...Fathers Day

 

Rally Caps

Mom and I were watching the game this afternoon and it was looking dire so we put on those rally caps!  For those of you not in the know, with baseball there's a tradition that takes place when your team is behind, you put on your baseball cap either inside out or in some odd or unusual position.  So yeah, Mom and I did that because we needed to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth today - and sure enough, it seemed to work!  Matt Olson got a single, and right after that Ozzie Albies got a two-run walk-off home run to win the game.  We saw a lot of rally caps while watching the game, and we joined in with some rally cap power - and sure enough, the Braves won big today, all thanks to us.  Okay, the talent of the actual players probably had something to do with it...

 

Maddie was over at Nate's today, all day - they were hanging out and finishing up that big Star Wars puzzle they started a few days ago.  Nate's going on vacation with his family next week, heading over to Hilton Head, which sounds nice.

Mom and I had a nice breakfast on the back deck this morning, the weather so nice and perfect out there.  She served it all on this skillet for a really, really pleasant meal together.  Coffee, good food, a beautiful wife, and the songs of all those birds in the woods nearby.  We have so many!  We keep the feeder stocked and there have been a lot of visitors, and a lot of fledglings too - baby robins, baby bluebirds, baby titmouse, and a baby mockingbird too.  Lots of birds and songs.

Mom and I cleaned up the front porch today, and had plans on getting it pressure washed a bit.  And here's where I introduce my bone-head moment of the month.  So I saw an ad for a product that was really well-produced, and for some reason I didn't do any research.  I saw a video about a product by a company called Aquoxis. 

Because what you see on videos is all true, right?  Answer:  no.  Of course not.  So we got this "pressure washer" device by a company called Aquoxis.  We hooked it up to the hose, thinking at least we can get a little of the grime and dust off the front porch.  And right about that time I realized I should have instead bought one of these:

This is that Time Machine from Napoleon Dynamite the one that Uncle Rico sends money off to buy.  It's just about as effective as the Aquoxis Pressure Washer, as both have about as much value.  In fact, at this point I wish I got the Time Machine instead.  Yes, Uncle Rico was just throwing away his money.  And that's what we did with this Aquoxis product, because it didn't do anything from the commercial.  It was about as effective as our current garden hose.  So yeah, the bottom line here is:  stop and research. 

Fortunately, we had a real pressure washer at the house, and we used that to clean up the front porch.  I spent a good long time out there getting all the corners and dirty places, all that mold, webs, and piled up dust.  The front porch looks sparkly now.  I even used the pressure washer to make an American flag on the sidewalk!

Okay, don't be too critical.  I was being spontaneous and did my best with a pressure washer.  Not my chosen medium!

Anyway, it was a relaxing day.  Tonight Mom and I watched this old movie "Sneakers," and afterwards, we read a bit more from "Unseen Academicals."  The Plush Entourage made its way like a herd, moving back to Maddie's room to get tucked in for a good night's rest.  We've got KidPak tomorrow morning - time to get some rest!

...

... Braves win big, princess shower gel, taekwondo, grocery shopping, updates coming soon...

Patriotism, Shrimp and Grits

Yummy!  Look what Mom made for me!  I had some shrimp and grits for breakfast, a real treat with a little bit of garlic in there.  Definitely had to brush the teeth again after that.  Speaking of teeth, that place where my back tooth used to be is getting a little better.  In fact, the whole jaw seems to be healing up a good bit, which is good news.  The infection in there was really troubling the last few months, or maybe even years.  It was time for me and that tooth to separate.  My only regret is that I didn't keep the tooth to put under my pillow. 

