February 2024 – Life Off Headset

(bi)Weekly recap + what we ate: Presidents and Valentines

A crisp clear day and the American Art Museum.

The kids had Monday off for President’s Day, but there were still activities that weekend, so we styed in town and did some in town fun things. Saturday there was snow and the 12 year old’s basketball game ended up cancelled. Since the morning opened up, we decided to take the Metro downtown to a museum. We chose the American Art Museum because there was an orchid exhibit in its courtyard. We got down there are 11:00am, only to find that the museum didn’t open until 11:30am. So we decided to go to the library, which was across the street.

The library was recently renovated and the new children’s section is huge. And there is a whole separate teen section which the 12 year old went to explore on her own. The children’s section has lots of tables and chairs and cozy nooks for kids to curl up and read and a huge section of picture books in different languages. There is also a slide from the 2nd floor, where the children’s section is to the floor below. What a fun idea.

After the library we went to pizza at Ella’s and then headed to the American Art Museum. The Kogod Courtyard is one of my favorite places in DC – it is a bright and sunny oasis in the city, and usually quiet and peaceful. However, this day they were having a Family Day to honor President’s Day, so it was decidedly not quiet or peaceful. There were lots of crafts and activities, and at one point there was a Fife and Drum corps from a school in Virginia. The kids ended up making stovepipe hats at a booth sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Cottage (one of my favorite museums in DC, by the way. Though it is out of the way and you have to pay to go, so I’ve only been a few times. But if I have to recommend a museum for people who have exhausted the Smithsonian, I always recommend visiting this one and the Frederick Douglass House in tandem.) And there was some dressing up, and a collage activity. Though by the time we got to the collage activity, the only president left was Andrew Garfield or Chester Arthur or some such.

Orchid sculpture. There were real orchids too, but the place was so crowded it was hard to get good pictures.

We did wander through the galleries afterwards. We took in the gallery of “Self Taught Art”, or what the museum calls Folk Art. I like these galleries a lot, seeing things that people create just for the joy of creating, not because they are artists and it pays the bills – ordinary things like quilts and lawn ornaments. I always like looking at this work, which is mostly made of cardboard and tin foil.

The whole exhibit inspires me to make time for creativity in life.

All in all, not the museum visit I had expected, but still a nice outing.

Sunday we had Agility class for the four year old, church for the older two kids and then we went to the Dumpling House for a birthday lunch for one of my best friends. We ordered soooooo much food – dumplings and sauteed greens and noodles and cucumber salad and and garlic eggplant…. I think something got lost in translation and we also had a fried sweet potato dish (Snowfield sweet potato) that was almost like dessert – sweet potato, coated in crunchy rice stick and fried so that the outside was crispy and the inside soft and molten. So good! We always order the same thing when we go to the dumpling house, so it’s fun when something new shows up.

Monday we decided to go on a hike – we hiked from Great Falls north to Riverbend Park, about 5 miles round trip. This is farther north from the spectacular falls of Great Falls, but it’s a gentler hike with beautiful views of the Potomac. The kids have a game they play when we go hiking, called “Rock Kingdom” it involves each child claiming a rock to sit on and the oldest one calling for Rock Kingdom Counsels and then they gather and make plans on how to run their kingdoms. It’s super cute. I’m sure the 12 year old doesn’t always want to play with her younger siblings, so I really treasure these moments when she fully engages with them and leads them in such imaginative play.

Art Class: The past two art classes were spent on clouds and sunsets. Clouds are fun – one of the techniques we learned was to paint the sky then, using a paper towel, lift away the colour to make clouds. I thought that technique was pretty high impact for very low effort. Also, the teacher had us make clouds of all colours and even since I’ve found myself looking at clouds and realizing how many colours they contain. They aren’t just white. Even still, I think my efforts at clouds came out much too grey. Also I’m having difficulties blending my colours. Getting the orange/yellow of the sunset to blend up into the blue of the sky without turning green is tricky.

First effort on top. Second on bottom. Hopefully there’s improvement.

This is my in class effort of sunsets, though I think they look more like moon rises.

This is my homework sunsets. The pink and blue sunset on the bottom left of the quartet was kind a disaster. Then the next morning I woke up and looked a the pictures without my glasses on and it looked so much better and suddenly I could see what was wrong with it – I hadn’t allowed the paint to blend from pink to blue slowly. So I thought I’d give that one a second try.

Also – the pictures look muuuuuch better from farther away.

One other thing I realized when doing the homework that one trick to making things look brighter is to also have darker things in the picture to create contrast, which was what I was trying to do with the picture on the bottom right.

I think watercolor is interesting because it seems quite easy in principal to create something beautiful. Just a simple wash of colour can be so elegant. But once you get past the easy stuff, the really detailed work requires a lot of care.

Valentine’s Day – I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day person, so the big win this year was that the Husband ordered the valentines for the kids. I didn’t even have to say anything about it to him. Awesome. I did spend an hour cutting up fruit for the 7 year old’s class party, only to see an email the day of that said the school was banning all consumption of food in the classrooms for Valentines Day. Apparently there was an allergy incident in another classroom the last time there was a class party. Which I respect that decision – I just wished I had realized that before I peeled an entire Costco bag of mandarin oranges. I apparently am not the most diligent reader of school communication. wump wump. I did go volunteer in the 7 year old’s class for the party. I’m always impressed by the level of French in his classroom. I know it’s an immersion program, so that is in the point, but to see seven and eight year olds who a year and a half years ago didn’t know any French, communicate with each other in full sentences is really amazing. Also – Teachers are heroes to spend all day with our kids.

The Best Morning This Week. So I wake up on morning from sleeping on the futon in the kids’ room because the 12 year old and I had a COVID exposure, so she and I are sleeping in one room for the week while the Husband and the other two kids sleep in our room. The 12 year old desperately wants to be sick to stay home from school, so while I’m downstairs making breakfast, she tries to doctor her COVID test with a red pen. I am simultaneously impressed by her gumption, but also trying hard not to laugh at how inept she is being at faking a positive COVID test. It was pretty bad. So I send her to school. Then move on with my morning.

At 8:15 – 30 minutes before we have to go to school, the seven year old tells me his Black History Month project is due that day. (Which, if I bothered to turn on the notifications in the class Slack channel I would realize because the panic I felt was reflected in the many messages from other parents about this project. Only those panicked messages were sent two days ago…). I originally go all “strict mom” and tell him, “Tough hooey, you can tell your teacher that you forgot to do it.” But then there were tears and I’m a softie, so ten minutes before we leave for the bus, he’s is drawing Louis Armstrong and taping it to an old can, which I had to pull out of the recycling on the curb – thank goodness it hadn’t been collected yet.

“What does a trumpet look like?” he asks me. And I open the page from Picturepedia of musical instruments and try to talk him through how to draw a trumpet with all its valves and what nots. Meanwhile the “school bus” alarm is going off. And I finally just say, “F*** that. Just draw a cornet.”

So the follow up to last week’s laments on how I have no morning routine – this is exactly why there is no routine.

At any rate – yes, the 12 year old and I had a COVID exposure. It’s been kind of fascinating, and perhaps a little bit triggering, to pull the masks out again and swabbing our noses every morning to do the COVID tests, and to worry about whom we are spending time with. We personally haven’t had a brush with COVID in probably more than two years, and at first I was very self conscious about having to mask again. But then I realized that even though we aren’t masking all the time as we once were, it has become a very normal thing to do. And it’s the kind and prudent thing to do. So there we go.

