Well, we managed to escape the Rona for a very long time, but as of today, our winning streak is over. I didn't sleep well last night and my I could "feel" my throat this morning. It wasn't sore, but I could feel it. I had been at work for all of an hour when I got a message from my friends husband telling me he had tested positive to covid this morning on a RAT test. He had been at our house yesterday delivering some scones for my parents, who had allowed the youth from our ward to camp on their property over the weekend.
Because I could feel my throat, I thought I had better be safe, especially that I work at a school... and there was no way the test could possibly be positive, until it was. Craaaaaaaaaaaap.
The lightest line ever, but sure enough, it was positive and I am now in isolation for a week. So far everyone else in the house has tested negative, but I guess we wait and see. Ugh.
Other than being able to feel my throat, I had no symptoms, but by this evening, I had a scratchy throat, a cough and I was a bit achy and very ready for bed. Let's hope it doesn't get any worse!
I am so, so proud of these kids for making a choice to get vaccinated for covid-19. When the option was released in WA for kids just a few weeks ago, they decided of their own choice that they wanted to. We talked about it, they asked questions and they decided that it was a good idea.
We live in an age where medical research is at its best and most refined. Within months of the covid-19 pandemic becoming huge around the world, a vaccine had been readied and was being tested for effectiveness. I'm not here to preach from my vaccine soapbox as I still firmly believe that people have the right to make their own decisions regarding their body, but I was ready and willing to protect myself and my family and other loved ones as soon as it was an option. The kids have watched me receive my doses and decided to do the same.
Joseph had his done today and was much calmer having already seen Madeline have hers done a few days ago in Ellenbrook. That was a good move obviously to have hers first.
Both of the kids took it really well, but were understandably frightened of having a needle. Madeline was the worst- she was shaking and crying and I felt terrible. I kept telling the staff that she wanted to get it and I feel like they all thought I was full of it. Baha. Thankfully she recovered instantly when she realised that it didn't actually hurt that much and only for a fraction of a second.
i got vaccinated. yes i did. i didn't complain about it, i didn't ask why i had to, i just went and did it - and let me tell you why, because i have a number of reasons.
i am very much pro vaccines. this does not mean, if you are anti vaccines that i plan to have an argument with you about why you're wrong, because i don't think you are. i am going to assume you've done some legitimate research and worked out why you don't want to or need to. that's fine. i, however, believe that vaccines are a good thing. diseases such as small pox and polio no longer exist because they have been eradicated by vaccines. we don't have to worry about them one bit.
when my aunt was pregnant with my cousin, she had rubella. because of this, my cousin is blind in one eye and completely deaf. she has had to live her life with these disabilities and been disadvantaged in so many ways, all which could have been prevented with a vaccine. i truly feel for her - and look forward to the next life when we can have a real chat and i can get to know her better.
people who are upset that the vaccines were not tested correctly? it's not true. they were. you can check up on this, it's all available through legitimate research. when the pandemic was recognised for what it was, time and energy and big money was thrown into developing a vaccine to ease the burden on the worldwide health system. the sars vaccine was modified to suit the coronavirus and all previous research was streamlined and focused into making it available and available quickly to save lives.
people have complained on the internet that a vaccine passport (which will be required in the coming months) is not fair. well, this is also not a new thing. vaccines have been required for international travel for years! i myself had to be vaccinated for hep a&b before going to brazil on exchange, in order to be able to re-enter australia.
president russell m nelson urged members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints to get vaccinated in august of this year. he is a world renowned medical professional. he knows what he is talking about. it disappointed me to hear members of the church say that he was asking as a man, and that it was not truly necessary, not as the prophet leading the church. it amazes me that people are happy to do anything the prophet asks, until it's something that they don't want to do. whatever the lord asks is right. - joseph smith said that. it was true then and it's true now. obedience brings blessings and i will do as the lord asks.
president harold b lee once said: you may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that `the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory.' (D&C 21:6.)"
we are so lucky to have access to a vaccine. in australia the vaccine is even free! all we have to do is make an appointment and turn up. winner! i can proudly say that i have made the choice and been fully vaccinated.
so some of our closest friends "accidentally" moved to new zealand. yes. that happened. coronavirus has been causing all kinds of problems all over the place but this is one i certainly didn't see coming. our friends are new zealand citizens and went back to nz for a wedding, only to be locked out for who knows how long because an outbreak occurred over there, right before they were due to come back to australia. because they are not australian citizens, our government has made it impossible for them to get in, and because there is no telling when (or if!) it's going to be clear for them to get back in, they ended up having to make a choice to just stay put.
