You remind your youngest child repeatedly "don't spill your cup of milk". Over and over -- it's a dad thing -- continue reciting the admonition even after it clearly has sunken in and he in fact does not spill his milk.
And then your older child inadvertently clobbers the cup of milk.
sigh.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
30something
The dear wife had her birthday two weekends ago -- the last of the calendar year in our family.
The day started well with Carson's last tee-ball game. Val works Saturdays but does try to get to one game per kid sport season, and the combination of her last chance, her birthday, and that she'd been working very hard (and late, and on off days) over the previous two weeks granted perfect alignment for taking a morning off.
The game went well, trophies were handed out at our GattiTown pizza party, and she took her leave to put in a half-day at the office. The kids and I returned home and baked a cake; easy enough. Then we made the traditional buttercream frosting; also easy. Divvied the frosting into four bowls because, of course, food coloring comes in four colors -- blue, green, red, and yellow. We mixed up four small batches of each. I then carefully spread it on, taking care not to get cake crumbs swept up as with cakes past. The cake turned out pretty good, roughly quartered with different colors. And not a spoon nor spatula went unlicked.
Val arrived home and, even more than usual, was rushed by the kids. They had not only to welcome her, but show her the cake AND help her find the scattered presents. With two eager, young assistants (who knew where every gift was lurking), this took but moments.
The haul: a pound of organic coffee, a bar of hand-crafted soap (also coffee; better than it sounds), hand-drawn cards from the kids, a jar of caramel corn-and-sunflower-seeds (a bit disappointing; not bad, but not great), a bottle of wine (wrapped in ribbon, which is a lot more difficult than I'd expected), a bar of white chocolate, a DVD movie (Chocolat), and maybe one or two other small things I've forgotten. The kids helped unwrap everything, like always.
And then we ate cake. Well... some of us ate cake. Smaller people ate frosting by the fingerful. The cake was soon plowed into rows and ready for planting. Oh dear; well, the purpose was served. Another fine birthday celebration.
The day started well with Carson's last tee-ball game. Val works Saturdays but does try to get to one game per kid sport season, and the combination of her last chance, her birthday, and that she'd been working very hard (and late, and on off days) over the previous two weeks granted perfect alignment for taking a morning off.
The game went well, trophies were handed out at our GattiTown pizza party, and she took her leave to put in a half-day at the office. The kids and I returned home and baked a cake; easy enough. Then we made the traditional buttercream frosting; also easy. Divvied the frosting into four bowls because, of course, food coloring comes in four colors -- blue, green, red, and yellow. We mixed up four small batches of each. I then carefully spread it on, taking care not to get cake crumbs swept up as with cakes past. The cake turned out pretty good, roughly quartered with different colors. And not a spoon nor spatula went unlicked.
Val arrived home and, even more than usual, was rushed by the kids. They had not only to welcome her, but show her the cake AND help her find the scattered presents. With two eager, young assistants (who knew where every gift was lurking), this took but moments.
The haul: a pound of organic coffee, a bar of hand-crafted soap (also coffee; better than it sounds), hand-drawn cards from the kids, a jar of caramel corn-and-sunflower-seeds (a bit disappointing; not bad, but not great), a bottle of wine (wrapped in ribbon, which is a lot more difficult than I'd expected), a bar of white chocolate, a DVD movie (Chocolat), and maybe one or two other small things I've forgotten. The kids helped unwrap everything, like always.
And then we ate cake. Well... some of us ate cake. Smaller people ate frosting by the fingerful. The cake was soon plowed into rows and ready for planting. Oh dear; well, the purpose was served. Another fine birthday celebration.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Turning the page on kindergarten
Amalie finished her kindergarten year at Casey Elementary this past Wednesday, June 4th.
Austin Independent School District has promoted her to first grade for the fall semester.
She nailed, utterly nailed her fourth quarter: every subject a "4", top of the scale.
She's now enjoying her first official summer vacation, and a well-earned one after what was quite a year.
And she's got another tooth coming loose.
Austin Independent School District has promoted her to first grade for the fall semester.
She nailed, utterly nailed her fourth quarter: every subject a "4", top of the scale.
She's now enjoying her first official summer vacation, and a well-earned one after what was quite a year.
And she's got another tooth coming loose.
The 2008 Tee-ball Season
When the local kid soccer league was in progress back in March-April, it was also time to register for the following Saturday sport, tee-ball. Carson said yes, Amalie no. She'd played last year and didn't want to again, not this time. Fine. I signed up Carson and checked the "I'll coach" box on the registration form.
So I got to be an official coach, with the tee shirt and everything, along with my co-coach Ray. I drove around to various Academy sporting goods stores getting the small, unadorned caps to match our red shirts. We named ourselves the Red Rockets. Ray and I worked on some very basic practice drills -- fielding, throwing, hitting, running. Our roster, eleven boys total, were all three years old, so getting any lessons to stick is a triumph. I think the basic throwing motion, of stepping with the glove-side foot first, was our biggest success. Some of the youngsters have pretty good cannons for their age!
We played six games over a seven-week schedule (no games on Memorial Day weekend), which included one rescheduled due to rainout, and seven practices. Almost everyone showed up every time, frequently with both parents or even a grandparent. And the families all helped out -- snack suppliers, extra game coaches, ball collecting, basic shepherding. It worked out really well.
Tee-ball for three year olds is a very basic form of baseball -- everyone bats in every inning (we never played more than two), the last batter runs all the way around, there's no outs, no score kept, fielding is usually the first one to get to the ball and everyone is playing the infield (boys and girls this small just don't have slugging power). Oh, I think we did ingrain another lesson: when you're all on the same team and wearing the same shirt, it doesn't matter who gets the ball, just that someone does. Teamwork.
Ray and I handed out, after each game, gold stars for hitting excellence, silver stars for defensive displays, and blue stars for various creative contributions -- getting dirty (always a sign of dedication to the craft), taking a ball off the shoulder, willing to bat while still wearing the glove. By the end of our short season, every player had earned at least one gold and one silver, and most had a blue as well -- but no mistake, every one was earned.
Ray said that coaching the Red Rockets was ten times more fun than he expected it would have been, and I completely agree with that.
We adjourned, after the final game, to our local GattiTown for pizza, trophies, and games. Every player gets a league trophy, and I gave each player two packs of Topps baseball cards as well. The parents showered Ray and me -- custom tee shirts with handprints from each player, trophies of our own, and gift cards to a local restaurant. Quite a treat (and thank you very much!) for us.
Watching these youngest rookies improve from the first practice to the last game was sheer delight, as was simply introducing them to the greatest game on Earth, baseball. To me, they were all champions.
The 2008 Red Rockets: my own Carson, Christopher, David, Ian, Jaidyn, Jalen, John-Michael, Liam, Logan, Matthew, and Mikah. You guys, and your families, were great. It was my honor to be your coach.
So I got to be an official coach, with the tee shirt and everything, along with my co-coach Ray. I drove around to various Academy sporting goods stores getting the small, unadorned caps to match our red shirts. We named ourselves the Red Rockets. Ray and I worked on some very basic practice drills -- fielding, throwing, hitting, running. Our roster, eleven boys total, were all three years old, so getting any lessons to stick is a triumph. I think the basic throwing motion, of stepping with the glove-side foot first, was our biggest success. Some of the youngsters have pretty good cannons for their age!
We played six games over a seven-week schedule (no games on Memorial Day weekend), which included one rescheduled due to rainout, and seven practices. Almost everyone showed up every time, frequently with both parents or even a grandparent. And the families all helped out -- snack suppliers, extra game coaches, ball collecting, basic shepherding. It worked out really well.
