2010: Odyssey 2

Wow. February already, and this is my first blog entry for 2010. I guess writing blog entries was not one of my New Year's resolutions.

Well, it's been a busy year so far. Grammy and Grandpa came out for a visit, but not really for fun. As you may recall, Sweetie had surgery in 2008. Well, she decided it was time to have the follow-up surgery, so we needed someone to look after the Things, and Grammy and Grandpa came right out. Coming from the mid-Atlantic states (where it's been cold) they anticipated having a nice week of hikes and exploring the island. HAHAHaHahahahahahahaha! They were in for a surprise. Poseidon must have gotten angry at Los Angeles for making fun of the rest of the country (which seems to be turning into Siberia this winter). G&G showed up on a Monday, and the marine forecast turned nasty, leading Sweetie and I to leave for the mainland a day early.

We went out to eat and saw a movie (Sherlock Holmes) - it was like a real date night. The next day was a few errands before the Dreaded Prep began. But this time, having a foreshortened GI tract, Sweetie had a much smaller prep, which meant she had to drink less stuff, was done sooner, wasn't as wiped out as she had been for prior preps. (Maybe not being sick also had something to do with it.) All of this was a pleasant surprise, even if it was tempered by knowledge of surgery the next day. There was a great deal of dread on that front, since recovery was so difficult last time.

We had to be at the hospital at early o'clock, so we got up at ridiculous o'clock to make sure we didn't get stuck in LA traffic. We got to the hospital in plenty of time. After checking in and going upstairs to pre-op, we found out Sweetie was first on the docket for our doctor. We waited patiently, yet nervously, wondering why we were voluntarily going through this again while nurses repeatedly asked Sweetie her name, birth date, doctor, procedure, etc. At one point activity noticeably picked up in pre-op and soon thereafter, Sweetie was rolled away. I went down to the lobby to wait.

The doctor had said surgery should be about 90 minutes if there were no complications, and sure enough, about 2 hours later, he was down to report the procedure was a success and complication-free. Hooray! First hurdle cleared with flying colors. While Sweetie went to recovery, I had lunch.

To make a long, happily uninteresting story short, Sweetie's hospital recovery went very smoothly. None of the pain management problems we had before. Her incision was much smaller, so there was less discomfort to start with. Very shortly, she was feeling pretty good, and was getting very bored in the hospital. The hospital stay was just 3 1/2 days, and we adjourned to the apartment.

Originally, we had planned on staying in the apartment for a week, but things were going so well, we considered trying to get back to the island early. So, of course, a series of storms hit southern CA, dumping 5 inches of rain on the island and stirring up the channel so badly that all ferries were canceled all week. Poor Grammy and Grandpa had two boys bouncing off the walls of a small house. School was even canceled Thursday and Friday (yes, they cancel school here for rain), so the Things didn't even have that to distract them. I went up to campus that week and worked, while Sweetie recovered at the apartment. This was marginally less boring for her than recovering in the hospital. (It is a very good sign when your patient is restless, rather than listless.) We finally got back to the island Sunday. The Things were very glad to see us. G&G were glad the rain had stopped and the boys could go outside.

Our weather drama was not over, though. Yet another storm was threatening, and we had to balance boat schedules against the weather and decided that G&G should leave a day early to avoid a 2 1/2 hour crossing on potentially bad seas, or even a possible boat cancellation. That was a bit disappointing for us; what with us having to leave early beforehand and them leaving early at the end, Sweetie and I hardly got to see G&G at all.

Sweetie is not 100% recovered yet, but is getting quite close. This has been a much easier process than last time, which is what we were hoping for, but not necessarily expecting. Sweetie's Mom and sister came out for a week in anticipation of helping out during Sweetie's recovery, but Sweetie was feeling well enough by the time they got here (the day after G&G left) that it turned into more of a social visit. (Not to say they didn't help out - they did, or that it wasn't appreciated - it was, but I think we all expected to have to nurse Sweetie at least a little.) We got to do a little sight-seeing, and Aunt T collected many rocks from the beach, some for our garden, some for hers.

So thanks for all the prayers and good wishes during this process. We are continuously thankful for Sweetie's doctors and the support of family and friends.

Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

What a silly question to ask. Of course they do. Hobbes' inability to go to bed for the last two weeks was evidence enough. Throw on top of that three Christmas parties, the Christmas decorations, and the Christmas music we've been playing at home, and I'm thinking everyone in our household was well aware that Christmas was coming.



