Last year, we were able to attend the First Annual Cold Spring Pond Hootenanny which included a performance by Owen as well as a lot of sing-a-longs. When they announced the date this year, we knew it was going to be a bit tight, but figured with a little ingenuity (and taking two days to drive out) we could make it.
The plan was to pick up Nora Friday afternoon from their camp on artificial intelligence and code breaking located at George Washington University Mount Vernon campus - which is incredibly inconvenient from our home in NE Washington, but happens to be directly on the route to Iowa - and then drive to Cleveland, spend the night at a hotel, and then have a reasonably easy drive to Iowa Saturday morning, putting us in West Branch in plenty of time for the festivities. But the plan hit a snag when Allen started packing up the car only to discovered that one of the tires was about to explode (probably due to my rubbing up against a curb while driving Nora to said horribly inconveniently located camp a few days before). Allen quickly ran to Costco to get the tire changed and I contacted Nora's friend Violet's (who was also in the camp) parent's to see if they could pick Nora up and bring them home. Allen beat Nora by 45 minutes and once we actually had everyone and everything packed into a newly serviced minivan, we slowly made our way to Cleveland (just two hours later than planned).
The second half of our drive was mostly uneventful (save for some rainstorms and a lot of construction), and so we made it to the pond in time for dinner and some socializing before the main event.
The kids wanted to play Simple Gifts, so I had ordered a viola and cello/bassoon duet book for the kids (or Uncle Steve if Nora every grows tired of Owen) which included it. However, they hated the harmonies in that version and so spent the week before we left creating their own arrangement (without a lot of time to practice it). Despite the rush job, they sounded wonderful. Afterwards, Owen treated the crowd to some pop-culture treats including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
But our kids weren't the only performers for the night. Grace performed a dance solo and then had a trombone duet with Troy (you haven't heard A Whole New World until you've heard in on the trombone). Dick Fawcett was able to perform again, this time including an original composition dedicated to Linda. There was a poem, a pirate shanty, a Hawaiian ukulele protest song, a parody of Memories, and a lot of sing-a-longs.
Which was a great way to celebrate our arrival in Iowa.
It was a six hour drive from the Dolomites to Tuscany (seven if count the stop for lunch). When we neared Bologna we broke into groups: The Hyatts were off to a game store because apparently we hadn't packed enough; the Mettenburgs headed to a grocery store because Joe & Cate know food; and we headed to a wine store in Lucca because we know wine (and our little Opal Mokka couldn't fit much more in it). Our errand took the least time which meant we arrived at what we thought was the meeting place for the house manager first, but instead turned out to be some random guy's house (who only spoke Italian and German, which is more than any of us, though still not particularly helpful). Somehow he understood what we were trying to convey and so hopped on his motorbike and led us through what were roads if you use a generous definition until we stopped in front of a large gate. Shortly after he left the house manager appeared and led us up a winding olive grove until we reached Il Frantoio del Bartolomei.
Just after we arrived, so did the chefs for the night, followed by the other families. We chose rooms, got organized, and relaxed while the chefs prepared an amazing five course meal. The next day we mostly played games and luxuriated by the pool, but the following day, we opted to celebrate the Fourth of July with an Italian cooking class.
Everyone but Owen and Kaden gathered in the kitchen with Chef Valentino and Sommelier Larisa to make a pasta dinner including parmesan salad baskets, pasta dough, pesto (light on the basil; heavy on the olive oil), pork loin with stuffed squash and a lava cake. Most impressive though was the pasta bench which the kids (save Owen and Kaden) took turns operating (it was quite a production) to resulting in some beautiful, indeterminate shaped pasta. It was a great day and an amazing meal... until Caden (who hadn't been feeling well) and Megan tested positive for COVID and had to quarantine in the house.
The next morning, Allen, Nabeel, Joe and Cate hiked to Castelvecchio, the small town just up the trail which overlooked the villa. After a relaxing day at the pool, most of us (save Nora and the patients) headed to the walled city of Lucca. Lucca was the birthplace of Puccini and so we were able to catch a concert of his works, before grabbing dinner and attempting to storm the barricade.
Wednesday we took the train to Firenze (aka Florence), home of Michelangelo and the Renaissance. We started the day out at Museo Galileo which houses the Medici collection of 15th-18th century scientific instruments, including telescopes, armillary spheres, and some disturbing obstetrical wax models. Afterwards we attempted to have lunch, only to discover that restaurants in Firenze don't open until 12:30. Facing a rebellion, Nabeel was able to locate a juice bar which bought us enough time for a lovely lunch place to open. Alas, the adults once again opted for appetizers, delaying their meal and angering their offspring who signed a petition threatening to strike (fortunately, they're more the disorganized type and we were able to break them).
We had timed tickets to the Uffizi Museum which meant we had some time to kill. We headed to the square to entertain the kids by finding "fake David" and Michelangelo's graffiti, but they were not amused. Finally, we made our way inside the gallery, home to priceless works of the Italian Renaissance, only to face resounding ennui from the under 16 crowd.
But fortunately we had Nabeel, who had to take three semesters of Art History in College and somehow engaged the kids in understanding why baby painting from the 14th century are so ugly, the importance of perspective, the evolution of light, and Medusa. Despite calls to leave 15 minutes after arriving, Nabeel was able to get close to two hours of active exhibit going (the promise of post-visit gelato may have helped). We made a lovely meal of leftovers that night, that was only marred by my aggressive gesticulations while holding a wine glass resulting in the glass exploding in my hand. Fortunately, Joe is a doctor and I was able to avoid stitches.
