Summer is Here

Edit from the future:  Yet another post sitting in my draft folder.  I'm gonna try to wrap it up and publish it, backdating this to the date I wrote it.

Seasonal summer begins on June 21st, which is also Father's Day, but most of the USA thinks of summer as the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

This year, Memorial Day — the last Monday in May — fell on the earliest possible date on the calendar, and Labor Day — the first Monday in September,— will fall on the latest possible date on the calendar, Sept. 7. Thus we can look forward to the longest possible unofficial summer.

The 105 day span won’t happen again until 2037, though it generally happens every five to seven years.

The Friday before Memorial Day weekend was the kids' last day of school.  The kids who at least once a week asked if they really had to go to school opted to go every day even though they were implicitly given permission by the educators to skip the last three days.  They wanted to see their friends one last time and the last three days are essentially a party for the kids.

We packed up and headed to St Louis to meet up with Katness.  When the trip was originally planned, she was gonna come down that Friday.  But things happen.  One kid had a baseball playoff he couldn't miss.  Another had a theatre activity he also couldn't miss.  So she couldn't come until Saturday, but was wiggy on the time of arrival.  

This made meeting up with my one college friend that I see once in a while challenging.  Initially, I was stressing about going to the Science Museum and then trying to have lunch with a bunch of people that might not cross-pollinate well.  

Eventually, I just said Fuck It.  And it worked out because we all sat down for lunch and were able to get separate checks.  

The rest of the weekend was the usual challenge.  Katness wants to fill every moment with doing something, and there's nothing wrong with that.  But our respective kids really just want to hang out with each other, either at the pool or playing Minecraft.  

It usually works out but I need to remind myself the next time we are getting together to factor that in to the equation.  

Long Weekend, Short Sleep

This has been a busy but rough weekend.  First, on Thursday, we had to be in Oxford, Mississippi, for Natasha’s science fair. This required getting up fairly early to be there by 8 o’clock. The issue is it’s 62 miles away, and I didn’t get the best sleep that night.

The science fair was kind of weird. Parents and chaperones were not allowed on the main floor until the lunch hour, and the students weren’t allowed to leave the main floor except for one bathroom break and then lunch

Meanwhile, Nightingale was going to bring her father-in-law at lunchtime, thinking that parking would be a breeze, which it wasn’t. We wasted a good 20 minutes trying to find a spot to park, and so when we got back to the stadium, all the food lines were long. Luckily, we had snacks.

Today we’re in Huntsville, Alabama, at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.  We were three years ago by ourselves, but this is a school field trip.

Hello March - a bit late

 It goes without saying that I have done a terrible job of keeping up with this blog.  It's probably a combination of laziness, not having an audience, and having a boring, mostly uneventful last remaining years of life.

Trespassers

As a Stay-At-Home-Dad (SAHD), I don't get out much.  I take the kids to school, maybe run some errands, try to get some stuff done around the house, and then pick the kids up.  It's hard to tell what day it is, unless there is something that I can anchor to.  Certain Substacks I follow come out on specific days.  Same with some TV shows that we watch.

Pepper Sandwiches for the Lent I no longer observe

I'm very isolated down here with no local friends.  My attempts at having standing phone calls with people have not worked out.  People like to talk, talk, talk but not ask me anything.  

March definitely came in like a Lion.   We had: 

• Daylight Saving Time, 
• Spring Break, 
• Friday the 13th, 
• Pi Day, 
• Ides of March, 
• International Women's Day (I think)
• St Patrick's Day.  

And also March Madness and the Oscars for those who are into that sort of thing...and I'm not.  Oh and America (at least the MAGA part) declared war on Iran on the first day of Ramadan.  

We also had me puking my guts out all day and night last Saturday.  I couldn't even hold down water, which sucked because I was getting dehydrated.  I barely got 4 hours of sleep.  We thought it might be a virus, but since no one else in the household got it, we are attributing it to food poisoning.  

The good news is that the next morning, I felt better and could drink water again, though I craved soda pop like no one's business.

The next few weeks are not gonna be any less easier.  There are field trips and science fairs.  And who knows what else from the unhinged, unrestrained, lying, petulant, insecure, thrice married, serial wife-cheating, porn star-banging, blue collar-worker-stiffing con artist in the White House.