We did not travel at all this year. It was a 'quiet' Christmas at home. Christmas Eve we wrote letters to Santa, left out cookies and lemonade (there were concerns the cats would knock over the milk before Santa had a chance to drink it), and hung the stockings by the front door with care. The kids were sent to bed with admonishments that they were not to leave their room before 7am. (Stop snickering.) Ma (in her kerchief) and I (in my cap) settled our brains for a viewing of Twilight (which was better than I expected, although a tad self-indulgent)(aimed at teens?).

The clatter arose at 6:30am, when Hobbes arrived upstairs declaring that he had been awake since 3am, and that to wait anymore was "torture". Ma tried the "wait until your brother wakes up" trick, but, alas, Calvin was awake, too. So, like dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly when met with an obstacle mount to the sky, Sweetie got up and made coffee. All adjourned to the living room for the opening of stockings. Santa was generous with the candy this year, and the kids had a good sugar buzz going as Sweetie make a french toast dish. Cleverly she served the boys the ones soaked in Grand Marnier (don't worry, most of the alcohol cooked off). She claims it was a mistake, but I think she was trying to keep the volume down around 11.

Like many families (apparently) we had made plans to Skype my folks and sister on the East Coast. I fired up the laptop, but they were not online yet. So we began opening presents. Santa had a big surprise for the Things this year. They got a Wii, something (surprisingly) neither had asked for. What a reaction. (Video to be posted shortly.)



We finally got the call from the East Coast. Initially there were connection problems (something to do with the other 15 million people using Skype, perhaps), but we finally got a stable connection and had a nice 90 minute chat and got to watch each other open presents. Things got a little intense for the cats. Kevin had to sit in a bag for a while. Then he curled up amongst the presents (and got a wrench put on him). Happy just tried to stay out of the way.



The kids got a few games for the Wii and lots of Legos, of course. Hobbes got a sleeping bag and a hiking stick. Calvin got a remote control car and several games. All in all, a noisy happy Christmas.

Christmas dinner was a very nice prime rib with mashed potatoes and green beans almondine. It was very delicious. The next night, as we were eating a delicious shepherd's pie that Calvin was not enjoying, we quizzed him on how different meals rated on a scale from 1 to 10. The shepherd's pie got a 4; Christmas dinner got an 8. What got 10s? Hot dogs, pizza, and Kraft mac & "cheese". Our little gourmet.

Now the hullabaloo is past. Okay, now Christmas is past. Hullabaloo still lurks. There has been much haggling over Wii time since. Unreasonably, we parents take the stance that running around outside is good for them, while the kids are on the side of Wii Forever.

Happy New Year all! And to all a good night!

Backyard BBQ

The backyard BBQ is a time-honored American tradition, dating back to the first time Dolly Madison set the outdoor kitchen on fire. It is also a well-loved (yet little known) show of local music put on every week by WXYC (a great radio station, even if their DJs are mostly terrible and their format obscure). Right now we don't really have a backyard BBQ. Our grill is on the side of the house because that was the large flat area that didn't turn into a mud pit when it rained. But I didn't name this posting "Sideyard BBQ" and I'll tell you why. (This is a blog, after all, not an online sweepstakes.)

You may have heard me mention working on the backyard in this blog. I've talked about it several times since we moved in two and a half years ago. Let's revisit the back yard as it was, year and year ago:

Yes, and lovely, wasn't it. Sorry I don't have a shot of it when it rained. Or when the big branch fell out of the eucalyptus tree.

Well major work has been completed. We put in a shed. We put in a deck, and now we've completed the terraced garden area. If only we could them to cut down the damn tree. We still plan to put pavers down in all the remaining dirt areas, but that will come when the rainy season ends. A few photos showing off our handiwork:




Much better, no? Now I just need to drag the grill around back and we can have a backyard BBQ.

No way to start a conversation

So last night we're watching one of the Star Wars films and Calvin turns to me and says, "Dad, you need to drink less beer." (I was drinking one at the time.)

A bit taken aback, I said, "Why? Am I a bad dad when I drink beer?"

"No, but it fills up the recycling with bottles and then it's heavy."

NB 1. We have the boys take our recycling down to the recycling collection point.
NB 2. The recycling collection point is about 25 feet away from our house now.
NB 3. For the record, I drank exactly two beers this weekend.

I'm a rambling....rambling guy

So, what's up? Long time no write. It's times like this I wish I were an inspired writer who had witty things to say about observations I made that day of human behavior or the natural world or politics or whatever, but I spend most days in a concrete block room staring at two computers. Sometimes I wear shoes. A lot to complain about, I know.

