4.30.19 - April joy statuses

4.27.19 - Pleasant Saturday

This morning Jane asked me "Baby wawa?" which apparently mean she wanted to lie across my lap and have me hold her like a baby. So I cradled her and sang "Hush little baby" and she loved it. Then Clara wanted a turn. Then Jane wanted me to do it twice more. After that I told her no more until she cleaned up all the magnets, so she hurriedly put them all back on the fridge and came back to have me hold her and sing "Hush little baby" again. Very very sweet.

We decided to take the girls for a walk around the complex while it was still nice out, because lately it's been getting pretty hot in the afternoons. The complex pool is technically still not open, which is nice for us because it means no one is swimming in it. We took the girls down there and let them stick their feet in the water. Jane splashed rigorously and I had to take off her shorts because even sitting outside the pool she was getting them soaked. Clara wanted to walk along the "train track" (the lined concrete engraving outlining the pool) so Jack walked around and around with her while Jane and I sat at the edge of the shallow end. Eventually Jane realized her feet could reach the top step and she started very tentatively standing for about 0.5 second at a time. She also insisted on "fixing" her tiny little sunglasses such that she was wearing them upside down, but she seemed fine with it. We didn't stay too long because we will all get sunburned pretty easily, but it was nice while it lasted.

Then this afternoon I drove to Erin's to have a craft day. I chatted with Kale the whole hour trip there, which was really enjoyable and makes the trip seem like nothing at all. We talked about how peer review is not nearly as rigorous as people think. I like talking about anything science-related with Kale as it makes me feel still at least a little bit in the loop.

Erin's was really pleasant too, of course. She made us bruschetta and she worked on her scrapbook from Argentina. I worked on the hundreds of files Henry sent from our amateur maternity shoot last week, picking my favorite screen caps. Even as I write this I'm still not done but it's coming along. We talked about all sorts of things and later split a brownie with strawberries. I was there for probably over 4 hours and the time flew.

On the way home I chatted with Jill and told her about how great Clara's progress has been at school, so that was nice too.

4.25.19 - A good week!

On Monday I went to Berkeley to give my presentation for the public health course. I talked to Reece most of the way there, which made the trip fly by. I thought the presentation itself went very well, with no hostility even during Q&A. Everyone was very amicable.

Afterward I had thai dinner with perhaps 10 members of Berkeley Students for Life, and that was even better. We stayed and talked for nearly three hours about all sorts of things, and it was interesting getting their perspectives and enjoyable being asked mine. It was nice to have sincere conversations about atheism too.

Most of the drive home I talked to Ellen about how the presentation went, which made the trip again fly by.

On Tuesday after we put the kids to bed, Jack and I played online Tichu with Henry and Kale. It was so much fun. Jack and Henry were stomping us for awhile. At one point it was 380 to 820, and then Kale and I won the game within two rounds by grand tichu 1-2 and then tichu 1-2, ending at 1080 to 820. It was amazing. The entire game we had an online chat going where we were joking around, which is great because it's a low maintenance way to get some interaction with them. Really enjoyed it.

On Wednesday Jack went to give platelets as he does periodically and learned his platelet count is now too low and he has to switch giving whole blood like, as he puts it, the "plebs." He jokes, but he actually was kind of bummed he couldn't give the more difficult and possibly useful donations, and while that isn't a joy, it made me proud of him to realize how much he cares about his blood donations. What a sweet man.

I also got a solid day of work in (a rare occurrence lately) and then took the girls so Jack could work an evening shift. The three of us listened to "Friends on the other side" from Princess and the Frog for probably half an hour straight, each time dancing and singing along, each time they got more excited for the crescendo ending. It was a lot of fun.

Today (Thursday), Jack and I had Clara's IEP meeting with the school district, and it was almost uniformly wonderful news. She has already met all but one of her annual goals which were set only last September. Both her teacher (Macie) and school speech therapist (Beth) emphasized how much Clara has excelled and what a pleasure she is to work with. She's going to move up to an inclusion classroom next year, and they believe that will help her make even more progress with socializing and speech because she'll be around peers she can learn from. It sounds like they've built a lot of continuity into the transition, too, because she will have the same speech therapist, she's already met and spent some time with the new teacher, and her current teacher might be in a position where she still sees Clara about 60 minutes per week anyway.

