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.”

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. ... 

Thursday Scenes

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Another low-key day for us as we enjoy some time away from our usual digs.

We did a couple minor repairs on this place. Home improvement is kind of our idea of fun. ;)

I do love the porthole windows on this place. 

At one point today, Annabelle was working on an art project and CJ was sitting in on a Zoom call with Evergreen State about how to apply for scholarships. Streaming if which, he received a letter from Evergreen offering a $1500 scholarship for kids first year thanks to his strog grades to date.

NEIGHBORLY: The place we're staying this week is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and a sprawling golf course, Gearhart Golf Links, the oldest golf course in Oregon. At the end of the road is a McMenamins' hotel and restaurants establishment. 

Their main dining room is called Sand Trap Pub. 

On its menu is a little history lesson about the golf course. 

"Opened in 2007 on the Gearhart Golf Links, the hotel and Sand Trap pub that McMenamins inherited and expanded upon was a reincarnation of the links’ first clubhouse built in the mid-1920s. The course itself is even older, having been laid out in the 1890s, making it one of the first on the West Coast. As The Oregonian remarked in 1923, 'There is perhaps no course in the United States that is so truly similar to the famous home course of modern golf, that of the Royal and Ancient Golf club, at St. Andrews in Scotland.' That makes sense, since the links’ original surveyors were a group of Scotsman rehomed in Oregon. They included one Robert Livingstone, whose grand residence was in NW Portland, where McMenamins Rams Head Pub is today."

We head home tomorrow. It has been a really nice change of pace, and I hope get get a chance to come visit the place again someday. 

Crazy Day

WRECKS: We woke up today to the big news that Georgia had elected two new senators, bringing the Senate to a 50-50 tie, D vs. R. However, coverage quickly shifted from that big news to what was going on in Congress, with the House and Senate set to certify the election today. Usually (like, always, it's just a formality). But not today, because, well, nothing seems normal any more.

Just a few minutes after Sen. Ted Cruz questioned the authenticity of Arizona's electoral votes (without citing any evidence for doing so), a mob of radicalized, white domestic terrorists invaded Congress, while countless Capitol police and FBI stood by and watched. We couldn't believe what we were seeing.

We watched the 'trainwreck' until a little after noon, and then decided to go see a shipwreck. Specifically, the wreck of the Peter Iredale. We timed our visit for low tide, when we could walk right up and touch what's left of its rusty ruins.

Below, the Iredale is pictured in much better times. The vintage photo was taken in Seattle around 1900, per Wikipedia.

Below, the kids and the dogs from Seattle head toward the Iredale's remains, 120 years later. 

Back in the day, Peter Iredale was a four-masted steel barque sailing vessel. It ran ashore October 25, 1906, on the Oregon coast, where Warrenton is now. The Iredale was trying to make its way to the Columbia River, but fell four miles short.

The photo below shows the shipwreck shortly after it happened. 

What's left of the wreckage is a popular tourist attraction, as it's so accessible compared to other. shipwrecks in the "Graveyard of the Pacific." You can walk right up to it during low tide.

It was a nice, quiet spot to be on a day where things were more than a little crazy.

Here's hoping our tomorrows, as a nation, are a lot more peaceful than today.

Piece by Piece

PUZZLED: A blustery day at the beach, so what did we do? A whole lot of nothing. (Well, other than chase down a power supply for Annabelle's laptop. Unfortunately, her charger was left in Seattle.)

We sat by the picture windows, watched frothy, foamy whitecaps crash, listened to the roaring winds, and worked a couple of jigsaw puzzles.

The one above is a 500-piece puzzle with an illustration depicting Seaside, Oregon, just a couple of miles down the road from where we are.

Last night, we pieced together this fun one: "Where's Bowie?"

It's very colorful, and there are lots of 'inside' jokes for David Bowie fans like me. It was a Christmas gift from Rick and Rachel. Thanks, guys!

NETWORKING LUNCH: Come noontime, Annabelle took a break from 'arting' and CJ took a break from his school work for a Zoom presentation from The Museum of Flight folks.

Called "Lunch with Staff," it was for Museum "Connections" members (middle and high school students). The email I received a couple of weeks back about it described the session as "staff members ready to share what they do at the Museum and answer YOUR questions. First we'll let each guest tell us about their job, the schooling and skills it took to get there, etc...then we'll open it up for questions from you. This is a great opportunity for students of all ages to learn about new career paths, learn more about a career they may already be considering, and learn how they can combine a passion of flight or space with a career that isn't pilot or astronaut!"

It was exactly as advertised, and so very interesting! Participating today were Amy Heidrick (collections), Chris Smith (information technology), Dave Longmire (facilities), and Mandy Faber (exhibits). 

The guest speakers were engaging and gave great details about their various jobs at the museum. At the end, there was an opportunity for questions. Annabelle and CJ asked how people can find out about internship opportunities at The Museum of Flight. The moderator of the luncheon gave a shout out to the kids, saying she recognized their names from pilot pilot ground school and other Museum of Flight programs. 

Listening to the museum staff's interests and career pathways was like listening to young CJ and Annabelle. Maybe someday they'll wind up working for a museum. 

The Museum of Flight has a couple more lunch Zoom sessions scheduled. We'll definitely be signing up for them!