we miss them dreadfully and there's been lots of tears, but after having flight after flight cancelled, they made themselves comfortable and settled in while i'm running things for them on this end. so, i've sold a car... and now i'm selling a house! i've had my very first (and i'm hoping last) experience with staging a house for sale and i'm so happy with the result! the listing and photos went live online yesterday and they look incredible. light and airy and oh so cosy. they are thrilled and so am i. i am really hoping it doesn't take long to sell for their sake.
so with no further ado, i present - the newmans house!
and if you want to buy a house - the listing is here.
main bedroom with bedding from my house and lamps from the spare room at mums.
the very elegant pre-teen bedroom
not going to lie, i'm probably going to swipe this wattle painting for my own house when the house sells.
the cleanest kitchen i've ever seen!
the whole house is set up with random paintings and items i found at my mothers to make it look pretty, without having their personal items and pictures on display, including the wattle painting above, don't worry, i'm not stealing their things!
we kept laughing that i was making such a fuss of setting the fire pit up, because it was such a silly little thing, but then the real estate really showcased it and took like 4 photos of it for the listing, so i guess it paid off haha.
you know what they say... when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! well. life has given us perth lockdown 3 for the year - and a mate has given me a giant box of lemons, so it seemed logical to start baking alllll of the lemon treats.
first up was this lemon lovers pound cake, which i had everything for other than the sour cream... but what do you know, we are in lockdown and i unlike a lot of other people don't actually leave the house until i need to, so i looked around for substitutes. ricotta it was!
it took quite a bit longer to cook, but i just kept checking it and it was so delicious when it was done, i was literally peeling the crust off the bottom and eating it hot! to be honest i don't know if i'll ever actually attempt it with sour cream cause it was that good.
Lemon lovers pound cake (translated for Australian measurements/ingredients
for future reference)
Cake:
227g butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups sour cream
Icing:
1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
29g butter, softened
2-1/2 cups icing sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Directions
In
a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add
eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lemon juice, zest
and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed
mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat just until combined.
Pour
into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 160°C until a toothpick inserted
near the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before
removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
For
icing, in a small bowl, beat the sour cream and butter until smooth. Gradually
add confectioners' sugar. Beat in lemon juice and zest. Drizzle over the cake.
If desired, top with additional grated lemon zest. Store in the refrigerator.
it was actually amazing. looking back at the recipe online i can see that it's obviously a lot fluffier and lighter if you use the sour cream, but i really liked the dense texture it came out with.
seriously the best. i could have eaten so much of it!
Mix 2 cups of flour and icing
sugar together. Cut in the butter. Mix well until the dough resembles pie dough
consistency. Press the dough into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
my friend lisa from the u.s. introduced me to these when she was living in perth. they are amazing. the perfect mix of sweet and tangy and oh so good. you'll be left with the above pic when you get them out of the oven, but as soon as you add the icing sugar to the top, the magic happens!
so so so worth a go. look how pretty they turn out and they taste as good as they look.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan forced) In a large bowl, beat
the butter with the icing sugar until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the
lemon zest and juice, then beat in the flour and salt until just incorporated;
scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls.
Arrange the balls 1 inch apart on 2 baking sheets and, using your fingers,
gently flatten each cookie. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are
lightly browned on the bottom and just firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking
sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely
Meanwhile, make the Glaze: In a bowl, whisk the
confectioners' sugar with the lemon juice and butter until smooth. Spread the lemon glaze on the cooled cookies and garnish
with finely grated lemon zest. Let stand until the glaze is set, about 15
minutes.
these looked delicious so i wasn't going to pass up the opportunity, although i admit i did cheat, as i used the glaze from the pound cake to ice them. worked a treat! they were great too! next time i'll try them with the glaze they recommended.
i made up two boxes - one for the friend who gave me the lemons and another friend who recently had a baby and looooves any form of treats then did a doorstep drop. totally worth it for the sweet messages i received not long after.
last but not least - sliced lemons in the freezer for madeline's pink lemonade at her birthday party which will hopefully be going ahead in a few weeks. fingers crossed!
and i still have a buttload of lemons. guess i'll be baking for weeks to come.
when life gives you lockdown, use alllll the lemons! ❤
these kids finally got to go off to school today after an extra week "holiday" involving lockdown, evacuations, masks and general insanity. but that's not all, because the wearing of masks will be continuing for another week - and only ceasing then if we have no further covid cases reported in wa during that period. fun times. primary school students are exempt from the mask rule as it's not applicable for children under the age of 12, but all teachers, staff and visitors to the school will be required to wear one - and everyone in high school. intense.