More Catching Up

 I did something to my shoulder and cannot bring it full circle without the ibuprofen.  Even with the meds it still hurts a tad when I try perform some basic function that involves my left arm, like typing.  I have a lot of things I want and need to do around the house now that the weather is warming up, but I also know that if I overdo it, I will injure myself further.  So with great frustration, the great garage cleanout reorg is delayed again.

The Saturday after Martin Luther King's Birthday, a good part of the country, including our neck of the woods, was hit with a big ice storm.  We knew it was coming in the sense that it's not gonna pass us by, be mild, or be short-term.  We knew the kids would be home for at least a week.  

It turned out to be two weeks.  The first week was declared an emergency and doesn't need to be made up, but apparently, they are still figuring out the second week. The kids had to give up President's Day as the first make-up day, hopefully the only one

Sidenote: our county does this thing where if there is a holiday during the week (typically a Monday Holiday) garbage pickup is shifted one day.  This usually isn't a problem but remember that It's Definitely Coming Storm!  Everyone whose pickup is on Friday had to wait two weeks until theirs got picked up, as well as the rest of the county for the following week.

I get the Holiday Day Shift, but they ended up doing it again in the second week, so it would have been better to somehow get all the pre-storm garbage collected.  

Meanwhile, the storm allowed Nightingale to "help" the kids get their science fair projects completed.  They would have been due Jan 27 but were extended to February 11th and we used each weekend we were home to move the project forward instead of wait until the last minute.  Yay Nightingale.

Last Week of August

On the way to school Friday, I turned on the radio and there was an advertisement for the K-Pop Demon Hunter Sing-along movie.  Natasha zeroed in on it and said we should go on Sunday because she had soccer team pictures Saturday afternoon (more on that later).

and I made shrimp scampi

I looked it up when we got home, and indeed it was for Saturday and Sunday only at participating Malco Theaters.  Since it's a cost item, I reached out to upper management (aka Nightingale) and we decided we would do it.  We also invited SIL and her crotch goblins to join us, but she was sick, perhaps with COVID.  

We offered to take the crotch goblins along without her, which she reluctantly agreed to.  She was hesitant because of costs, not trust.  Everything is so expensive now, and she, like everyone, including us, is stretched to the max.  That's what happens when you vote for a lying, petulant, insecure, thrice married, serial wife-cheating, porn star-banging, blue collar-worker-stiffing con artist.

With the soccer pictures being at 1:30, it meant we had to pick a later showing to be sure we could get changed and make it there in time. In the past, soccer pictures consumed at least an hour of your time, not counting the less than 10-minute drive to the field.  This time, however, was different.  We got there at 1:25 and, after filling out the required form, were in line immediately.  The total time investment was 30 minutes!

Something was different this time, and I think it was that they staggered the photo times between teams more widely, so that you weren't waiting for one team to finish before you got to take your photo.  Or maybe the later start time was when most of the other teams were already done.  Either way, yay! 

This coming weekend is Labor Day, and NG has invited the family over for a cookout.  Nothing is set in stone or finalized because we would need to check the weather.  The issue is that our kids like playing with their cousins.  But Confederate Jethro cannot go 5 minutes without saying something that would get you called into HR.

This Trip was a Little Different

We just returned from a 10-day trip to Michigan for a high school graduation party, with a stop in Chicago on the way back.  As per our brand, we did it at the Highest Difficulty Setting.  

We were in Louisville on Thursday, and we got to see some friends who live there.  But then, as soon as they left, Nightingale left me in the pool to go talk to her parents.  The parents who 1) live in the same town we do and 2) were going to see every day for the next 4 days.  I was pissed because she didn't even give me a chance to get my iPad or swim wear.  She just went to her parents' room like her umbilical cord was tugged.

On Friday, after a 6-hour drive, we had to get some food and go to SIL's house, an hour away, even though we were going to (check notes) see her every day for the next 4 days.  To be fair, we just didn't think it through: we should have had her come to us, and the food would be warm, and we had access to a hotel pool.

