Good Stuff

FRONDLY: Sunday was Mother's Day, and I was gifted a palm tree by Christian. It's only about four feet tall now, but some day, it could grow to 30 feet or so. It's still in its pot, which made it just tall enough for me to sit under for a few moments on sunny Monday. I pretended I was in the tropics for a bit. Christian joined me for a few. 

But to be honest, it wasn't too relaxing. There was a pair of little birdies who really didn't want us relaxing right there. They were keeping their beady eyes on us and got closer and closer. We figured they had a nest nearby. 

They were persistent so we got out of their hair - or feathers.

In other yard action, we are relocating the bee hive to our west yard that's full of clover. We discovered a couple of months ago that our bees didn't winter over, unfortunately. We're not sure what happened. The hive was well insulated and we had treated for mites.

What was really surprising was when Christian was taking it apart to move it, he didn't find a bunch of bee corpses in it. Somehow, they're all gone. We have to think something got into the hive and was a grave robber, because bee bodies wouldn't just disappear on their own. 

While cleaning the hive, Christian found a couple of huge honeycombs our dearly departed honeybees had built. Pretty impressive.

The weird ol' irises continue to pop up around the yard. They'll be gone as quickly as they came. Many of them are looking past-their-prime already.

In other random news, I have to park this link here: https://www.cameo.com/v/6087866ee9c065001d586bb7?utm_campaign=video_share_to_copy

It leads to my Mother's Day present from Rick and Ken, a personal video from Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-Wee Herman. 

I've been a fan of his since the early 1980s, when he used to appear on the David Letterman Show regularly. When I was very pregnant with Rick (in 1985), I went to see "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" in the theater and I laughed so hard, I thought I might go into labor. 

When Rick had a Halloween costume wedding, Christian and I dressed up as characters from that movie. I played Pee-Wee, who happened to be dressed as a woman in one scene, when he and Mickey, a convict, we trying to elude the police. (It strikes me I still have that turquoise sweater somewhere ...)

About the last public thing Christian, Annabelle, CJ, Kennedy and I did before the lockdown was go see Paul Reuben's one man show at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. He was charming, and it was downright poignant in parts. 

Anyway, what a funny, thoughtful gift, Rick and Ken gave me. 

SIGNED UP: Today was the first day new students could sign up for classes at Bellevue College for Fall 2021. That's when Annabelle is eligible to start Running Start (college as a high school-aged student), and so we were ready to pounce on that opportunity.

In doing some research, we learned the site would go live at 6 a.m., so by 5:59 this morning we were at her computer, ready to strike.

The early bird got the worm. Annabelle got the Japanese II class she was after (it's a tough seat to get, we were told). She also signed up for an intro to psychology class (potentially her major some day), and an English class.

I have to say, the website she was on to sign up looked like it was from the 1980s. Right after she registered, it crashed, hard. Fortunately, I think she's OK, as I do have an emailed receipt for paying her fees for the quarter. 

Now, the big question is will classes be in person or not? Time will tell. ...

Annabelle went back to bed after registering. I was way too awake, so I got a couple hours of work done while being flanked by a pair of snoring Havanese. 

FALLOUT: CJ is working hard in his World Cinema class. There's a lot to read, watch, and write. In hopes of getting a solid A, he's also doing extra credit. Recently he prepared this infographic talking about the impact of COVID on the film industry.

I hope you're able to read it. I tried to make it as big as I could. It might help to click on the individual images. 

Spaced Out

EYE SPY:  Irises are blooming all over our 'campus' at the moment. 

I have never understood irises. (Not that any flower really needs to be 'understood.') It's just that they are so bizarre, with their big, curling petals* and they occupy such a short window in the 'look at me' regard.  

Today we learned that there are some 300 or so species of irises, and that they take their name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow (Iris.)

*We also learned that the iris' petals aren't all petals. Rather, the flower has six colorful lobes. The three inner lobes are, indeed, petals, while the three outer lobes are sepals. The petals stand upright and are sometimes called 'standards.'

NAILED IT: Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I spent some time watching history being made in two very different ways. On one channel we were monitoring the Mariners' horrible game where no one on their team managed to get even a single hit. That meant a no hitter for Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Means. 

