Building fences

May 31, 2022 by Adam in Family

Our fence has been in a rough state for awhile now, sagging and coming apart from the posts.  Joanna picked up a fence post months ago, but it finally fell over and turned into something we couldn't ignore.  After much swearing and brute forcing, the fence is upright again.  The final step was to seal myself on the other side and say farewell to Joanna.

Joanna's farm stand continues to earn praise from the neighbors, with produce vanishing at a steady pace. Emma and I tried to go for a walk at the South Meadows, but mother nature had other ideas and we returned soaked. My long-awaited D&D session starts again next weekend, which I'm busy prepping for. I might need more handouts and another side quest or two.

The Final Stretch

May 25, 2022 by Adam in Family

Joanna set out the farm stand they built out in the driveway today.  It's very pretty - hopefully it catches they eye of passers by.  We also went out to dinner and music last night.  It was a questionable reggae band at the Springfield Public House, but they were enthusiastic and Joanna got to eat some meat so I think it was a success.

I stepped out to have coffee with Seraph this morning.  It was great to catch up and chat about our lives.  I'm returning to 16 Tons later this afternoon to visit with mom, so I'll be well caffeinated by the end of the day.

Emma's birthday is coming up shortly.  I've got presents to wrap and a cake to pick up.  Busy, busy!

Lovely, Sunny Weekend

May 23, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was a good weekend.

Joanna was feeling pretty good.  I was slightly under the weather Saturday morning, but nothing that a mocha and Advil couldn't fix.  Emma went off to the coast for a class trip and had a great time despite some scrapes and bruises from clamboring down to the tide pools.  We managed a tremendous amount of projects around the house and yard.  Joanna's farm stand is approaching done.  I started repairing the broken fence post, digging out rotten wood from inside the concrete base.  I mowed the lawn and swept the patio, followed by edge trimming work by Joanna.  Things are feeling tidy and ready for outside activities as the weather improves.

I was especially proud of helping Joanna with a broken wheelbarrow, one that they got their mom way back in the teen years.  The wheel had gone flat, but bolts were rusted and the axle was improvised from a threaded steel rod.  We didn't have enough plastic spacers, so I excitedly offered to make some.  Soon enough I was breaking out the calipers and designed a simple cylinder-with-a-hole that I printed out.  After a first failure that needed more tolerance, the rest worked like a charm.

Mocha Friday

May 20, 2022 by Adam in Family

I think today's the last day of Joanna's bachelor pad in the basement.  We watched a t.v. show together last night for the first time in a long while.  Here's hoping life returns a little bit more to normal soon.

It's been a week of long meetings with the bigger overall team at work.  It was fine, I suppose, though I spent most of it feeling kinda cruddy and drinking mochas.  Now it's back to looking for interesting data to test with.  The Bureau of Labor and Statistics is my latest fun place to poke around.  Now to make some pretty graphs.

Emma has a field trip Saturday.  Hopefully I'll finish up Elden Ring relatively soon - other games clamor for attention.  I'm also waiting for more filament to appear.  I'm going through my old spools trying to get one or two more prints from whatever's left.  I did make a really cool frog merchant that I really enjoyed painting.  What a weird, fun hobby I've fallen into.

Masque of the Red Death

May 17, 2022 by Adam in Family

I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache. Joanna's reporting feeling really achy. I've taken some Advil and will have a medicinal mocha in a little. Still waiting on Joanna's COVID test results.

I've got three days off so day meetings at work. We'll see if I sneak away for a nap or two.

Roommates

May 16, 2022 by Adam in Family

Joanna just came up from the basement to put food on a tray before descending downstairs again.  It's like we have this roommate we all try to avoid that mostly keeps to themselves downstairs.  Joanna went to get a COVID test this morning.  The rapid test was negative.  The PCR test should be back in a day or two.  Maybe our family will be together again soon.

I had a generally good weekend otherwise.  On Friday Emma surprised me by showing off her smile with her braces off.  While there were a few minor things they still wanted to do, Emma put her foot down as all the major things were just fine.  We otherwise hung out, played games, and went for a walk around Delta Ponds.