SIL and Confederate Jethro opted to drive all the way to Dearborn on Friday, and this worked out for us because I had forgotten my eye drops.  It didn't work out for them because the car they rented had issues.  The check engine light came on because the oil hadn't been changed on time.  They had to scramble to fix the problem and didn't get to Dearborn until much later than expected, only to find their room had a lot of dead bugs in it.  I feel bad for the kids who had to spend 13 hours in a car.  I don't feel bad for my BIL.  

On Saturday, we decided to go to Legoland, and it was mostly okay.  But during lunch Confederate Jethro just couldn't stop from saying shit that would get you called into Human Resources in Corporate America.  I couldn't take it any longer and told him to stop, but he wouldn't. I mentioned this to his wife, and all she said was "I didn't hear what he said". Right, because he never says this stuff in the car or at home or at his Klan rally.

So when we got back to the ranch, I exploded on my in-laws.  MIL decided to take matters into her own hands and gave him a talking to when he got there, which made him sulky for the rest of the trip.  It didn't stop him from still saying shit but he did avoid me.  On the last day, his wife made him take a gummy so he was more chill.

Then there was the Chicago Leg.  We cannot stay at my mom's crapshack, so we need a hotel.  NG used points, so it was technically free, but really, we are using points for something instead of for something fun.  We have to pick my mom up, and she will stay with us the entire trip.  Her hearing is mostly gone, so I have to raise my soft voice for her to hear, which makes it sound like I'm shouting.  

I didn't get to see anyone this trip.  But at least I got the car washed and went to a spa for a facial.  Down here, men don't get facials.  They get face massages, which are very lame.  But I had to do something about all these white and black heads, so I indulged.  I also got our knives sharpened because everyone down here sharpens their own knives.  

The thing is, whenever we talk about going to Chicago, Nightingale mentions all these things we can do.  But once we get here, all we do is spend time with Katness and her boys and my mom.  We only have one vehicle, so it's tough to see anyone.  We are supposedly going back for Thanksgiving week, and I could literally tell Nightingale that I have no plans except to meet So-and-So on Wednesday at noon, and when we get there, she will forget and make plans for noon on Wednesday.

Yes but what about Second Snowfall?

If it is rare to get snow in the South, it is even rarer to get more than one snowfall per year but here we are.  Last week the kids were off school for President's Day.  They went to school Tuesday and that evening, in anticipation of the coming snow, schools were closed, and if you didn't have to go anywhere STAY HOME! order was given.

from the first snow 

Nightingale had to use a PTO day because they couldn't reach all the patients in time to close the clinic.  It wasn't as much snow as the last one but down here any snow that lasts more than an afternoon is bad.  I started to clear off the driveway but while taking a short break -- I have a football-length driveway just from the street to the base of the house -- noticed that my neighbor's driveway was melting with the sun beating on it and realized ours was too.

On Thursday, schools were still closed, but the roads in our subdivision had melted, as had our driveway, so it was safe for Nightingale to go to work. The kids did have school on Friday.  The majority of the snow melted over the weekend with the last remnants fading away today.  

also from last time but it looks just like this

We had a big day on Saturday because we actually left the house.  First, it was for Nephew G birthday party at a bounce house.  He is 7 now.  Then, since we didn't have much food in the house, we opted to treat ourselves to Mexican.  We also invited Nightingale's parents who also invited Confederate Jethro et al.  

But first, the party.  I usually sit in a corner and just make sure my son isn't getting into any trouble but this time I made an effort to be social and sat at the adults' table.  Since I only see these people for G or M's birthdays for the most part, I always forget the names of most of Jethro's family.  

His Aunt B asked the table "Well, are we happy with the results of the election?"  My MIL said "We are, they aren't" referring to me and Nightingale.  Nightingale said I hope I still have a job and MIL said "I don't think that will happen, I have a gut feeling".  usually, it's FIL who is clueless.  

A short time later I was asked how I like it down here.  Whenever someone asks me a variation of that question, I respond with "People are uncomfortable with the answer to that question" which I did here.  Credit Beau Bennett, The Ranch.

She didn't quite hear me and thought I said something else but then she said "I'm not like Jethro" which Nightingale thinks is code for liberal.  I think it's more a way to say she's not as bat-shit crazy as Jethro et al but she is still likely conservative and Republican.

So then Dinner.  On the one hand, Jethro probably would have preferred anywhere but a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  On the other hand, if he didn't want to eat there he would have had to go home with at least one kid and make dinner.

