The Tenth Week (May 18-24): Restaurants, Starbucks, Denver Trip

Monday 5/18-Wednesday 5/20
I took the afternoon off on Monday since I was feeling rather run down. I spent the time working on grants research for A, preparing the GPA Board report, reading with the kitties, and making soba salad and the first batch of zucchini bars with our own zuke harvest from our FCG plot. Mr. E and I took a walk together over lunch and grabbed takeout from the recently re-opened Ma Jong. Yum! We also noticed that Cafeteria 15L is offering takeout and curbside, so it appears as though this particular family of restaurants (including Iron Horse Tavern as mentioned last week) is coming back to life. It's great to have more dining options again, especially for lunch or weekend brunch.

Tuesday was a pretty uneventful day, although we did get takeout from Orchid Thai and attempted to procure breakfast from the R Street Starbucks since Mr. E had seen this sign during his evening walk the day before:

We learned that our location would be re-opening the next day instead, so at least there's hope! Mr. E had a very active hummingbird companion during his lunch out on the patio.

(note the little hummer decoration in the lower left corner of the photos...)

I was still feeling a bit tired so decided to skip my run on Wednesday morning and did a combo of other workouts instead. Mr. E and I of course had to celebrate the re-opening of our Starbucks on R Street today, so we grabbed coffee and breakfast food to mark the occasion. In the evening, we both packed for our upcoming trip to Denver and completed our Southwest check-in at the appointed time prior to my weekly Spanish class. So looking forward to the trip and visiting family! We were supposed to be spending the holiday long weekend in Vancouver, B.C., but the border between Canada and the U.S. is still open only for essential travel, so that doesn't apply to us as tourists, unfortunately.

Thursday, May 21-Sunday, May 24
We both worked most of the day on Thursday, logging off around 4pm to finish up the last-minute details and cleaning before driving to the airport for our 6:20pm departure. As with our road trip several weeks ago to San Francisco, the travel experience was quite surreal, given the relatively empty parking garage and terminal. I had read on the SMF website that masks were required in the airport, but there was no signage and no enforcement. Mr. E and I joined the 75% of travelers who weren't wearing a mask during our waiting time. Most of the stores and restaurants were closed, but Vino Volo was still open, so we got some drinks and snacks to enjoy in the food court area. So funny to have beer and my wine flight in plastic cups and a cardboard carrier tray!!!

Mr. E also bought two bottles of wine to bring with us to Denver. The flight was fine with no overcrowding and no beverage or snack service. Per the Southwest regulations, everyone on board wore a mask or face covering for the entire flight. Likewise at the Denver airport, where signage and announcements reminded people of the same requirement. A picked us up, and we got to her home around 10:45pm, so I just unpacked and went to bed while Mr. E enjoyed a cocktail and chat with R.

On Friday, R had to work, so the rest of us piled into A's car for the short drive to one of the access points to the South Platte River trail system. The weather was gorgeous, with lots of [strong] sun and temperatures near 80 degrees, and we all enjoyed our 2-hour walk along the river.

Once we got home, we had some lunch, and then the kids went outside to play for the rest of the afternoon. Mr. E, A, and I all worked for a bit, and then A and I took our adult beverages out to the hot tub to enjoy while Mr. E and R made a stop at the liquor store and picked up our takeout dinner from 49th State. We finished up the night with a family board game, which is always such fun since R is such an aficionado and has so many options to choose from.

I went for a run on Saturday morning and found the trail along the creek just down the street from A's neighborhood. After breakfast, Mr. E and R went off to do grocery shopping and pick up some stuff to grill for dinner while A and I and the boys walked down to the creek trail and spent time wading in the water once we found a shady spot. We all had some quiet time in the afternoon, and then A and I returned to the hot tub as Mr. E went for a run and R began the food prep. Mr. E then played some driveway tennis with F, which I and A eventually joined once Mr. E went inside to help R with the grilling and dinner. After the meal, we finished the evening by watching F's favorite Spiderman movie in the comfy basement area.

On Sunday, the morning started off cool, cloudy, and drizzly. R prepared breakfast for the family, including bacon, eggs, waffles, and fruit. I enjoyed the fruit and the smoked salmon that Mr. E had bought the day before. A and F headed off around 10:30am for their hair cut appointment followed by a trip to the hardware store. Mr. E entertained C with a game while I read on the couch nearby. When the rain paused and the sun emerged, I went out for a walk, and then Mr. E and I took another stroll while R took care of C and put him down for a nap.

The rain picked up again after lunch and continued all day, but that didn't keep F from playing soccer with the neighbors once he and A got home from their errands! He eventually came home all drenched and cold, and he and I started a game in front of the fire to warm up. A and Mr. E worked in the garage on making her herb garden planter out of a wood palette and planted the seeds in the drizzle once they were finished and had transported the planter to its spot in the backyard. R eventually took over my spot with F, Mr. E ready numerous books to C once he finished his nap, and A and I played a card game to finish up the afternoon.