Overall it was great news, and so encouraging. It was good to be reminded of what her goals originally were and see how far she's come already. Her staff seem confident she will be pretty ready for kindergarten in a year. What a relief!

2.28.19 - February joy statuses

2.3.19 - Henry and Kale's (last?) visit

Kale is moving to Boston at the end of this month to start his postdoc at Harvard. It's unlikely he'll be back in California anytime soon, especially since he and his wife will still be long distance and spend more of their time and money traveling to see each other than traveling back to CA. So we planned one last day long Tichu nacho potluck.

They agreed to get here earlier than usual (9 am) so we could fit in Tichu before Jack had to go to work. Jack took the girls to Beth's for a couple hours and I tried a new recipe for gluten free pancakes that are almost pure banana and peanut butter. They turned out really well! Didn't hurt to add chocolate chips.

While I was making them Henry and Kale arrived (Jack was still out picking up a few things). They brought everything for nachos (chips, cheese, ground beef, bacon, guac, sour cream) and some breakfast things (eggs, chai, grapes, small cheeses) and even some dessert (gluten free ice cream cake and cupcakes). There was definitely way more than enough food. We made the pancakes and chai and talked about Jack's nursing exam saga and other things. Not long after Jack got back we played Tichu, and it was a great game. Lots of bombs, broken Tichus, and yelling. At one point Jack broke his own rule by wishing for an ace, and Kale immediately started laughing because he didn't have one. Jack yelled "Nooo!" and then said "I'm glad you're moving!" and everyone laughed pretty hard. Henry did have an ace and it definitely lost them the hand that he had to play it early. Painful.

We finished with about half an hour before Jack would need to leave to pick up the kids, so we played a speed version of the game Jack and Kale basically made up where if you break a Tichu the other team gets your points and one person on each team has to call Tichu every hand. It was an interesting dynamic and it took only three rounds (we were playing only to 500). Kale and I won.

Jack left to get the kids and Kale started making the nachos, and we basically spent the rest of the day just visiting. That's about 1pm to 11:30pm. Jack worked and we saw him on his lunch and again when he got off work, and in between we fed the kids and hung out with them and just talked about everything: politics, of course, and Card's Against Humanity's poll: Pulse of the Nation, family histories and transcending dysfunction, being friends with people who have kids when you don't and vice versa, Scott Pilgrim, and details of Kale's move.

When the girls first got home they were suspicious of Kale. Clara stood outside the front door and said "No Kale!" but she warmed up in a minute. Jane stayed in my lap for the first while and then got over it when there was food. Jane is ambivalent to Henry too, but Clara really likes to see Henry. At one point she noticed Henry wears glasses and she wanted them, so I gave her the kiddie sunglasses and then she handed out sunglasses to Kale and me too, so we were all sitting inside wearing sunglasses while chatting and she was so excited she sat next to Henry on the couch and just stimmed. Everyone thought it was pretty cute.

Way later, as I was getting both of them ready for bed, Clara got back on the couch and cuddled with Henry. She asked me to bring her the "orange blanket" (the Maurader's map blanket) and her cup, and she was very comfortable. I almost didn't want to make her go to bed just so she could stay there, but it was getting kind of late.

Even as we were all getting visibly tired we kept talking, and at 10:40pm Henry said they should leave by 11pm. They still didn't until like 11:30pm, haha.

It was a great visit. Hopefully it wasn't the end of an era (the Tichu nacho potluck era), but even if it was, it was a great era.

