Weekend of Activities

July 31, 2023 by Adam in Family

It was a good weekend, full of fun activities.  With her permit in hand, Emma decided she wanted to practice driving.  We headed up to the LCC parking lot and drove around - she did great and I didn't have to provide much guidance.  Sunday was the D&D friend group, which seemed to go well.  We've got a long stretch before either of our D&D groups meet, but fortunately Baldur's Gate 3 comes out to satisfy our D&D itch.  There was also a fair amount of time spent getting the little free library ready.  Next up is a roof and putting it out, though we may need some extra support as it's so heavy.

Mocha Friday

July 28, 2023 by Adam in Family

I can't quite figure out what happened to this week - it seems to have vanished in a cloud of errands, watering the garden, and the usual cooking dinner and winding down after work.  I did finish the last Expanse audiobook, which was quite satisfying after years of working through the series.  I also did some prep for the friend D&D session coming up, the last module in a long campaign that started early last year.  At work we finally have a solid version of our application that's going out to clients next week, something that's taken eight long months to do.

As for other news, Emma braved the DMV to get her driver's permit.  Jo's cough lingers - hopefully that improves soon.  Ben's teacher was impressed by his aquaponics science experiment and I've enjoyed the radish greens he's been growing.  Duncan managed to get his Minecraft video application submitted as an application to a competition.  Now he's working on a new project.

I think this weekend I'll take Emma back to the LCC parking lot to drive around and hopefully remember those skills again.

Weekend Gatherings

July 24, 2023 by Adam in Family

It was a generally good weekend, hanging out with Emma, working on projects, and getting together with much of the family for a combined mom and I birthday.  Emma went to a memorial service for Jim on Saturday, so I was mostly left to my own devices.  It was Jo's half birthday and they had a sinus infection, so I ended up making bananna muffins for a goodie, building a side table from a flat pack that was on their wish list, and driving around town moving around paper prescriptions and turning them into good drugs.  Though the muffin and furniture were appreciated, I think the antibiotics ended up being the best half-birthday gift.

Sunday morning had Ben and Jo going to church after breakfast, so Emma and I did a mix of playing around with Eldritch Foundry, creating custom miniatures to print along with continuing the little free library project that I think was started a year and a half ago at this point.  The miniature projects were highly entertaining - Emma painted some great new characters and I made a couple fire elementals using transparent filament and some clearance tea lights from my earlier Hirons' trip.  The little free library is looking great too - the door is mounted with the plexiglass screwed and clamped on.  All that's left is a roof and putting it on the post.

As for work, I'm hoping Friday's fix works as expected and we can roll it out to real clients today.  It's been going on for weeks and is the last of the big conversion issues that has been giving us trouble.

Adulting

July 21, 2023 by Adam in Duncan

Duncan's been adulting lately, quite literally as of yesterday, though even more before then.  Jo and I went off for a vacation, leaving him alone with cats and enough frozen burritos to survive a couple nights.  All went well and seems promising for the days to come.

His birthday was a pretty low-key affair, cake and gaming online with friends.  It was the kind of thing he wanted, plus he's getting over his second bout of COVID, extremely mild like the time before.

Mocha Friday

July 21, 2023 by Adam in Family

I'm back at work, trying to remember how to do all the things.  I also had a birthday in there, which was cool - the cake was delicious and hanging out on the patio opening presents and chatting with folks was fun. We also had a Duncan birthday, so I've officially brought 75% of my children to adulthood.  Having people in the house be able to generally feed themselves and mostly do laundry is a game changer.

I also moved up the miniature cabinet I've been working on the last few weeks.  While I can always find issues with different parts of the design, I'm generally happy with how it turned out and it certainly serves the function of storing miniatures.  I do find I still have a huge number of big miniatures that don't fit in the drawers, so I've been tucking them away in giant plastic bins here and there.

The weekend rolls around soon.  Emma's going to Jim's memorial service tomorrow.  My mom and I have a shared birthday shindig at Jenny's on Sunday.  I'll try to catch up on chores and home repair somewhere in there.

Columbia River Hangout

July 18, 2023 by Adam in Family

We're heading out of our little cabin soon, having enjoyed our stay in Stevenson Washington on the Columbia Gorge. We drove up Sunday, getting into town around dinner time, and settled into our new, if quirky, cabin. The river is cool and we had a long walk through the fairgrounds and off to a bay that rises and lowers based on electricity needs of the dam. The forest across the river is still recovering from the fires of 2017, but it's all beautiful in a way.

Soon we'll cross the Bridge of the Gods back to Oregon, have a little hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, and fetch Ben from the airport. He's been back to see Kevin in New York, having a good time and exploring the world. 

Tomorrow it's back to work and my birthday. I'm thankful Buzz Aldrin always has a little celebration for the moon landing and my birthday. It's a good way to double check how old I am.

Physically Distant D&D

July 16, 2023 by Adam in Family

We all seem to generally be doing okay or getting better, COVIDly speaking.  Duncan just has a mild sore throat.  Jo's improving.  I seem fine still.

We managed to play D&D yesterday, outside on the patio at the request of the players.  I swept the patio, put up shade cloth, and set up tables and technology outside.  It generally went really well, though I'd occasionally lose the mouse cursor in the bright light.  It was great to see the family group, especially since we'll be on hiatus for a month as Francis is in Germany.

Emma only stayed for the game, in between going to the beach and helping her mom at her house.  I puttered around the house otherwise, working on my weird piece of furniture, painting miniatures, watering the garden and listening to my audiobook.