It was loud and hard to carry on a conversation but I did manage to have a semi-pleasant chat with SIL and Jethro, though mostly SIL.  We talked about the upcoming trip to Michigan to visit the other SIL because her son is being crowned Prince of the Universe graduating High School and the Adamas want everyone to be there.  

I opposed to going for several reasons, which I may cover in a future post.  

Last Weekend of October

 I have been fighting a virus for the better part of two weeks. It is mostly a terrible cough, but there is some sinus congestion, even though I can easily breathe through my nose. Once the drugs kick in, I'm okay, but I don't have the energy to do anything.  

Boris got it before we went to Canada and Natasha got it afterwards.  They each missed a few days of school.  I caught it just as Natasha was getting better.  Nightingale has not caught it at all.

The Bears managed to lose a game in epic fashion.  They scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute on the clock.  Somehow Washington managed to move close enough to throw a hail mary and a Bears defender Tyrique Stevenson tipped the ball into the hands of a Commander in the end zone and it was a touchdown.  And that's not even the first time the Bears have even done anything like that.

The in-laws are in Houston so we are dog-sitting again.  They had to put down one of their dogs earlier this year so now it is only one hospice dog, who is much more manageable.  She still shits and pisses everywhere but when she's done with that, she mostly sleeps.

The other in-law was over here on Saturday to watch the Michigan - Michigan State game.  She wanted to have a kid-free evening of watching the game and hanging with Nightingale but her husband refused to watch both kids so she could have a night off.  I get my info from Nightingale and I cannot speak for certain about their dynamic but Confederate Jethro apparently cannot handle two children at once.  Or he doesn't want to because misogyny.  

It's getting really tiresome dealing with him.  The first year down here, he gave me a lot of flack and Nightingale begged me to not respond.  And I did for a while.  But one day in September 2022, Confederate Jethro sent me this stupid meme about White Privilege and I responded that instead of sending me bullshit like this, he should be vetting babysitters. 

Confederate Jethro was so pissed!  He called his wife who called my wife who called me.  And I put my foot down and said IDGF he had it coming.  It was fortunate that I was working at the time because I had some leverage.   

He has essentially pouted ever since.  This makes the Christmas Holidays and Family dinners problematic because he doesn't' want to be in my presence (yes, I'm heartbroken).  But it does create some issues that could be avoided if the family would just stand up to him.  I guess him being over 300 lbs and heavy armed does make one pause.

Tastes of Chicago

Now that it's the 2nd week of September, the mornings are starting to be a bit chilly.  It still gets up to 80s and 90s in the afternoon but soon we will be swapping shorts for long pants.  I'm looking forward to the consistently cooler weather because I have a lot of projects that are just too uncomfortable to do in the heat.

I haven't been able to watch a Cubs game down here lately, but I keep up with them via the web.  They are 9 games back in the division with 19 games left in the season (magic number 29, tragic number 10).  Winning the division isn't gonna happen.  We knew this by July.  They didn't get hot again until August and by then Milwaukee built up a double-digit lead.

They are 5 games back in the Wild Card and while it's more realistic, they will need some help from the teams in front of them.  Too little, too late.  Too many blown leads.  I don't know if it's better to miss it by 5 games or miss it by 1-2 games like last year (I don't want to look it up, suffice it to say they collapsed last year in Epic Cubs Fashion.  

Because it was against the Tennessee Titans, I was able to watch the Bears game yesterday.  The Defense bailed out the offense for the win.  Next week is Sunday Night Football so I will be able to watch that game as well.  After that, I must decide if I want to pay for the Sunday Ticket to continue watching the games.  Yesterday's game was fun to watch despite the anemic offense.  

The problem is most of the games are at noon.  This is smack dab in the middle of the day when Nightingale is trying to food prep for the week and the kids need lunch.  It is not hyperbole when I say that everyone is calm and chill until 11:59 am and then the minute the game starts, I'm suddenly needed.

There's no point paying all that money to not be able to enjoy the little joys I get down here and watch them lose.  I have about two weeks to decide.

And Another Car Bites the Dust

After 12 years I finally decided it was time to say goodbye to my 2008 element (which has become a

money suck the last few years). Didn’t want to deal with a private sale and not purchase another car, so Carmax it is. 

