One Hundred and Thirteen Degrees

June 25, 2021 by Adam in Family

By this time on Sunday the flames of the heat dome should be lapping at our door.  The temperature forecast keeps fluctuating, but I've seen it up to 113 degrees, which is the hottest I've ever heard of in our typically mild valley.  Jamie and Emma escaped for the coast.  We've been checking with friends and family to make sure they'll be okay.  I think our house is generally going to be okay, though the heat pump may struggle with such high temperatures.  The basement is generally pretty cool, so we may retreat there.

There's always a new disaster, looming on the horizon.

Midweek Roadtrip

June 23, 2021 by Adam in Family

I'm taking Ben to a doctor appointment in Portland, so it's a long road trip for me today.  Fortunately I picked up a good audiobook to entertain me.  I also finished Project Hail Mary last night, which was completely engrossing and a wonderful read.  I also spent a frustratingly long time trying to fix a network cable I'd strung into Ben's room.  I eventually gave up and ordered a new one after crimping on new ends a couple times.

The week continues to be hot, but we're muddling through.  Joanna's doing a great job organizing the house and trying to get things ready before next week.  The garden continues to be incredibly productive, with lots of greens and berries coming in daily.  Work continues to settle down and shift into new things to work on.

It's nice to have everything be okay for a change.

Back from our Anniversary

June 22, 2021 by Adam in Family

Joanna and I had a lovely time at the Campbell House for our anniversary.  We strolled around the 5th street area, eating at Cafe Yumm and the ice cream place, all the while watching people from the Olympic track tryouts and ordinary Eugenians wander about.  Waking up and drinking coffee under the little gazebo was a high point.  Chatting without the pressure to go do something useful was indulgent.

The rest of the weekend was great in other ways.  Saturday was a nice hang-out-with-kids day, with enough practical things that I didn't feel too lazy.  Sunday was Father's Day, congregating with the family at Jenny's house.  I ended up with a lot of loot, including the Project Hail Mary book which I can't put down.

We've also started the first week of summer, with Ben and Duncan into their summer routine.  I need to take Ben up to Portland tomorrow for a doctor visit - hopefully I can find a good book on tape.

It's also started to become really hot, with the upcoming weekend promising to be a hundred degrees.  It looks to be a hot, dry summer and it looks like wild fires may be in our future as well.  On to the next catastrophe, I suppose.

Graduation Mocha Friday

June 18, 2021 by Adam in Family

All our kids have officially made it through middle school.  Ben walked past the front of the school to get his diploma in front of cheering teachers.  Afterwards we immediately used our Prince Puckler's ice cream gift certificate.

All the kids have moved into summer mode.  Ben's been playing with his robot.  Emma goes for long walks with her mom and fiddles with the garden and art projects.  Duncan's been making videos with After Effects and playing Genshin Impact.  Joanna's been organizing the house and trying to get gravel spread around at the farm.

Work continues to settle down, especially as we have a release coming up early next week.  Chris, our QA person is going to another team.  He's becoming a junior programmer, which is a good opportunity for him, though he will be missed.

Robot

June 17, 2021 by Adam in Ben

We got a robot for Ben's summer learning experience.  It theoretically comes with one-on-one remote classes, but so far he's figured out how to drive it around the house with a tablet to terrorize the cats.  This morning we woke up to find this note on the dining room table.

Balcony Sanctuary

June 16, 2021 by Adam in Adam's Projects

Joanna's been working hard on turning our balcony into a cozy little spot to hang out.  I've helped a bit - hauling dirt, attaching hardware, and holding umbrella pulls to be cut shorter.  The end result is phenominal.  Today I snuck out and just sat under the shade, warming my legs in the sun.  It was lovely.

Moving Into Summer

June 16, 2021 by Adam in Family

I was talking to my counselor the other day and was amazed to report that things were generally okay.  The kids seem relatively well, work was bumpy but I think things are sorted out, and the summer, while having things we need to sort out, seemed generally enjoyable.  Joanna and I get to have an anniversary getaway and maybe even a vacation later in the summer.  The whole family will be fully vaccinated this Wednesday.  Oregon is on the brink of opening up again.  I'm a little nervous about being so optimistic.

House Project Weekend

June 14, 2021 by Adam in Family

It was a pleasant, rainy weekend, full of house projects and hanging out with kids.  Joanna coordinated the gravel drop-off at the farm, hoping to get the cabin put in place one of these days.  They're still really delayed, but hopefully it'll happy before the end of summer.

I ran ethernet cable to Ben's room, which is always harder than I think it'll be.  It's funny adding more layers to the outside of the house, going over phone lines and tv cable.  Who knows what'll be strung up outside the house in a few more decades.

The back balcony now has a side awning, plants rearranged, and I held the umbrella pole while Joanna cut it a foot shorter with the sawsall.  That tool is a thing of beauty to watch in action.  It makes me want to go around sawsing all the things.