Ah, the mystical power cube!  We've found it!  Or... it could be just a random piece of furniture at the church.  Yeah, that's more likely.  That's where we were today for a bit, making lots of slides for Summer Xtreme's volunteer and parenting meetings, and doing the soundtrack to this upcoming movie that will premiere at Summer Xtreme.  And here was the rain:

Okay, it's out of focus.  This is Jot-em-Down in front of the school.  Anyway, the remnants of tropical storm Archie made their way up from the coast, dumping a lot of water on us and bringing dark swirling clouds and high winds.  The terrible weather cancelled the Braves game, so we were watching "Across the Spider-Verse" once more, concluding the Spider-thon that we started some time ago.  Now we're ready for the theatrical release of the next Spidey movie in July.  It'll be here soon!  

I got some more walking in, finishing up "The Third Man on the Mountain," and I'm fairly close to getting to the top of Mt. Everest - virtually, of course.  I've been watching nothing but mountain climbing movies, mostly stuff from Everest, and was struggling to pick one for the big finish - and that's when I remembered "Abominable."  Yep, I'm doing that one next as I wrap up this virtual walk.  Gonna get another medal too, an actual one.  

Moving on, we're reading from "Unseen Academicals" at night now, all in honor of the World Cup that's currently going on.  Team USA has been doing good and there's a great deal of patriotism from unexpected locations, and that's great to see.  The semiquincentennial is here, and there are a lot of products out there that have red, white and blue decorations on the packaging.  I'm a sucker for that - the Pringles cans for example have the Statue of Liberty on one flavor or Mt. Rushmore on another.  A lot of cereal boxes have different patriotic decorations, and I just picked up six glass bottles of Coca-Cola, the semiquincentennial decor on them.

I used to collect these glass bottles of Coke all the time.  I still have the Braves World Series bottles from 95, and one from '21.  I've got seven of the Atlanta Olympics bottles, and a Cal Ripken one too.  

Anyway, it's been great to see all the patriotism here and there.  We live in a great country, eh?  As for the book, we're just getting started of course.  But it's fun to be back with the staff of the Unseen University, and with some soccer, or at least the game "foot-the-ball."  

We said our prayers after this, and then it was time for some sleep.  The Plush Entourage got tucked in, and then we got some sleep as the rain poured down outside.

Pho Robot Cat

 

Today, we met Bella, the robot cat the delivers pho food!  For context, it was a celebration of our friend Ansley's birthday, and she likes this place in Gainesville called "Pure Pho & Grille," which is a Vietnamese restaurant not far away.  I don't remember going to a Vietnamese restaurant, and I don't think Maddie has either, so it was a pretty new experience - neither of us have had pho either.  Although Maddie didn't get pho today - she got Korean barbecue, while I got the pho seafood.  And yes, guess who came by to deliver our food to us!

It was a nice new experience for lunch today.  About seven of us were there having a nice meal for lunch together.  Maddie enjoyed it, and I think Mom will enjoy it if we come back this way.  Note:  the servings were ginormous!

Yes, that's SpongeBob on television behind Maddie.

And yes, behind the bar, that's "The Smurfs" on television.

Emma figures out how to use chopsticks!

BOGO offer on Boba Tea?  Yes please!

Another thing we did today:  The KidPak Coffee Club!  We were joking about starting a coffee club where we try new coffees, and so today I brought in about six K-cups filled with the Bones Coffee flavor Dark Side Truffle - it's a Star Wars theme to it, made sweeter by these Star Wars themed coffee mugs I have there.  That was fun - Joey here says he'll bring some coffee in next time.

It was a quiet day otherwise - I was getting some work done at the office, but Maddie and I got home to see Mom.  We watched a bit of the Braves losing skid today, something that's pretty tough to watch.  At least in the ninth inning we scored a few runs, just falling short though.  Hopefully the team will turn things around, because this week has been one everyone wants to forget.  We're still a good ways ahead, and hopefully we'll be able to keep that lead.

I got my walking in, uphill on the treadmill while watching "The Third Man on the Mountain," and doing that virtual Mt. Everest walk.  This is a shorter walk, but it's been good.

Tonight we read, and after that we prayed.  Time for some sleep!