In another tab, we were closely monitoring the launch of SpaceX's SN15. (SN stands for serial number, in case you were wondering.) We'd watched many an SN launch before, with the enormous silver rocket lifting off, doing a belly flop of sorts, and then attempting a landing. Previous attempts have resulted in pretty spectacular explosions following failed landings. 

However, yesterday was the day - the rocket stuck the landing!

Right afterward, a fire broke out on the landing pad at SpaceX's Starbase site in south Texas, and we worried the whole ship was going to go up in flames. Fortunately, the fire was controlled, and the landing was considered a success. Congrats, SpaceX!

SN is the rocket that's supposed to take astronauts to the moon someday. Coincidentally, Wednesday's uncrewed test occurred on the 60th anniversary of the United States' first-ever crewed spaceflight, the suborbital mission of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard.

BYE BYE, BENNU: On Monday, May 10, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will fire its thrusters and start a two-year trek back to planet Earth, which it left on September 8, 2016. On board OSIRIS-REx is precious cargo in the form of a sample of the asteroid it has called home since December 3, 2018. (Our names are also on board the craft!)

You can watch live coverage of the spacecraft’s departure from asteroid Bennu on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency’s website on Monday, May 10 at 1 p.m. Pacific time. 

The video below, from NASA Goddard and the University of Arizona, shows the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 pm EDT on October 20, 2020. 

Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn.

You can learn more about the historic mission on its website: https://www.asteroidmission.org/

Some Fun

 

MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: The 2021 Major League Baseball season continues, and fans are still being allowed in the stands as of now, so we thought we were due to make another trip to T-Mobile Park for some Mariners baseball.

The first 3,000 in attendance were given free Kingdome caps. (The Kingdome is where the Mariners started when they were a brand new club back in 1977). We were there in time, and came home with four Kingdome caps.

It was raining out, so the retractable roof over the stadium was closed. 

We made our way to our nosebleed seats. We like those because there's no one sitting behind us talking about everything but baseball.

The kids forayed out for food once in awhile. Annabelle went all the way down to the main level to get pork wontons from Din Tai Fung. CJ went with the much easier to source garlic fries and chicken 'tenders.'

It was a fun night at the park, but not the Mariners' best effort, that's for sure. 

During the ninth inning, we made our way down to the main concourse to watch the rest of the game from a lot closer vantage point.

The Mariners are likely going to be about a .500 club again this year, but after not getting to go to a single game last year, we'll take what we can get. 

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: Last night, Annabelle had an opportunity to attend an online 

session that I happened to see thanks to a homeschool group email. She can tell you more about it. 

“How to Succeed at DMing Without Really Trying” was a panel hosted by the King County Library Systems on May 4^th, featuring multiple longtime DMs (Dungeons & Dragons dungeon masters) and employees of Wizards of the Coast, the parent company that owns and writes Dungeons and Dragons material. Panelists included Makenzie De Armas (@MakenzieLaneDA on Twitter), Sydney Adams (@Raini_Fro), James Haeck (@jamesjhaeck), and R. Boccamazzo, PsyD (@TheeDoctorB, @TakeThisOrg).

The panelists talked about their experiences as Dungeon Masters, and gave us all sorts of tips on how to make sure our games run smoothly. One of the major points of the Q&A was to not be afraid of improvising, and don’t over-prepare. The nature of tabletop roleplay means that the story can go almost any way you can think of, and even some you can’t imagine until they happen. As a DM, it’s part of your job to make sure that you allow and encourage this sort of creativity instead of locking your players down with the story you had in mind.

While this can be fun for the players, it’s also important to consider whether you’re having fun as the Dungeon Master. Contrary to popular belief, in a way, the DM is a player too. They want to have fun just as much as anyone else at the table, so if you find yourself being sidelined or becoming tired with the way things are going, it’s important to communicate how you feel with your players. You’re allowed to take breaks and make sure that nobody is being left out, including yourself.

A replay of the panel should be posted to the KCLS website with closed captions within a few days. If you’re interested in becoming a DM, already a DM that’s looking for some pointers, or even just a player that wants to support your own DM friend, I’d highly recommend giving it a watch!

YES, WE HAVE NO BANANAS: Tuesdays have become something to look forward to during this pandemic, thanks to a sweet treat offered up by the kids' favorite ice cream and pinball place, Full Tilt.