Things I learned from This Week’s Crossword Puzzle: The playlist edition.
This week’s crossword puzzle discoveries were all musicians whom I had never heard of. So I made myself a little playlist of their music one evening:
– Tegan and Sara – (“Everything is Awesome” singers ___ and Sara) Okay, had heard that song, but didn’t know the group. Peppy, pop sound.
– Angie Stone – (Stone with the R&B album “The Art of Love & War”)
–Say It Ain’t So – (“___ It Ain’t So” Weezer Song). I knew Weezer was a band, one that was pretty popular when I was growing up. Could not name any of their songs to save my life.
–Ella Mai (“Boo’d Up” Singer). British R&B Artist. New to me. Actually R&B is a whole genre of music that I’m woefully ignorant on.

Watching:
Nai Nai and Wai Po. This short documentary film by Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang was nominated for an Oscar. It documents the every day life of his two grandmothers. One is 94 and one is 83 and they have been roommates for years and live life with such a joyful pragmatism – they make music, they make dinner, they arm wrestle, the argue about farting, they talk about life and living a long one. From the first moment of the film, I recognized my own grandparents and my own parents, even. In less than twenty minutes, this little film made me laugh, cry, and feel seen and understand what it’s like to contemplate humanity with the perspective of nine decades.

Incidentally, there are two documentary shorts by Taiwanese Americans nominated for Oscars this year. That feels pretty special to me. The other one is about the Taiwanese Island of Kimen which is just off the coast of China. I guess now I can say I’ve watched at least two of the Oscar nominated films this year.

Watching, and a Rant:
Hallmark Binge Pass- I’ve discovered that with my Library card, I can get a Hallmark Binge Pass via Hoopla, which gives me access to a huge collection of Hallmark movies and tv shows – cue up the fluffy, heartwarming entertainment. It’s been perfect accompaniment as I wash dishes late at night or work on my painting homework. So far I’ve watched An American in Austen, a movie about a modern day librarian who finds herself living in Pride and Prejudice. The movie was cute, and as an ardent Darcy fangirl, it was hilarious to see their take on Darcy as an unbearably pushy and kind of annoying person. I’ve also watched a bunch of holiday movies because…. the heart wants what the heart want, right? Okay, but here is one huge vent though- I usually watch things with the subtitles on and I was watching a movie called Make Me A Match, a movie about ambitious Vivi, who works for a dating app. She meets an Indian matchmaker and strikes a deal with the matchmaker to learn about her methods so that she can distill the matchmaker’s success down into something she can use to improve her app. The matchmaker’s son Boom is tasked with helping Vivi. Predictable sparks fly… It’s a lovely movie and you know me, representation is my catnip, so I was really enjoying this one. Except, we get to the end of the movie when Vivi and Boom get married in a huge Indian wedding ceremony and when the officiant begins the wedding ceremony, the titles just say, “Chanting in foreign language.” Come on, Hallmark! You can do better. Tell us what language the guy is chanting in! Also… during the party afterwards, there are subtitles for the songs in English, but the songs in Hindi just say, “Singing in foreign language.” Why does the song in English get its words captioned and not the one in Hindi? If it even is in Hindi – I’m going to be honest, I’m pretty ignorant about Indian languages, which is why it would have been cool if the subtitles had told me what language it was and what was being said. I don’t know – maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but there are huge swaths of the population for whom this isn’t a “foreign” language and I kind of resent it being labelled as “foreign.” This is not how we normalize non-English languages and cultures, folks. AmI expecting too much of a Hallmark movie? I mean the whole thing might have been captioned by an AI bot for all I know. But in which case, surely the AI bot can figure it out without labelling something “foreign.” “Foreign” is relative.

Grateful For:
– COVID tests and masks. I’m glad we had a supply of masks and tests to use when we had our COVID exposure. It’s funny how the bin of tests in our linen closet that seemed like a lot, quickly can be used up. Luckily our library is still handing out free COVID tests, so I can stock up next time I go. Also grateful that we didn’t actually get COVID. Also grateful that we are no longer in the Spring of 2020.

-For the vocal recital that I got to do the supertitles for. A beautiful evening of music, plus getting to hear Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 performed live. It is usually performed with an orchestra; hearing it with just piano accompaniment really brought out the jazzy influences in the music – the piece had a certain swing that isn’t always apparent with orchestral versions.

-Museums and libraries and National Parks. Things I don’t begrudge my tax dollars at work for.

-Making it up the hills on my bike. And lower gears. Every time I brush my bike off after a pause, even of a week or two, I am a little defeated by the hills between home and work. This time was no different. However, by my second day of bike commuting, I could make it up those hills. I just put the bike in a lower gear and keep my head down and keep pedaling. I’ve also discovered that it helps to sit a little more upright in my seat when I go up hills. I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation for that.

Looking forward to:
– A visit from a high school friend. One of the nice things about living in DC is that every so often people come here for work and I get to see them! This friend is the only friend from high school that I still keep in touch with. Her parents, like mine, are from Taiwan, and we’ve always bonded over that. (This happened! this is what I get for being so slow to post. anyhow, it was a lovely visit – more later!)

– A cherimoya! My abovementioned friend brought some fruit from California among which was a cherimoya. My late grandmother loved cherimoyas and I always think of her when I have one. There are not very prevalent here – once in a while I’ll see them at HMart – so this was a nice treat and I’m looking forward to eating the last one. For those who haven’t had a cherimoya, it’s a fruit with a very soft inside that kind of tastes like banana-pear custard.

-Peak Bloom! Peak bloom forecasts are being released this week – I wait with eager anticipation. There are a few of the early blooming trees that can already be seen around town, a riot of pink.

– Lenten reading group. A friend invited me to join a Lenten reading group – we read a book that has a reading and reflection for each day of Lent, and then come together three times to discuss it. I’m not Catholic, so the invitation to join gave me pause, but I do like contemplating life and reflecting on my life choices, so I thought this group might be a nice social/spiritual activity.

-Cooking from these two cookbooks, which I picked up from the library:

What We Ate:

Monday: Crispy coconut rice. This recipe. Basically you crumble tofu into cooked rice, add curry paste and other spices and then fry it in a cast iron skillet until the bottom gets crispy. Wrap in lettuce leaf and top with mint to eat. Tasty and very flavorful and also comes together very quickly. The two little kids didn’t care for it as much, but I think it’s because it’s kind of a new concept. I would make it again – a great use for leftover rice. Vegan.

Tuesday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos. Roast diced sweet potato in a pan and then mix with black beans. We eat it with the leftover guacamole from SuperBowl Sunday. Quick and easy meal. Vegan.

Wednesday: Instant Pot Braised Chickpeas with Tomatoes. Since I was working this evening and we had an excess of dried chickpeas to use up, I was looking for an InstantPot chickpea recipe. The best part of this is the tahini swirl that you add at the end. Vegan.

Thursday: Pasta and meatballs. I had made and frozen meatballs in tomato sauce last December, so I pulled those out and we ate them with pasts. Thank you to past me for freezing meatballs.

Friday: Pizza (take out) and Galavant. I might have fallen asleep.

Saturday: Pizza (The Husband made) and Moana. I hadn’t seen Moana before despite making the middle child a Hey Hey costume for Halloween when when he was two. The kids, have seen it several times and love it. It is indeed a great movie.

Sunday: We didn’t actually have dinner this day. We were so full from dumplings and noodles at my friend’s birthday lunch that we just kind of weren’t hungry the rest of the day. There might have been popcorn or fruit or ample snacking.

Monday: Lentil Soup and flatbread. I’m trying to incorporate more lentils in our life because they are cheap and healthy and not terrible for the environment. I can’t for the life of me remember what lentil soup recipe I made, but I’m pretty sure I made this in the Instant Pot. To go along with it, I made this yogurt flatbread recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Tuesday: Celery Cashew with Five Spice Tofu. We got two bunches of celery in our produce box. We aren’t huge celery people – usually it goes in soups or we eat it with peanut butter. So I thought I’d try this recipe that would put the celery front and center, though I didn’t have 5 spice tofu, so I pressed extra firm tofu, dusted it with 5 spice powder and then pan fried it. I thought it was pretty good for being a dish based around celery. Vegan.

