Beaded earrings

This year, I wanted to get back into some crafts, so I started off making some more beaded earrings. Having a Michael's close by to Chase's after-school place made it easy to go get more craft supplies to make these. 

The first ones were incredibly simple and just a string of cool chevron beads that I got. I just interspersed the black and gold ones to make three rows that hang down. I don't usually wear gold-colored jewelry, but I really like the way these look and wear them with black clothing. 

The next one was from this tutorial. It was fun to get back into some more intense beading like I had done many years before. 

The last set of earrings took a long time and used brick stick. Since the first one (one the left) took me so long, I decided to make the second one a bit different for some variety. I used a few different brick stick tutorials including this one. 

Finally, as Chase had been collecting many seashells (and may with holes), we also assembled seashells into keychains for him and his friends. Not quite earrings, but still beading-adjacent. :)

Visiting family in NE

Even though we were able to see Nate's immediate family in December for Christmas (in between our move), due to the pandemic, we didn't want to risk seeing the rest of the family. Unfortunately, Nate's grandfather passed away in January at the age of 90. Since that was the height of the pandemic and we had literally just moved, we couldn't come for the funeral. Nate's grandmother scheduled a celebration of life in Omaha for the summer, and made it into a bit of a family reunion, renting a huge house for the out-of-town relatives to stay and planning lots of family-time. 

We really enjoyed seeing everyone after many years. We had a birthday celebration for Tindra, a baby shower for Melissa and Daniel (who, unfortunately couldn't come at the last minute due to COVID), and lots of hang-outs at the house. We also went to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and some Medieval mini golf together with the family. 

Chase turns 7 (still during a pandemic!)

[Previous Chase updates: 6 years, 2nd year of school, 5 years, starting school, 4 years, 3 years, 25-32 months, 2 years, 15-20 months, 1+ year, first four months in Cambridge, data analysis from first 2 months, first few months]

After having lived pretty much his whole life in Switzerland, Chase adjusted quite well to school and life in the US. We toyed with the idea of having a party, but since the pandemic is still going and the children are not yet vaccinated, we didn't want to take that risk. Thankfully, a few other kids have had birthday parties, so he's been able to interact with friends outside of school a bit. His main challenge in school has been reading in English (something that he obviously didn't do in his French school in Switzerland). He has improved a lot and should be ok by the summer. Other than that, he seems to be doing great with everything else. 

Chase's birthday this year fell on the first Monday of Spring Break. Nate and I took the day off so we could spend the whole day together going to the aquarium in Norwalk. Chase not only adores the beach and seashells, but also loves all sea creatures. He had a great time there. We opened presents on Zoom with the two sets of grandparents in the evening. One present was the game Sequence, which he is amazingly good at and regularly beats us at when we play. 

The other thing that happened to Chase this year (in May) is that he finally had surgery for his eyes. We knew that he would have to have this surgery around this age (I talked about the issue a few years ago here and many pictures feature his eye patch that he wore for a total of 5 years), but it snuck up on us quite quickly! The surgery itself was quite intense as Chase couldn't (wouldn't?) open his eyes the whole first day. But, he quickly recovered after that and seems to be doing quite well. He still needs glasses because he is far sighted (unrelated to the strabismus itself) but his eyes in the pictures after this are looking straight and coordinated. 

Exploring Winter/Spring in Southern CT

Having moved to CT in the winter and in COVID-times, many museums were still closed and outdoor options were limited. Having said that, we have been able to do some activities outside. Thanks to Olga visiting a few times, we also were also able to go for a hike and explore around New Haven. 

1. The Fairfield Beach. Even in the cold, Chase has been obsessed with the beach. It has so many seashells, which he enjoys finding and collecting. 

2. CT Audubon Society Museum. While the museum was closed due to COVID, the sanctuary was a nice place to walk around, even in the winter. 

3. Hamden Sleeping Giant State Park. This was a fun hike up to this tower. There was some snow on the ground, but the weather was great and we enjoyed it. 

4. Geocaching around Fairfield. Many great geocaches got us exploring around town. 

Fairfield Apartment

Having lived in multiple apartments (first in Cambridge and then in Switzerland), we easily settled into this one in Fairfield. There were a few things that were nicer about this apartment compared to the others. First, it was brand new. Second, it had two bathrooms!! This is something neither of our previous apartments had. Third, after using communal laundry in the basement for the past 6+ years in Switzerland, we finally had laundry in our apartment again. 

Overall, it has been very functional and convenient for us. The building also has a nice rooftop terrace and a gym that Nate and I both frequent. 

Somehow, we don't have any photos of our bedroom. Oops!

 

Driving half-way cross country

As I mentioned at the end of this previous post, Chase and I left Switzerland at the height of the pandemic and went directly to Omaha, where Nate had been living the previous 4-5 months. Between Christmas and New Year's, we found an apartment in a town in southern CT called Fairfield. This town has good schools while being on the train line into NYC and close to the highway to go east further into CT. So, a few days after the new year, we packed everything into the car Nate had picked up in Omaha in early December and drove east. Since this was the height of the pandemic in the US as well, we tried not to go out of our way to meet anyone, but did make a stop to see Ivan's plot of land south of Chicago where he is building a house.

We made the trip in three days. One day to a hotel south of Chicago, one day to a hotel in eastern PA, and finally, a day to our new apartment in CT. Overall, it was a pretty easy drive and Chase kept himself entertained. During the trip, we had to figure out utilities, school sign ups, and DMV appointments. When we finally got to CT, we had to quarantine and take COVID tests before we could go to any of those appointments.

 The timing was quite fortunate for Chase because the school he was to join went to in person schooling (half day) the day he was supposed to start in mid-January. Even more lucky for us was that there were multiple after-school options with remote lessons and bussing from the elementary schools. After years of struggling with childcare in Switzerland, it was astonishing how easy and available (and cheap!) childcare was here in the US... at least for this age group. 

2020 in Review

[Previous years in review: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013]

Wow. Well, 2020 was a year to remember. Not only because Chase has taken every opportunity available to shout "2020!!" with glee. As I mentioned last year, we knew we would have to move in 2020 and that it would be difficult year, but we didn't quite expect a pandemic to throw a wrench in everything. That being said, we have come out of it mostly ok, ready to move to Connecticut next week and start a new chapter of our lives. We are sad that we couldn't travel more (especially to see my grandparents in either Kiev or Barcelona where they moved for the last few months). Therefore, Chase did not add to his continent (3), country (13), nor state (9) count. I am guessing that the state number will expand in the coming years. 

Highlights of this year include:
- Seeing my grandparents in Zermatt in January
- My mom visiting and daytripping in Switzerland in February

- Chase turning 6 during lockdown

- Going to Stresa and Leukerbad during the summer

- Nearby activities throughout the year, as restrictions allowed

- Saying goodbye to our friends and Switzerland and preparing to move

My only craft was weekly drawing. I did attempt to make a few masks, but they weren't ideal, and I lost one in the laundry. Really hoping to do more crafting in the new year. For now, I am trying to arrange and buy furniture for our new apartment. I did start doing genetic genealogy for others (adoptees, etc.) and have found about a dozen birth parents. 

As I do every year, I will leave you with an instagram collage, which has the fewest pictures ever due to me using Instagram less and the fact that we got out less this year. You can follow me on Instagram, or on Twitter if you don't have an Instagram.

Happy 2021!