I was recently chatting with a friend and asked how the weather was on the East Coast, and she said "It's warm - 70 degrees. How is it there?" And I replied...wait for it..."It's cold - 70 degrees." Ahahahahahahhha. I'm so witty.

Anyhoo...turns out Cub Scouts teaches some practical skills. Hobbes had been working on his Engineering Activity Badge, so I called him out on it. I took him in the backyard and made him help me figure out how many pavers we'd need to finish the back yard. First we drew a sketch of the back yard - where the deck is, where the shed is, where the gardens are, where the tree is. Then we blocked out areas the stone will go. Finally we measured and calculated the area to be covered. Practical math! Hobbes was reluctant to work on this at first because, you know, it sounded like work. But he warmed to the task, and I think by the end he would even admit he had some fun.

For her birthday, Sweetie got (from me) a new blender, (from Calvin) a little box with shells glued all over it, and (from Hobbes) new bicycle tires. Okay, one out of three romantics isn't great. This weekend we finally got around to putting on Sweetie's new tires. Hobbes and I made it into a photojournalism project. Through the magic of blogging, it will seem like no time at all while I go get the camera and upload our pictures. Okay, there are too many to post here, so I'll put them in a Picasa Web Album. I changed the front tire as a demonstration, and then let Hobbes have at the rear tire. He did a great job! The next day we were able to go for a family bike ride to Ballast Point and Well's Beach. Then I tried to fix Hobbe's bike and now it has to go to the shop. Moving on...

We didn't fix Sweetie's bike last weekend because we were, as they say, "over town". Sweetie was there to attend a Catalina Conservancy research symposium, and I was taking the boys to the USC v Stanford football game (Beat the Tree!) It was Homecoming, so campus was crazy. We got there around 9am and there were already popups all over campus with hordes of cardinal-and-gold-clad fans of all ages. We braved the Bookstore so Hobbes could get a sweatshirt, and, of course, Calvin ended up with a new jersey. (For the weekend, I didn't have to pay for the tickets, our lodgings, the parking, or brunch, so I thought I could splurge.) We then headed over to the brunch at the University Club, hosted by a couple who are not only donors to the Wrigley Institute, but also sponsors of the Song Girls, check that, the World Famous Song Girls. Alas, it being Homecoming, the Song Girls couldn't attend the brunch (they normally do). The boys were very polite to these delightful people. We headed over to the game with the rest of the horde. Hobbes would be sitting with our friends, and Calvin would be with me. We had nose-bleeds in the end zone, but it's not like there's a bad seat in the Coliseum. Calvin had a great time. He knew when good plays happened, and when bad plays happened. He clapped along with the fight song and flashed his "V". In the end, Stanford really whipped USC - quite unexpected. Calvin wasn't too disappointed. We met back up with Hobbes. He had a good time, too. We drove back to the apartment exhausted. Sweetie was also exhausted from her day, so we had a quiet dinner and called it a night.

So that was chronologically a little out of order, but that's all right. It adds flavor - keeps the reader off-balance - they'll never expect it when the end of the entry suddenly

Weekend Adventures

Well, with the start of school and Scouts, fund-raising can't be far behind. And having procrastinated for about two weeks, I thought it was time for Hobbes and Calvin and I to make an attempt at selling some delicious Trail's End popcorn! So we headed down to the center of, uh, town (such as it is) and began the difficult task of selling popcorn. Why is this so difficult? Because we don't actually have the popcorn to sell; it's order-based. So since most of the foot traffic is tourists, they're not too keen on ordering popcorn that will be delivered to us on the island with no good way of getting it delivered to them. And also many of them come from communities that have Cub Scout Packs of their own and have already purchased popcorn. And then there was that large group of Indian Guides that didn't seem too keen on supporting a rival organization (okay, actually they were preoccupied with fishing). But we did get some people who sent snacks to the troops overseas and a few people just made a donation to the Pack. It was a good lesson in the practical difficulties in selling anything to anyone.

In the afternoon, we went to Shark Harbor for the first time in a while. The tide was way out, which gave Sweetie an opportunity to take some pictures of intertidal critters. The waves ranged from 1 to 4 ft, but were coming straight in, so the whole wave would crest and curl at the same time all the way across the beach. So not optimal for surfing (body, boogie, or otherwise), but we had a good time jumping around in the waves. Hobbes got his first lessons in body surfing and had some success. Calvin got tumbled once and popped back up immediately, but he was a bit more wary of the waves after that.


