March 2022

 

MARCHing on ... another month into 2022. Daylight Savings time. Even in this digital day, we still have a few clocks that we need to change manually. March means Girl Scout Cookies, Tagalongs are the family favorite (well, of Jen and the older three boys). Bought lots of boxes, and Keaton ate most of them (he found where I stashed them, I didn't hide them very well, nor move them when I knew he'd found them). Replaced the wreath on the front door with a cute, customized sign. Here's the personalized report ...

• Colton is staying busy, still going early and staying after to shoot hoops at the school. His Wolves team has started up again, and they are having practices and had a tournament. Colton got recruited by an AAU Club (Metro) but we weren't quite prepared for the costs ($$ and time/travel) at such short notice. We'll try to plan for something like that for him next year. It's almost time for his braces to come off (finally!) and they made impressions for retainers and he has an appointment next month. He's been doing some prep for Prom ...
• Cooper has been playing Pokemon Arceus a lot, much more than Pokemon Go (although he and I had a "lucky" trade this month). School has been pretty easy for him, and he often finishes up the week by Wednesday. He's been going to Pickleball with me (Thursdays) and still getting in time on the treadmill. Still working at the school, but thinking about what job he might be moving to after he graduates. 
• Keaton lost his voice for a bit in March. For a week or so, he could barely talk above a whisper. He's been struggling with sleep too. Staying busy with his school and work, and looking forward to skydiving again. Meanwhile, he's been going rollerskating almost every weekend and even bought his own skates. He also bought a new duvet (and discovered what a duvet is) and changed his room up a little.
• Callahan and Kate went to St. George ... Kate's happy place, and a belated birthday getaway for Cal. Callahan has been playing some basketball when he's not working. Both he and Keaton have helped Landon with his basement.
• Landon and Sol have been working on their basement, getting it finished up. They've done a lot of the work themselves, from laying the wood floor to painting. It's kept them busy! Sol's mom is moving in with them and now they have space for that.
• Jen is pretty much recovered from her fall. There is still a "spin" (just one and done) moving from a vertical to a horizontal position. Zumba-ing three times a week (had a green day for St. Patties, and even threw in an Irish jig) and started attending pickleball (a ladies church group) on Thursdays. Trying to get back into blogging, listening to audiobooks whenever she can and making several loaves of sourdough each week.
• Gray is working hard, as always. He had a couple getaways in March, one weekend going to  Vegas then to Portland, and a couple weeks later to Moab for some RZR riding. He's still making marvelous meals ... we had fried green beans a couple times this month, and he's really perfected salmon (he doesn't eat it, but Jen appreciates it!)

Here's the One Second Every Day

https://youtu.be/k_ilzF2vVy8

 

 That's a basic run-down of the goings on of the Blackham Bunch.

Until next month ...

A Peek At Our Pantry

 

Pantry progression ... I don't remember when the first picture (on the left) was taken, but it had to have been before 2015, as that's when we lost our landline (A Farewell to Phones). The picture on the right is February 2022, after our pantry re-do.  It's something Grayson had on his to-do list for quite a while. His original plans and estimates were dated back in July of 2021. It started with sketches...

That last one looks cool, like a photograph, and looks a lot like how it ended up. We got back on a serious schedule at the end of 2021 and got on the calendar for early-January. We had installation set for a Friday. I planned on unloading everything on Thursday, then Gray would come and remove the shelves after work for the company workers to come in the next day, and hopefully we'd only have a day or two of chaos.

Unfortunately ...

So I put everything back. 

January 2022 was a bad time for Covid. In addition to our installers, Landon and Sol came down with it, as did Aunt Olivia, and my folks. Happily, everyone seemed to recover quickly and without complications. The company was actually planning on the installation the following Friday, but Gray and I hadn't got the memo (they double checked the morning of January 14 before heading out ... and good thing they did!) So, one more week, which was actually a CRAZY week at home (two trips into the Driver's License Division, hosting the JV basketball team on Thursday night, a repair for our oven), but we made it work. Gray stayed home from work Friday morning, we got the pantry completely cleared out. Gray stuck around to make sure everything was a go. After my Zumba class, I got to watch the progress and keep him updated as he headed into the office.

... then it was done and time to start putting things back. Now part of the whole pantry re-do process is a purge of what to actually keep in the pantry. We are lucky enough to have a basement room for food storage, so only the most used things were going to be kept close at hand in the kitchen. 