Virtual Everest Post Card

Here's another virtual post card from Mt. Everest.  Not many of these left.  This virtual walk is a little different, as it doesn't start at Base Camp but rather further down so that virtually you're going through a few communities and national parks before you get there.  

The Braves game was rained out tonight, this weird persistent rain down in the ball park - but not up here.  We didn't get rain today here, but it was pouring this morning in Alpharetta, and it apparently returned or stayed in the area down there tonight.  

Rather than watch the Braves tonight, we're doing something fun now for the next few months - watching all the Clone Wars episodes not in the order they were released, but in chronological order instead.  It's weird hopping around from one season to the next - we have a little guide to keep us on track!

So I know it was raining in Alpharetta because I was down there at the dentist this morning, so thankful to get those sutures out of my mouth from the dental work a week ago.  Things are still sore, but even worse is the odor that gets collected in those sutures after a week's time.  I was so anxious and self-conscious, and really glad to have those out.  This past weekend at the wedding, I was blessed to sit next to a person who had no sense of smell whatsoever.  Which is super coincidental, but I'll take it!

Anyway, things should heal up more so in the coming days and that's good news.  Speaking of good news, Maddie is officially accepted to the college - she submitted some identification forms and that's all settled.  We just have to see about financial info and of course what classes and when it all happens.  There's an orientation that Maddie signed up for in July, and I'm going with her for that as well, so that'll be fun.  Eventually I might be signing up for a few classes myself!

We closed out the night with some reading from the Discworld, and then prayers afterwards.  Time for some sleep!

Twenty

Maddie turned twenty today, and this sort of thing would have been a complete surprise except for the fact that she turned nineteen last year and eighteen the year before.  I think it would have been more of a shock if she turned twelve.

Anyway, Nate got here this morning, and we had a little mini-celebration.  Maddie got some cards and presents, and I loved the card Mom and I got - it was a Spider-man card for six-year old with the number six crossed out and the number 20 scribbled in beside it:  

Happy Birthday to a 6 20 Year old!

We sang Happy Birthday and surprised Maddie with a big loaf of sourdough bread, which she loves - one that had two candles stuck in the top, showing the number 20.  We had key lime pie, and a birthday cake flavored ice cream as well.  And then Maddie opened up another one of her gifts, a Spider-man LEGO creation, which should be pretty fun to put together.  It's big!  

But first, it was time to put together the Razor Crest.  Maddie and Nate spent a good bit of time putting that one together, although not as long as they anticipated.  It came out looking really good!  

We had some Margherita pizza, which is now one of Maddie's favorite types of pizza.  We had some on the Disney Fantasy, and before that too.  But now it's been a more consistent choice, particularly because Mom orders that kind of pizza from Factor.  Anyway, they enjoyed some pizza, and then given that the weather was so nice outside, Nate and Maddie went over to the Oaks for some mini-golf.

Maddie had a great time, getting a hole in one on that long, uphill hole towards the end there.  She wound up winning today, but the two of them actually did really well on the course, and the temperature and weather were just perfect outside.  It's been so humid lately, and the rains that came yesterday must have been with some sort of front that brought cooler more pleasant temps outside.  The point is, it was the perfect afternoon for mini-golf.

Afterwards, they were back at Nate's for a bit, working on a puzzle for a long while.  They didn't quite finish, but that's okay!

They also went out for Boba tea and Maddie's favorite place there, and rather than move on, the two of them spent a good bit of time there playing Uno!  Sounds like a really perfect birthday!

Eventually they were back home, of course.  Mom and I were finishing up "Obi-Wan," and starting on "The Clone Wars."  The goal is to watch all the episodes in chronological order, rather than the order they were released.  Purist nerds is what we are!

Maddie had a great birthday weekend.  Yesterday was nice, and today was a really good day too.  We closed it out starting a new book, "Unseen Academicals," a book parodying the popularity of soccer, which is appropriate given that there's a World Cup game here in Georgia today.  It was late - after prayers, we got to sleep tonight, and slept very well.  It was a good birthday!