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!!!