Tee-ball for three year olds is a very basic form of baseball -- everyone bats in every inning (we never played more than two), the last batter runs all the way around, there's no outs, no score kept, fielding is usually the first one to get to the ball and everyone is playing the infield (boys and girls this small just don't have slugging power). Oh, I think we did ingrain another lesson: when you're all on the same team and wearing the same shirt, it doesn't matter who gets the ball, just that someone does. Teamwork.
Ray and I handed out, after each game, gold stars for hitting excellence, silver stars for defensive displays, and blue stars for various creative contributions -- getting dirty (always a sign of dedication to the craft), taking a ball off the shoulder, willing to bat while still wearing the glove. By the end of our short season, every player had earned at least one gold and one silver, and most had a blue as well -- but no mistake, every one was earned.
Ray said that coaching the Red Rockets was ten times more fun than he expected it would have been, and I completely agree with that.
We adjourned, after the final game, to our local GattiTown for pizza, trophies, and games. Every player gets a league trophy, and I gave each player two packs of Topps baseball cards as well. The parents showered Ray and me -- custom tee shirts with handprints from each player, trophies of our own, and gift cards to a local restaurant. Quite a treat (and thank you very much!) for us.
Watching these youngest rookies improve from the first practice to the last game was sheer delight, as was simply introducing them to the greatest game on Earth, baseball. To me, they were all champions.
The 2008 Red Rockets: my own Carson, Christopher, David, Ian, Jaidyn, Jalen, John-Michael, Liam, Logan, Matthew, and Mikah. You guys, and your families, were great. It was my honor to be your coach.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Summer movie reviews #4 -- Kung Fu Panda
Kid-centric movies get advertised to saturation on Nickelodeon. I understand this; easy enough to see why. And I kinda wanted to see Kung Fu Panda anyway. But my 6 year old daughter made sure I knew when it was coming out. So, today, after the weekend (and she's into her summer vacation), we went.
It rocks. Go see it.
The story is pretty standard -- a master must train a less-than-promising (disastrously chosen, even) disciple in order that the student may defeat the great adversary (who escapes his prison by virtue of the prison being inspected to ensure he cannot escape -- a predictable twist, but always a good one, that planning for one future activates the opposite destiny). The chosen one, a completely inept (but eager) panda named Po, is both challenged and assisted by the five advanced students, each of which hoped to be chosen as the Dragon Warrior until fate pushed Po in the way.
No one has confidence in Po, including himself, but he loves the kung fu discipline and prefers being bad at kung fu to being a noodle shop cook at any level of expertise. He won't quit, so train he must, and Master Shifu must in turn train him. Nothing goes well until Shifu realizes he must engage Po's love for the martial art with his other passion in order to drive him to excel.
There are two superb action sequences back-to-back: a training fight over the last lunch dumpling which is simply hilarious, brimming with martial arts cliches, and whiplashing action, immediately followed by a rope bridge battle that would be the showcase highlight were it not for the dumpling duel.
The animation is good, standard quality for 2008 with excellent lighting effects, and the voice acting is great. Plenty of well-known names, with Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu being the very best of the bunch -- there's only a few times when he is identifiably Hoffman.
Four stars out of five.
Snap review from a 6 year old: "I liked it. Really good." She loved the dumpling fight, too.
It rocks. Go see it.
The story is pretty standard -- a master must train a less-than-promising (disastrously chosen, even) disciple in order that the student may defeat the great adversary (who escapes his prison by virtue of the prison being inspected to ensure he cannot escape -- a predictable twist, but always a good one, that planning for one future activates the opposite destiny). The chosen one, a completely inept (but eager) panda named Po, is both challenged and assisted by the five advanced students, each of which hoped to be chosen as the Dragon Warrior until fate pushed Po in the way.
No one has confidence in Po, including himself, but he loves the kung fu discipline and prefers being bad at kung fu to being a noodle shop cook at any level of expertise. He won't quit, so train he must, and Master Shifu must in turn train him. Nothing goes well until Shifu realizes he must engage Po's love for the martial art with his other passion in order to drive him to excel.
There are two superb action sequences back-to-back: a training fight over the last lunch dumpling which is simply hilarious, brimming with martial arts cliches, and whiplashing action, immediately followed by a rope bridge battle that would be the showcase highlight were it not for the dumpling duel.
The animation is good, standard quality for 2008 with excellent lighting effects, and the voice acting is great. Plenty of well-known names, with Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu being the very best of the bunch -- there's only a few times when he is identifiably Hoffman.
Four stars out of five.
Snap review from a 6 year old: "I liked it. Really good." She loved the dumpling fight, too.
Summer movie reviews #3 -- Iron Man
I don't read many comic books today -- a few, select ones, but my addiction days are a thing of distant past now. But Iron Man is one of the characters on which I cut my teeth, both as a reader and as a comics fan. The stories, such as I can recall (early 1970s), were okay, but it really was all about the suit. That magnificent suit and all the cool things it could do -- fly, protect, heat, cool, blaster rays ("repulsors"). And of course part of it was keeping Tony Stark alive as well, making it his curse and his blessing, in the standard Stan Lee/Marvel manner. One would think transistors could do anything.
CGI technology has finally caught up to what an Iron Man film would require, because it is, and it has to be, all about the suit. And it delivers hugely.
Munitions billionaire and engineering genius Stark gets kidnapped after demo'ing his newest product in Afghanistan. Builds a prototype suit from his own wares in order to escape, and does. He undergoes a change of heart when he sees what Stark Munitions have wrought around the world, and determines to build a better suit to use in making the world a better place. But other stockholders don't want the entire company repurposed, and co-opt the original design for a new military product. And we get a showdown between Iron Man and the alternative Iron Monster. Bang, zoom, pow!
Lead actor Robert Downey nails his part, and is much better in an action role than would be expected based upon his past body of work. Stark is smooth, damn smart, a smartass, and a fighter both on paper and in action -- not an easily-portrayed character. Downey brings it off very well.
Four stars out of five.
Marvel is building a movie-based universe analogous to its comic universe, and is doing it very, very well. I can't wait to see The Incredible Hulk in a few weeks.
CGI technology has finally caught up to what an Iron Man film would require, because it is, and it has to be, all about the suit. And it delivers hugely.
Munitions billionaire and engineering genius Stark gets kidnapped after demo'ing his newest product in Afghanistan. Builds a prototype suit from his own wares in order to escape, and does. He undergoes a change of heart when he sees what Stark Munitions have wrought around the world, and determines to build a better suit to use in making the world a better place. But other stockholders don't want the entire company repurposed, and co-opt the original design for a new military product. And we get a showdown between Iron Man and the alternative Iron Monster. Bang, zoom, pow!
Lead actor Robert Downey nails his part, and is much better in an action role than would be expected based upon his past body of work. Stark is smooth, damn smart, a smartass, and a fighter both on paper and in action -- not an easily-portrayed character. Downey brings it off very well.
Four stars out of five.
Marvel is building a movie-based universe analogous to its comic universe, and is doing it very, very well. I can't wait to see The Incredible Hulk in a few weeks.
Summer movie reviews #2 -- Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Now this is a summertime movie. Rollicking high adventure with some old friends and some new, worthy companions (and adversaries). Pity they couldn't work in Sallah.
Indy Jones is back, once again scraping by on smarts, determination, some skill and some luck. The adventure begins in that huge, mysterious warehouse we saw at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and soon the chases are on. Dr. Jones makes his escape in his usual style -- chaotic, destructive, and breathtaking.