Thursday I finally made it to Castelvecchio and Megan and Kaden finally (mostly) made it out of quarantine. The crew had a quiet day relaxing and game playing before the men seared steak for dinner which meant Allen could use all of the Thermapens he'd packed.
Friday morning the Mettenburgs left for Pittsburgh. The rest of us (save Nora) headed back to Lucca for some sight-seeing and lunch. When we got back we started packing before one final dinner in Buti at Ristorante I Maggi.
We had an early flight out of Pisa the next morning, so we left the house around 7 am in order to return the car, check-in and grab breakfast. And then we sat. And sat. Or rather, we stood around since the Pisa Airport is really small and doesn't actually have room for many chairs. See, in Pisa you need a bus to take you from your gate to the airplane and for whatever reason, our flight attendants couldn't get one. For forty minutes. Eventually we made it on the plane for our flight to Frankfurt but arrived an hour late into our hour and a half layover. But for once the travel gods were kind: our airplane to DC was leaking jet fuel! They needed to get a new plane! And then they needed to find workers to clean it!
While the rest of the passengers weren't thrilled by this development (especially the Peabody Children's Chorus of Baltimore who'd apparently been up for 36 hours), it mean that we actually made our flight to Dulles, where Katherine dutifully picked us up and drove us home.
Allen started planning our trip to Italy while vacationing in Aspen with the Hyatts and the Mettenburgs back in February 2020. Finding that winter ski trips were becoming increasingly complicated to plan with all the competing school schedules, it was decided that a summer 2021 trip to Italy would be just the trick. But then shortly after we returned home, the Pandemic hit, delaying the trip until summer 2022. And then a labor strike in Belgium, an ill-timed rain storm at Dulles, a missed connection in Amsterdam, multiple canceled car rentals, a night in the Venice suburbs, and some confusion regarding how to put our manual transmission rental car in reverse, delayed us an extra three and half days. Eventually, though, we made it to the Dolomites.
And it was amazing.
To be fair, it was a little terrifying driving there from Venice, as Allen had to navigate winding mountain passes filled with cyclists, touring busses and locals all while driving our neon green, Opel Mokka, but once we made it to the Chalet Rönn in the Alta Badia area of South Tyrol Tuesday afternoon, we could finally relax. I read and unpacked, the kids quickly got sucked into some games with Kaden, Liam, Gigi and Hugh while Allen, Joe and Nabeel headed out for a short hike to a nearby waterfall.
On Wednesday, I nursed a migraine while the rest of the crew hikedTrail 645A (or maybe some other trail -– the Italian trail map numbering system is a bit of a riddle which we seemed to have trouble cracking) around the shoulder of the Sella Group mountains. Afterwards there were more games, some swimming and sauna time and a lovely dinner in town.
Thursday we drove over the Gardena Pass to the town of Ortisei in Val Gardena where we took the cable car to Seceda. The intention was for a long hike, but while the children quickly finished their lunch, the adults lingered (and ordered appetizers in addition to entrees) at Sofie Hütte, which ate into our hiking time. Fortunately, the kids had other distractions while we finished our meal and then set about taking in the amazing views of the Fermeda Towers.
For Friday we went more local, taking a gondola to Gardena pass, and hiking trail 2 (at least we think it was trail 2...) up into the high mountains. As we neared the summit, we discussed continuing to the other side, but after we were passed by a number of other hikers heading back due to storm clouds, we opted instead to trek the high meadows on trail 8. We climbed above our house, stopped for lunch at Ütia Forcelles, and eventually headed back into town for a fancy meal before we had to pack for our drive the next day to the second half of our trip: Tuscany.
(To see all of our Dolomite pictures, click here.)
Father's Day this year, coincided with Meeting's annual harvesting of the Friendly Bee Honey, so we headed up in the morning and left Nora and Owen (and his friend Reb) to extract honey while we worshipped in the garden, only to have one of the not so friendly pollinators attack me for a full three minutes. Allen defended my person and I emerged unharmed.
Katherine and Mom Mom had headed to Austin for Father's Day (we're been told it was a coincidence and not to read too much into that), so we invited Don and a couple of his friends over for a night of barbecue takeout from 2fifty and a cherry pie that Nora and I had made while everyone else was at the Nats game the day before. It was a lovely evening and a nice sendoff before Jacqui arrives and we all head to Italy.
(To see all the honey and Father's Day pictures, click here.)
Ryan Zimmerman has been a big part of our lives here in DC, particularly Owen's. From the early days of seeing him play at RFK, going as him for Halloween, meeting him in-person at the opening of Ryan Zimmerman Field, celebratingbirthdays with him (in theory), to the more recent experience of seeing him lead the Nationals to their Game 5 win of the NLCS championship and eventually winning the 2019 World Series, we've shared a lot of special moments with Ryan Zimmerman (as well as a name).
When he announced his retirement, we were a little sad. But when they announced they were retiring his number, well that just meant there was one more experience that Allen and Owen needed to share with him.
Friday night was "Employee #11" t-shirt night as well as an interview with Ryan Zimmerman and his former teammates: Jayson Werth, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinoza, and Adam LaRoche, so Allen picked up Owen from school and went directly to the game to make sure they got their t-shirts, heard the interview, and even had dinner at Red Porch. It was a great game with the Phillies, until former National Bryce Harper hit a 2RBI double that tied up the game, resulting in extra innings that led to a terrible call culminating in a National loss.
Saturday was the official retirement ceremony, so Mom Mom and Grandpa Don joined Owen and Allen. It was a beautiful, tear-jerker of a celebration, though the game was a bit of a repeat of the previous night (the Nats lost to the Phillies in extra innings). Still, in the words of Ryan Zimmerman,
It was one hell of a ride we had together and I can honestly say I wouldn't change a thing.
