Freddie Friday

BECOMING: In the never-ending effort to get the kids off screens and outside, today I handed Annabelle a book and told her to find a sunny spot to read the preface and the first chapter.

She didn't protest at all, and I found her out on the swing, reading Michelle Obama's "Becoming." So, yay for that.

We took the dogs for a loop around the neighborhood around lunch time. The Jerusalem Sage at the bottom of our driveway are starting to blossom. Such strange plants!

WATERCOLORS: This morning, Annabelle had yet another Art2Go session compliments of Gage Academy of Art. The theme was watercolor leaves, and the instructor was Willow Heath.

I thought these leaves were pretty lovely! (The photo doesn't do them justice!)

EMPTY NESTERS: Two days ago, CJ and I were on the back patio, dragging a hose around to water some of our started-from-seed vegetable plants that now live outside. During this, a cute little brown bird was watching us carefully, at close distance. I predicted to CJ that the bird was either hurt and couldn't fly, or that it had a nest nearby, and it wanted us gone.

The next day, Christian and I were on the patio, and I saw that same little bird. With straw in its mouth. It landed on a railing next to me, then flew up under the eaves, and to the nest it was building on ... on top of our folded-up ping pong table. Silly bird. 

We decided we could forgo ping pong for a couple months (or however long the birds would be around), but the other major drag is that the spigot for our hose is behind the table, and turning that on and off without jostling the nest would be dicey.

I've been watching for the birdie all day (including when I was working with the hose), and it seems to have flown the coop, so to speak. Maybe it realized that a nest perched on a ping pong table wasn't its best bet. 

Meanwhile, downstairs, the plant start situation is kind of out of control. We keep separating and transplanting starts as their size requires. It's like they're multiplying, though. I finally had CJ count them today. Are you sitting down? ...

We have 93. Yes, you read that right. Oops. Hope the neighbors and our friends are up for some. Only a portion of the plants are pictured here.

THEY WILL ROCK YOU: Midday, the kids and I sat in front of the TV. That's not something we do very often during a 'normal' school day. However, this was a special occasion. On the band Queen's official YouTube page, they were streaming "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness" as a fundraiser to help anti-COVID efforts.
At first, it felt pretty self indulgent sitting there watching a Queen concert when there was schooling and work to be done. However, after just a few minutes, I realized that it had turned into a history lesson for the kids, as I was continuing to offer factoids about who and what they were seeing.

They saw a parade of rock legends, from Roger Daltry to Robert Plant. I pointed out people not familiar to them, but who were pivotal in the rock music world, like Ian Hunter and Mick Rock, to name two.

I told CJ that the historic concert took place on his birthday, April 20, but in 1992, long before he was around. The kids were wowed by the size of the crowd. A sold-out Wembley Stadium had 72,000 in attendance, but over a billion people watched the concert as it aired live around the world. That was a record for a live television broadcast event at the time. (And it was back before shows could be live-streamed on the Internet.)
I told them that the tribute to Queen's Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS on 24 November 1991, raised over $38 million dollars, and the funds were used to launch The Mercury Phoenix Trust. To this day, the trust is a core part of Queen and Freddie’s legacy and, over the years, the nonprofit has helped support over 1,000 projects in 57 countries in the ongoing fight against AIDS worldwide.
I told them that none of us knew it at the time, but that concert would be the last one Queen's John Deacon would play with his band mates. (Drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May are still touring to sold out arenas. We've been fortunate to see them three times!)

It struck me watching the show how many of the people on that stage are now gone. David Bowie and George Michael, to name two. Bowie's performance of "Under Pressure" with Annie Lennox was exquisite.


And George Michael? That concert was perhaps the zenith of his performing career. His performance of "Somebody to Love" was shockingly good. It brought the house down. (Michael's own body of work was so fully of cotton-candy songs, who knew he could actually SING like THAT?!)


One thing I did not understand in 1992 when the concert first aired, and I still don't understand 28 years later, is why Robert Plant wore his mother's blouse and scarf for the show (ha ha).


Another thing I pointed out to the kids was how terrified Axl Rose of Guns 'n Roses looked when he took the stage alongside Elton John. I told them the back story to that, which involved Axl's homophobic comments on more than one occasion. But rather than reject him, Elton reached out to Rose, educated him, and helped Rose shed at least some of his ignorance. But how would Freddie fans react to Rose on stage? They graciously accepted his presence, likely mostly because he was alongside Elton John, a champion for those suffering from AIDS, from the very beginning. 

As I sit here typing this, there is an ad on TV right now for treating HIV, the cause of AIDS, so effectively that it's not detectable in one's system. We've come a long way, but sadly it wasn't here soon enough to save Freddie.

Ups and Downs

LAUNCHIVERSARY: On this day 10 years ago, we four were sitting on the ground on the Causeway, waiting for the thrill of a lifetime, the launch of STS-132, a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

We'd flown down to Florida with tickets and high hopes, as launches don't always go off as scheduled due to weather, technical difficulties or any number of things that can go wrong.

