Mocha Friday

August 31, 2018 by Adam in Family

I've had a touch of a headache the last couple days, so my mocha was semi-medicinal this morning.  I feel better than last night, so hopefully I'm on the mend.

It's been a quiet week.  Joanna's been working, Duncan and Benny have been on their computers, and Sam's been working away for my mom.  I've been making a scatter plot all week, finally getting things to the point where they're ready for review.  Emma's out crabbing at the coast, returning this weekend sometime.  Sam's been mostly around as Skye is on various trips.  

I finished playing Life is Strange; Before the Storm, which left me feeling funny inside for a few days.  I think it's the type of catharsis that's felt by angsty teens instead of greeks in togas.

Joanna continues to coordinate various house improvement efforts - bathroom fans and light switches.  

Joanna and I had a nice date night, leaving the kids at home without a babysitter for the first time.  They all survived.

I suspect our Labor Day weekend will be pretty quiet.  It'll be nice to see Emma after her trip to the coast.  Hopefully this annoying headache will improve.

Passport Photo

August 29, 2018 by Adam in Family

Sam's been in a weird holding pattern since he ran into the side of True Value in his new van.  The insurance company has yet to get back to him, so he's not sure if he'll be completely broke after settling.  In the meantime, he's been working away for mom and hanging out with Skye and his friends.

Last night I took him down to FedEx Office to get a well formatted picture so I can get him a new passport.  The woman there took a look at Sam and sadly declared that white shirts aren't allowed.  Sam looked at me and said, "Change shirts?"  That's how we ended up in the bathroom, laughing and switching shirts.  He'd worked all day out in the hot sun and dust, so it was pretty rank.  As soon as the photo was over, we quickly switched back.

I carry the kids' passport pictures around in my wallet, and I was showing Sam the difference in the last five years.  "Harrier and happier," Sam declared.  I think that's okay.

Back In Town

August 27, 2018 by Adam in Family

Friday was pretty quiet, with Emma going to her mom's house for the day while I worked.  Emma returned for a night of hanging out and Twilight Zone.  She was feeling under the weather for most of the weekend, so we didn't do anything too exciting.

Saturday morning I made pancakes and sausages, followed by mowing the lawn.  Emma was itching to play another Hidden Object game, so I took pity on her sickly self and bought her one that looked good.  While she played her game, I played Before the Storm, which is good and angsty fun.  Eventually I dragged her out of bed and we walked around Hendrick's Park for awhile.  Sam was home for pizza and more Twilight Zone that night.

Sunday morning I made breakfast for the three of us.  Joanna made it to Portland the night before and drove into town early afternoon.  Sam visited friends and Emma went to her mom's.  Joanna and I chatted and unpacked, with the kids excited to be reunited with their computers.  I fed the kids lunch and got their top three summer experiences. Both had good camp experiences and liked driving go carts around.  

The evening wound down with the kids getting shuffled to bed and Joanna collapsing with exhaustion.  Everyone is still asleep.  I'll need to head out to the shed and work on my scatter plot today.

Running Around

August 23, 2018 by Adam in Family

Despite Joanna and the younger kids being away, it's been a pretty busy week.

Monday night Emma, Sam, dad, and I had dinner together.  Emma cooked the salmon while Sam and I made tofu and roasted vegetables.  Dad talked about the PIPBoy3000 he's planning on making for me on his 3D printer.  I'm going to be super nerdy and probably have to go to cons or something.

Tuesday Sam was home.  When I got off work I sealed the grout in the shower while he regailed me with his guitar.  Afterwards he had a desire for falafel, so we made some and added some lettuce and tomatoes from our garden.  Quite tasty.

Last night Sam was around again.  After burritos and some video game playing, we went to see Sorry to Bother You, which is a fine anti-capitalist movie.

Emma comes over this afternoon.  Tomorrow morning we get her registered for school and return with a class schedule.  Saturday she'll probably want to drive more.  It's been a treat to hang out with her lately.

Joanna and the kids return to Portland late Saturday and get into town on Sunday.  She's been hanging out with Benny quite a bit and really enjoying their adventures together.  I've missed everyone, so it'll be nice when they're home.

Monday Again

August 20, 2018 by Adam in Family

Joanna headed off to Rochester early Saturday morning.  The flight went well and the only hiccup is that she only booked a room for two nights instead of three.  I'm sure something will be figured out.  The plan is that she returns with Duncan and Benny next Sunday afternoon, breaking the trip in half with an overnight stop in Portland.

It's mostly been a dad and Emma weekend, which she's very much appreciated.  Emma and I went to the library, I gave her driving lessons both days, we binge watched Disenchanted and made art projects, went school shopping, and bought some school clothes at Target.  At the end of the weekend she said "You made my dreams come true!"

I've also been working on house projects over the weekend.  Saturday I prepped the ceiling of Duncan's room for painting, sanding the drywall patch we took down to check for bathtub leaks.  Sunday morning I rolled out of bed and painted, which continued off and on until the evening.  This morning I started cleaning up and hopefully I can put the room back together in a day or two, then move on to tub repair.  Ah, the joys of home ownership.

Emma's off to work this morning.  At my work we're doing sprint planning, so new and exciting tasks will be coming my way.  I'm trying hard to get my code reviewed and moved into our dev branch.  Modern software development is never boring.

