Home School

ART TO GO: Twice this week, Annabelle was able to sit in on a class called "Art to Go." Offered by Gage Academy of Art. It's a bricks-and-mortar school in Seattle, but, like nearly everything else, it has been shot down due to COVID-19. However, the school has turned to the Internet to offer their classes at the present. Most of them involve a fee, but we got lucky and heard about this series of free classes in time to get one of the available slots. 

So far, both classes she took were using watercolors. The first one was a snowy scene. 

Immediately above was the scene in its early stages. I was really impressed with her final product (it's atop this post). She hasn't used watercolors much, but seems to have taken to them right away!

The classes are hosted live, and they're about an hour long. 

Today, artists were tasked with sketching and then painting a little birdie.

Below is her mostly-done work. The texture you see are grains of salt. Apparently those are used to evoke a snowflake effect. 

SAY WHAT?: CJ had Japanese class in the form of a Zoom meeting this morning. The professor hosted a lecture, and as part of the class, she paired participants to practice speaking Japanese with one another. I had no idea that could be done within the Zoom world - pretty nifty feature!

For his homework, CJ had to record himself answering some questions in Japanese. 

The questions are: What your name? When is your birthday? What kind of person is your mother? and Do you like studying Kanji?

His answers were: Namae wa kurisuchan kisukii desu, Tanjoubi wa shigatsu hatsuka desu, Haha wa shurui hito desu., and Hai! Kanji o benkyousuru suki desu.

Thursday Work

SQUASHED: This morning it was warm and beautiful and we finally got around to planting some summer squash. (I think it's actually zucchini.) I dug up the dirt patch and Annabelle planted. Meanwhile, poor CJ was hauling blackberry branches down to compost.

Speaking of gardening, we read an interesting story from Time magazine about antique apples, for lack of a better label. The story was about a group of retirees who scour remote locations around the Pacific Northwest, in search of long-forgotten pioneer orchards. Together, they formed a nonprofit, Lost Apple Project

So far, thanks to their efforts, 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct were recently discovered, which was their biggest single-season. It sounds like a really fun treasure hunt hobby to me!

CLASSY: Yesterday, Annabelle finished a 5-part writing class offered through Clarion West. 

I'll have her tell you a little bit about it. ...

The First Time with Elizabeth Hand was a 5-part writing class dedicated to a specific writing exercise that involved taking an account of a first experience you’ve had and rewriting it into a piece of fiction or short story. Each student in the class individually worked on adapting our own stories, which lead to some interestingly varied results due to our different experiences and styles of writing. Some chose to turn their account into a fantasy-oriented story, while others went for a completely sci-fi approach. 

My own experience was of a particularly difficult hike my family and I took years ago that we refer to as the “short scramble,” and I adapted it into a vaguely post-apocalyptic desert setting. It was difficult for me to rewrite my story from a fictional perspective, because I am not very used to writing ‘myself’ and most of my ideas for fictional stories do not have a sort of set basis or conclusion like this assignment. It was also difficult because I had such a short time period to come up with the new setting and characters before sharing it with others, so I cannot say I was entirely happy with the finished result. Nonetheless, I think it was a good writing exercise and allowed me to explore a different writing style than what I normally would’ve tried.

The classes were a gift from Clarion West, prompted by so many students being stuck at home during the pandemic. What a treat and thrill and opportunity for Annabelle to have a notable, award-winning author like Elizabeth Hand as a mentor for a week. 

CJ is in his first week of his third quarter of college. He's taking 15 credits this quarter. His classes are History III, Japanese 3, and History of Rock. 

We have been mildly worried about Japanese, because CJ took Japanese 1 and 2 at South Seattle, but he's taking Japanese 3 at Central Seattle. There was no way of knowing if his Japanese classes at South would prepare him for the class at Central.

But so far, so good. In non-pandemic times, the class would meet every weekday. In the Coronavirus era, it's all online. The professor seems very organized and has every single day of the quarter already calendared. 

One big bonus of the Japanese class being online is that Annabelle can sit in on the sessions. During Japanese 1 and 2, she did all of the homework alongside CJ had, but never had benefit of access to the lectures that he went to in person twice a week. 

SOUND ADVICE: I'm not mass producing them at the moment, but I do continue to make masks here and there. Here's today's small batch.