7.4.18 - Kale's wedding

First of all, traveling yesterday by myself (read: without children) was ridiculously easy. I love Sacramento airport with its bright spacious setup, self check-in, automatic water bottle fillers, outlets everywhere, etc. It was so easy going through security by myself without a whole slew of baggage. It was even easier hanging out at the gate by myself sitting on my laptop. Time flew. Then our plane arrived - a newer plane and they did dual boarding, so while I had the chance I tried rear boarding and it sure was faster. The new plane also had a setup where the safety card and in flight magazines and all that are in a holder at the top of the chair and the rear seat mesh pocket is totally empty. I like it. I also like that the part of the chair your eyes naturally fall on is just some literature instead of a TV screen (as other airlines have).

Cinnamon cookies shaped like airplanes!

There were 55 free seats on the flight, and I had the row to myself. I put my things underneath the middle seat and enjoyed looking out the window and getting a few things done on my laptop. There's not much I can get done without internet, though, so I went ahead and did something I very rarely do: watched a movie while doing nothing else. I watched Baby Driver, and I really enjoyed it. Kind of over-the-top action but it was filmed like a comic book, sort of, and I liked the cast and the soundtrack a lot.

It was strange landing in STL when I'm not actually visiting there. I met Henry at the gate for our flight to Raleigh and our layover was very nicely short. Then we chatted the entire next flight (about work and politics) and it went by quickly. Grabbed our rental car, started the 2 hour ish drive to Wilmington, but we couldn't get Bluetooth to work with my phone while the car was in motion, so we pulled over to fix it and to grab North Carolina's equivalent of In & Out: Cook Out. I got a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a Reece's Cup milkshake. Henry got similar but vanilla (hates chocolate). Then we got Bluetooth working out and started talking about our music and how neither of us really gets why everyone hates Nickelback. So then we started listening to Nickleback, which was fun.

I slept a good hour of the drive while he listened to my playlist, and not long after I woke up we made it to our Air B&B, which is basically a two bedroom apartment and pretty nice. I video chatted with Jack and the kids briefly and I really wished I could cuddle them, but it was still good to see them. We didn't talk long because Jane was getting angry she couldn't touch the laptop. So I finished that and then Henry showed me his Chromecast and we watched some Firefly and the rest of Baby Driver and chatted about politics more. Finally went to bed looking forward to the second night of uninterrupted sleep I've had since Jane was born.

It was nice having nowhere to have to be in the morning. I slept in as long as I could and eventually Henry and I got up and walked a block or two to a charming albeit incredibly overpriced Farmer’s market. We got grapes, bananas, white bread, cheese spread, and a couple croissants, and then we went back and ate while half watching Firefly and half doing other things. Very leisurely.

Eventually I did lie down for a brief nap before we actually got ready and headed over to the Magnolia House, a large Southern-style house and backyard that Kale & Fitzy had rented for their wedding. They had actually rented it for an entire week and their bridal party arrived days earlier for game nights and other visiting time. 

Anyway, we found parking with zero trouble  and then went around the back to an almost fully shaded yard with a picket fence and stone walkway. There were maybe a half dozen round top tables with red and blue tablecloths (holiday themed), citronella candles, and complimentary sunscreen and bug spray (though I didn’t ultimately really need either). The guests were wearing “garden party” attire which mostly means the women have colorful printed dresses and fancy sunhats and then men might be wearing slacks and ties or simply khaki pants and button up shirts. But it was very colorful and felt like an old fashioned party.

Kale's mom and her friends

We found Kale pretty quickly and he seemed really happy to see us, which was nice. He’s so easy to talk to. We started chatting immediately but soon he had to go mingle with other guests. So Henry and I went to the buffet where they were serving mac and cheese, green beans, po’ boys, fried chicken, peach cobbler, and sweet tea. We found a table and started chatting with Rob, Sarah, and John, all of whom were from Portland and were friends of Fitzy’s. They were easy enough to talk to and we talked a lot about the different styles of weddings we’ve seen and which ideas we thought were the coolest.

Eventually the dual officiators—a close college friend of Fitzy’s and close high school friend of Kale’s—began the ceremony with some sweet and amusing stories of how they met the bride and groom. Fitzy and Kale walked down their aisle, as it were, and two more friends read poems about love and marriage. I know there was one by Neil Gaiman and one by EE Cummings, and both readers did a great job. Kale and Fitzy shared brief vows and exchanged rings, and like that it was done. Very sweet and simple.

