School's out ...for Summer?

Last night the Governor of Massachusetts cancelled all school until May 4th. 

He did this on March 25th. 

That is about 6 weeks of no school.  My youngest son is a Junior in high school.  He spends 1/2 his morning sleeping and the other part of the day on the computer fighting with his friends on some game.  I've tried asking him about school work.  I even helped him with some but they just aren't giving a lot.  I've been working, pretty regularly during the day and also I've got a list of things I need or want to get done.  I'm not having all this time at home and then find I squandered it and didn't clean the cabinet or get rid of the boxes in the corner.  We only moved into the house about 2 years ago, boxes in the corner of the dining room is still acceptable, right??

Anyhow, I've never home-schooled and I don't really want to start now.  Selfish, maybe.  BUT, he's super smart and I believe he already knows the path he's going to take.  I believe he'll be following his brother. He already had the interview via Facetime this past Monday.

I decided to start the sour dough starter.  After writing about it, I realized it was the smart thing to do.  And I had the flour out making brownies.  I've made some type of sweet dessert nearly every night.  Something little and something that will just put a smile on your face.  Last night was my brownie recipe:

Mix together in one bowl the following:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla.

Heat oven to 350.  In a smallish pan, I spray it with Pam or some other type of non stick spray. 

In the bowl, I mix with a wisk until combined.  Don't overmix.  I use a scraper to pour into pan and then I bake for 25 minutes.  No more, no less.  Depending on the size of your pan (again, smallish), you'll have perfectly fudgy brownies.

This is my homemade recipe.  I found a few online and this one just really stuck.  I like that you can dump everything into one bowl, stir and bake.  No mixer, no fuss, just easy.  And delicious.  We have probably one brownie left for each of us.  They are delicious.

Tonight I'm going to use up the oranges I have in the house.  They are pre-Covid so they are old.  I do not want to throw anything away right now so I will use them for baking and what ever is left will be juice for the morning.

All these sweets have me on a edge.  Baking is my joy.  I love it.  I know my family loves it BUT it's terrrible for the thighs.  And since my job is mostly sitting all day, my butt isn't looking as toned as it could be.  I mentioned I was a bariatric patient.  Sleeved almost 3 years ago.  Actually it will be 3 years in 10 days.  It was the best decision I ever made.  And even now, while I never made it to my goal weight, I'm able to maintain and keep something I feel is reasonable.  BUT I have to work a little at it. 

Mornings are for yoga.  This morning I tried chair yoga.  Why? 

Why not.  I'm stuck in my house.  I do regular yoga every other day, why not try chair yoga?  BUT I had to convince myself to do it.  That it was worth trying.  Those internal voices need to be locked away sometimes.

Then this afternoon, I walked in my yard for about an hour.  I picked up sticks while walking.  I let the dogs run.  It is beautiful out and it really made me feel better. 

I should be working.

But there isn't a lot coming in.  And I really can't feel guilty for being healthy, especially now, right??

This is day 9 at home.  We managed to find more seasoned wood in the yard, so I should be able to keep the wood stove going for another 2 weeks, if I have to.  Yes, I have heat in the house.  But if you've ever sat near a fire, you know the instant, comforting warmth.  THAT is what I crave.  Instant warmth from all the scary shit going on.

I heard from my oldest last night.  He likes his job and I feel that is great.  Our conversation was easy and normal and in this time, I love that.  I love that he contacted me, out of the blue, just to have a conversation.  I miss him.

Patrick just wrote to say he's made 36 hours so far this week.  That is amazing.  Considering they keep cutting, cutting, cutting.  He really is my rock star.  Not just because he used to be in a band and legit WAS a rock star but because he does whatever it takes to take care of us.  I just love him so much.  My fear is that this will take him from me.