I honestly feel I got a good deal and now there is more room in the garage

 I remember buying the car in January of 2012.  I wanted an Element because 1) Katness had one and she recommended it and 2) I had visions of Nightingale and I throwing our bikes in the back and hitting the trails.  We did that...once.  If you add in a few times that I took the car in for maintenance and used my bike to get around then it comes to about half a dozen times.

when we moved down here and I was forced to get a Mississippi license plate, I went with a vanity.  A variation of Chicago Forever.  My BIL Confederate Jethroy gave me a hard time because the abbreviation could be something else. By something else, only an inbred illiterate or a person trying t get a rise out of someone would think it meant.

In MS, your tag is based on some formula of how old your car is and how many miles it has.  The minimum is $50.  even with the vanity option, my plates cost less than standard in Illinois (1 point for Slytherin).  it was $83.85 that first year.  $67.65 last year.  I don't have the year in between but assume $8 more.  

When I returned my tags I got a whopping $8.50 that can be applied when we renew our next tags, likely the minivan.  I had to release the vanity plate but I'm positive no one is gonna take it in the next decade let alone five months before we renew our plates.

Sometime last summer, I forget the exact dates because time no longer has any meaning down here, 

The passenger side window on my Honda Element stopped working, in the down position.  The part only costs $30 but the Level of Effort is substantial.  I didn't want to take it on myself so I paid a local mechanic to fix it.  Of course, he charged me 3X the price of the part.

Then my muffler on the Element bit the dust.  it was fine on the drive to Home Depot but apparently, I hit something on the shitty Mississippi roads and it caused problems.

To keep this long story less long, I ended up at Midas.  They took me to the cleaners.  Nightingale pushed that we get new tires and brakes even though I wanted to wait.  It turns out, if I had waited a couple weeks, we could have sold the Element as is because her parents bought their neighbor's Honda CRV and lent it to us.

They bought it because they thought their Michigan Daughter wanted it for their kid.  There is some dispute over who said what and what level of commitment there was.  The Adamas could have backed out but didn't feel it was the right thing to do, because reasons.

So we have had three cars in our garages and driveways since last summer.  Until this weekend.  When the driver's side window stopped working, along with the windshield wiper, I just had to surrender.  

Small Town Errands

 Yesterday I had to run a few errands.  Two of these errands could only be completed on opposite ends of

town*.  The other two could be done at either Big Box Hardware and Chain store at either end.

Since one of the two landlocked errands was dropping off a check at Chase Bank which didn't open until 9 am, I opted to knock out the other three at the East End.

It took me less than an hour to complete all the errands on one side of town.  I stopped home to drop off the Water Jugs and Propane tank since it was on the way and I don't like driving with a Propane tank any longer than I have to.  

* I live in Olive Branch and the adjacent "city" is South Haven.  To me, they are seamless but they are separate municipalities.  So much so that when I first moved down here and was getting a haircut, the stylist -- making small talk as stylists do -- the conversation steered towards OB and I asked "What is there to do in OB?"

She said "I don't know, I work in OB, I live in South Haven"

The way she said it, you'd think I asked if I could have her spare kidney or something.

My Eclipse Report

 My Facebook feed is filled with friends showing off their pictures of Monday's Total Eclipse, and
rightfully so.  This is a rare enough event unless you chase these things down.  The next time we in the USA will be able to see one without much effort is 2044.  Hopefully, I'll be around to see it.

We went to Litle Rock, Arkansas to see the Eclipse because it was one of the nearest places to see the Totality.  Nightingale also found a place that had a good, cheap package that included food and activities like Rock (wall) Climbing, hiking, canoeing, fishing, and archery.  There were some STEM activities too.  I found these kind of annoying because the person running them was doing it in a Folksy performative manner.  That might just be the remnants of my city slicker ways.

Nightingale booked this trip a long time ago but at the two-week out point, the weather forecast wasn't good.  It was going to either be cloudy or thunderstorms, which would have made the Eclipse hard to see.  I wasn't worried because we still had some fun activities planned.  

As luck would have it, as we got close to The Tuesday, the forecast improved.  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  It seems this was the case in a lot of places.  Bad weather was predicted but turned out favorable.  Maybe the moon blocking the Sun had some influence on that?  I dunno!

