Already 2 weeks into February, and I'm finally starting this journal entry. That's not great. Although, I was able to get in touch with a couple of good friends who have back to back birthdays at the beginning of this month. On Sunday, the 1st, we visited Gram, and Ellen attended her Lego Physics class.
It has been a bizarre month weather-wise, continuing a theme established last month. As of this writing, I've ridden my bike to work several mornings over permafrost and even 1 morning just this week on Tuesday through a couple inches of snow until I got down to the main roads where it wasn't quite so snowy.
In the first week, the girls had their dentist appointments. Their teeth are doing ok, but Ellen's molars haven't quite grown out of her gums all the way, so they are suggesting sealants to avoid cavities back there. She's supposed to go back in a couple months to have it checked out. I missed Big Truck Day at school this year because I had a training class I was in charge of at work, so I couldn't miss anything. I was disappointed. On Thursday night, I met Jada and the girls at the Nike Campus for the 2009 Cycle Oregon route unveiling encompassing Oregon's Sesquicentennial. The weekend route is based out of Jada's college, Western Oregon University, and it covers the Willamette Valley, north and south. The week long route for this year is in southern Oregon crossing into northern California. These were the counties that tried to cede from Oregon and California to become the sovereign state of Jefferson. They planned their gubernatorial inauguration for December 7, 1941. By the time the war ended, the State of Jefferson was no more. We signed up for the weekend ride and a dorm room, and I got Jada's permission to sign up for the weeklong ride. I'm looking forward to my every 3 year adventure.
Ellen has been trying to get over an illness all month. She hasn't stayed home from school, but I did last Friday. I was all ready to ride off to work when Ellen said she wasn't sure she wanted to go to school. So I stayed home in case she needed to be picked up. However, I was the one who ended up sleeping on the couch all afternoon after trying to call into my first meeting. On Saturday, Ellen had her first creative writing class in the morning, and in the afternoon we visited Gram for some more painting. On Sunday, we decided we'd give the mountain another try since it had snowed a couple days prior. However, the snow was worse than the previous weekend. We didn't even need snow shoes to hike on the packed snow trails. We went a little faster, that's for sure. We were up and back before noon. Then Ellen had a short rest before she headed off to her last Lego Physics class. I ran a couple errands during her 2 hour class including stopping at Powell's to pick up something for myself, and a present for Jada. I picked up an autographed copy of the StarWars Millenium Falcon book and a copy of the graphic novel, (soon to be out in the theaters) Watchmen. I had read it back in college, but I had never owned it. With the movie coming out soon, I decided to go ahead and pick it up. I also picked up Jada's Valentine gift. (I found her another Sarah Vowell book.)
Sunday, February 15: The week didn't contain a lot of interesting things going on. I got the radio replaced in the Subaru because one the dials stopped working. On Valentine's Day, we spent the afternoon running errands which included stopping by the Bike Gallery for Ellen's birthday present. We had already told her what she was getting, but we wanted to let her pick it out because she's right between sizes for bikes. A little too big for a 20" bike, and a little too short for a 24" bike. However, she found a purple Trek that she liked, and we were able to work with the sales person to make enough adjustments to make it fit her. We first attempted to have her ride it inside, but she was too nervous, and there wasn't quite enough space. She did agree to try it outside, though, even as nervous about it as she was. The weather was nice enough, so we set up on the side street next to the shop. She got going on her first try. It has hand brakes instead of coaster brakes, but she wasn't that good at remembering to use her coaster brakes anyway either. It has a front shock which isn't terribly necessary, but pretty much all bikes in this style come with them now. It's a geared bike as well, but we just found one that worked for her and left it there. The nice thing is we probably won't have to buy her a new bike for a very long time. She should be able to ride this one well into high school, I think, depending on how fast she grows. (Jada can borrow it too, I'll bet) It has an additional hole in the crank arms so the pedals can be installed in a shorted length for someone like Ellen whose legs are still too short for the regular length.