On Tuesdays, a 3-scoop banana split is just $5, a good deal compared to prices there regularly. The running joke is that the place rarely has bananas, in which case the kids just get a sundae. But yesterday was a banner day - they actually had two bananas, so the kids each got one! 

The Full Tilt we go to is a bit of a hole in the wall, in an often rough-ish neighborhood called White Center. It's not much to look at, but they make mighty fine ice cream!

 

Poppies and Pandas

CONTEMPLATING POPPIES: We have *so* many poppies on 'campus' this spring, and that's no accident. Last fall, when the kids and I were cleaning up the garden, as we were plucking spent poppy stems, we vigorously shook them to expel poppy seeds all over. 

As we've been appreciating the poppies arrival, we've noticed the changes they undergo as they bloom. 

They start off with a yellow 'fuzzy' center, as pictured up top.

During the next phase, a green center emerges from the yellow.

That green 'head' turns into what's pictured below - a purple-striped structure.

Eventually, the poppy's petals fall off, and all that's left is this purple head, underneath which is a kind of megaphone-shaped pod which holds all the poppy seeds.  We'll be shaking those again this year. The more poppies, the merrier!

GOOD CALL: I was happy to read today that the University of Washington will be requiring all students to be immunized against COVID-19 at all of their campuses come fall. In a post called "Protecting our community’s health by requiring students to be vaccinated (University-wide message)," UW president Ana Mari Cauce announced the decision on May 3. UW joins the growing list of colleges requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID before coming to campus this September.

In other UW news, CJ and I spent an hour or so checking off items on his 'to do' list in order to be able to register for fall. For example, he had to go through a four part lesson on the Federal Student Aid website and pass a test to prove that he knew about student loans. He also had to upload data for his UW student ID, and notify the financial aid office about his scholarships. It's quite a process to navigate before the real learning starts. I sure don't remember it being this complicated with Rick and Ken, not to mention myself way back in the day.

KITCHEN DOINGS: We continue to play with our food for fun and sustenance purposes. This weekend, we cooked up some bagels. I think they're cheater bagels, because aren't real ones made by boiling the batter?

Our version uses silicone doughnut molds with batter piped into them.

Even though they're not authentic, they're 100 percent delicious. The texture is great and the flavor is on point. We even threw in some nutritional yeast this go round to boost the flavor.

Each little element of the 'bento' box had to be made, most of them out of gelatinous type ingredients.

Honestly, it was kind of a complicated process!

By far, the hardest part was getting the little black seeds to stick where they were supposed to on the panda parts.

While they had fun making it, the taste left a lot to be desired. They each had one tiny bit of it and then threw it away, in favor of a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Hot Diggity Dog

BIG DOG: We took a little field trip today around lunchtime. I happened to see online that the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile would be in Kent, which is about 20 minutes south of us. I asked the kids if they wanted to go check it out, and got two enthusiastic "Yes!" in response.

You can find out where the Wienermobile is going to be and when on their website: https://www.oscarmayer.com/wienermobile

From the site, I learned that the Wienermobile we saw today is just one of six that travel around the United States. 

Oh, and if you've always dreamed of driving a 27-foot hotdog, Oscar Mayer is hiring "hotdoggers." You can apply on their site. It's an excellent opportunity to ' “meat” and greet people from coast to coast,' they point out.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: More good news on the college scholarship front for CJ today. He learned that he was awarded the Mukilteo Historical Society scholarship for his essay "The Ferry Important History of Mukilteo." That's another $1,500 toward his tuition! So yay for that! 

Today is national college declaration day. CJ didn't wait until today to declare his intent to attend University of Washington's Tacoma campus. We're all eager for that chapter to start. 

DRIVEN: Meanwhile, Annabelle started a new class today - driver's education! 

The classroom portion of it is all online (thanks COVID). The driving portion comes afterward. 

CJ should probably sit in on some/all of her classes. Since he's 18, he doesn't need to take a driver's ed course. He just needs to pass the written and driving tests. 

No doubt we'll be hitting up expansive parking lots around our place soon so the kids can get some practice in.

Good News Abounds

WE'VE GOT A WINNER!:  Somehow, I haven't managed to get around to sharing some really good news here on the blog. CJ recently found out he was one of the winners of the 2021 BECU Foundation scholarships.