It's 1957, so the Nazis are long gone, but the Communists step in as the bad guys well enough. After some excitement at his college campus (and not that I recognized anything in particular, but I know it was filmed in and around Yale University, which is somewhat familiar territory for me, so that was some bonus delight), and some cryptic code-breaking, Indy and his new sidekick are off in pursuit of the title artifact, a crystal skull... one which is evidently not human, and which does not belong in a museum.
This leads to a race through the jungles of South America, to the standard, ancient Lost City wherein the treasure may be achieved through the perils of flora, fauna, and clever traps engineered long, long ago. Indy & Co. weather everything, succeed in their quest, the bad guys get theirs, and the archaeological world is set to rights, with a climax Spielberg cribbed from some of his own, older movies (but it works just fine).
Five stars out of five.
Remember to breathe, because this one will take yours away.
Indy Jones is back, once again scraping by on smarts, determination, some skill and some luck. The adventure begins in that huge, mysterious warehouse we saw at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and soon the chases are on. Dr. Jones makes his escape in his usual style -- chaotic, destructive, and breathtaking.
It's 1957, so the Nazis are long gone, but the Communists step in as the bad guys well enough. After some excitement at his college campus (and not that I recognized anything in particular, but I know it was filmed in and around Yale University, which is somewhat familiar territory for me, so that was some bonus delight), and some cryptic code-breaking, Indy and his new sidekick are off in pursuit of the title artifact, a crystal skull... one which is evidently not human, and which does not belong in a museum.
This leads to a race through the jungles of South America, to the standard, ancient Lost City wherein the treasure may be achieved through the perils of flora, fauna, and clever traps engineered long, long ago. Indy & Co. weather everything, succeed in their quest, the bad guys get theirs, and the archaeological world is set to rights, with a climax Spielberg cribbed from some of his own, older movies (but it works just fine).
Five stars out of five.
Remember to breathe, because this one will take yours away.
Summer movie reviews #1 -- Speed Racer
I've already seen four movies this summer season, and will definitely see more. This is rare, rare for me -- I probably didn't see four movies in all of 2007.
First up, Speed Racer.
This film is a total popcorn flick, a live-action cartoon. Those who remember the anime series on TV decades ago -- like me -- will remember it with humor and some fondness. It was silly and cool.
The film comes barreling right at you, full throttle, gorgeous firecracker colors in huge swaths all over the screen, and loud loud loud. There is a plot, sort of, but it's not very important, nor is the story. This is about insane racing over, around, and through impossible tracks. Many of the original tropes are here -- the sound effects, the Mach 5's gimmicks, the annoying kid brother and chimpanzee (sigh). The acting suits the material, and even John Goodman (as Pops Racer) is subsumed into the color-saturated landscape (and it's hard to bury Goodman). Pure, energetic adrenaline.
Don't expect a lot, because you won't find it. Pure, simple fun is what Speed Racer delivers, and it does so very well.
Particularly thrilling: the race across the desert. Simply pulse-pounding.
Three stars out of five.
Snap review from a 3-year-old who is car-obsessed: "great!"
First up, Speed Racer.
This film is a total popcorn flick, a live-action cartoon. Those who remember the anime series on TV decades ago -- like me -- will remember it with humor and some fondness. It was silly and cool.
The film comes barreling right at you, full throttle, gorgeous firecracker colors in huge swaths all over the screen, and loud loud loud. There is a plot, sort of, but it's not very important, nor is the story. This is about insane racing over, around, and through impossible tracks. Many of the original tropes are here -- the sound effects, the Mach 5's gimmicks, the annoying kid brother and chimpanzee (sigh). The acting suits the material, and even John Goodman (as Pops Racer) is subsumed into the color-saturated landscape (and it's hard to bury Goodman). Pure, energetic adrenaline.
Don't expect a lot, because you won't find it. Pure, simple fun is what Speed Racer delivers, and it does so very well.
Particularly thrilling: the race across the desert. Simply pulse-pounding.
Three stars out of five.
Snap review from a 3-year-old who is car-obsessed: "great!"
Not dead, merely resting
Ever have one of those times when you just didn't feel like blogging?
That was, like, all of May for me. And most of April.
The faucet is back on.
That was, like, all of May for me. And most of April.
The faucet is back on.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
The Swallows Are Back, 2008
Yeah, I know I haven't finished the sea cruise yet.
Our swallows came back this past week -- but unfortunately for them, they didn't find their nest, as it fell down in December after several years' worthy service. So for a few nights they sat atop the window molding to sleep, but showed no indication of working to rebuild another nest.
So Valerie worked some magic with the old nest -- which we had kept -- a plastic cup, and some screws and braces, and remounted the nest in more or less the same location, along with some cut branches for decor or camouflage or just extra perching.
And the swallows weirded out and flew away for a couple of days.
And then they came back. Sat on the nest. Poked at it, assessed it, and must have decided it was indeed suitable, because they've settled in. We expect a clutch of hatchlings in two or three weeks, they are occasionally dive-bombing the cats, and the cats are ignoring them. So, just like in years past.
Silly birds -- but charming.
Our swallows came back this past week -- but unfortunately for them, they didn't find their nest, as it fell down in December after several years' worthy service. So for a few nights they sat atop the window molding to sleep, but showed no indication of working to rebuild another nest.
So Valerie worked some magic with the old nest -- which we had kept -- a plastic cup, and some screws and braces, and remounted the nest in more or less the same location, along with some cut branches for decor or camouflage or just extra perching.
And the swallows weirded out and flew away for a couple of days.
And then they came back. Sat on the nest. Poked at it, assessed it, and must have decided it was indeed suitable, because they've settled in. We expect a clutch of hatchlings in two or three weeks, they are occasionally dive-bombing the cats, and the cats are ignoring them. So, just like in years past.
Silly birds -- but charming.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Won't You Let Me Take You On A Sea Cruise?
Hoo-wee, baby.
My dad came into some inheritance loot a few years back, and as his grandchildren live quite distant (he and the mom are in Connecticut, my two are in central Texas, the other three in Orlando), he really goes the extra kilometer in generosity to spend time with them. Last year it was nearly a full month visiting peaceful* New England suburbia. This time, a Carnival cruise out of Galveston to ports Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, specifically selected to coincide with Amalie's school spring break week. (Longtime readers -- yeah, both of you -- will remember I had to obtain passports for the kids. This is why.)
* If one overlooks the triple murder, assault, grand theft, and arson that took place nearby in one very shocking, ugly night. (I'm not going to link to any descriptions of this dismal event. Search if you really want to know more.)
After a far-too-long day of preparing to depart, finally departing, and driving to Galveston, we stayed one night in a La Quinta facing the beach. We arrived around 11:30 pm, which would not have been my choice, but we made it. Worse, we missed a chance to stop at the Ikea store in Houston, which was the one thing I wanted to accomplish on the road trip portion of our vacation; ah well, another chance loomed after the cruise.
I like La Quinta. I've stayed at several, have tended to be treated quite nicely and get a decent bed and shower, which is generally all I ask from a short-stay hotel. Happily, the Galveston franchise met my standard, and for a nominal $10 flat fee, we were able to park our car on site and have the hotel bus take us to the ship port.
Due to poor weather conditions, our ship, the Carnival Ecstasy, made port several hours late, which earned us some credits against our on-board accounts. Not the smoothest of starts, but really not a big deal, and unavoidable. We checked in our luggage, secured our "Sign & Sail" cards for shipboard use (general ID, account spending), left my quite tired Mom in the secure area, and went out for lunch (alongside many other temporarily stranded shipmates). Fuddrucker's provided some delicious burgers, and we returned to the terminal. The steward, still on duty, recognized us and sped us along the VIP line so we could re-clear security quickly and board the ship. After having an embarkation portrait taken -- the first of an absolute flurry of photo ops -- we finally arrived in the ship's Grand Atrium.
