New Beginning

LAST/FIRST: Today we got up and turned the television on early. That's something we rarely do. However, today was special. The end of one "administraton" and the start of a new one.

We've been counting down to inauguration, and this morning, before breakfast, the kids had their final candy. 

We proceeded to watch inauguration coverage all day and into the evening. The pomp and circumstance was a little different given the global pandemic, and the recently fresh insurrection activity in the capital. It was, nonetheless, a sight to behold. There were lots of high lights, including Lady Gaga singing the anthem, 22 year old Amanda Gorman, inaugural poet,  and seeing Sonia Sotamayor swear in Kamala Harris. 

The enormity of the first female vice president struck me at an unexpected moment. President Joseph R. Biden and V. P. Harris were approaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. "Look!" I said to Annabelle. "Look at them! That is not the president and his wife. That is the president and the vice president!"

I wish it weren't such a novelty, that moment, but it was. Finally, that glass ceiling shattered.

KITCHEN DOINGS: This weekend is Teen Feed, and casseroles are on the menu. We've been test driving recipes. Last night we cooked up Turkey Tortilla casserole. Um, except I used chicken because I didn't have turkey. We got the recipe from Nonnie/Victoria. Christian remembered it as being very tasty.

All four of us worked on it.

Christian stripped the corn off frozen cobs, CJ crushed chips, Annabelle and I worked on the innards.

in the end, it won rave reviews.

We can't wait to share some with the Teen Feed crowd!

IN STITCHES: We're closing in on a damn year of this pandemic and mask wearing. We were due for some new shields, so we picked up some fabric and got busy.

I thought the project would be a good opportunity to get Annabelle back behind the machine.

She did great, and was very happy with her new dinosaur mask!

CJ was busy working on a paper for his film studies class. (We watched "North by Northwest" last night.) Since he was busy, I made him a couple of new dog masks.

Good & Bad

                                                                Photo: The Museum of Flight

LUNCHEON: Another busy day around MPA, literally building walls and such. However, at noon we took a break for a Zoom lunch with staff opportunity with The Museum of Flight.  

Today's featured speakers were Matt Hayes, president and CEO, Julie Wilbert, marketing, and Geoff Nunn, head of aerospace exhibits. Each shared stories about their education and experience and their journey to their current job. What a great opportunity to learn from people who have been there and done that how to potentially go there and do that. Would you believe MPA's student body made up 66 percent of today's audience? 

Despite the 'intimate' crowd, I appreciate the presenters involved all acted as if hundreds were in attendance. They had sage advice to share, and some fun stories too - one involving touring a member of the Rolling Stones through the museum a couple of years ago.  

FIRED UP, SHUT DOWN: Disappointing news out of NASA this weekend. A static fire test of their big ol' rocket engines that are supposed to take us to the moon next year in the Artemis I mission to the Moon didn't go so well. The fire up was supposed to last eight minutes. The test was shut down after just 67.7 second, due to a "Major Component Failure indication on Engine 4," per NASA Spaceflight.com  one minute. Guess it's time to check the math, inspect the hardware, and make some fixes. 

Per a NASA press release, "Saturday’s test was an important step forward to ensure that the core stage of the SLS rocket is ready for the Artemis I mission, and to carry crew on future missions,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who attended the test. “Although the engines did not fire for the full duration, the team successfully worked through the countdown, ignited the engines, and gained valuable data to inform our path forward.”