Shortly after they unveiled the wedding cake, which Kale had created himself. It was three tiers of chocolate with white icing and red and blue berries for the 4^th of July. It looked great. As people ate cake Fitzy’s dad and Kale’s mom and dad each made a toast, all of which were also brief and sweet. And not long after that people started migrating inside the house for air conditioning and more games.

While the group we had been sitting with played Sorry (which was fun to listen to), Henry and I chatted with other guests about how our parents came up with our names, varying standards for driver’s tests around the country, and other random topics that flowed pretty easily. I really wanted to talk more to Kale, though, but he of course was busy catching up with all sorts of people. Eventually when I walked by him he just said “Hey!” and I came over and we started chatting nonstop, for quite a while actually, and it was great. I love talking to that guy. He introduced me to his high school friend Becca, who works in a book shop in Boston and has her first book being sold starting next year. That was pretty cool. We also caught up a lot about his research and my kids, etc. We would’ve kept talking longer, as we often do, but someone let us know it was already 8pm and people we’re going to start leaving to walk to the riverfront for fireworks.

Henry and I instead drove back to our Air BnB, which was very much in the same direction as the fireworks launch anyway. We walked from there to the riverfront and the others were only just arriving. Despite massive crowds we actually got a pretty good spot, and while we were waiting for it to get dark enough and for the show to start, Kale told Henry and me about his and Fitzy’s preparation for marriage: various books they read and advice they got. It was pretty impressive actually. As an aside Kale’s mom and her friends were there in blue sparkly hats and gave everyone glow stick bracelets, which I thought was awesome.

Anyway the fireworks show was great. It went on for a long time which gave me a chance to kind of zone out and enjoy it. When it was over people cleared out pretty quickly but our group stayed to light sparklers they had brought, and that was fun and nostalgic too.

Afterward Henry and I went back to the Air BnB briefly so I could chat with my kids before they went to bed.

Then we drove back over to Magnolia House to enjoy chocolate mousse and fruit and play some games. Henry played Euker at one table and I joined Kale, Fitzy, Ed, and his gf (whose name I've forgotten) to play Mysterium at another. It's basically like Clue plus Dixit. It involves a lot of art interpretation, and it was pretty fun. 

By the time we finished the game it was near midnight and Henry and I had to get up pretty early to get to the airport in Raleigh on time. So we said our goodbyes and headed out. But it was a wonderful day.

4.10.18 - So much to look forward to!

This weekend Jack and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary (4 years married). He has planned the whole thing. I don't even know what we're going to do, but I know all I have to do is help him get the kids ready and drop them off at Beth's and also dress nice. In fact last weekend I bought a new top just for the occasion. It's super cute--black and lacy with off-the-shoulder sleeves. It's the first time I've bought new non-maternity clothes in probably years, and I'm excited about wearing it. I'm also excited about spending time with Jack and seeing what he decided to plan for us. I'm also excited to not be calorie counting, haha.

Whatever we end up doing, I'm basically already happy about it because I didn't have to figure out any of the logistics or how we're paying for it. Jack charged it all to his own credit card (that I don't see on our joint statements) and worked extra shifts at Nordstrom Rack to pay it off. He also arranged for Beth to take the girls for Saturday into Sunday morning. It's very sweet.

After our mystery anniversary weekend, it's only 5 weeks until Jack's graduation! Don, Merlene, Dad, Jill, Rocket, and Neil will all be in town for it. Jack's pinning ceremony is on a Thursday and his general commencement (cap and gown pics!) is on a Saturday, and we are going for a nice steakhouse dinner (courtesy of Dad) on the Friday. Beth will take the girls again so we can just enjoy the dinner. God bless Beth.

