Gobble Gobble

TURKEY DAY: We had a happy Thanksgiving.  Mostly.

Actually, the day started with a clogged kitchen sink. Thank goodness we weren't hosting Thanksgiving dinner today! But if the sink was the worst of our troubles today, we're lucky, right!?

For Thanksgiving dinner, we headed to Olalla, where an aunt and uncle live (hi Ruthie & Bob!). There was some traffic on our way down there, but thanks to the Waze app, we made our way pretty painlessly. We arrived at 2:30, two 'turkeys' in tow. Actually, we just had the parts on board. We assembled on site. 

One turkey was a cheese, crackers and sausage platter (above). So easy and pretty cute. I'd already cut the cheese with rounded ends, and molded a cheese ball into a turkey-ish shape, added peppercorn eyes, a carrot nose and red pepper waddle. So assembly was just layering the stuff. Ten minutes, tops.   

Our other contribution was a fruity turkey. Grapes on skewers, a few strawberries on the body, a pear for a head, a pineapple body, and some strawberries. Blueberries made the eyes, it had a carved carrot nose, and a red pepper slice was its waddle.

We also brought along a cheesecake. The kids made it on Wednesday, from scratch. It had a gingersnap crust and raspberry topping. I've made it many a time before, but this was their first cheesecake adventure. I didn't have any, but based on the fact that it quickly disappeared after dinner, I'm going to guess it was a winner. :) 

The Thanksgiving table was loooong. I think there were 21 seated guests!

Our travels today weren't so much over the river, and through the woods as they were across the (Puget) Sound and into the woods. :)

All in all, a lovely day. 

Testing 1-2-3

MEASURING UP: We continue to plug along through Khan Academy's algebra I course. This morning, we had a date with an algebra test.

These are the "areas for growth" we were being quizzed in:
Algebraic equations basics
Why we do the same thing to both sides of an equation
One-step addition & subtraction equations
One-step multiplication & division equations
Two-steps equations intro
Two-step equation word problems
Linear equations with variables on both sides
Linear equations with parentheses
Analyzing the number of solutions to linear equations
Linear equations word problems
Linear equations with unknown coefficients
Before we started, it said the exam should take 15-20 minutes. I plugged right along in about that time frame ... until the test got hung on my very last question and I couldn't complete it. Aargh!

Then, I went to check on the kids, who were taking the test on their own computers. 

So the good news is they each got 90 percent plus on the test. The bad news is it took over an hour apiece. 

Yes, getting it right is the most important thing, but we've got to light a fire under it, at least a little bit. Might be time to pull out the flashcards, lol.

CHANGES: Today, thanks to an article in the Seattle PI, we learned about a video NASA just released showing 20 years' worth of seasonal changes. https://youtu.be/wQ3i3grY2Ps
The time shown is two decades, from September 1997 to September 2017, condensed into 2 ½ minutes of viewing.

Notably, the polar ice caps and snow cover ebb and flow with the seasons. The varying ocean shades of blue, green, red and purple depict the abundance, or lack thereof, of undersea life.

Around the House

HOME IMPROVEMENT: In the past couple of days, we've had periods lasting a couple of hours where we've had to go without water. This is because Christian has been working on our upstairs hallway bathroom. Christian has replaced the old shower valve with newer and better ones, which is part of our larger home improvement project.

Christian has also helped with other projects around the house. For example, he improved a device used to turn on a light by our TV, having CJ come and help him (pictured below). 

THANKFUL: For our learning center's Harvest Party, we got six bags of popcorn from our local Les Schwab (yes, a tire store has popcorn). The bags of popcorn were brought for the attendees to eat from, and they were positively delicious. To return the favor to the Les Schwab, we brought tire-themed cookies (pictured below) to their location.

Annabelle even made a cute drawing on an oversized thank you card for Les Schwab:

MANSON MUSIC: Notorious cult leader and conspirator Charles Manson died at the age of 83 last night. In the late Sixties and early Seventies, Manson gained infamy for leading the "Manson Family", a cult that was responsible for the murders of nine people (among them Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, as well as Paul, their unborn son).

Prior to organizing the Manson Family, Charles Manson recorded "Lie: The Love and Terror Cult", an album of his folk rock music. The most well known song from this album was "Look At Your Game, Girl", an unusual acoustic compostion:

In the early morning after Manson's death, CJ recorded a cover version of the song, and uploaded it to SoundCloud:

Enduring Astronaut

GROUND CONTROL: It has been waaaaay too long since we've hung out with an astronaut.

Seriously, our astronaut deficit stretches back months and months.