Driving Around The Parking Lot

August 18, 2018 by Adam in Emma

Emma passed her driver's permit last week and we finally got out to the LCC parking lot to practice.  Pretty soon she was driving along, spending an hour and a half turning left and right and learning which pedal did what.  She was careful and attentive and did really well.

I think her comment on the way home was something like "It's just like a racing game except instead of the thrill of speed you have a terrible dread of crashing into something."

Mocha Friday

August 17, 2018 by Adam in Family

I escorted another bat out of the house this morning.  Joanna and I were watching Battlestar Galactica while a bat tried to scrape its way past the tape around the fireplace.  Apparently it made it through this morning.

Joanna's been working away this week, trying to finish up house projects before she leaves for Rochester tomorrow.  We spent our date night shopping at Home Depot, returning with a new Dremel and assorted supplies.  The upstairs tub seems to be properly sealed now, but Joanna's moved on to the main floor shower.  Removing grout is grueling work, but she finished it up last night and hopes to regrout today.

Emma came over yesterday afternoon, showing off her new driver's permit.  It'll likely just be the two of us over the weekend.  The plan is to do art and watch a Miyazaki movie, shop for school supplies, visit the library, and give Emma a first driving lesson.

Work's been pretty challenging lately - finding and fixing bugs like a maniac.  I think my big security feature is done, so I'll probably spend my morning running final tests before asking coworkers to take a look.

Batman

August 15, 2018 by Adam in Family

We've had bats in our house again.  They snuck down through the chimney, we think.  Joanna finally got so fed up that someone is coming to help, though apparently we can't take any action until they migrate away in September.  We had a really shrieky one yesterday.  After encouraging them to leave the fireplace, they ended up in the curtains which I took outside.  They were gone by morning.

All else is generally well.  Joanna continues working away at house projects.  The tub seems to not be leaking anymore.  Sam's been working away in the heat for my mom, returning with blisters and worn out.  Emma worked away for my dad - I think that's been a good experience for her.  My work is going well - I'm itching to wrap up a neat feature I've been working on.

Joanna leaves this weekend to fetch Duncan and Benny.  It'll be nice to return to normalcy after the chaotic summer schedule. 

Monday Again

August 14, 2018 by Adam in Family

It was a generally good weekend, with a touch of house maintenance thrown in for good measure.  Joanna's frenzy of activity continued with removing grout and resealing the upstairs tub in hopes of stopping the leaking.  The main floor shower is leaking too.  Fortunately they guy we brought in to take a look thinks that the wood is fine and we just need to reseal things carefully, so that's a plus.

We hauled yard debris to get recycled and took a trip to Oregon Art Supply.  Joanna got paint for her rocks she's been hiding on walks.  I bought some book making material.  Emma used her new debit card for the first time and bought a blank drawing book.

Sunday night we had the first family dinner for a few months.  Bob and John came along too, which was nice.  They both look a little weary - getting old is a drag.  It was fun chatting with everyone.  Jamie and Jenny and Jordan came along too, with Jamie bringing pickled preserves and home made pita bread.  Sam ate well and then went over to visit with Skye.

Today Emma worked away, excited to get more money into her new checking account.  My dad came over for dinner and talked about everything from politics to 3D printing.  Apparently he was looking for an excuse to making a working PIPBoy3000 and I enthusiastically said I wanted one.  Should be cool.

Mocha Friday

August 10, 2018 by Adam in Family

The week has moved along, with everyone generally doing okay.  Joanna continues her house project frenzy - lots of front yard pruning and trimming and generally tidying up.  Some of the inside projects have finished up, such as refinishing the tub and fixing some of the door latches, but we've got a long list to go.  I think Joanna is trying to accomplish as much as she can manage before heading to Rochester in a little over a week.

Bob's back in town and continues to settle in.  Sam's spending his days working away in the heat at the 4th Street house.  Emma's going in for her driver's permit today.  We chatted with Duncan and Benny on the phone for awhile yesterday, which was nice.

Work is going well - I've finished up my big feature and am finding new work for myself.  I'm in a weird video game lull, instead spending my time reading.  How very old school of me.

Rollin' Down the River

August 05, 2018 by Adam in Family

Joanna continues her writer's conference today, returning home for dinner.  I've been missing her between our two trips - it's like I'm fond of her or something.

Emma and I drove out past Florence to go to the Siltcoos River.  This is the third trip for me and the second for Emma.  We threw the kayaks in and started paddling down towards the ocean.  It was beautiful weather, warm and sunny.  We entertained ourselves by finding various animals - birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fish.  Sadly the only mammals were humans, which were out in number.  We only went a little ways past the dam as the tide was out and the water was low, but we returned home tuckered out and cheerful.

That night we made pizza, along with some for Sam who snuck in a little later before going to Skye's house to watch her cats.  Emma and I watched Captain America and puttered around for the rest of the night.

Now we're full of pancakes and ready to go to the library.  I mowed the lawn and replaced the photos in my kitchen tablet-turned-picture-frame.  It's the first on my list of weird house projects.

Mocha Friday

August 03, 2018 by Adam in Family

It's the end of a busy couple weeks.  Joanna is off to a writer's conference in Portland.  Emma came over after lunch with Yayoe and we had a quiet dinner and evening to ourselves.  Soon I'll be making myself a mocha and trying to get some work done.

The rest of the face-to-face meeting in Salt Lake City went well.  The highlight was traveling home with Dorian, who suggested we spend our dinner money in the Delta lounge.  It was fairly magical, and we ran into who we think was Foreigner, the rock band from back in the day.