The Adventures of Temporarily-Single Father

Yikes, it's been too long. What have we been up to?

Well we got our windows in a while ago, and it has already made a huge difference in the comfort level of the home. The Weather has started to cool off to pretty chilly at night, and we haven't even had to turn on the heater yet. Just ambient heat and good windows is good enough to keep us going through the night. The other major boon is that the neighbors' barking dogs are much quieter now. It's subtle, but pleasant.

We had our pseudo-annual neighborhood grill-out on Saturday. Not a lot of turnout, but a few families did show up, and everyone was really pleased that we were taking the time to do this, so it's worth it just to foster a sense of community around here. Also, Tyler learned to share toys. Sorta. He still needs some practice on that.

Also this weekend, the silver car had its battery die, so I got to be all manly and get that fixed. I considered just taking it in somewhere, but I've messed around in the electrical system of enough vehicles for work at this point that I felt it wouldn't be a insurmountable task, especially with the internet and friendly auto-parts people to help me through. Anyway, I went out and bought a battery (getting a jump to get home after I discovered the battery wasn't low...it was dead. Got some tips from the guy that sold me the battery (as well as some goop to help ease corrosion) and read up on the process on the internet, then took out some wrenches and went to work. As those of you that have ever done it before know, it's not a particularly difficult process, once you know how. But I got to surprise Jessie when she woke up from her nap and the car was totally fixed before she knew it. Still have to take the old battery back for recycling, though.

And this week, Jess is off on travel, so I'm single-fathering it again. It's not so bad, of course. Tyler gets to see mommy on Skype fairly often, and as long as he has lots of things to play with at home he's pretty easy to manage. Went to sleep just fine a little while ago and shows no signs of waking up in the middle of the night with “where's mommy” sweats.

Speaking of Tyler, the baby dictionary has completely fallen off the rails at this point. I couldn't even guess at how many words or word-like utterances Tyler knows at this point. I was always impressed by the ability of parents to understand the babbling of their children, but what I didn't know was that usually the parents don't have any idea what the kid means the first time he tries out a new word either. We just have more practice at it.

Those are the highlights of the last few weeks. I'd write more, but I have a few more e-mails to write and some research to do on how to 'base' miniature figurines. (Look it up, it's pretty cool). And then I have to hit the hay. A temporarily-single father needs plenty of rest.

-N

Good Party, Good Race

I didn't really give Mom and Dad a choice about this party. I was of the impression that they should make some time to see some of the far flung family and friends who have been peppering me with questions about their move, and I thought it would be a high note of the trip.  So, I scheduled the party, invited all the local friends and family.  And then they changed their tickets so they could attend as well.  Heh.

After a scant two weeks to unpack- which is just enough time to realize you don't have enough forks, but not quite enough time to invest in stocking the kitchen fully- the house is in good (enough) shape and Mom and Dad graciously entertained a heap of friends and family at the new place.  It was a good turnout, including Great-Uncle Bob, my mother-in-law, their real estate agent and lots of our friends.  Mom gave house tours, and everyone happily mingled (not just in the kitchen!), taking in the views from the dining room, the library and even the yard.  We made everyone take home leftovers and the remaining cookies were frozen.  It made us excited for Thanksgiving get-togethers and to see Mom's new furniture.

Matt had his first cyclocross race this morning.  For reasons that don't resonate with him, people don't do mountain bike events in the fall, but there is this odd tradition of riding road bikes on grass and mud in the fall.  He was skeptical for many reasons.  The traditions of road riding don't seem like they would translate well to a trail: a peloton, drafting, the sprint.  Spandex seems like idiodic gear for mud, and frankly a mountain bike is already set up for these conditions.  So we went to Magnusun Park in Seattle to join a giant sea of cyclocross riders.  I've never been to such a big race event.  In typical fashion, Matt took a bike better suited to his view of the condition (ie- had suspension and nobby tires) and gear (baggy shorts, hair on legs).  He did very well- he'll find out his place tomorrow.  He hadn't seen the entire course until after the start gun, so it was a bit of an adventure.  He might do a few more races as the season continues, since it's nice to have events to participate in, especially through the winter.

New tech and Bambi...

I have to make one tasteless entry before we get back to work. Connie and I returned to the new house one evening this week. Drove in, opened the garage, decided to walk around behind the house to check out something, talking all the time, and came upon a 4-point Buck resting in the little pocket garden just off our rear deck not 20 feet from us. He stands, eyes us majestically, and slips down the hillside the way we had just come. We continue around the house and find him now slowly strolling away from the opposite corner in the front. I desperately tried to figure out catching him on I-phone video. Just when I got it recording, he stopped, assumed a very unbecoming squat, and gave me 15 seconds of deer droppings. Not going on you-Tube.....

Sunsets to Sunrises

I am sitting in my new, fully paid for and owned home, looking down on a mystically fog filled Snoqualamie River valley and watching a beautiful sunrise over my part of the Cascades. We used to watch our Sunsets over Lynn Canal but this is going to be a fine trade-off. No Snow to speak of, family we can drive to, a Spring and Fall that we can actually watch happen as opposed to jumping in and out of Winter. I'm still not retired, so its back to work and the Juneau apartment in a few days. We did have a serious inquiry about the practice from a Glaucoma specialist working for Kaiser in San Jose. She is tired of 5 1/2 day work weeks and wants to experience "real weather". Do I have a job for her, eh? She plans to visit in December, so no one can say she wasn't warned. We have been settling in a bit, trying to mesh old possessions to new house, planning new purchases, exploring new driving patterns, just getting a feel for the new neighborhood. Found an Internet provider, filled the Propane Tank (for 20% of an Oil fill-up in Juneau), and have become friendly with the local St Vinnie's Donation staff. We smugly watch the weather reports that Southeast Alaska is getting dusted with early snow while we watch a stately procession of fall colors across the Valley. I remember that Ernest Hemingway built his final retirement home in Sun Valley famously oriented to the Sunrise compared to his Ski-dilletante neighbors aligned with Sunset. I can understand him this beautiful morning.

I'm official! I have a job!

The rumors have been swirling for ages, but all the pieces FINALLY came together.  I've accepted an offer with my favorite client as a full time curriculum writer.  I "start" Nov 5, which is funny, because I work for them already on contract.  That will be more like, "I get a desk in the office."  And meet my coworkers.  And get benefits.  Yeah, I'm pretty pumped about it. 

I'll probably write up more about the job and how I finally landed it on the other blog, but for now, I'm busy joyfully dancing in the kitchen!  Woohoo!

Farmers Market Problems

Mom and Dad are here!  And they have a new house!  Since I am their closest child, it is clearly my responsibility to be sure that they have as much fun as possible so that they remember to move down here quickly.  I started their social calender with dinner at cousin Lisa's wine and cheese bar/restaurant super yumminess.  It's right down the street from Nana, which is handy.  It is crazy delicious, fresh source locavore food, which is stellar.  The social highlight of dinner was Lisa running out of the restaurant when her daughter's contractions progressed to "Having A Baby Time." (The food highlight was the fresh corn chowder, obviously.)  How exciting!

Since Mom and Dad are actually waiting for their stuff to arrive Monday, they've been not too busy running errands and getting to know their way around.  So I insisted they join us at the Redmond Farmer's Market for lunch and grocery shopping.  Lunch was a brilliant idea- how can you pick between tamales and crepes? And by then we were all sensitized to the fresh looking foods of the market.  Mom really wanted some heritage apples (Macintosh, Gravenstein etc.), so we had to peruse all the apple options.  And obviously, at farmer's market in Washington  EVERYONE has apples.  I ended up picking up some Italian plums and honeycrips and carrots and beans before Mom picked her apples.  The tipping point for our trip probably came when I was eyeing a basket of tiny-cute, sweet, homeless strawberries, and the guy (hoping to go home early), gave me a deal on a flat of the poor little orphan berries.  The little dears were within hours of peak juiciness, and would need to be used quick. We were supposed to join Nana for dinner, and in the back of my mind I thought 'I'll just bring dessert, no big.'  But then we bought a lump of fresh mozzerella (soft and sweet!), which we clearly had to pair with some of those beautiful Heirloom tomatoes we'd seen.  And of course, we found a pair of giant sunset hued tomatoes that were in the magical hour of peak perfection.  These magical fruits were not going to survive to be eaten another day... could I bring a salad to Nana's too?

Now that we had stocked up on WAY too much food that wouldn't survive the weekend, I insisted we have everyone over for dinner to help me eat my way through this produce.  Nana came to join us, and we talked about Jamie Oliver was plowing our way through roasted farm fresh veggies and didn't stop until we polished off half the flat of berries.

First Ever Zumba Class

Recently, I joined a gym.  I'm not really a 'gym person,' but the gap between the fit an unfit in the household has been getting unbearable lately.  With my current work, I don't need to move around much, or even put on shoes every day.  I've noticed that takes a toll on a lot when we go hiking, I'm the slowest, and I get absurd blisters. In the past, I was never able to justify the cost of a membership to somewhere close to home, given that I could go to the student gym across campus for free; I usually compromised by not working out at all. But even then I had to walk places sometimes. Anyway, this new fancy LA Fitness opened up in our neighborhood, and I joined at a discount thinking with my schedule the way it is, I may as well get the perk of being able to work out where there isn't another soul around.

I decided I should try to get to some different fitness classes and just generally shop the place around for a while.  This morning, despite the autumn crisp, I jumped in the car and run down for my first ever Zumba class.  I knew Zumba is some kind of loud music, energetic dance thing.  I've been told by everyone who has tried it you can't take yourself too seriously, and just have fun.  This is a good attitude for someone who doesn't learn choreography well, and is not in peak condition.

