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After COVID-19 exploded over the country, and especially in California, we retreated to the safety of rural Mendocino County, near Philo, a Census Designated Place in Anderson Valley. This is an ideal spot to Shelter in Place:
However, one downside of the year: no school pictures this year. You'll have to check out the pictures in the Family and Friends Photo Album to see how different the kids are this year. Hint: Very different.
School was different this year with remote learning and all. Claire was on top of it and grabbed two of the last Chromebooks on Amazon in March. Scarlet adapted fairly well to remote learning; Nico, less so, though he seems to be learning Spanish by osmosis. Jim was appointed the IT guru responsible for getting them online when there was a problem. Most of the time, everything worked well enough.
Scarlet joined a Girl Scout group that managed a couple of in-person meetings during the lull in the pandemic. Mostly, though, they met using Zoom. (How did we get along before we discovered Zoom?) The leader had prepared several sacks with items relevant for each meeting, a remarkable accomplishment. If you need some Girl Scout Cookies, let us know. Scarlet will be ready to assist you in ordering them.
Both Scarlet and Nico were pleased when we formed a pod with the neighbors the Stoddards. Elena, the youngest Stoddard was besotted with Scarlet and ready to follow her around anywhere. All the kids loved the above-ground pool, a popular addition to many properties according to reports. It helped get thru some hot afternoons.
We didn't see much of our other two grandchildren this year. We had to be satisfied with the occasional visit to the back deck of their house in El Cerrito.
Both continued their musical training, Kai on the piano; Kiera, the violin. Recitals had to be held on Zoom, where the speed of the link was critical. Alas, the sound kept dropping for us, making the performance hard to appreciate.
Kai is in ninth grade, Kiera in seventh, in the new semester. Another attempt at remote learning. Charles and Kiera collaborated on a Tiny House in the backyard, taking advantage of the skills Kiera picked up in Garage Girls. She used the house as her classroom and study. She also used it as a photo blind after setting up a camera aimed at the feeders. She triggered the camera using her phone, which left Linda gobsmacked. Her talents as a photographer are growing steadily. Check out her picture of a Barn Swallow.
The entire family managed some travels in spite of the pandemic. Pictures of this are in Family and Friends Photo Album, along with many other photos.