The day before I left for my trip that took me to Austin and Seattle, MJ’s aunt Sherry died. It was unexpected, and in addition to the shock and grief, left us all in a troubled state about what to do logistically. Should I cancel my trip? Should we all drop everything and immediately fly […]
Archive for the ‘life’ Category
Spring break 2024 in Philly
April 13th, 2024 by pleia2
For spring break (and an extra week) we decided to head out to Philadelphia to visit with the family, and have me do a couple side trips for Poughkeepsie and CPOSC. Unfortunately, for the first week a stomach bug swept through our house. First, Adam was sick for 24 hours. Two days later I came […]
Hamantaschen and flight delays
March 26th, 2024 by pleia2
Following my trip down to Pasadena for the Southern California Linux Expo, I had three days of work and then a couple days off which I spent with the kids while we prepared for a visit to Philadelphia. Having worked through the weekend, taking a couple days off the following week was the most logical […]
Another refrigerator, the Exploratorium, and a movie
March 20th, 2024 by pleia2
Valentine’s Day this year was pretty focused on the kids. MJ was traveling for work and the kids have really been getting into the idea of holidays lately, so it’s been fun to decorate with them and talk about what each holiday means and how we celebrate it. In the case of Valentine’s Day, that […]
“Just ride around in buses and trains and cable cars”
February 17th, 2024 by pleia2
Aaron and I recently went to San Francisco to see an aunt who was in town visiting, and he was really disappointed about not being able to go on a cable car. Adam was at school at the time, but hew knew that we went and that planted a seed that made him beg to […]
Health, trees, San Francisco, and the zoo!
February 1st, 2024 by pleia2
A couple weeks ago I entered a period of depression. It’s something that I’ve written about before, I’ve had bouts of depression since I was a youth, and there doesn’t seem to be a pattern or rationale to when they strike. I do think these bouts are made worse by life circumstances and stress, mostly […]
Adam’s 5th birthday and a museum rainforest
January 24th, 2024 by pleia2
We concluded 2023 in Philadelphia and got back to California late on January 5th so we could celebrate Adam’s birthday over the weekend. On Saturday we decorated and settled back into our usual routine, with an added bonus of a trip to Adam’s favorite restaurant to enjoy his favorite food and then some birthday ice […]
Concluding the year in Philadelphia
January 18th, 2024 by pleia2
We spent the last couple weeks of 2023 and the first week of 2024 at the townhouse in Philadelphia. We had just been there for Thanksgiving, so it kind of felt like resuming the rest of a trip, since some of the food in the refrigerator was still good, and we didn’t bother having anyone […]
Aaron’s 3rd birthday and a lot of trains!
December 21st, 2023 by pleia2
On December 3rd we had a little birthday party to celebrate Aaron’s third birthday, a day after his birthday to make sure our au pair could join us, and so not to have it on the same day MJ returned from an international work trip. I decided to decorate on Friday night so he’d get […]
Hanukkah 2023 / 5784
December 19th, 2023 by pleia2
Hanukkah this year came together beautifully. A huge part of crafting a successful holiday was that I took a week off from work following Thanksgiving. In addition to all the boring house stuff I did, I was able to prepare for Hanukkah. The first thing of note is that I did more decorating than I […]