2021

April 6 – It’s Mom’s birthday. Howard is now past the two weeks after the second Covid Vaccine shot and we have him over for dinner. It the first time in over a year. I don’t have pictures of what we ate and I have no memory of it, but I did make a small cheesecake. Her least favorite tablecloth is on too.

April 16 – We’re all fully vaccinated and it’s time to head out to our first meal out. I choose Jack’s in Pleasant Hill because I’ve driven by and saw they had an enormous outside tent with heaters set up. And there’s mom’s beloved Coconut Shrimp on the menu. I requested outside and alas nothing was available. We’re seated inside, masking excepting when eating. Mom has the Coconut Shrimp and I have Fish and Chips. The fish is delicious but the fries are drowning in oil as if they didn’t let them drain before plating. My memory is vague on what Howard had, but I think it was a burger.

May 9 – It’s Mother’s Day and another dinner with cheesecake.

May 15 – We’re making up for lost time. I make a small leg of lamb on the rotisserie on the grill and a potato kugel. It looks burnt, but not really.

May 23 – Our friend Rick is in town from Mexico. His friend has a large Ikebana at Ruth Bancroft Garden. We push mom around in the wheelchair seeing all the large Ikebana. That evening Howard has us over to visit with Rick and have Zachary’s pizza.

June 6 –  Our friend David Diaz joins us for dinner. I surmise I made Cuban food as I have a picture of Cuban Bread from that day. Ropa Vieja, black beans, rice is what I’ve made for David a few times.

June 19 – We go out to dinner at Shelby’s in Orinda for my birthday. The pandemic has had a terrible effect on the restaurant industry. This poor restaurant was really understaffed. The food was good but service was not. They were doing their best but we finally left before getting our dessert.

June 26 – Howard borrows a neighbor’s golf cart and we decorate it for Rossmoor Pride’s Caravan. I drive even though I’ve never driven a golf cart before. It was surprisingly fun.

to be continued…