Wednesday: Egg Sandwiches on bagels. Sometimes on Wednesdays when the kids have early piano lessons, I will pick up some bagels for breakfast, and then also enough extras so that we can have breakfast sandwiches for dinner. One of our easy go to quick dinners.

Thursday: Meatball subs. We had some frozen meatballs from the store to use up.

Friday: Pizza (take out) and Galavant. We re-watched one of the episodes from last week since I had fallen asleep. We have a nice Friday night routine now- after basketball practice for the 12 year old, they come home with pizza. We watch two episodes of Galavant while eating pizza. The kids go upstairs and get into pjs and brush their teeth, without help from a parent (that’s key), and the can come down and watch one more episode. Not sure what we are going to watch when we are done with Galavant – there are only two seasons and we’re halfway through the second. Any recommendations?

Well, I just realized that March is bearing down around the corner! Wow. But we do get a bonus February day tomorrow – that is always a fun thought, even though in theory it is just another day.

Books Read in January 2024

The year got off to a slow reading start, but there were some really good books read:

Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute by Sayantani DasGupta: Read this for the Mother/Daughter book club. It’s a YA modern day twist on Sense and Sensibility, set at a Jane Austen summer camp where the producer of a Bridgerton-esque show are scouting for extras. I’m always down for a Jane Austen adaptation, but I was actually a little confused when this book didn’t exactly follow the original source material. In the notes afterwards, the author said she didn’t want a faithful adaptation, so I guess that makes sense. I thought this book was fine, if a little improbable. The 12 year old said that the Pride and Prejudice adaptation was better – it’s called Debating Darcy and set on a high school debate team. I’m intrigued.

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope, read by Shayna Small: Whenever I’m looking for an audiobook recommendation, I look on the Audie awards page and see if anything jumps out at me. This one definitely did. It’s a historical fantasy heist novel set in Washington D.C among the world of the 1920’s Black elite. Clara can talk to spirits, but is deeply indebted to one in particular. When she gets a chance to win her freedom by stealing a piece of jewelry, she assembles a team of misfits with supernatural talents to help her. I thought this was a pretty fantastic book – the historical elements were fascinating to me, especially since it was set in DC, and the story itself was well paced and engrossing. The story is inspired by the true account of a Black teenager who shot a white police officer during race riots in 1919. The audio of this book was pretty stunning, with Small embodying each person with a distinctness that made it easy to to keep track. I thought overall this book was pretty terrific, and I even borrowed the book and read chunks of it since I liked the audio so much.

Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis: I stayed up late to finish this book by Canadian author Willis. It’s about Amber, who enters a reality show to compete for a spot on a mission to Mars funded by a tech billionaire. Meanwhile, her long term, slightly stoner boyfriend Kevin stays behind in their home in Vancouver, trying to keep their hydroponic weed business afloat while watching Amber on TV and wondering how to navigate life without her. This book starts out with a breezy satirical tone, but as it progresses, it asks some deep and probing questions about relationships, wealth, fame, and the ethics of science and exploration and reality television. I thought this book was beautifully written and really engrossing, though the end was heart-breaking. ‘

The Measure by Nikki Erlick, read by Julia Whelan: I 90% picked up this book because Julia Whelan was narrating the audiobook. (The other 10% was because I saw Stephany recommend it.). The premise of the book does make one ponder – one day everyone in the world over the age of 22 receives a box with a string inside. Come to discover that the string corresponds to the length of your life. This sets off a host of repercussions as people (and society at large) grapple with whether or not to open the boxes and what to do with the information inside. The book specifically follows the lives of several different people as they learn to live with this new world of strings. I don’t think you can read the novel and not think about what you would do yourself if you knew how long you had to live. There was something about this book that made it feel like it was an expanded fable rather than a novel for me. Can’t quite put my finger on what that is – it reminded me a little of The Midnight Library where it felt like the author was trying to force the reader to ponder their own life choices. Despite that, I really liked the characters and the way the stories intertwined, and I just might have cried at one point in the book. As always, though, Julia Whelan made this a really great listening experience.

On my Proverbial Night Stand:
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – for Cool Bloggers Book Club. I’m way behind, but very intrigued by where this book is going.

The Marquis who Musn’t – Historical romance by Courtney Milan. Love her books.

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus – Mother Daughter Book club book, chosen by the 12 year old.

Black Ghosts by Noo Saro-Wiwa – non-fiction about the history of Black people in China.

and a couple of other things that I’m a few pages into so I’m not sure if they will stick…

Weekly recap + what we ate: Art and celebrations

This year, Lunar New Year AND Super Bowl Sunday fell in the same weekend. I am a little abashed to say that the latter gets more attention in our household. However, I did call my father (My mother is in Taiwan with my grandfather), and the seven year old dressed all in red on Saturday (coincidentally, but my dad made a comment about it when we FaceTimed, so I’ll take it), and I made my first attempt at making baozi (pork filled steamed buns). We had dumplings at our Superbowl party, a nod to both San Francisco and Lunar new Year.

My parents also send us two boxes of oranges from their tree for Lunar New Year, including red envelopes for the kids. (Though there was a bit of a mix up and we got my niece’s red envelope, and my brother got the ones for our kids. Oops!) The oranges are amazing – really sweet and juicy. Our neighbors also gave us a box of pineapple cakes too, one of my favorite Taiwanese treats, and they brought red envelopes for the kids too. So I feel as if I haven’t totally neglected the holiday, though I can do better. Every year, I think I’m going to celebrate/participate more, but then Lunar New Year creeps ups on me. I do feel like I fail at being the good Asian daughter a lot of the time.

The weekend felt very packed. Saturday was a basketball game for the 11 year old, and then she had an audition for a children’s chorus. Apparently the audition didn’t go well – it was her first real audition experience and she said she got really “spooked” singing for the people in the room. I am feeling deeply conflicted as a parent about the whole thing – there is a part of me that is all Tiger Mom, thinking, “Well, she didn’t prepare adequately and if she had truly wanted to do this, she would have practiced more. She needs to develop a sense of discipline if she wants to do this again”, and there is a part of me that says, “Auditioning is hard! Good for her for going in there. Big Hugs.” I do want her to enjoy an activity and do things that serve her interests, and at the same time, I think there is a certain sense of discipline and determination that are a more long term takeaway from participating in activities. Or maybe I’m expecting too much? Or overthinking things? I think often of an interview I heard on Fresh Air with a lady who’s son was diagnosed with a fatal illness when he was still a baby, and she talks about wondering what is the goal of parenting when you know your child will not grow up to be an adult?

Super Bowl Sunday, there were classes and activities (agility class, Faith Formation, and skating lessons), a playdate, which I almost cancelled fearing it was too much to do, but which ultimately was quite nice because it was our only opportunity to go outside all day, and the kids got to ride their bikes to the park.

Then in the evening we had friends over to watch the Super Bowl. I thought the game was simultaneously slow and exciting. The half time show was a lot (as it should be). And there were some pretty great commercials. My favorites were the Ben Affleck/ Jennifer Lopez Dunkin’ Donuts commercial – hilarious!, and then commercial for Google Pixel’s new guided frame technology which helps people with impaired or low vision take pictures. I mean, if I was the type to cry during a commercial, that would have been the one. We sent the little kids to bed when the game went into overtime, though the rest of us stayed up to watch to the very end. Still a late night for all.

Other happenings of the week before:
I started my watercolor class! The day before the first class, I went to the art store to pick up supplies. Is there anything as exciting as the anticipation of new art supplies? Fresh paints, blank paper, and smooth brushes.

