Sixteen in Quarantine

Despite the whole state shut down because of the COVID-19 virus, we did our best to celebrate Marina’s sixteenth birthday. We both slept in this morning. After we were both up and dressed, we went to drive up church. The pastor met us at the car and we all prayed the birthday prayer over Marina as well.

As we headed home, Marina asked for cinnamon rolls for breakfast. So we stopped at the grocery store. This was the first time she had seen a store since all the craziness began. When she saw the empty shelves, she said it looked like a zombie apocalypse.

At home, I made Coconut Shrimp for Marina’s birthday. Just as I was finishing it up, one of our friends came over to celebrate with us. We all had lunch together and Marina opened her presents from me. A little while late we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake.

The Merchant of Mumbai

Marina and I  were both looking forward to the current production at one of our favorite theaters, The Merchant of Mumbai. It was a Bollywood version of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. When we arrived at the theater, we immediately saw a friend, who has appeared in several  shows at that theater. That was a nice surprise.

The show was a fun one. It used some of the Shakepearean dialog with Bollywood dance numbers. The humor was also played up. And the costumes were gorgeous.

After the performance was over, we got our traditional photo with the cast. It was a great night!

Dinner With Super Heroes

It was Super Hero Night at our favorite restaurant tonight. We invited one of Marina's friends along. Marina was excited that she was able to go. Marina wore her new Captain Marvel dress. We loaned her friend a Wonder Woman dress. She loved it!

We arrived after the crowd and were able to sit down quickly. We had a cozy booth inside. The characters were Wonder Woman, Batman and Spiderman. All three of the actors recognized us. We had a bit of a wait for our pizza, so we all went outside for superhero training. The girls participated in some of the activities.

After the training, we went inside for our pizza. After we all ate, we headed out. We dropped her friend off at her house and then Marina and I went home.

Ballet Fairy Tales

A few years ago, Marina and I saw the ballet Coppelia performed by a small ballet company. We’ve wanted to see other shows of theirs but couldn’t schedule them. Today we were looking forward to seeing their Fairy Tale Suite. Marina decided to wear her new Mulan dress with a light wrap.

We arrived at the theater, it was one we hadn’t been to before. We saw lots of little girls in princess outfits, they reminded me so much of Marina when she was little. The show was a short one, but it was cute, combining the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and an Asian Empress.

After the show, there was a small tea party in the lobby. We had snacks and met a few of the dancers. After a bit of a wait we saw the choreographer for the show. He also dances in The Nutcracker that we see every year. We were excited to meet him and he was gracious enough to talk with us for a few minutes. After that conversation we went home.

Painting Hogwarts

Since Marina has been so into Harry Potter, I signed us up for a class at Painting With a Twist for a Hogwarts picture. Marina was excited and wore one of her Hufflepuff outfits. We arrived a bit early and bought drinks. Marina quickly befriended the young woman sitting opposite her.

The painting was more difficult than it appeared. This time it was me that got frustrated. Marina was very supportive and helped me catch up when I fell behind. When she was almost finished, she added the flags of each of the houses to her pictures. She was quite happy with it.

This class started at 8:00 pm, so it was pretty late when we came home.