Anyway, of all the things I'm looking forward to, Jack's graduation is probably at the top of the list. It's been quite a saga. I can hardly believe it's almost complete. I am so proud of him for how long and hard he's worked toward this degree, and I'm so looking forward to how our life will change as we enter the first time we've ever been together when neither one of us was in school. I'm sure the years will rush by and I'll barely remember what it was like when he was still in school, but for now that's all we've really known and it's thrilling to think it's almost done. Even before he gets a nursing job, I anticipate a lot of pressure relief as his schedule frees up (and whatever time is not free is because he's bringing in paychecks from Nordstrom). I am very very excited.

Then less than two weeks after Jack's graduation, we are going to Missouri to surprise Mom for her 60th birthday! Julie and Ellen are going to conspire to get Mom to celebrate her birthday the Saturday (June 2) before the actual day (June 6). I'm not sure exactly how that will work, but I keep picturing Mom having a get together at Sugar Creek and Jack, Clara, Jane, and I just walk up the driveway and show up. It's going to be awesome! I laugh every time I think about it.

We are staying in Missouri for nearly three weeks. It will be the first time I go back to Missouri in the summer since 2015, so that's also nice.

About 4 weeks after we return, Henry and I are going to North Carolina for Kale's wedding. Then we leave directly from there to Colorado for what has become the annual Snyder Field Day. I'm looking forward to it this year especially because the Givens are going to joins us, and the Maacks will come in too late for Field Day but in time to visit that Monday. Should be great.

After that trip we get home and then it's another four weeks or so befoer Jack and I go on our honeymoon. When we got married Dad offered to send us on a honeymoon as our wedding gift, but we agreed to wait a few years until after we had kids and make it a more meaningful break/vacation. I'm so glad we did it that way. Don & Merlene are going to fly out to watch the girls, and Jack and I are going to Chicago for a full week. I've already planned out basically everywhere we're going to sight see and eat. I'm so excited. And since we're staying in-country we had enough in our honeymoon budget to buy the tickets for Don & Merlene, so the trip doubles as a chance for them to visit the girls without it costing too much. Of all the things on the list this is my second favorite (after Jack's graduation).

The hope is that Jack will be able to study in between all these trips and sit for the NCLEX right before we go on the honeymoon. If he passes the honeymoon will double as our celebration that he is officially a licensed nurse. If he doesn't, I suppose it will be the most thorough comfort trip ever. Actually I don't know if he will even know the results before we go on the trip, but it would be so cool if it doubled as that celebration. And then when we return he can begin a job hunt in earnest--the next big adventure.

So yeah, it's shaping up to be an incredibly epic year.

2.3.18 - Tichu, nachos, and good talks

Sadly I don't have time to write this entry in as much detail as I'd like, but today Kale, Henry, and Erin came over for a nacho potluck and Tichu. Joys include Kale adding a flippin' ton of bacon and ground beef to the nachos, Erin bringing gluten free chocolate chip cookies, Henry playing "Sleeep...WAKE UP!" with Clara, and Jack getting super psyched when he and Kale came back from a major point deficit and won Tichu (one turn after getting a Grand Tichu).

But beyond all that was the 2 hours or so after Erin left and Clara went to bed when Kale and I talked in detail and earnestness about topics such as whether humans have value and where morality comes from (especially if you're a secularist, as he and I both are). Henry sat quietly and listened the whole time (and told me later he found it interesting and definitely wasn't bored, haha). Kale and I didn't see eye to eye on many things but one of my all time favorite aspects of Kale is how readily he will admit when he's unsure of an assertion or when he thinks I have a point. Debating with him is unlike debating with almost anyone else I know because it's so sincere and no one seems to really be trying to win (okay, maybe I still try a little). Even though we disagreed on a lot--including ideas that are very important to me--at the end of the conversation I felt maybe closer to him than ever, and I felt a deep affection for both him and Henry for being interested in talking through these sorts of topics with me. So above everything else, tonight my joy inventory includes my friendships with those guys.

10.7.17 - Fleet Week party

Jack and I dropped off the girls with Beth at the meet point at 8am and then we headed straight to San Francisco. I was worried traffic would be horrendous getting into the city but we took 101S and it was actually fine. I just love when you come around the bend and can first see the city spread before you and then the Golden Gate looms into view, and on this morning the bay looked very sparkly and the view was as beautiful as ever. Such a gorgeous city.