And here ends Part 1, because I have to go cook spaghetti. Spoliers: the ship didn't sink, and we all made it home safely, so don't read on in hopes of drama or suspense. There is something of a happy ending though.
My dad came into some inheritance loot a few years back, and as his grandchildren live quite distant (he and the mom are in Connecticut, my two are in central Texas, the other three in Orlando), he really goes the extra kilometer in generosity to spend time with them. Last year it was nearly a full month visiting peaceful* New England suburbia. This time, a Carnival cruise out of Galveston to ports Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, specifically selected to coincide with Amalie's school spring break week. (Longtime readers -- yeah, both of you -- will remember I had to obtain passports for the kids. This is why.)
* If one overlooks the triple murder, assault, grand theft, and arson that took place nearby in one very shocking, ugly night. (I'm not going to link to any descriptions of this dismal event. Search if you really want to know more.)
After a far-too-long day of preparing to depart, finally departing, and driving to Galveston, we stayed one night in a La Quinta facing the beach. We arrived around 11:30 pm, which would not have been my choice, but we made it. Worse, we missed a chance to stop at the Ikea store in Houston, which was the one thing I wanted to accomplish on the road trip portion of our vacation; ah well, another chance loomed after the cruise.
I like La Quinta. I've stayed at several, have tended to be treated quite nicely and get a decent bed and shower, which is generally all I ask from a short-stay hotel. Happily, the Galveston franchise met my standard, and for a nominal $10 flat fee, we were able to park our car on site and have the hotel bus take us to the ship port.
Due to poor weather conditions, our ship, the Carnival Ecstasy, made port several hours late, which earned us some credits against our on-board accounts. Not the smoothest of starts, but really not a big deal, and unavoidable. We checked in our luggage, secured our "Sign & Sail" cards for shipboard use (general ID, account spending), left my quite tired Mom in the secure area, and went out for lunch (alongside many other temporarily stranded shipmates). Fuddrucker's provided some delicious burgers, and we returned to the terminal. The steward, still on duty, recognized us and sped us along the VIP line so we could re-clear security quickly and board the ship. After having an embarkation portrait taken -- the first of an absolute flurry of photo ops -- we finally arrived in the ship's Grand Atrium.
And here ends Part 1, because I have to go cook spaghetti. Spoliers: the ship didn't sink, and we all made it home safely, so don't read on in hopes of drama or suspense. There is something of a happy ending though.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A different kind of three
Today, for the first time I can recall in Austin, I paid over $3.00 for a gallon of gas. I knew it was coming for a while now -- but stations had still held out at $2.99 for quite some time (as peak; sometimes it dropped lower), which clearly was for psychological reasons. People just hate seeing that next dollar mark breached. Well, there it goes.
Economic policies of the current administration are proven failures, unless you're already stinking rich. So, stop voting for such meretricious pieces of filth. Especially when they're from Texas.
Economic policies of the current administration are proven failures, unless you're already stinking rich. So, stop voting for such meretricious pieces of filth. Especially when they're from Texas.
Monday, February 11, 2008
...and Three
A quick two weeks later on the calendar, our son Carson's birthday follows Amalie's, as he turns three today. He never did stay "baby" for long -- his face lost the standard baby fat, the rounded softness, after a few months -- but now he's a genuine, full-fledged kid. He's finally old enough to play in the local kid soccer league, which starts in two weeks.
Later tonight, after gymnastics, he'll get to have his Present Hunt around the house -- and he's hoping for many toy cars. Trust me, it is covered. He's also getting a couple of other toys, an Ikea chair that was overlooked at Christmastime, some annual coin sets, a baseball bean bag chair, and a twin-size set of Lightning McQueen sheets for when we get him a bed. He's also getting soccer shinguards, but those are not so much a gift as mandatory equipment. And, to keep things fair, Amie is also getting the same coin sets, and her own bean bag -- pink, of course.
Later we'll have cupcakes. We made banana bread last week and took it to his daycare school on Friday (he doesn't attend on Mondays), and it was completely gone by day's end. This is typical; we make banana bread about once a month or so, contribute it as a treat for the kids, and they love it. So yummy!
After letting myself get badly overwhelmed by Christmas and birthdays in 2006-07, this gift-giving season went much more smoothly. I'm pleased, and not at all stressed like before. Ahhhhh!
Of course, Valentine's Day is later this week, but we make very little fuss about that holiday. Tiny boxes of chocolates and we're done. That's more than enough.
Later tonight, after gymnastics, he'll get to have his Present Hunt around the house -- and he's hoping for many toy cars. Trust me, it is covered. He's also getting a couple of other toys, an Ikea chair that was overlooked at Christmastime, some annual coin sets, a baseball bean bag chair, and a twin-size set of Lightning McQueen sheets for when we get him a bed. He's also getting soccer shinguards, but those are not so much a gift as mandatory equipment. And, to keep things fair, Amie is also getting the same coin sets, and her own bean bag -- pink, of course.
Later we'll have cupcakes. We made banana bread last week and took it to his daycare school on Friday (he doesn't attend on Mondays), and it was completely gone by day's end. This is typical; we make banana bread about once a month or so, contribute it as a treat for the kids, and they love it. So yummy!
After letting myself get badly overwhelmed by Christmas and birthdays in 2006-07, this gift-giving season went much more smoothly. I'm pleased, and not at all stressed like before. Ahhhhh!
Of course, Valentine's Day is later this week, but we make very little fuss about that holiday. Tiny boxes of chocolates and we're done. That's more than enough.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
My 2008 Hugo Nominations
The Hugo Awards are the highest honors in science fiction, announced annually at the World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon. I was a member of the 2007 WorldCon (but did not attend, as it was in Japan, and circumstances aligned solidly against it), and so am entitled to make nominations for the 2008 Hugos. Once the final ballot is compiled, members of the 2008 WorldCon -- Denvention 3, to be held in Denver in August -- are eligible to vote. I'm probably going to attend, but haven't yet decided for certain.
Despite being a member of several past WorldCons, I've never before submitted a Hugo nomination ballot, mainly because I wasn't all that interested -- I like SF but I'm more a dabbler or dilettante than hardcore about it. But this year, I have been badgered to submit, as I slightly know one candidate. Okay, that's fair, try to help a friend get on the final ballot, maybe even win. The Hugos are, after all, devastatingly cool.
So here's what I have on my nomination ballot, noting that I made no submissions whatsoever in several categories: Best Novelette, Best Short Story, Best Editor - Short Form, Best Editor - Long Form, Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, and Best Fan Artist. I have no ideas, so I simply am passing.
What I did submit:
Best Novel
Terry Pratchett -- Making Money
J.R.R. Tolkien -- The Children Of Húrin
J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
I love Pratchett's work, and while MM isn't his best Discworld novel, it is still a pretty good one. I included Tolkien because, heck, when will I ever get another chance to nominate Tolkien? And Rowling, well, she surely won't need my vote to get on the final ballot, but sometimes it's fun to go along with the crowd.
Best Novella
Melanie Fletcher -- "Sabre Dance"
Shameless nepotism here.
