Creativity and Kindness

This morning we found this adorable "daisy" under a tree in our front yard.  We don't know who put it there, but it made our day.  We love it. 

A Fearsome Fight with a Glue Trap

We live in a one-story house without a basement.  Crickets feel free to come and go as they please and I don't like it. In December, we put a pricey air cleaner in our bedroom.  The other day I thought it had begun to squeak.  How annoying! "Doesn't anything work right anymore?" I muttered. I was afraid I'd have to box the bulky thing up and ship it back to the manufacturer while it was still under warranty.  Fortunately, I turned it off and the squeaking, or chirping, continued.  Yay! It was "only" a cricket. How annoying!! And in our bedroom too. 

The glue trap under the dresser was already full of dead crickets. So I opened a box of four new glue traps. Two of the traps are pictured above, joined by a perforated line.  I should have used scissors at this point, but none were handy. I impatiently tried to tear the traps apart, only to get my fingers firmly stuck, first in one trap and then in the other. Several minutes ensued in which I yanked and got repeatedly stuck while yelling bad words. Finally, I managed to extricate myself from the traps. Generous applications of "GooGone" got the stuff off my fingers.  I slid a fresh trap under the dresser. It didn't take long for the poor cricket to find it.

I felt sorry for the cricket. Usually if we see a spider or other bug in the house, we trap it in a glass with a piece of cardboard and put it outside. Have you ever tried this with a cricket?

Mothers' Day

On Sunday, we had a surprise visit from our younger daughter and her family. My husband was in on the surprise.  In the late afternoon, he said, "Go to the front door." There stood Nate, Mariel, Becky and Tom beside their home-made "Happy Mother's Day" poster.  They also brought us home-made enchiladas, the first meal we have not cooked ourselves since the pandemic shut everything down. 

We maintained proper social distancing. I would have liked to have gotten closer to take the photo, but of course I was too distracted to use the close-up feature on the camera. (As you can see, I have not yet figured out how to change the date.  I think I might have to remove the battery first.)

Anyway, they drove up from Northern Virginia, about 45 minutes away.  Tom said traffic was light. We haven't seen them since Christmas. Becky mentioned that before I came to the door, they had seen a man walking up our street, wearing a mask and lugging an accordion. He was part of the Mariachi band that was just tuning up for a backyard fiesta across the street.  We could hear joyful yipping.  It was probably a belated Cinco de Mayo celebration. I can only hope that the guests were maintaining social distancing.

Our older daughter, who lives ten miles away, sent flowers and a box of chocolates on Saturday.  She sent them via our son-in-law, Michael. Although at high-risk himself for serious complications if he catches the virus, he nevertheless picks up extra items for us when he does grocery shopping for his family.  He's one of those intrepid types who hates being stuck in the house and is determined to be helpful to others.