Art Week

 

Justin celebrated his 46th birthday on Monday! He was able to work from home, business on top and comfort on the bottom! I am still not sure what he got for his birthday, he is carefully shopping for motorcycle accessories like boots. During my grocery shopping trip I stocked up on fancy soaps to try out with a new shower puff and a new pair of slippers. He was not a fan of the cologne, it did not smell like the soap at all, nor was he a fan of the shaving lotion stuff. I did hit the mark with carne asada tacos, refried beans, and shrimp salsa for dinner. Justin requested cinnamon rolls for his "cake." The kids and Ostler kids sang a very rowdy Happy Birthday that was completely out of control. We are so appreciative of Justin and love him very much. He got lots of sweet hugs from the little girls throughout the day. 

I got word on Monday that Sister Pat Cheney passed away early that morning per complications of sepsis. Her medical team cleared up the sepsis but the damage was done and she did not survive. She was our Relief Society President. The next day I learned that our neighbor in Arizona passed away leaving 3 little ones and a grieving wife. He committed suicide, Andrew installed our new HVAC before we sold that particular house. They just welcomed a new daughter just 6 months ago. The next day my mom wrote that Grandma Jean was in the hospital with a terrible stomach situation and infections. My friend Sarah celebrated her son's 16th birthday, he passed away earlier this year after an ATV activity. Felt like a heavy week with good folks going through heart heavy things. 

Me? I developed a nasty sinus infection, it was a bad one that I nipped short with baking soda solutions (gross) and apple cider vinegar. Wednesday I had a fever of 102 and was shivering cold and completely out of it. Justin's deacon activity fell through, he asked if I wanted to go to bed. I readily agreed and was asleep by 7:30, an unheard of hour for me. I woke up fever free and feeling much more lucid after 12 hours of sleep. Justin, Evelyn, and Everett all had stuffy noses and headaches. Friday night Josie was not feeling well, her tummy was aching. She spent part of Saturday with the barfs, reminiscent of her issues many months ago. Thankfully, I had some anti-nausea medication to help stop the throwing up, she was feeling good by the afternoon. 

I taught art this week at school. Everett's class learned about Hopper, they got to draw a lighthouse scene with chalks. Josie's class got to watercolor a house scene after learning about Picasso, the class could only use 4 colors, which was hard for the kindergartners. Several kids had to add a sun in the corner! Lastly, Evelyn's class learned about Degas and his Ballerina series. We valiantly tried to draw a ballerina, it was hard because I got the proportions off right off the bat. I should lightly draw with a pencil beforehand so I can at least be a good example. Friday, I got to paint a nativity scene at one of Fawn Baerwaldt's paint classes. I enjoyed hanging out with her group and painting. 

I spent several hours playing catch up to edit 4 photo sessions, since I was sick it was a good chance to relax and just edit. I am all caught up, maybe I can finally edit my kid's Christmas photos. My monitor is starting to fail, not a surprise since it is about 12 years old. I got a new one but it was cheap and arrived with several dead pixels on the screen. I returned it and got a monitor calibrator, however the calibrator is not helping my old monitor. Justin pulled the trigger and got me a mid-range monitor that will work much better and will be compatible with my macbook. 

We inherited the table, 8 chairs, and a hutch of Grandma Baerwaldt's last week. Now I am not sure what to do with it all. Yesterday Amelia helped me clean up my painting mess in the garage. There is still not enough room to park inside with the table. Justin and the boys worked really hard to clean the last of the autumn leaves and winterize the lawn. Amelia trimmed my rose bushes, it tried really hard to bloom for a 4th time! Amelia really enjoyed a YW activity shooting guns out at the public range. She tried out a rifle, shotgun, and pistol. I decided the red TV console table did not match very well so I quickly painted the bottom of the hutch with the same beige paint, it will replace the console and look much better. Now to decide on the table. I don't want to put the table I just painted outside, and the new table is not as sturdy. 

Phillip struggled for quite a few hours to write a two paragraph summary of a short story for ELA. I felt helpless because the book was one I've never read before. We struggled through and wrote something up just to get the assignment completed. He really struggles to write things down.   

Today the Primary kids got to use my handbell set to play Autumn Day in Primary. That was quite fun as the bells played the harmony.