For this event, and presumably others, they divided us into groups with a schedule.  When we arrived Saturday evening, Nightingale was worried we'd get screwed out of fishing and canoeing because the rain that didn't come during the Eclipse was looking to arrive that afternoon.  However, it shifted to the evening but didn't actually arrive until we had gone to bed that night.

Dr Steven Smith

We had a guide who was pretty knowledgeable.  The only thing I will report is that both he and everyone else said "Y'All" more times during this trip than I have heard in my 3 years living in The South (yes, it pains me to write that).  

The also had a guy from NASA come and give a talk.  It was mind-blowing.  I learned a few things and enjoyed it very much.  We only stayed for an hour because our collective ADHD brains can only take so much.  

About the Arkansas 4-H Center: So the thing about this place is that apparently, it is a multifunction Center.  

It is a spectacular setting for your next conference or retreat. We provide a conference center available at reasonable rates for educational organizations, businesses, civic clubs, schools, church groups, government agencies and professional organizations. It is ideal for conferences, retreats, meetings, workshops, and training sessions

To be sure, it is quite affordable.  On Its website, it seems like it has great food options for normal events.  For this one, the food certainly wasn't 5-star.  Or even 4-star.  I'd say it was a step above school cafeteria and a step below hospital cafeteria food.  It was edible and the first night I had one of the best side salads I've ever seen in a cafeteria.  And most evenings they served chicken tenders which Boris would eat.  

About the Totality:  I've seen eclipses before, but I don't think I've ever experienced a Total Eclipse before.  It was truly amazing and worth the 3-hour drive.  A lot of people showed up with telescopes and other eclipse-viewing devices.  

Last Day of May

We went to Huntsville, Al for Memorial Day weekend to see the NASA Rocket and Space Center.  We thought the kids, especially Boris, would love it.  They did have a good time, but we set our expectations too high on how much they would want to be there.  

Huntsville is a very nice blue dot in the middle of a Red State.  And we had a genuinely nice time there.

I was worried about getting my steps in but managed to get them in quite early each day.  As of right now I'm 29/31 and will likely get today's in as well.  What does this do for me?  nothing much.

Before we left for vacation, I tried to get my haircut at the place I go to down here.  I had an appointment but when I arrived, they were taking walk-ins before me.  After 15-20 minutes I got up and left.  No point saying anything and I don't think it was personal.  Another person experienced the same thing.  I suspect they were being loyal to their regulars although I've been going there for about a year so I would hope I was recognized.  Of course, I will never go there again so it doesn't matter.

I got my hair cut yesterday where I take the kids.  Not only is it closer to the house, but it's an even better overall experience.  MC wasn't much on creature comfort.

Labor Day Fun

This was perhaps one of the best Labor Days I can remember in a long time. That's not to say the last
few have sucked or anything but this one had the right combination of just enough to do to keep busy but not too much to be overscheduled.

Nightingale had taken most of last week off in an attempt to get the house better organized and work on some pet projects and also maybe engage in some personal she-time (massage, pedicure, etc).  However, Boris and Natasha decided to get sick and couldn't go to Daycare on Wednesday and Thursday, which blew a lot of that out of the water.

They were healthy enough to go to Daycare on Friday and Nightingale managed to purge a bunch of toys from the attic and other play areas.  We dropped off a big load at the Salvation Army on Saturday on the way to Taste of Polonia.

For once, the weather was just right for this event.  Not too hot, not too cold, no rain (well a little late afternoon once we decided to leave).  We put our kids in the bounce house and they spent a good combined 3 hours there burning off energy.  Last year it was too hot and it had rained the day before so the houses were a little waterlogged.

The other thing that made it easier as it was just us.  While we love meeting up with someone, the downside to that is balancing agendas.  Since it was just us we didn't have to worry about seating for a lot of people or who wanted to do what.  We just took turns looking at things and then spent a boatload of money on Polish food. 

I did run into a pseudo-friend from the No-Name Software Company.  This was a person who I thought we were better friends but I overestimated my value.  A couple years ago at the annual event, we were chatting and she asked if I was staying for dinner.  I wanted to catch up and get the backstory and company gossip but didn't realize that she was just making conversation.


