It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve posted but I think it’s only been a little over a week so I guess that must just be “quarantime”. We’ve gone from miserable, wet, cool weather to upper ’80’s F. and a forecast of 90 today so that’s Michigan for you.

My yard is blooming – the peonies and hostas are growing so fast we can almost hear them, and we have lilacs, which are some of my all-time favorite blossoms. We managed to get our porch containers and hanging baskets planted this weekend, too, with some of my faves: sweet potato vine, Coleus, begonia, and wave petunias. They look a little sparse now but by the end of the summer they will be overflowing and needing constant trimming. We bought our flowers at the local hardware store, which set up an outside, open-air garden center in the corner of their parking lot. They required masks and limited the number of folks inside, and although we had to wait in line for a bit, it actually made it so much nicer once we got inside, because there was more room to shop and maneuver our cart.

Our Memorial Day felt strange without our usual downtown parade and constant flow of foot traffic on their way to the Farmers’ Market, but we still cooked out and went for a run, although it was so hot and humid that I mostly just walked (and we picked a hilly route, poor choice). Brandon and I are doing a virtual race called the Mitten Run, which started on May 20 and goes through August 28. It’s 100 days and you run 160 miles, logging your miles as you complete them, and it’s supposed to be an emulation of the live run by the same name which goes across the top of the lower Peninsula of Michigan – so essentially, you run 160 miles from Oscoda on Lake Huron to Empire on Lake Michigan! As you log your miles and times, there’s a little map that moves you along so you can see how far you are across the state. Brandon & I aren’t super far yet but it’s been good motivation to get us out and building up mileage. I miss having events to train for this summer but in addition to this, we’ve already signed up for the virtual Fishtown 5k which is a charitable event to raise money for historic Leland, MI (“Fishtown”) and if the Crim goes virtual, we’ll do that, as well.

This is all good because I feel compelled to mention that I got on the scale for the first time in almost a year and I was horrified. I thought I’d been doing okay in quarantine but it turns out I am at my highest weight since I was pregnant with Miss L. I’m not entirely sure how this happened – probably gradually, then all at once – but I HAVE to do something about it in the few weeks I have left of mandatory working from home (and after). So I’m back on online Weight Watchers’. Four days in and I’ve stayed within my points every day, had no alcohol or sugar, and have my first weigh-in tomorrow. I don’t expect to have lost, but hopefully I’ve stalled the piling-on and can start to whittle away at it. The Covid Fifteen got me!!!

Anyway, that’s about all from here in southeastern Michigan except that the cats are very happy that we finally broke down and turned on the air conditioning. I hope you are all well and safe, no matter which phase of isolation or opening-up you may be in. xoxo