Work in Progress

SHORT SUMMARY: This post is going to be a short one. The kids are on a hard deadline for a big cake project for Birthday Dreams' 10th anniversary.

Birthday Dreams is a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing joy, hope and dignity to homeless children with the gift of a birthday party. They are celebrating a decade of awesome service this weekend, complete with a cake competition. The kids and I have donated a number of custom cakes to the organization over the past year-plus. CJ and Annabelle didn't want to pass up the opportunity to be involved in this big party. 

Basically, at this point, the entire house is lightly dusted in powdered sugar and our kitchen is coated in butter and batter.

 Body parts.

Can you guess what the cake is going to be?

Bees, Please

HIVE MINDED: Tuesday afternoon we headed to Queen Anne to complete our monthly "art installation." (It's a bulletin board with students' birthdays on them.)

Inspired by our thriving hive at home, we went with a bee theme. Annabelle used her Cricut machine to cut out dozens of hexagons, some of which had the names and dates written on them. We used a variety of decorative paper, either honey-toned or hexagon themed, or both. Annabelle also made a dozen cute little bees.

It took awhile to put up, because each hexagon had to be contemplated. Heaven forbid we put a bunch of the same colored hexagons right next to each other!

It's always fun installing the board, though. Kids (and many adults) coming by are excited to see what the new theme is each month. (By the way, I purposely blurred out names in the photo above.)

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: Annabelle shared this video with me today, so I'm going to share it with you.

The 8-or-so minute lesson is about how perspective distortion works. It's interesting, and a lot to think about. I might have to watch it again to try to more fully 'get' it.

Dance and Dirt

RAISE THE BARRE: On Friday, midday, we headed into downtown Seattle to the historic Paramount Theatre to see a special learning lab and demonstration by the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

We've been there dozens of times before, but I still always marvel at its magnificence.

We sat very near the stage. The performance was amazing. I wish I had pictures to share, but we were instructed to turn our phones off before the show, and I respected that request. (A good number of others in the audience did not, however, and photoed and videoed large portions of the show. I thought that was really rude.)

The program we received for the show was very educational. It had the history of the dance troupe, info about ballet positions, and more. There was a crossword puzzle on the back. Unfortunately, it featured a number of typos. 

Here's what CJ had to say about the event. ... 

In late April of 2019, Seattle's Paramount Theatre hosted multiple shows for the Dance Theatre of Harlem's 50th Anniversary Celebration. My family went to one of the shows, which was presented from approximately 11 A.M. to 12 P.M. The Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company that regularly tours, displaying ballet skills held by the company's members. According to the Dance Theatre of Harlem's website, "[t]he 17-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture." The Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded in 1968 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook.

The performance at the Paramount Theatre that we witnessed featured multiple different kinds of ballet, including "classical" or "old-school" ballet, as well as "modern" ballet. A prominent feature of the show were the "bars", metal bars which the ballet dancers used to perform various dance moves (no, not that kind of dancing with a metal bar). Notably, the Dance Theatre of Harlem is different from many other ballet companies in that they use ballet shoes that have different colors than the traditional pink color.

It took us awhile to find parking before the show, and we ended up having to hoof a few blocks to the theater. We paused a moment in Plymouth Pillars Park for a photo. I didn't realize until I was shooting it that there was someone sleeping next to one of the columns. That's Seattle (and a whole lot of other cities) these days. 

Curious about the pillars, I Googled the park and learned that the pillars were original to the  entrance for the historic Plymouth Congregational Church. Founded in 1869, the church is associated with the United Church of Christ.  The first Plymouth Congregational Church was built in 1873. 

After the Puget Sound earthquake in 1965, the church was damaged and, eventually, demolished. A new edifice was erected, but the original four pillars of the historic structure are now the centerpiece of the park at Boren and Pike. 

YARD WORK: We spent hours and hours doing yard work Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We were working to remove a large swath of grass and weeds on order to plant clover (for our bees) instead. Bees love clover for its pollen, plus it's very environmentally friendly, drought resistant, and you don't have to mow it hardly ever.