Best Related Book
Phil & Kaja Foglio -- Girl Genius Vol. 6: Agatha Heterodyne And The Golden Trilobite
As with Pratchett, I absolutely love the Foglios' work, and the Girl Genius series -- which continues three times weekly on their website -- is a massive, engaging, essentially brilliant work. Whenever it is finished -- or at least, whenever this still-somewhat-introductory storyline reaches a conclusion or significant breakpoint -- it will stand as, no kidding, a masterpiece of the genre and in the field. Girl Genius is THAT good. As a work in the comic style, words and pictures, I didn't think it fit anywhere else on the ballot.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Enchanted
Transformers
Ghost Rider
Generically this is the "movies" category but it is open to any presented works of 90 minutes or longer. I enjoyed Surfer a great deal, it was much better than the first FF film and did a respectable job of bringing the original Silver Surfer story to the silver screen. The new, allegedly final edit of Blade Runner was excellent, and just having the chance to nominate it is reason enough to nominate it. Transformers and Ghost Rider were both good fun that treated the material with suitable respect; they told good stories without being dumb or tongue-in-cheek.
Enchanted is probably the best treatment of the archetypal Disney princess tale ever done. It is witty, funny, captivating, is told well, good direction, spot-on acting by the leads, excellent songs. It is -- dare I say it? -- enchanting. I list it here proudly, as it is a genuine treat of a film that anyone can enjoy.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- "The Day Of Black Sun (Parts 1 & 2)"
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- "The Avatar And The Firelord"
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
TMNT
Shrek The Halls
The short form category is for productions of 90 minutes or less, so most television shows will fit in here, but anything is eligible if short enough. I know I'm skirting a bit by including the new Futurama and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works, but they do come in under the time limit. Despite being canceled in 2003, the Futurama crew came back into action without missing a step, and it was a delight to have them back. The Turtles film was a bit silly but had some brilliant action sequences, and some of the best dramatic character interaction of the year. Avatar is a wonderful show -- my kids, 6 and 3, love it as much as I do, and follow the stories easily despite being well-detailed at times. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon is treating it dismally of late; perhaps getting some deserved recognition for this fine series will encourage the head office to shape up a bit. I picked what I thought were the two (well, three) best episodes that debuted in 2007. And the Shrek Christmas special was excellent, especially after the disappointment of the third feature film; it meshed the irascible ogre with the holiday spirit very well, and I think it's going to be a perennial in the Christmas special pantheon.
Best Professional Artist
Phil Foglio -- Girl Genius
I've already gushed at length. He's won it before, and deserves it again. (To be fair, Foglio won the Best Fan Artist Hugo in 1977 and 1978. I'm sure he's got room on the shelf for a third Hugo.)
Best Semiprozine
Helix SF
Just tossin' in a little bit more nepotism here.
John W. Campbell Award (not a Hugo Award, as the committee always reminds us)
William LedBetter
The sponsored award for best new SF writer. Always remember, it is NOT a Hugo, they just bundle it with the Hugos.
So, that's what I thought was noteworthy in the 2007 world of science fiction. I'm certain I missed a ton. Let's see what makes it to the final ballot.
Despite being a member of several past WorldCons, I've never before submitted a Hugo nomination ballot, mainly because I wasn't all that interested -- I like SF but I'm more a dabbler or dilettante than hardcore about it. But this year, I have been badgered to submit, as I slightly know one candidate. Okay, that's fair, try to help a friend get on the final ballot, maybe even win. The Hugos are, after all, devastatingly cool.
So here's what I have on my nomination ballot, noting that I made no submissions whatsoever in several categories: Best Novelette, Best Short Story, Best Editor - Short Form, Best Editor - Long Form, Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, and Best Fan Artist. I have no ideas, so I simply am passing.
What I did submit:
Best Novel
Terry Pratchett -- Making Money
J.R.R. Tolkien -- The Children Of Húrin
J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
I love Pratchett's work, and while MM isn't his best Discworld novel, it is still a pretty good one. I included Tolkien because, heck, when will I ever get another chance to nominate Tolkien? And Rowling, well, she surely won't need my vote to get on the final ballot, but sometimes it's fun to go along with the crowd.
Best Novella
Melanie Fletcher -- "Sabre Dance"
Shameless nepotism here.
Best Related Book
Phil & Kaja Foglio -- Girl Genius Vol. 6: Agatha Heterodyne And The Golden Trilobite
As with Pratchett, I absolutely love the Foglios' work, and the Girl Genius series -- which continues three times weekly on their website -- is a massive, engaging, essentially brilliant work. Whenever it is finished -- or at least, whenever this still-somewhat-introductory storyline reaches a conclusion or significant breakpoint -- it will stand as, no kidding, a masterpiece of the genre and in the field. Girl Genius is THAT good. As a work in the comic style, words and pictures, I didn't think it fit anywhere else on the ballot.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Enchanted
Transformers
Ghost Rider
Generically this is the "movies" category but it is open to any presented works of 90 minutes or longer. I enjoyed Surfer a great deal, it was much better than the first FF film and did a respectable job of bringing the original Silver Surfer story to the silver screen. The new, allegedly final edit of Blade Runner was excellent, and just having the chance to nominate it is reason enough to nominate it. Transformers and Ghost Rider were both good fun that treated the material with suitable respect; they told good stories without being dumb or tongue-in-cheek.
Enchanted is probably the best treatment of the archetypal Disney princess tale ever done. It is witty, funny, captivating, is told well, good direction, spot-on acting by the leads, excellent songs. It is -- dare I say it? -- enchanting. I list it here proudly, as it is a genuine treat of a film that anyone can enjoy.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- "The Day Of Black Sun (Parts 1 & 2)"
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- "The Avatar And The Firelord"
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
TMNT
Shrek The Halls
The short form category is for productions of 90 minutes or less, so most television shows will fit in here, but anything is eligible if short enough. I know I'm skirting a bit by including the new Futurama and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works, but they do come in under the time limit. Despite being canceled in 2003, the Futurama crew came back into action without missing a step, and it was a delight to have them back. The Turtles film was a bit silly but had some brilliant action sequences, and some of the best dramatic character interaction of the year. Avatar is a wonderful show -- my kids, 6 and 3, love it as much as I do, and follow the stories easily despite being well-detailed at times. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon is treating it dismally of late; perhaps getting some deserved recognition for this fine series will encourage the head office to shape up a bit. I picked what I thought were the two (well, three) best episodes that debuted in 2007. And the Shrek Christmas special was excellent, especially after the disappointment of the third feature film; it meshed the irascible ogre with the holiday spirit very well, and I think it's going to be a perennial in the Christmas special pantheon.
Best Professional Artist
Phil Foglio -- Girl Genius
I've already gushed at length. He's won it before, and deserves it again. (To be fair, Foglio won the Best Fan Artist Hugo in 1977 and 1978. I'm sure he's got room on the shelf for a third Hugo.)
Best Semiprozine
Helix SF
Just tossin' in a little bit more nepotism here.
John W. Campbell Award (not a Hugo Award, as the committee always reminds us)
William LedBetter
The sponsored award for best new SF writer. Always remember, it is NOT a Hugo, they just bundle it with the Hugos.
So, that's what I thought was noteworthy in the 2007 world of science fiction. I'm certain I missed a ton. Let's see what makes it to the final ballot.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Six
Our oldest, Amalie, turns six today. It's just hard to believe, despite the extremely live evidence before us. A mere six years ago, this li'l baby entered our lives and made everything that much better and more engaging.
She distributed cupcakes to her kindergarten class last Friday, her choice, as a way of giving everyone a special sendoff into the weekend. Her school has an unofficial policy that store-bought are preferred to homemade -- which struck me as a bit odd, but no matter. We procured two dozen chocolate cupcakes (with various colors of frosting, applied in the "huge swirly glob" method) at our local supermarket, and they were met with strong approval. There were even a few leftover, so the calories were available at home until Saturday. (I had hardly a nibble.)
Sunday, she got one present early, a gift card to Build-A-Bear. Val took Amie and Carson to the store, giving me a window to wrap her other presents (which I did). When they finally got home, Amie had a polka-dotted puppy with a host of accouterments, the total cost of which went well beyond the gift card's preset amount. No matter; she turns six but once.
