more heartbreaking, are the families having to put memorials and funerals on hold.

So, while I am blue about ‘this whole situation’, I do have to put this in perspective and count our blessings. We are blessed beyond measure with the phenomenal staff that takes care of dad, day in and day out. We are blessed that mom is in great health and is taking this ‘whole thing’ in stride. In fact, we have so much to be thankful for that it would take me the rest of the day to jot it all down…sometimes I just need to remind myself of that.

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Speaking of dad, it is only appropriate that we raise of glass of his Margarita’s in his name tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo.

And after much research and time spent in the kitchen, I found this carrot cake recipe which is hands down, the best carrot cake ever. It also happens to be dad’s favorite as well.

I have another kitchen find for you! Five years ago, we traveled to Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. While in Vienna, I found a delightful little kitchen shop and brought home several ‘souvenirs,’ including a package of 2 Swedish dishcloths. Fast forward five years, and those dishcloths have stood the test of time and have become our favorite kitchen dishcloths (doesn’t everyone have favorite dishcloths?) They are the perfect cross between a dishcloth and a sponge, stand up to bleaching and regular washing, and have never developed any kind of odor. But after five years of regular use, it became apparent that we need more than our original two. So, consider me tickled pink when I recently found my Swedish Dishcloths available on Amazon and ordered a pack of 10, which should last us 25 more years!

We found a fun game that we can play virtually with mom! It’s called Psych and it is available for both android and apple. We all had some good guffaws with it!

Speaking of mom, she bought herself a little present. She has forever loved to garden and even in her apartment, set up a wee little herb garden on her porch. Well…since we haven’t been able to get to the garden store for plants and soil, she found a little indoor garden and already has a little basil garden going. If you are looking for a last-minute Mother’s Day gift for a gardener, this is a great one.

If you have been using your at-home time to declutter, this post on where to donate those discards will come in handy.

Plan out those container gardens!

This is one busy group! It seems you have been taking advantage of your quaran-cation and knitting up a storm! Several have asked about resizing blankets and washcloths. Check out this post sharing how to resize a knit blanket or washcloth.

Speaking of knitting, check out Lynn’s lovely blue version of the Cloverleaf Eyelet Stitch Baby Blanket. She used Rowan’s All-Seasons Cotton, which appears to be largely discontinued. If you are looking for a similar S on S plied cotton-blend yarn, you might like Stylecraft Jeanie, which would result in a lighter weight blanket…and make sure to check your gauge with a new yarn.

Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Remember, be kind to yourselves during these difficult times.

Hugs,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!