Wednesday HodgePodge

1.  Question day this week lands on Cinco de Mayo. Are/were tacos on your Tuesday night menu? Hard shell, soft shell or just gimme all the tacos? Are you even a fan of Mexican food? Do you like your salsa mild, spicy, or somewhere in between? Margaritas-Frozen, on the rocks, or no thank you? Have you ever been to Mexico?

We wanted to order dinner form a local Mexican restaurant.   We'd been there on Cinco de Mayo, it's a fun place -- they even have live mariachi music on the weekends.  No mariachi this year, but the food is good.  Apparently we weren't the only ones with this idea.  The phone line was busy and they were not taking on line orders.

I was thinking we were going to wind up eating leftovers, then we realized that Cara Cara, our other favorite place -- about 15  minutes away -- was open and still available.  Placed the order on line for queso fundid0 and res a la plancha (steak tacos)  and  was told the wait would be about 20 minutes.  But when I got to the restaurant, I found out that there'd be an additional 90 minute wait.  The restaurant told their service  to stop accepting orders on line, but the service was still accepting orders. 

But the long  wait wasn't awful - my friend Kathy arrived a few minutes after I did to pick up her order. For the moment all we could do was blow kisses and exchange  air hugs, but we did have a (socially distanced) visit while waiting for our food.  No, I did NOT take a photo  of her in her mask.

I'm not overly fond of margaritas.  I used to drink frozen margaritas, but lately I'd rather drink sangria.  

I've been to Mexico twice.  In 2010 we sailed on the Carnival Valor and one of the ports was Cozumel; we spent the day at a beautiful beach.  We went back to Cozumel  on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas in 2016, and this time we took a bus trip to Chichen Itza  to see the Mayan ruins.

2. What's something you may do this month?

I may try to get to Jones Beach for a walk on the boardwalk.

3. Tell us what's happening in your state or town as far as restaurants/salons/parks/beaches/businesses opening up. How do you feel about it? Are you out and about or hunkered down? Do you wear a mask?

We are on Long Island, part of the epicenter of the virus.  Restaurants are take out or delivery only, beaches and parks are open if social distancing is practiced, otherwise  necessary businesses are open, salons and similar personal service busineses are closed.     I started wearing a face covering long before masks became mandatory.   We are not hunkered down.  But Drew already had the virus, and I think I had it, too, with very mild symptoms, so we're not afraid of contracting the virus.

4. Mother nature, everybody and their mother, mom jeans, like mother like daughter, soccer mom, mother hen, mother lode, necessity is the mother of invention, stay-at-home mom...pick one and tell us how it applies to your life right now.

Mom jeans.  If I bother to get dressed at all.  

5. April showers bring May flowers...what's blooming in your yard or garden today?

Dandelions.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I had a laugh out loud moment in my car last night.  A song came on the radio and I  couldn't help myself. The song itself wasn't funny, but the circumstances...

Let me explain.

Although our children are grown (and haven't been public school students in years), Drew is a teacher, I handle law suits filed against school districts,  and so we are very much aware  of the decisions being made to close the public schools. Here in New York, the school year starts just after Labor Day and runs until the end of June.  New Jersey and Connecticut have similar calendars.  The other day  Governor Cuomo directed that  New York schools remain closed through the end of the school year.   The next day Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey schools would also remain closed.   And then yesterday Governor Lamont made the same announcement regarding schools in Connecticut.  

Drew said something to me about Connecticut schools just before I got into the car to pick up our take-out order.

And then this song came on the radio:






Yeah, as the song says, "school's out forever!"

Or, at least that's what it feels like.  Who knows when schools will reopen?