Us too, #11, us too.
(To see all of our Ryan Zimmerman's retirement photos, click here.)
Nine stages, 36 bands, food trucks, kegs, hundreds of neighbors and fans, and so much music. Somehow Brad managed to organize his own little SXSW right in his neighborhood! The kids were at climbing and Pride with Elaine on call, Mom was hosting a lunch party and a dinner party, Katherine was in Florida, but I was rocking out at the first (hopefully annual) WOODMOORstock. Hopefully we can get the whole family there next time!
It's been a tough year for a lot of reasons, but as they say, after the storm comes the rainbow.
Owen has an incredibly supportive group of friends at Duke Ellington and a number of these friends are LGBTQ+. So when they invited him to join them at Pride, he immediately said yes and then in turn invited Nora. I was more than a little anxious about the two of them going off on their own in downtown DC, surrounded by throngs of people (Saturday was both the March for Our Lives protest and the DC Pride Parade), but they assured me they could handle it. And they did. On Saturday, after climbing with Gabriel, Owen and Nora metroed downtown and met up with the Duke crew.
It turned out that Owen was actually not just meeting up with his friends at Pride, but rather, he was joining his friends to march with Duke's Gender & Sexuality Alliance in DC's Pride Parade. After a flurry of texts to get a DCPS Field Trip Form in place, Owen and Nora became flag bearers for Duke.
For Owen, it was cool experience (although exhausting after two-hours of climbing followed by two-hours of marching), but for Nora it was something more. Hearing everyone cheer as they marched by felt as if everyone was cheering and celebrating Nora being themself.
As everyone should.
(To see all of Nora and Owen's pictures, click here.)
We weren't sure it was going to work out, but Owen and I met up on the Mall after work and school, and found some of our Bad Air Daze teammates wandering around. We were about to give up on the EPA Softball League pick up game since we couldn't find a field or any of the players from the other teams, but at the last minute we some of the folks from the other teams who were squatting on a field. It was just five on five, Owen got to play short stop and I covered the entire outfield, and we all got more at bats than we could count. I hit for the cycle a couple times over, Owen made some stellar plays at short and got some solid hits, and we all had a great day in the shadow of the Washington Monument!
Every year, Duke Ellington puts on an Opera Workshop (well, maybe not every year – 2020 was pre-empted by the pandemic and 2021 had to be remote, but otherwise...). The event features Duke's vocal music program and its seniors, but sometimes the instrumental music program gets to help out. So this year, Owen joined the pit orchestra (and his friends) for Una Notte di Mille Stella.
Allen went the first night, and found the performance so compelling that he joined Nora and I for the Sunday matinee. Afterwards, we took Owen out for a steak dinner to celebrate what's been a pretty amazing sophomore year, with hopefully, so much more to come.
For the past few years, we have tried to organize a celebration of Katherine's birth which is commiserate with both our collective love of her and her unparalleled love of games. We have largely failed, due to the Pandemic (which resulted in a Zoom celebration for her 40th), weather (which hampered her 41st) and scheduling conflicts (which meant we celebrated Katherine's 39th birthday in NYC without her). But for her 42nd the weather and scheduling gods granted their favor, allowing for a full four-day, mostly out-door celebration of Katherine (though the COVID gods weren't totally on board, forcing Grandpa Fawcett to quarantine for part of it).
On Katherine's actual birthday (Thursday, May 26th), she went to dinner with Mom Mom, Grandpa Don, Uncle L and Adrienne while we continued to mask up and test John. On Friday, Katherine and Uncle L saw the sequel to Katherine's favorite movie (Top Gun) and enjoyed (possibly too much) her new present from Adrienne, the Bartesian, while we had family game night followed by COVID testing (all negative, except for John). On Saturday, we convened at ThROW Social (site of Katherine's cancelled in-person 40th birthday party) for some cocktails and games. The kids and I had to leave after 20 minutes due to noise issues, John was still quarantining, and Nancy had to cancel, but Katherine, Uncle L, Adrienne, Mom Mom, Grandpa Don, Danny and Allen had an amazing time showing off their cornhole-football-bowling skills in a game which clearly was designed with the Fawcett-Suggs in mind. Afterwards, we reconvened at our place for some barbeque and cupcakes where we allowed John to join us (albeit only outside) and Katherine was forced to open her presents.
While Katherine typically balks at opening presents in a timely fashion, we insisted she open the joint present from Mom Mom and us, a Solo Pi pizza oven, as it directly impacted Sunday's final celebration of all things Katherine. The next day, we brought homemade dough for 12 full-size pizzas, a variety of toppings, and a masked John for an evening (and early morning) of pizza, cocktails and yard games. There was thai-chicken, barbecue, meat lovers, cheese and pesto wood-fired pizza. There were rhubarb shrubs, margaritas, and lots of beer. And there was cornhole, bocce, marbles, beer pong and shuffle board. And all on a clear, lovely night with seemingly no mosquitoes.
So it was kind of the perfect birthday celebration for Katherine, which probably means we won't have its equal for another five years...
(To see all of the Memorial weekend birthday pictures, click here.)
Nora has been playing viola for five and a half years, and during that time they've used everything from a violin with viola strings to a 14.5 inch student viola. But now that they've been playing for nearly six years and are (almost) as tall as me, we decided that it might be time for a more grown-up instrument. And since Nora's teacher, Mr. Enrique, had just gotten a new viola and was looking to unload his old one, the timing was perfect for Nora to purchase a 2010 limited edition MA510 Otto Benjamin 15.5 inch viola (which has yet to be named).