Sunday it rained in the morning so it wasn't conducive to go outside.  We let the kids stay in which was more for our benefit than theirs.

On Monday we met Katness at a pool in Wilmette and even though it was colder than normal, we managed to make it until about 2:45 pm.  Then we went back to her place and had a cookout for dinner.

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Did I mention its been one long week

This has been one long week.  I thought that when I started working from home 100% my running would increase.  Indeed, it has but not nearly as much as I assumed.

Usually, it's the weather.  With moose and squirrel taking so long to get ready in the morning,  I don't have the hour before work.  If it's a quiet day I can usually sneak out for a quick run between 830 and 900.  but lately, there has been one thing or another that prevents that.

sometimes I wait until my check-in call at 10 and then rationalize that I'll just go at lunch when the temperature has already climbed.  I've vowed to use the treadmill on really hot days but somehow I just seem to find ways to put it off until its too late to go for a run.

I'm still on a good pace this month, I've already run 24 miles, which is what I ran in all of July and there are still 14 days left in the month.  Of course, we are going to spend the next 5 in Michigan and although I'll pack running clothes, there is no guarantee it will work out.  Update:  did not run at all in Michigan.

I think I vowed not to count miles so much this year and even got off to a slow start with only 25 miles in Jan and Feb combined.  I ran 156 miles in the first six months.  I'm definitely on pace to beat that in the second half assuming inclement weather or injury doesn't impede me.

This has been one long week. A friend was supposed to come over tonight, cook us dinner, then head out to the Green Mill and stay at our place overnight instead of drive back to Hinsdale.  However, Nightingale thought it would be rude to wake them up early with our packing so I canceled.  A younger me would have felt guilty about the comment "we did already buy all the ingredients for dinner and hoping to crash at your place after the Green Mill, but understand that things come up."

But older more cynical me knows they are more disappointed about missing out on the Green Mill (or they may still go to the GM but have to drive back to the burbs late at night) than our company.  This dinner was promised to me back in 1999, another few months, years or never won't make a difference at this point.

Halloween in July

Our daycare does this thing in the summer where it switches to Summer Camp and has more fun activities like the title of this post.  I'm not sure why they didn't make it July 31st since Halloween is, much to my objection, held October 31st so it would have some symmetry.  Not to mention parents would more likely forget to bring candy and put their kids in costume on a Monday after a weekend of not having to deal with daycare.

We spent some money recently on baby sitters.  We found a college kid who is reasonably priced and can handle our two D-nuggets while we go off and run errands.  We also have a 12 year old girl down the block who can also watch them.  Keep in mind neither of these are Super Nanny as that is just as staged as the HGTV shows about buying and flipping property.

A lot of things that need to be done around the house require the intersection of appropriate weather, daylight, personal energy and someone keeping moose and squirrel occupied.  Often we have two or three of those but not the last element.

We did a lot of gardening that we had put off for frankly far too long.  I learned how to use an Edger, although I still need more practice.


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Just another weekend

The intervals in posting both here and at ChicagoNow are the longest gaps I've had in a long time. A confluence of events have created a Perfect Storm of obligations that left me with no time or energy.  

This weekend I found a nice buy at the Salvation Army which motivated me to start working on the laundry room.  I finally laid down a portion of the Proslat tile I bought three years ago (almost to the day).  

It appears that Proslat tile has gone the way of the dodo so shame on me for not just buying more at the time, especially of the color i wanted.  Lesson learned.

I was also able to do a little O-P  Organizing and Purging.  I managed to get rid of lots of useless things I've been keeping in the garage and my work area looks a lot nicer.  I hope to continue and get my tools better divided between the garage and the laundry room.  

May not reflect final location

Winter seems to be retreating, with the usual skirmishes as Winter does.  While there have been a plethera of warm days these last two months, generally this time of year the day starts out cold and by the time it warms up enough, I'm too beat by work to go for a lunch run.  Soon I will be able to drop the kids off at daycare and then do my run before work.   Assuming the kiddos cooperate.

