And then I see the end of September just around the corner. Not sure when that happened. It’s been a bit since I wrote a re-cap post, so this might be a little bit of a brain dump. September has been kind of quietly inefficient for me. I’m only working 5-10 hours a week. The other day, the Husband asked me, “What do you do all day?” And I can’t really say where the time goes. I mean aside from the one morning that I ignored everything to finish Nora Goes Off Script….
Let’s see in this period of underemployment….
-I make dinner without feeling like I’m in a rush, even when we have to eat at the dot of 5pm so people can get to activities.
-I spend hours researching how I’m going to make the kids’ Hallowe’en costumes.
-I walk the kids to the bus and then go for a run afterwards, or even just take the long way home.
-I even got to bike with the kids to school a few times.
-I bake muffins.
-I replace the torn screens on six of our windows. All by myself. This is actually quite easy to do; it took less than ten minutes per window.
-I have spent more time scrolling the internet than I should. Internet rabbit holes are my nemesis and always make me feel…. blergh-y. It is ironic how much time I spend reading blogs and articles online about maximizing productivity since it is precisely reading blogs and articles about productivity that is keeping me from being productive.
-Also clearly I haven’t been blogging a lot. This is one area I would like to be more disciplined about. Not because I think I have incredible content that must be pushed out into the world, but more because it’s a creative outlet and I like to try to do something creative every day in a routine way.
Anyhow, things are going to change because I’m on to a 20 hour a week (paid) work schedule starting this week. Which doesn’t sound like a lot of time in the office, but it means being in the office approximately 10:30a – 3:30pm. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for other, non-paid things. Maybe I can get a run in before work, or declutter one thing. Run one errand. Maybe it will make me more efficient. Or maybe it will stress me out and I will revenge bedtime procrastinate even more.
And then in October, I’m back in rehearsal and it’s game over then for leisure time. To be honest, I’m kind of dreading October until the end of the year. It’s going to be a really exhausting time at work, I can tell already. Usually when work ramps up, family is the first things that falls by the wayside and I want to figure out how to not let that happen this year. I will ponder….
On to other happenings….
Ever since the school year has shifted to starting before Labor Day, I’ve always felt like the holiday has come a very inconvenient time. We get momentum from starting school then… whoa. Here’s a long weekend to throw the routines out of wack.
The past couple of years, Labor Day Weekend has meant Maryland Renaissance Festival. They have a new ticketing system this year where tickets are released in two batches – one set in July and one set the Monday before the weekend. It was a little confusing, because if you check for tickets mid week it will look like everything is sold out. And then you will be sad. I guess I understand – last year tickets were being sold on re-sale sites for 3 or 4 times what they cost. All to say, the new ticketing system was very confusing and I was worried we wouldn’t get tickets. So couple weeks ago when I saw that a batch of tickets had ben released for Labor Day, I snatched them up.
On the day, I managed to get everyone out of the house by 9:00am and we got to the Renn Faire around 9:50am, then it took us another 15 minutes to get through the gates – it was very crowded. Aside from the 6 year old’s floral crown, no one got dressed up this year – we just went as we were.
Friends, I love going to the Renn Faire SO MUCH. As we were walking up to the gate, I was struck with a giddy sense of excitement for the day ahead. “I love this more than Christmas,” I sad to the kids. “It’s just as fun and I don’t have to cook!”
It was a really good day. We saw all our favorite shows – acrobatics, juggling, physical comedy, music. We saw the jousting twice; there are three jousting show throughout the day and we always go see more than one because there is a narrative arc built into the day.
We heard some new to us musicians – isn’t music grand? I don’t know that I’ll ever go to a rock concert or anything on that scale, but I do love listening to and seeing people play music. There were bagpipes! We browsed the shops – the 9 year old bought a battle axe that is over half his size. We ate turkey legs and other food and drank lots of Pepsi because it was super hot.
On the matter of hydrating – I made kind of a critical mistake this time. Last year water bottle fillers were installed, which was great. In previous years I always brought two big bottles of water with me because you had to bring sealed water. Well now with the bottle fillers, I thought I’d just bring my small Nalgenes and not weigh myself down so much. Well that was a bit of a mistake because the lines for the water filler were soooooo long. I think I waited at least 15 minutes each time I went to fill my water bottle. The second time, I did a little thought experiment as I waited in line – “If someone were to walk up to me now, and offer to instantly fill my water bottle for $2, would I do it so I wouldn’t have to stand in line?”