Julie's pic of Zoey playing in the bay the day before we came down.

Of course the Marina was packed, and it was clear right away that many other cards besides us were looking for parking. Dad told us to stop bothering and pay to park at the local school instead. We had no cash so we headed back toward the house to get money from Dad, and on the way there we saw a woman pulling out of a spot less than half a block form the house! It was a Fleet Week miracle.

Jack and I went with Dad to Safeway to get chips and ice. They were out of ice, but the walk was still nice. Both Bob R and Henry were heading toward us so they picked up ice at more distant grocery stores anyway. We took all the supplies to the roof and visited with the head tenant, Kenny, for a while. I like that guy. Easy to talk to, and a go-to guy.

Jill, Rocket, Julie, Zoey, and Malcolm joined us soon after. Julie left to use our double stroller to take Malcolm for a walk in the hopes he'd take a nap. Zoey stayed on the roof with us and played with the mega blocks/Duplos with Rocket. I kept an eye on her but I hardly needed to. She just played quietly in the shade of one of the roof tables and occasionally asked for water or something. At one point after the ice arrived I opened up the bags and she gleefully dumped them into the coolers. That was fun.

Eventually she was getting sunned out and overstimulated, so we went down to the living room and I found her a huge coloring book still on the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. There were no crayons but there was a highlighter, so she could still do connect-the-dots pages. I think it was somewhere around that time that Julie returned with Malcolm, and we all stayed in the living room for a bit. Malcolm was tired and fussy, and when Julie stepped out to use the restroom he started crying. So I picked him up and cuddled him like I cuddle Clara; it's nice to have a much better sense of what to do with kids now. I asked Zoey if they knew the song "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun." She said their mom sings that to them, so I started singing it to Malcolm. The first verse is:

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please shine down on me!
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Hiding behind the tree!

These little children are asking you

to please come out so we can play with you

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please shine down on me!

Then I made up a second verse fitting of how Fleet Week must feel to chlidren:

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please go behind the clouds!
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

The jets are way too loud!
Please help us to find some peace and quiet

before we have to start a riot.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Please go behind the clouds!

When I started singing this verse Zoey looked at me so suspiciously, as if she wasn't sure I was tricking her or not, haha. Julie just laughed.

Not long after I made my way back to the roof to visit with my friends while Julie stayed with the kiddos downstairs. I basically spent hours on the roof not using enough sunscreen, sipping wine, eating turkey rolls, and talking with Kale about all things political while Henry and Genninlyn listened in and added a point or two here or there. I love talking to Kale about politics. We agree on very little but it's always amicable and we're both relatively ready to admit when we aren't sure about the facts. Kale is great about that. It also seems like he's usually interested in what the conservative view of an issue is, if only as a curiosity because he doesn't hear it much except as caricatures. So I enjoy trying to explain it (when I understand it).

A pause in conversation, watching the air show.

At one point we were talking about Trump, the Robert E Lee statue, and Nazis, when Dad interrupted to have me come talk to one of his clients about our CER videos and teach ins. When I returned I said "So what were we talking about?" Kale: "Uh you were telling us how you love Nazis." That made me laugh pretty hard. I like that he can joke about these things. We talked about NFL and kneeling protests and the Las Vegas shooting and gun rights generally and so on.

Oh yes, and Rachel came too. For some reason she didn't feel like talking about Nazis and guns though.

I did feel a little bad, though, because Julie is never in town and I was spending all my time talking to Kale about politics while she was hanging out with her kids. So Kale, Henry, and I decided to head over to the library playground to hang out with Julie, Jill, Rocket, Zoey, and Malcolm. But even on the walk there we kept talking politics and lingered outside the playground for a while to discuss transgenderism. Then we went inside and said hi to everyone and then watched the kids on the teeter totters while we talked about libertarians and taxes paying for roads. We just couldn't stop!

Finally we really put a halt to it and hung out with everyone at the playground. It was a pretty busy playground day but the kids still were able to run all over the place.