I think masks are going to be a part of our lives for months to come. To that topic, I think this is the best article I've read so far that talks about how to keep yourself safer during these COVID-19 times. It's thoughtful, thorough, and science-based.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/saving-your-health-one-mask-time-peter-tippett-md-phd/?fbclid=IwAR1OFCa8y5hdncdkq5fffRub3KZpJxgzM_A_1F8saHgPBh3ohwQ0uDVOyNU

TESTY: Though CJ is a full time college student right now, he's also Since technically a high school junior. And if you're a high school junior and it's springtime, and you're college bound after your senior year of high school, you should probably be looking at taking a college entrance exam or exams, specifically the SAT and/or the ACT. Thing is, both of those tests have been postponed so far this spring because of the pandemic.

I read a story in the New York Times today that the tests might be a take-at-home affair this year. I also read that a lot of colleges are waiving those tests as an entrance requirement due to the pandemic and wonky test schedule. 

So, I guess we'll just keep an eye on it. Maybe CJ will be able to take it late summer or in September.

Back in Buzz-ness

OUR NEW FRIENDS: Not sure if I shared this on the blog yet, but over winter we lost both of our hives. And by 'lost' I don't mean they went missing. They died. Needless to say, we were all very sad about it.

We're not sure if it was mites, if they starved, if they froze ... but they didn't winter over. That's not all that uncommon, unfortunately. But we were hoping our bees would make it.

We have ordered a new 'nuc' (nucleus colony) of bees, to be picked up in early May, but during these recent sunny days, I find myself missing having bees buzzing all about our yard. 

A couple of weeks ago, Christian had the foresight to post an offer on a couple of neighborhood social media sites. He told people if they see a swarm of bees in their yard, to give him a call and he'd come and try to remove them. (He explained that a swarm would look like a football sized ball of bees on a tree or other object.)

Well, yesterday, while we were working in the yard, someone contacted him about a swarm they had in their yard - less than a mile from our house!

Christian sped over there with a box and his bee keeping gear. Fortunately, the bees were conveniently located in the shrub in the foreground of the photo below.   
With no trouble at all, Christian got the ball of bees to drop into his box. He left it on site for a couple of hours, so that bees who didn't drop along with the rest of the ball could find their way to their group. At nightfall, he picked up the swarmed hive and brought it to our house.

We're so happy to have them here! I loved hearing the sound of a hive doing its thing! Music to our ears!

Today, Christian placed some of the frames from our previous bees' efforts into the new guys' home. 

 As you can see, they took to them right away.

Some of the frames are pretty moldy, but from what Christian has read, the new crew will clean the up in no time. 

 It will be interesting to check on these frames in a couple of weeks. 

 Aren't they beautiful?!

PORKER:  We have a new friend in the neighborhood. Last night, a neighbor about a mile away asked for people's help feeding her pet pig, Pancakes. 

We always have a compost pail full of scraps, and a lot of them seem like something a pig might find palatable. Things like mango rinds, strawberry tops, a couple of past-prime hard-boiled eggs, some nearly welting lettuce.

Turns out Pancakes was most appreciative.

Also, I think Pancakes is grossly overweight. Her belly nearly scrapes the ground when she walks. I'm not sure Pancakes needs as much food as her owner thinks she does. But what do I know about pigs?

There were also cute baby chicks on site, and multiple pitbulls. Quite the collection of pets. ...

THE REAL DEAL: So here I go, writing about these cookies again. At least twice previously, I've blogged about the DoubleTree chocolate chip cookies. They first caught our attention because they were baked on the International Space Station back in January of this year.

We ordered some tins of them for fun, and have since baked a copycat recipe, which was divine!

However, just last week, DoubleTree by Hilton came out with a press release entitled "For the First Time, DoubleTree by Hilton Reveals Official Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe so Bakers Can Create the Warm, Welcoming Treat at Home."

That's a long title and a lot of capital letters, so it must be a Big Deal, ha ha. We decided to give the official version a go.

Here's a little video about the recipe release.


The verdict? They're good. Really good! But I actually preferred the copycat recipe. Maybe because it had even more chocolate chips?

What's funny is when we made the copycats, Annabelle said, "I know this is going to be a controversial opinion, but I think they have too many chocolate chips."

As if there was such a thing. 