The first class was a lot of explanation of supplies. The teacher told us not to buy the very expensive supplies for an introductory class. Except for watercolour pencils. There is one inexpensive brand of watercolour pencils that she does not recommend – the colours are not saturated enough. “Did you keep the receipt?” she asked the students who came to class with that brand. I thought that was hilarious.

Our first in class assignment was to experiment with six different watercolour techniques. The homework is a repeat of the same techniques. Here’s how I did on the first try:

Things I learned from the week’s crossword puzzle – one of my favorite things that we did last year was get a Sunday newspaper. Hands down my favorite part is the crossword puzzle, that I work on through the week. I do them in pen, and I don’t look up clues. However, once I finish the crossword puzzle, or get the solutions the following week, I will google the answers that were new to me; I find it’s a fun way to learn random bits of knowledge. Things I learned from this week’s puzzle:
-Anne Meara (“Emmy nominated Anne”) – Meara was a comedian who had a comedy routine with her husband Jerry Stiller. I was particularly struck by the fact that they broke up their comedy act because they were afraid that the biting tone of their routine was hurting their marriage in the long run. I thought that was a pretty self-aware decision.
–Otoes (Native Americans based in Red Rock, Okla.) This Native American tribe was semi-nomadic, originally from the Great Lakes area but eventually settling along the Missouri River in the Iowa/Missouri/Nebraska area. They were decimated by small pox and the American government.
– Gaus sum (Gaus __, concept in algebraic number theory.) This is the method of adding consecutive numbers by adding the first and last, second and second last, and so on, and then dividing by 2. Quite neat and efficient.
–Adolph Rupp. (Kentucky coaching legend Rupp) University basketball coach with a storied career. Anytime I see the name “Adolph”, I wonder about the choice. Rupp was born in 1901, clearly before the name Adolph became practically taboo.
–Tealight (Candle originally used to warm a steeped drink.) Who knew? But makes so much sense. Tealights originally came from Japan and were used to keep tea warm, but also they helped tea brewers keep track of time since one knew how long they would burn for.

The hyacinths are poking their heads up. What the what???? It is alarming yet also how can I not love the hints of spring?

The “I’ll miss this some day” moment: One morning, I was woken up very early – not sure how early, but it was definitely before 5:30am – by the four year old standing next to my bed bawling at the top of her lungs. Let take a moment to reflect on how freaky it is to be woken out of a dead sleep by someone standing next to your bed, even a small and cute someone. And she was clearly upset.

Eventually I figured out what she was sobbing.

“You didn’t play Let it Go when I brushed my teeth!!!!!!” she cried over and over again.

Backstory: the night before, I had let the six year old pick the music for clean up time, but then I promised that four year old that she could listen to Let It Go while they brushed their teeth. Then I forgot, and we played Chompers, as we usually do, no one said a word or reminded me of my promise for Let It Go. Everyone went to bed. I moved on with life.

But I guess not everyone forgot. Or rather someone eventually remembered.

This is one difference between the Husband and me: At 5am when a small person wakes you out of a dead sleep, grief stricken that we’d forgotten to play Let It Go – I try to console her and explain that I had forgotten and that she also had a responsibility to remind me. The Husband, reaches over, picks up his phone, cues up the Frozen soundtrack, and rolls over and goes back to sleep. I’ll let you guess which tactic got the four year old to stop crying.

An hour or so later, when we were both truly awake, I said to the Husband, “Wow, she has a mind like a steel trap!”

“It’s a rusty steel trap,” he says, “Because you never know when it’s going to snap shut and bite you in the ass.”

Perspective: So back in September, I wrote a post entitled “A Litany of Complaints”, of many of the things stressing me that time, and I thought it would be interesting to revisit those stressors:
–The cavity ridden state of the two little kids’ teeth. This has been more or less resolved to the tune of many many crowns. We’ve given up gummy candy and are more diligent about brushing. I just got a notification that they are due for their semi-annual cleaning, which I’m sort of dreading but also curious as to whether or not we are truly cavity free.
–Unflattering passport photos, and an expired passport in general. My new passport just arrived. Yay. I was genuinely worried that my grandfather would suddenly pass away and I would not be able to go back to Taiwan because I had no passport. So that’s all squared away. Morbid, I know. (I had one cousin who missed out on a huge family reunion in Taiwan because she had put her passport in storage and couldn’t get to it. The family still constantly brings it up. So I’m glad I won’t be known as the grandchild who couldn’t go to Agong’s funeral because she didn’t have a passport.) I still hate the picture. I tell myself I don’t have to look at it, but even still, I know that it’s a terrible picture. Can’t take that away from me. AND it’s going to be there for the next ten years. That’s pretty much until the youngest kid is in high school and the oldest is graduated from college. So I guess I’ll get a new photo in time for a celebratory international trip with the oldest child.
–Not planning the three year old’s birthday party until the last minute. It was fine. She had a party, which I wrote about here. Only now I have neglected to plan the seven year old’s birthday party – his birthday was three weeks ago. There’s always something. Same stress different kid.
–Keeping track of the 11 year old’s activities. I have them all pretty straight now, but it’s been a bit of a shuffle this month with her playing rec league basketball and the Husband and I both working on one of the nights she usually goes to basketball clinic. On another front, luckily we share carpooling to the pool with the neighbors so usually someone will remember if there is not swim clinic that week. Also – the twelve year old is in the school play, which rehearses directly after school so she has been totally responsible for that. I just have to remember not to panic on the evening when it gets to be 4:45pm and I suddenly realize I haven’t seen her yet.
–Window treatments for the living room. Aside from some abstract contemplation, there has been absolutely no movement on this. I’d like to just throw my hands in the air and give up on it, but this is the current state of things:

*Very* ad hoc and improvised. There are at least four different stages of window treatment contemplation going on here.

–My 20 year old car. The car is still with us. We did however, get a new minivan back in October. By “we” I mean the Husband. I have yet to drive the minivan. Part of what we talked about in getting a minivan is that I would get rid of my car. But I’m irrationally attached to my car and have been putting things off. I had promised the Husband that I would take care of getting rid of the car in January. Then February. And now, the windshield wipers need replacing and we need to renew it’s parking permit and it probably needs an oil change. And I think – should I really do all that if I’m going to imminently get rid of it? Anyhow, change is hard, I’m having some kind of block against moving forward with getting rid of the car. The thing is – we could put more money into it and it would be okay, so it feels wasteful to get rid of the car. I’m investigating donating it to the high school’s automotive training program. This is still a huge stressor for me.
–Morning routines. Still feels like the mornings are interminable yet rushed. I came to a huge revelation about my morning routines last week. Part of the reason my morning routines are non-existent is because the kids are so erratic in the mornings. One kids is up at 6:30am, another sleeps til 7:00am, the other… something in between. Sometimes they want breakfast right off, sometimes they roam the house. Sometimes they will get dressed first, sometimes not til they’ve been up for an hour and a half. If they were more consistent about their mornings, I could feel like there is a routine – for everyone. Like maybe we would get piano practicing done, maybe we would put away some laundry, maybe I could get some journaling in… Maybe I’m asking too much. But it does seem like with almost 2.5 hours of awake time in the morning, I should be able to do more then, breakfast, pack lunch, get dressed. Work in progress.

Which is all to say – I feel like some of the things that were stressing me out in September are still stressing me out, some have been resolved, and some I’ve learned to make peace with. They’ve moved from stressing me out to just being irksome. I think this is a big component of adulting for me – managing stressors. Stressing about things until I manage them. I don’t know why I do it like this – it always feels better when things are resolved.

Grateful For:
– Superbowl Sunday with Friends. It’s nice to have people over who I don’t have to worry about impressing, who will bring tasty food, and who have kids that will entertain our kids.