We've been tilling and raking and raking an tilling, and removed hundreds of rocks and weeds. It was a ton of work.  

Monday morning, after a little more raking and grading, we spread about three pounds of clover seeds. We sure hope the seed takes! 

Below is a random garden shot of a petite pink something or other.

Put to the Test

MISSION TO MARS: On Wednesday, midday, CJ and Annabelle went to The Museum of Flight for a special Mission to Mars event. 

There were a couple of different related activities. I'll have Annabelle tell you more about them. 

On April 24th, My brother and I attended a "Home School Day" event at The Museum of Flight. The event was held in the upper great gallery, and consisted of a few tables spaced around the floor with ample room for working. There were two activities at the event, and we were able to do both in the time allotted.

The first activity was creating a "space suit" for a marshmallow that would keep it from shrinking in the small vacuum chamber an attendant had for the demonstration. We were given latex gloves, plastic bags, tape, and a number of other things for use in the space suit. My brother and I wrapped the marshmallow in the glove, tied it tightly as possible, and put that into a plastic bag that had been taped shut. In both tests, our marshmallow survived with little to no harm or shrinkage. 

The second activity involved LEGO Mindstorms robotics, using the pre-built rovers to go through various commands such as picking up only certain rocks or pushing them to designated zones. It was interesting to play with the block coding system and find the different ways each mission could be completed, as there was no wrong or right answer - there was, however, much trial and error. Since I had used LEGO Mindstorms before, I had a bit more experience, though my brother was also very useful in suggesting how to solve certain issues or tweak the code.

Below is a conceptual design of the spacesuit exercise. 

 And here are a few of the process photos.

The kids were glad their marshmallow astronaut stood up to the vacuum test. 

The robotic test was super challenging, based on the many videos I viewed that CJ shared with me. I only shared these two out of about ten. 

SCIENCE SURVEY: Recently, in my online travels, I came across a story about a science knowledge quiz conducted by Pew Research Center. It's a short, 11-question, multiple choice quiz that Pew Research gave to 4,464 randomly selected U.S. adults in January of this year. 

If you like, you can take the quiz and see how you stack up vs. the average American.

A full analysis of the findings can be found here: 

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/03/28/what-americans-know-about-science/

I won't share any spoilers, but let's just say the kids (who each went 11-for-11) were mortified by the percentage of people who scored a 0 or 1 on the quiz. 

News-y

GROUNDED!: We finally got some great news today that is about a month in the making. CJ and Annabelle have both been accepted in Private Pilot Ground School via the Highline School District at The Museum of Flight this summer!

This program provides the opportunity for students who will be in grades 9-12 next fall "to explore the world of aviation while creating a base of aeronautical knowledge that pilots need to successfully pass the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot exam," per the program's website. 

To get them eligible to participate required a mountain of paperwork, visiting multiple different offices at multiple locations, a flurry of emails and a few phone calls. But the work paid off, fortunately. It's just such a great opportunity. The program only costs $35 out-of-pocket apiece, and the if they successfully complete the class, the kids will each earn 5 college credits for it. Sweet!

NASA NEWS: Today, we checked in on a couple of NASA missions we've been watching. 

First up was news from the Mars lander InSight. In the photo below, you can see InSight's wind and thermal shield, which covers the probe's seismometer, or Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/IPGP/Imperial College London

As you might recall, among other things, InSight's equipment is designed to record "marsquakes" on the Red Planet. On April 6, 2019, SEIS appears to have recorded trembling that appears to have come from underneath the planet surface, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind or the lander's moving parts. 

This video shows that event.  


NASA notes that audio from InSight's sensors have been sped up by a factor of 60 in the video as the actual vibrations on Mars would not have been audible to the human ear. More about the InSight mission can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight .
Meanwhile, asteroid Bennu continues to be studied by OSIRIS-REx, a spacecraft that arrived in the asteroid's area back in December.