And tonight, after school and gymnastics, she gets her big deal, the home celebration. I have to go bake a cake later, but the highlight is the present hunt. We have a young tradition of scattering (not hiding) presents around the house on birthdays, and the guest of honor has to go forth and find them all. Tonight there will be nine gifts, wrapped in purple Tinkerbell paper, for Amie to find, along with a big present that will be simply under a blanket.
We had intended to get her this thing, a Plan Toys chalet dollhouse, for Christmas, but it simply was not to be found for a reasonable price plus shipping -- so we got her a smaller, still nifty model instead, and decided to postpone the chalet for her birthday. However, when January rolled around, it still wasn't to be found, so I rummaged through Craig's List and, voila, there was one being sold for a reasonable price, and in south Austin. Turns out another couple had gotten the chalet (which comes with furniture, quite a boon) for their 2 1/2 year old for Christmas, but he just hadn't taken to it, so they offered it at a tiny discount from retail. I dropped by to check it out -- they live barely a mile and a half away -- and it was ideal, already assembled, essentially new. I gladly handed over the cash, they were happy, I was happy, and tonight Amalie gets to go nuts over it.
Six. And Carson reaches three in just two weeks. Yes, they really do grow up so fast.
She distributed cupcakes to her kindergarten class last Friday, her choice, as a way of giving everyone a special sendoff into the weekend. Her school has an unofficial policy that store-bought are preferred to homemade -- which struck me as a bit odd, but no matter. We procured two dozen chocolate cupcakes (with various colors of frosting, applied in the "huge swirly glob" method) at our local supermarket, and they were met with strong approval. There were even a few leftover, so the calories were available at home until Saturday. (I had hardly a nibble.)
Sunday, she got one present early, a gift card to Build-A-Bear. Val took Amie and Carson to the store, giving me a window to wrap her other presents (which I did). When they finally got home, Amie had a polka-dotted puppy with a host of accouterments, the total cost of which went well beyond the gift card's preset amount. No matter; she turns six but once.
And tonight, after school and gymnastics, she gets her big deal, the home celebration. I have to go bake a cake later, but the highlight is the present hunt. We have a young tradition of scattering (not hiding) presents around the house on birthdays, and the guest of honor has to go forth and find them all. Tonight there will be nine gifts, wrapped in purple Tinkerbell paper, for Amie to find, along with a big present that will be simply under a blanket.
We had intended to get her this thing, a Plan Toys chalet dollhouse, for Christmas, but it simply was not to be found for a reasonable price plus shipping -- so we got her a smaller, still nifty model instead, and decided to postpone the chalet for her birthday. However, when January rolled around, it still wasn't to be found, so I rummaged through Craig's List and, voila, there was one being sold for a reasonable price, and in south Austin. Turns out another couple had gotten the chalet (which comes with furniture, quite a boon) for their 2 1/2 year old for Christmas, but he just hadn't taken to it, so they offered it at a tiny discount from retail. I dropped by to check it out -- they live barely a mile and a half away -- and it was ideal, already assembled, essentially new. I gladly handed over the cash, they were happy, I was happy, and tonight Amalie gets to go nuts over it.
Six. And Carson reaches three in just two weeks. Yes, they really do grow up so fast.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Hall's 2008 Writers Ballot -- Review and Wrap-up
The Hall announced the results of the writers ballot voting on 08-January -- I'm a bit behind on closing this topic -- and congratulations to Rich "Goose" Gossage for his well-earned, and certainly overdue, election to baseball's most exclusive society and highest individual honor.
2008 HOF Voting results (543 ballots returned)
Looking ahead to the 2009 ballot, there'll be 13 holdovers -- one way or another, Rice's and John's candidacies will expire -- and among the newcomers, there's only one Sure Thing, Rickey Henderson, who is bound to deliver one of the most entertaining, and probably perplexing, induction speeches on record.
Keep stumping for Bert, and put in a good word for Raines as well. We can keep campaigning for him through 2022, but let's hope it doesn't take that long.
2008 HOF Voting results (543 ballots returned)
index - candidate - votes - % - my prediction - how'd I do?
--- ELECTED ---
1. Gossage, Goose..... 466.. 85.82....79%.. got "Elected" right.
--- not elected ---
2. Rice, Jim.......... 392.. 72.19... over 70%..... ok
3. Dawson, Andre...... 358.. 65.93... over 68%..... close
4. Blyleven, Bert..... 336.. 61.88... over 60%..... ok
5. Smith, Lee......... 235.. 43.28... 45%.......... ok
6. Morris, Jack....... 233.. 42.91... 46%.......... close
7. John, Tommy........ 158.. 29.10... ~25%......... low
8. Raines, Tim........ 132.. 24.31... 35%.......... foo!
9. McGwire, Mark...... 128.. 23.57... 29%....... a wild guess
10. Trammell, Alan..... 99.. 18.23... 19%.......... ok
11. Concepcion, Davey.. 88.. 16.21... over 20%.. high; last ballot
12. Mattingly, Don..... 86.. 15.84... 14%.......... ok
13. Parker, Dave....... 82.. 15.10... 15%.......... ok
14. Murphy, Dale....... 75.. 13.81... 15%.......... ok
15. Baines, Harold..... 28... 5.16... below 5%..... oh so close
--- relegated ---
16. Beck, Rod........... 2... 0.37... below 5%..... ok
17. Fryman, Travis...... 2... 0.37... below 5%..... ok
18. Nen, Robb........... 2... 0.37... below 5%..... ok
19. Dunston, Shawon..... 1... 0.18... below 5%..... ok
20. Finley, Chuck....... 1... 0.18... 9%........... way off
21. Justice, David...... 1... 0.18... 6%........... similar
22. Knoblauch, Chuck.... 1... 0.18... below 5%..... ok
23. Stottlemyre, Todd... 1... 0.18... 0 or 1 vote.. ok
24. Anderson, Brady..... 0... 0.00... below 5%..... ok
25. Rijo, Jose.......... 0... 0.00... 2 votes...... high
I don't want to hash over my predictions but a little; they weren't that hard -- voting trends are easy enough to spot -- and Raines was the only ballot newcomer who was worthy of any attention by the voters. I thought they'd show Finley and Justice a little more love, but no, and that doesn't upset me.
All of the other ten ballot newcomers were relegated, and Concepcion's eligibility has now expired, so that clears a lot of deadwood from the 2009 ballot. I'm amazed Baines hung on yet again -- he actually got one vote less than last time, and had no room to spare, but he's bound to fall off soon.
Turning to the other interesting candidates:
McGwire got the exact same vote total as in 2007, so it wasn't a one-time rebuke. The controversy surrounding him and his career will keep his Hall candidacy a continuing enigma for the next few years. As other steroid-suspect players reach the ballot, a sea change may yet come, but there is no way to predict at this early stage.
Raines deserves much higher returns -- heck, he deserves election -- so here's hoping this was a one-time "no first ballot for Rock" response and his 2009 return shows a promising, large jump. (Really, waging the Bert PR campaign is hard enough.)
John has one year left. Don't hope for much.
Morris' candidacy makes people stupid -- or perhaps "emotional" is a better description. No matter how his career is studied, the Hall-worthiness just isn't there unless one desperately wants to see it, in which case it's obvious and the rest of us are blind morons. It really gets tiresome.
Blyleven took a nice jump (+14.2 percentage points) so, we can hope, the ball is rolling toward the deserved bronze plaque at last. Bert 2009! Bert 2010! Come on already!
Dawson's gonna make it, probably by 2010.
