Ohio vs. NY: Pandemic Edition

I've been thinking a lot about New York lately; I'm not sure why. We lived there for six years, and we've already been back in Columbus for 8 years this coming summer. Crazy!

As the kids have grown up, I've had many reasons to be happy that we returned to Ohio. Having our own washer/dryer is practically reason enough! But also the stairs, the subway waits, the stresses that come with apartment living -- all of those would be infinitely more difficult with children, of course.

Coronavirus has brought so many changes to our lives, and I can only imagine the additional stresses of living through it with kids in New York City. Everyone lives on top of each other as it is, and add on a highly contagious illness ... eek.

Overrun playgrounds? No thanks. Crowded sidewalks? Um, no. No museums, no restaurants, no anything that makes New York fun.

It hasn't been a piece of cake here either. I'm pretty that's true of pretty much everywhere. But at least here we have our own house, space to spread out and our own private laundry room. 

But as much as I'm happy that we don't currently live there, I can't wait for this pandemic to pass so we can visit once again.

What's Goin' On

It can be hard to think of something to write about when you're hardly doing anything at all! Here's a few odds and ends in the family:

• Atticus loves penguins. I mean, he LOVES penguins. More than Star Wars. Maybe more than Wall-E. He has requested only penguin items for his 6th birthday in three months. He talks about penguins so much that I have had to ban him from mentioning them during his school Zoom meetings. HE LOVES PENGUINS SO MUCH.
• Paul is building a bookcase for the kitchen for his cookbooks, and so we can get rid of an inconveniently placed shelf there that currently holds them. He made a lot of progress yesterday, so hopefully I can post pictures of the finished product soon!
• I'm reading more than I have in a long, long time. When it's cold and there's nowhere to go, options are limited. I'm currently more than halfway through books #7 and #8 for the month, and I have a 1,000-page book waiting in the wings.
• Edith got her hair cut! It's still a bit below her shoulders, but it was a big deal when she decided to shorten it by a few inches.
• Trouble is our current favorite board game, and I play with one or both of the kids almost everyday. Atticus beats me more often than not. (Please tell me Trouble is more a game of luck than skill. Right? Right?)
  

A Perfectly Painted Kitchen

I ended 2020 not by making resolutions for the new year, but by fulfilling a long-held goal: painting the kitchen.

I'd never much liked the pale blue that enveloped the room  but never felt motivated to change it ... until I was. Just after Christmas I decided it was time. I looked at some paints online and Paul picked up some chips. I got some advice from a friend with a great eye. And voila, I had a gallon of paint in no time flat. I got to work immediately, before the feeling wore off.

I painted about 5 hours one day and 6 hours the next. Paul put in several hours as well. And I love it!

We're not quite done. We're redoing the section of the kitchen that was added on years ago, replacing the kids' craft table with a custom-built (by Paul) desk and an area for coats and book bags. But the hard part is done. Here are a couple of before and after photos:

Before

After

Before

After

Wildlights at the Zoo

The third time's a charm! The first time we had planned to see the holiday lights at the Columbus Zoo, I ended up with COVID, so obviously we didn't go. The second time it rained all day. But we finally made it on Saturday, the final weekend the lights were up.

We were masked up of course, and we were largely able to keep a good distance from other visitors. The weather was in the 30s -- not too bad for January. We didn't see too many animals, with one big exception. The penguins were still out, so Atticus was super excited. But we were mostly there for the lovely lights.