The girl teaching was super glad to see me, since I was the only student. So much for hiding in the back; looks like there is a downside to daytime workouts. I opted to stand to the right of the instructor so I could watch her in the mirror without tripping myself, but this also put me in front of the door, with its giant windows into the weight room.  I tried not to notice that we were clearly "on the tour" as trainers introduced new members to gym.  I like to imagine they would breeze past, saying, "And if showing off your lack of coordination is the easiest way for you to work out, it looks like we've got a friend for you."  Strangely, no one joined us for a dose of bad latin dance moves.

The instructor gamely showed me the 4 basic steps (salsa, cha-cha, reggaeton and bouncing around like a Sounders fan) and then we got started.  The music was turned up loud enough she couldn't hear my chorus of mumbling "1 2 double 4... no... one two cha cha ...3 ?"  That turned out to be a real advantage.  And as the class went on, and we were warmed up, or getting the feel of it, or whatever you call it, the class started to seem a lot less like dancing, and a lot more like bouncing around with my arms up like a crazy person. I'm not going to say I was good at it, but it was a really good workout.  Sometimes those classes aren't so good if you can't keep up, but as long as I kept cheerfully bouncing around the instructor was encouraging.  I actually wonder if it would be as good a workout if I could follow along better, and didn't substitute High Knees or something exhausting for every merengue step I couldn't keep track of. By the end, I was plumb tuckered and ready to get back to my mercifully sedentary job.

On my way to the gym, I briefly pondered that I might lift some weights or something if the class was short or easy, but fortunately, I just turned around and headed home instantly.  Thanks Zumba Instructor, I'm gonna go melt at my house now.  Now, I live about 5 min from this big gym, and like I said, I'm not in great shape, or generally familiar with what that might be like.  In fact, when I was about 2 minutes down the road, all my skin started to feel VERY HOT.  Unnaturally so.  Is this heat stroke?  Don't you usually pass out from too much exercise while you are doing it?  Omigosh, I only thought I ironically felt like I could die, am I ok? Should I be driving right now??  And then I noticed that the vents in the car were finally pumping in hot air.  Just past the nick of time.

Clearly, I survived my drive home, and even my first Zumba class.  There are some spin classes, and yoga and pilates and stuff that I'm hoping to go back to the gym and try.  Maybe once I am not too stiff to leave my office chair again.

NW Adventures

When we left Nana's house on Sunday afternoon, she loaded us down with chocolate bars and homemade cupcakes.  Why? Presumably this is payment for spending the day being such good grandkids.  What did we do that was so special?  Well, we took Nana up to see Anne Cox's beautiful boat and go for a ride in the San Juan Islands.  Yeah, we take really good care of Nana.

It was a pretty perfect expedition, in fact.  We've had unseasonable clear October weather, so Matt and I feel like it's the summer that never ends.  Going to spend a few hours toodling around the San Juans is a pretty fantastic way to pass the day.  We had amazing view of Mount Baker, of the for rolling in around Anacortes and the islands themselves.  Couldn't have been a better day, really.

We paired this Sunday activity with a good Saturday as well.  Our friends wanted to hike up Mt Pilchuk, a well loved nearby peak.  The bulk of the hike is skree and epic granite, which makes for some truly stunning vistas.  The very peak is covered in a jumble granite boulders, as if the whole mountain is just a pile of oversized gravel.  There is a lookout tower strapped across some of these boulders.  On a clear day, you can probably see into Canada from there.  We managed to see mysterious views of the inside of a cloud.  This did make the hike seem quite dramatic though.  After a nice hike, we went to play 19 holes of disc golf in Lake Stevens. Have I mentioned I am terrible at disc golf?  Typically, a sport that requires eye-hand coordination, throwing and trees was not going to go well for me.  Fortunately, there were enough trees that we all had a good laugh at each other.  There is something really hysterical about watching some one hurl a frisbee at a million miles and hour into a tree 10 feet in front of them (pro tip: this is not a good technique to "win" at disc golf either).  Or maybe we were just worn out.  Anyway, we wrapped up the day by meeting Shaoshu for Taiwanese food.

Taiwanese food has become the new concession to my new eating habits, since Szechuan cuisine is right out.  As far as the eating goes, I'm back on most food groups, but still avoiding citrus, spicy and alcohol, since these all appear to be solvents for the lining of my stomach.  Ouch.  Back to taiwanese food, it turned out to be auspicious since the Moon Festival was starting over the weekend.  We got to have some fresh moon cakes for dessert in addition to the already delicious foods.

In other news, we are starting to think more seriously about the possibility of someday preparing to shop for a house, you know, as a preliminary exercise to owning one.  There still seem too many other unknowns up in the air to make any actual decisions (will we be able to afford much of a house? where might this house be? Are there things we need a house to do in the future?  This last one is a thinly veiled way of saying "three car garage?" which leads to a lot of other talking that isn't much about a house, but a lot about a budget).  This is fine with me.  It seems like a big decision that a person should not make while being as remarkably ignorant as I am about all things on the spectrum of mortgages and property taxes to home ownership and maintenance.  Lots of learning to do.  As I told Mom, we'll probably be financially ready to buy a house before we are emotionally ready, and both are in the future yet.