We had leftovers for dinner, and then R headed downstairs to watch a movie with the boys while A and I once again enjoyed the hot tub. The rain had lessened a bit, so Mr. grabbed an umbrella and a chair and sat outside to chat with us while drinking his cocktail. We all eventually returned inside and joined the rest of the family for the movie, although the Netflix connectivity was a bit faulty so R and F had to finish the viewing on the laptop upstairs. Such a fun, relaxing family day!!!

The Ninth Week (May 11-17): Rain, Yoga Pants, Restaurant Updates, Zucchini

Monday, May 11-Wednesday, May 13
My work week focused on pushing forward with the big proposal with the quick turnaround time, so I didn't have much brain space for other projects, especially during the work day. Mr. E and I played some wall ball tennis on Monday evening. We had thought to check out the newly re-opened courts at Southside Park but the threat of rain urged us to stay closer to home in case we needed to curtail our activity. Luckily, we had just a few sprinkles at the beginning of our session but not enough to deter us and send us back home.

A rainy Tuesday morning marked my 6-month anniversary at FoundationCCC. At least I've lasted there longer than at CalSAE! And it's a much better fit in so many ways, for sure, although there are times that I still don't know if it's where I belong or for how long I'll manage to last. Once the weather cleared, I headed to the Starbucks on 10th & L to pick up breakfast for Mr. E and me.

At this two month mark, my resistance and resolve have finally lowered... yoga pants and comfy shoes all week! The only real difference is the footwear, as most of my yoga pants are work appropriate anyway and often serve that purpose, but I did finally give up on saving the Skechers only for the weekend.

On Wednesday, Mr. E noticed signs for two more restaurant re-openings: Ma Jong's on L Street and Iron Horse on R Street. Both of these eateries are part of the same local restaurant group, so we're taking it as a good sign that they're gradually starting to re-open for take-out and curbside pick-up, as they've been closed since the initial Sac County public health order was issued in March. During my Pilates workout this evening, Calypso decided she wanted to ride on the reformer while I was doing leg slides -- too bad I didn't have a camera to capture the moments of her gliding back and forth!

Thursday, May 14-Sunday, May 17
Mr. E got takeout dinner from Vito's on Thursday, and I finally got fed up and did some DIY trimming of my hair before refreshing the color. So much better! But still actually a bit longer thatn I prefer...

Friday should have been the last show of the season for Sac Ballet, but instead we hosted our weekly patio party with E&C, which featured dinner and cocktails from Iron Horse. Yay! So nice to have a few more options for local food spots! The weather cooperated for us to eat outside on the patio before coming in to finally try out the Star Trek board game that E&C had brought over a couple of weeks ago. We accompanied the game playing with several bottles of J Pinot Noir since we had just received our May shipment. The new game took quite a bit longer than we had anticipated, but Mr. E finally claimed victory. It will be odd not to see E&C next weekend for our regular gathering since we'll be in Denver for the holiday, as these weekly get-togethers have been such a wonderful and energizing part of our pandemic-influenced lives.

On Saturday, we focused on house and garden projects. I took care of the Market 515 grocery list in the morning before brunch, since we were out of eggs. Then Mr. E took another trip to Lowe's, where he procured more patio lights but didn't find a satisfactory selection for the bougainvillea, and I stocked up at Target on espresso, new tennis balls, two books, a yoga block, several birthday cards, and four bags of Swedish fish. We attempted to play tennis at the Southside Park courts in the evening, but both courts were claimed when we got there, so we turned around and biked back to our wall ball alley instead. After about 35 minutes of play, we returned home minus 1 tennis ball. Oops. I focused on doing a bunch of meal prep (salmon with veggies and pearl couscous) while Mr. E finished off the day's errands with a trip to Safeway.

Sunday morning started off with brunch followed by some online research for a comfy set of chairs for the patio. We've been spending so much more time out there, but our current chairs with the table aren't really comfy for just lounging or reading, even with the cozy cushions. We found a few options at both Target and Home Depot that were an appropriate size and scale for our space and include ottomans that tuck under the chair when not in use. However, we weren't super excited about certain aspects of either set, so I kept looking on Amazon while Mr. E headed off to Home Depot to look for more plant items. I found a set that was about half the price of the others and should arrive next week. Now we'll just need to get some patterned pillows to offset the plain blue of the cushions, but that can wait until we actually have the chairs and table here and assembled.

