Bright Spots

COLLEGIATE: A lot of our energies at the present center around next school year - getting CJ transitioned to a four-year college and getting Annabelle lined up for Running Start/her first two years of college (while dually 'enrolled' in high school home school). Complicated stuff, let me tell you.

CJ has a lot on his plate right now. He had three new classes, all proving to be challenging and time consuming, plus he's monitoring his applications to multiple colleges, which involves lots of email exchanges, plus financial aid paperwork, scholarship apps and more. It's a remarkably complicated process - way more so than it was with Rick and Ken 'just' 15 or so years ago.

Speaking of Rick, what's funny is at one point today I was juggling helping CJ edit an assignment and reviewing a paper that Rick, 35, needs to submit for his principal-in-training program. It just never ends, parenting. ;)

Meanwhile, we made good progress today getting Annabelle in line for next fall. We connected with our local school district in order to get her registered there as a non attending student in order for her to be funded for Running Start, so yay for that. She's going to love being a collegiate. :)

All this said, these harried days will pass soon enough. I'd expect CJ will make a college decision by the end of February. How wonderful it is that he has choices, given our, um, well, rather nontraditional educational approach here at MPA. Glad we Goonies are being accepted into multiple college pictures. ;)

In other happy news, CJ received these kudos today, via email. ...  

Way to go, CJ!

IN THE DARK: Early Wednesday morning came in like a lion, with no warning. We hadn't heard that sustained 70 MPH winds were headed our way, but just after midnight things got wild. 

We're on a bluff, and very exposed to weather from the south, east and west. The winds seemed to come from all of those directions. I figured we were for sure going to lose power, and I was right. At about 12:30 a.m. we went dark. Checking an app on my phone, they estimated we'd be back online by 7 a.m. That didn't happen. Nor did 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. ... It started getting pretty cold in here, so the kids used their Taco Bell gift certs (thanks G&G R) for lunch and we drove there for warmth and sustenance. 

Events like these really remind you of how much we take for granted the 'basics' like electricity and heat and refrigeration. When I woke up Thursday and Friday mornings, my first thought was, "It's so nice to have heat." 

PETALING Yesterday, when we were taking the dogs on a loop around the neighborhood at lunchtime, we noticed some super showy flowers in a neighbor's yard. The petals seemed to blossom in pairs, in the shape of hearts, as if they were heralding Valentine's Day, just a month away. 

Annabelle used the Google Lens app (what a great thing!) on my phone. It declared Persian cyclamen. Reading the article about them on Gardenia.net, I was all in agreement until it said they are a houseplant. Hmm. Now we're not so sure. ... 

Leftovers

 

HOMEWARD: Last Friday, our beach getaway came to an end. We pointed the car toward home, about four hours away. We did make a quick detour, however. In Astoria, we stopped by the famed "Goonies" house.

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Columbia River and downtown Astoria, the house was made famous by the 1985 movie, "The Goonies." The film was directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, and was based on a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg.

The house, pictured above, is of great import to the movie, because its plot involves a group of misfits (Goonies) who fight a property development company that has its sites set on destroying the home for a new development. The movie has a cult following, and fans have been making their way to the residence for 35 years now. 

It might not surprise you to know, this has not always sat well with the people who live in the neighborhood and in "The Goonies" house. It has had a number of owners over the years, and I have read and heard that in recent years, the current owner has had her fill of visitors, to the point she obscured the home and put up no trespassing signs. 

That being the case, we were surprised when we stopped by to see a hand-painted 'ok to walk up' sign next to the steep, gravel drive leading to the residence. There was no parking nearby, however, so Christian circled the block while the kids and I went up. We were quiet and stayed less than a minute. There's now a donation box next to the house. I wish I'd known that before leaving my purse in the car, I would have dropped a couple of bucks in.

We also completed one last puzzle for the trip. This one was fun, as it pictured the covers a a number of classic children's books.

Most of them were familiar, but there were a couple I'd never heard of (I'm looking at you, "Good Night Gorilla," "Everything on a Waffle," that Toucan book in the lower left corner and the book about pancakes, as well.

A TASTE OF JAPAN: Christmas continues, to some degree, here at MPA. Just yesterday, CJ received a present in the mail. His brother Kennedy bought him a Snackcrate subscription as a gift. So, each month he'll receive a box of snacks from another country. This month's treats are from Japan.

We're looking forward to the surprises in the months to come.

Now that we're back home, we're right back into the routine, full time college for CJ (and Annabelle, who's auditing the classes alongside him), college application stuff, reno-ing the kitchen, and so on. It's like we never left. ...