Our Family Portrait

I've had several comments on the family portraits used in this year's Christmas card and letter.

They were part of a series of pictures that we did in October with my brother-from-another-mother, Glenn Cook, who's set himself up as quite the professional photographer in the last couple of years. I mean, if he can get David to smile…  If you're interested in seeing the whole shoot--and, if you didn't like one we gave you for Christmas, you can even order prints of other photos--then click here and visit the SmugMug site to check them all out.

Merry Christmas 2014!

Instead of making copies of our Christmas letter this year and mailing them all, or creating a new site to capture the year, we're listing here some of the highlights so you can get caught up, and dive in more where you like, to learn more about our year.

courtesy Glenn Cook Photography

Our year involved tearing out the master bathroom for a major renovation, but six weeks later it looked better than we had imagined it could. Up next: the kitchen? The kids' bathroom? Our annual ski trip with the Scouts to Canaan Valley was in February, and then in August we flew out West, the kids' first visit someplace west of West Virginia, for a very full experience of Nevada, California and a little of Oregon. We also had a nice weekend in a cabin at Deep Creek Lake in October with our Fergie, who passed a set of milestones this year. Not only was it her first "puppiversary," or a year after we got her, but in June came the time when (we estimate) she had spent more of her life with us than before--I guess that means she's found her Forever Home. She turned three in October, and kept wryly amusing us with her antics throughout the year. Our puppums is a happy doggie and has attached herself quite firmly to Mary lately.

If you look up the address for South County Middle School in the Fairfax County tax records, you will see that yes, in fact, Sarah *does* own the school. She's having a wonderful time as an eighth grader in Advanced Academics, as a Peer Helper at school, playing guitar, doing Girls on Track, and (most recently) being elected the school's Vice President. She rejoined Girl Scouts with her friends, with whom she is surrounded most of her free time. In the summer she had her second mission trip with Jeremiah Project, which she really enjoyed and which has her thinking of going as a counsellor someday.

The theme for the year with David was "adolescence," the one-foot-in-one-foot-out nature of being a high school junior. He earned his driver's permit this year, and is making slow progress in learning to drive--it's just not a huge priority for him to do, which baffles his parents. His burgeoning leadership was recognized in the winter when his Scout troop elected him its Senior Patrol Leader, and he took the first  (quite halting) steps into the world of girls and dating. But by far, his biggest adventures were a weeklong mission trip to Costa Rica in the summer, and beginning the great college hunt--with visits to William and Mary (two stories to tell there), Berkeley, U of Arizona, and his current #1 choice, Arizona State. Where will he end up? Tune in next year!

Mary celebrated her tenth anniversary with American Bankruptcy Institute this year, and accompanied Sarah on her Girl Scout troop's visit to New York City in the fall. Eric remains in Finance Division at the FBI, although at the end of the year is beginning a six-month rotation to work temporarily in Procurement instead of Budget, a new adventure. In the summer, he had a much-appreciated chance to spend a week at Harvard Business School, and is pursuing continuing ed into the new year. He's also still drumming, with Refresh at Sydenstricker UMC as well as with LifeSign at Burke UMC, loving every minute. This year he also began serving as the Chaplain of Boy Scout Troop 688, and will have a chance next summer to take a long walk in the desert with David--they both will be part of a dozen-strong crew hiking Philmont.

As 2014 fades, we hope it's been a good year for you and your family, and we pray for the light of the season to guide you throughout the new year. Join us here throughout 2015 for more of our adventures, and be sure to share your own--and stay in touch! We very much enjoyed the visits we had this year from Courtney, Naomi, Monica, Mom & Dad Tarrier, and many others…come back again!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 from us all!

The New Springfield Mall--er, Town Center

Wednesday evening, Mary and I had our first chance to explore the newly reopened Springfield Town Center (don't call it a mall!), nearly a month after its grand reopening festivities (no one ever accused us of being early adopters). Here's some of our takeaways after strolling through most of it:

Hits

• The grand entrance on the Loisdale side is really pretty sharp. The broad staircase and chandelier made me think of a Vegas casino entrance. Well done.
• We both think they widened the hallways, and I think in some cases, pushed them closer to the outside of the structure--making what was a l-o-n-g walk to Macy's much more appealing. And the tile floors are much nicer than the terra-cotta tiles that were there before.
• They created a "neighborhood" on the lower level near Macy's that's a dream world for the 4-6-year-old set. Clothing and toy stores for that age group are all colocated. Nicely done.
• Similarly, the H&M is right across the hall from the Forever 21 and right next to the shoe stores, meaning I can just park in a chair in the middle and watch Sarah run to all three.
• The lighting is so much nicer inside now. Hallways and foyers are brightly lit and much more inviting.
• They definitely went for more upscale eating choices.
• More than one elevator! Yay!
• $4 valet parking? If it stays like that through the holidays, that could be well worth it.

Misses

• I'm a little disappointed they opened with so many unfilled storefronts. They have several on-the-come, which look to be opening within a few weeks or couple of months. But there are long stretches of hallway still in their generic "Springfield Town Center" wrapping, no indication at all that they'll ever be filled. It will be tough to bring me back to a half-empty mall--er, town center--which was the problem before the previous Springfield Mall closed to begin with.
• There's nothing really there for me, or David, in terms of clothes. No A&F, no JCrew, nothing for the teen boy--and nothing I'd shop at either. Mary reminds me the Nordstrom Rack will probably be good for me, but that won't open for quite awhile yet.
• The food court. Not only are there only two things open right now, but of the six announced offerings, four are some form of Asian cuisine (Thai, Viet, Chinese, Japanese), with a Chipotle and a fast-food Italian offering. That's it. Can't get a burger (Zinburger will be outside, and isn't open yet). Can't get any chicken fingers for the kiddies. And, as Mary pointed out, there's no place to get a decent salad.