By the way, a lot of companies are doing that during the stay home portion of this pandemic. For instance, Disney has been releasing favorite recipes from their theme parks, including their Dole whip and their churro tots.

We've never had either of those in person, but we'll probably put the recipes to the test just for fun during this *&#%^$ pandemic.

Progress

PRESSING MATTER: As our storage solution project continues, CJ got a lesson in operating a drill press. He was making holes in blocks of wood that provide ventilation in the new space. 

Below, are the bird blocks in place. 

The little shed takes shape. Here it is with its exterior sheathing on and shed-style roof framed. 

It's not much to look at, but it serves a purpose, to be sure.

 I really like the way it blends in with the rest of the house. The photo below probably isn't the best angle to demonstrate that. Apologies.

LIFE FINDS A WAY:  We have all sorts of volunteer flowers in our front yard this spring. My favorite is probably this orange beauty (a poppy maybe?). It's growing out of a crack in our concrete driveway, right next to the stone siding. 

We hope to have some on-purpose plants, as well. Below, Annabelle sows cucumber seeds in a spot that used to have no-berry-producing strawberry plants. I cleaned the space out yesterday. Hopefully the seeds like the spot. 

Below, CJ plants some spaghetti squash seeds. We harvested them from lovely squash that grew in that same spot last year. They really flourished there. We hope the second generation does as well.

You can see in the photo some rhubarb that seems to grow 50 percent each day, as well as our clover plot for our bees. 

Chopped

NEW KIDS ON THE (BIRD) BLOCK: First thing this morning, the kids and I headed outside. They were going to get their first lesson operating a chop saw. The goal was to make some bird blocks for the storage area-in-progress. 

Their first question was, "What's a bird block?" I showed them that the siding comes up to the top plate, and the rafters set atop the top plate, but there's a gap between the top plate and the top of (in our case) the 2x6 rafter, which has plywood atop it to hold the roof sheathing. The blocks provide ventilation, while the screen installed behind the holes keeps the critters out.

We gathered our necessary tools for the project (a hammer, a measuring tape, and a pencil), plus a big ol' ladder and our trusty chop saw. 

We followed the measure twice, cut once principle. 

Fortunately, the cutting went well. Nothing other than wood was chopped.

Below, the blocks are just temp-ed into place. They still need to have holes drilled in them, and some screen stapled on. 

SPROUTS!: It never gets old. I'm always amazed after we sow seeds, that they actually sprout. Today was that day, when our first little leaves of green showed their stuff. 

Our cherry tomatoes are the only ones to show signs of life so far, but I'll bet the other starts aren't far behind. 

I couldn't help but smile when I saw the Burien library's post today. It's a video of a story time with their children's librarian reading the book "If You Plant a Seed."

The Burien library is where CJ applied and interviewed for a library page position before this whole pandemic *&^%storm hit. He still gets weekly emails from King County Library System letting him know he's still a candidate. That's great, but I also have to think that after this virus is eventually kicked (many, many months from now), budgets are going to be so slim that no new hiring is going to go on. 

Not the best time to be seeking employment, for sure. Unless you want to be a low-level Amazon employee or grocery delivery driver. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with either of those jobs. In fact, right now they're essential employment! It's just that there are going to be tens of thousands competing for those jobs right about now, too.

Quiet Thursday

SCENIC: It was a beautiful day, weather wise, and so we spent a good part of the day out of doors again. The photo above was taken from our mid-yard, where we were picking up branches and sod that were generated from our storage shed and pavers projects. 

Meanwhile, out in the back yard, the tulips were wide open in today's sunshine. 

It's hard to believe those things fold all the way back up into their cup shape in the late afternoon.

STORE SCORE: I needed to go to the store today. I was trying to hold out for another few days, but when you live with CJ and you run out of ketchup, well, that's nearly an emergency.

I thought I'd hit it early in hopes of light crowds and fresh air in the stores. It was a good strategy. I was to WinCo by 7:30, and it was just me and a couple dozen other people in the cavernous store. I was happy to see most shoppers were wearing masks and gloves. (I was surprised to see that the cashiers and store workers were not wearing masks. They should be.)

