the girl | matching tracksuits

Tuesday Adventures

Tuesday 14 July 2020 | 0 Comments

We all woke up at seven this morning. For K, that was sleeping in half an hour; for me, that was my normal wake up time; for E, well, it depends; for L, it was definitely early. Our plan: a morning bike ride on a route that we repeat regularly to check for improvement. After mapping out a route, we headed out. I stuck with the Girl because I knew she would be zooming ahead; K stuck with the Boy because he just doesn't have the stamina a thirteen-year-old possesses. L and I made the 7 km ride in 24 minutes, which means an average speed of 16 km/h. Not too bad for a then-fussy girl who didn't even want to get out of bed to begin with.

After breakfast, the Boy and I set up his wooden train set to take some pictures: he wants to sell it (eBay? Facebook Marketplace? Craig's List?) since he doesn't play with it anymore.

Then we did the same with his Duplo blocks. "I haven't touched those in years!" he proudly informed me. But after we just display them, we have to make something out of them.

One last time.

The afternoon passes with a lot of reading.

The Girl reads Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in its entirety for the second time. It's the HP book I've agreed to read, so she wanted to get through it quickly so I could read it. I struggled through the end of Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot -- a book I had high hopes for but which ultimately left me disappointed.

In the evening, the Girl played a game of chess with K while E and I went on another bike ride:

And throughout the day, I popped downstairs for the next lesson in the series on Photoshop compositing and ended this evening with this creation:

Next step -- apply those newly-learned skills to pictures of my own kids...

Stay-cation

Monday 13 July 2020 | 0 Comments

We were supposed to be leaving tomorrow for a small vacation with the family. It seems like a crazy idea to go out during a pandemic, but we were just going to the beach -- easy enough to stay away from everyone, and since we were Airbnb-ing it, we wouldn't even have to go inside restaurants or stores.

Then we realized K and I have chickenpox. How is it possible to have chickenpox during a pandemic that is forcing us to isolate ourselves? Well, we go to the store; K occasionally works with real estate clients; we have been going for hikes. During all of this, we take the appropriate CDC-recommended precautions.

What's more frustrating about it is that I've had them before. When my best friend came down with chickenpox our senior year, I was one of the friends who would drop by every day and tell him what he'd missed in school. I brought over R.E.M.'s newest release at the time (Out of Time). and we listened to it together.

Perhaps it was for the best, though -- perhaps we were being idiots even for thinking about it. At any rate, the Airbnb host agreed to let us change the date and agreed to be very flexible about that new date, so we've theoretically lost nothing. Perhaps we gained more than we thought, though.

Morning Hike

Thursday 09 July 2020 | 0 Comments

We’ve been doing more hiking lately. Three hikes in three weeks. Last week’s hike was a grueling seven-mile hike that included a fair amount of climbing. Today’s hike, in theory, seemed like it would be easier: 5.5 miles with only 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

In actuality, it was easier than even we anticipated. Much of the beginning of the hike was downhill, and then a substantial, flat portion around a lake.

Once we were halfway around the lake, we stopped for lunch and to let the dog romp about in the water and cool off.

And then the heat got to everyone. And the elevation got to E especially.

And the kids were just ready for the whole thing to be over.

Jones Gap

Friday 03 July 2020 | 0 Comments

We've been trying for some time to make it to Jones Gap. The last time we tried, we were turned away because the park was already full. We made it today, though.

Just barely: 7 miles (the Fitbit died before we finished) and something like 1,300 feet of climbing. The kids loved it. Mostly.

K even took a few pics on her phone.

Graveyard Fields

Tuesday 30 June 2020 | 0 Comments

We hiked Graveyard Fields off the Blue Ridge Parkway twice within six months thirteen years ago:

Graveyard Fields

Repeating Ourselves

K and I are certain we went a third time -- though we think it was actually our first time. There's no mention of it on MTS; I can't find any pictures of that trip. Still, K and I are certain we went.

This morning, we went for the first time in about thirteen years. The last time we went, L looked like this

Today, when we made it to the same location, I had the Girl stand roughly in the same spot to take a picture:

Where did that little girl go? We'll be asking the for the rest of our lives, I realize, but every time I ask that question again, I'm surprised again.

Mount Mitchell

Friday 26 June 2020 | 0 Comments

K took the kids to meet with their Polish/American "cousins" to spend some time hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, specifically hiking up Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Late June Wednesday

Wednesday 24 June 2020 | 0 Comments

If it’s late June and we’re in Poland, we might be celebrating Babcia’s birthday in one form or another. Probably not a lot of celebrating happening the day of it (at least not until later in the day) as Babcia, lacking any social media whatsoever, spends the day talking to people who phone her with birthday wishes.

As it is, we simply got everyone up early and phoned ourselves. It was hard to get through, though. Everyone loves Babcia.

If it’s late June and we’re not in Poland, I’ll probably be on the back deck, applying water sealant.

And of course, there’s the evening game of hearts.

Two nights in a row — how do I do it?

A Perfect Day

Tuesday 23 June 2020 | 0 Comments

In the morning, a bike ride. The kids don't really want to go, but it's supposed to rain on and off throughout the day, and they need exercise, so I all but force them. L fusses about one thing; E has a wreck (due to his own carelessness) and ends up fussy for some time; I fuss about their fussing. It's easy to get caught up in the negative and let it chart the day's course for you if you're not careful. Not deliberate.

So I try to make things a little more careful, a little more deliberate. We get back and spend a fair amount of time, just the three of us, working on our bikes' brakes. They're all squeaking and squawking like feral hogs tied to deranged cats. For each bike, we loosen everything -- cables, brake pads, centering screws -- and recalibrate everything. As we're working, I like to think that the kids are enjoying learning something, but I'm not sure. In fact, I rather doubt it. But there's still some value in this, even if it's just spending time together solving a problem.

After dinner, the Girl decides she wants to play Hearts with Papa, K, and me. E is across the street playing with neighbors, and he's not able to follow a game with tricks and trumps just yet, so we play just the four of us.

We play eight hands, and in a surprise -- I never win at games -- I destroy everyone. L is the nearest to me, and she has almost double the points I have.

After the Boy comes in, he suggests War -- he's just learned it, and he likes it. One of two card games (Uno being the other one) that he enjoys.

I take the opportunity to take a few pictures. In the end, I can't decide between three action shots, so I include them all. And the other two shots? They're winning hands the Boy is particularly proud of. In the first one, the Girl gives him rabbit ears; in the second, he's wised up.

Once I put the Boy to bed, I grab L and take her down to watch a movie. It's the second night we've done this. Last night, I showed her The Help. It's a good sign when she wants the movie paused when she leaves to get a snack; last night, she paused it herself. Tonight we watch a quirky British romantic comedy, About Time. It's about making the most of life by looking at each day as a treasure. We all need to be reminded of that from time to time, especially a thirteen-year-old and her cranky father.