While things are starting to open up slowly, sheltering in place is still the default mode for many of us. I’ve noticed that quarantining seems to be separating Lake Oswegans and all Americans into two categories: the creatives and the creative-nots.

Take my neighbor, for instance. Well into month 2 of Covid-19 quarantine, he found a way to entertain his teenage daughter by letting her dye his hair purple. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade! Somehow social distancing will always bring a smile to her face.

In our own household, we are fortunate enough to be quarantining with our Zumba instructor daughter so every morning at 8:00 a.m., the three of us turn our living room into a dance studio and torch calories to the tunes of J Lo, Taylor Swift and Shakira.

Neighbors are taking happy hour into the streets, parking themselves in front of their yards and catching up with each other from a safe distance away.

And my wife, who is a Peet’s Coffee snob, was running low on her supply so actually bought a jar of Nescafe instant coffee to try a new whipped coffee drink called Dalgona that started in Korea and is sweeping the internet. She made a video to share with her friends with the final result being, “We have a winner” with one caveat: add less sugar, unless you normally like sweet coffee drinks.

The Lake Oswego library has gotten very creative in ways to keep patrons plugged into the services they offer. Since my kids were always “Where’s Waldo” fans, I was particularly impressed with their Wednesday Waldo sightings. Each week Waldo hides out in a different place around town and on Wednesdays, the library posts a picture of his hangout.

Neighbors are posting teddy bears in their windows to be spotted by little ones out on a “bear hunt” with their parents.

Others are taking chalk art to a new level with mosaic chalk art projects. Armed with painter’s tape and sidewalk chalk, artists young and old are brightening our streets and brightening our days.

People are getting creative with birthday cakes too–from Lysol swipes shaped cakes to fake ones shaped out of toilet paper rolls complete with candles!

Lake Oswego firefighters surprised several Lake Oswego kids on their birthdays by paying a drive-by visit complete with fire engines and a street sweeper.

A young Lake Oswego baseball player and fellow Giants fan has retrofitted his garage into a spring training gym, completing all the workouts sent in by his coaches so he is ready to hit the field when conditions lift.

Some are getting back to basics using good old-fashioned sidewalk chalk to set up for a game of hopscotch.

My wife and a few of her friends try to meet every couple of weeks in a random parking lot where they back up their SUV’s in a circle, pop open their trunks, pull out beach chairs and enjoy face-to-face visits from six to ten feet away.

One mom turned her garage into “Club Quarantine” for her son’s 21^st birthday. His dad (aka the bouncer) checked his ID at the door, his mom (aka the bartender) served up shots and his sister (aka the waitress) joined him in dancing.

And I have set out on a journey to read the Bible from cover to cover. At ten pages a day, I figure to be done by the middle of September.

If you’ve heard of other creative ways folks are quarantining, let us know. Leave a comment below!