I did pretty well at WinCo, but they didn't have any yeast. It's almost as hard to come by as toilet paper (which WinCo had, BTW). It was still super early when I got out of WinCo, so I decided to stop by Smart FoodService (formerly Cash & Carry) to see if they had any. I went to their baking aisle and it was wiped out. I basically went down the aisle looking at labels under blank spaces. Sure enough, the yeast section was a barren wasteland. However, I know that the store often has additional stock way up high on shelves, so I peered up and, sure enough, there was a box that said Red Star on it. 

Score! I strained to reach it, and was surprised by how heavy it was. Fortunately, I didn't get a concussion. I did get three POUNDS of yeast, however. (And no, I'm not hording, I swear. One is for me, one's for my mom, and one's for my daughter-in-law.)

Speaking of concussions, later in the day, we were working out in the shed, and I couldn't help but think this looked like an accident waiting to happen. 

See that claw of a hammer peeking out, ready to jump onto someone's unsuspecting head?

SOCIAL DISTANCING TO THE EXTREME: What's the best way to social distance during a global pandemic? How about blasting off to the International Space Station!?

Above, a Soyuz MS-16 lifts off from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today, carrying two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut. The trio made a quick, six-hour trip to the ISS. (photo credits: NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

The ISS's newest residents are Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos (top), Chris Cassidy of NASA, center, and Anatoly Ivanishin . (photo credit: NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Bet they're all hoping COVID-19 is a bad memory by the time they're home in six months. (Unfortunately, it's not at all likely that will be the case.)

The virus affected situations leading up to today's launch. According to a story in Discover Magazine, both NASA and the Russian space agency took their traditional pre-flight quarantines even more seriously than usual. Instead of the standard two-week isolation, this go-round it was four weeks. Also, while astronauts and cosmonauts traditionally break quarantine to place flowers at the grave of Yuri Gagarin, that tradition- as well as all other off-site visits - were eliminated.

Just for fun, here's a great old photo of President Richard Nixon visiting the Apollo 11 astronauts in quarantine (in an Airstream trailer) after their historic flight to the moon in 1969. (Credit: NASA)

Green Stuff

A FIRST: So, on pandemic stay-at-home day ??? it's come to this: An artichoke was today's entertainment.

Truth be told, it was one of those not-so-proud of dinner nights: Tater tots and mini corn dogs. In an attempt to offset that somewhat, I finally got around to touching the artichokes Christian impulse bought last time we were at WinCo (a couple of weeks ago).The artichokes have been taunting me from the produce pile ever since. 

Honestly, they would have been a lot better when they were fresher, but I think we got to them just in time.

I turned to Google to find a recipe to prep them in our pressure cooker. But before that, we had to get the artichokes ready. Fortunately, we found a super short (just over one minute) tutorial called "How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke" on YouTube. 

The kids followed all the steps and in just a couple of minutes, our artichokes were in the pot. 

So what was the verdict? Meh.

Sure, most anything dipped into melted butter and/or mayo is delicious. But the kids both tapped out after about a dozen leaves. They were afraid they'd be 'too full' to eat the corn dogs and tater tots, ha ha. 

GREEN THUMB: This morning, we helped Kennedy get his little container garden off the ground. He came down here and picked up a three-tiered planter we inherited when we bought this house. I tried to utilize it a couple of summers ago, but it was in a spot in our yard that was inconvenient to water and access, so all my plants died and it was a hard fail.

Kennedy likes to cook, and his newish apartment has a balcony with good sun, so I figured the planter should have a home there. A couple of days ago, I offered it to him, and he took us up on it.

Keeping his distance from us while we worked in the yard, Kennedy dumped the old dirt in the boxes and filled the containers with some raised bed soil we happened to have. He packed it all in his car and stopped at Lowe's on his way home. There, he scored a half dozen herb starts.

So now he has two kinds of basil, two kinds of oregano, plus rosemary and cilantro. Nice!

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: Perhaps you heard the news - Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination today.

CJ was pretty bummed at the news. Bernie was 'his' candidate.

I asked CJ to write up a little something about what he thinks November's election is going to look like now that it's apparently down to Biden v. Trump. Here's CJ's forecast.

"By my prediction, while he may lose the popular vote, incumbent Donald Trump will be re-elected as President in November of 2020. Much like moderate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over three million votes in 2016, but failed to get the necessary Electoral College votes to beat Trump, I expect the same to occur to Joe Biden in this year's presidential election."

CJ's prediction makes me have Many Thoughts, but I'll just keep them to myself. For now.