







Christmas in 2020 was as low-key as it could be. Rather than spend hours cooking, we postponed Christmas dinner to Boxing Day so that we could spend more time playing games and being lazy. Dorinna did a project, though, building a house from charcuterie. Meats, cheeses, crackers, eggs, vegetables, and dips of all kind went into the construction. It tasted great, and didn’t look bad either!
It was the night before COVID Christmas and all through the Ruh home,
Not a device was on, not even a phone.
The children have been nestled in front of virtual school
Which started in March and has now become the rule.
Nate is in middle school, how can this be?
He loves mythology, reading and playing D & D.
In addition to her practice, Dorinna has a new job,
To make sure her son doesn’t turn into a blob.
Socializing was outside six feet apart.
We had distanced activities that included art.
Dorinna had surgery again on her hip.
It’s the gift that keeps giving, so mind you don’t trip!
Speaking of trips, we didn’t take many.
Backpacking was safe, so we did that a-plenty!
Our eyes- how they glazed over from looking at Zoom
And the local fires were like living in doom.
To not get chubby and plump (the COVID weight spike)
Rich traded his commute for some major road bike
Out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
The sound of dice rolling, nothing was the matter
To avoid boredom (and potential disaster)
For Nate and his friends, Rich was a weekly Dungeon Master.
The other pandemic activities that we liked to do:
Pokemon, X Box and drinking cocktails, too.
And laying our finger aside of our nose,
(Don’t touch your face, so find another pose!)
We hear Nate exclaim, on and off of his turf
His word for the year: a resounding “MERF”
Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year!
Not the most eventful month…
Nate and I started the month with a hike up Crozier Mountain with Andrew and Chris. It started nice, but bad weather blew in and it was 34 degrees with a snow/rain mix at the summit.
The big news of the month were the fires that raged in the mountains to the west.
The month ended with a virtual halloween party.
Halloween this year was pretty tamed down from previous years. No trick-or-treating, and no family-themed costume. Dorinna organized an outdoor party, but with cold weather and increased infection counts, we had to modify those plans. The kids all dressed up in costume and met at our house to pick up a bag of goodies. Then they went home and joined a Zoom meeting. Dorinna put together two hours of group games online. She even provided parents with instructions to set up a treasure hunt inside their own houses. While not the same as previous years, everyone had a fun time.
On Labor Day weekend, we did a three-day backpack with our friends the Liprandis.
One way we’ve coped with the pandemic is playing Dungeons & Dragons. We now have a weekly group with 5 kids and one other Dad, plus Rich as dungeon master.
Another way we’ve coped with the pandemic is experimenting with fun cocktails.
Over on the main blog, I told the story about my August 2019 backpacking trip with Nate. This post shows off his budding photography skills.
We went camping with our friends Kelly, Nadine, and Cooper on July 4th weekend, ending the trip with a day hike to Lake Agnes
Rich was sad to offiically shut down his co-working office this month. For the first time in 6 years, he is no longer a bicycle commuter.
Rich’s new home office, combining computers and monitors from home and work
After rewatching Avengers: Endgame, Nate dressed up as “fat Thor”
Backpacking to Brown’s Lake
Relaxing on the front porch with our drink of the summer, the Aperol Spritz.