That Was A Pretty Sunrise

 

No Ball is an Island (update)

November 18, 2019:

 You can see the baseball field at the end of the hallway on the second floor of UHS.

You can also see the top of this small roof.

Last year a foul ball landed on that small roof. The lonely baseball sat there during the summer, fall, winter, and spring. I'm sure the custodians are too busy to worry about retrieving it. I had thought about taking a picture of the ball during all four seasons. I've seen it covered in leaves and in snow. I suppose I didn't take the pictures because I felt a little sad for that baseball.

The ball was still there in August for its second year of school, but this time things are different.

Everybody needs a friend...

Update November 9, 2020: 

... or two.

Update March 28, 2023: 

... or three. 

"Hey guys, got room?'

The Evolution of Ellie

"Time might change me..." David Bowie 

From June 27: Ellie is about the only thing around here that changes. I took pictures of Maggie as she grew, and we're trying the same thing with El. We take a picture of Ellie in front of the couch each Monday. It's hard to believe that we have had her eight weeks already.

8 weeks:

9 weeks:

10 weeks:

11 weeks:

12 weeks:

13 weeks:

14 weeks:

15 weeks:

16 weeks:

17 weeks:

18 weeks:

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

22 weeks (Oops, we missed last week):

Week 23 (sad days for awhile):

Week 24 (looking suspicious You don't have that cone, do you?):

Week 25 (I like siting her better):

Week 26:

Week 27:

Week 28:

Week 29:

Week 30 (just had a bath):

Week 31:

Week 33:

Week 34:

Week 35:

I like the pictures of Char posing with her dog.

But I like the unscripted photos more.

Take One Bag Please!

 It's a little hard to believe, but at our house Harry Potter has taken a bit of a backseat to another fictional hero. This season Char is all about Percy Jackson. She listened to the first four books with me in the car, and then she went back and read all five books by herself.

Percy's best friend is Annabeth Chase. She's often seen in her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Annabeth turns invisible when she pulls her New York Yankees ball cap over her blonde hair that's tied in a ponytail. 

Here is Char's version for Halloween (without the face mask):

One of the few things that Annabeth cherishes is a laptop given to her by the inventor Daedalus. There's a large blue Delta (Greek ∆) is on the laptop's lid. Char had the idea to use an old laptop carrying case as her candy bag. Daphne helped make the case look official.

A new book series wasn't the only thing different this Halloween, of course. I wasn't even sure Char would get to go trick-or-treating during a pandemic. The city decided it would be okay if people were careful, in the end. We did our best. We put candy in individual baggies the previous weekend, and then let them sit in storage all week. I wore a mask and gloves, and I stood behind the glass storm door when the monsters, ghosts, spacemen, and superheroes started coming around.

I  replaced the bags on the front porch as they were taken.

There weren't as many houses giving out candy this year, so I went through 50 bags in 45 minutes. That was really fast, and I wished had prepared more. We just didn't know how many kids would be out. I felt bad about turning off our house lights so early, but I didn't have a choice. 

Each morning the teachers in our school district get clean towels and spray bottles filled with Ozone water to disinfect the tables and chairs after each class. 

The water only acts as a disinfectant for 24 hours, so what is unused gets poured down the drain each night. Daphne took an empty spray bottle to work, and filled it with the Ozone water that would have been discarded. When Char got home from trick-or-treating, we spread her candy across the kitchen counter and sprayed it down.

Daphne and I had a quick dinner while Char played with Ellie. Then Char watched "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" for the first time. She liked the classic cartoon, but she didn't like Ichabod, "He just likes Katrina for her dad's money!" 

When it was all over, I asked Char, "Even though you had to wear a face mask and be extra careful this year, did it still seem like a normal Halloween?"

Char thought for a moment and said, "Well, I didn't get to go to as many houses, but yeah, it was a lot of fun." 

That's all that we could have hoped for. 🎃 👻 ☠️👀