Sunday, was the day of Ellen's party, so at 10am, we were standing outside the Stoneworks climbing gym ready to climb. All 8 of the kids Ellen invited to come showed up, and after a brief safety talk and fitting everyone with shoes and harnesses they were ready to go. Ellen did the first climb while everyone sang happy birthday. She made it almost all the way to the top before she lost her nerve. The folks who were belaying everyone were very encouraging and patient with all the kids, especially the ones who said they were afraid of heights like Ellen. On her second wall, though, she got higher. Phoebe also made an effort, but she was a little more timid, and only made it a little ways up before wanting to come down. She at least tried. I video'd and ran for pizza while Jada took pictures, so we didn't get to climb. Maybe next time. We didn't do cake or anything, just pizzas and a big plate of fresh fruit, but the kids didn't mind. They were all pretty worn out. Ellen was able to collect 32 new books for the SMART program from her generous party guests. We always request no gifts, but if people would like to bring something, we prefer books to be donated to the SMART program in honor of our friend Dylan Emslie. In the afternoon, Phoebe had a party to go to at a place way out in Hillsboro. After a couple tries at finding it, we got there only 10 minutes late. I dropped her off and went to work until it was time to pick her up since it turned out to be pretty close by.
Monday was Ellen's birthday and our traditional President's Day tax appointment. We dropped Phoebe off at her day care and Ellen at a friends house while we went to the appointment. He was all wound up with the recession, but he always has interesting advice. Since the girls are still a bit sick, we had a rest time in the afternoon where both girls napped for a little while at least. This was followed by dinner with Gramma at our house. Both the girls played piano for her, and Ellen read to her from some books. We had a yummy chicken dinner with an attempted rice pudding for desert for something to put the candles in, but it didn't quite work out. Jada continues to make an effort to find healthy alternatives to sweets to keep Ellen balanced. By the end of the evening, both girls seemed a little more ill. Ellen said her ear hurt, and Phoebe felt warm.
Tuesday morning, Phoebe slept very late, and when we took her temperature, it was at 101, so we kept her home. We tried to take Ellen's temperature as well, but she couldn't breath through her nose to keep her mouth shut for an accurate reading. It was close enough to normal, though, so we let her go to school. Wednesday, Phoebe's temp was still over 100, and Ellen was feeling worse, so they both stayed home. Jada was able to get a sub and a doctor appointment. Ellen had an ear infection - her first since 2004! Phoebe just had the crud that's going around. They should both be able to return to school tomorrow. Also Wednesday morning, I had a bit of a problem. When I went to get the paper, there was a large pot over turned next to the car. I wasn't sure what it was and neither was Jada. It wasn't until I was coming home from work, I put my things in the back of the car since I was picking up the girls on the way home from Jada who had a meeting, when I noticed our box was missing (the Yakima Rocketbox we have on the top of the car). The pot must have been used in the crime to stand on to loosen the fittings. I blame myself for not keeping the box locked, but one of the locks was broken, and it just didn't occur to me that there was a possibility of that happening. I won't make that mistake again. I filed a police report, but there just aren't enough police to track down something as mundane as this. I guess I know what I'll be using my REI dividend for this year.
We got a call from New Seasons on Wednesday night letting us know that Phoebe had once again won second place in her age group for the coloring contest. When Jada told the person who called it was her 3rd time winning second place, the person responded that Phoebe must be their best artist. Jada quickly quipped, "second best". I had a basketball game Thursday night (after going to the chiropractor after work) in which I took a hard charge and bounced my head off the court. I still have the bump on my head, and it feels like I need to go to the chiropractor again already. It was our last game of the season. I really doubt that we'll be in the playoffs. We lost a lot of games by 1 or 2 points over the last couple months. On Friday, Phoebe wasn't feeling very well again in the morning, so we kept her home from her day care. She was feeling better by the time school was supposed to start, but she was exhausted. Jada was running a couple errands after work, and Phoebe fell asleep in the car between Trader Joe's and Walgreens.