Today Jo and I are off on a small vacation, picking Ben up from the airport on the way home.  I hear he's having a good time on the trip, helping out and feeling increasingly grown up.

It looks like Duncan has been trained how to cook a frozen pizza and he's good with microwaving frozen burritos, so it looks like we're doing two nights away for the first getaway in a long while.  We'll probably just hang out and take it easy for a couple days, but I'll take my adventures when I can.

Blah Mocha Friday

July 14, 2023 by Adam in Family

I personally feel physically okay, though the uncertainties of life are getting me down.  I'll take another COVID test here in a little and then try and figure out if Emma's coming over or D&D is happening tomorrow.  Mostly I worry about Francis and their trip.  If I knew whether or not I had COVID for the last D&D session it would make this decision easier, but I sadly never got a positive test there.

The household is disrupted, with Jo sleeping in the basement (thanks CDC guidelines) and I ate alone on the patio last night.  I've been having fun painting miniatures and listening to The Expanse audiobooks, and slowly gluing over flaws in the cabinet I'm working on.  It might be ready for final assembly soon.

Work is nutty and frustrating, challenging technical issues and feeling like everyone assumes I'm going to just fix things.  I probably can, but it may involve doing naughty things to diagnose and fix the issue.

Jo and I may or may not go on a trip this Sunday up to the gorge.  I guess it depends on test results, how everyone is feeling, and if anyone wants to feed the cats in a house with a kid with COVID.

I Hate COVID Math

July 13, 2023 by Adam in Family

I keep testing negative for COVID, but Duncan just tested positive.  I'll test myself again tomorrow and figure out whether or not we should do D&D or have Emma come over.

Love in the Time of Covid

July 09, 2023 by Adam in Family

Yes, this post's title is a cheeky riff on Love in the Time of Cholera, which I vaguely remember reading in high school.  Mostly I'm referencing the fact that Jo tested positive today after coming down with cold symptoms while in Florida with Duncan.  Jo feels lousy but are doing their best to take it easy.  It seems likely that I had COVID last weekend when I had my "cold".  I had a couple days of Advil, mochas, and taking it easy, but felt week enough to do D&D for the family and generally take care of things.  My test was negative at the time but now I suspect otherwise.

I had a much better weekend, which wasn't hard to do.  It was back-to-back D&D days and hanging out with Emma at other times.  We'd take walks, fiddle in the garden, go to the library, and watch silly YouTube channels.  Little did I know what strange and terrible thing Monster Factory was.  Strange cats visited us as we watered plants.  We also worked on the lower piece of the cabinet for my D&D books and miniatures.  Getting it all glued together properly has been tricky and I wish we had more clamps, but I think it will work well enough.  Hopefully no one looks too closely when it's done.

As for the D&D games, they went really well and I got to break out all sorts of fun miniatures.  Releasing the kraken was a personal favorite moment for me.

Oh, and I also just finished a big boy book - 400 pages and everything.  Sure it had video games as a major theme, but Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was named after a Shakespeare line so it must have been literature.

Tomorrow it's back to work - my enthusiasm is low at the moment but I imagine it will pick up once I start making things.  That's my favorite part.

Last Weekend of Vacation

July 08, 2023 by Adam in Family

I've been surprisingly busy this theoretical week off work.  Tuesday I took Jo, Duncan, and Ben to Portland for their plane rides.  There were delays, but it worked out okay and I made it home the evening of the fourth.  I noticed the tire was flat, so I spent a chunk of time the next day getting on a spare and taking it to Les Schwab's to remove the screw and fix the tire.  I've been moving along various projects - D&D, booking flights to Chicago, and doing some carpentry to make a miniature holder thingie.  It's all been coming together, though everything takes longer than planned. 

Plus there's the usual house maintenance - watering plants, cleaning up, feeding cats, grocery shopping, and the like.  I have managed to play the occasional video game and am nearly done reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.  Plus I've been listening to an Expanse book, which made assembling the flatpack end table for Ben's room much more enjoyable.

I've been connecting to everyone a surprising amount - nice to know how many people like me still.  Jo's in Tampa with a cold.  Sadie's at the beach with Simon.  Jenny's enjoying her new pool deck.  Mom cut some flowers from her garden for me as a belated Father's Day present.  It's nice to hear everyone's doing okay.

I've got two days of D&D ahead of me, excited to see what mischief the players get up to this time.  Then it's back to work, which I'm hoping hasn't caught on fire while I was away.

Sniffly Monday

July 03, 2023 by Adam in Family

I've had a cold the last few days that ebbs and flows in severity.  Mostly it's just annoying and I'll get tired.  Not COVID according to the test I took the other day, but it's still lame on the first day of vacation.

I'm taking Emma to Seraph's this morning for her pseudo-landscape architecture internship.  It'll be nice to see what they've been doing and say hello along the way.  Tomorrow Jo, Duncan, and Ben head to Portland so I imagine there's some preparation needed.  Tomorrow I'll be driving them to the airport and then my days of freedom will begin.

It was a generally good weekend despite the sniffles.  D&D with family was really fun, despite Robbie's comments about attuning his magical staff.  Somehow they avoided the most deadly of traps, though they've only just begun.  Sunday was "arts and crafts" day according to Emma.  She finished painting the front of the new little free library, which I think has been a year in the making.  I cut out felt for my new miniature drawers and glued a couple of them together.  A 3d printed drill guide and drill stop made it go quickly and line up the holes really well.  The hardest part was cutting down the dowels which had to be much shorter as the drill depth was so small.  I'm excited to work on it this week.