Birthday Weekend 2021: The Almost Vaccinated One

My husband, Dan, just celebrated his birthday weekend. He was only three days away from his second shot. I am calling this birthday The Almost Vaccinated One.

 

 

You know, our Quarantine/Staycation/Almost Vaccinated birthday celebrations haven't been that much different from years past. The only variation is we now have an excuse NOT to socialize. 

 

For Dan's birthday weekend, we went to the Weezer Concert . . . 

 

Well, we sat on our couch and watched their virtual concert with the LA Philharmonic. This is how we rock 'n roll now!

Of course, my faithful readers know that I would, in fact, reenter society just to see these guys in person. Weezer is my favorite!

 

 

 

I baked Dan a cake. (From a box, of course. I don't bake from scratch. It doesn't go well.) He picked out the mix at the grocery store.

 

"Are you sure you don’t want something more fun?" I asked. 

 

"Chocolate frosting on chocolate cake? Sounds fun to me!"

 

I thought he would have wanted German Chocolate at least.

 

While I was baking the cake Saturday afternoon, all of the smoke alarms in our house went off. No, I didn't set anything on fire. They are sensitive. I think we need new alarms.

Dan requested BBQ from Goodwood Saturday night. I had made a BBQ pizza for him Friday night. Do you see a pattern here?

 

We also went on a birthday hike. Sometimes the weather isn't nice enough on Dan's birthday, but this year, it was the perfect spring weekend.   

 

 

A few months ago, I was so proud of myself. I came up with the perfect birthday gift for Dan. 

 

During the pandemic, he has become interested in bird watching and identification. We live in the perfect area for it. I purchased a nice pair of binoculars and an Audubon Society-recommended field guide. 

 

I thought I was being super sneaky until one day he mentioned he should research a pair of birding binoculars. 

 

I was silent for a moment (an unusual thing).

 

Then I said, “Maybe wait a little while on that . . . “ 

 

I paused again, trying to come up with an excuse, “because we don’t know how much of this we’ll still be doing after you’re vaccinated . . . "

Dan was also silent (not an unusual thing), but I could tell from his subtle grin he knew what was up.

 

Dan's birthday gift

 

Yeah, we'll reenter society just fine.

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

Spring Break Staycation 2021

This spring break, we "went" on yet another staycation. You may remember that I am fully vaccinated, but my husband, Dan, is not. He received his first dose, and he is so close! But we decided to play it safe and stay home one more year.

Until then, here is my spring break adventure brought to you from the state of Idaho and nowhere else . . .

 

For the first time in a year, I visited my hair stylist friend, and she gave me a professional trim, color, and style. It was about time. I think my hair was turning orange, and orange is NOT my natural color.

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Dan has gotten pretty good at identifying birds since the pandemic started. Boise's Greenbelt is a regular aviary. We see ospreys, kingfishers, eagles, cormorants, and herons every single time.

We have also come across deer, mink, wild turkeys, goats, and more all five minutes from our house.

Kingfisher diving for a fish

Dan and I jetted to the mountains for one more cross country skiing trip. Idaho is like that. You can ski one day and hike the next.

 

 

On a sad note, we also lost beloved children's author, Beverly Cleary during spring break.

 

 

 

Speaking of hiking, Dan and I commenced our pandemic tradition of social distanced hiking with the nephews and out-of-town family again.

 

Last but not least, Facebook told me World Theater Day was on Saturday, March 27. What a perfect and quite apropos way to end my spring break. I've done a little theater in my lifetime.

 

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.