One of the things Grayson had really wanted in this pantry was a small shelf with an electrical outlet for the toaster or another appliance. We are lucky to have an in-house electrician who was able to add the outlet easily (thanks Keaton!) While I didn't understand Gray's distain for the toaster in it's old spot on the counter, I'll admit I've liked the change. The bread knife and cutting board are kept right there, as is the butter ... away from a certain little kitten who would sometimes jump up and give the butter a lick (we'd have to keep it covered - why does Joy like to lick butter?)

So Saturday was spent putting thing in place, rearranging some shelves and items. I was glad for the adjustable shelves on the right side, as I had a few tall items that needed non-standard heights. We had switched from baskets (in the original sketch) to pull-out drawers on the bottom-left side. I adore my big buckets (sugar, flour and bread flour) so that had been one thing I required (space for them to fit). Love the vertical storage for pans, lids, cooling racks, etc.  Stuck a lazy susan in one corner for easy access to spices.

It really has been a big improvement to the pantry! 

February 2022

 

For a month with only 28 days, it seems like there was a lot going on this February!  All eyes were on the Olympics, and in the US, televisions tuned into the Superbowl. Covid seemed to retreat some, then the world watched as the Soviet Union invaded the Ukraine. A little closer to home, here's a recap of what was going on with the Blackham Bunch.

• Medical Moments: Jen continued to recover from her fall, taking it easy and slowly returning to normality (baking, driving, exercising, attending basketball games). Back to the ER to get the staples out of her head. She went to the Optometrist for a check-up (pupils didn't seem to be dilating after the accident, which isn't as concerning as if they ARE dilated) and left with a prescription for glasses (which has been needed for well over a year). Coop had a follow-up with the dermatologist, but we are STILL struggling with his skin (Keaton is having some spots too). Sol had acute stomach pain and ended up in the ER to rule out appendicitis. It was an ovarian cyst, which seems to have resolved.  
• Birthday Boy! Callahan turned 23! We had a little dinner and cake to celebrate.
• Family Field Trip: We got quite the crew to go out and see the mansion that Mom and Dad (and Shane's family) will be moving into later this year. Very nice! We also ate out at Red Robin. Yumm.
• Virtual Choir: It's been 30+ years since Jen sang with the Madrigals in high school. One of the group got a good majority of the Mads to put together a tribute song for another member who passed away. After not singing for a looooong time, it was an interesting experience. Add to that figuring out the technology! My laptop has the webcam on the BOTTOM of the screen. But it was good to sing again and to have some communication with old friends. Walk down that lonesome road ... (you can see the song HERE). 
• Basketball: ALWAYS basketball! It was a busy month, seven game days (with both JV and varsity games) for Colton, plus practices and team dinners. The most memorable moment was the "Battle of the Belt" against rival Copper Hills, which West Jordan won! The Riverton Blackhams came and cheered Colton to a win when WJ played at Riverton. Unfortunately the team got eliminated in the second round of playoffs at the state level, and that officially wrapped up Colton's sophomore basketball season. Cooper had a couple games with his team.
• Symphony Socials: Gray threw a BABY SHOWER for one of the women at work (he planned the whole thing, from invitations to decor to food, of course!) and then took his team to St. George to see the Parade of Homes there (and get in some RZR riding too of course).  
• Tesla Time! Keaton and Grayson have been talking Tesla for a while. As Gray has his nice truck, and Keaton can't quite afford the price tag, they both decided it would be good to get one "for Mom".  It was ordered, and the charger was installed months ago (benefits of having an in-house electrician) and it was finally delivery day!

There was Valentines Day ... wearing red/pink to Zumba, Jen's first day back to class, some roses, and a date to Mountain Mikes (a bit of a tradition, very romantic). President's Day, at Colton had another day off school for PT conferences. One big snowstorm that complicated commutes. Landon and Sol had a weekend getaway to Vegas (work, plus some fun). Jen and the Blackham Girls went down to Hale Theater in Orem to see a show (Christmas gift from Olivia). Jen and Cooper had a Pogo (PokemonGo) event and spent a little time time out playing the game. Rollover from the pantry redo, there has been some purging and organizing of the food storage room, and Jen ran out a bunch of boxes of food stuffs to see if the folks or Chris's family thought they could use. Ironically, Ramen has made a big comeback this month, with Gray doing some gourmet upgrades ... and Colton just eating it plain.  

Here's a link to the One Second Every Day.

That's the recap of February 2022 ... MARCHing on!