With only a week or so to get used to the new instrument they still managed to have its successful debut at their spring recital where they performed Andante Cantabile by Gluck. Enjoy!
It's been three years since the Cluster held the last Capitol Hill Classic, and since as a family we tended to spend our Pandemic time baking in lieu of running (Katherine clearly being the exception), some of us might not have been in the best shape for a race. However, we are nothing if not supportive of PTA fundraisers and free snacks, and so we duly registered for the race (and drafted Katherine).
Nora and I volunteered to check in runners on Saturday morning, which meant that while we were a mere three blocks from the Supreme Court, we weren't able to participate in the "Bans off our Bodies" protest (though I did wear my "Nasty Woman" t-shirt as a sign of solidarity). We then headed to Nora's DCYOP concert and met up with the family for dinner, after which we convinced Aunt Katherine to spend the night so we could get to the course bright and early for Sunday's race.
We signed Katherine up for the 10k, which has always kind of been her nemesis (the Classic is usually her first run of the year, isn't her standard distance, is always weirdly humid and they don't call it Capitol Hill for nothing...), but despite her grumblings, she had her best showing yet. The rest of us were only up for the 3k and ended up splitting into two groups – Nora and Allen vs Owen and myself. Nora had the best time of the four of us, beating Allen by a second; Owen and I were a full 2 minutes slower, though I suspect Owen's decision to run in 1) sweatpants; 2) wool socks; and 3) an N95 mask, may have been a factor).
Anyway we survived. Now we just have to start training for 2023!
After a morning of volunteering to sign in runners for the Classic, Nora had quick pitstop at home to have lunch, shower and change into concert attire before heading over to the U-DC for their DCYOP spring concert. The concert was for beginning to intermediate string ensembles with a special guest virtuoso.
Nora wasn't a huge fan of Fiesta Mexican, and while they liked Power Shift, their clear favorite on their program was She Will Hang the Night With Stars, which was based on a poem by Oscar Wilde which includes the line,
Nature....she will hang the night stars so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling, and send word the wind over my footprints so that none may track me to my hurt: she will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole.
In a surprise twist of fate (or the Gregorian Calendar), Mother's Day and Sharon's and my birthdays were a full five days apart and their celebrations were naturally fell on separate weekends. This meant two weekends of celebrating Sharon and I! (Which maybe my 49-year-old liver could have done without.)
We headed up to Katherine's on the Saturday before Mother's Day for dinner and drinks, which somehow culminated in me falling asleep on Katherine's couch, waking up at 4 am, going to bed and then emerging around 11 am – just in time for brunch. I then spent the next several hours putting together a puzzle (which didn't have any edge pieces because Katherine decided to store them separately and then forgot because apparently that's a thing) while everyone else prepped for the real celebration -- a painting party.
I'm not sure if my hummingbird didn't turn out so well because I was still feeling the prior evening's effects, or if I'm really just that terrible at wingspans, but regardless we had a wonderful time.
We've been traveling a lot lately, so instead of using the kids' Spring Break for a weeklong adventure in some exotic locale, we opted to spend a long weekend in New York and then devote the rest of the week to dragging Owen to local college campuses to jumpstart the college visit phase of his childhood. He was less than thrilled. In order to make the process not entirely painful, we recruited his friend Gabriel to join him and then teamed the visits with a fun counter activity (granted some were less fun and more utilitarian).
American was up first and was the only visit that also included a tour (note to parents: Spring Break is when all the accepted students tour campus so maybe don't try to book tours the week of). The boys weren't really into the tour itself (too many people and a too perky guide), but it at least gave them a reference point for the rest of the week, and for Owen it was a nice reprieve before his dental appointment later that afternoon.
Next was Johns Hopkins which in theory involved the whole family and the Telfair-Chas, but in practice meant that Nora hung out and read on the Decker Quad while the rest of walked around campus. The boys primarily perked up outside the biochemistry building when they happened upon a number of liquid nitrogen tanks on its loading dock as well as picking up some handouts from Hopkin's Consent campaign to decorate their friends lockers at school. Once we finished our self-guided tour and picked up Nora, we headed out for lunch followed by a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium before returning home and heading to the Kennedy Center for Mean Girls.
The boys finished the week with a trip to Maryland and a semi-guided tour by one of Allen's Center for Global Sustainability colleagues. Despite the size of the campus, it was the boys favorite (and the cheapest of the three). But the after-tour was clearly the best part of the day, when we all met up for some axe-throwing. While everyone made at least one hit, team "Anti-Geneva" dominated team "Future Axe Murderers," winning all three rounds and even making the final "kill shot" (though some people contributed more than others).
The next day we headed up to Katherine's for a day (or rather, an afternoon) of yard work in preparation of the most epic Easter Egg Hunt ever (or at least the most cash rich one we've ever participated in) followed a lovely Easter dinner at Mom Mom's.
The kids had one last day off of school (officially for teachers to enter grades; unofficially for the kids to all submit negative COVID tests before returning, so Owen and his Duke friends organized a morning of climbing followed by lunch and a movie, and graciously allowed Nora to join. The kids returned pretty exhausted, but pretty happy and ready to start the final term of the year.
(To see all the Spring Break post-New York pictures, click here.)
It had been nearly three years since our last trip to NYC (though Owen had been more recently, with a drama club field trip back in 2020). We'd actually had to cancel a trip during the Pandemic and while we'd gotten our musical theater fix via the Kennedy Center, it wasn't the same. So, with the whole family fully vaccinated and boosted, infection rates... at least lower, and the end of the term, we decided a return was long overdue. And while we might have been a little apprehensive about it, going to Broadway is like riding a bicycle – only now it requires proof of vaccination and a mask.
