Another quick beach trip and a few other things that have been keeping us busy.

 We spent a small portion of this past weekend in North Myrtle Beach.  If you are keeping up, that makes three weekends in a row that I've been to the beaches in South Carolina.

This time however, it wasn't all fun and games.  The father of one of Sarah's best friends passed away unexpectedly and his funeral was on Friday in North Myrtle.  Her friend asked her if she would come and how could we say no.  

Dan had Friday off as one of his furlough days thanks to Covid so the three of us headed to the beach early on Friday morning.  The funeral Mass was at 1:00.  Our hotel room wasn't ready so we did a quick change in the lobby bathroom and headed to the church.

It was a beautiful funeral - as beautiful as they can be I suppose.  He was retired from the Air Force so there was a flag ceremony, Taps played on the bugle, and a three volley gun salute.  It was sad but I was glad that Sarah was able to be there to support her friend.

We grabbed lunch after the funeral and then Dan and I headed to the beach for a little bit.  

That evening we went to dinner and afterwards Sarah met her friend for ice cream and they hung out for a while.  

Then we got up early on Saturday morning, had breakfast and  headed home.  It was a quick, sad trip but I'm glad we were able to take Sarah.

Other than going to the beach, here's what we've been up to in list form:

1.  Peter's been working on his college applications and I've been filling out his FAFSA.  Everything is very complicated and time consuming and I wish we had started on things sooner.  But we will get it all done. (I hope.)

2. Sarah's been working on her Student of the Year activities for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She led her first team Zoom meeting  and did an excellent job.  I was very proud of her.  And right  now, she is on a call with her first business owner to ask for his support in the spring when the fundraising begins.  By the end of this, she is going to have gained some really great skills that she will hopefully be able to put to good use in the future. And hopefully she will have raised a lot of money to support research for cancer.

3. I will be working the polls for early voting this year!  A friend of mine does it every year and asked if I wanted to help.  They need extra workers this year because due to the PPE we are required to wear, everyone will need extra breaks and time to just breathe. Most of the people that work at this particular poling place are retires so I think they are also looking for extra help running in and out to do the voting for people who can't come inside due to Covid. At the meeting I attended yesterday, we were told we would need to wear a mask, a shield, and gloves.  Part of me is rethinking all of this because guess whose hot flashes have returned with a vengeance?   

4. I finally got a few things to spruce up the front porch and make it look a little fallish. Walmart had this little beauty marked down to $5!  I had to get it.

5.  And I guess I better sign off because it's Open Enrollment time!  I need to make sure we are properly signed up for all of our health benefits.  It seems like I just completed last year's open enrollment process.  Even during Covid, time is flying by.