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Coffee Talk 07.05.20

It’s been a strange year so far, but I have high hopes for the second half of 2020! We kicked it off with my birthday celebration a few nights ago.

On Wednesday night, my actual birthday, Paul took the girls and me out for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. (D was at camp.) We sat outside, the weather was beautiful, and the food was delicious.

Then we went out to eat at another one of my favorite haunts to celebrate with some of our best friends on Friday night. We opted for outdoor dining both times.

We were only supposed to have the table for 75 minutes, but they were able to arrange it so we could stay for the 2nd seating, so we lingered over drinks and dessert and just chatted and enjoyed catching up.

And last night, we got together again with the same group of friends for a 4th of July pool party in our backyard.

That was so much fun. We’re often in Maine over the 4th, and the past couple of years, we were just here alone, so it was great to be able to use the pool and celebrate with friends for the most festive holiday of the summer.

Judging by the sounds of it, a lot of our neighbors had the same idea. There were several gatherings going on around us, and so many fireworks displays to see from our front yard after dark.

It’s also the first 4th of July that I can remember in years that D was here with us because he’s usually at camp this week. This year, it fell on the one night he gets to come home between groups of campers, so a few of his friends joined us as well.

So all in all, it’s been a great birthday week/holiday weekend.

And, it gets even better. Today we actually get to go to church for the first time in almost 4 months! Our church is finally opening this week for an in-person worship service.

It will be very weird to be in church, for several reasons. For one, the pandemic hit right before we were supposed to move to a new building, so we will be meeting for the first time at our new location.

And of course, Covid concerns will make our service very different.

We had to sign up, and attendance is limited to 40 people. We will be seated in family units, 6 feet apart, and we are required to wear masks. We will be singing, but only with masks and proper social distancing, and we’ll be using pre-packaged elements for Communion.

I’m sure it will be strange, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m just happy to be in church again. Watching it on YouTube is NOT the same.

I realize not everyone is comfortable gathering with friends this weekend, and other areas are getting hit hard right now. We’ve been on lockdown for a long time, and I’ve been waiting patiently for our turn to enjoy a little more freedom. We’re keeping our circle small and staying outside most of the time.

There’s always an element of risk, of course, when gathering with others in this new Covid world, but we’re doing our best to be smart about it. At the moment, our state is in pretty good shape, and I’m hoping with the proper precautions, we can stay that way.

I need to get a move on here if I’m going to be on time, so this is a short one. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Join The Conversation

29 Responses

  1. I am so glad you are able to enjoy being with friends again, and going to church too! Have a great day!

  2. I’m at church this morning as well. We’re having an outdoor service with people 6 feet apart. Then they’ll live stream after for those who still aren’t comfortable coming out.

  3. We haven’t gone to in person services yet. At first, I felt uncomfortable, now I’m wanting to go, but haven’t made it yet. Can’t wait to hear how it goes for you. Your 4th looked dreamy with lights around pool and local fireworks.

  4. We have church for first time today too. Sounds similar to yours. I’m excited but a little uncertain. Not sure that is right word. Just not sure how to act with out hugs and touching.

  5. I read an article about Covid and the CDC. It stated that the CDC is close to declaring that COVID is no longer an epidemic! The cases have gone up, but more importantly, death rates are flat or have gone down.

      1. The ICU beds are filled with elective surgery.  Hospitals have started elective surgery again which is why their ICU’s are so full. They did not allow elective surgery in March,April and May.  Then when you add a few Covid patients the news reports the ICU’s are overflowing.

    1. Way to censor comments that correct obvious misinformation, Jo-Lynne.  If just censor me and don’t say anything to address this, I will assume you don’t care about this pandemic  and stop reading your blog.

      1. FYI: All comments from first time commenters are held in the moderation queue until I have time to go in and approve them. Your comment was not censored due to its content, although it is certainly my right to censor any comment I wish for any reason. 😬

  6. Sounds like a great week:) it’s been nice to be able to have friends and family in which is what we’ve been doing.. our church is doing drive in services or outdoor depending on the weather but only in small numbers and social distancing so for now we are staying put… We had 20 days with no active or new cases and now we have 3 ( travel related) so they are watching things closely especially as travel begins. We just formed our Atlantic Canada Bubble:) we are hoping it works so we can continue to visit between the 4 provinces. With the talk of a second wave it would be nice to avoid it but only time will tell.
    Have a great day😀

  7. Happy Belated birthday! Our area is doing really well but we’re still being cautious. In-church services started last week. We’ll go for the first time next week. It will definitely be different. Here attendees can wear masks if they want, but the volunteers have to. We haven’t braved restaurants yet.

  8. Our church has been open for now with limited seating and sit by families but we haven’t braved it yet. It’s a small church and still so close to others. Just this week mask will be required per Govenor mandate now. I miss it. It’s not the same online for sure. Just heard of someone we know in our small town who has the virus and who they may have been around. When it hits close it’s hard. Plus our daughters mother in law has it from her travels. :(. So life goes on. Hope you enjoy your church service today. Sounds like you had a great week and weekend celebrating. 

  9. Hi Jo-Lynne, it sounds like you had an amazing birthday celebration(s) and how great that David was home for your 4th of July party. This morning, I went to church for the first time in almost 4 months. Pews were roped off so that physical distancing could be maintained and it was mandatory that everyone wear a mask. No singing was allowed. It was a very different church mass and I guess it is something that I will need to get used to. The picture from around your pool looks wonderful. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

  10. Cute picture of your daughter!  I’m glad that David got to be home last night.  Oh, how wonderful that y’all were able to go back to church today.  Since only a limited number of people can attend, are they asking families to rotate signing up, so that more people have the opportunity to worship in person?  We put on our annual neighborhood fireworks show last night, while being able to easily social distance.  This was our largest show we’ve done.  It’s another really hot and miserable day down here; we have rain/storms moving in tomorrow for most of the upcoming week, I think.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

  11. Glad things are looking better in your state.  Word of caution though, be careful!  Our lockdown was lifted here about a month ago.  People quit wearing masks and taking precautions.  But the biggest outbreaks in our area have been tied to large group gatherings— cookouts, restaurants, and sadly even church services.  Now we are headed into a true crisis with virus rates skyrocketing and hospitals reaching capacity.   I expect another lockdown soon.  Lesson learned: just because we are allowed to do something doesn’t mean we should.  So be careful and I hope y’all can keep it from resurging in your area!  

  12. Sounds like you had a fantastic birthday and 4th of July. I am so thankful we been able to attend another Church that is open nearby attendance at our home church is 250 per service, we will have 2 services. we are excited for July 12th to get back there.

    We did have a couple outdoor services, but it was just too hot for me..

    Your right about things feeling strange. We must keep on keeping on. Live our life the best we can.

    God bless you and your family
    Xo
    Cindy

  13. Happy Belated Birthday!   Sounds like a wonderful few days of celebration and things being as ‘normal’ as possible!

  14. I’m so glad you enjoyed your birthday weekend with family and friends! Sounds like it was a lot of fun! We spent the weekend at our favorite winery/B&B. It was so nice to getaway and have a change of scenery but still only 1 1/2 hrs away. Masks were required and social distancing was in place so we felt quite safe and it was so nice to visit with our friends who own the winery and B&B. It was a much needed break from our routine! 

  15. It sounds like you had a wonderful birthday week, and are easing into a “new normal”. We’ve been doing the same thing– seeing a few friends in outside settings, taking all the precautions, but making our bubble a little bigger. Unfortunately, the county to our south (We only have 3 counties!) where our beach towns are located has seen a rapid increase in COVID positives and hospitalizations. The hospital my son works at in that county has 3x the number of inpatients than 3-4 weeks ago. Apparently, between the beaches and the bars, folks are just not following our governor’s mandate that you must remain socially distant AND wear a mask.

    1. Yep, beaches and bars are a bad scene right now. I hear it’s the same in Jersey. I’ll be staying in my little pocket of PA where most people are pretty careful. We are still planning to go to Maine, but we will be quarantining at the lake.

  16. Our church fully reopened last week, and then had to back up this week and close the Kids classes and set up registration online again.  Texas is crazy right now, though.  Since I’m a teacher, I’m still home and we aren’t going anywhere.  We did go to my parents’ yesterday and they live outside the city limits so we were able to see a lot of home fireworks while riding around the back roads in my dad’s Jeep!  My son said it was a great day, so I count that as a success! 

  17. So glad you got to celebrate your birthday in a variety of ways.  There is nothing better than dining al fresco! This summer certainly has been a pool summer!  We’ve pretty much done the same thing, opting for outdoor dining and keeping our group small, which has just been our family. But there are 15 of us so we’re careful.  Our church started 3 weeks ago, but we are a small country church, so not any spacing issues.  Masks warn as well, and we’re not doing communion. I’m looking forward to this new week, the pool, the noisy grandkids and the good ole fashioned HOT summer days!  

  18. Glad your state is allowing Church. I’m in ND and we have been going since mid May, social distancing etc, no issues. We need it for our soul’s health too!
    Our local counties have only had a handful of cases each and not one has really been symptomatic (knock on wood), there are gatherings, dining, summer sports etc. so we are fortunate up here.  Our neighbor at our lake in MN comes from PA, so I get some perspective on how it is going in your neck of the woods!   

  19. Hey Jo-Lynne! Sorry this is a bit late in coming. Sounds like a wonderful birthday and holiday week. It’s so nice to have some ‘normal’! I love the picture of your daughter by the pool! Would you mind sharing info on the cute ‘pineapple’ feature? Thanks!

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