Jury's Out

• Biggest question mark is around the sit-down restaurants. They're all on "the plaza," which is what they're calling the Loisdale Road side, with only one that I know of (Maggiano's) having an entrance to the inside of the mall--er, town center. So when I'm inside shopping but it's pouring and I want to get to Chuy's, or Zinburger, or any of the others, I have to dash outside to get to it?
• Not sure how I like having the Regal Cinema tucked away like it is. It's a little bit of effort to get to it from within the mall--er, town center--itself, but it's got its own entrance/exit to the parking garage, so people coming to the movies can make a direct entrance.

What has your experience of the new Springfield Town Center been?

Beginning the College Hunt, Part IV

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new frontrunner in the college sweepstakes.

After touring Arizona State on Monday, David announced that it is now his favorite among the four he's now toured (W&M, U of Arizona, and in distant fourth, Berkeley, round out the list). He likes the feel of the campus and the flexibility with which ASU appears to treat its students: he can build an anthropology degree as a BA or as a BS, and he can focus it towards particular areas (like archaeology), and he can double-major or minor in Native American studies to complement it (or he can minor in Theatre Design and Production). And I think he also likes that ASU's admissions process is noncompetitive (you either meet the thresholds or you don't), and that the freshman dorm for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (read: anthro majors live here) is the brand-newly-remodeled 15-story Manzanita Hall, overlooking the football stadium on one side and campus on the other.

Manzanita Hall (rear) and Palo Verde East dorms

On the ASU bridge, looking back towards dorms and the stadiums.

Palm Walk, the main north-south pathway through campus

He doesn't seem to mind that Tempe and Phoenix are a much busier place; or, that the campus was (or felt to me) a bit crowded--although even at class change, the crowds were very reasonable, despite the size of the school. He also doesn't seem fazed about being one of 9,000+ freshmen--although perhaps that will give others pause.

He does caution, though, that he still wants to see the others on his list--UVA, Radford, and Wake Forest, and last night Texas A&M made a return to the wish list. But if he had to pick right now, my son would want to become a Sun Devil. What will his final pick be? Stay tuned…we've a long way until next fall!

Beginning the College Hunt, Part III

As previously described, David has begun looking for college options he likes, and following on the success of his conversation with a grad student at William and Mary, he had identified both the University of Arizona and Arizona State as two places he wanted to consider. This weekend is the long break between first and second quarters at school, so he and I flew westward on Halloween night.

We toured UA today. The campus reminded me a little of Berkeley, with its gated entrance and Western feel to it. We walked around much of the southern part of campus, including the residence halls, student rec center (wow), student union, and library. Here's some of what we saw:

Main Gate to the University of Arizona

The "Mall" features the single longest strip of grass in Arizona…but also this native display (and one Virginian)

The Mall, looking east

Admin building and part of the student union at left across the Mall

Found his building; lost his sense of exploration somewhere around here though :)

The boy, surveying the campus (and football stadium to the right) from the top of  Likin Hall dorm

David's conclusion: so far this is his favorite out-of-state choice, but he's not yet ready to say which is in the lead, UA or W&M. He liked the atmosphere of the place, feeling more at home than he did at Berkeley, and the people were friendly. I think he also liked that the tour guides were only a couple of years older than him--so he could kinda see himself in their place. He saw three levels of dorm, and says he'd be just as comfortable in the cheaper one (good!). He wishes he had a chance to see more of the archaeology program, but knows we may have more of an opportunity Monday in Tempe.

My takeaways? (1) Campus is d-e-a-d on a Saturday. With 35,000 students in October I had expected to get more of a sense of the atmosphere; we did not count on the fact that only 6,600 of them live on campus, mostly freshmen, who were still sleeping in much of the day. And (2) It didn't feel too large and overwhelming, or too crowded--so, a much different vibe from Berkeley. Closer to a W&M feel, without oak trees and 50 degrees warmer.

ASU, up next on Monday!

Gift Ideas List 2014

We're getting out in front of the "what do you want for your birthdays and Christmas" conversation by trying to keep the Gift Ideas List current at this time of year. It's also got what Mom has given us for her own wish list. We'll try to flesh out some of the, um, thinner items over the next couple of weeks, but here's some to get you started.

Our 48-Pound Chicken

After turning three, and spending now more than half her life with us, I'd have thought Fergie would have become a bit more self-assured. But it turns out, we don't have just a dog, we have a 48-pound chicken living with us.

"What was that?" Our fearless defender. (Photo: Glenn Cook)

Today I had to come home to meet the furnace repairman (don't ask), and on the way home listened in on a conference call from the office. I got home and walked into the house, and was not greeted by a wagging tail--which, we've come to learn, means she's upstairs on our bed, where she likes to spend as much time as we let her get away with. I walked around for a couple of minutes, while the muted speakerphone carried the voices of my colleagues' discussion.

After a minute or two I heard a series of "wuff"s from upstairs. Fergie was clearly calling out to whoever was in her house, and vaguely challenging whomever it might be, but interestingly, not coming down herself to check on the situation. And I could tell something was up: these were not her full-throated barks that she reserves when people come to her front door. I headed upstairs.

I found our ferocious pup on the bed, tail wagging, but shaking and shivering as I've never seen her before. She was so afraid of these odd voices she heard in her house, she was so very scared. And I would say she was scared $#!tless, but that's not accurate. Instead, it was a dark spot on the bedspread that told me she'd actually been scared pee-less.

Aw, Fergie…

I comforted her, she settled down, she finally approved of the speakerphone, and I set about tidying up and readying the comforter for the dry cleaner's. I've said before, her ferocious growling and barking at strangers and other dogs probably is her way of trying to bluff her way through what is actually scaring her silly. It's sometimes cute how she tries to defend us; it's sometimes embarrassing when she does it to neighbors or contractors coming to the house. But it's pure Fergie, and lumps and all, soggy bedspreads and all, I think we'll keep her.

