Recovery

October 16, 2019 by Adam in Family

Joanna continues to improve, dutifully taking pain meds around the clock and taking it easy.  I managed to walk her around the block yesterday afternoon, however slowly.  The kids have been stuck with my assistance with vision therapy and other aspects of the daily routine.  Ben decided to make some clay and polymer sweets for Joanna as a little present, which ended up looking really good.

The other big news is that Emma got her braces yesterday.  Jamie took her in and apparently things went relatively well.  We'll have to stock up on special toothbrushes, dental wax, and all the other things she'll need.

Waiting Room Time

October 14, 2019 by Adam in Family

Joanna's in surgery, getting her procedure done.  Her status is showing up on a little web application I built long ago.  I was talking to my old coworker Summer last week and my name still shows up in examples on various web applications.  It's funny how my work still lingers.  They had another round of layoffs at PeaceHealth last week, so I think Summer is the last of the web team still at PeaceHealth.

The weekend was relatively low-key.  Emma was at the beach until Sunday afternoon.  Friday night was just Ben and Joanna and I, so we played Lovers In a Dangerous Space Time.  We had a great time fighting aliens and rescuing our bunny friends, restoring love to the universe.  Ben was excessively positive, telling us we were doing great whenever we died horribly and had to restart.  Saturday night we watched Adam Ruins Everything and ate pizza.

I chatted with Sam - he and Skye bought a car together.  He gave me some Bloodborne advice, which I've been playing quite a bit.  It was nice to touch base for a little while.  The weather in Austin has apparently grown chilly and he's had to start wearing pants.

Joanna's in relatively good spirits, getting a nice email from her dad.  We went on a long hike along Ridgeline trail, looking at the changing colors of the trees and chatting about life.  

I'm trying to keep busy while she's in surgery.  I brought my laptop and there's plenty of work to keep me occupied.

Mocha Friday

October 11, 2019 by Adam in Family

It's been a relatively quiet week.  The kids only had school through Wednesday, so they mostly hung out yesterday.  I took Emma to get her spacers in preparation for braces, running into Ana while we were there.  It was amusing watching the staff try to figure out the relation.  Emma's not really happy about getting braces, but she's being a trooper about it.

Duncan managed to avoid putting on pants yesterday, though today he's hanging out with friends and going on a sleepover.  Ben hung out with Morgan when Joanna and I went on a date this Tuesday.  Kids are generally getting homework done and being well behaved.

Joanna's getting ready for her procedure this Monday, seeing clients while she can and making lists of things for me to do when she's recovering.  Next week will likely be pretty quiet, just hanging out at home.

Fall Weekend

October 07, 2019 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come and gone, a low-key affair with not much going on.  We continued preparations for the rainy season - putting up the storm door and taking down the hammock.  Joanna started a new puzzle.  Emma and I finished watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Duncan recorded videos playing video games while talking loudly.  Ben continued their people-with-fish-head art project.  Leia meowed loudly.

Emma and I did a short walk around to look at the fall leaves.  Mom and dad came over for dinner and chatted.  The kids have a short week at school with the last two days off.  Joanna and I have a date night tomorrow night, going to Footwise for foot rubs, chocolate, and tea.  I can tell I'm getting old when such things seem lovely.

Mocha Friday

October 04, 2019 by Adam in Family

I'm working away, trying to clean things up before our upcoming release.  Lots to do and lots of little issues to fix.

Emma's been around the last few days, so I've been spending my nights cooking dinner, helping with homework, and playing quirky video games.  Last night Emma and I played a game called Manual Samuel where we each controlled an aspect of a person - Emma controlled one leg and breathing out, I controlled the other leg and inhaling.  Needless to say, trying to accomplish anything useful was incredibly annoying and sometimes deeply amusing.

The other big Emma news is that it sounds like she's getting braces, which she wasn't super happy about.  It's one of those things where they'll need it to get her impacted adult tooth in place and want to get things lined up a little better while they're doing that.  She's slowly reaching acceptance, I hope.

Sam mentioned he might have a job soon.  The chimney work is done.  Ben and Duncan continue to do okay at school.  Joanna's seeing clients and getting work done.  We're hoping to do a family dinner this Sunday, which would be nice too.  Excited to have some down time over the weekend.