Rice has one year left, but he'll get it. Just elect him already. Like Morris, the Hall-worthiness is there if you really, really want to see it. Bleah; the treacle in the articles and columns a year from now is going to be troweled on knee-deep.
And the Goose, at last, bringing in the biggest jump on the ballot, +14.6 percentage points. His inclusion raises the bar on what makes a reliever/closer Hall-class, and this is a good thing.Looking ahead to the 2009 ballot, there'll be 13 holdovers -- one way or another, Rice's and John's candidacies will expire -- and among the newcomers, there's only one Sure Thing, Rickey Henderson, who is bound to deliver one of the most entertaining, and probably perplexing, induction speeches on record.
Keep stumping for Bert, and put in a good word for Raines as well. We can keep campaigning for him through 2022, but let's hope it doesn't take that long.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.
For this mom and dad, the wait is over. The kids' holiday (i.e., Christmas; I honestly have no preference for the semantics here) break began Friday, 21-December-2007, and ended when Amalie returned to class yesterday (Tuesday 08-January-2008), with Carson resuming his taxing daycare curriculum today.
It was a very good break indeed.
On that first Friday, Amalie had a class at Central Market's cooking school -- decorating her own gingerbread house. Her results were lovely, and we couldn't bring ourselves to so much as touch it.
On Saturday 12/22, Amalie and I made a huge double batch of toll house cookies, making the entire house smell sweetly caloric. On Sunday, Carson and I visited a few friends I hadn't seen in a while, handing out festive tins of the cookies along with cards. It's not something I do often enough, really.
Christmas Day itself was an exciting but leisurely affair. Val and I actually got in some sleep this time, and everyone woke up within ten minutes of each other. The easy chairs in the family room caught Amie's eye, each stacked with gifts, so after quickly sorting out which chair was for her and which was for Carson, away they went. We impose a not-very-strict "one gift at a time, take turns" policy, so it took some time to empty both chairs, followed by a tactical strike by the kids on their stockings (unusual, as the stockings are usually last -- one year we didn't get to them until the 26th -- but we don't usually start in the family room anyway). After that frenzy was over, we broke for breakfast and phone calls, then turned to the tree in the front room. Amalie can guess-read tags, so she was in charge of first distribution (the grownups validated her interpretations) for a while. One large pile of wrapped gifts slowly gave way to four smaller piles of goodies and one tsunami of crumpled paper and ribbons. We did finish before sundown (and this is not because of the sheer volume of stuff -- this was a notably smaller hoard than in years past; but taking turns also takes time). Lunchtime sort of breezed by, with Val providing a snack tray, and around dinnertime no one was hungry, as our Christmases tend to inspire day-long munching of both goodies and conscientiously nutritious stuffs, and the general adrenaline rush just pushes everyone along as well. Finally, we returned to the stockings, and Val and I emptied ours. I found (hadn't paid attention earlier) that I also had a tiny bonus stocking, with moose on it, in which was a small chocolate bar (dark chocolate, of course).
A brief and incomplete summary of the haul:
Amalie: a hand-held game cartridge system, a scooter, dolls and doll clothes and things, a large dollhouse (not for Barbies), some games, and a pink-handled small Swiss Army knife. And a selection of DVD movies, heavily weighted toward Disney Princess material.
Carson: cars -- oh man, lots and lots of cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tonka, Pixar Cars movie cars, two giant carriers trucks. Hot Wheels track (plain, basic stuff found on eBay, not some tricked-out, branded set all the stores carry). Two RC cars, the noises of which scare him (luckily one has a mute switch). A kid-sized basketball hoop. A Pixar Cars toybox/bench. Larger sweat pants and socks, since he's growing like a weed. And a selection of DVD movies.
Val: an air compressor, pajamas, the traditional Iditarod medallion for 2008, the similarly traditional tiny (four sweets) box of Godiva chocolates (devoured by the whole family in a record two minutes), a laser level (nothing says "I love you" like power tools), and a selection of DVD movies.
me: Red Sox championship card sets, a couple of baseball books (I always get some), two commemorative baseballs, moccasins, a Rubik's new thingie the kids have already confiscated, some hand tools, several kitchen cooking widgets (egg separator, new measuring cups, chopsticks with holders, etc.), and a selection of DVD movies, including the 2007 World Series.
On the 27th, rested and ready, we ventured forth (at 4:00 pm...) toward Mississippi to visit Val's sister Jenny and her husband Dickie Joe. It's a long hike, just short of 600 miles, and even with an early start it makes for a very long day, so on the trip out (we go at least once a year) we plan on one night's stay somewhere. This time it was Beaumont, Texas, almost to the state line; we could have gone further but the kids were tired, and it's not fair to push them to keep traveling without need. We made decent time, mainly because driving through Houston was rather quiet, being holiday time. We set out the next day before 9:00 am (rather amazing, that) but it was slow going -- our breakfast stop ran longer than it should, as we built in a play stop at a very nice park in Jennings, Louisiana. This wasn't as much fun as we'd hoped, owing to heavy rains the night before leaving plenty of puddles, but the kids romped well. Just before leaving, I pulled off the road for a restroom stop, and this was a mistake -- just off the road was quite muddy, and I ignorantly got the car completely off the road by about four inches, which was just enough to mire it down. Four inches! I got out to push, Val took the wheel, but we'd have been there longer were it not for a passing local who understood our issue and offered to help push. Working together, we were back on the road in five seconds; I thanked him dearly, he just nodded graciously, and we were all on our way again. There's still some mud on the front fender where the right side front wheel was kicking it up in futility. Later, some breakdowns on a bridge also slowed things down; what should have been a six-hour drive stretched into almost ten. But we made it at last.
Visiting Jenny and Dickie Joe on their ranch is always relaxing. It is roomy, quiet, they are wonderful hosts, and there are cows to look at. The front pasture, this time, was home to only two bovines, a pair of black Angus bulls they'd bought for breeding in the spring. Both were under two years old, and though they were a bit trepidacious of us, when we watched feeding time from afar they acted like puppies, running and bouncing in delight. This is very entertaining behavior when performed by 1200 pound animals.
Our first full night in Mississippi, there was a tremendous thunderstorm, real roof-rattling, rolling thunderclaps. Some were sufficiently close to be full-fledged booms. I went out on the porch to watch for a bit -- the rain wasn't very heavy, curiously -- and happened to be looking in the right direction to see a direct strike, the clap of which hit me (and I mean hit me) in about 1.5 seconds, so that was plenty close. The storm finally passed sometime after midnight.
We spent one afternoon touring some of the coastline near Gulfport, which had been ravaged by Katrina in 2005. It is slowly recovering; sobering and encouraging at once.
We took our leave early on January 1, hoping that the drunkards were off the roads by now. Since we don't have to worry about arriving too late when getting home, we try to go for the one-day push, and we made it. Houston again gave us little problem, and since New Year's Day is an out-and-about type of holiday, there was no problems finding restaurants. A long and tiring day, but getting home makes it worthwhile.
Val returned to work later in the week, leaving me in charge of the kids for another few days. We ran a few errands, but otherwise finished out the school break in humdrum fashion at home.
School's back in session. Amalie got her second period report card, identical to the first.
It was a very good break indeed.
On that first Friday, Amalie had a class at Central Market's cooking school -- decorating her own gingerbread house. Her results were lovely, and we couldn't bring ourselves to so much as touch it.
On Saturday 12/22, Amalie and I made a huge double batch of toll house cookies, making the entire house smell sweetly caloric. On Sunday, Carson and I visited a few friends I hadn't seen in a while, handing out festive tins of the cookies along with cards. It's not something I do often enough, really.
