Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated our 24th and 49th birthdays together! Julia got her favorite dishes from Dumpling and Beyond. My dinner of choice was pork heart--so good. We got a cookie and cream ice cream cake from Thomas Sweet. The only very weird thing was the singing happy birthday song. We got pedicures at Aqua Nails on Sunday; we felt safe and the place was clean. Steven completed a whole list of to-dos for me--best present he could give me! Benjamin sent a balloon and more chocolate dipped fruit. He does a good job spoiling her, for sure.

Cautiously Socializing

We had some excitement at the Simpson house. Allie (Julia's friend she met at U. of Leeds) came to stay from NYC. She had a lacrosse tournament in Baltimore. She's a sweetie and endured the buggy backyard like a champ. One slab of meat we can all agree upon (not too lean, not too fatty) is bone-in sirloin steak from Wagshal's. Yum. I also made a leg of lamb roast. Steven and I enjoyed it.

Brenda came down to see Miriam and Katie. It was so nice to spend time with her and to see the girls, Dana, and Aaron too. Brenda is making BIG changes in her life; I'm so proud of her. She bought me a lovely "Friendship is a sheltering tree" necklace for my birthday, see pic below.

We had a nice catch-up call with Don & Laura, Lisa & Tony. Julia has been hoodwinked into working more shifts at The Phoenix. DC Mayor just issued that a mask must be worn at all times while outside of your home. The numbers have been trending upwards. Also, school districts have changed their minds and are only offering online school as an option for the fall.

Feels like Summer

This is the only thing that feels normal...hot, humid, and sticky summers in Washington. Instead of traveling, we're going through all of the Rick Steves' programs. The one on Bulgaria was very interesting; we hope we can visit one day! Otherwise, it was more of the same... lots of meat, another month anniversary for Julia and Benjamin (chocolate dipped fruit delivery), and hanging with the cats.

July 4 Deep Creek Lake

We had such a fun and relaxing weekend with the family. It was nice to get out of the city, take a break from work, and run/walk new routes. The Sarrges were excellent hosts, as always. The food was delicious and we had fun on the boats. Julia tried wave surfacing--so cool! Wagshal's left us in a lurch with no turkey, so we deep-fried two chickens and a top round roast, and then doughnuts the next day. Yay, the fireworks still happened! We had a flat tire on Sunday, so we had to stay an extra, wonderful day. The weather was perfect all weekend. So blessed with a great family!