Berkman's log- stardate 2004.25
Our destination--
the living room …
and then the kitchen....
and then the living room again
You get the idea, Spock.
And, as always, you were ahead of your time:
https://www.cnet.com/news/spocks-vulcan-salute-should-replace-handshakes-in-coronavirus-era/
Feliz cumpleaños...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
First, and as always, we hope this missive finds you and yours well and healthy. We and the extended family are all doing well so we're grateful.
Day 24 of our Washington State quarantine, day 46 of total quarantine, starting in Portugal. For our friend Christine in Spain, her 46 days have been largely indoors, per country law, so we feel fortunate to have been able to get outside this whole time.
Our return to the states has been all worth it to be able to celebrate Julia and Don's birthdays in person. We're betting everyone at this point has had to think outside the box in a big way to make celebrations special for a family member or friend.
Case in point-- Julia woke the morning of their birthday greeted by a hand-drawn (ok, traced) card and a lovely bouquet of flowers in a priceless vase.
Then, off for a scavenger hunt around our neighborhood, with certificates along the way promising monetary rewards. We rolled the dice on this one and luckily, it was a hit!
J took birthday matters in their own hands and organized a birthday roast with their friends over Zoom. Based on the laughter coming from their room, we think Julia's friends went to town on this. When asked later if they could share with us some of the best jabs, Julia wisely said, "Nothing I can repeat."
Undaunted, we feted them with a pint of chocolate ice cream festooned with pretzels. Cake is overrated.
Happy 23rd bday, Jules! We're so glad to be able to share it with you! <333
Not to be outdone, Don was the birthday boy the next day. I had plans to make him his favorite birthday breakfast, crumb cake, but what he said he really wanted was an egg white omelette and avocado toast. And with that, friends, I say the culinary transformation is complete!
Zoom once again saves the day with a virtual Berkman family birthday party. Brother Bob wisely records the festivities (there's a button for that on Zoom-- who knew?) for posterity. Pat joined us from San Francisco and Mexico, apparently.
On the same virtual vein, Julia presented Don with a birthday party room they designed on the game Animal Crossing (ask your kids-- it's a thing).
I went old-school and presented Don with this portrait of ..... Vincent Van Gogh?
We're only on lesson 3 of our drawing class! And my eraser is terrible!
Thai take-out lunch at beautiful Padden Lake, Jazzmitton (look at the extension on J in this pic!), and a couple of rounds of Spades made the bday complete.
Happy 55th, DB! <333
Here's the official bday pic of the two birthday-ers, Julia with their Little House on the Prairie-style presents (bananas! wow!!!)
Other Corona distractions to keep things interesting have included-
Family hair coloring and cuts!
Making bird feeders out of milk containers for our feathered buddies! Then lying in wait as they discover the feeders and then use the metal hot tub bar to break the shell of the sunflowers seeds!
Hydroponics! We should be able to make onion soup by 2023!
So we'll close this one out with wishes for continued good health, sanity, and more cat Youtube videos, please! And these beautiful shots of nearby Mt. Baker-
. 
Until next time, thanks for following along!
Don and Monica (and Julia!)
washington
Our destination--
the living room …
and then the kitchen....
and then the living room again
You get the idea, Spock.
And, as always, you were ahead of your time:
https://www.cnet.com/news/spocks-vulcan-salute-should-replace-handshakes-in-coronavirus-era/
Feliz cumpleaños...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
First, and as always, we hope this missive finds you and yours well and healthy. We and the extended family are all doing well so we're grateful.
Day 24 of our Washington State quarantine, day 46 of total quarantine, starting in Portugal. For our friend Christine in Spain, her 46 days have been largely indoors, per country law, so we feel fortunate to have been able to get outside this whole time.
Our return to the states has been all worth it to be able to celebrate Julia and Don's birthdays in person. We're betting everyone at this point has had to think outside the box in a big way to make celebrations special for a family member or friend.
Case in point-- Julia woke the morning of their birthday greeted by a hand-drawn (ok, traced) card and a lovely bouquet of flowers in a priceless vase.
Then, off for a scavenger hunt around our neighborhood, with certificates along the way promising monetary rewards. We rolled the dice on this one and luckily, it was a hit!
J took birthday matters in their own hands and organized a birthday roast with their friends over Zoom. Based on the laughter coming from their room, we think Julia's friends went to town on this. When asked later if they could share with us some of the best jabs, Julia wisely said, "Nothing I can repeat."
Undaunted, we feted them with a pint of chocolate ice cream festooned with pretzels. Cake is overrated.
Happy 23rd bday, Jules! We're so glad to be able to share it with you! <333
Not to be outdone, Don was the birthday boy the next day. I had plans to make him his favorite birthday breakfast, crumb cake, but what he said he really wanted was an egg white omelette and avocado toast. And with that, friends, I say the culinary transformation is complete!
Zoom once again saves the day with a virtual Berkman family birthday party. Brother Bob wisely records the festivities (there's a button for that on Zoom-- who knew?) for posterity. Pat joined us from San Francisco and Mexico, apparently.
On the same virtual vein, Julia presented Don with a birthday party room they designed on the game Animal Crossing (ask your kids-- it's a thing).
I went old-school and presented Don with this portrait of ..... Vincent Van Gogh?
We're only on lesson 3 of our drawing class! And my eraser is terrible!
Thai take-out lunch at beautiful Padden Lake, Jazzmitton (look at the extension on J in this pic!), and a couple of rounds of Spades made the bday complete.
Happy 55th, DB! <333
Here's the official bday pic of the two birthday-ers, Julia with their Little House on the Prairie-style presents (bananas! wow!!!)
Other Corona distractions to keep things interesting have included-
Family hair coloring and cuts!
only his hairdresser knows for sure
Hydroponics! We should be able to make onion soup by 2023!
So we'll close this one out with wishes for continued good health, sanity, and more cat Youtube videos, please! And these beautiful shots of nearby Mt. Baker-
. 
Until next time, thanks for following along!
Don and Monica (and Julia!)
washington
First of all.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the dad and his baby girl!!! One outdoing the other one in cakes and birthday presents!! That promisory note for Julia is not too convincing..... and the Vincent Van Dugh drawing... well... let's change subjects.....
ReplyDeleteSuch a delight to see you doing good and having so much fun during your quarantine. George and I are running out of Netflix gigs. My butt is taking the shape of my recliner.....
Kisses and hugs at a 10 ft. distance... don't trust the 6 mandatory ft.
Know you are all loved!!!
Eva and George
thank you for your loving note, even though you're only "meh" about my drawing masterpiece! (; And my butt now has "Levitz" permanently indented in it. Be well! xoxo
DeleteLookin' great Sheltering-in-Place Berkmans!
ReplyDeletestay tuned-- next blog we'll be showing the results of our nose-hair trimming!
DeleteLaughed out loud at Julia's birthday flower vase! Looks like the Creative Berkmans are having a Corona blast. Happy birthday to both Don and Jules! I'm wearing my brown/gray stripe as a badge of honor (had no idea what color my hair actually is!)
Delete