However, Lady Luck was on our side and the went off without a hitch. It was such a sight to behold!

Today, we watched the video I filmed during the launch. It's not the greatest footage. I was concentrating on watching the launch with my own two eyes, plus taking some photos and shooting some video. That said, I'm glad we have it as a keepsake. 

Speaking of manned spaceflight, the SpaceX launch of two astronauts from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station is just two weeks away! I'm a part of a Facebook group counting down to that launch, and everyone is so excited! Multiple people posted links to a 'game' they're playing online right now. It's a simulator where you try to dock the Dragon capsule to the ISS. The site allows you to familiarize yourself with the controls of the actual interface (!) the NASA astronauts will use to dock. "Movement in space is slow and requires patience & precision," the site notes. Pretty cool!

INSIDE JOB: Yesterday evening, CJ cracked open his computer's case and gave it a good dusting. (Boy, was it dirty in there!) Also, under Christian's tutelage, CJ installed a new WiFi adapter card in the box. 

It's good to get to know your computer's guts!

TRYING FRYING: Our pandemic kitchen adventures continue. A new tool in our arsenal is a shiny air fryer that I received for Mother's Day.

Last night we tried homemade fries in it for the first time. They were crisped up and gloriously golden within 20 minutes. 

After dinner, we did some old fashioned frying, oil and all.

Annabelle had stumbled across a two-ingredient recipe for donut balls. How easy does that sound? What could possibly go wrong?

The recipe called for a cup of self-rising flour and 6.5 ounces plus 1/2 tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt. We didn't have self-rising flour, so made our own by adding a little baking powder and salt to all purpose flour. We stirred that and the yogurt together and got our first indication that this wasn't the greatest recipe. The dough looked terrible - way too stiff and flour-y. We decided to give it a go anyway.

We were instructed to heat our oil to 325 F. It seemed to be taking a loooong time, and the thermometer was just in the high 100s. I finally did the old school test where you drop a few droplets of water into hot oil to see if it starts sizzling. It about leapt out of the pan at us. I think it was about that time Christian appeared in the kitchen with a fire extinguisher. ;)

Knowing that the oil was *plenty* hot, we started dropping dough balls (well, lumps, really) into the oil. The first ones burned in less than two seconds, I'd say. 

I removed the pan from the heat, and we dropped some more. Eventually, they got lighter, which was good. 

What was not good was their taste. They were just ick, even with chocolate and strawberry icing on them. 

So, we won't be making these again any time soon!

Working It

CALCULATING: As today's math exercise, I asked the kids to measure the square footage of the walls and ceiling of our new storage space so that we know how much insulation and drywall we need to buy.

I was working at my computer while they were computing. I walked out right when they were talking about figuring out the measurement for the triangle-shaped space on the west wall. It did my heart and head good to hear them talking area = 1/2 x base x height. 

I was less impressed when they were initially talking about dividing square inches by 12 to find out how many square feet were required. Um, no. That would be 144.

Here are their notes. 

Real world math - I love it!

PUZZLED: While so many businesses and industries have suffered during this *%&$^# pandemic, a few have prospered. One thing that's selling better than ever is jigsaw puzzles. People stuck at home looking for a pleasant distraction, and puzzles are filling that bill.

While driving a couple weeks back, the kids and I heard a story on NPR about the popularity of puzzles right now. Ceaco, one of the largest producers of jigsaw puzzles and family games in the U.S., sold more puzzles than in the entire month of December. And NPR reports that sales by gamemaker Ravensburger are up 370% as compared with this time last year.

Everyone in our family likes puzzles, but we don't ever really have one going here, because we're usually on the go so much. Enter a pandemic, and we've got a puzzle on our living room table.

This one is special, as it's a custom puzzle - a photo of our two favorite Dobermen (Dobermans?)

It was actually pretty tricky: Weird puzzle shapes, lots of white, a missing piece (found upon shaking out our leather shag rug beneath the table). But we did get it done!

SOMETHING PHISHY:  One of the kids' homework assignments this afternoon was to spot all of the mistakes in this comically horrible phishing attempt in my email today.

There are so many really sophisticated phishing schemes out there. This was not one of them. PayPal, Paypal, paypal ... for starters. So many typos, such bad grammar, terrible punctuation. It hit all the marks. The kids both burst out laughing while reading it.

THEIR CHARIOT AWAITS: We're definitely counting down the days until May 27, when a SpaceX Dragon capsule is set to take two astronauts from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station. It's kind of a big deal. No human has been launched from American soil for nine long years.  

For years, astronauts were shuttled to the launch pad in an "Astrovan."

Astrovan photo courtesy of NASA

This go 'round, their ride as a far sight cooler. They'll be transported in a Tesla.