Both of the girls slept in all the way until 6.30am Saturday morning. We had to get to the grocery store early so that the girls could go to a game day put on by the TAG (talented and gifted) program. There were 2 sessions that Jada was helping out with, Phoebe went with her in the morning while I took Ellen to her writing class. I spent the morning running errands to pick up giveaways for the National Engineers and Technicians Month presentations on Monday, I had to meet with someone at work who works a different shift, and I had to pick up some kitty litter all while Ellen was at her class. Then we switched off, and Ellen went to the TAG game day while Phoebe came home to rest. I chose not to nap since the Tour of California coverage was on. Both the girls liked a game called Baffle Gab. Neither Jada nor I have played it yet, but it sounds interesting. You draw 5 cards with words on them which have points assigned and then you have to try to create a sentence using as many words as you can. Then you tally up the points for the words used. The really nice thing about it was Ellen came home in a completely better mood than when she left. In the evening, we stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up a gift for a birthday party Ellen is attending next weekend, and Phoebe bought herself a book. Phoebe still has a cough, but Ellen seems better.
Sunday was a morning where we went to visit gramma to try some new art projects like fingerprint pictures and one of those spiral color things. We went to run some errands, and came home for some quick piano practice before our date with the symphony. We got tickets to a kids concert that my Goddaughter Elsa was going to be performing in along with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra down at the Schnitzer Auditorium in Portland. Unfortunately, Phoebe wasn't feeling well and had been weepy all morning. We just couldn't bring her to the symphony, so I took Ellen with me while Jada stayed home. It was a fun concert featuring pieces written by famous composers when they were children. Then there were the kids from the Portland youth symphony like Elsa who got to play with the orchestra. There was even a piece written by a 16 year old from Portland who won the young composers competition.
Monday I spent the day at school for the National Engineers and Technicians Month presentations in 5 classes - all 4 kindergartens doing my usual Lego towers and Ellen's second grade class trying something new. I made a semi-solid (think flubber) during the presentation and handed it out to everyone. Then I tasked them to come up with uses for it while investigating its properties. I think they had fun. It's always amazing how exhausted I am at the end of the day there. Thursday, I rode to work in the snow again, and the bike lane was quite slick too. However, I was able to keep the rubber side down, as we say, by keeping the speed down and keeping my front wheel straight. I've learned over the years you can get through pretty much anything with those key items..oh, and don't keep a death grip on the bar. Stay loose, and let the bike find the right path. It wants to stay upright too. You just have to let it - like a feather on the wind (that's for all you Firefly fans out there). Also, on Wednesday, I got my email that my second sabbatical is coming up at the end of August.
And now here we are on the final day of the month, and it's a doozy. We started off with an early morning visit from our friend Pete for breakfast. He's up visiting from San Francisco, and he only had a short time to stay before moving on with his busy schedule. Not long after that, we had to take Ellen to her yearly eye appointment which took her right up to the time when we needed to leave for her writing class. Ellen found out the she will need glasses. They usually don't prescribe glasses unless it's bad enough to fail a driving test, and she is at that point. Nearsighted, like the rest of us. She's excited though. Jada and I looked at each other and wondered what has happened since we were kids, but with the styles and colors available nowadays, it's easier for kids to be happy with them. Phoebe's eye appointment was right after Ellen's. The girls made a stop at the bakery for a snack and a game of chess and then to save some driving, they walked home. While Ellen was at her class, I went to the gym. Later in the afternoon, Ellen had a birthday party to attend. Before Pete got here in the morning, Ellen was doing her piano, and Phoebe read 3 books to me. She really has gone from a capable, if reluctant, reader to a really good reader. She's gotten very good at her sight words, and she can figure out new words pretty well too.
Kitty update: Last month we were worried about Flower staying with us because she was scaling new heights around the house. She has calmed down a little bit. We still can't keep her off the kitchen table or top of the piano, but at least we have not seen her on the mantle, high windows in the house, or tall book cases. I stress "seen" because we're only home so much. Jada seems to be some sort of cat whisperer with Scarlett. She can ask her to come to the couch to sit with us, and she does. It doesn't sound so odd to type it, but you have to see it happen. It's very odd. Flower, on the other hand, is nobody's tool.
On the commuting front, I'm doing pretty well even though the weather has been odd. It's the driest and coldest winter I can remember since coming to Oregon. In February alone, I've ridden to work in snow twice, but just about every morning, it has been between 30 and 35 degrees. Year to date, I've logged 546 miles commuting well on my way to my goal of 4000 miles this year.
Sorry the pictures have been slow in coming so far this year. It's been busy.
Journal Entry: February 28, 2009