Happy Birthday Fergie!

When we adopted Fergie in February 2013, we knew she had been a stray for at least some time, so there was no paperwork saying with certainty what her birthday is. They estimated at the time that she was about 17 months old, based on her size and what teeth had come in, so we've used October 1, 2011, as her birthday. That makes her three years old as of yesterday.

Last night we had our "birthday party" for her. She had a "happy birthday" bone-shaped biscuit, which got pretty much devoured instantly. The kids had bought her new toys--a "sandwich" that comes in layers and squeaks, and a...thing, I can't really describe it, other than it's five soft rings on a soft post...kinda looks like the red one's supposed to be a tomato slice? In any event, the birthday girl had a wonderful time the whole rest of the evening, as you can see for yourself.


Before I play with any new toys, I have to honor my Lab roots and SHAKESHAKESHAKE it to make sure it's well and truly dead first!




These are MY toys! You may not have them!



I love love LOVE the squeaker in the middle of my "sandwich"!



I figured out how to get one of the rings off...now what happens if I do THIS?

Happy birthday to the Pums who makes our home an even better place. Many, many happy returns of the day!


The Next Adventure: Driving

As I've said before, the theme of this year is "adolescence," and one of the most significant adolescent rites of passage is learning to drive. We've now begun that phase of life, with David passing his learner's permit test last week, so there is now a new driver in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I took him by on Tuesday in the early afternoon, and the Lorton DMV station was practically empty. He was immediately called up to the window, and began the initial processing, including the charming DMV photo. After a brief wait, he was called up to go on in to the computer testing lab, and my waiting began.

There was another boy there, who was called into the testing room moments after David. The minutes ticked by, and I have to confess, I didn't look to see how long it was--maybe five minutes? But it felt much longer. Then the other boy emerged, beaming--but not David, not yet. He took a little while longer, then I saw him come out, trying to motion me over as cooly and nonchalantly as possible, but I knew, just knew, that he had passed it--he couldn't hold it in, he was so happy.

I told him how proud I was of him, and after collecting the final paperwork, headed out. He refused to take a celebratory photo outside the DMV, naturally. We then headed home.

Entering our neighborhood, I drove up about a block and a half, so we would be pretty much alone, and pulled to the curb. "Switch with me," I said, and he did, to drive the last block and a half home. He learned in a hurry that it doesn't take a lot of pressure on the accelerator to make a car go, nor does it take a lot of pressure on the brake to make it stop. But he stopped at the stop sign well, and he drove right down the center of the street, making doubly sure he wouldn't hit anything. We turned onto our street, and he spotted neighbor Mark's car parked on the street next to our driveway.

"I'm gonna hit him," he said, and instead from an abundance of caution came to a stop at the entrance to the cul-de-sac proper. I told him he needed just to turn into the driveway, but he took the long way around the cul-de-sac, avoiding hitting anything except the brake pedal in the driveway, leaving two very short skid marks on the blacktop.

Our first chance to drive, and I liked what I saw: he brought a very healthy about of fear to it. There was no bravado, instead just a very, very cautious approach to piloting a car for the first time. He wanted me, when I bragged about it on social media, to use #beafraid or #beveryafraid to describe the fact that he was now on the road. But y'know, I won't. We have a lot to do over the next 45 hours of driving together, but if he can keep that healthy respect for what he's embarked upon, then I think people won't have anything to be afraid about when he's behind the wheel. If anything, the fear I have is more the fear of the idiots out there driving in NoVA who pose the greater risk to him. And so as I posted on Facebook, "To my son, I am very proud of you, and I look forward to this new adventure. To all the yutzes driving badly in NoVA, I love my boy, and if you hurt him I shall hurt you. That is all."

West Coast Family Vacation

We've uploaded a photo album of our West Coast trip earlier this month--click on the link, and come see some of what we saw in nine days out west!  Then leave a comment!

Things I Learned On Our West Coast Vacation

It had been a l-o-n-g time since I'd been out west, and several of the places we visited on our family vacation this summer were brand new to me.  Here's some of the discoveries I made along the way.

• It really is possible for it to rain in Death Valley.  We were there in a light mist, maybe 80 degrees, in early August even.  Doubtless a far, far better way to explore it than if it were 40 degrees warmer.
• That's not white sand in the pictures of Death Valley…it's salt crystals, leaching out of the parched and broken soil.
• It had been far too long since last I'd played blackjack, but playing against a three-deck shoe probably didn't help either.
• Trona, CA, is one of the most depressing places any of us have ever been to.  Run-down, unkept, just screaming "don't live here!" to anyone passing through.
• Go to Disney's California Adventure first thing in the day.  Everyone else went to Disneyland/the Magic Kingdom side, so we were essentially walking right up to rides for the first hour or two, including the Tower of Terror.  California Screamin' is a very good coaster ride.  The wait for the Cars ride was too long, but the ride itself went a long way towards redeeming it.
• Some of the rides (Matterhorn) really show their age.  Sarah found herself preferring Kings Dominion over most of the classic Disneyland rides.
• I bow to LA traffic as truly the worst in the nation.  It never stops!  There's never a time when there's not some miles-long backup as part of our day.  Get off the roads, people, and get into your offices!
• The geographic diversity of California is really amazing.  Dusty, dry deserts and steep rocky canyons to the south, foggy San Francisco, simply stunning coastal drives near Mendocino, and hairpin turns through redwood forests in the northern extremes. 770 miles long, and it shows it!
• The legacy of student protest remains at Berkeley.  Administration buildings never have two door handles, either one or none, so students can't chain administrators in (or out). Not sure that factoid sat too well with David or Sarah during their tour.
• The folks at Alcatraz have done a marvelous job preserving The Rock and the audio tour was great at relating stories and events.  In all the time I've spent in SF, I'd never been out there before, and was blown away at being able to see it all.
• Getting over the mountains to the Pacific Coast Highway was an adventure, with more switchbacks than I had counted on.  And the thick, thick forests and the first of the redwoods made it a dark and sometimes intimidating drive.  But, oh, once the coast pops into view…I know I've found a landscape I can wake up to each morning in retirement.
• I bought the most expensive gallon of gas I've ever bought in Mendocino, CA, within sight of the gorgeous Mendocino Bay.  $6.26 for a gallon of regular!
• I truly cannot recall having been to Redwoods National Park before, so being able to see what Mary remembered as a teen was special.  Again, up through the mountains with the switchbacks, before coming to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and the mile-plus walk exploring those immense, ancient trees…stunning all in their own majesties.

