The past two weeks have been life changing for the entire country.  With the COVID-19 pandemic confining us all to our homes, our lives have come to a screeching halt.

But I am not complaining.  I am a home body, so someone forcing me to stay home is not at all a problem.  

I am still working full time remotely.  I have mixed feelings about it because while I haven't done my hair in over a week, I am working more hours than I ever was at the office.  I am still working on a balance and trying to force myself to get out of my chair on a more regular basis.  

The below picture is the desk where I now live.  This is our office/laundry room, so between work and laundry, I rarely leave this room.  

As a whole, we are enjoying our time together and the rare opportunity to stay at home.   We are far from bored and have accomplished more in the last two weeks that we probably have in five years.  

Last weekend, Walker was consumed with the Ohio Beef Expo auction that had to be moved to an online only format due to cancellations.  

We couldn't keep him away from the computer.  He had his eye on his heifer that was for sale.  We couldn't even pull him away from the computer long enough to eat his dinner.  

This past week was technically spring break, so Isaac didn't have any remote school work.  Walker on the other hand was busy every day with online school work. 

Isaac used the extra time to work for a neighboring farmer taking care of the herd and building fence.  He is used to sitting in a school desk all day, not working eight hours.  One afternoon I left my desk long enough to find him passed out on the floor.  Still not sure why he chose the dog bed, but it must have been comfortable because he was out for an hour and a half.  

One by one we are checking items off the long list of home improvement projects that have needed to be completed for years. 

This is not one of them.  Daniel was down trying to clean the basement and noticed a stream of water coming from the ceiling.  The washing machine was leaking and had been for some time.  The washing machine was about 15 years old and needed some other repairs, so we decided to bite the bullet and buy a new one.  

We visited a local appliance store and bought a new washer.  The only problem was it wasn't going to be available to pick up until Tuesday.  Daniel was really nervous that we were going to get the stay at home order, so he asked if we could buy the floor model.  Thankfully, they agreed.  We brought the washer home on Saturday and we received the stay at home order on Sunday afternoon.  

Then they had to wrangle the old washer out and the new one in.  That is no easy task when it has to go through four doors and be lifted over the bathroom sink as it is being pivoted.  Thank goodness for teenagers.  

Once he was able to get back to cleaning the basement, he installed a new coat rack. 

If you remember, this was what I wanted for Mother's Day.  Better late than never. 

This is for all the hunting/winter/water gear that has been taking up precious closet space.  None of us had any  idea how much stuff we had!

My closets are very thankful and I wish we had done this years ago.  

The next big project is tearing up the carpet at the top of the stairs to refinish the original plank boards underneath.  

Our house is 115 years old, but almost all the original character has been replaced.  Several years ago we tore up the carpet in our bedroom to reveal a beautiful floor underneath.  We have been dreading the mess for years, so have just put it on the back burner. 

But I can't stand that nasty pink carpet any more.

Under the carpet was a layer of old linoleum and then a layer of newspaper. 

Look at the date...seventy-three years and  one day to the date of that paper.   When we refinished our bedroom floor, we found newspapers from exactly 70 years to the day of when we tore up the floor.  

The wood floor had been painted with a brown paint.  

These were rough cut board that have a lot of character...including some knot holes.  You can see they used an old tin can lid to cover up one of the holes.  

Then the sanding began. 

It wasn't nearly as bad as the last time...because this time we rented the vacuum that attaches to the sander.  I didn't have to clean every floor, wall and ceiling in the house.  

The floor is all sanded and a few repairs made.  

I have started the polyurethane process, but have to time it so that the floor is dry when we need to go to bed.  

Next up is painting, trim in the entire second floor and finishing the floor in the master bath that was supposed to be done seven years ago.  

I never said we were fast.  

The boys have been enjoying the warmer weather and spent some time having fun.

None of us know how long we will be at home, but we are certainly enjoying our time together and the opportunity to get some things checked off the list.  Pretty soon it will be time to get out in the garden and fields, so we are trying to get the inside stuff done while we still can.  

The 2020 pandemic will go down in the history books and we are trying to create some memories as a family to remember the good times together.  

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We have had some extra time on our hands lately.  We may not be staying home because we want to, but it has actually been a blessing in disguise. 

As you know, we tend to run ourselves ragged with jobs, school, showing and life in general.  This kind of schedule isn't very conducive to the farm life.  Many times, our busy life means the maintenance of our farm and herd gets put on the back burner.  The thing that screams the loudest is what gets done, and the cows don't do a whole lot of screaming.  

This hectic schedule is O.K. for a while, but at some point we have to stop and take care of the daily maintenance items before everything is broken and sick.  

I'll have to admit, more times than we like, we are reacting to the emergency instead of working to get ahead of the problems. 

This past week has been interesting...

To say the least.  

As the Coronavirus has spread, so have the cancellations of schools, mass gatherings, and life as we know it.  

Included in the cancellations is the Ohio Beef Expo.

But the sale will go on!

Are you going to the Ohio Beef Expo?

The Expo will be held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio on March 19th - 22nd.  

​This year is going to be big for the Miniature Herefords!

Not only is there a Miniature Hereford show...

But new this year, the Miniature Herefords will be participating in the sale.  

Bigger is better...right?

Well, not when it comes to cows...

After all, we do raise Miniature Herefords.

But, when it comes to equipment, bigger is better...or so they tell me..

Years ago...long before we had cows...a swarm of bees decided to call our tree home.  

It was the beginning of a new adventure for us. 

We bought some minimal bee equipment and fed those bees to try to get them through the winter.  We were then given a bunch of bee equipment that had been stashed in someone's barn. 

That small swarm didn't survive the winter, but we bought more bees and began our bee keeping adventures.  

Some years we robbed the hives, and other years, we just let the bees do their thing.  

One year, Daniel was stung in the neck and developed an allergic reaction.

That should have been our sign...

The boys went tractor shopping this weekend and I stayed behind to do chores...and I really didn't want to go tractor shopping.  

As I was out in the barn doing chores, I was reminded of how much I love our white board.  

I know...it's nothing new and exciting...and most people already have a white board in their barn...

But, if you don't have one...you definitely need to go buy a white board.  

We had snow this week.  Not much...about an inch after 3 days of light snow showers.  It has been a very warm winter, so the snow was a nice change of scenery...especially since it covered the mud we have been living in. 

This winter has been hard.  Not because of the cold, but because of the warm.  

We left Ohio on January 18th in freezing rain and snow to begin our bucket list journey to Denver, Colorado for the Miniature Hereford World Show at the National Western Stock Show.  

I laughed more than I have in a long time, we enjoyed time with friends, worked hard, walked miles and miles, and we all got sick, but we had an amazing time and made so many memories.  ​

One of our bucket list items is to take the boys to Denver to show at the National Western Stock Show before Isaac graduates.

Yes...that means it has to happen in 2020 or 2021.  2020 was not the plan...because the bank account was saying otherwise.  

Until...Wesson won Reserve Grand Champion at Louisville.  

There are times that all the plans get kicked out the window and you just seize the moment...and figure out the rest later.  

This is one of those years. 

We are on our way to Denver!