but even teachers in masks wasn't putting a dampener on these two. they were so ready to go and were dressed and ready well before time and outside having their back to school photos taken. madeline has a teacher we don't know this year, mrs. foti
and this kid is thrilled to pieces as he has another year with his fave - miss salomon. she is just the loveliest and we are so happy to be with her again. she put so much into joseph last year and he just thrived with her help.
they really were excited. that extra week at home was just so unexpected and confused everyone so much!
i am so proud of these two, they've done so well at school in the last few years and i know they are going to rock it again this year.
so let's hope the beginning of the school year has no reflection on the rest and that they love every minute!
on saturday morning this was posted on the wa premier mark mcgowans facebook page. what a huge achievement for our state. massive. something we could all be really, really proud of. i was stoked, it's been incredible here, such a blessing to live life virtually as normal, with barely any restrictions really, other than the hard border in place and any people arriving from an international destination having to quarantine. i had even said to doug just that day how lucky we were, with all the outbreaks and mishaps causing them, we'd still somehow managed to survive without a single one. it's obviously luck i said, because all it takes is one slip up and it's over. maybe i had a premonition, because the very next morning, it all came crashing down. a locally transmitted case of covid-19 was diagnosed, a security worker, working in one of the designated quarantine hotels. cue insanity.
we were sitting in church, our very first two hour session since march last year. our stake president was there and was the final speaker of the meeting, saying how grateful he was for the freedom we have, that we were going back to two hour church, that the temple would be reopening next week... while all of us in the congregation were eyeing off the messages that were flying around the chapel, about the lockdown that would begin at 6pm that evening for 5 days, outlined in the press conference that had taken place during our sacrament meeting.
funniest bit was, our kids were due to go back to school today... they took great delight in watching my friends kids go back in the wheatbelt, while we in the perth, peel and great southern regions have been delayed until next week (we hope!). masks are now mandatory (thankfully we'd had the foresight to buy some for all of us a few weeks ago, to protect dougs mum if the need arose) and we will be wearing those during lockdown if we have any reason to leave the house.
my favourite part so far has to be when, at 6:07pm sunday night joseph announced to me, ""mum. lockdown sucks! i had no idea how badly 7 minutes could affect someone haahah. kids mate.
a lot of people have a lot to say about all of this... but i have one thing to day. our premier has acted immediately. he has put the welfare of his state above any thing else and i am so happy with his response. the person who has contracted the virus has been so many places that he can't afford not to act. being in lockdown for 5 days to again reach the goal of so many months of freedom is a very small price to pay. i am only too happy to do my part.
after weeks and weeks of the intrastate borders being closed while our state works on keeping the risk of covid-19 at bay - they have finally opened it up between perth and the wheatbelt... which means mum and dad finally got to come and visit!
mum called it reunion day haha and brought me my favourite flowers and my favourite cake, then hung out with us for the afternoon and well into the evening before heading home. it was so nice to see them in real life and just have them here. mum cooked dinner with the older kids, dad played duplo by the hour with alex - nothing special or out of the ordinary, but it was special to me.
we are so lucky to be in western australia through all of this. our cases are so low now and dropping by the day and being the most isolated capital city in the world certainly has its advantages in times like this, when we have an awesome premier who has been firm on his decisions and is not risking the health of anyone. i feel so safe here and it is amazing.
we have always made sure that the mothers in our ward receive something lovely as a gift each mother's day... after all the work of a mother is never done and i know firsthand that it's blooming hard work! when i was relief society president i did the gifts 3 years in a row and now that i'm in the primary presidency, i had my eyes peeled for a cute idea for our presidency to deliver to the primary mums.
it was actually on one of the lds young women pages that i found my inspiration, they were delivering a facemask for each mother and daughter to do together, under the excuse of "masks are required during coronavirus" and i thought we could do something similar here...
so. off to big w for 40% facemasks @ $2.37 each
pack of cello bags from the reject shop (30 for $1.50)
2 x large boxes of cadbury roses (1/2 price at woolworths) $7.75 each
and a little card in each - 10c per print at harvey norman
a facemask and a "bunch of roses" thank you once again cadbury for making it possible for us to use chocolates as a "bunch of roses" haha
"masks may be required right now, so here's one we hope you will actually enjoy wearing, along with a bunch of roses... to brighten your day. we love and appreciate you so much! love, the ellenbrook primary"
they looked so cute and we had some great feedback from the mums who had theirs delivered today. hopefully they all love them!
here is a meme dump. for all the laughs i've had during covid-19. considering memes have possibly been the only thing that has kept me from going insane, i feel like i need to have the best ones recorded somewhere to look back on and laugh in years to come.