Youth Missions 2014

Erin, the youth ministries director at our church, has created a blog to track the adventures of our two sets of youth missions this summer.  Be sure to follow Never Too Young, where she's going to chronicle the kids' adventures at Jeremiah Project near Winchester, VA (including Sarah's adventures there), and then at Strong Missions in Costa Rica (for which David leaves Sunday morning).  The kids are doing great things as Christ's hands and feet, it's heartwarming to see them in action!

And The Church Said…Mreh.

Over the weekend of June 21-22, the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church met in Richmond, which meant the pastors were out of town--and they had to go deep in the bullpen and call me up to preach.  After some computer troubles, they've posted the link to it on the church website.

It's a little bit of a challenge: I'm exploring why it is, if we have this tremendous gift of new life in Christ, that so many Christians go through life absolutely indistinguishable from anyone else--where's the joy, where's the fire, where's the excitement?

Take a listen and let me know what you think!

Off To A Solid Start

Congratulations to Sarah, who finished seventh grade with a great, strong kick: for her first time ever, her quarter report card was "straight As"!  (Her previous close call was Q3 of fifth grade; the only "B" then was in music.  Music!  Come ON!)

After a rocky start to the year in Algebra I and science, Sarah really buckled down and worked tremendously hard in order to improve her grades, and her hard work was justly rewarded with her first set of straight As this quarter.  In fact, only a "B+" in science kept her from straight As in final year-end grades as well.

Sarah with her Q3 Honor Roll certificate: a proud, accomplished scholar!

Sarah has really blossomed this year; seventh grade was a great experience for her.  And scarily enough, her A- final grade, and Pass Advanced on her SOL, in Algebra I Honors means she starts 8th grade with one of her requirements for high school graduation already neatly in the bag, and (with the bump for taking an honors class) she starts 8th grade with a 4.2 GPA…yes, higher than Dad's, although Dad will quickly point out South Burlington didn't offer bonus points for honors or AP classes.

This…is an amazing Sarah.  She works so very hard at schoolwork, and is reaping the benefits now.  She'll be able to write her own ticket to so many great adventures as a result, and it'll be a pleasure watching to see where those adventures take her.  For now, though, we give her warm congratulations, and hugs from a proud Mom and Dad, on her excellent 7th grade year.

Stepping Out, First Onto A Limb...

This Saturday, one of my children took a first, and big, step into the world of dating.  To avoid embarrassment, I won't name him, apart from saying he is an "avid" fan of the Patriots' "D."

But seriously: he had come to know this young lady through the youth group at church, and over the last few months had developed a pretty serious texting relationship.  (Fortunately texting is on the unlimited plan for us.)  They're both sophomores, although attending two different high schools; his South County green and blue clashes a bit with her West Springfield orange and blue.  But they're both in youth group and church, they both are active behind the scenes in their respective drama departments, and I would have to be even denser than I already am to miss how they look at each other sometimes.

This weekend, though, he made a big step, one reportedly required in her family, and asked her father for permission to date his oldest daughter.  Mind you, that entailed asking a Fairfax County Deputy Sheriff--and a very healthy and fit one at that, think Mr Clean with a weapon--in public, outside church, with any number of witnesses to a potential embarrassment.  Fortunately, however, her dad was quick to offer his approval; having known David now several years and figuring someone from youth group can't be all bad, I suppose.  His bravery earned him a handshake from dad, and a hug from the daughter.  And now we begin thinking of movies or events, and saving up our (non-Costa-Rica-mission-trip-spending-money) cash for a new set of activities in our world.

I had begun this year saying how the theme for the year seems to be adolescence; I smile a little thinking how one more bit of adolescence is coming to pass.  And so let a whole 'nother set of games begin….

Requiem for the Pavilion

The first of this month, a downtown DC landmark closed, and with it closed some of my first memories of Washington.  The Pavilion at the Old Post Office was a downtown shopping mall and food court set in the first two levels of what had once been the main post office at 12th and Pennsylvania Ave NW, its iconic bell tower looming in many famous photos of the avenue.

The building is now being emptied, as Donald Trump has purchased it and will be turning it into a hotel.  But it had been on life-support for years; its heyday was a full two decades ago, and of late has been only a motley collection of souvenir stands and the last hangers-on in the food court.

I remember being wowed by "The Pavilion" as a freshman at AU in 1985, and it's been a part of my life pretty much for the last 29 years.  After college, on coming to work two blocks away, it became a place to find lunch--and for a couple of years, its expansion into the IRS building meant indoor mini-golf in the evenings.  That expansion didn't last long; I think it probably closed in the mid-1990s, and nothing's happened with that wing in nearly 20 years.  I've often wondered how many inches of dust have accumulated in there.

When I moved back to DC in 1992, there were two restaurants on the ground floor; one whose name I forget in the northwest corner (more casual), and the more formal Fitch, Fox & Brown in the northeast corner.  I remember taking my mom there for dinner one time; the waiters were presumptuous and pretentious at the same time.