Each year, BECU Foundation awards at least 25 renewable two-year scholarships worth $2,500 each (a potential total of $5,000). 

What are the selection criteria? According to the BECU Foundation website, "[A]n independent selection committee consisting of community members representing a diverse business and education background will evaluate the applications and select the winners." The committee considers commitment to community service and  leadership potential. There is also a reference required. CJ used the volunteer coordinator at Birthday Dreams as his reference. 

CJ worked hard on that scholarship application. I remember saying to him back in February, when the application was due, "I think you're going to win this one." My prediction proved true!

So congratulations to CJ and a big thanks to the BECU Foundation!

ADVENTURING: More good news, this time from Mars, where NASA's 4-pound helicopter is setting records with each flight.

On its third and most recent flight (Sunday, April 25), at an altitude of 16 feet, the craft flew 164 feet downrange, reaching a top speed of 6.6 feet per second. 

Here's video of that journey:

During its journey, Ingenuity even snapped a cool shot of Mars rover Perseverance. 

                                                         Photo: NASA JPL

PROFESSING: Monday afternoon, Annabelle had an interview with a Bellevue College Japanese professor to see if she can skip Japanese 1 since she learned along with CJ already. She got the go ahead, which is great. Sure, Japanese 1 would have likely been an easy A for her, but why not aim higher? Bellevue College actually has Japanese 1-4, so she could learn a lot over the course of the upcoming school year!

ANOTHER ONE DONE: On Monday and Tuesday, we spent several hours crafting a cake for a 7-year-old spending his birthday in a homeless shelter. 

CJ chose this cake because he figured no one else would. The child apparently loves a show called "Henry Danger." It's some sort of superhero show on the Nickelodeon network. 

CJ cooked up a vanilla cake (per the child's request). I have to say, it was his best cake ever. It baked so beautifully and was just the right texture. (We're wondering of our 'new' oven had something to do with how great it came out. It's the first cake we've baked in the Frigidaire Flair.)

We put vanilla buttercream between the three layers, and a few sprinkles for fun.

Annabelle fashioned a mask out of modeling chocolate she made.

We made some marshmallow fondant to craft the logo's swirls and the birthday boy's name and age.

In the photo below, the child's name is (rather crudely) obscured to protect anonymity.

The top tier of the cake isn't cake at all, it's a big Rice Krispies treat covered in fondant. The mask is propped up by a really tall red candle. Six more red candles were on the top of the first tier, bringing the total to 7, the birthday boy's age.

We hope he likes his cake!

Done and Done

TWO DOWN: As of last Friday, we four have all had our second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Yay for that! 

What wasn't as 'yay' was how we felt afterward. I'd say CJ weathered the reaction best. He had no real complaints, except a mild headache the morning after. Annabelle had a bigger headache and a mild fever the first night.

I was soooo tired, dizzier than usual, and had random neck pain. Christian had all of that, but to a larger degree, poor guy. He and I were feeling pretty puny on Friday, and slightly less awful on Saturday, which is a good thing, because we had to make sure 80 homeless teens got fed that night. Which brings me to our next topic. ...

FEEDING TEENS: I didn't really feel like it, but I was up and at it Saturday a.m. at 7, making 25 pounds of beef barbacoa (it was delicious), as well as mountains of rice (over 40 cups of cooked) and some seasoned black beans (they were six pounds when they were dry) from scratch. When the rest of the troop upped, they pitched in and helped, as well. A couple of hours before meal service, we wrapped all that goodness up into platter sized tortillas. I'm guessing the burritos weighed about three pounds apiece.

Meanwhile, up north, Kennedy was working on his own batch of burritos. He went with a Denver omelette-inspired recipe. Lots of potato, scrambled eggs, ham, peppers, onions and more. They looked and smelled so good!

Dinner included some healthy fruit ... 

and some less healthy nachos, ha ha. There were lots of chips complete with salasa, jalapenos, sour cream and some bonus hot sauce packets.

And there were also beautiful desserts. My friend Anna made over 50 cute little cinnamon apple tres leches cakes in cute little tins.

And my friend Irene made some beautiful chocolate mousse cups in fancy little glass jars. 

All in all, it was a big hit with the kids. Three different Teen Feed staffers came to the kitchen to report how much the meal was adored by our hungry diners. So yay for that!