We righted that wrong last night, thanks to an appearance by Scott Kelly in Seattle. 

 He's on a tour promoting his book "Endurance." 

I'll let the kids tell you a bit more about the encounter, with CJ up first. ... 

Scott Kelly recently held an event titled “An Evening with Scott Kelly” in the University Temple United Methodist Church in the University District. The event was a small interview about what being in space for a year was like; It was somewhat of a paraphrased version of the book that was available signed with your ticket. Scott Kelly’s interviewer seemed to be doing a lackluster job during the event. He was very quiet despite having a real microphone (someone in the back of the church asking for him to be louder was actually louder than the interviewer himself) and started asking Kelly about things like the air from different countries instead of going to the ISS for a year. Scott Kelly has a good sense of humor, but he also seemed rather disappointed in the interview questions.

He talked a lot about parts of his book and how he thinks it’s amazing that even when in politics our connection with Russia is unstable, we’ve worked together and will continue to do so in the name of science and space exploration. He talked about how he made good friends with all his crewmates despite speaking different languages, having different customs, and even different emergency procedures. At one point, a Russian satellite was on a collision course with the ISS. The US procedure is to close and seal all internal hatches on the ISS, so if one part was hit and collapsed, the others would be ok. Scott Kelly’s Russian colleagues, however, were having lunch and just decided that if it hit them, they could escape in the Soyuz. The satellite miraculously missed the ISS, and while his teammates resumed lunch, Kelly spent the rest of the day opening the hatches again.

He told a few other stories, most of which can be read in his book “Endurance”. He has also released a children’s book titled “My Journey to the Stars”. Although the event was only ok, Scott Kelly is a remarkable human being and I highly recommend learning about him.

I have to give CJ props. He is totally right. The interviewer was OK at best. 

Astronauts are not created equal (thank goodness, because missions require all sorts of different skill sets.)

While Scott Kelly was a great story teller once prompted, he's not the Chris Hadfield/Garrison Keillor type natural 'let's sit by the fireside and swap stories' at ease storyteller some others are, so the event was somewhat dependent on the interviewer.

Despite the interviewer on Thursday night, it was a wonderful event. Annabelle has this to say. ... 

Scott Kelly is a NASA Astronaut who is best known for having spent nearly a whole year in space (340 consecutive days) from 2015 to 2016. Scott Kelly was chosen for NASA's experiment because he has an identical brother, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who spent the entirety of Scott Kelly's year in space on land. Both Kelly brothers will continue to be NASA test subjects for the rest of their lives.\

Yesterday, I got to see a presentation by Kelly, accompanied by Andrew McIntosh, at the University Temple United Methodist Church. The event, officially known as "Scott Kelly in conversation with Andrew McIntosh", was an hour long, and was part of a promotion tour for Kelly's latest book, "Endurance".

During the event, Kelly read the first few pages of Endurance to the audience (a full audiobook narrated by Kelly can be purchased on Amazon). The first pages of Endurance describe how Kelly felt upon returning to Earth from his year-long trip, as well as some of the things that led to Kelly becoming interested in becoming an Astronaut (For example: Seeing the Moon landing on TV, and reading The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe while in college). We were able to get two signed copies of Endurance prior to the presentation.

 The lighting in the venue for the talk was terrible (from a photography standpoint). I apologize for the crappy photos. In the one below, Kelly was describing hunkering down, waiting for a maybe collision of a satellite while on the International Space Station.

Kelly imparted many interesting anecdotes and factoids, but one of  the things he said that sticks with me most was that he was in the bottom half of his high school class. He said he would have been diagnosed with ADD had he been in school these days

He said after reading "The Right Stuff," he was moved enough to upend his everything and the result was he became a NASA astronaut. 

Quite the reboot!

One More Time

ROAD SHOW:  This afternoon, we took our "Empty Bowls" show on the road, to the retirement community next door to the school where the event was held on Tuesday.

We didn't take 20 pots of soup or any bread (they have a nice dining room and meal program of their own there). What we did take were dozens of art pieces students had crafted (decorative fabric, ceramic and glass vessels), some showy tissue paper flower centerpieces, a few informational posters, and some enthusiastic young singers.

Annabelle, the art teacher and I set up in the facility's grand living room (complete with a grand piano, a bistro and a gift shop, might I add).

Annabelle kicked off the introductions, telling the special audience a bit about Empty Bowls.

Then, students shared facts about hunger and homelessness, and some songs. 

It was a wonderfully heart-warming event, with lots of handshakes and hugs between generations.

Near the end of the event, the senior center residents were invited to write notes to share with local homeless youth. 

