I truly miss being able to write about exciting trips, restaurants, and plays that Jenn and I have experienced. Instead now seven months into the coronavirus we’re doing about the same thing we did in March, working and stay home about 95% of the time. So unlike last September, this month’s post might be the shortest I’ve ever written.

RECAP OF THE MONTH

Jenn and I had a nice long Labor Day weekend. We took Frasier back to the dog beach and like before he loved every second of it. It was a really nice overcast morning and we let him run in and out of the ocean as much as he wanted. By the time we got back to the car and dried him off he was falling asleep on Jenn’s lap while we drove home to bathe him. It are the smaller moments like these that we’ve enjoyed most since moving back.

Some of my favorite moments of moving back to Newport have been our weekend walks down to Balboa. As the weather has shifted from summer to fall the walks have become a nice 4 mile excuse to get out, walk through the small shops of Balboa and walk alongside the boardwalk. I’ve also continued to spend a lot of time cooking out dinners both on my own and with HelloFresh / BlueApron meal kits.

The one bright spot of September was that Ally and Tim have gotten engaged. After a few years of dating, Tim popped the question on a weekend getaway to the mountains after putting Ally through quite the hike. We’re all incredibly excited for their wedding next year.

Speaking of weddings, Jenn and I celebrated 11 years of being married and nearly 17 of being together. Ally had given both Jenn and I a gift card to Mastro’s for our birthday’s so we decided to go there for our anniversary. We had a nice meal with cocktails, wine, lobster bisque, salad, and of course a rib eye with cream corn. It was so nice to be out and feel some semblance of normalcy.

We continued our tradition of watching the Emmy’s again this year. Given its all-digital format, it wasn’t the most enjoyable show to watch but I continued my long winning streak at these sorts of award shows. And that really wraps up the month. As we get closer to the Presidential election Jenn and I have been getting far more involved in volunteering. Jenn has made calls and I spend almost every weekday afternoon texting potential voters. We’re trying to do everything we can to get Joe Biden elected in November.

And that’s really a wrap on September. It was a pretty normal month as COVID/2020 months go. We continue to work hard and enjoy having space and good weather. While it’s not nearly as exciting as a year ago, we’re happy, healthy, and content to ride this out for as long as it takes.

TV WE WATCHED

We continue to not watch a ton of television, which is sort of nuts given all the time we have back in our life. What we did watch though that rose to the top was the new show Ted Lasso on Apple TV +. What a show! All heart, love, and good vibes. The perfect antidote to 2020 and our current President. We also continued to plow our way through both Better Call Saul and Billions two shows that we enjoy but maybe not as much as we did at the start.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

What an incredible month for books. Two of my favorite books of the year I read in September. Starting with the very long, beautifully written, and captivating The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Brilliant. Loved it. But the book that may stick with me even longer is Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Should be required reading for anyone that is an American citizen.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

Didn’t watch a ton of movies this month. We rewatched Mission Impossible Fallout which I actually didn’t enjoy as much as the first time I saw it. Class Action Park was a crazy documentary about an unregulated amusement park in New Jersey in the 80’s that was insane. We also watched Enola Holmes a fun, easy, Sunday afternoon Sherlock Holmes spin-off.

THEATER WE SAW

I would love to have said yes we saw something, but all theater in the US continues to be closed.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

We did start the fun month of gaming with the new Madden and NBA which I played a ton of in September. But the game that began to capture my heart was The Last of Us Part II a game I put off starting for a while but am so glad I finally sat down to play because so far its’ been a masterpiece.