During a break in the on-and-off rain, I walked to the Little Free Library near the Midtown Bark Park and was surprised to see how empty the Library was. I left my four books and took one in exchange: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson, which I've already read but am looking forward to re-reading since I just love his writing and how he interweaves diverse story strands into a coherent non-fiction account. Mr. E harvested our first zucchini crop from the garden tonight! We also should have some yellow squash very soon, and the tomatoes and eggplant are looking promising as well.

Mr. E made a pork chop and sausages with veggies for his dinner and seared a piece of ahi for me. We wound down the evening with wine on the patio, admiring the new bougainvillea in the big blue pot (really, it's blue!) that Mr. E had successfully procured at Home Depot.

Just before I went to bed, we saw on the local news that Specialty's Bakery has closed all operations, which is such a shame. The location on Capitol Mall had been open this whole time, and I thought they were doing relatively OK since a decent number of state workers in the nearby buildings are still going into their offices. I've ordered from Specialty's several times in the past couple of months, and I'm sorry to lose out on that nearby takeout option.

The Eighth Week (May 4-10): Radishes, Starbucks, Virtual Wine-Tasting, Brunch

Monday, May 4-Wednesday, May 6
A big work project landed on my plate on Monday with a very tight turnaround time (due May 15), so that plus the hot weather with temps in the high 90s set the tone for the rest of the week. I did get a chance for a trip to Downtown Mail to send some cards and pick up more stamps. Mr. E procured takeout dinner from Vito's for himself and from Orchid Thai for me. We also started to harvest more (and larger) radishes from the community plot.

Mr. E celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Tuesday with takeout tacos from Recess, which had extra hours and specials all week for the celebration. He followed up with a burrito on Wednesday. The highlight for me of that day was the re-opening of the Starbucks on 10th & L Streets for takeout purchases. Yay! Finally! I procured breakfast food and drinks for both of us that morning. But why hasn't the closer location on R Street re-opened???

Thursday May 7-Sunday May 10

A couple more restaurant re-openings on Thursday -- La Bou on 11th Street, which I noticed during my morning walk around the Capitol, and Café à Côté on K Street, which I learned about via email from the owners. Today also brought more protestors and a large contingent of CHP officers to the Capitol, which was barricaded off at certain points along the west side to prevent large gatherings from getting too close to the building.

The work week closed out with my finding $6 in singles on the ground near Shoki in the morning and hosting E & C for a Virtual Wine Tasting through the Alliance Française in the evening. Mr. E had procured the appropriate wine at the Co-Op on Thursday, and we all really enjoyed both the rosé and the red blend. 

E & C provided a range of snacks (bread, crackers, cheese, charcuterie), and then Mr. E and C procured some additional dinner food at Market 515. Mr. E also cooked up some of the steaks he had splurged on at CostCo during another errand on Thursday, and I thawed some shrimp to accompany the cow. We finally finished our Word Play game (it only took us three weeks... ha!) and moved on to Charades through an app on C's phone. Being able to have these weekly in-person gatherings with E & C has been such a joy!

Mr. E got up relatively early on Saturday to pick up bagels and breakfast at Noah's before his 10am Board meeting and work day at the garden. I spent most of the day on my work project. We were able to make an appointment for FaceTime with A and her family (including her parents, who are visiting for a week over the Mother's Day holiday) in the evening, which was quite fun. Mr. E endured a rather lengthy wait at Safeway due to slow check-out lines, but he did make it home in time for the tail end of the conversation.

On Sunday, I saw several baby Canadian geese with their parents during my morning run down towards Miller Park. So fluffy! We then welcomed our monthly brunch group to an in-person gathering at our house. The weather had finally cooled down, to the point that it was actually a bit too chilly and windy for patio dining, so we stayed inside instead to enjoy our takeout from Fox & Goose. I guess we should have expected the restaurant to be busy for Mother's Day even if dining in isn't an option at the moment!

Mr. E headed off to Lowe's and the garden after brunch, while I had a 12pm long-distance tech support appointment with Mom. I spent some time reading with the kitties after I trimmed the back of my hair (can't wait for SuperCuts to re-open! almost as desperate as the pool and the gym!). Mr. E went for a run in the afternoon, and then we both headed to the garden for some harvesting and my nightly chat with Mom. We brought home a bumper crop of radishes and green beans and basil and used all of those ingredients in our respective dinners. And the zucchnis should be ready soon. The larger of the two plants (shown in the photo below with the flowers) currently has at least six baby zukes growing on it!!!