Brilliant-but-troubled Elon Musk (who has been having multiple meltdowns recently) is the brains behind both SpaceX and Tesla. 

It's going to be a huge boost for both of Musk's brainchildren. 

If you want to keep up on the latest on the launch, and are a Facebook person, consider joining the #LaunchAmerica NASA Social group.

Joining should give you access to virtual badges and virtual tours, and NASA reps will be on-hand to answer questions and interact with in real time. For more information, check out the event's site: https://www.nasa.gov/social/launchamerica.

One fun fact about the upcoming launch ... astronaut Doug Hurley is one of the crew of two who will be on board the historic SpaceX launch. 

Astronaut Doug Hurley, photo credit: NASA

Hurley, a fighter pilot and test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps, was in the NASA astronaut class of 2000  and was one of the crew on STS‐135, the final space shuttle mission. So this will be a bookends of sort - the last and the first. Pretty cool.

Short Stuff

SLUGGO: This morning, when I let the dogs out, for some reason Laika bolted for the front yard. (The dogs are supposed to 'go' in the back yard.) I'm guessing Laika was after a bunny. They're super numerous this spring on our hill, to the point the top post on our neighborhood 'Nextdoor' page today was rabbit recipes!

Anyway, I followed the dogs down our outdoor steps, and on the way down, I glanced over at our second generation spaghetti squash plants to see how they were doing. These guys grow so fast, it's like they nearly double every day. But today ... OMG, what happened to them?! They looked all torn up. I bent down for a closer look and spied an extra ugly slug on one of the leaves.

I suppose I should have just re-homed the slug, but ... I picked up a brick that happened to be right there, and used it to scrape the slug off and then it got personal. I feel a little bad, but no one/thing messes with our babies!

After this drama, I continued down to find the dogs. 

Kirby was nowhere to be seen in this sea of green. Our clover lawn is about a foot high, which makes it a jungle to a dog the size of Kirby. 

Eventually, she emerged from the flora.

SPEAK UP: Here's some homework CJ had to submit for his Japanese III class recently. Christian filmed it for him. In the video, CJ is answering questions his professor asks. I wonder what the heck they're talking about. ;)

In any event, I would suggest that next time, CJ either make his bed or have his dad shoot it from the opposite side. ;)

Sunny Weekend

OLD STOMPING GROUNDS: Friday afternoon, we had to return to our former neighborhood to deliver a birthday cake. It was a hot, sunny day, public parks are back open in Seattle, and so we decided to hit a couple of our favorite parks in the old 'hood.

First, we went to "Secret Beach." I don't think the park is even named. It's just a spot at the end of a dead end road that gives one access to a rocky beach with fantastic views. Airplane traffic is way down, but there were plenty of ships on the Sound. 

 We saw numerous stand up paddleboarders.

 The Olympic Mountains are still snow-capped.

I told the kids they *had* to throw at least a few rocks into the Sound, like they used to do when they were kids. ;)

From the beach, the Space Needle peeks out from behind treetops.

After the kids got their feet wet, we got in the car and headed toward "The Bluff." It's on the southern border of Magnolia, a cliffside rising from Puget Sound. 

I leaned out over a fence to capture this shot of Rainier.

 There's also a great view of the city skyline.

The kids and I talked about how long it has been since we've been up on the Space Needle, and wondered when we might get another chance. 

Google photos decided I needed a movie of the shots from Friday, so here's that. 

It sure is a pretty neighborhood. I miss the scenery, for sure, but not a lot of the other stuff (traffic and property crime, to name two).

DOUGHY CANVAS: Weeks ago, we stumbled across an artist who used bread as her canvas. Using all sorts of savory edibles, she creates lovely designs atop homemade focaccia bread.  

We've been wanting to try our hands at it for awhile now. We decided Saturday, when it was 85 degrees out, was the perfect time to fire up the oven to 450 F.

CJ had a hand in making the dough. The recipe was super simple, fortunately. 

Peppers, tomatoes, capers, two kinds of olives, cilantro, asparagus, dill, cherry tomatoes, and peppercorns are all in the mix.

Below, Bee builds her bread.

Here are pictures of our focaccia right before they went into the oven. Mine is first, followed by Annabelle's.

 Here are the afters.

I like Annabelle's ladybug. 

We'll definitely give this recipe a go in the future, as there are a couple of things I'd like to do differently. For starters, I'd want to have radish slices and red onion in the mix. Also, we needed much smaller baby peppers. That would have helped our scale and have helped our objects look more like real flowers. 

SQUASHED: Finally, one of our summer squash seeds (sown straight into the ground) has emerged. We're hoping the bunnies (which are so abundant this year) don't eat them down to nothing. 

BONUS SHOT: Here's Little Laika enjoying some fresh air. Some of the many irises planted on this plot are in the background. We have dark purple, yellow, light purple and pink irises.

This is her after a haircut, if you can believe that.