Because that’s the thing – the soda is $2. (It’s not a terrible deal and the soda stands are run by a rotating roster of youth organizations as a fundraiser. So really it’s more liek $3 because I like to tip. “Huzzah for the generous tipper!” they always yell when someone puts money in the tip jar.)
Anyhow, I don’t know what my threshold would be for paying for water vs. spending time standing in line, but I did miss the last few numbers of the bagpipe band, so maybe it would have been worth the $2 to have a cold soda and hear music. I find the internal calculator such a fascianting thing.
Next year, I will bring bigger water bottles. Any maybe also fill them with ice.
We stayed at the Renn Faire til closing, when members of the company sing a last parting song at the gates. Then we got in our cars and wistfully went home, eagerly looking forward to next year.
Because there will always be a next year. The Maryland Renn Festival is 50 years old this year. There were a series of signs up throughout the grounds this year with tidbits of history and blurbs about the people who had performed here over the years. What a beautiful tradition. May it keep going for another fifty.
Other fun things that we’ve been up to so far this month –
-Date Night. The 14 year old’s voice teacher was performing in a production of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS, one of my favorite pieces of music. Although I’ve worked on MASS, I’ve never been in the audience for it – it takes a lot of people to put it on, dancers, singers, chorus, children’s chorus, orchestra…. So when I saw that it was being performed, I asked the Husband if he wanted to go. He said yes and it was date night! We even went out to dinner before hand – it was Restaurant Week in DC, so I picked a nearby restaurant from the list of participating restaurants. We ended up at Ottoman Taverna where the tzatziki was melt in your mouth smooth, and pita fluffy, and the meat grilled to perfection.
-One last swim in the pool. Most outdoor pools here close on Labor Day, so we managed to squeeze in one last evening at the pool. It was raft night so people could bring their floaties. I swam laps, we had dinner sitting in Lounge chairs, and we enjoyed on last relaxing poolside evening. I’ve already paid the membership for next summer.
-A Visit from my Cousin and a trip to Glenstone Museum. My cousin and her mom – okay technically her mom is my cousin, but I call them all cousins – were here visiting. I love how they just fold into the family. They help around the house, eat whatever we were planning on eating, cuddle on the couch, and put up with the noise and chaos of three kids with big feelings.
My cousin loves Glenstone Museum, so she got tickets to visit. Glenstone is a museum of contemporary art with several galleries set on 300 acres of land. There is also a restaurant and walking trails and many many outdoor sculptures.
This time there was a striking exhibit of works by the artist and activist Andrea Bowers that were centered on issues of body autonomy and environment. There was a room that was papered with letters written to an abortion activist who was known for providing people with a list of abortion providers. It was really heartbreaking, reading all the letters from people – women, men, parents, all desperate for help.
There were some stunning images drawn on canvases made of recycled cardboard, including one that had the tagline, “Women and the Earth have to tolerate a lot.”
I suppose Bowers’ work had a little more politics than I was comfortable with for a sunny Friday afternoon, but I imagine making people confront their discomfort was part of the point.
-Back to School Night, including our first High School Back to School Night. Wow. It’s been a long time since I was in high school so it was a little surreal to once again be wandering hallways, looking for classrooms. It must be so hard this constant sense of change that high school brings – every few months, it’s new teachers, new classrooms, new patterns. I also wondered if my parents ever went to Back To School night? I don’t really remember; I certainly never accompanied them if they did go. But of course, school communication was very different back then. I’m pretty sure schools sending out email communication wasn’t a thing when I was in school.
-I finished watching Starstruck on HBO Max – I really loved this show. It’s about a twenty something woman who has a one night stand with a famous movie star which turns into more, which turns into on again, off again, what am I doing with my life? The show is funny, messy, and filled with just the right amount of existential angst and rom com warm fuzzies.
-I started taking tap dance lessons! I signed up for a seven week class. I feel frumpy and uncoordinated, but there is something very satisfying about intentionally making lots of noise.
-Funny Kid Quote: I asked the kids the classic question of if they would rather be a big fish in a little pond, or a little fish in a big pond. The six year old replied, “I want to be in a big pond so I can have the whole pond to myself!”
Grateful For:
-The Maryland Renaissance Festival. Every year we go, I just feel so lucky that we have the country’s best Ren Faire so close to us.