–For the middle school teachers who keep the 12 year old (and all the students) safe: The 12 year old’s school had a lock down at school on Friday. Apparently there were some teenagers with BB guns who fi (or maybe there was more than one- it’s unclear), ran into the field next to school. The police came. Looking at the letter sent home the whole incident took about 20 minutes, but I’m sure it felt like longer to her in her classroom. All the nearby schools went into lockdown. It’s hard to conceive of what the real danger was to everyone at the school, but regardless, it must have been an incredibly stressful afternoon. Some part of my mind thinks, “Of course, everything turned out okay,” but I know I can’t take that for granted. Such is life in America. Sadly.

-Biking. It’s gotten warm enough (and dry enough) to bike places. I biked to work one day, though I did walk the bike up the big hill, and I biked to meet the Husband for lunch.

–Our neighbor for lending us a bamboo steamer: As I mentioned above, I wanted to try my hand at making bao for Lunar New Year. However, I didn’t have a bamboo steamer. I could steam in a regular metal steamer, but there is something about the bamboo smell that completes the bao flavor for me. So I texted our neighbor, and they had one which they dropped off that very afternoon. I think the buns turned out okay – they popped open a little when I steamed them, so I do need work on my folding technique. I also want to experiment with some vegetarian filling options.

Looking Forward To:
-A potential big trip. We’ve been doing some research for our winter break trip. One day over lunch, the Husband and I were to both come with three ideas to start discussing. I find planning for travel overwhelming, but just starting to research a destination (or three) is actually pretty fun.

-Long weekend adventures. Definitely a hike, and maybe a museum. (This all happened. It was a great weekend! More on that soon. )

-Reading more of Courtney Milan’s latest book, The Marquis Who Musn’t. Historical romance featuring an English village populated by Asian people? Yes please! I love Milan’s books – there are no idiotic people and her writing and plotting is generally very good. She’s also hugely outspoken on issues of race and inclusivity in the romance genre.

What We Ate:
Monday: Takeout from Chicken on the Run. The 7 year old had his first sewing class and I was going to make sandwiches for dinner when we got home, but sewing class is a block down from a really good Peruvian chicken place, so I called an audible and brought home chicken, and yucca fries and plantains and black beans and rice, and cucumber salad. No regrets.

Tuesday: Zucchini Boats. The Husband cooked. He stuffed the boats with ground turkey and covered it with cheese and diced tomatoes. Always a favorite.

Wednesday: Bacon and Egg pie. Recipe from Saveur Magazine. I used to subscribe to Saveur magazine and I loved it – the food writing was so evocative and homey, even when it was about far flung locations. I very rarely cooked out of it because the recipes often needed ingredients that I didn’t have on hand since a lot of the recipes came from other countries or cultures. Anyhow, I have a gentle aspiration to cook more from the cooking magazines that I own and I had bookmarked this recipe to try – it’s from New Zealand and quite easy – puff pastry, filled with chopped up bacon and eggs, drizzled with a sauce of Worchester sauce and ketchup, then baked. I think I overbaked it a little, though. The result, however, would be perfect for a portable lunch or breakfast.

Thursday: Pizza Takeout. It was the Husband’s birthday and he didn’t want to celebrate, but then changed his mind so he came home with pizza from his favorite place and a cake from his favorite bakery. We kept it lowkey, but the kids did make a sign:

Friday: Pizza (The Husband made) and Galavant. Friday night tradition. I don’t know what we’re going to do when we finish season two.

Saturday: Bahn mi (take out) and A Bug’s Life (the 7 year old’s turn to pick the movie). The movie was new to me, very cute.

Sunday: Superbowl Sunday. Lots of food! Our friends are both big griller/smokers. One brought brisket and one brought ribs. The Husband made guacamole. We ordered soft pretzels from the DC Pretzel Company. There was also dumplings, baozi, crudite, brownies, lemon cake, chips, fruit. I like having a good party spread and this one was pretty good.

Hallmark Holiday Movies 2024 – Part 2

I’m sure you are thinking, “Diane, it’s February! Why would anyone want to read your Hallmark Holiday Movie recaps????”

Umm… I guess the answer is that the post has been sitting in my drafts folder for weeks, and if I don’t finish them now, I will feel even more silly finishing them in June. So yeah. But also… I just realized that I can get a Hallmark binge pass through Hoopla with my library card, which, in addition to the awesomeness of being able to watch all six seasons of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, means that I can watch an huge-normous library of Hallmark holiday movies whenever I want. Ah-mazing. So maybe another recap of Holiday movies in June wouldn’t be so out of the question. I have a feeling, though, that I’m not that blogger and this isn’t a Hallmark movie blog. So I’ll probably spare you all that.

Anyhow, onward –

A Christmas Family Tree (2021)– Using one of those genetic tests, woman finds her biological father and is immediately embraced by his family. And the cute neighbor/family friend.
My catnip: None, really. We were at a hotel and this was the Hallmark movie that was on. Oh wait, Andrew Walker was in this one. I always like him.
My take: I liked that the romance was just one part of this movie, and that the relationship between the main character and her newfound father was also pretty central.
The ridiculous: I’m always surprised when people unexpectedly show up at other people’s doorsteps un expectedly? How do they know the person’s address??
Favorite bits: Andrew Walker.

A Sugar and Spice Holiday (2020): career driven Asian daughter returns home for Christmas. She has a big presentation due yet still agrees to participate in a Christmas bake-off competition with childhood friend.
My catnip: Asian leads
My take: So I straight up watched this movie because it was apparently one of the first Christmas rom coms to feature an Asian cast. (This movie came out on Lifetime.) I guess it’s good to know that movies featuring Asian families can be just as cliched and formulaic as movies with an all Whtie cast. This movie was fine.
The ridiculous: The Christmas bake-off was pretty ridiculous. Including a subplot about bribing the children who were the contest judges.
My favorite part: the heroine’s parents run a lobster bar. I thought that was hilarious and charming. My parent ran a restaurant when I was growing up too – it was not a Chinese restaurant, but rather a run of the mill family restaurant that served prime rib and burgers and what not.

Boyfriends of Christmas Past (2021): Career driven Lauren is visited by the spirits of past boyfriends who take her on a journey of her past, leading her to reflect on why she is still single.
My catnip: The 11 year old chose this one – she was really excited to see a movie with an Asian lead. Also – I am a sucker for a Christmas Carol adaptation.
My take: I thought the concept was actually pretty great – the visits by the boyfriends were funny – but Lauren was such an awful character that I ended up not liking this movie at all. She was just so mean to everyone around her. Which I guess was the point – redemption and all that – but I think there has to be something about that character that I want to like, but there just wasn’t.
The ridiculous: Lauren breaks up with all her boyfriends around Christmas time and never thinks to take that to her therapist to unpack?
My favorite bit: I thought that the best friend, Nate, was kind of cute. Bonus points for not being white. I think it’s a little out of touch when Hallmark couples always feature one white person, so it was nice to see a mixed race couple where neither person was white.

Holiday Road (2023) – 9 strangers stranded in Portland airport on Christmas Eve decide to rent a van to get them to Colorado in time for Christmas.
My cat nip: Road Trip Movie.
My take: I thought this was a pretty fun story – there were several story lines involved and I thought they were each touchingly cliche. We watched this for Family movie night and no one hated it. High praise, I know.
The ridiculous: When they got to Colorado, the van pulled up at a house that was covered in snow and decorated for Christmas, except the trees in the front yard were deciduous trees. And they were covered with snow! Like full on leafy green trees with snow on their branches. I know these films are shot in the summer, but come on!
My favorite bit: The storyline featuring the single mom and the crusty old man was my favorite bit – touching even though I expected each plot twist. Also – the couple from Hong Kong travel with a portable karaoke machine! I was debating whether this was to go under the “ridiculous” or “favorite” bit – and honestly it’s kind of both.

