So, what have you all been up to these past looong months? It certainly has been a challenge keeping up with everything that is going on in the world

without feeling overwhelmed, anxious and just a bit nuts. My solution? Stay busy! Since last winter, then through the spring and summer and into the fall, I have been working on many, many DIY projects, because doing all the work myself keeps me occupied & helps me to steady myself during these unsettling times.

Using a combination of Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray, Wickham Gray, Wedding Veil and Snowfall White,

I am slowly making my way through our home, one room at a time, sanding and painting, adding wallpaper touches and new art. (I am not sure if it is my current mood, but everything inside is going gray…perhaps inspired by my hair, since I had not been to a hairdresser in soooo many months, until a few weeks ago!) Back in February, after I completed the master bedroom refresh,

I moved onto the upstairs bathroom. Goodbye teal, hello Wickham Gray and Snowfall White. (and yes, that is an empty curtain rod because I still can’t decide what to hang there. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!)

Once the warmer spring weather arrived, I moved outdoors and started with the old porch screen door that was literally falling apart. It was simple to remove and replace with a new one-this beauty was less than $40 at our local Home Depot!

Painting the trim plus the back and side areas of the house was next, but some of the clapboards were pretty rotted, so those needed to be replaced, primed and painted.

From there, I started painting and repairing the trellis below the deck, (apparently some critters have been eating their way into an entrance…)

then the deck railings and porch trim, which led me to the realization that the leaky porch roof really needed to be redone. But NOT by me. It took 2 days and 5 workers to install our weather-proof porch roof…

but while that was happening, I stripped the old, dark wallpaper off of the downstairs 1/2 bath (a work in progress) and built an “entry drop-zone” by the back door with shiplap and an antique work bench for shoes, keys, hats and of course, our masks.

(DIY info to follow) Every day Coach comes home from school (yes, he is back in school full-time, which is a story for another day…but he is OK and safe and doing what he loves to do…teach) and checks on my seemingly never-ending progress. And somehow, in the midst of all these ongoing home projects, I’ve sewn well over 300 masks for my family and friends,

and painted new signs for the shop.

We’ve celebrated birthdays (socially-distanced, of course) and anniversaries, visited with friends & stayed in touch via Zoom.

We even celebrated an epic virtual Boston Marathon run by our son-in-law!

We’ve been back and forth to Maine, simply to unwind at the beach

or indulge in a few too many Congdon’s Donuts.

No dining-in for us, its strictly outdoors or take-out, which is fine and fun and makes everything seem OK, at least for a short time. Summer nights in the Kowloon parking lot feasting on pu-pu platters and rocking to our son’s band was definitely the new normal (if you can call any of this normal).

As I am scrolling through all of my photos that I’ve taken since the pandemic started, its unimaginable that back in March we thought this would all be over by summer or fall. Where and when it finally ends, none of us really know. But what I do know that as long as every one of my loved ones are all still here when its over, I will be eternally grateful. In the meantime…in the words of the great Carole King…

Be kind, be patient, be smart about where you go & who you go with,

say thank you, as loudly and often as you can, to all the people who are working so hard in the most dire of circumstances,

add an extra tip for your delivery people and at the drive-thru window, wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance, stay busy &

tell the people you love the most that you love them…over and over.

and VOTE.

Here’s to a totally terrific Thursday, everyone! xoxoxo Susan