Annabelle and I helped collect the notes afterward. I couldn't help but peek, at a couple of them and was so touched by the sentiments.

It was a lovely hour.


SUPER DUPER: An email from NASA this morning let us know something extraordinary is about to happen. Specifically, December 3 will mark the first of three supermoons in a row. 

Naturally, the rare event makes now a great time to learn about what causes supermoons. 

For the occasion, NASA is introducing an entry in its "Teachable Moment" all about the topic, featuring education specialist Lyle Tavernier explaining the dynamics behind supermoons and how to dispel common misconceptions among students and adults so they can fully enjoy one of the sky's most phenomenal sights.

*NEW* Measuring the Supermoon (Grades 5-12) – Students take measurements of the Moon during its full phases over multiple Moon cycles to compare and contrast results.

NASA's new lesson plan outlines how students can take measurements of the moon over multiple cycles and through its phases. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/measuring-the-supermoon?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NASA/JPL%20Edu&utm_content=edunews_20171116

Bowled Over

SOUPER EVENT: I am behind in blogging, which seems to be the new normal, unfortunately. We have had a series of event requiring extra hours and attention, it seems. The latest: Helping host a fund raising banquet for a hundred plus guest.

I think this is the third year we've helped out with "Empty Bowls" at a local learning center. Our helping out involves making art, helping others make art, marketing the event, coming up with a soundtrack and a PowerPoint presentation, a few planning meetings, making three huge pots of soup, making about 5 dozen muffins, setting up the room, cleaning up afterward, making sure the $ raised gets to the right folks, and that leftover food goes to a homeless camp. Naturally, and thankfully, there are a number of others who pitch in to help.

We went with pops of bright colors on white. It looked very festive!

The fan folded napkins were inspired by ones we saw on our trip to Europe in September. We were in a restaurant  near Utah Beach in France where napkins were done up that way, and Annabelle figured out (and remembered!) how to do it when we got home. She taught other kids at school, and they folded up dozens of them!

During the event, there is a 'sale' of art bowls (which is really just donation based). This year there was also a donation based bake sale. Some students and their great choir director performed a few great songs, and we had 20-plus pots of soup for people to sample, as well as several kinds of bread.

We had four soup stations around the space. In the pink bowl above was one of our contributions, Berry Good Fruit Soup!

It was an amazing array of soups, with flavors from around the globe, and lots of vegan and vegetarian options.

We also took hearty lasagna soup (that always disappears lickety split!).

And CJ's Loaded Baked Potato soup, another crowd pleaser.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon, and we raised nearly $700 for Teen Feed, a local organization working "with the community to offer support to meet basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with homeless youth as they meet their future off the streets. With the tremendous support of the community, Teen Feed responds to the most basic needs of homeless and at-risk youth in the following focus areas: healthy meals and lives, youth support coordination, street outreach, healthcare access, and engaging the community through service. Teen Feed responds to the most basic needs of homeless youth with three (3) integrated programs: Teen Feed Meal Program, Street Talk Outreach Program (STOP), Service Links for Youth (SLY). Youth Access to Care (YAC), formerly a separate program, has been integrated as a component into all existing programs." (Excerpt from their website.)

Soup left over after the event went to the people living in Tent City near the school. They were thrilled to have all that homemade soup, still warm from the pots!

Remembering

AD ASTRA: This week, humankind lost one of its best. Apollo astronaut Dick Gordon.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Richard (Dick) Francis Gordon Jr. (October 5, 1929 – November 6, 2017) was one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 12 mission. Gordon also flew in space in 1966, as the pilot of the Gemini 11 mission.

A U.S. Navy Captain, aviator, chemist and test pilot, Gordon definitely had the "right stuff." He was born in Seattle on Nov. 5, 1929. In his 88 years, Gordon had 2 hours and 41 minutes of space walk time. 

That's 2 hours and 41 more than the VAST majority of humanity.

Gordon graduated from North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington, in 1947, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the UW in 1951. He's pictured center, below. 

Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to meet Gordon. However, I have a number of friends who have met him, and they all rave about what a nice, friendly guy he was.

To the stars, Astronaut Gordon!

SWEET CELEBRATION: This afternoon, the kids and I attended a small Veteran's Day celebration. We brought a few dozen cookies for the occasion. 

It would have gone a lot faster if I had made royal icing and piped the cookies, but I went the slow route and did fondant, which meant rolling out stripes and placing each dot as a star. It was worth it seeing the octogenarians make a beeline for the cookies after the assembly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrIefWtQBZ0