The Most Important Part

 I participated in an online conference, and they sent a box of snacks to enjoy during the day!  (The snacks were all sort of unusual things, but so far very tasty.)  I applaud them for this excellent idea!

Inching toward Normal

Our friends have gotten at least their first vaccines, so we got together for outdoor drinks and dinner at a local brewery (tucked away in an industrial park near the airport -- which is a plus for our friend who loves watching the planes!)  It was really nice to be able to hang out again!

 

Number 2

Mike got his second vaccine at the drive-in theater. :)  It was a cold, rainy day, so we were especially grateful to the many volunteers who were spending their day helping out!
 

 April showers!

And 2 days later:

Winter Akron

We went to Akron Falls last weekend. I expected it to be muddy because we'd had some warmer days, but instead it was icy!  There were some really cool ice formations in the creek, almost like chandeliers or glass.  (Matthew's new boots had just arrived the day before, and luckily they were just as waterproof as advertised!)

 

Vaccinated :)

I got my second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday in Lockport. (Some friends have been referring to it as "the Dolly Parton shot" since she helped fund the research for it.) The procedure was just as smooth as the first time -- I think I was in and out within ten minutes, plus another fifteen waiting in the car to make sure I didn't have any reactions. Wednesday night I had fever and chills, plus maybe a small fever and some tiredness on Thursday morning. Now I'm completely fine except for maybe the tiniest bit of remaining arm soreness, but it is so wonderful to have it done and feel a little less anxiety about covid.  Now we're hoping the eligibility will expand to include Mike soon!  (Things seem to be moving fast now, so I'm guessing it won't be too long.)

 

Pandemic Painting

The local public television station did a fundraiser that was a "Virtual Bob Ross Paint night", where you could order a kit and then they had a video lesson in the style of Bob Ross ("happy trees!"). It sounded like fun, so I ordered the kits for Mike and Matthew.  It turned out to be rather more complicated than it sounded!  There was preparation of the canvases in advance, then the instructor had technical difficulties so things started late, then it was kind of confusing...so it did not play out quite as I had imagined!  I think they had a reasonably good time anyhow, but the final pictures (not yet completed) will not end up like the example!

 

Assembling the King

As the next challenge after his marble Christmas puzzle, James wanted to do the 1000 piece Elvis puzzle.  Some of the sections were not too bad, but there were big portions of it that were all black and white!  It took us a number of days, but we finally triumphed (except for the two pieces that somehow disappeared along the way).  
 

Front Yard Sledding

We had so much snow that the boys were able to build a (small) sledding hill in the front yard!  They didn't have to do all that much building, as the hill was mostly created by the plow guys pushing the driveway snow to the side. :)

 

Early Mardi Gras

Mike ordered a King Cake from New Orleans to help get us in the Mardi Gras spirit.  :)  It was very tasty!
 

Sledding

There was enough snow for us to have a little outing to the "unofficial" sledding hill near our house -- lots of fun!