-My (former) work colleague C, who has now gone on to bigger and better things. She was so brilliant at her job, always logical and clear-eyed, and handled very difficult situations with grace and tact. I’m sorry to see her go, but I’m glad that she’s on to fulfill other dreams. I’m so glad I got to work with her.
-Music. Especially when it’s played in the car very loudly and everyone sings along.
-Free Bus Ride. The local county bus is free to ride. I had some errands to run the other day, and decided to take the bus. It was so easy to just get on and find a seat. I find this is a lovely use of my tax dollars.
-On that note – car free days. This year, the kids’ bus stop is less than a ten minute walk from our house. And then last week I was able to take the Metro to work. And then because there were no kid activities that evening – I managed to have a car free day. Driving always stresses me out, so I’m always happy to leave the car at home if I can. I realize I am very lucky to have a car to use when I need to, but I am also grateful that I can have a day here and there where I can just get on the metro and read my book.
-The 14 year old taking over some of her own communications. She had to re-schedule a voice lesson the other day, so I asked her to email her voice teacher, and she did. It seems pretty cool that she’s now of an age that she can take care of these things for herself and I don’t have to be the middle person.
-That my grandfather is home. My mother was supposed to come to visit last week, but then my grandfather in Taiwan went to the hospital, so she went to Taiwan to be with him instead. She’ll spend a few days with him then come to us. My grandfather got to go home not soon after my mom arrived, and we Face Timed with him briefly. I guess he was okay since they discharged him. My grandfather is 101 (102 if you’re counting the Taiwanese way), so every day with him active and alert seems amazing. I’m grateful for him receiving medical care and then being well enough to go home. I’m grateful that my mother could get on a plane to him. It’s not nothing to be able to purchase an international ticket at the last minute.
Looking Forward To:
– Come From Away! This is one of the Husband’s favorite musicals and we’ve never seen it live. It is being produced at a theatre here this fall so I got tickets for October.
-Monticello. We have a long weekend coming up for school, so we’re going to go to Charlottesville and visit Monticello. My father, who is visiting, has always wanted to go, and it’s not really that far. We’re going to make a two night trip of it and also get some hiking in…. (Note – we’re currently on this trip… recaps coming!)
-Speaking of which …. National Parks! Now that the middle kid is in 4th Grade, we get a free National Parks Pass for the year. We’ll probably take a trip to Shenandoah on the way home from Charlottesville/ Monticello for a half day hike. Closer to us, Great Falls has some really nice hiking along the Potomac. I’ll have to research more. Last time we had a parks pass, we went to the Smoky Mountains.
-A new mattress. We finally went shopping for a new mattress. Our current mattress is maybe 10 years old but it has definite lumps and valleys in it. Shouldn’t a mattress last more than 10 years???? Oh well. I’m looking forward to our new one. This one is flippable, which I ‘m finding is quite rare these days. (Also – side note, as we were wandering through Macy’s we saw an area that was all curtained off. Of course, we were curious, so we took a peek behind the curtains, and what did we see….?
(Christmas is COMING!!!!)
-We also have a new fridge coming. I might have mentioned the conundrum of our old fridge starting to work fine again after we bought a new fridge. Well we couldn’t stop the order and delivery of the new fridge, so the old fridge is getting sent for Recycling by Pepco (our electricity company). It makes me a little sad to get rid of a working fridge, to be honest. Argh. One of those frustrating things in life.
-Gilmore Girls. When Gilmore Girls first came out, I was just out of college and I didn’t have a television. Which, back in 2020, you needed a television to watch TV. (funny, that. Also funny that they still call them TV shows when you don’t need a TV to watch them these days.) So, partly inspired by J, I’ve decided to fill the Gilmore Girls sized gap in my cultural literacy. It feels so cliched, but I’ve been watching with the 14 year old. There are many many many seasons, so it will probably take me a decade to get through this show, but I’m looking forward to it.
-Reading this book – it’s about Taiwan, how could I not pick it up?
And listening to this audiobook:
What we ate: Oh wow – I haven’t post meals since the start of the month…. Okay. So here is three weeks’ worth of meals:
Monday: Pasta and meatballs and garlic bread. The 14 year old cooked. The meatballs were from the freezer – I had made them a while ago.