The tower tours were free and self-guided, which was great.  I remember one time the various co-chairs of the Director's Advisory Committees were in town for a meeting.  We all walked over and took the tour, up to the bells and the views across the city.  Now, I'm sure, The Donald will charge for the privilege of the view.

Since 9/11, the mostly ineffectual security guards placed at the doors (to protect the Federal tenants on the upper floors, like the National Institute for the Humanities, from terrorist attack) likely contributed to driving down foot traffic and thus the closing of some shops.  One of the best cobblers I ever knew worked in the downstairs lobby.  I cannot remember his name, but he was Australian, and there wasn't anything he couldn't do with my shoes to restore them.  He packed it in about 11 years ago.  I miss having a cobbler nearby.

The "philately" post office was another reason to stop by.  It only sold stamps and similar basic postal materials--wouldn't handle a package for you, for instance--but I could always see the newest ones without waiting in the lines at the Franklin station across the street.  Briefly, there was a half-price tickets place next to it, selling same-night seats for various theaters around town (National Theater, Warner Theater, etc).  That also died years ago.

The food court downstairs was largely unchanged for most of the last three decades.  The "international side" to the west, with the Chinese, Italian, and "foreign" cuisine, and with the opposite side of the food court stocked with hot dogs, burger places, and the like.

My favorite place to go in there was actually tucked away half under the stairs in the back: Temptations.  This tiny place had a double display case of baked treats (double chocolate cake, pies, eclairs, etc.) and an espresso machine behind the counter.  But that's not why I went.  Temptations was run by the same family the entire time I was there, and they made the best lemonade ever.

Order a "fresh-squeezed" lemonade and the guy would open up a food-service bucket of halved lemons, and--always using a plastic fork--spear a half lemon and place it into the juicer on the counter.  A rotation of the handle, and fresh lemon juice would flow out the bottom into the clear plastic cup.  He would then put the drip cup back under the juicer, and pop the squeezed lemon off the top and into your cup, to which then was added two scoops of sugar, ice to the top of the cup, and then water--always bottled water from a gallon jug.  A cocktail shaker was produced, and the water, lemon juice, sugar, and lemon husk were then vigorously shaken awhile before being poured triumphantly back into the cup.  Add the plastic top to the cup, then a straw and precisely one napkin, and for $1.89 you had the best lemonade you could ever want.  Perfect on a spring or summer day in the mid-afternoon, especially with a snickerdoodle from Larry's Cookies across the way.

The closure of the Pavilion is, of course, a long time coming--we've seen this particular train coming from well down the tracks.  But its passing means more than just the inability to find the best lemonade, the best cobbler.  It's a little piece of my own story of life in Washington coming to an end, a story that now reaches nearly 30 years itself, and so its absence leaves a little ache.

But one I'm looking for a new lemonade stand to help me fill.

The Running Girl, May 2014 Edition

Once again, Sarah's interest in cross-country running has led her to the Girls on the Run program--now known at the middle school as Girls On Track, even though they don't do track events and still train for a 5K.  This morning was the spring 5K, after a season of training, and as you can see she was very excited about the day!

Sarah at Girls on the Run

This year, GOTR came to its senses and split the event across two days in two locations--meaning we no longer had the same huge crowds and parking problems, making it a much more enjoyable event.  Sarah also benefited from the thinner crowds, running her best race ever!

When the results were posted, Sarah completed her 5K in 30:41, her fastest time ever--and slightly annoying to her, as she really expected to be sub-30 this time.  However, her time was good enough for her to finish #138 out of 1,971 runners (top 7% of all runners); among her age group (girls 10-14), she finished #44 out of 493 girls (top 9%).  What an outstanding run!

This year, being all old and stuff, Sarah didn't need her daddy to be a buddy runner anymore; she ran with friends from SCMS.  However, that meant for the first time Eric and Mary had the chance to get a cup of coffee while she ran, and then be there at the finish line to see her cross.  This time we got video of the big finish:

Sarah's already announced that when she gets to the high school, she wants to go out for cross-country.  Maybe that means Daddy will have to start training to be able to keep up with her.  In the meantime, she's a huge winner to us for completing her seventh 5K and doing so well.  Congratulations, Sarah, on a tremendous race and great improvement!

Sometimes, You Just Need A Good Rant

…and when you do, why not turn to one of the masters?

"I can't take it anymore! I'm trying to get home for my kid's birthday but this whole leaf-blowing false-advertising traffic-stopping tax-dollars-squandering workers-on-permanent-coffee-break upper-class money-driving stolen-car-parts-dealing sign-changing society won't let me!  And you know who's to blame? We all are! We say we hate lawyers but we can't wait to sue somebody.  We want leaders to make tough choices and we vote 'em out when they do! We all want X-rated older women with hirsute upper lips on chat lines and scream bloody murder when we get the bill!  I ask you, what's happened to logic in the world?

"And when you think about it, isn't that exactly the point?  Parking and driving and shopping and eating and working…somewhere, somehow they're different now, none of 'em are the same, they all got chewed up and spit back out.  They don't taste like living anymore.  Don't you see what it's like in this deranged Waring blender of a world?  Every day is an agonizing ordeal!  Like balancing a pot of scalding water on your head while people whip your legs and butt!  (Ah, you never forget your senior prom…)  You think I'm sick?  Well, the only disease I've got is modern life.  A schnub-busting gauntlet of inefficiency and misery that's one long parade of let-downs, put-downs, trickle-downs, shut-outs, freeze-outs, sell-outs, numb-nuts, nincompoops and nimrods!  All making every day as much fun as waxing a flaming Pontiac with your tongue!  Where even if you do luck into the possibility of some fleeting pleasure, like, say, if some nymphomaniac telephone operators with the muscle control of Romanian mat-slappers agree to a little strip air hockey, it'll be over before it starts!  Because some vowel-whacking feather-eating cab jockey slams his Checker up your hatchback, and the cab is owned by some Santaria cult in Huaculpa who starts shaking chicken bones at you and gives you a boil on your neck so big all it needs is Michael Jordan's autograph on it to make it complete!  And even with all this--with all this!--I still drag my sorry butt off the Sealy every morning and stick my face in the reaping machine for one more day--knowing! when it's time to flash the cosmic car keys at those pearly gates I won't be in the coffin anyway, because some underhanded undertaker sold my heart, pancreas, and other assorted Good-n-Plenty to the same Santaria cult!  So does anybody really wonder why anybody is hanging on to sanity by the atoms on the tips of their fingernails while life dirty-dances on their digits?  And is it really any wonder that I seem DERANGED?"