Not so Royal Christmas (2023)– Royal tabloid reporter snags an interview with and elusive Count of vague European country. But the truth is the real Count has gone AWOL and the “Count” is really the landscaper. Tabloid reporter and fake Count get close, canoodle, and do all sorts of Christmas-y things in the name of journalism and philanthropy.
My catnip: Royalty, Will Kemp as the leading man.
My take: I thought this was a charming twist on the somewhat cliched story of a Prince in disguise as a commoner. In this story, the commoner is disguised as the Prince.
The ridiculous: There seems to be a lack of journalistic ethics in this movie. Also the end scored high points in my “But they can’t just do that!” meter.
My favorite bit: Will Kemp. He’s just adorable. And he sometimes wears glasses which makes him even more so.

Ladies of the 80’s: A Diva’s Christmas (2023): A group of former soap opera stars reunite to film a holiday special. And oh yeah there’s a romance between the producer and the screenwriter. But that is totally back seat to the fabulous cattiness and comraderies of the women.
My catnip: I mean it’s there in the title – Ladies of the 80s – Morgan Fairchild, Nicolette Sheridan, Linda Grey, Loni Anderson. LONI ANDERSON!!!
My take: This movie is very much a good time, though I feel like a large part of that is because it brings together an amazing group of women. If, however, you did not grow up in the 80s, a large part of the charm of this movie might be lost on you. The plot was just a pretty thin excuse for getting these ladies onstage.
The ridiculous: Is this really how a tv special is made?
My favorite bit: Watching those ladies share the screen. The quips, the banter, the DGAF. May I be that awesome when I get to be that age.

Where are you Christmas (2023): Career driven Christmas cynic Addy returns home for the holiday. Christmas is annoying and inconvenient and she wishes Christmas away. The next day, she wakes up to find her wish has come true, and the world has been literally drained of colour – everyone is now black and white and no one remembers Christmas. She immediately regrets it and enlists the help of the local mechanic Hunter to help bring Christmas back.
My catnip: Michael Rady – I like him in all the Hallmark movies that I see. He’s got a “Man next door” air about him that I love.
My take: Okay, in the pantheon of whimsical, magical Christmas movies, I thought the premise of this one wasn’t terribly original, but having the non-Christmas believers be black and white and then burst into colour when the remember what Christmas was about – that was pretty beautiful and was one thing that set this movie apart. The other thing I really liked about this movie was that it was really thoughtful about the idea of “What does Christmas mean to me” and the divide between the people who believed in Christmas and those who didn’t. This movie didn’t feel like it could have happened at any other time of the year. Christmas cynics aren’t my favorite trope, but I really liked the way it was handled in this movie.
The ridiculous: Addy is in charge of marketing a Christmas Countdown app that has a Santa that tells you how close you are to Christmas. Let me tell you, this app is so annoying, I don’t know how anyone thought this a viable product.
My favorite bit: I loved all the bits when people changed from black and white to colour – it was just so well done.

Waking Up To Christmas (2023): Career driven woman electrocutes herself at the airport and wakes up to find herself living in a Christmas movie. She must
My catnip: Christmas movies about Christmas movies. I love that very meta trope.
My take: This was fine, if a little over the top and excessively Chistmas-y. I found the lead a little irritating in how adamantly anti-Christmas she was. Yes, yes, it’s all in part of the story, but it just made the end kind of not really believable.
The ridiculous: There is a character called Christophe Kringle. I mean I guess if you make a movie about living in a Christmas movie, it’s going to be pretty ridiculous. Also – when I tried to Google this movie, it came up under a different title – Just Another Christmas Movie. I have questions about that. Why would you release a movie under two names?
My favorite bit: The movie lampoons the genre perfectly with the dreamy widowed doctor with a precocious daughter, both of whom always appear out of nowhere ate the exact right moment.

Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023): Three couple celebrate Christmas on Cherry Lane.
My catnip: same sex couple – yay for inclusive story telling!
My take: Okay, I loved this movie – the way that all the storylines intersected was really neat. Spoiler alert – if you like This is Us, this movie might be right up your alley as well.
The ridiculous: The one couple is having their house renovated and when the movie starts, on Christmas eve, the kitchen is torn down to the studs. But their contractor says it will be ready for Christmas. And it is indeed finished by Christmas. What? That is definitely a contractor fairy tale right there.
My favorite bit: All those lightbulb moments when you saw how things were connected.

Checkin’ It Twice (2023) – Career Driven woman returns home to her small town for the holiday and meets hocky player who has recently joined her town’s minor league hockey team. Cute Hocky player is at a career crossroad, trying ot decide what to do with his life.
My catnip: Kim Matua whom I loved so much in 2022’s Ghosts of Christmas Always.
My take: I was pretty “meh” about this movie – everything about it seemed unoriginal.
The ridiculous: I feel like this movie was too bland to be truly ridiculous.
My favorite bit: I thought the two leads were very appealing, but other than that I was very lukewarm about this movie.

Round and Round (2023): Hannukah movie meets Groundhog Day. Rachel is stuck reliving the same day over and over again, including the meet cute with the nice Jewish boy her grandmother brings to the 7th night of Hannukah.
My catnip: I love a good Hannukah movie.
My take: I really liked this movie – probably my second favorite this year, after A Biltmore Christmas. It starts as kind of a gimmicky premise, but then as Rachel, the heroine, tries to break the cycle, there is some really thoughtful and hilarious plot twists. I also liked that this movie felt very holiday specific – this wasn’t just a cliched rom com that happened to be set during the holidays – Hannukah traditions were central to how the plot moved forward.
The ridiculous: I mean that whole wake up to the same day every day thing… but it’s the plot, so I guess I’m okay with it.
My favorite bit: Rachel’s dad is played by Rick Hoffman of the tv show Suits and he was a delight to watch. Also there’s a bit in a comic book store that is brilliant and hilarious.

So that’s a wrap on Holiday movies from 2023! I think that’s 21 movies all together. Whew. The movies this year seemed to me less diverse and more “Hallmark Formula” than last year, which was slightly disappointing. Well, we’ll see what happens next year! Only 9 more months until Hallmark movie season starts again!

(bi) Weekly recap + what we ate: Another Birthday week and a Museum

It’s February! January was a blur – there was a show for the first half of the month and then the second half of the month felt like I was picking up the pieces. I’m hoping the February will feel slower, more intentional and more balanced, less like survival mode.

Also – we’ve had weather in the high 70s and mid 30s, all in the span of a week. I cannot take this weather whiplash. On my walk the other day, I saw some crocus shoots starting to peak up. What? Not! And then I was talking to a stage manager who was coming in for our next show and she asked me what kind of weather she should pack for and I said, “I honestly have no idea what to tell you.” But… it got me thinking that she will be here until the end of March, which means that she will likely be here for peak cherry blossom season. I’m really excited – for peak bloom. (I just checked the website and it says it is yet too early to predict peak bloom… I wait with much anticipation…)

Anyhow – other adventures…

The big kids had last Monday off school (Teacher’s grading day), so the Husband and I both took the day off and we took the kids downtown to the Mall to visit the National Gallery of Art. There were two exhibits that I wanted to see before they closed in March – one exhibit was of the portraits by Dorothea Lange, and another of the works of Mark Rothko.

I thoroughly enjoyed both exhibits. The Lange was especially haunting as a large part of the exhibit was devoted to portraits that she took of families migrating during the Dust Bowl, including Human Erosion in California (Migrant Mother), the famous one of a Great Depression mother looking weary. (I just went down a rabbit hole and the story of the woman behind the photo is fascinating. She wasn’t actually a worker on the pea farm where the photo was taken; she was just stopped them when her family’s car broke down. Turns out the lady, Florence Owen Thompson, was quite resentful that the photo was taken without her permission.) There were also a series of photos she took at a Japanese relocation center that felt particularly poignant. I love how immediate and spontaneous and timely photography can be.

