This morning, I visited my parents, but only briefly because the next thing on the agenda was an appointment for "T". ("J" had things to do, and stayed home.) I brought T's set of Captain Underpants in case he got bored of grown-up conversation at brunch.
Next on the agenda was brunch, for the first time in months, mostly to discuss film festival ( Read more... )

Today, "J" and I spent a lot of time working on school paperwork for "T". We should have done it sooner, but better late than never.
Speaking of T, after coming home from school, he wanted to go back in the evening for his school's science fair. He didn't have a project to display, but wanted to see his friends' exhibits. We arrived soon after 6  ( Read more... )

My brother hosted a family gathering at his house, to celebrate the New Year. My parents, "J", "T", and I attended. My brother's wife was absent; she's in China.
We had good pizza, with thick crust. It reminded me of Godfather's Pizza, back when Godfather's was good. (People who don't remember Godfather's ever being good probably don't live in or ( Read more... )

After picking up "T" from school, we stopped at Trader Joe's for butter. They had plenty. More interesting, given that Safeway was nearly out of eggs last Tuesday, they were abundantly supplied with eggs, not just one kind, but quite a variety. So, if anyone reading this has had trouble finding eggs, try Trader Joe's.
Today we had a visit from a ( Read more... )

In addition to the usual trips to take "T" to and from school, I was there for a third visit, dropping off holiday greetings for his teachers. He asked to stick around late for more fun with his friends, so we indulged him. It was his last day of school before winter break.
I did some more work on the graphic design project, with moderate ( Read more... )

SIFF link and summary: In the Same Breath
US, 2021; 95 minutes; director Nanfu Wang
Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation) directs this tragic, revealing, and journalistically risky contextualization of the COVID-19 outbreak, spotlighting the similar Chinese and American government propagandic responses to the once-in-a-century pandemic that brought ( Read more... )

Today I worked on fence repairs. The main fence work was putting water-seal on the fence posts. It used to be that pressure-treated lumber was regarded as sufficient to prevent rotting. But the old post rotted, and a sign by the pressure-treated lumber at the store recommended water-seal too, so I applied it.
This evening, I got together with my ( Read more... )

Pandemic news

Today Governor Jay Inslee ordered all schools closed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Inslee is a science nerd, and he's listening to public health scientists, rather than economists who think the disruption to business from a quarantine would be too great.
So, today was the last school day for "T" for several weeks. I hope he ( Read more... )

Today "M" and "L", hosts of my usual Monday evening get-together, decided to cancel gatherings at their house, as part of Washington state's social distancing campaign. We'll still get together, but we'll use some kind of multi-user video chat.
Until the degree of danger from the COVID-19 coronavirus is better known, it's probably good to be safe ( Read more... )

Road trip

We started the day with some planning for a road trip to the rain forest Hilo side of the island, then packed up stuff we'd want on the drive. As it turned out, we could have done a better job packing and planning.
When we set out on our expedition, "J" asked whether we had packed binoculars. I said no, and we turned around to go ( Read more... )