Melissa Snow Prince

 The first tarot card I pulled for myself. Could not be more perfect for me currently... I tend to be independent but right I have relied deeply on a few friends for support through all of this. I need to keep doing so. We need each other to continue and like the crutch there is support out there for me. I live in an area of the country where I am always wearing a plague bell. I do not fit, I am an outcast from religion, politics, social justice etc where I live. I walked through my community with that plague bell. Helping others is the only way through. This card also matched my soul. I find peace in darkness, in snow...

I've beat level 20 a few times on Dr. Mario recently. Dr. Mario has been helping keep me calm and my sanity in place. I play almost every day ;)

Every time I start a new season of GBBO I also tell myself I should bake one of the bakes from the show each week. It never happens but this week I am not even pretending that I want to bake a florentine or macaroon... Noel is still the best...

 They always know how to get bedtime extended. How can you interrupt this??

 After a great vinyl find at the library sale I decided to check for my favorite sesame street album Sesame Street Fever. Found it. I listened to this so much when I was younger I still know almost all the lyrics... If you want the whole album...

 I never had acne (EVER) in my life till about last year... Glad I get to wear masks everywhere to cover it :) I haven't worn lipstick in half a year...

A little late but our children started school this year in a hybrid system where they go two days a week (based on last name) with only 50% of students at the school and early outs. No school on Friday... It was hard to chose what would be best for everyone this year. I think we are at peace with our choice even if we don't feel 100% at peace...

 Sometimes songs just hit you at the right moment. The last few days it has been Annie Lenox's No More I Love You's. I have a strange habit of listening to songs that speak to me in the moment over and over again. I've enjoyed spending the last few days with the incomparable Annie Lenox...

Somedays are just overwhelming. And some days in a pandemic are SO overwhelming the only thing you can count on is your Magic 8 ball... Today I asked the Magic 8 Ball if I was going to make it through covid-19... Yes. You may rely on it!!

 This year, 2020, is going to go down as a terrible year. Part of it is sars-cov-2 but the truth is the social injustice and climate change issues are the worst of it... With the pandemic one of our best ways to voice our dissent was yard signs (and donations).

 We live in the middle of crazy land USA where politics meets religion meets the alt-right with a majority of moderates. Basically sars-cov-2 is uncontrolled here right now. The teenagers and college students think their ability to party outweighs schools and other's lives. To combat this, we have been using n95 masks and kn95 masks (all NIOSH or FDA approved and not bought during the PPE crisis for frontline workers). But these masks are expensive so we have to reuse them. I've spend countless hours making sure that we don't over use a mask and how best to reuse them. I decided on system of paper bags. The paper bags allow air in and out but prevent dust and other stuff from getting on the masks and sars-cov-2 dies faster on paper than plastic. They sit and rest in that bag for a full week making sure everything is dead before they wear it again. I date them so we know how many times and for how long they have been used. I hang these bags in the laundry room where everyone...

 We have smoke in valley from our fires. We have smoke in the valley from CA. It's bad. I can't imagine what CA was like to have smoke this heavy hundreds of miles away... This is the view from the south of the valley. Notice something missing? A whole mountain range blocked from view with smoke.

 By the time we got to the Grand Wash hike the wind was blowing. It was so strong that the sand was pelting our legs and causing them to sting. We had to turn back after awhile because the sand was in our eyes, lungs and everything else we had. One of the most interesting parts of Capitol Reef is the orchards. It is such a fun treat inside the park even though it has a dark history of origin. The Gifford House makes cinnamon rolls, ice cream and fruit pies with fruit from the orchards. They also sell a few handmade unique items like salsas and jams. If the fruit is ripe you can also pick the fruit. With Covid-19 some of these things have changes but the Gifford Homestead is open with some treats. We picked up an apple pie for Math's birthday because he always likes apple pie on his birthday. I guess that happens when you have an autumn birthday.

Cassidy Arch. Before the sun got all the way up it was really pleasant. Then it got really hot. At the arch there we some people repelling which was fun to watch. It's a huge arch with a deep hole/fall. We all walked over the top of the arch.  

We reached Capitol Reef right at sunset and started Hickman Bridge. The light was stunning. The temperature was perfect and this was everyone's favorite hike. It was peaceful to be out hiking again.  

Don't worry...we were all unhappy and crying before we left. Surprisingly, a few minutes into the drive everyone was happy again...  We have smoke from CA and OR and our mountains are also on fire. View as we drove out of the south part of the valley.

 The GBBO started today... This is just what the worlds needs right now. I had to do a little finagling to see the first episode. Each of the bakers had to quarantine from their family to be on the show. Those who make it to the final will be away from their home for many weeks... I have deeply loved all the hosts Mel, Sue, Sandi and Noel. So I was a little worried about Matt Lucas but he was lovely. I think having Noel, who is already comfortable, and one new host is better than having two new hosts. The first few episodes with Sandi and Noel were a little rough. I 😍😍😍 Noel. There have been a few tragedies on the show over the years (from someone using someone else's stuff to someone removing someone else's item from the freezer and it melting) so why not start the season with a new tragedy. Not a big spoiler...one contestant (Sura) accidentally hit another's (Dave) tray in the technical sending the finished product flying. I love this show...

 I have a "real" label on my locker at the library. I'm happy...