Just released is this technicolor GIF. It's made from over 11 million measurements of the asteroid.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oxkbEkiuSSUPo5odNKbDXf-970-80.gif
The space probe continues to orbit Bennu, and it's still scoping out the best spot for a sample collection from Bennu's rocky surface. 
Here's a cool photo of Bennu's south pole.

 After the sample is collected from Bennu, the probe is set to head back to Heart in March of 2021.

ACTIVE: This afternoon, our bees were as active as I've ever seen them. Dozens and dozens were buzzing about the hive, coming and going. Here's a short video. 

It's amazing how much noise they make. What you hear in the video is not traffic or wind, it's them. I could actually hear them from inside the house through a closed window today.

Sweet Sixteen

BIRTHDAY BOY: We were busy celebrating CJ this weekend.

On Friday, we did the traditional birthday breakfast at Easy Street, a record store in West Seattle that happens to have a little cafe in it.

CJ had a stack of "Blueberry Hill" pancakes, and selected a Slayer album as a birthday present. A nice way to start a day. ;)

Saturday, we went to an arcade in Ballard called The Ice Box. There, CJ spent handfuls of quarters on classic games, including a rare machine, F-Zero AX. Afterward, he chose to go to Yard House for dinner, as he's a big fan of their "Carnivore" pizza. He also got a special dessert. 

Overall, CJ got some cool gifts and had a good day. Happy #16, CJ!

CHECK UP: At the end of last week, we cracked open our beehive for the first time since setting it up a couple weeks prior.

 Annabelle donned a beekeeper's suit and helped with the check up.

In the photo below, you can see a few bees returning to their hive, a couple of them weighted down with lots of pollen.

 Inside, you can see they have been busy bees, making brood comb and honeycomb.

 Christian used a special tool to life one of the racks up and out.

 On one of the racks, we spied our queen bee. She's marked with a green dot in the photo.

You can see there are already eggs in some of the comb they've made!

Waterway Walk

HISTORICAL STROLL: This afternoon, while Annabelle was tending to other business, CJ, the dogs, and I went for a little walk. We drove down the hill a mile or two to our west, down to the Duwamish River. We found a place to park along its east bank, and set off on foot.

One of the first things we did was cross this curious footbridge (above). It looked old and rickety, but surely it's safe or it wouldn't be open, right?

We were starting to rethink that 'right?' about a third of the way across, when the bridge started swaying and bouncing underfoot. That felt pretty darn sketchy. 

We were happy to be across, but realized, of course, that we had to turn back and cross it again to get back to our car. 

Obviously, we lived to tell about it. ;)

After that adventure, we walked south, along the waterfront. Along the way, we encountered an itty bitty church tucked between an old house and a manufactured home. I couldn't help but notice its simple cross looked like it was crafted from two Home Depot 4x4s.

Interesting that the church's weekly service is at 6 on Saturday evenings. Given that, I thought perhaps it was Seventh Day Adventist, but when I got home and did the Google, it appears the church is Presbyterian. According to an archived article on the Tukwila Reporter website, apparently services have been held here since 1905, and before that, the structure was in another part of town.

Beyond that, it's hard to find much out about the church. They don't appear to have a Facebook page or a website at all. Guess I could show up on a Saturday night for more info. It would be fun to peek inside. 

Just past the church, we came to a park - specifically Duwamish Park. Right away, we spied a labyrinth with a marker in the middle.

We walked the entire labyrinth, taking nary a shortcut. In the center, we saw this memento.

Turns out the park was the site of Duwamish Grade School for decades.

I found a cool old photo (circa 1920) of the actual school on a UW website. I didn't want to post it here, because it looks like image's usage rights are on lockdown, so to speak, so you'll have to follow this link to see it for yourself: 

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/5075

The park had a decent sized play structure, a nice, big open field, and a good sized-barbecue. It also had a BIG bulldog for a neighbor, which delighted CJ, who loves dogs who are smoosh-faced and wrinkly.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: While driving through Tukwila, WA, a couple of days ago, I couldn't help but notice this sign (below), warning drivers about a no racing zone. 

I find it funny that if you take this sign literally, I guess it's OK to race there between 5:01 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.?