Storms and Sunshine

May 20, 2019 by Adam in Family

It was a quirky weekend, weather-wise.  We had storms which apparently involved lightning setting a tree on fire in town, along with some pretty sunny days.  Joanna and I managed a couple walks and some gardening, in between staying inside.

No terribly exciting news - the usual pizza and Mythbusters and mom over for Sunday dinner.  Joanna took a bunch of kids to see the new Detective Pikachu movie, a burden she bore relatively well.  Emma and I played some Kerbal Space Program.  She managed to launch a bunch of kerbals into space with her various rockets, including one that safely returned to the surface after a harrowing parachute jump from a descending capsule.  All good fun.

Minecraft - Ten Years Old

May 20, 2019 by Adam in Adam's Games

Back when Minecraft wasa new indie game, we all started playing on a shared family server.  Sam was the old pro at that point, convincing the little kids to help mine and build a massive wall around our settlement.  I built infrastructure such as the railroad.  Joanna grew and cooked food.  We all spent quite a bit of time there.

A couple days ago I gave the old world to Duncan, who made a fly through video.  It was quite nostalgic.

Mocha Friday

May 17, 2019 by Adam in Family

Though it's already at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed my mocha and talked way too much through my morning meetings.  The day has been generally pretty good and it felt good to finally wrap up my kiosk feature.  It's been a productive couple weeks, and I'm hoping next week I can work on some "nice to have" things I've kept putting off.

Other than helping Sam install mom's new washing machine, I think it's a quiet weekend ahead of us.  It's date night tonight, which is always fun.  Looking forward to Sam being around a fair amount this weekend.

The Week Is Moving Along

May 16, 2019 by Adam in Family

It's been a relatively uneventful week, which is nice for a change.  Dad came over for dinner on Monday, his back seeming much improved.  Joanna taught a class Tuesday night.  Last night Ben had a friend over and they watched Star Trek before and after dinner.  I saw Sam in passing briefly.  Had tea with mom yesterday.  Emma comes over tonight.  Tomorrow night is date night.

Work continues to be fun, though as our sprint wraps up I'm trying to get my features to a place where I can call them done.  I'm doing an unattended kiosk thing - yesterday I made the navigation slide away and back as you pause/play the kiosk control thingie.  It's a fun little nerd thing, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Mother's Day

May 13, 2019 by Adam in Family

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.  It was a generally good weekend, pleasant and productive.  I picked up Emma Friday night, who survived her very long AP test.  Saturday I made everyone dutch babies and we headed to Down to Earth and a thrift store to load up on Mother Day's supplies.  Emma and I went shopping to both give Joanna a break and get supplies for Emma making a picinic for her mom.  The evening wrapped up with pizza and Mythbusters Junior, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

As for Mother's Day itself, I made crepes, whip cream, bacon, sausages, and assorted fruit for everyone.  There's a running joke where I made Joanna crepes, strawberries, and whip cream once and she said she'd love me forever.  I periodically renew just in case forever isn't quite as long as I thought it was.

I visited mom and dropped off a couple Ursula LeGuin books, returning with fresh cut roses for Joanna and Jamie. I helped Joanna prune our garden a bit, and swept up so we could eat on the patio.  Jamie returned from the beach, picked up Emma, and after a brief respite I visited Yayoe with a new plant and card for a birthday/mother's day combo.  Joanna and Ben watched the first Star Trek movie.  Mom came over for dinner.  I urgently requested that Duncan and Ben create a card for Joanna, and Duncan and Joanna went for a long walk.

Lots of work today, but it was all very satisfying and I feel strangely cheerful having managed to pull off another Mother's Day.

Too Darn Hot

May 11, 2019 by Adam in Family

It's barely May and I spent this afternoon taking down the air conditioner from my shed's loft and getting it installed.  I suspect we'll have more cool days ahead, but it was so hot this afternoon that it was distracting.

We're all muddling along this week.  Emma took her AP test, which went on far longer than expected.  It's also midterms, and grades arrived this afternoon.  I suspect we'll need to express expectations a little more clearly in some cases.  I love them all.

Sam's been digitizing old reel-to-reel tapes.  Apparently there's one of me at age ten or so, putting on my own radio show.  I'm excited to hear the end result.

I was overly cheerful this morning, likely mocha related.  I spent some time improving our installer - it's hard to believe how big a hassle it used to be versus what it looks like now.  I have a bit more polish I'd like to apply, but things are coming along nicely.

Other than Mother's Day, I think this weekend looks somewhat low-key.  A pizza and Mythbusters Saturday sounds like just what I need.

Another Beautiful Day in Paradise

May 08, 2019 by Adam in Family

It's been beautiful all week, sunny weather with flowers blooming all around.  No real exciting news.  Dad came over late on Monday to eat dinner and chat about Teslas.  Joanna taught a class last night, with me leading Duncan through his nightly vision therapy.

I did manage to book a place at Black Butte Ranch towards the end of June.  It'll be the last vacation before Sam and Skye head out on their adventure.  Hopefully we can make some memories before getting everyone together becomes more challenging.

Cinque de Mayo

May 06, 2019 by Adam in Family

We had family dinner tonight, serving a Yumm bowl like dinner of beans and rice and vegetables, with two types of pie and ice cream for dessert.  Everyone was there - John, Yayoe, mom, dad, Jenny, Jordan, Sam, and Skye.  We spreak out to the patio for those who could brave the allergens in the air.  Dad talked about his Tesla, giving John a ride back home.  Jenny and Jordan hung out afterwards to play Beat Saber.  It was a good time.

It was generally a good weekend.  Friday had Avengers, which was great, followed by a date night with Joanna, which was also great.  Saturday I picked up Emma and she drove me back.  We studied AP US History, as her test is this Friday.  Somewhere in there we managed to go to 16 Tons for coffee and games, along with playing a bunch of the new Humble Monthly games.

Meme Friday

May 03, 2019 by Adam in Family

Emma and Duncan are laughing at the breakfast table, watching April's Meme Review.  Duncan is trying to explain to Emma what the hippest memes are.  Ah, the joys of parenting in the modern age.

It's been a generally good week.  Joanna's had something going on every night, so it'll be a treat to do our date night tonight.  Emma and I cooked dinner last night for everyone, with Sam as a surprise guest.  The three of us played various video games while Ben went to a movie at Roosevelt and Joanna led Duncan through vision therapy.  There's no school today, so there was a Friday night vibe going on last night.

Life is generally going well, despite my various worries.  It's hard to be sad when both the cherry and dogwood trees are blooming, showering the yard in pink snow.

Midweek Update

May 01, 2019 by Adam in Family

The week is moving along at a steady clip, with beautiful weather and blooming flowers.  The bat hasn't returned, though Joanna and I are still fretting over the cost of repairing the chimney and getting more quotes.

Duncan's French grade wasn't quite up to par, so I helped him with his essay last night.  I think it's mostly an issue of enthusiasm rather than ability.  The end result was pretty good after investing an hour or so.  Since Joanna was out last night teaching her grief recovery class, he and I did vision therapy too.  Rolling marbles and popping bubbles seems fun the first few times, though I suspect it gets a little old after the twentieth time.

Work's been a little frantic.  I've been reviewing the work of a coworker who left and it looks like I've got a fair amount of work to get things up to par.  I've been sitting in on installs and it turns out that they all have issues and quirks.  Hopefully I can invest some time to improve that process soon.

Hopefully I can have tea with mom today.  We're thinking about seeing the new Avengers movie on Friday.  Life keeps moving along.