Done With Highschool

June 14, 2021 by Adam in Emma

Emma's done with high school.  She turns in her laptop today and even though she's not attending any of the graduation ceremonies, I made her put on her cap and gown and pose for a photoshoot.

I regularly tell Emma how proud I am of how she made it through high school, especially during a pandemic.  She's already doing all her college prep activities, looking through classes, and generally being responsible.  It's cool to watch it in action. 

Mocha Friday Farewells

June 11, 2021 by Adam in Family

We had a going away celebration for Nick yesterday, and learned later that day that our project manager Keith was being sent to another team.  There may be more changes, so we're all holding our breath and waiting for news.  My calendar is weirdly quiet today.  I'll probably do some training and look for more bugs.

Joanna and I also hope to have a little anniversary getaway to the Campbell House thanks to Seraph offering to keep an eye on the household.  Joanna and I haven't gotten away for ages, so it's a rare treat.  There's a possibility of a summer vacation too if the stars align just right.

I suspect we'll have a relatively quiet weekend with the kids, the last weekend of spring.  I do look forward to the lazy summer days with slightly fewer responsibilities.

Mid-Week Update

June 10, 2021 by Adam in Family

I'm feeling calmer after a somewhat stressful week.  I had a good chat with the person who wanted to hire me to do security work and explained my stress levels weren't up for it at the moment.  It feels like the right decision and now I'm just waiting to see how our team changes.  Today is the last day for Nick, who will be missed.

Emma's off with Jamie at the Oregon Gardens today.  I took Duncan and Ben for their last COVID shot last night at the Churchill cafeteria.  Taking kids to get vaccinated has been one of those things that give me satisfaction as a parent.  Lane County's risk keeps dropping - with a few more vaccinations most restrictions will be lifted.

Joanna continues to consolidate houses after taking everything back from Portland - flowers adorn every nook and cranny, making everything cheery.  They took a brief trip to the farm to survey the ever-postponed cabin, but most petted the chickens.

School is nearly over for Ben, and Emma's effectively done.  Summer plans are slowly coming together, with emphasis on slowly.

Monday

June 07, 2021 by Adam in Family

Duncan and Joanna packed up their Portland house, returning home with a U-Haul trailer full of all the things they'd purchased to make their stay in the rental more comfortable.  We haven't quite put everything away, and our garage is feeling cluttered again, but we managed to make a pretty good sized dent in our storage this weekend.

I managed some good hang out time with kids, helped mom move a table, had dad over for dinner, and did the usual cooking, laundry, cleaning to keep everyone fed and in clean clothes.  Joanna did a great job unpacking and updating the garden with all the plants from the Portland house.  Emma figured out how to send transcripts to the U of O.  Life seems full of endless little tasks.

I fretted a bit about job stuff, though I suspect I'll end up staying the course in the role I'm in.  More stress for the same amount of pay doesn't seem too keen of a deal.  But I want to go through the process and talk to everyone to get more information.

Mocha Friday Opportunities

June 04, 2021 by Adam in Family

Opportunities can be stressful.

Out of the blue one of our main security people reached out to offer me a job.  They hadn't had any applications, and it's a pretty good fit for me.  On the other hand, I love doing what I do now and I had a pretty lousy experience working security back in my PeaceHealth days.  I've been wrestling with it all day yesterday and last night - I'll go talk it over and see if it's something I'd enjoy.  It's also a weird time for our team with downsizing people and everyone seems to be applying for other positions.  The good news is that no matter what I'll still be working from my backyard garden shed.

The rest of the week is going along relatively well.  Joanna and Duncan are settling into their new routine at home.  Assorted flatpack furniture has been arriving at a steady pace - I put together a new bench for the front porch.  The garden is producing an amazing amount of food and flowers.  School is wrapping up - just a few more weeks to go.

Duncan and Joanna are off to Portland tonight with a trailer, returning with the last things from their rental.  I'm hoping I can cajole Ben to doing his math homework this weekend.  It'll be nice as always to see Emma.  I look forward to a little downtime and hopefully not worrying about career choices quite so much.

Summer Planning

June 02, 2021 by Adam in Family

I scheduled Duncan and Ben for their last COVID shot next week.  Ben in particular is excited to see his friend in San Francisco that he chats with virtually on a regular basis.  That's set up in a little over a month, followed by Ben starting a cool sounding Engineering Design class for a few weeks.  Joanna's working on finding Duncan an internship with someone doing video editing.  Later in the summer the hope is that Duncan and Ben are up for visiting their dad, in which case Joanna and I may get our first real vacation in what seems like forever.

Various house and garden projects have started up now that Joanna's back.  The Subaru has a trailer hitch.  A bunch of ready-to-assemble furniture arrived for the balcony and front porch.  Ben's hoping to paint his room and has some furniture to assemble.  We'll see how far we get in the next week or two.

It's date night tonight, so good food and company are in my future.