We started off the kids' Spring Break with an earlytrain to the city in order to drop our stuff off at the hotel, check out the insane line at the Stardust Diner before opting for lunch at a pizza place near the theater in order to make the matinee of Dear Evan Hansen (which was on both kids' wish lists but was clearly Owen's favorite). Afterwards, we formally checked into the hotel and then headed out to Central Park and a lovely dinner overlooking Columbus Circle.
The next morning, the kids indulged me for a chilly constitutional along the High Line. They weren't really into it (it probably would gone over better had Nora had actually packed a coat...), but after a stop at Starbuck for a well timed mocha, Nora perked up and agreed to venture into Washington Square to see the arch (and a pseudo college tour of NYU) before heading back to the hotel to regroup before dinner and our show.
Nora had been waiting years to see Six(the global sensation), which ironically was supposed to open on Broadway the night the lights went out for the Pandemic. Having listened the soundtrack endlessly and even an interview with the writers, we were a little worried that the show couldn't possibly live up to Nora's expectations. But our fears were meritless – we hadn't seen Nora that happy and excited (it didn't totally translate on film) in a long time (topping the night off with gelato flowers probably didn't hurt either...).
The next morning we got donuts and headed to Central Park for some climbing and a lovely walk before Nora stepped in dog poop. Thankfully, there was a bathroom nearby, Nora was wearing zippy pants, and it was warmer than it had been the day before. We cleaned up, grabbed lunch, headed back to Penn Station and took the train home (to start the rest of Spring Break).
When we found out Nora was nominated for the National Junior Honor Society, I tried to reminisce about my own experience being a member in high school, but my only recollections of our activities was a picture for the year book and a blood drive. Apparently, America's youth has much higher standards because for induction to the Junior Honor Society, Nora had to: write an essay, write another essay, participate in some team building exercises, attend lots of meetings, have a headshot taken, find a quote about one of the pillars of the society, take an oath, and then finally be inducted.
It was a lot, but it was also the first school ceremony Nora's had at Stuart and it was pretty exciting to see them and their friends acting normal at a school function (albeit while wearing masks). Plus there were cupcakes!
It's hard to believe, but the last time the Nats had an Opening Day with fans in the stands was three years ago. It's crazy to think back to how different the team was then, with Scherzer and Turner, Zim and Rendon, and so many other beloved faces for the team that would go on to bring us our first World Series Championship! Now we're finally back, never having had the chance to properly celebrate that World Series with an Opening Day as World Champions, raising the pennant in front of a raucous crowd, cheering our returning heroes... Instead we're finally here with a team that is a shadow of it's former self, Strasburg is off somewhere rehabbing his shoulder, Turner and Rendon are playing on the west coast, Zim is retired, and Scherzer is here, but our cheers for him are just wistful reminders of days gone by as he doffs his new Mets cap and disappears into the visitors dugout...
Back in 2018 I went to South Korea as part of the US delegation for the approval session for the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C. It was an intense but rewarding experience, and the State Department convinced me to sign up again and serve on the US delegation for the IPCC Working Group III Summary for Policymakers approval. This time the meetings were on Zoom, but even though there wasn't any travel involved the 'jet lag' was just as bad if not worse than the in person approvals! The virtual meetings were spread out over two weeks and needed to accommodate participants in time zones all over the world. The first week our meetings started a 6am and went until 7pm, with 3 hour sessions and 2 hour breaks (assuming we didn't go over...). On Sunday we rested, then the second week we started with meetings from 1am to 2pm. Realizing how much work was left, on Thursday we went from 1am to 7pm, but enough countries complained that we stopped a 2pm again on Friday. Really though they just wanted us to get a little rest before the final push with a marathon negotiating session from 1am on Saturday until 4pm on Sunday! All told it was 174 hours of work over the two weeks, but we approved the report! Now I just need to rest up before doing it all again for the Synthesis Report approval in September ;-)
This week, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed a joint session of Congress, requesting additional aid and that the US be a leader in peace – the result was an additional $14 billion in US humanitarian and military aid as well as armed drones. Two Fox News journalists (a cameraman and a "fixer") were killed by Russian fire in Ukraine. Dolly Parton was nominated, and quickly withdrew her name from consideration, for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, stating that the nomination may inspire her to actually record a rock & roll album at some point in the future. The NCAA Basketball Tournament began with a number of surprising losses in the first round.
The world reached 470.3 million COVID cases and 6.1 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 81.4 million cases and 998,000 deaths. 255 million Americans (77 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 217 million (65 percent) are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, both Pfizer and Moderna are seeking FDA approval for a fourth booster shot, DCPS made masks optional in its schools, China and Hong Kong are having a surge in COVID deaths while a new and more contagious version of the Omicron variant is emerging in Europe, and the newly signed US budget omitted funds for COVID-19 aid.
Jeff arrived on Sunday night to briefly to crash at our place before an interview on Monday (after which he returned to NYC). Jacqui went home on Tuesday. Adam and Molly came over for dinner on Wednesday to inspect our new paint job. And on Friday, Nora stayed home and built a ukulele while the rest of went to Duke to hear the DC premier of William Levi Dawson's 1934 work, Negro Folk Symphony and then hear Owen play, with the members of the Duke and Post Classical Ensemble (PCE) orchestras, Louis Moreau Gottschalk's La Nuit des Tropics. Saturday, we returned to our regular routine with DCYOP for Nora and climbing for Owen (followed by a party for Owen and some gnocchi making for Nora).