The other exhibit, works of Mark Rothko, was more intangible in it’s appeal, I think. Abstract art hasn’t always spoken to me – I like art of things and people and recognizable objects – but there is something about Rothko that I really like. Maybe it’s the bold unapologetic color? What I loved about seeing the Rothko paintings up close is that you can see how different blocks were painted with different techniques- some bold and rough, some quite smooth, some very orderly. It makes his work feel all the more deliberate. In addition to the familiar blocks of colour, the exhibit had some of Rothko’s early watercolors and they were definitely reminded me of the work of painters like Cezanne and early Picasso. Another favorite part of the exhibit was the giant easel that they had on display – to see where Rothko made his work really lifted to the painting for me, and reminded me that there is a person behind all this colour.

Taking to the kids to a museum is always a tricky excursion. The 4 year old didn’t have a lot of patience for looking at art, but one thing that did capture her attention was all the paintings of Mary and the baby Jesus. Every time she saw a painting of Madonna and Child, she would run up to it, pointing with glee, exclaiming, “It’s Baby Jesus!!!” I guess it all goes to show that art speaks to us, when we find something familiar in it.

In the lobby of the East Wing, there was an easel set up with a giant screen that people could “paint” on. The kids LOVED this. They would have spent the whole day there if they could. I had a moment when I thought, “But they have art supplies at home! Why are they so much more excited about this?” Oh well. As I was walking out, though, I saw a grown up with a child who looked to be about eight or nine, and the grown up was teaching the child how to draw and they were sketching the Calder mobile above them. I thought that was actually a brilliant idea of how to get children to engage in art. Sometimes I think that we spend so much time looking at art that we forget to actually make it ourselves. (This is one of my beefs about the kids’ school specials – they spend all this time learning about Beethoven and the Beetles, and not enough time making music themselves. Similarly in art class – they know about Van Gogh, but not about making their own creations.) So yes, in the same breath I have been irked at my kids for their obsession with a digital painting canvas and bemoaned the lack of creative opportunities. It’s irrational. I’m going to sit with that for a little bit.

I also thought this was funny – this layout of a future exhibit. The circles say, “Not Trash” I feel like that could be some kind of very meta art in itself.

Every time we go down to the National Mall, I’m struck with gratitude and amazement how all these great museums and works of arts are less than an hour away by train. This year I want to be more intentional about going down and making time for the the exhibits that I want to see. There is a show in September called Paris 1874: The impressionist Moment that I want to make sure to catch. But also there is an amazing permanent collection too that I should also remember to see – We walked by Degas’ sculpture Little Dancer on Monday and I had forgotten that this sculpture was even here. Such a lovely piece of work and I can walk in and see it for free anytime the Museum is open!

Also super fun was we saw two white squirrels on the Mall as we were down there! I heard that they are rare, but there were two frolicking about, so maybe they aren’t as rare as I would think? After the Museum we went to have dumplings and noodles and then went home. What a lovely day.

The week before we celebrated another birthday! The middle child turned seven. I can hardly believe that he’s already seven. And… he lost his first tooth the day before his birthday. Milestones all around! I bought some balloons, including this giant Grogu balloon that has weights on the bottom and an attached ribbon so you can pull it around like a pet. I realized afterwards that the same balloon without the weighted bottom and ribbon leash was five dollars cheaper. Did I really pay an extra $5 for a ribbon and weights? I guess I did. Well, the 7 year old loved it, so maybe it was worth it? The Grogu haunts our house now, floating around, peeking around corners in the evenings. It’s a little creepy of one isn’t expecting it.

Grogu watching me clean the kitchen late at night. Maybe he needs a cookie…?

I made a red velvet cake and we FaceTimed with my parents that night, singing happy birthday and blowing out candles.

“They just keep growing” moment – I’ve been trying to do some closet cleanouts and I had two bags of clothes to take to Goodwill. The bags had been riding around in my car, but then I realized that the 4 year old’s agility class is right next to a Goodwill. Yay! I love when errands line up. So after class one day, we I headed over to the donation center. Just as I was pulling up, though, I remembered that the 12 year old needed pants, and last fall I had put four pairs of pants that no longer fit me into the bag. And actually, those pants would probably fit the 12 year old. So I pulled them out of the bag before dropping the donation off at Goodwill and took them home to her. It turns out that they fit her pretty well. It was just such a moment for me to realize that the path of clothes that no longer fit now don’t automatically have to go into the donation pile.

A charming picture book and story from my past:

So funny story – when I was growing up in Canada, there was a radio show on the CBC called Basic Black, hosted by Arthur Black. I don’t remember much detail of it, but I remember it was funny and that my brother and I would listen to it every week. Arthur Black had a book in which he wrote a essay about how Winnie the Pooh was named after a bear named Winnipeg, because the bear was from Canada. In sixth grade, my best friend Gail was a huuuuge Winnie the Pooh lover. She one day told me that Winnie the Pooh was named after a bear named Winnie at the London Zoo. I said, no, actually it’s named after a bear named Winnipeg because Arthur Black said so. No, you’re wrong, Gail said. And back and forth and back and forth we went.

I eventually wrote to Arthur Black and asked him how he knew that Winnie the Pooh was named after a bear named Winnipeg. And he wrote me back!!!! Anticlimactically, he said, “I wish I could give you chapter and verse of where I heard about the bear named Winnipeg, but I don’t remember.” I’m paraphrasing, but that bit about “chapter and verse” is a direct quote – for some reason that stuck in my head.

Anyhow, fast forward thirty-five years and we borrow this book, Finding Winnie, from the library, mostly because I love the art of Sophie Blackall. And guess what? Winnie the Pooh was indeed named after a bear in the London Zoo. So Gail was right. BUT… the bear came from Canada and was named Winnipeg. So Arthur Black was right too. The story of how the bear named Winnipeg got to the London Zoo is actually quite a lovely story and I might actually have almost been close to tears at one point. And to have a 35 year old argument resolved… that was lovely too.

Cleaning out the Tupperware drawer I have a huge list of aspirational decluttering that I want to do and the list is overwhelming. Cleaning out the Tupperware drawer and Tupperware overflow seemed like low hanging fruit, so I tackled it one day. (I do note that I use “Tupperware” like “Kleenex” or “Xerox”. I don’t actually own any true Tupperware per se.) One of my pet peeves is when storage containers do not get put away with their lids. It irks me to no end when I go to use a container, fill it up, and then turn around and discover that there is no lid. ARRRRRGH!!!! Anyhow, the jumble was getting out of control so I pulled everything out, matched lids and then threw out anything that didn’t have a lid. And then I went to our basement where we have “Tupperward overflow” and did the same, also throwing out all those old crappy free water bottles that I had been collecting down there. I also threw out/recycled a bunch of sippy cups – made me a little wistful remembering the days before my kids could drink from a cup. Isn’t that crazy to think there was a time when drinking out of a cup was hard? Another thing in the “They just keep growing” category. Anyhow, organizing the Tupperware was a very satisfying task. Also – in our previous house, we kept all the Tupperware in a cupboard, and I have to say the deep drawers for storage in this house – I really love them. It would never have occurred to me to have storage drawers instead of shelves beforehand.

Grateful For:
–The Metro worker who filled up my metro card. On our way home from the museum, when I tried to tap out the 6 year old’s card, it didn’t have enough fare on it. Good lesson for me – always tap out after the kid so he’s not stuck on the other side of the gate. The machines at the gate you use to to refill metrocards only take cash. Well, the kid needed 0.15 on his card to make up the rest of his fare and as I was digging through my purse for change, the station worker came up behind me and put money in the fare machine for me. I know it was just 15 cents, but that little bit of generosity really brightened my day. And then on the way home, we took the bus and the bus driver told us not to tap our cards so we rode for free. Not sure why, but it always warms my heart a little when I get to ride for free.