(Duckman, "Room With A Bellevue," 1996…for the originals, see here and here)

Beginning the College Hunt, Part II

When we last left our hero, David had found his way to the basement of Washington Hall on the campus of William and Mary, where he had been told the anthropology department lived.  We passed students on the stairs as we descended, leading us to think a class had just let out; when we arrived at the anthropology lab, the woman there invited us in to look around.

For the next hour, hour and a half, David was truly in his element.

The woman he met, Ms Victor, is a graduate student going for her PhD, and she began showing David around the lab and pulling out samples of their work.  She shared with him bits of pottery, and a collection of handmade nails she pulled from a recent dig in Montana, and David was engaging right back with her on her finds.  He was asking questions, and commenting on the artifacts in his confident way, showing he knew a thing or two about history and how these artifacts connected with others.  (Knowing this could take awhile, I sent Anna and Megan off to go explore the business school; I tried to fade into the walls as much as I could, to let the two of them talk.)

Ms. Victor showing David some pottery samples from a recent dig.

Ms. Victor was terrific: she gave David a lot to think about in terms of the field of archaeology and what the good programs are around the country that he should look into.  We learned a lot about the branches of the field that we'd never known before: for instance, a good general overview of anthropological archaeology would be found at Michigan, Michigan State, Berkeley, Syracuse, maybe Santa Clara; David should not apply to Boston University unless he only wanted to work in Europe for a career.  But if he wanted to study prehistoric archaeology, especially focused on Mesoamerican cultures (Inca, Aztec, etc.), then Arizona and Arizona State are the places to go.  And we'd never heard of "nautical archaeology," but I guess it makes sense: if the river's changed course and has now overrun the site you want to explore, you need to be scuba-certified and you need to know how to work underwater in the silt of a river or ocean bed.  And that's taught at Texas A&M, of all places.

She talked with him about careers in the field, and what each degree would allow him to do.  If all he wants to do is dig in the dirt, and work on a site as part of a team, then a bachelors will suffice; if he wants to be a project lead or work in "cultural resource management" (i.e., the people who go through before a freeway gets built, to make sure there's nothing there), then the MA is needed; and if he wants to explore his own interests and build his own program, then that's the PhD.

I think David added someone new to his fan club that day; on discovering he was "only" a sophomore, she twice commented how she was blown away at how well he carried himself in this professional encounter and how his passion for archaeology came through.  And by the end of their time together, he came away with two huge opportunities.  One was, she invited him to come down sometime, even on a weekend, and help her in the lab: cleaning, coding, labeling the artifacts, and learning what the lab experience is like.  And she also gave us a copy of a flyer for a summer dig that W&M undergraduates are doing in conjunction with Colonial Williamsburg.  She told him she knows the project director and she thought he'd be thrilled to have David maybe come down for a few days out of the 10-week project and gain some fieldwork experience too.

We both left there flying.  So let me see if I got this straight: a professional in David's chosen field took him seriously enough to have extended offers and opportunities for him to gain practical experience the summer before his junior year.  We also got about a half-dozen other colleges David needs to look into, to see whether they interest him; and, perhaps most importantly, he had such a positive, inspiring experience with his first contact with a college.

The whole day could not have gone any better; it truly felt God-blessed.  He commented later that there wasn't anything he didn't like about W&M, and so now he has something good to compare other colleges to.  And perhaps most importantly, he got to see what terrific experiences he could be getting into, and what it'll take for him to be admitted into that world.  Maybe this will help him focus and pour some more energy into studies and tests, to help get him positioned for all that he had the merest taste of that afternoon in the basement of Washington Hall.  Let the hunt begin!

Beginning the College Hunt, Part I

This past Friday, Anna and Megan Schipono and David and I went to the kids' first college tour experience, and it was probably just about everything I could have secretly hoped it would be.

When I began my college hunt, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth and great flocks of wild chickens darkened the skies, college tours were *maybe* the summer between sophomore and junior year, but certainly a spring-break-junior-year activity.  These days, and with this boy, it's better to start sooner.  One of his (now college-attending) Boy Scout friends had confided in me that when he was a sophomore, his folks took him on a tour, and it sharpened his desire: Yes, I really want that, and so I'd better start getting serious about studying in order to get it.  Can't hurt to get started, then.

The proto-archaeologist had become aware that William and Mary, down at Williamsburg, had an excellent archaeology/anthropology program on the colonial period (duh), so he asked to visit.  Unbeknownst to us, Megan had discovered their marketing program and also asked for a tour.  Which both sets of parents independently set up for the exact same day and hour during spring break.

After arriving and parking and lunch at the Cheese Shop, we walked onto campus and into the oldest part of campus, the iconic Wren Building (oldest extant academic building in America) dead ahead.  We explored that, then wandered through the old campus and onto the newer pieces, eventually discovering the marble floors of the business school.

