Quarantine Week 6 - Final Week in Wild Dunes

Last week in Wild Dunes. Time to get back to Raleigh and social distance with some friends...

More training for Clara...

And this is what happens when Hattie runs off with the camera....

Quarantine Week 5 - Routine in Wild Dunes

The routines are soaked in. Class in the morning, outside for activity, finish any homework, then back outside as much as possible.

We got in some epic bike rides. (One of the themes of quarantine .... the girls have become avid cyclist, discovering the freedoms kids get on a bike, riding around Wild Dune to explore by themselves.)

Paul headed back to Raleigh for a few days to check on things. Priority one....Hattie's fish. We left them to fend for themselves for two weeks, expecting the worst.

We left with six in the tank, and Paul discovered five remaining. (The sixth? No trace, and the survivors weren't talking.)

Easter in Quarantine

We've spent a few Easters at the beach, so the morning traditions were pretty familiar.

But church sure was different. Sunrise Presbyterian streamed its service on Facebook Live.  So Easter church happened from the back porch (but with a festive Easter Lilly).

Hattie kept up her tradition of keeping everyone entertained at dinner time with this dance performance:

Quarantine Week 4 - Riding It Out in Wild Dunes

We transitioned to Wild Dunes this week, choosing to ride out this stay-at-home order from the beach with Ga and Pappaw.

The girls continued remote schooling, and Kate and Paul continued remote working. But now all our breaks we at the beach or in the pool.

Clara staked out the dining room for her morning classes. Hattie gained access for her afternoon virtual art group.

Clara continued her soccer skills training...

We started to acclimate to the new way of grocery shopping. Trader Joe's limited the number of shoppers in the store at any time, enforced social distancing in the queues outside as people waiting to get in, and scrubbed down each cart with disinfectant between shoppers.

Pappaw turned himself into a block hero with his winter-long project to build a sand bridge over the dune. The access path to the beach get flooded with each rain, sometimes becoming impassable. Pappaw spent weeks hauling sand from the beach to create higher ground for beachgoers to cross. A neighbor put in this handmade sign, "Ted's Folley."

Quarantine Week 3 - Groundhog Day in Raleigh

Week 3 in Raleigh. More of the same. Everyone has started to say that everyday is like the last; that we're living through a real-life Groundhog day.

But we can't complain. We're getting a legitimate Spring. Not too hot, not too cold. So we spend tons of time outside. And we're feeling grateful that we put the gym in the basement. All gyms, yoga studios, spin classes are canceled for the quarantine. Without this we would definitely get stir-crazy.

Hattie takes one morning to teach Clara a few of the yoga lessons she's picked up through class. With very few exceptions, we're noticing the girls getting along really well, like they do when we go on family vacations. It's like they know they're all they have for entertainment for a bit.

Clara has dug deep into her art interest. One of her activities has been Zooming with friends (which she doesn't particularly care for but will agree to the occasional session after some goading from her mother). Sometimes they go on YouTube together and find mini-classes on how to draw something. Here's the product of Clara's lesson on bald eagles.