Gaming with Friends

March 28, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was a good weekend.

Saturday morning started with a hearty breakfast of waffles, followed by Joanna and I doing some hedge trimming and mowing the lawn.  The weather was amazing and I reveled in wearing shorts and a t-shirt again.  In the afternoon Emma and I ran some errands and picked up supplies for Sunday's gaming session.  We found some small mechanical pencils to fit into each player's dice and mini boxes, sanding off the dumb Office Max logo with some iron wool.

Sunday was game day, so after breakfast I quickly threw together all the technology and made sure it worked, followed by Emma, Cory, Marty, and Jason sitting down for our first full gaming session.  It went really well, with the players taking an unexpected path through the house and confronting the villians more quickly than I'd planned.  Jason's bard was amusing with disguise and deception.  The swashbuckler performed some feats of acrobatics.  The fighter and paladin saved the day more than once.  It was all good fun.

Now it's back to work for me and the start of a new term for Emma.  It's not as ideal of a schedule as last term, but now that Calculus is over the workload should hopefully be easier.

Mocha Friday

March 25, 2022 by Adam in Family

I'm back in my shed, finished going through the deluge of emails that appeared in my absence.  We just finished a big release and Jonathan is in training all week, so I'm in a funny lull before I bit into a significant project again.  I suspect it won't last long.

Yesterday's x-ray went well - I felt like a supermodel being stuck in weird poses and told to hold my breath.  Joanna and I planted the new plum tree in the afternoon.  I glued the magnets and new felt into the D&D mini and dice boxes.  I've got the last mini halfway painted.  The Texas crowd requested more miniatures, so the printer is humming away cheerfully again.  I've got my own gaming session this Sunday - hopefully it all goes well.

Home Sweet Home

March 24, 2022 by Adam in Family

We bid our farewells to the Texas crew and headed back home late in the day. Despite a tight connection in Seattle, we made it to Eugene around midnight and mom drive us home.

I woke up late and groggy but managed to put together waffles for the family and headed to the farm with Joanna to move our old pear tree to a hopefully better spot. The new trailer did what it was supposed to. The jerk chicken did not. Still, we got the pear tree in the ground and well watered.

Now I'm waiting to get an x-ray for my shoulder, the first step before an MRI and orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully the end result is that my shoulder works mostly okay again.

Adventures Continue

March 22, 2022 by Adam in Family

We went to another park yesterday, followed by hanging out, hiding from tornadoes, and a fun D&D session. The park was interesting - dry creek beds with fossils strewn about. It was next to a science center so we visited with the raptors in their outdoor cages. After wearing ourselves out, we went home and played some games until we started getting tornado warnings.

Apparently this isn't a thing that happens all the time here, and a few tornadoes hit the ground, but fortunately not too close by. Eventually the warning ended, friends showed up, and we played a fun adventure with 20th level characters until bedtime.

Park Hikes and Boardgames

March 20, 2022 by Adam in Family

More hikes, this time at an old ranch filled with the occasional odd art exhibit that someone made for fun. There was the Nest, the Fort, and the Throne, not to mention the Robot that greeted us at the end. The trail was littered with fossilized snail shells to add to the mystique.

Eventually we returned for lunch and boardgames and more hanging out.

Hanging Out in Austin

March 19, 2022 by Adam in Family

King of the Hill is playing in the background - Emma's idea for a culturally appropriate show. We made it into town pretty late, got to the rental, and picked up groceries with our local guide at the HEB. Then it was a quick dinner and crashing out exhausted.

We slowly woke up and headed out to a local park, the oldest kid pointing out where he'd cut down a tree or made a trail. It's strange being in a completely different climate with unexpected foliage. The peacocks and turtles were cute though. Next was picking up BBQ for the meat eaters, back to the Airbnb and playing Carcassonne. It's been a nice trip so far.

Mocha Seattle Friday

March 18, 2022 by Adam in Family

I just finished me Friday mocha and decided to do a quick post as Jamie and Emma find a water fountain. The trip up was good - I mostly slept and listened to rain sounds on my headphones. We board for Austin in an hour and a half. So far so good.

Getting ready for the adventure!

March 17, 2022 by Adam in Family

I've got a fair bit of getting ready today for the trip tomorrow at crazy o'clock in the morning.  Plus I have a doctor's appointment to look at my shoulder along with various other things.  I've also been printing out minis for my D&D group and finishing up the dice and mini boxes I'm making for them.  They're mostly coming along as expected, though the glue soaked through the felt a little and requires some fiddling.

Ben and Duncan are out of school for Saint Patrick's Day.  I'd forgotten until during this morning's call Corinne's kids marched up wearing green and funny little hats to give her a kiss before boarding the bus.  Fortunately our meetings are all via webcam so no one can pinch me for not wearing green.

Pi Day

March 15, 2022 by Adam in Family

Yesterday was Pi Day, so Joanna made us circular food for dinner - quiche and pumpkin pie for dessert.  Both were delicious and I quietly gave thanks to all those math nerds that turned Pi Day into a thing.

Life's generally going well.  My counselor congratulated me on doing all the things I'm supposed to be doing.  I even setup an appointment for someone to take a closer look at my shoulder, which still annoys me.   The trip to Austin is coming up fast and I think all the necessary arrangements have been made.  It'll be nice to wear t-shirts and shorts again.

My 3D printing projects are coming along nicely.  I've got three stained dice and miniature boxes for my D&D group.  The stain was a little darker than expected, but I'm generally happy with the way things turned out.  I need to do some campaign prep on the trip so I'm ready for the next session.

Weekend Before Finals

March 11, 2022 by Adam in Family

Emma has finals next week in Biology and Calculus before we hop on a plane to Austin at the end of the week.  Joanna's got a trip with Duncan to see his friend in Tampa, so we're starting to move around the world again.  We're getting ready for a release at work, so I've been finding and fixing bugs.  We finally figured out the frustrating issue I was struggling with last week - incompatable library versions.  Such is the life of a professional software developer.

My wood-based PLA arrived so I continue cranking out dice holders for my D&D group.  Still waiting on one of the symbols, then I can finish things up.  Ben printed out a bunch of small body parts for an articulated humanoid figure.  It's fun watching the kids make things.

I continue to have fun playing Elden Ring.  Joanna brought me gold stars for my work calendar when I meditate in the morning.  Counseling is going well.  It feels like we're on the cusp of spring and sunny days once again.  Time to stop and finish my mocha.

Moving Along

March 09, 2022 by Adam in Family

The week is moving along, relatively uneventfully.  I'm trying hard to get back to more interesting things to do at work after slogging through bugs for days.  Not quite free yet.  My D&D group started sending in symbols they'd like embossed in the dice and mini boxes I'm making for them.  Cory gets a Blackbeard symbol and with my new spool of wood filament, the printing has started again.  I've been enjoying playing Elden Ring, which I feel like I've at least started to not suck at playing.  At least I defeated the first boss.

Game Day

March 05, 2022 by Adam in Family

Had a great time playing D&D with Emma, Marty, Jason and Corey. The battlemap and screen setup worked well. Emma almost got eaten by a shark. It was great.

Joanna's been chopping off weird parts of a trailer they got last week. Duncan went to a birthday party of a good friend. Ben watched the South robotics competition - they sadly lost in the semifinals. Soon I need to summon the energy to make dinner.