Sequestered in Seattle, Day 379

Thursday felt like a Friday for me, because the whole company has the day off tomorrow. Thus, I was confused when the children had piano lessons in the afternoon (a Thursday activity) instead of Spanish. Eric has Fridays off, too, so I've been trying to convince him to come with me tomorrow when I go to pick up our latest plant order, but so far he remains reluctant. First he told me he would only do it if he could ride his bike, but tonight he changed his tune. Now he says he'll do it if I get him a phone. He's five.

After dinner and one game of Kingdom Builder that Nicole played with her parents, we went for a family walk. The skies were clear and the moon was visible, although the mountains were not, because of clouds in the distance. We went north to visit a Darwin's barberry, but its orange blossoms weren't especially far along, either. (Rachel and I visited a different one on Tuesday.) We went all the way back to Ken's market to acquire treats for parents and children alike. The kids each got to eat a cookie on the way home, whether they really deserved it or not.

Back home, we carried on with our Hogwarts Battle for about forty-five minutes, and then had one chapter of reading time. Simon awoke on a ship in a storm, and things only got worse from there. The situation seems rather dire, but I think it will turn out OK. The boys weren't quite ready to go to sleep, so I subjected them to a chapter of Treasure Island, which we haven't read in a while, and by the end they were both out. Long John Silver was trying to negotiate access to the treasure map, but was sent away empty-handed. Nicole and I watched a couple episodes of John Oliver, and now it is quite late.

Washington announced Wednesday it will comply with the president's order to make vaccines generally available on May 1. This is not as big a commitment as I had expected, though. An infographic in the Seattle Times shows that the difference between Phase 2 and Phase 3 is only about 5% of residents. There will only be a half million adult Washingtonians left not eligible because of age, co-morbidities, congregate living or working, or other factors. (We're not in Phase 2 yet, though. The second half of Phase 1B is set to open next week.)