The Seventh Week (April 27-May 3): Re-Opening Plans, Sac County Extension, More Protests, Virtual Fashion Show

Monday, April 27-Wednesday, April 29
I kicked off my week with an in-person Happy Hour on the patio with S. The weather cooperated with lower temperatures, so we spent a pleasant 90 minutes getting caught up and enjoying our respective brewed beverages from Market 515. Mr. E continued his routine of post-work time in the garden and picked up his takeout dinner from Broderick. He also noticed the hopeful sign at Mas Taco on R Street:

The Gavinor's daily update on Tuesday was disheartening for me. Governor Newsom and Dr. Angell laid out a four-phase plan for re-opening the state. We're currently still in Phase 1, which focuses on preparation. Stage 2 will involve easing restrictions on "lower risk" businesses, such as restaurants and childcare facilities, and should occur within "weeks, not months." But we don't get to gyms or salons until Stage 3, which will be in "months, not weeks." That's the part that really hit me hard, since other states that are beginning to ease restrictions have included gyms and other personal services. I can much more easily withstand having my hair get too long for my liking than to continue pining for a pool for "months" more!

We'll definitely have to consider a trip to Austin to try out the new backyard pool, especially since Texas is already easing up, including for movie theaters and other types of entertainment and commercial businesses. At least I was able to get my orthotics adjusted this afternoon so that they're more flexible and not as bulky. And I think I finally got the appropriate documentation to submit for reimbursement to our HSA.

On Wednesday morning, I greeted the cluster of sea lions again during my West Sac riverfront run. And I also appreciated the chalk art nearby with a quotation from Leonardo da Vinci: 

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."

 Mr. E and I managed to meet up on the patio briefly for lunch, where we were accompanied by several visits from our resident hummingbirds. They're getting so brave! Later in the day, the County of Sacramento announced an extension of the public health order for three more weeks, to May 22nd. The silver lining of that announcement was an easing up on certain restrictions, so the tennis courts at Southside Park should be liberated soon. Yay!

Thursday, April 30-Sunday, May 3
Mr. E shared with me a hopeful communication from Starbucks about a plan to re-open their stores over the next few weeks, with a goal of having nearly all of them open again [with modifications] by June 1st. Fingers crossed that first crop of stores includes at least a few of the locations near us that have been closed since late March due to not having a drive-through.

I met up with EH for lunch at Mendocino Farms on Thursday, and it was so great to re-connect with her in person. We got booted from our picnic table perch in front of Shake Shack so just moved over to the benches near Mendo to finish up our lunch and chat. In the evening, I chatted with A and learned that she'd be going back to work on-campus next week and that C will be able to go back to his childcare nearby since it's in a separate building and can thus re-open with small numbers of students in each group. I know she'll be relieved to get out of the house and have full access to all of her systems and technology to fully support her work responsibilities.

During my morning walk and talk with Mom on Friday, I encountered a small bird sitting puffed out and snoozing on the sidewalk near the CAC as well as a beautiful blue jay and a cooing mourning dove. I think the urban wildlife is really enjoying the lack of human intruders in their space! My takeout lunch was a salad from Recess. Mr. E did his walkabout and captured some scenes of the protestors at the Capitol. We also both saw the CHP staging area in the parking lot across from Recess later in the day during respective walks to the garden. This evening should have been the Sac Ballet performance at the CAC, but instead we tried to watch the virtual fashion show from the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology. Unfortunately, multiple technical issues caused a postponement to Sunday night. Mr. E procured takeout dinner for both of us from Koja, including his pork sandwich and musubi side:

We had brunch at home on Saturday before Mr. E headed to the garden for several hours. I spent the day doing errands and financial tasks on the computer, but we did have some time for tennis wall ball in the late afternoon before our weekly patio party with E & C. [This evening should have been the Ballet Gala. *sigh*] The three of them met up at Mas Taco for our takeout orders, which included a variety of small tacos along with Margaritas for four, which we supplemented with additional adult beverages.

After dinner on the patio, we relocated inside for more Word Play and finished up the evening with charades and the Ghirardelli chocolate crackle cookies that Mr. E had made earlier in the day.

On Sunday, Mr. E spent more time in the garden after brunch while I had a long-distance tech support date with Mom and then several hours in the kitchen doing food prep for dinner and for the week. The radishes are just about ready for a more extensive harvest, and our zucchini plants are flowering right next to the colorful snapdragons:

Squash should be coming soon!!! In the evening, we managed to connect to the SOHE fashion show, although Mr. E wasn't able to help out his Mom right away, but eventually we directed her to a web site that included a link to the video, so hopefully she was able to watch after the video premiere on Facebook.

Before dinner, we took a walk to the waterfront to look for the sea lions, but they had left their usual perch on the docks near Embassy Suites, probably due to the increased human activity in and around the river during the day. We picked up a couple of items for dinner at Market 515 and then ate out on the patio before wrapping up the weekend with reading (me) and online UW swag shopping (Mr. E). I also found time to take apart and clean the shower head, which solved the annoying spray issues. Yay for simple DIY home projects!