Megan and David in front of the Wren Building

Our tour lasted a shade over two hours; 45 minutes of overview by the school in an auditorium at the student center, then off with our senior tour guide, Max, who walked us through many features of the campus.  We saw the cafeteria, the Crim Dell and learned of its curse, then saw the library, the chemistry building, and eventually over to a dorm room, before finishing with English lit and returning through the Wren Building's arched passageway.

Max leading the tour, with Megan, David, and Anna

At the conclusion, Max told a story about convocation: arriving freshmen have to endure a speech by the president in the oldest part of the campus, out where the kids had their picture taken.  Then the new freshmen walk through Wren Building to the growing sound of applause, and on reaching the other side, they find the entirety of the rest of the University there, all green and gold, clapping, high-fiving, welcoming them to W&M, and from that moment on, he said, "you are Tribe."  That really resonated with David, and I have to confess, with me too.

On parting, Max told us where to find the anthropology department, and we headed to the basement of Washington Building.  A class had just let out, and when we poked our head into the lab, the woman there called out, "Come on in and look around!"

That began an hour-and-a-half conversation I'm still processing.   (To Be Continued)

21st Century Crime Visits Us

It does appear that someone has committed identity theft on me.  And so begins a doubtless Kafka-esque descent into proving who I am to the IRS.

In early March I received a letter from the IRS, addressed to me, at my home address, with my correct SSN…Dear Taxpayer, it began.  "We have received your income tax return [for tax year 2013] and are in the process of conducting a thorough review of your return information…. You are not required to do anything at this time.  If you have not received your refund or been contacted by us within 60 days…" then I can call them.

I didn't wait, for one simple reason: At that point I hadn't filed my 2013 tax returns, and knowing how I arrange my withholdings, I doubted I had any refund coming to me at all!  So who the heck was using my SSN and filing taxes in my name?

The next day I called the IRS, and Ms Whitaker (operator 2869369) said, in effect, this kind of thing happens all the time now--that The System would likely reject the false submission.  She clicked a few more keys, and said Hmmm…according to The System, there is nothing on file for me for 2013 yet…so perhaps this was in error?  She advised me to finish completing my taxes and try to file electronically anyway, and see what happened.

Ten days later, I finished working up my taxes (I was right, I owe this year, I'm not getting a refund).  I also received a second letter from the IRS, highlighting "Changes to your 2013 Form 1040": they were adjusting "my" refund to over $9,000…and that I still didn't need to do anything, because "within 4-6 weeks" my refund will be sent.

A roughly $10,000 swing from what I owe to what some yutz is claiming in my name as a refund brought me to another call to the IRS.  This time, Ms Bass (operator 1002674707) took it a bit more seriously, and put an alert on my account to stop the refund, and to start an investigation into this attempted fraud.  She advised me to file by paper, and that within 30 days someone would be reaching out to me to start the investigation.

As of today, that's where things stand.  There is, as yet, no other evidence of anything untoward happening: my bank accounts and credit cards are all in balance and I see nothing unexpected happening there.  This week I'm eligible for my next free credit report, so I'll verify that nothing false is happening as well.  And in the interim, I read in Fortune that in 2011, the last year for which there were data, the IRS paid out over $4 billion in these kinds of fraudulent refunds.  I find that figure a little hard to believe, but there we are: somehow my SSN and name have been swept into a criminal effort to defraud the government.

I can only imagine the bureaucracy that awaits, as I try to convince the IRS that I really am who I think I am.  And, to ensure that they honor the correct set of filings, and disavow the incorrect ones, and don't hold me to the incorrect ones down the road.  And, that next year this doesn't recur.  And, that they actually accept my filing next year without nearly as much angst.  And, that we're able to identify the yutz in question, and ensure s/he is held to fullest account for all this.

This is a prime instance of that old rule: It's Always Something.

Our New Bathroom

After about five weeks of work, and about five weeks of living out of the kids' bathroom, our new master bath reached a state of "done"ness that allowed us to move back in.  There are still a few things that need to be finished off, but that first shower in our new space left Mary purring and very, very glad we'd made this investment.

Here's some of the before-and-after!

Old 3x3 shower replaced by an angled 5x3.5 shower.

The tub took up too much space in the corner like that, so it's now a smaller tub and tucked against the outside wall.

Goodbye soffit and Laura Ashley stencil and ginormous mirror; hello gorgeous!

 Some last adjustments need to be made, but overall we're very pleased with how this turned out.  You can't see the wireless Bluetooth speaker we installed in the shower so Eric can hear music or the radio in the morning.

Now the debate begins: Mary favors moving on to do the kids' bathroom, while Sarah desperately wants the kitchen redone next.  And me, I just look at the checkbook and wince…  But seriously, it needed to happen, and we're very pleased with how well Daniels Design did on the job.  Come by and take a look sometime!

Canaan Valley 2014

This past weekend was the annual Troop 688 family ski trip to Canaan Valley, WV.  After all the snow and cold here this winter, I was really looking forward to this: then it became 60 degrees for the few days ahead of the trip.  My timing just stinks sometimes.

The drive up went well; leaving after school meant we got there around 8 and had time to relax.  David used his evening to connect with some friends and go ice skating, demonstrating what the concept of "awkward" looks like:

Saturday was skiing for David; we hardly saw him at all all day.  Sarah took a lesson again on the snowboard, and while she did that I got in a few runs on the "loose granular" (read: icy) trails.  Then she and I spent the afternoon together on the training slope, rehearsing what she'd learned.  As you may recall, last year Sarah also had snowboarding lessons, then wiped out in the afternoon.  Not so this year!  Instead, she did really, really well, and didn't push herself beyond her comfort zone.  See how well she boards this slope:

David only has two more years to go as a Scout on these weekends, and despite the 52-degree weather I don't think he'd trade it for anything.  Sarah's still circumspect: enjoyed getting back on the horse again and doing well with the snowboard, but I don't think she'll be clamoring for lessons apart from this annual exposure.  But at least we got to spend a weekend together, and even though I didn't get a lot of skiing in myself, for hanging with her, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Bathroom Remodeling: Progress, Just Past Halfway

Over the MLK weekend, we began the renovation of the master bathroom and started tearing out the 25-year-old relics.  At this point, we're more than halfway to our new bathroom, and despite the two days lost to the snow this past week, we're in pretty good shape to wrap up at the end of the month/beginning of March, as planned.