When we got back the party had largely moved downstairs to the living room for pool and lounging. Zoey and Malcolm were starting to seem overwhelmed with all the noise. Julie wanted to play some pool but couldn't get her phone to play videos for them for reasons I can't remember. So Jack, Kale, Henry, and I took the kids back to the sun room (where it was much much quieter) and Jack lent them his laptop to watch Cat in the Hat on Netflix. At first they were fussy when Julie wanted to leave, but I told her to go ahead and if they didn't calm down we could always come and get her. Sure enough, a few minutes after she was gone they settled and just watched Netflix and played with the chess set in the room. It was the second or maybe third time that day I was glad I have kids and have some idea of what I'm doing with kids so that I could be more helpful to Julie. It's hard traveling alone with kids and being the only person on point. Anyway so the rest of us hung out in the sun room and talked about kids and dating and relationships.

Finally it was time to get going. Jack and I packed up whatever gluten free food was leftover, plus a ton of Diet Cokes (the part I was really excited about), and then we drove straight to Folsom to get the girls. I slept part of the way. It's always so nice to see the girls after being away from them all day, and they (especially Clara) are so happy to see us.

8.21.17 - Tichu Day (and solar eclipse)

Today was awesome.

First of all, any day that I take off calorie counting in the middle of a long bet feels like a mini vacation, and that was today.

Second, I enjoy when my newsfeed is filled with statuses about the same topic, especially when that topic is something pleasant like today: the solar eclipse.

And third, the main thing, we had Kale, Doug, and Henry up for a tichu day!

We planned this about a month and a half ago after the WallBQ in the bay area, and I've been looking forward to it. We had a nacho potluck (gluten free) and got in two full games of Tichu, which, if you know anything about Tichu, is kind of a feat. It's a long game.

It's a 4 player game and it was perfect that there were 5 of us (the three guests, Jack, and me) because that leaves Jack and me to rotate and take care of hosting and taking care of Jane (Clara was with Beth). And Jane was extremely cooperative, falling asleep just before the guys arrived, staying asleep for the first full game, and only waking up just seconds after we finished. Then I nursed her, she hung out with us for an hour or so, then she fell asleep in her swing again and is still asleep even as I type this, a few minutes after everyone just left. So Jane was pretty perfect.

So last night and especially this morning Jack and I cleaned pretty much the whole apartment. It usually takes guests for us to get it to this level of clean but it feels so good when we do. We even clean the back rooms even though they are very unlikely to go back there. Jack actually did most of it, so I'm grateful for that.

The solar eclipse was happening just as the guys were arriving and Jack tried several times to look at it, all with painful and slightly funny results.

Also I got Sarah W's Ravenclaw quilt for Jane and it's beautiful.

The guys arrived with fruit juice and cherry Coke and chips and gauc and salsa and sour cream. We already had the rest of the nacho ingredients: chicken, black olives, yellow corn, black beans, bell peppers, and of course a ton of cheddar cheese. Oh and Henry brought some pretty excellent flaky Parmesan too.

Jack sat in a few rounds while I made the nachos and visited from the kitchen (advantage of a small apartment: cross-room conversations aren't much of a feat). Once the nachos were in the oven I took a turn and we switched on and off for a while. Jack and Kale were losing at first and then we turned it around while I was playing, so that was fun. I even got a decent exciting moment on camera (Jack mad Doug made his Tichu), which I usually miss in Tichu games.

We also had time to talk a bit of politics and relationships and other things, and that was pretty nice. At one point Doug said he thought I gave good advice (in a particular story) and I thought that was flattering. And of course it's easy to make all three of those guys laugh, but especially Kale, and I love that. I sipped half cherry Coke half Diet Coke the whole time, and it was delicious.

Overall a relaxing and fun day with friends I don't get to see much but pretty much always enjoy when I do.

7.23.17 - WallBQ

A couple weeks ago Doug changed his FB profile picture to him in front of a big wall, and he said something about how it would make a great wall ball wall. Then Dyl and Jack responded basically saying we should have a WallBQ (wall ball game followed by a barbecue) and bam, it was planned.