Heading Into Fall

October 02, 2019 by Adam in Family

The chimney repair crew arrived yesterday at the crack of dawn and they've been working away replacing bricks, fixing the mortar, and generally sealing things up.  The bats will have to find new housing next year, though I think Joanna wants to put up a bat box so they're not entirely homeless.

The weekend came and went pretty quickly, though it was pretty nice all around.  I managed to get some preparations for fall ready, such as putting away the patio umbrella and putting my office air conditioner in the little loft.  The dreary days are ahead of us, though we've had a bit of blue sky between the rain.

My favorite part was getting all the kids together to play Jackbox games, even Sam from far away Austin.  He fixed his Internet so it doesn't drop every fifteen minutes or so, and we got a glimpse at his little house.  It sounds like he might have a job soon, though I haven't heard the details.

Emma's around a little more than usual this week as Jamie's on a trip.  I'm taking her to the orthodontist shortly in hopes of fixing her reluctant last adult tooth.

As for me, I've been working away this week.  I had a good chat with a coworker and sorted out some differences.  We're mostly fixing bugs and getting ready for an upcoming release.

Mocha Friday

September 27, 2019 by Adam in Family

I'm slowly finishing my mocha after an early, if successful morning.  I was up at the crack of dawn to cook breakfast for kids and go to a 7 a.m. meeting to solve a client problem.  Fortunately my hunch was correct and we solved the problems a couple minutes before spotting the difference between the broken and functioning server.  It was nice being able to chat with kids before they headed off to school.

Though I've got a few more meetings today, I'm hoping I can hunker down and write some code, and maybe sneak in a walk with Joanna.  Duncan showed me his video he made with After Effects in school, short but a cool Minecraft/real world mashup.  Ben talked about the Taming of the Shrew play they're doing in drama.  I quizzed Emma on her retoric vocabulary.  It feels good to be home among all my people.

Back Home

September 27, 2019 by Adam in Family

I was off in Salt Lake City, returning after dinner to a welcoming family.  The trip was okay - visiting old friends was nice, my headaches and dry sinuses were annoying but not horrible, though we did have a little work drama that hopefully will blow over.  We headed to the mountains as a team building thing, up at 11,000 feet, which was kinda fun.

It's good to be home.

Second Summer

September 22, 2019 by Adam in Family

As is traditional for Oregon, the rain let up and the mid 70's weather returned.  Joanna and I went down to Saturday market to stock up on veggies and then continued to Down to Earth to get some fava beans and garlic to plant for the winter.  We'd picked up a garden bed cover from the neighbor's yard sale, so hopefully we can keep one of the beds warm over the winter.

The week has been mostly uneventful.  Work has been fine, my report feature finally finished.  I had dinner with dad and tea with mom.  Emma's homework continues.  I called Sam and we chatted about games and his continued search for work.  Joanna and I had a nice date night at Cornbread Cafe and a walk in the park.  I helped Duncan set up a Terraria server to play with his friends and chatted with Ben about their various craft projects.

I've been playing a fair bit of Bloodborne, which teaches humility and patience, as well as when to run full tilt past all the monsters hoping to get to a safe place.  There are many life lessons in that game.

I'm off to Salt Lake City in a couple days, staying a little longer than usual.  I'm going armed with electrolytes and nasal spray, which hopefully help with my usual headaches and sinus pressure.  The high altitude often gets to me.

Quiet Rainy Weekend

September 16, 2019 by Adam in Family

The weekend was pretty low-key.  Duncan and Ben played Minecraft way too much, occasionally pryed away by Joanna.  Ben did some craft projects out of mysterious substances like shaving cream and glue.  I didn't ask too many questions.

Joanna and I worked on puzzles and went for a walk to the store in the middle of the downpour.  She'd gotten some boots from Victoria across the street, which were very cute and sturdy.  I think Joanna enjoyed reliving moments from her past, stomping in puddles with her Wellies.

Emma and I watched more Avatar and played the occasional video game.  I finished the last Uncharted game on the PS4, which was satisfying, and moved on to Bloodborne, which is exceptionally difficult.

The kids head out to school momentarily and I've got reporting to wrap up at work.  Hopefully I can finish it and move on to bugs or something similarly quick and pallet cleansing.