But the big event of this week, was the decision to end our blog series on the Pandemic. Back in March 2020 when the initial wave of COVID was starting, there were suggestions that kids should journal about the Pandemic so they could later reflect on their experience. Knowing that neither of our children would elect to do so, I decided to write a weekly summary of what was going on in the world and how we were dealing with it. I naively thought it would last six weeks or so and that we might still make our Spring Break trip to Harry Potter World.
I was mistaken.
A lot happened in the past two years. Schools closed and sort of opened and then opened some more. There were protests and elections and less than peaceful transitions of power. One war ended and another began. We lost someone we loved. And at times, we really struggled.
But of late we've shifted to a new phase of the Pandemic – the schools no longer require masks (though both our kids are still opting to wear theirs); the federal government is working on its reopening plan and Allen and I are figuring out our new schedules; we've flown twice for two separate ski trips and in a couple of weeks we'll be taking the train to NYC to take in some shows on Broadway. And while who knows if the Pandemic will ever really end, for now we're going to stop making it our main focus and instead return to our regular programming.
This week, President Biden banned all Russian imports of gas oil and coal in response to the war in Ukraine while Senate democrats have proposed a bill to offset rising gas prices by suspending the 18.4 cents a gallon federal gas tax. Russia continued its attack on Ukraine, intensifying bombing near the port city of Mariupol, including a maternity hospital. Vice President Harris is traveling to Poland and Romania to discuss humanitarian aid to Ukraine after the US rejected an offer from Poland to transfer fighter jets to a US air base for Ukraine. The Florida "Don't Say Gay" bill, which limits what students can be taught about sexual orientation and gender identity advanced to the state senate, prompting Disney (with some prodding) to announce it would suspend all political donations in Florida in response. The Endurance, which sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915 during Shackleton's failed Trans-Antarctic Expedition, was discovered by a robot roughly 10,000 feet below the water's surface.
The world reached 457.2 million COVID cases and 6.1 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 81.2 million cases and 994,000 deaths. 254 million Americans (77 percent) have received at least one vaccine dose with 217 million (65 percent) being fully vaccinated. DCPS announced that masks would be optional at schools beginning Wednesday, March 16th.
It was a bit of a crazy week for us. We had the entire family over for dinner Sunday to show off the finished paint job. Tuesday, Owen had a concert at Duke. And on Wednesday, we took the kids out of school for to celebrate conferences and a professional development day by heading to Part City with the Telfair-Chas.
Once again we were blessed by the snow gods, for while Salt Lake City hadn't had any major snowfall since December, it received roughly 20 inches right before we arrived. While it took a while for everyone to motivate the first day (the four level bunkbed might have been a contributing factor), we eventually all made it on the slopes (though some of us stayed out longer than others). The next few days involved some pretty great skiing (aside from some unanticipated moguls, limited eating options due to labor shortages and a somewhat unpredictable gondola), some down time in Park City, and a lot of hanging out. The final day, Allen had actually covered over 50 miles on the mountains (Owen clocked in somewhere in the 40s, I was a little less and Nora stayed home and finished reading Neverwhere). And while leaving was pretty rough (8:30 am flights are always hard but the morning of daylight savings, made for some pretty grumpy travelers), it was totally worth it.
This week, President Biden addressed the nation in the State of the Union where he discussed the situation in Ukraine, his plan to curb inflation, promoted previous economic relief programs and called for lowering prescription drug costs and funding veteran health. The United Nations issued a non-biding resolution demanding Russian end the war, while over a million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland, Hungary and other former Eastern Bloc nations. A temporary ceasefire to create corridors to evacuate children, women the sick and injured ended abruptly as Russia resumed bombing multiple Ukrainian cities. Donald Trump won the CPAC straw poll after addressing the conservative action committee where he called Vladimir Putin smart and out leaders dumb.
The world reached 445.5 million COVID cases and 6.0 million deaths this week, of which the United States accounted for 80.9 million cases and 984,000 deaths. 254 million Americans (76 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 216 million (65 percent) are fully vaccinated. In addition, 95 million Americans have received a booster shot, including (as of this week), Nora. Meanwhile, six members of Congress tested positive for COVID ahead of the State of the Union.
We crashed after returning from Portland Sunday, and then immediately started the process of unpacking the house as the painters rushed to finish. The kitchen cabinets were re-installed Monday, John's space was completed Wednesday, and Thursday was spent doing touch-ups before Katherine came over to set up John's rooms while Allen and I finished putting the rest of the house together (well mostly, Nora is still dragging their feet a bit in their space...) just in time for John and Jacqui's return on Friday. Now we get to enjoy it for a few days before we head to Park City for another ski trip...
This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine as the United States and other NATO nations issued sanctions against Russian and increased aid to Ukraine. Germany announced it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, without which, Russian cannot pipe gas through the Baltic Sea to Germany. President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court, making her the first African American woman to be nominated. The PBS Kids show Arthur about an aardvark in third grade has ended after 25 years.
The world reached 435.3 million COVID cases and 6.0 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 80.6 million cases and 973,000 deaths. 253 million Americans (76 percent) have received at least one vaccine dose and 216 million (65 percent) are fully vaccinated. Uganda introduced a bill which would fine persons $1100 or receive a jail term of six-months if they refuse the vaccine. Hong Kong will require all of its 7 million residents to undergo COVID testing in March. Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID.
So while the world (or at least parts of it) were literally blowing up, schools were closed for February break and the painters had moved onto our living quarters, we decided that rather than watch paint dry for a week, we would head out to Portland to visit my college friend Cecily, her family, and her cabin on Mount Hood.
