Well, last day of August. We're doing it, guys! I always thought July and August would be the worst of this social distancing/quarantine bit, and we've survived it! So, why did I think it'd be so bad? Well, the heat and humidity admittly makes things less nice to be outside- and outside is where you're supposed to be these days. Eating at a restaurant? Eat outside while you bake! Want to go to the pool? Well, it's going to be packed and you have to avoid people! Want to see people? Do it outside! Want to boost your mood? Go for a walk, and be drenched in sweat before you make it around the loop. Want to hit up Disney? Be sure to pack your mask and wear it in 100 degree heat while you bake. And don't forget the sunscreen, or you'll be getting weird tan lines.
See, when all this started in March, it really wasn't so bad. I'd spent a lot of time outside. We could eat on the back patio, go for walks three times a day, and lounge on the hammock in the backyard. But I knew if you took that all away, it'd be rough. I mean, the heat and the humidity are tough enough without having to wear a mask and avoid indoor places with the A/C running. Usually we go on vacation once, sometimes twice in that time span to "step out of the greenhouse". But, man this summer, just brutal. And we've made it!
Now, by no means does the heat and humidity go away September first. In reality, we might see 90 degree days for another two months. But, the sun gets less intense, you get a low humidity day here or there, and mentally it's just better. So, I'm happy about saying goodbye to "Summer".
But, then there's the added thing of people going back to school. And our idiot governor, who is now siding with the new White House Coronavirus guy who says we don't need to test asymptomatic people and has embraced the idea of herd immunity.
So, there's that. Florida is over 620,000 cases, and 11,000 deaths. We're reporting less cases, but as we previously discussed, we're testing a lot less too. (Also Asa pointed out it's just a different perspective. 3,000 cases in early June was SHOCKING. 3,000 cases today is a good day! I just want data, people! I'm a data driven person! But, alas, I feel like we're settling in here with a lack of information, fake social media outrage over said lack of information, and on to the next outrage.
But, you know, America. That's pretty much us in a nutshell these days.
So, what have we been up to here? Spoiler Alert: Mostly puzzles.
Day 166 Wednesday, August 26
Wednesday was another hot one. I feel like it's either been scorching hot or rainy and dreary all day. Both are lame.
We started puzzle #20. 750 pieces.
Which I thought would take us all weekend when we first opened it.
Day 167: Thursday, August 27
We had Disney Park passes to go to the Animal Kingdom. We opted not to go, and instead rescheduled our day for September. Then we made a Costco trip instead, and we hit the jackpot. For the first time since March, Clorox wipes were in stock! There was only one pallet of them, and most of them were gone by the time I walked pasted, but I picked some up, because it's impossible to find them these days! Also worth noting: Every time I go to Costco I pick up bottled water in case of one of those hurricanes coming this way (We do have those water cubes, but the last thing I need to happen is having to go to a store in the middle of a pandemic AND hurricane madness. I really feel for those people who got hit by CAT 4 Laura. It's such a sparsely populated area, even though homes were decimated, it just gets forgotten- like the panhandle people that were hit by Michael. The smaller the towns, the quicker the media and everyone else moves on. Anyway, I've got my own little bottled water stock pile going just in case.)
In the meantime though, we also stocked back up on alcohol. We were basically out. Not acceptable in these times.
And of course there was more work to be done on the puzzle. But, I did sort pieces by what character was on them, and that super helped. (There were multiple Mickey's and Chip and Dales and such).
Also, I just missed a cute Ellie and Etta moment. They were snuggling, but as soon as I went to take a picture, Ellie was like 'nope, I'm out'.
Day 168: Friday, August 28
A check in with our Coronavirus Movie Moods. Peyton has moved up to Apocalypse Now, but hopefully we can get him to move down in the next few days. And, I was firmly at Fight Club, I had a few days of really bad cramps.
We did swing by Greenland Grill for lunch. I am so worried about this little place. It's so good, one of my favorite places to eat, and I'll be heart broken if it closes. So, every so often I'm like let's go get take out and tip them really well! If you live here, go eat there. Please!
We also went from the puzzle looking like this...
To finishing it. We're flying through puzzles these days.
This was one of my favorites though.
Oh, so here's our cereal tower. I only buy it when it is buy one get one free (BOGO), but then there's always an argument about what to get. So this time, I was like eff it, I'm buying two of everyone's choice. (In case you're wondering, it's Peyton and the Lucky Charms, Hayden and the Apple Jacks, and Calib with the Frosted Mini Wheats). I was going to take a picture of the three of them with their cereal, but that day I literally never saw them awake at the same time (Peyton and Calib are the culprits here, Hayden is on a normal sleeping schedule).