Christmas Day itself was an exciting but leisurely affair. Val and I actually got in some sleep this time, and everyone woke up within ten minutes of each other. The easy chairs in the family room caught Amie's eye, each stacked with gifts, so after quickly sorting out which chair was for her and which was for Carson, away they went. We impose a not-very-strict "one gift at a time, take turns" policy, so it took some time to empty both chairs, followed by a tactical strike by the kids on their stockings (unusual, as the stockings are usually last -- one year we didn't get to them until the 26th -- but we don't usually start in the family room anyway). After that frenzy was over, we broke for breakfast and phone calls, then turned to the tree in the front room. Amalie can guess-read tags, so she was in charge of first distribution (the grownups validated her interpretations) for a while. One large pile of wrapped gifts slowly gave way to four smaller piles of goodies and one tsunami of crumpled paper and ribbons. We did finish before sundown (and this is not because of the sheer volume of stuff -- this was a notably smaller hoard than in years past; but taking turns also takes time). Lunchtime sort of breezed by, with Val providing a snack tray, and around dinnertime no one was hungry, as our Christmases tend to inspire day-long munching of both goodies and conscientiously nutritious stuffs, and the general adrenaline rush just pushes everyone along as well. Finally, we returned to the stockings, and Val and I emptied ours. I found (hadn't paid attention earlier) that I also had a tiny bonus stocking, with moose on it, in which was a small chocolate bar (dark chocolate, of course).
A brief and incomplete summary of the haul:
Amalie: a hand-held game cartridge system, a scooter, dolls and doll clothes and things, a large dollhouse (not for Barbies), some games, and a pink-handled small Swiss Army knife. And a selection of DVD movies, heavily weighted toward Disney Princess material.
Carson: cars -- oh man, lots and lots of cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tonka, Pixar Cars movie cars, two giant carriers trucks. Hot Wheels track (plain, basic stuff found on eBay, not some tricked-out, branded set all the stores carry). Two RC cars, the noises of which scare him (luckily one has a mute switch). A kid-sized basketball hoop. A Pixar Cars toybox/bench. Larger sweat pants and socks, since he's growing like a weed. And a selection of DVD movies.
Val: an air compressor, pajamas, the traditional Iditarod medallion for 2008, the similarly traditional tiny (four sweets) box of Godiva chocolates (devoured by the whole family in a record two minutes), a laser level (nothing says "I love you" like power tools), and a selection of DVD movies.
me: Red Sox championship card sets, a couple of baseball books (I always get some), two commemorative baseballs, moccasins, a Rubik's new thingie the kids have already confiscated, some hand tools, several kitchen cooking widgets (egg separator, new measuring cups, chopsticks with holders, etc.), and a selection of DVD movies, including the 2007 World Series.
On the 27th, rested and ready, we ventured forth (at 4:00 pm...) toward Mississippi to visit Val's sister Jenny and her husband Dickie Joe. It's a long hike, just short of 600 miles, and even with an early start it makes for a very long day, so on the trip out (we go at least once a year) we plan on one night's stay somewhere. This time it was Beaumont, Texas, almost to the state line; we could have gone further but the kids were tired, and it's not fair to push them to keep traveling without need. We made decent time, mainly because driving through Houston was rather quiet, being holiday time. We set out the next day before 9:00 am (rather amazing, that) but it was slow going -- our breakfast stop ran longer than it should, as we built in a play stop at a very nice park in Jennings, Louisiana. This wasn't as much fun as we'd hoped, owing to heavy rains the night before leaving plenty of puddles, but the kids romped well. Just before leaving, I pulled off the road for a restroom stop, and this was a mistake -- just off the road was quite muddy, and I ignorantly got the car completely off the road by about four inches, which was just enough to mire it down. Four inches! I got out to push, Val took the wheel, but we'd have been there longer were it not for a passing local who understood our issue and offered to help push. Working together, we were back on the road in five seconds; I thanked him dearly, he just nodded graciously, and we were all on our way again. There's still some mud on the front fender where the right side front wheel was kicking it up in futility. Later, some breakdowns on a bridge also slowed things down; what should have been a six-hour drive stretched into almost ten. But we made it at last.
Visiting Jenny and Dickie Joe on their ranch is always relaxing. It is roomy, quiet, they are wonderful hosts, and there are cows to look at. The front pasture, this time, was home to only two bovines, a pair of black Angus bulls they'd bought for breeding in the spring. Both were under two years old, and though they were a bit trepidacious of us, when we watched feeding time from afar they acted like puppies, running and bouncing in delight. This is very entertaining behavior when performed by 1200 pound animals.
Our first full night in Mississippi, there was a tremendous thunderstorm, real roof-rattling, rolling thunderclaps. Some were sufficiently close to be full-fledged booms. I went out on the porch to watch for a bit -- the rain wasn't very heavy, curiously -- and happened to be looking in the right direction to see a direct strike, the clap of which hit me (and I mean hit me) in about 1.5 seconds, so that was plenty close. The storm finally passed sometime after midnight.
We spent one afternoon touring some of the coastline near Gulfport, which had been ravaged by Katrina in 2005. It is slowly recovering; sobering and encouraging at once.
We took our leave early on January 1, hoping that the drunkards were off the roads by now. Since we don't have to worry about arriving too late when getting home, we try to go for the one-day push, and we made it. Houston again gave us little problem, and since New Year's Day is an out-and-about type of holiday, there was no problems finding restaurants. A long and tiring day, but getting home makes it worthwhile.
Val returned to work later in the week, leaving me in charge of the kids for another few days. We ran a few errands, but otherwise finished out the school break in humdrum fashion at home.
School's back in session. Amalie got her second period report card, identical to the first.
And there was much rejoicing...
The birth certificates came back today, intact, undamaged, and this coming from a bureaucracy, in separate envelopes.
Unusual envelopes, too -- large, brown, 9.5" x 12" envelopes, but with the flap on the long side (and no brad), and taped shut with one, quite long, extra-wide piece of tape, perfectly placed. Either the taping is done mechanically or the passport department has at least one person who has dedicated his or her life to mastering the zen of envelope taping. Being a civil service of the government, could be either.
Happy ending -- we got the passports and the birth certificates in impressively quick time.
Unusual envelopes, too -- large, brown, 9.5" x 12" envelopes, but with the flap on the long side (and no brad), and taped shut with one, quite long, extra-wide piece of tape, perfectly placed. Either the taping is done mechanically or the passport department has at least one person who has dedicated his or her life to mastering the zen of envelope taping. Being a civil service of the government, could be either.
Happy ending -- we got the passports and the birth certificates in impressively quick time.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Passports redux
In my recent post about applying for passports for the kids, I didn't really harp on the return time -- quoted as 4 to 6 weeks, with horror stories of 10 to 13. With the cruise scheduled for March, I had the occasional frightening vision of waiting for the postman with the car running, hoping for one last delivery with the documents before dashing for Galveston. Would we suffer such a nailbiter?
No. Both passports arrived today -- turned around in under three weeks, and ones with several holidays included. While I expect this is because the background checks on a five-year-old and a two-year-old are trivial ("So, kid -- tossing spitballs in nursery school, eh? Did ten minutes of hard timeout for that one, I see. Hope you learned your lesson."), credit where it's due -- the DOS served its actions in impressive time.
Now if only their birth certificates make it back as well.
No. Both passports arrived today -- turned around in under three weeks, and ones with several holidays included. While I expect this is because the background checks on a five-year-old and a two-year-old are trivial ("So, kid -- tossing spitballs in nursery school, eh? Did ten minutes of hard timeout for that one, I see. Hope you learned your lesson."), credit where it's due -- the DOS served its actions in impressive time.
Now if only their birth certificates make it back as well.
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