We flew out on Saturday and spent the night at what the kids dubbed, "the murder house," an airbnb in a lovely neighborhood, devoid of any real furniture. Things rapidly improved when we met up with Cecily and her crew for brunch the next day, took in a few local sights, and then headed to the mountain and the Tamarack Lodge. Cecily and her boys stayed the first night, which resulted in an epic round of Cards Against Humanity - Family Edition, followed by a day of sledding, snow shoeing, more Minecraft than advisable, and lunch before they headed back to the city for school and work, and we settled in for another 18 inches of snow.
The next morning we headed to a chilly (read negative six degrees) Mount Hood Meadows for a full day (2/22/22) of powder (and more than a few developing moguls) on the slopes. Wednesday was more of the same – with some family skiing followed by the boys going off to tackle the upper parts of Heather Canyon while Nora and I went mogul hunting. We ended up calling the day a little short so that the kids could work on some homework, and the adults could rest their aching muscles. Thursday we opted to sleep in and only do a half day of skiing – which was a good choice given it was snowing on the mountain and visibility was less than ideal. The boys decided to ski all of Heather's Canyon, which was essentially skiing into the void in the upper parts (good thing they were already familiar with it) and felt pretty good about themselves afterwards. The visually challenged pair of Nora and I (the former couldn't wear their glasses with goggles and the latter chose not to), made our way slowly down a series of blues and blacks, stopping at each sign to verify where we were going, before eventually meeting back up with the boys for a final family run (that of course involved moguls).
On Friday, the Williams joined us for a full day at Timberline which included multiple runs down the magical mile, a snowcat up to Palmer Glacier (and several snowball fights during the thirty minute wait), followed by a run down the longest vertical terrain in the United States (albeit with a break midway for lunch at the lodge – kids!). Afterwards we headed back to the cabin for dinner followed by a candlelit path to a massive bonfire and a few rounds of Sushi Go Party! (Nora won) before crashing for the night.
The next morning we packed up the cabin, stopped in Hood River for lunch, and then hung at the Williams's to do dinner, laundry, Breath of the Wild, and pat the bunny before heading to a far less murder house airbnb for the night and then flying home... to our substantially more, though not completely, painted home.
(To see all of our Mt. Hood pictures, click here.)
This week, tensions escalated on the Ukrainian-Russo border after Vladimir Putin oversaw major military exercises of Russia's nuclear forces and shelling began in eastern Ukraine. A U.S. District Judge denied Donald Trump's petitions to dismiss civil suits regarding his role in the January 6th Insurgency. NASA and NOAA released a report which found sea levels on the coasts will rise, on average, 10-12 inches by 2050. The Diocese of Phoenix has declared thousands of baptisms (and any subsequent rites) "invalid" due to a priest mistakenly using "we" instead of "I" when actually baptizing individuals for years (the priest has subsequently resigned). The Women's Olympic ice-skating final, which has been embroiled in controversy over allowing a 15-year old Russian skater who tested positive for banned substances to compete, was held with the disputed skater finishing fourth and calls to revisit both the eligibility and scoring rules. The Los Angeles Rams won the Superbowl.
The world reached 423.2 million COVID cases and 5.9 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 80.0 million cases and 959,000 deaths. 253 million Americans (76 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 215 million (65 percent ) are fully vaccinated. Disneyland and Tysons announced that they are loosening mask requirements as has DC.
This week we briefly celebrated the Superbowl at Katherine and Lee's (which means we were there long enough to eat and submit our Superbowl quizzes, but not long enough for Allen to collect his winnings), before heading home to finish packing up the house for the painters and ourselves for our stay at an Airbnb. Valentine's day was spent eating leftover hamburgers in the new flat while we watched Olympic curling. That's pretty much how the week went: the kids would sleep in a bit (both of their commutes were 10 minutes shorter from our temporary digs), Allen would turn on Olympic curling as we all left (the kids to school and myself to Steve & Megan's as a proxy home-office) and it would still be on when we returned. In between, he would pop-in to see how the house was shaping up.
On Wednesday, Allen, who had been lamenting the aging process and the degrading of his eyesight from 20-10 to 20-20, got glasses! Thursday, John (who'd been staying at Katherine's to avoid the painters) headed to Dallas for a planned visit with Jacqui. And on Friday, we moved back in among the drop-cloths for one night before heading to Portland for a week of skiing (assuming the 20 inches of expected snow don't prevent us from making it to the mountain). It will be interesting to see what the place looks like when we return...
This week, President Biden called Vladimir Putin to argue for diplomatic solutions to remove Russia's 100,000 troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border and warned of severe consequences should Russia invade. The National Archives requested that the Justice Department investigate Donald Trump's handling of Presidential records after 15 boxes of materials were discovered at Trump's Florida residence (including "love letters" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) while other official records had been torn-up. A Louisiana District Court issued a temporary injunction preventing the EPA from using the "social cost of greenhouse gasses" when calculating the cost of emissions and instead using Trump-era metrics. The Consumer Price Index indicated prices have risen 7.5 percent this past year, the highest rates since 1982. Marjorie Taylor Green claimed that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was spying on members of Congress with the aid of the "gazpacho" police.
The world reached 410.8 million COVID cases and 5.8 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 79.3 million cases and 943,000 deaths. 252 million Americans (76 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 214 million (64 percent) are fully vaccinated. California, New York and Oregon all announced lifting of mask mandates. Truckers continue to block the Ambassador Bridge in Canada to protest vaccine requirements. Deer in New York City were found to be infected with Omicron.