Day 169:Saturday August 29
So, if we finished our puzzle early, it was time for a new one on Saturday. We got out the next in our set of four Haunted Mansion ones.
I also turned those stupid bifold doors into french doors in the Office. It kept coming off the track (don't you HATE that? Asa sure does because he's the one that has to put them back!) But anyway, it was fairly easy to do, the worst part is taking off the trim, because it wasn't flush with the wall. Now I'll have to match the paint (which will involve going INSIDE a home improvement store- blah!), and get some new door handles, but all in all, I like it, and I'm hoping to do it with a couple of other bifold doors in this house (my closet and the pantry especially!)
Day 170: Sunday, August 30
We got our Prime Pantry delivery. I feel like Coronavirus times will be remembered as that time we ordered all of our pasta through the mail.
But also Allison always sends me these almonds, and it turns out I LOVE them- and they were on sale through Prime Pantry, so I bought as many as I could on the discount.
Oh, and here's Dipper making the puzzle even more difficult.
But we finished it Sunday afternoon anyway. We had nothing else to do. It rained ALL DAY. So, there was no morning bike ride, no backyard pool. We watched Hamilton (shocking I know), and Asa and I went out to get some iced coffee just to get out of the house. I also commented on how much I miss 'all you can swirl' at the frozen yogurt place, so we went through the Dairy Queen drive thru and shared a blizzard on the way home. It's not all you can swirl, but you can get it in a drive thru, so right now it's just safer.
We did get our Tinkerbell magnet in the mail too, since they aren't handing out the magnets at the parks these days.
And Ellie and Etta were playing with their rope, and once again stopped when I went to take a picture. Stinky girls!
Day 171: Monday, August 31
Pasco County Schools went back last week. This week Tampa schools went back. But we decided to try and see how busy the pool was at lunch time today, thinking it'd be pretty empty. Now, the weather wasn't great (yet again) but we were literally the only ones there! 
Now usually, during the summer we go to the pool just about every single day. But, we have not been because of the pandemic since Calib's birthday on June 1st. It's been THREE MONTHS since we were at the pool (granted we had the neighbors for a bit, but still that's just sad!)
We even convinced Peyton to come down and put his feet in. We figured it'd help his Apocalyptic mood.
Hayden won't get back into school until after Labor Day. We almost never do (usually we spend these weeks at the fair in Ohio, or enjoying low crowds at museums, amusement parks, and zoos since everyone is back in school). But, like all summer, we're still working on presidential birthdays (even though I stopped posting them).
Today, we celebrated Benjamin Harrison's birthday (it was August 20th), a little late. But it was an excuse to pull out my Grover Cleveland Uncle Jumbo shirt (Harrison came between Cleveland's two terms) and my Caroline Harrison china.
Hayden enjoyed the Harrison family tree- Benjamin V was a signer of the Declaration, William Henry was the 9th president, John Harrison made it to the House of Representatives, and then Benjamin Harrison became the 23rd president. But, other fun facts: Harrison's daughter would marry James Blaine's great-nephew (Blaine lost the presidency to Cleveland), and then their daughter married the great-grandson of James Garfield (the 20th president).
But, if you want a high light reel of Ben's presidency, this is what we've got.
That's it from here.
Most popular "hurricane snacks": Much to Calib's dismay, his Frosted Mini Wheats
Current binge watching obsession: Hamilton. All Day. Everyday.
Most popular game: I have convinced everyone to go back and try to get four stars on all the Overcooked levels. So far, they're humoring me.
Boxes of Elbows used: 4 of 16 (We had Nancy Reagan Mac and Cheese tonight for dinner)
Puzzles completed: 21 (Periodic Table, Track & Field, Villains times 2, Chicago, 2 Pixar Ravensburger Puzzles, the 4 pack of 500 piece Disney Puzzles, the impossible Mickey Puzzle, the Princess Puzzle, the Silhouette puzzle, Tangled, and the 9-in-1 Ravensburger, Brown Frozen, 1 Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Disney Pins, 2nd Haunted Mansion).
Boredness scale 1 to 10: 7. I miss doing things. I miss Disney.
Frozen II Watchthroughs: 64, maybe. I think. If I don't blog frequently it's hard to keep count.
How many times we've walked the loop: 80.
Days Down: 171
Days Remaining until the inauguration and help (hopefully) arrives: 142
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