So today Jack and I packed up the girls and drove to Berkeley. Jane slept the entire drive, bless her. Clara didn't fall asleep until the very end, but she did a great job just hanging out in the back watching the world go by. I didn't even give her the Kindle for the first hour or so.

It was great to get out of the triple degree weather here and spend a day where the high was 74! Good wall ball and walking around weather.

Sadly, the old wall ball wall is closed. Both entrances to that level of the parking structure were gated and locked.

Long live the wall (pic from spring 2010)

However, everyone adjusted just fine and played against a wall in the parking garage itself. Sunday near campus there were no cars there except our own anyway, and this way everyone was already in the shade, a nice bonus.

Shaded, parking garage wall.

While the wall ball games got underway, Henry, Erin, and I took the girls for a walk in the double stroller. Jane fell asleep, and Clara enjoyed the front seat view of campus. I don't think I've been on Berkeley campus really since I graduated. It was a bit nostalgic.

We stopped in Memorial Glade and Clara explored everywhere, with the very helpful Henry chaperoning her. Meanwhile Erin held the umbrella we brought in place so that Jane could lie in the grass and still be in the shade.

Checking out those polka dots.

Jane chilled like that for the better part of an hour, and we all got a chance to talk a bit more. Clara kept calling Erin "Julie," I guess because they both wear glasses and Clara hasn't spent much time around Julie yet. It was cute. Once Jane started fussing we packed the girls back up and headed back.

Enjoying the grass.

We returned to the parking lot wall in time to watch the final wall ball game, in which Kale beat everyone, of course. It's been years since the last wall ball game and, frankly, most of us have gained weight and moved to a more sedentary lifestyle, but Kale still looks exactly the same.

This is what defeat looks like.

After the game was over we all visited in the parking lot for a while and Kale told us about how he proposed to Fitzy! It was a sweet story about using a board game they love, Twilight Struggle, to sneak a card to her that said "Will you marry me?" They are getting married next July and I fully expect an amazing first dance as they are both very good swing dancers.

Then we all migrated to Doug's for the barbecue potluck. Jack took a long way around so we could drive past some of the places we had most enjoyed when we lived in the East Bay, particularly Zachary's pizza. It was surprisingly nostalgic and I was also surprised at how many different places had memories for us, including some with Neil. Anyway, it was a nice little drive.

This place is in Jack's joy inventory.

Doug's house was charming as ever - more so, actually, because in the years since we've been there he has painted the rooms different cheerful colors and he has a massive bike rack on one wall for 4-5 of his bikes plus several friends' bikes.

When we first got there I was getting frustrated because despite feeding Jane and walking her around, she wouldn't stop fussing and I couldn't really visit with everyone and I felt as if she was probably irritating people. I tried to get her to sleep in one of the back bedrooms as she'd already been awake a couple hours, but she wasn't having it. For a bit, Dylan rocked her and she seemed to chill, but then she got pissy again. Finally I asked Jack to drive her around and try to get her to fall asleep, otherwise we'd need to leave because hanging out with a screaming baby isn't fun for anyone.

So Jack took her for a drive and Henry was very helpful in following Clara around (who wanted to hang out with someone's tiny dog outside), and I did get some time to visit with Kale and Senta and the Odoms. That was pretty nice. I also got a chance to eat some excellent salad and bbq sausage and other potluck delights. I wish I'd taken a picture of that excellent spread in Doug's cheerful sunny kitchen. More pictures! Oh well.

Jack stayed out for a long time, which was generous of him, and when he did get back it was about time to pack up and go anyway. Before we left, Henry, Kale, Doug, and I decided to plan a Tichu visit to our place in August. I hope that happens, I am already looking forward to it.

Jane is ready to leave!

Once we left, at first Jane was pissed off to be in her carseat again but she fell asleep as we hit the highway, and both she and Clara slept the entire way home. Side note: I also appreciate how Jack pretty much always drives unless he is truly exhausted. I dozed a bit myself.

Overall a great day. It's always nice to remember how many friends we do have in the (broad) northern California area.