Taco Tuesday: Cuban Pork Tacos. from the freezer. I also made a pot of black beans to go with. And quick pickled red onions.
Wednesday: Chicken noodle soup, at the request of the kids.
Thursday: Pad Thai – the Husband made. I went to Happy Hour send off for my colleague C.
Friday: Pizza (the Husband made at home) and Avatar Last Airbender live action movie from 2010. The movie was not great, but also ended on a cliff hanger, so I’m a little irate that there isn’t a sequel. Also it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which I find fascinating.
Saturday: The Husband and I had dinner out for Date Night. The 14 year old made fried rice at home for her younger siblings.
Sunday: KFC eaten at the pool. Fried Chicken has always struck us as a perfect meal to bring to the pool, but for whatever reason fried chicken never made it on the menu all summer. Until the last day. It was crispy, crunchy, and delicious.
Monday: Ren Faire! We ate fair food and our own snacks throughout the day and weren’t hungry for dinner when we got home.
Taco Tuesday: Freezer Tacos again – the rest of the batch of Cuban Pork Tacos from the freezer that we had eaten last week. (We are in a major “clean out the freezer” phase right now.)
Wednesday: Thai Quinoa Salad. This recipe from Cookie and Kate, only I used coleslaw mix rather than red cabbage – I didn’t want to shred a whole head of cabbage – and I added edamame instead of snow peas for a boost of protein. This was really tasty and packed full of veggies and topped with a peanut dressing. I really needed this injection of vegetables. Vegan.
Thursday – Roasted Salmon and potatoes w/ green beans. The 14 year old cooked.
Friday: Pizza (take out) and Aristocats. I had never seen Aristocats before – my cousin picked this movie; when we have guests visiting, we always let our guests pick the movie for pizza and movie night. And truth to tell, I still can’t claim to have seen this movie because I fell asleep about thirty minutes in. It was probably just as well that I fell asleep because afterwards we watched a music video for one of the musical numbers and there were some pretty problematic Asian stereotypes going on with that Siamese Cat. I don’t know… I still get super uncomfortable with slant eyed/ chopstick wielding/ sing song voiced characters in movies. Maybe I should squirm my way through them and have conversations with the kids about how terribly racist people are and how this is not okay to distill entire races down to one or two exaggerated elements. But you know… when I was growing up, kids pulled their eyes into slants at me and I really don’t need to subject myself to that willingly. So… sorry kids, you don’t get to see fake Asians on my watch. You’ll just have to settle for watching other egregious bits of racism – like Peter Pan. (All of this, I realize, makes Breakfast at Tiffany’s kind of difficult because it is, Mickey Rooney aside, one of my favorite movies…. Sigh. The world is complicated.)
Saturday: Butter Chicken with rice and paratha. My cousin brought a spice packet with her when she visited and the kids like chicken.
Sunday: Butternut squash curry with tofu and noodles. I know there’s a fancier name for this dish, but the Husband made it, so I don’t know what the real name is. But it was really tasty. And bonus – he used up a bag of butternut squash that was in the freezer.
Monday: Chicken Parm Pasta. The 14 year old cooked. This meal was very tasty, but more soupy than expected.
Taco Tuesday: We went out to eat because our favorite Mexican restaurant was having music and Taco Tuesday specials.
Wednesday: Soup. I can’t remember, to be honest, but I think this was some kind of soup that I pulled from the freezer and re-heated.
Thursday: Tofu rice bowls. Sort of based on this recipe from NY Times Cooking, only I made the tofu from this recipe, and added edamame and used brown rice. I love a good bowl where each person can craft their own thing. Vegan-ish since I used honey.
Friday: Pizza (take out) and Air Bud. It was my father’s turn to pick the movie and he wanted something that was a comedy. After some really inappropriate suggestions (including Booksmart, and something in French), we decided on Air Bud – it’s got dogs AND basketball – something for everyone in our family. I have to admit, I might have teared up more than once during this movie. I hear there are sequels…. Wait I just looked it up. There are FOURTEEN Air Bud movies. Ouf. Not sure if I will make it through all (or any) of them….
Well, that’s the bits and bobs of September so far here… this week is a short school week, and we’ll be celebrating a few birthdays, plus my parents are in town, so that will be fun.
Do you have a favorite National Park? Have you seen any Christmas Decor yet? How much would you pay to not stand in line for 20 minutes to fill your water bottle?