It was a weird week for us. John returned home from convalescing at Katherine's, but then returned to Katherine's prior to visiting Jacqui, taking Ducky with them. Ducky's departure (as well as John's) were related to our plan to have the entire interior of the house painted over the course of 2.5 weeks, which meant we had to spend much of this week boxing up stuff and removing things from walls. Nora's school was one of several DC schools that received bomb threats this week and had to be briefly evacuated (Owen claimed he heard Duke had one too but instead of evacuating, they just had two "buff" guys for security – we're not sure any of those details are correct). We had Billy over for dinner and to admire Owen's gaming abilities (and shame our frames per second).
But the big activity this week was Allen and Nora's participation in the Chesapeake Climate Action Network's annual Polar Bear Plunge. Allen participated in last year's virtual ice bucket option with the Quaking Quakers, and Nora so enjoyed dumping cold water on their father, that they lobbied to participate in-person.
Initially, it wasn't clear how polar the plunge would be as temperatures were a balmy 60 degrees when we arrived at the National Harbor Saturday morning. But by the time all the speakers had spoken (including giving a shout-out to the top fundraising team, the Quaking Quakers of Washington), the party paraded to the beach and the plungers disrobed, the wind had picked up and there was a definite chill in the air. Allen and Nora plunged into the Potomac with the first wave of polar bears, splashed around in the 40 degree water, and then ran to the shore (which caused Nora to fall and submerge a bit more than intended). After drying off and changing clothes (including Nora appropriating my shoes because in a rookie mistake, we neglected to bring backup footwear for the plungers to change into), we headed home for warm showers (because while the Potomac's water quality has improved, you probably still want to rinse off after a dip in it) and then headed to Union Market for a celebratory lunch for their efforts which raised over $1,300 to help pass climate policies which, as Nora said, "In hindsight was fun."
To contribute to Allen and Nora's fundraising page and help #KeepWinterCold, click here.
This week the U.S. conducted a raid in Syria that killed the leader of ISIS. Recovered documents indicate that Donald Trump wanted Homeland Security to seize voting machines six weeks after he lost the 2020 election while telling attendees at a rally that if reelected he would pardon those prosecuted for the January 6th Insurrection. The EPA plans to reassert its authority to restrict mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants. The Washington football team announced its new name, the Commanders. The New York Times purchased the free on-line word game Wordle. Quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL at age 44. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day, suggesting six more weeks of winter.
The world reached 394.1 million COVID cases and 5.8 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 78.0 million cases and 926,000 deaths. 251 million Americans (76 percent) have received at least one vaccine dose and 213 million (64 percent) are fully vaccinated. While there are signs the pressure from Omicron is starting to ease, COVID related labor shortages resulted in New Mexico bringing in the National Guard to work as substitute teachers.
Our work on John's bedroom continued this week, with even Mom Mom helping out. But while John's bedroom was looking better, John himself was feeling a bit rough, having aggravated his back from a fall a few weeks earlier. Even with a new mattress – which doesn't have a hump in the middle – John was having trouble sleeping and was in a fair amount of pain, so he headed up to Katherine's to see an orthopedist and start some PT while the rest of us finished his room. We're hoping to trade-in Duck for John's return later this week.
The rest of the week was spent celebrating Allen's birthday. After last year's socially distant celebrations, it was nice to be able to meet up with Brad & Marlo for a drink before having a lovely meal at Del Mar on the actual day. Then on Saturday, we all gathered at Mom Mom & Grandpa Don's for Don & Nora's escargot (well, maybe not everyone gathered for those) and some amazing brined/smoked/grilled tomahawk pork chops courtesy of Katherine & Lee. After presents and a few too many glasses of wine, we headed back to Katherine's to enjoy the Olympics, and maybe a few more drinks.
This week, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his forthcoming retirement from the Supreme Court, resulting in President Biden reiterating his intention to nominate a black women to the Court while conservatives protested basing the appointment on race. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced an online pharmacy for generic drugs that would offer steep discounts. Amy Schneider, the second winningest Jeopardy player and first trans-woman champion, was defeated by a Chicago librarian after 40-day winning streak (and roughly $1.4 million). In protest of Joe Rogan spreading vaccine misinformation on its platform, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from Spotify.
The world reached 373.0 million COVID cases and 5.7 million deaths; the US accounted for 75.5 million cases and 907,000 deaths. 250 million Americans (75 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 212 million (64 percent) are fully vaccinated. An additional; 87 million (41 percent) have received a booster dose, including Owen. Meanwhile, seven Virginia school districts have sued so stop Governor Youngkin's mask optional order. Former Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin's defamation trial was postponed after she tested positive for COVID, although her status did not stop her from dining out al fresco in New York City. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized for saying at an anti-vaccine rallythe Jews had more freedom during the Holocaust than un-vaccinated Americans, during Holocaust Remembrance Week.
Not much happened this week until Friday, when John asked me to help him make his bed. This prompted my rearranging and removing some furniture from his bedroom, and then texting Katherine to ask her opinion about getting him a new bed. That escalated to contemplating new furniture for the entire space and Katherine joining us for dinner, a purge of roughly half of John's clothes in order to downsize his storage needs, and cocktails. The next morning Katherine and I met at IKEA for a shopping spree followed by removing all of John's furniture, assembling a new bed, ordering a new mattress, assembling a side table (that we subsequently decided to get rid of), rearranging furniture again, and creating a lengthy to-do list for before (and after) the painters arrive to make John's bedroom a more manageable space.
All of which is why he will probably never ask me to help him make his bed again.
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