The new shower pan and the framing for the new shower and tub hint at how the closet door on the left has shifted a couple of feet to accommodate the new space.  This was about a week in; you can see the plumber has been by to set up the new tree for the shower.

Demolishing the soffit overhead of the vanity made plenty of room; the electrician has pre-wired for the new outlets, including one within the tower where Mary can store the hair dryer tucked away.

Tile has now begun to go down, and by this week tile is largely finished: the floors look great, and the tub-surround is beginning to take shape.

The scope of the shower is really beginning to emerge now that tile is in place.

A close-up of the tile in the shower, and the niche.  Still to be added are the accent tile throughout.  But on the whole, we're very pleased with how it looks, and at this point, are incredibly anxious to get into out (and out of having to traipse down to the kids' bathroom instead)!

Fergie's First Puppiversary

This weekend we celebrated our first puppiversary--one year ago February 9, we visited the Humane Society dog farm and brought home our Fergie.  In many ways it's hard to believe it's been a year already, and in many ways we're still coming to know each other as more dimensions of her personality come out.

The weekend began with an appointment at the doggie spa, for a bath and a nail trim, after which she received this neat black bandanna with pink Xs and Os for Valentines' Day.  But the real treats were on Sunday when she got her presents: a new tug-toy (a bottle of "Houndz Ketchup") and a replacement for her beloved Wubba.  As you can see, above, the new Wubba is a fast favorite and has already been swung with wild abandon.

By having been with us for a year, she's now lived more time with us than with either her first family or her time in the shelters.  By June, she'll have been with us more than those other two experiences put together.  And as time goes by, we see more of her emerge: the new vocalizations and the devotion.  It's been a year already; we can't wait to see what the future holds.

Gerb, 2011 - 2014

There was sadness in the house today: this morning we found that our second and last gerbil, Gerb, had passed away.

Gerb's sister Isabella had preceded her by almost seven months, but while Bella's passing had been a rather sudden affair, we could tell the end was coming for Gerb.  We brought them home from the pet store in late March 2011, so we figure she lived to be three--which is pretty darned old for a gerbil.  Since becoming alone in July, Gerb had taken to preferring to curl up in a ball in a big pile of shavings, her own little nest.  Gerb had never been one for the exercise wheel, but found her own ways to stay busy: since her sister's passing, Gerb managed to gnaw a hole in the back of the plastic gerbil cage.  Fortunately the cage sat within a larger tub, so despite gaining her freedom from the main cage, she was still confined ("Dammit!" I'm sure she exclaimed on getting free, only to find a second tub waiting for her).  Still, you have to admire the stick-to-it-iveness.  She also would consent occasionally to being picked up--moreso than when Bella was alive--and only a few weeks ago had a chance to get out and explore with me again.

Gerb l-o-v-e-d her pumpkin seeds.  We could offer her one through the metal bars of her cage, she would come over, seize it with her teeth, and begin to tug on it; if you held on, she would actually brace herself against the bars of the cage and tug harder.  Silly gerbil, always after her favorite snacks: her favorite season was early November, when the jack-o-lantern seeds were quite fresh.  We've now a bag of seeds with no one to munch them.

You could always get Gerb going with a paper towel tube.  Placed in her cage, it would soon be set upon by those gnawing teeth; sometimes, watching TV, we could hear the sound of her starting to work on a new one and it always brought a smile.

We knew something was wrong Sunday when a fresh paper towel tube got only halfway gnawed, then abandoned.  That had never happened before.  Monday, she was visibly weak: scarcely moving from her nest, and trembling.  She didn't try to run away when we would reach in to pet her softly--another thing without precedent.  But most troubling of all was, she wouldn't touch her pumpkin seeds.  Sarah succeeded in feeding her one, but she only half-nibbled at it, and let it lie.

This morning we learned she hadn't made it through the night, and is now at peace.  Tonight I broke through the frozen ground out back next to her sister.  We found a small box; Sarah, then David, took turns holding her one last time, then we gently laid her in.  Sarah and I put some of her bedding around her, like her nest, and a little strip of her paper towel tube.  David added a couple of her pumpkin seeds, and we closed the box.  David handled the honors out back, tamping down the soil firmly to protect his gerbil.  He confessed he had shed a tear at school that day for thinking of her.  She was a good pet.  As we said with her sister: Rest in peace, little gerbil, and thanks for the memories.

Bathroom Remodeling Kickoff

Almost exactly one year to the day after the Home and Remodeling Show where we first met with Ted Daniels of Daniels Design and Remodeling, work began today on what will become our new master bath!

I've chronicled before the torturous path it took to get us here: the process of finding a contractor, then setting up financing, then having the closets redone first…and then the planning, the drafting, the selecting of fixtures and tile and marble…it's all been a long time coming.

But this morning, Bobby and the crew were here just after 7am, and we took one last look around what had been the master bath at Overlake Manor for the last 25 years:

The shower, about to be expanded another couple feet;

The tub, no longer to occupy so…much…floor space!

 The too-low vanity, the soffit, and the Laura Ashleyesque stenciling, all to be gone…

The plain 4x4 tile, the carpet in the bathroom (!) and the to-be-relocated closet door…all to be changed!

Over the coming weeks we'll chronicle more about how this project is coming along, but at long last, the first sledgehammers have been swung, and the work has begun!

 This…is a puzzled Pums.  What happened to the room?

Everything old is…gone!