I played more Elden Ring, painted miniatures, and kept the constant cycle of feeding children and doing dishes going over the last few days.  I really had fun painting the turtle bard - still need to figure out how to work it into the campaign.

Work's been a little frantic - discovering bugs and getting ready for the next release.  We have three days of team meetings online.  Long meetings make me cranky, but hopefully it's not too bad.

Brush with COVID

May 13, 2022 by Adam in Family

One of Joanna's friends tested positive for COVID right after they visited them, so Joanna's been wearing a mask and generally keeping their distance in the basement.  It's pretty annoying, but we're muddling through - it was a fairly brief visit, so it's likely that everything is fine.

I also had an insanely busy day yesterday between appointments and work meetings.  I had an amazing visit to the Springfield DMV where I efficiently and cheerfully got my new driver's license with the star finally sorted out.  I also had a generally positive visit with my doctor about some lab results - my triglycerides were high, but between my healthy lifestyle and arterial calcium scan we decided to hold off on medication.  One of my most fun meetings was with a woman my old friend Darin is mentoring, talking about the life of a developer and how great it is.

I started a gratitude journal this week.  So far it's getting quirky things like "how pretty the dogwood tree is" and "having multiple kitties sit on my lap."  I guess that's something, though.

Moving into Springtime

May 11, 2022 by Adam in Family

It's been a busy last few days, with Mother's Day being full of visits and activity.  It started with a breakfast of crepes, strawberries, and whip cream for Joanna, along with a heap of presents - half of which were mushroom related.  Next up was seeing my mom, which included a long phone call with Sadie.  Yayoe was next, with a chat with her and seeing John before his procedure, which seems to have gone well.  Finally I returned home and sent a little message to Ana.  While it was a fair bit of work, it was nice to see everyone and catch up.

I'm generally feeling better than I did at the end of last week and my spirits have improved quite a bit.  I've been visiting with my counselor, setting up follow-up doctor appointments, and even managed to snag an appointment at the DMV tomorrow.  I even started a gratitude journal yesterday, the first item of which was the dogwood tree blooming in the front yard.  I know it only lasts a few weeks, but it's amazing looking for today.

Joanna's halfway build their farm stand.  I finished 3d printing my second boat - now I have to stain and paint it.  I keep puttering away at Elden Ring, slowly getting towards the end.  Joanna gave me a tour of the garden and all the things we have growing, which always makes me happy.  Emma's pondering a change in major from Biology to Environmental Studies.  Duncan has earned nearly $300 in ad revenue for his YouTube channel.  Life is strange and interesting.

Worn out Mocha Friday

May 06, 2022 by Adam in Family

I had a rough day yesterday, a headache that appeared a couple hours into work and got to the point where I just wanted to lay down and not do anything.  I spent most of the day tossing and turning in bed with horrible sinus pain.  Fortunately I fell into blissful sleep and woke up around four feeling much better.  I worked for a bit, helped Joanna move the improved raspberry bed they made into position, cooked dinner, but otherwise took it easy for the rest of the day.  I'm mostly better today, though feeling a little jetlagged.  Hopefully my impending mocha will perk me up.

I got to hang out with both mom and dad this week.  I think both their lives are a little busy of late, so it was nice to hang out and chat.  I'm also still riding high on my weekend D&D session, getting excited about printing a new boat for some fun ship-to-ship battles.  I'm also loving spring - the dogwood tree is blooming bright coral colors outside the dining room even as the cherry tree fades.

Mother's Day is this weekend and I have a fair amount to run around and prepare for.  I weirdly look forward to sitting around with everyone, painting miniatures and hopefully watching a little Star Trek.

Springtime Weekend

May 02, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was a good weekend - hanging out with friends and playing D&D, going to the library, eating pizza and watching anime with kids, and planting starts and seeds with Joanna and Ben.  The kids all seem to be doing okay - Duncan had a friend over and was talking about YouTube and video editing.  Emma got ready for a presentation in her thesis class.  Emma and Ben talked about genetics and evolution at the Sunday breakfast table, which warmed my heart.

Most of all I enjoyed planting seeds with Joanna.  It seems an activity full of hope, that warm days and gentle rains will come and delicious nurturing food will spring forth from soil and air.