Sunday was soccer day. Calvin's team won handily again, but there were two events worth noting. First, the Yellow Team finally scored. They were pretty excited, as were most of the parents from both teams. Second, Calvin scored! I managed to miss the event, being on the far side of the field at the time and couldn't see through the mass of kids. He was happy, but pretty nonchalant about it. We had some celebratory ice cream afterwards.

As we crested the last rise before the descent into Two Harbors on our way home, we saw this enormous ship in Isthmus Cove. I mean, it must have been about the same size as Bird Rock. It was huge! It was some Navy vessel, I think, but not one that I could readily identify. (I know 'aircraft carrier' and 'battleship' and 'submarine' and this was none of those.) So we took a quick bike ride out to Lion's Head point to get a better look. I'll have to ask about why it was here at work tomorrow. (There's always someone who knows in a small town.)

Activities

Well, you'd think that being stuck on the lonesome end of an underpopulated island, where there's only a one-room schoolhouse and 7 kids, the activities would be rather limited. Fortunately (?) in Avalon (a mere 20 miles away over dirt roads) they have more kids, and thus we have Calvin signed up for youth soccer, and both Hobbes and Calvin signed up for Cub Scouts. I have agreed to be the Tiger Den Leader this year, as well. On top of being PTA President, I'm starting to feel, not over-extended yet, but perhaps fully-extended.

Soccer games are Sunday at noon. Avalon has enough U-8 kids for two teams, Green and Yellow. Calvin was quite reticent to play when we first approached him about it. There was a lot of whining about not wanting to drive across the island, but it was something else that was bothering him. Since we had already signed him up, we told him he would go week 1 and see how it goes. So we get there and the first thing that happens is Calvin gets his uniform, including shin guards, and he's told he can keep them. Calvin is now sold on youth soccer. He is very excited to play. Now this being Southern California, a large majority of the kids there are hispanic, and a large number of them (for, I guess cultural trend reasons) have their hair slicked up into fauxhawks. Calvin stuck out like a sore thumb on the pitch because 1) he's the smallest one out there, and 2) he's blond. Well, after some practice kicks, the coaches arrayed the kids across the pitch, the ref blew the whistle, and amoeba soccer (props to my friend Mary for introducing the term to me) began. Hobbes has never been interested in competitive sports, so this is our first experience with it. It was an odd feeling, watching my boy out there on the field: pride, anxiety, excitement. For his part, Calvin was so excited to be out there in the action. Huge grin, running around after the ball, kicking it a few times, getting knocked down and, one time, getting hit "in the tenders" (his words) by the ball. Hilarious. Afterwards we had lunch and drove back to Two Harbors. Calvin slept hard the whole way.

We ended up driving back across the island Monday for Cub Scouts. Two days in a row is kinda hard, but it looks like we may be doing it many weeks this winter. We've got 4 in the Tiger Den right now. I've been realizing/remembering that being a Den Leader means you have to organize meetings. So I found my files from when I was Hobbes' Tiger Den Leader and I pulled out Hobbes' Tiger book and started planning out some meetings. The Webelos I leader (Hobbes' group) said she thinks that they're going to try to do most of their advancement work during weekend campouts once a month, rather than weekly meetings. We'll see how that works out. It would be good to get more camping in. The Pack in Avalon is probably 25 kids, and the Scout Troop is about 15. They meet together once a month. The program has only been going on for about 7 or 8 years, I think. The oldest Scouts are just now getting to the upper ranks (Star, Life and Eagle) [Speaking of which, can anyone explain to me why the Scouts switched to those drab beige rank patches? I liked the old ones much better.]

Tonight we also had Back To School Night. The new Ms Frizzle is great; she's got a lot of energy, and has a strong background both educationally and experience-wise. She explained the structure of the school day and then the kids showed us some of what they'd been working on. The mornings are all about math and reading/grammar. Then in the afternoons they have "enrichment", which can be PhysEd, Art, Music or Science. She has everyone, even the first graders, learning cursive. Both Things are enjoying school, although there are the usual complaints about the usual things.

Okay, I'm going to try to load some video now. We'll see if it works. Okay, apparently I need to fill up this disk before I can get any video off it. I'll have some killer stuff when I do. Well, at least I have some pictures, thanks to Sweetie.

These pictures are from week 2 of soccer, so Calvin is sporting his very own fauxhawk. Here he is getting kitted up:


During warm-ups, his shoe came off. Classic.


And now the action shot - Calvin goes in for the strike!