We actually got the kids dressed and downstairs by 655.  We left the house at 710.  By the time we left Daycare it was 725.  We get in our train at 745.  we get to Washington Station at 8:10 and ten minutes later I'm at my desk.  And this is a good day.

on the plus side, my scale says I'm 208.8 lbs today!  I want that to drop closer to 200 but it's a bit better than the nearly 220 I was clocking near the end of last year.  I have one month before the Shamrock Shuffle and I need to get more consistent running in just so that I can run it non-stop let alone defend my preferred start that I keep getting thanks to legacy status, which may not last forever. 

This time of year when I need to address home improvement projects.  We have many.  We can only take on a few.  So I have to choose the ones that add value to the house, or more realistically maintain it.  Secondly, things that improve the comfort level while we are there.  This year's big spend will be some type of cooling system, either split ductless or space pack, because I'm tired of window units and NG is tired of them too.   Included in that we hope will be some resolution for our cold basement.  

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what did we do this weekend

Saturday we stayed in.  raked the leaves.  Our kids were not feeling well.  on Sunday we met Katness at the MCI and then went back to her house to watch the Bears lose another "close" one.

I'm at the point where I should know better than to get my hopes up about the Bears.  No matter what happens to Green Bay, they were not going to loss 3 games in a row especially to the bears.  beating the Bears has been indoctrinated in their DNA.  If you cannot beat a Aaron Rodgers less Packers team, there isn't much hope for you.

This team is looking like the 4-12 season (the 2nd one) the Bears had in the late 90s.  It's mostly because of internal politics...the GM wants to get rid of the current coach.  I'm convinced we lost more games than we should have last year in order to get the lowest draft pick possible.  Which means we have to suffer through another ugly season and then maybe have a decent rebuilding next year and beyond. 

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Post Labor Day Weekend Report

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So Jesus installed our new electrical panel last week.  It took him over 10 hours to get it done because of the complexity.  Which is a nice way of saying a previous owner used cheaters to configure the old panel in a complicated cumbersome fashion.  Because he worked so late, he didn't install the LED
lights in the laundry room that night. But he did come back Friday to finish those so now the small cramped space has much better light.  I think with some rearranging of things, I could design a very functional laundry room without sacrificing storage.  Something to do on a rainy, cool autumn WFH day.

Next up will be the garage.  I've decided to just use plug in lights and extension cords instead of pay anyone to hard wire them.  There are two light switches that enable/disable corresponding outlets so it's effectively the same thing and I save labor costs.  Between the panel, the outdoor outlet, replacing a 3-way switch in the kitchen and the new lights, I've spent almost $2k on electrical projects this year.  Money well spent I will add because it will improve things while we are here.   [I'm going to light up our front porch for Xmas like no one's business.]



I've been going to the Taste of Polonia, more or less, for the last three decades.  In my 20s it was pretty boring for a Polish-American who didn't speak a lick of Polish.  There wasn't much to do and the food was essentially what my grandma made or I could buy at any polish deli.  It was basically geared for FOTB Poles.  Luckily enough members of the board died and younger people took over and made the event more young people, non-pole friendly. 

I try to go every year now just to support the event and this year was no exception. We usually buy a 2-day pass but only used one day this year for Reasons.  Our kids are still too young to enjoy or even understand it but I like to check it out. 

We did go to the fest on Sunday and met up with a couple of friends, one with a 1 year old, the other who is 14 weeks pregnant. We hung out for a little while, then got some food and came back to our place to drink for free (those that could).  We are super excited that she is pregnant with a girl because now we have a place to send some of Natasha's stuff that she will outgrow.

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Matryoshka dolls and birthdays

So I got a little older over the weekend.  It was a nice day, the kids let me sleep a little longer than usual. Lately, I have been waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep right away.  Not as bad as Nightingale's experiences but still, that's valuable sleep time I need. 

Nightingale took Natasha to the store while I kept Boris busy. It was a nice sunny day so after nap I tried to keep the kids outside to burn energy. 

In the evening we met Katness and another mutual friend-couple that also have twins for a kidless meal.  The meal was actually something we talked about doing and I offered this weekend since I knew May gets busy between the bookends of Mother's Day and Memorial Day. 


I like our house and for a city house, it is awesome.  However, I'm so over some of the issues and shortcomings it has.  Every problem is a Russian Nesting Doll with an issue embedded in another issue wrapped around a new issue. 


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