Fancy That: January 2022

Week 21

Things are moving right along. Another school week down. There are some other things going on as well but nothing to note that is confirmed. We continue to work on the house but feel a lot more settled. I have been enjoying playing on the piano. We managed to get our entertainment system set up in time for the football games.

Maybe there will be big news next week. Either way, more than halfway done with the school year.

Week 20

This turned into a very short week. The boys had off for MLK Jr. day. We had a rousing game of What do you Meme? Family style at dinner.

The following day they went into to school but I had to pick them up for appointments in the middle of the school day. I did manage to get them back in time for John’s cello class and Thomas’s Chess club.

Wednesday was a big day. Our final shipment from Fiji arrived. All of the important things that we placed in our air shipment are back. All of the kitchen accoutrements, our projector, my piano, and most importantly, the LEGOs are home.

Even at this moment, despite having gotten all of the moving boxes broken down and out of the house, we still have to shuffle and find the right homes for everything. That said, we are almost feeling settled. We might need to get one or two more furniture things but at least we know where all of our stuff is.

Thursday was supposed to bring another snow storm. Since the school district already used up all of the snow days, the boys had a virtual school day. The storm left us with nothing more than a bit of rain.

I took John and Thomas to PA to spend the weekend with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Ron. This gave Andrew and I some time to get at these piles. We still have some piles in the kitchen and the “playroom” area. Oh well.

Despite all of that, it is really nice to finally cook with our nice pots and pans after the past 6+ months.

Week 19

Everything returned to some sort of normal routine this week. The boys had a full week of school. That left us all feeling a bit tired but we worked through it. The government put out guidance that everyone should be teleworking for the next few weeks. So, Andrew joined me at home for the week. We had a few medical appointments, so it seems like we are catching up on 3 years of minimal medical screenings from Fiji. No major concerns to report just working things through the system. I did finally get a new pair of contact lenses so I am seeing the world a lot better now.

We did receive a bit of sad news this week. Our housekeeper in Fiji, Niria, passed away on 13 Jan. This was a bit shocking but we believe it was due to breast cancer that did not properly diagnosed. I spent some time trying to find a picture of her but I suppose that is the sign of a wonderful housekeeper. She was an amazing lady, loyal and trustworthy. She loved the boys like they were one of her own.

The good news for the week is that our air shipment from Fiji will finally be delivered next week. Finally, we will have LEGOs, kitchen tools, the piano, and the projector. The items that should have been here the fastest are the last to arrive. I hope that its arrival will put our general unsettled feeling to rest. We can really feel at home now for the next 2.5 ish years.

We are gearing up for another yucky winter storm system to come through the area. We spent Saturday clearing the downed branches from the previous snow storm. We got out our new fire pit and enjoyed the warmth of some of the burning wood while being outside for most of the day.

We also had a big adult Christmas present arrive. Andrew and I decided to purchase a Peloton Tread. Fiji sort of broke me. I have been having a difficult time running outside. Surprisingly, I got quite attached to having a treadmill in the house. I am excited to try the bad boy out and get more runs in.

I’m sure as spring rolls around I will get outside more frequently. But I like that this will give us a bit more flexibility to get exercise in.

I leave you with my fortune cookie words of wisdom for this week:

Week 18

The new year has begun with an explosion of white. The boys were supposed to return to school this week but Mother Nature had other plans. Because of the size of the county where we live, all of the schools stayed shut down despite the fact that our area could be traversed with relative ease. We will just call this an extension of our winter break.