Day 46 Shelter in Place

Has it really been 46 days since the stay at home order for the Bay Area? I know it has, because one of my Facebook groups has been tracking what people have been cooking, and today is day 46.
I told my daughter to keep a journal of this time. I figured it was time to start blogging again.

So this is my Corona Journal. The virus, known as Covid-19 has hit the US. It’s a world wide pandemic. Our travel plans to Japan for June have been cancelled. Restaurants are closed, schools are closed, businesses are closed, the freeways are free of traffic, the air is clean from pollution.

Back on March 16th, I dropped my kid at school. The other schools in our city were shut down, but our school is private, and waited until the Health Department mandated school closures. So, it’s now been 6 weeks. Our school gave a couple days “break” to the students, while they figured things out. I went to borrow a Chromebook, since my husband is also now finally working from home. My daughter is in Middle school, and attends classes via Zoom from 8:30 am to 1:50 pm.

I’m so glad she has a regular schedule, and gets to “see” her friends and have school. It’s been harder for me, since I can’t do my usual activities, like go to the gym, or work. My Zumba teacher started Zoom classes recently, so that helps. And we try and walk every day. I am loving the creative ways that people are trying to entertain themselves. there is an ongoing “teddy bear hunt,” so we look for teddy bears in windows on our walks, this is ours...

Since restaurants are closed, and only doing takeout, we are trying our best to support the local places that we want to keep in business. 

  

Easter dinner was spent at home alone. I ordered Honeybaked Ham, picked up in their parking lot. And made the sides and delivered food to my mom. We also celebrated our 14th anniversary at home, with takeout from Strizzi’s.

Easter service on TV, via Facebook Live. K’s Awana teachers had a drive up Easter treat pick up, and they had created Easter scavenger hunts for the kids, and snack bags with TP for the parents. And the Easter bunny found our house during the quarantine!

 We are also baking a lot. 😄

 

 

 

One of the few places we are allowed to go to is grocery stores for essential shopping. However, we frequently run into empty shelves for items such as flour, toilet paper, cleaning wipes, and in this case, bread.

Great Gift Idea

During this crazy time, there are many small businesses that need help. viv & ingrid, a local jewelry store, located on Oxford Street in Berkeley, is one of my “happy places.” I’ve known the owner, Ingrid Chen, since before the company began, after she graduated from Cal Berkeley. I own many, many of their pieces. I actually have a dedicated jewelry box for their jewelry, and wear them regularly. The retail shop is filled with beautiful gift items, cards, local chocolates, cosmetics, and of course beautiful handmade jewelry. Their Signature hoops are among my favorites. You can help by purchasing a gift card, using this link (affiliate link):

https://www.vivandingrid.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=3677&idaffiliate=5

It would make a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, teacher thank you, or as a treat to yourself. Sign up for their emails, the Happy Hour sales are amazing! Help spread the word! And if you know any other local business that could use support, feel free to comment below!

Here is my latest order from their Happy Hour sale...

Oahu trip, Part 3

Day 5

We took it easy, and hung out at the lagoon by our resort, and at the pool. We really love the grounds of this place, and the proximity to the beach can't be beat! We went to lunch at a "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" place that has been on my Oahu food list for ages... Aiea Bowl. I mean, it's a bowling alley, right? Well, I must say it lived up to the hype. K and I split a Tasty Chicken plate, and we were both wanting more! I didn't have room for dessert, but they looked amazing too. 

I was curious about this manapua place I found nearby on Yelp. It was a hole in the wall, and the buns were pretty good, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them. They did offer both steamed and baked buns, and interesting array of flavors like shoyu chicken and spicy options.
 

K wanted to stop at Pink Box again to shop. Then we met up with Auntie Harue later for dinner. We ate at Gyotaku in Waipahu. K still qualifies for the kids meal, which comes with a drink, dessert, and a toy prize from the treasure box. :-) I got a bento with misoyaki butterfish, sashimi, and tempura. 

Day 6

It's our last full day in paradise! We took it easy again, and hit the beach and pool. Funny, K didn't have much fun snorkeling. She just wanted to swim in the pool. I got out the boogie board and she loved it! We should have done that from the beginning! I have a pretty strong fear of being submerged, and only snorkeled a bit at Hanauma Bay this time. We played on the boogie board and had some nice chats. Then, you guessed it, lunch time hit! Off to Zippy's for some fried chicken, and dobash cake. We actually did some exploring before returning for my cake, and by then the display case was empty! I asked, and they hunted down a slice in the restaurant kitchen for me. Whew! This is my favorite cake ever!

 

We visited Barber's Point Lighthouse and beach. The waves were pretty rough here. Was watching hubby take pictures and thought he might get swept off the rocks by the huge waves! 

 Then, we drove up the West side of the island, past our resort at Ko'Olina. We had never ventured past that way. The traffic on the one lane highway was bumper to bumper, so we stopped at Maili Beach and took some pics, and turned around.

Headed back to the condo for some more musubi, finished the leftover steak hubby had grilled, and enjoyed the final sunset of the trip. Can't beat a Ko'Olina sunset! The bar at our resort makes a drink by the same name, and it is delish! (K is having a Shirley Temple)

Day 7

We are checking out today, and the resort has a lei making class K had signed up for. If I had known it was orchids, I would have signed up too. All the spaces were full, and the teacher had to turn away many disappointed guests.

We checked out, and picked up some musubi at Foodland, and manapua at Chun Wah Kam in Kapolei, for our plane ride home. I had bought so many food and gifts, we had to expand our carry on suitcase and check it! Then, we had lunch at Nico's Pier 38 (also a Diners Drive Ins and Dives location)

Check out the goodies from the fish market inside!

Just down the road, a food fave of mine, Liliha Bakery, and their amazing coco puffs! This new location is huge, and nice! Very limited parking though.

That's it for Oahu! See you next time! Aloha!