Driving Around The Parking Log

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.

Axe Throwing

July 31, 2018 by Adam in Family

Today we talked about software development and threw axes around.

Play ball

July 31, 2018 by Adam in Family

Made it to Salt Lake City. Ate burgers with coworkers. Now at a ball game. We'll work eventually.

Off Again

July 30, 2018 by Adam in Family

I'm boarding a plane to Salt Lake City in a couple hours.  We'll be getting the team together to chat about how things are going, plan for the future, and do some social axe throwing.  I gave my teammates $1 each of Motivosity money, along with the message that I was worth more to them alive.

I was deathly ill from Saturday night through Monday morning, full of vomiting and headaches.  I'm mostly functional today, though maybe running a little slow.  Joanna and Emma were great at taking care of me.  I finally ate some dinner after not eating much all day and it was the best tofu and carrots I'd ever eaten.

I continue to fret about Sam, though it sounds like there's not much that has to happen right away.  We moved the van into the driveway to get it off the street.  Sam was over for dinner Saturday night and has otherwise been working for mom or staying over at Skye's house.

Dad wanted Emma to work today, so I dropped her off at the office this morning.  She's been really enjoying joining the working world, making noises about getting a driver's permit next.  I think she doesn't like sitting around all summer doing nothing, so work feels meaningful.  She even made a comment about looking forward to school again.

Joanna's been great these last couple weeks.  She's had a ton of energy lately, working away in the gardens and accomplishing various house projects.  She leaves for a writer's conference right around when I come back.  Hopefully I see her a little before she goes.  I'm missing her already.

We haven't heard much from Duncan and Benny.  I think their camps all went well and they're doing okay.

Time to start packing up and getting ready to go.  My weird eye bump returned after sleeping in a smoky cabin and hiking dusty trails, so Tim Arbow sent me off with a bunch of prescriptions to fill.  It looks like an allergic reaction and nothing too serious.  It still adds a stop at RiteAid before I head to the airport.

See you all in a few days!