–A Co-worker’s keys – One day I was working in my office all alone and I started packing up to get ready to go pick up the kids from the school bus. I went to the bathroom and then got back to my office and realized that I had left my keys inside. Panic! I had my car keys, and I thought maybe I could just go get the kids (without my coat or purse or phone). The building was pretty empty and I was starting to despair, but then I ran into someone who works in the costume department. She saw that I was clearly stressed and distressed and asked me what was wrong and I said, “I’ve locked my keys in my office and now I’m going to be late to pick up the kids!”
“I think my key opens your office,” she said. “Here take them and see.”
And her keys worked. And relief flooded me. And I wasn’t late for the bus. Well, I was a little late, but the bus was waiting for me when I got there, so it was okay.

–Wool Baselayers – I’ve gotten back into running, but some days it is just so cold – like in the 30s. But I also hate being too hot. I’ve been able to find some not so expensive wool baselayers on sites like Backcountry or Sierra Trading Company. They’re great for cold weather running – keeps the heat in, but doesn’t weigh me down or make me overheat.

-A beautiful Vocal Recital – I had one show to do supertitles for last week. There was a bit of kerfuffle a couple hours before the recital where there was an added song so I had to put together the translation slides very last minute. But it was all good. My favorite piece was a setting of Jamaican songs.

–The six year old who is now seven – What a creative, cerebral little guy he is turning out to be! He can make anything into a rocket ship; he finds endless possibilities in sticks. He loves to sit and think and ponder the world. He’s a little bit of a rule-follower, maybe too much. He’s learning to read and loves to read books and comic strips and the side of cereal boxes and the gps directions from the back seat of the car. He loves music and dance parties. It can’t be easy to be the middle child, but he loves his sisters and gives them lots of hugs. I’m so grateful that he’s part of our family!

Looking Forward To:
–Galavant – This is an enormously fun tv show is a fairy tale musical about a knight on a mission to rescue his lady love from an evil, yet misunderstood tyrant. I had vaguely heard of this show when it came out in 2015; I might even had watched an episode or two. But this was still back when network/cable tv and watching episodes as they were released were a thing, and I was working in Colorado without at tv that summer and couldn’t keep up. Now the show become part of our Friday night routine. Fridays used to be tv and pizza night, but because of the 12 year old’s basketball schedule, we don’t have time for a full movie, so we’ve been trying to find tv shows to watch instead. I’m finding that family friendly tv shows don’t really exist anymore. Either they’re super sophisticated or moronically infantile. This manages to be a bit of both and much more. There is lots of tongue in cheek humour and “spot the star” guest appearances – John Stamos! – but also sword fights and musical numbers. Very much recommend.

–Watercolor classes – Start this Tuesday! I got the syllabus last week and I’m excited to have homework again!

–Knoxville: Summer of 1915. I have another recital coming up the second week of February and I just received the program and texts/translations to prepare the supertitle slides. I am so excited because on the program is one of my favorite pieces of music ever – Samuel Barber’s Knoxville Summer of 1915, a gorgeous gorgeous piece of music, all about the sad beauty and nostalgia of childhood. (I may have mentioned it here before…) I’ve never had a chance to hear it perform live and I’m so looking forward to this recital.

What We Ate:
Monday: Orzo Salad with Peppers and Feta from NY Times Cooking. I had a whole bunch of red peppers in the Hungry Harvest box so this was a good recipe to use them up. I’m reminded yet again that I don’t actually like orzo that much. It’s just too small to chew satisfyingly.

Tuesday: My mother’s chicken wings, steam green beans and tater tots. Red Velvet cake. It was the middle child’s birthday, and this was his birthday dinner request.

Wednesday: Tofu Stir fry. I think the Husband made this.

Thursday: Not quite sure – for some reason I didn’t write down this dinner.

Friday: Cabbage stir fried with noodles from Tenderheart. I have a few heads of cabbage in my fridge to use up. (Though the 12 year old likes to eat cabbage raw and gets annoyed when I actually cook it into something.) This was a great pantry recipe because I could use up all the various yam noodles and rice noodles in the pantry. I’m determined to cook from the pantry the next month or so. This meal was also really quick to come together so we had it before basketball practice. After practice we also had a bonus dinner – pizza and Galavant.

Saturday: Pizza (take-out) and The Barbie movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the Barbie movie – it kind of reminded me of The Velveteen Rabbit, with it’s central idea of how real life with all it’s messy, hard, complicated bits is still worth living.

Sunday: Snack dinner while we watched the football playoffs. Guacamole, chips, crudité plate, brie in pastry.

Monday: Yu Noodles – a local chain. This was where we went to get dumplings and noodles and buns after our trip to the museum. So tasty.

Tuesday: Fried snapper, eaten din lettuce wraps, with cut up carrots and cucumbers. The Husband cooked.

Wednesday: Steamed Tofu and Bok choy with tahini cilantro sauce. Simple, healthy. One kid only at the bok choy, one kid only ate the tofu.

Thursday: Happy Hour after work at a Mexican restuaruant.

Friday: Guacamole snack before basketball practice. Pizza and Galavant after practice.

Onward into February now!

On Wednesday morning piano lessons

The two older kids take piano lessons at 7:15am on Wednesdays. When the piano teacher first offered that as a time slot – her only available opening – I thought, it was an alarming idea. But then I thought about it, and actually, it made sense for us. My kids are early risers and they don’t leave for school until 8:00am. Having piano lessons first thing in the morning meant that I could take them, and then we wouldn’t have to figure out a carpool situation after school when I often wasn’t available.

But I’m going to be honest – it is a hard push most Wednesdays to get them there. Getting them up, dressed. Sometimes there is breakfast involved. Sometimes I pick up breakfast afterwards for them as a treat. Making sure they have their books, which should have been put together the night before – there is literally an alarm on my phone at 7:30pm on Tuesday night called “Find your piano books”. And the 4 year old also has to come along for the ride because I can’t leave her at home. So that’s another body to wrangle into the car seat, often still in her pajamas. And for some reason, the children that wake up on their own at 6am six days out of the week need to be dragged out of bed at 6:50am on Wednesday mornings. Needless to say, there are many alarms set for Wednesday mornings at our house.

Getting to 7:15am piano lessons feels especially hard in winter, when it is dark and cold outside as we get in the car. Indeed, the whole thing can feel like some sort of secret stealth mission – bundling into the car while the houses around us are still dark and still, as if we are on the lam or something. Even in the summer when it is light, the quiet expectant air of morning contrasts with my frazzled hurry and I try to make it to lessons on time.

Piano lessons are just a little over a mile away – two left turns and one right. Yet there is always one moment, when we take that second left straight and head straight east, that always surprises me. The turn towards the rising sun is never the same, depending on the time of year. Some days it is still dark with only the faintest hit of dawn. Some days, we drive straight into a blinding sunrise. And I have to squint and concentrate to stay on the road. If I’m good I’ll have remembered to put on my sunglasses beforehand.

And then some days, like last week, as the daylight hours finally begin to lengthen, I take that left and I see the most beautiful golden pink dawn sky, sunrise just starting. The tangled jaggedly trees that line the street silhouetted against the blushing horizon. And it’s gorgeous and it’s just a moment. And I want to capture the sheer beauty of it, but I’m driving and that would be irresponsible and probably dangerous, so I just keep driving and drinking in the pink and I say to the kids, “Look at the beautiful sky!!!” Because I don’t want them to miss it. Because I know that the next week I won’t be guaranteed this sight as I turn that corner, so I might as well enjoy it now.

Anyhow, as I turn the calendar into February, I just want to remind myself to look up as I round those bends because beautiful things might be just around the corner.