Post-Lockdown Visiting

The weekend before confinement, we were supposed to go to Noah's regional swim championships in Beauvais, Oise. That ended up being cancelled due to the emerging pandemic, but we visited our friends in the area anyway.

This weekend, the same friends, Natacha and Max, along with their four kids, came over. We decided that we ought to take advantage of the fact that all our kids' sports were cancelled so we actually had weekends free, and the pandemic is on the downswing right now. We washed hands a lot, stayed a distance away from each other, and cheek-kissing is on the banned list for the moment.

It ended up being a chilly, rainy weekend, but the kids still managed to hop in the pool for a short while Saturday afternoon. And their daughter had a grand old time collecting snail families from our yard!

Confinement Crafting

My sewing machine was busy during lockdown making masks for the post-confinement period. So I decided to also try my hand at a rag quilt, since the machine was all warmed up anyway.

This is a great kind of quilt for someone like me who is impatient and only likes piecing the quilt, not quilting it. Each square is a stack of three fabrics, and you create the quilt as you go, so as soon as you're done piecing, you're done making the quilt.

Then you clip the seams so they unravel when you wash the quilt, and then you wash it and clog up your washing machine evacuation pipe with the loose threads. (Oops). So I might not make too many more of these, but it was fun and quick to make.

Polar Bear Plunge

Noah couldn't wait to test out the new pool, so he went for a swim even though the water was only 65°F.

New Skills

Work has been slow lately, so I dived into something new. I bought these knitting needles a while back as part of a set - I wanted the yarn that came with them. I learned how to crochet a few years ago when the boys and Frédéric went off skiing, and I had a staycation.

Thanks to YouTube videos, lefties can learn things like crocheting and knitting easier these days.

First attempt...

Managed some Vs!

Practice makes perfect... might be a while.

Getting Ready for Summer

Since we didn't know what the summer would hold, we decided to plan for at least one summer occupation. Ordering it was a challenge since as soon as hot weather arrived, everyone else had the same idea. Our first order was cancelled by the company since it was out of stock, but the second arrived yesterday, and today, Frédéric and Benjamin got busy setting it up (despite the cold front that came in this week).

Possibly not the very best day to set up a pool.

All we need now is water - and warm weather!

Back to School

Noah went back to school this week, and he's not very happy with us about that. The government decided that returning to the classroom was optional, so many parents are choosing to keep their kids home.

The school sent us a five-page document with the new protocol. The kids have to wear masks all day, use the hand sanitizer provided, be accompanied to the restrooms to be sure they wash their hands before and after using the toilet, and sit on "dots" at recess (to ensure social distancing).

Their schedules have changed, so they have some different teachers than usual, and only four classes a day, each almost two hours long, and no class on Wednesdays.