Skip to main content

Close to Home


 

My first pandemic birthday featured eating Indian takeaway with my family via Zoom and playing games with Jackbox. It was weird. I may have cried. 

My second pandemic birthday…wait. What did we do last year?  I am drawing a blank. 

Oh, yes! We waited until April when my younger daughter would be vaccinated and then we did the family get together face to face. Accompanied by dinner from Flavors of India. On my actual birthday we celebrated with those adorable little cakes that have taken the town by storm. It was a good deal more hopeful than the celebration the year before.




My third pandemic birthday…yes, it’s still a pandemic for me, because of lung issues. We would have been eating at a restaurant outside last night had the weather cooperated. (Boo, rain.) Instead we had takeaway from Aida Bistro in Gateway, which was wonderful. We still love Indian food but I was feeling adventurous. And Aida Bistro had the best gluten free choices for my older daughter, which was a delightful discovery.

As for dessert:



Here you see a lemon meringue pie made by my mother-in-law with help from my younger daughter. It was as delicious as it looks. Leftovers just might be breakfast.

One unexpected moment came when my older daughter and my mother in law realized they had both been having dinner at Charleston in Harbor East on the same night - - at the same time - - but somehow never saw each other. Sheesh. I need to get out more.

Maybe next year.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more