May 2022

(The fact that I am writing this nearly a year later is going to mean some lack of detail … ugh!)

Family Fun
—Mother’s Day: We — me and my friends, lol — kicked off the weekend with the second annual WTF Ride (Wine Tasting with Friends) on Saturday, and it went smashingly once again. Looks like we’ve got us a tradition! Sunday, we again hosted the extended fam for brunch at our place; it was cool and pretty windy, but with the addition of a hot chocolate station, we all weathered it well.
—R.’s birthday: This was the big four-nine — it was on a Tuesday, so no big raging party, but the kids made cards, I made the chocolate-raspberry cake, and he got a bunch of fun presents (and some Scotch).
—The blood moon eclipse: Local astronomers R. and Annika made sure we all got to see this ultra-cool event, in which the moon really did look fully red — we even got a couple of decent pics of it (which were nowhere near as cool as the real thing, but at least you could tell what was happening). Neat moon!!! It was right around this time that we had a visitor as we ate dinner outside near dusk: an owl, swooping around the pool area and then watching us and the rest of the neighborhood from a tree by the deep end. Owls are so awesome.
—The upstairs renovation begins: We finally got the oomph to do the upstairs reno we’d been planning since we bought the place: Our bedroom and closet, the hallway (minus the hallway floor, which will be in Phase II with the downstairs project), and both upstairs bathrooms. R. and I moved into the rest of the house; we’d be sleeping in the Very Nice Room on the foldout sofa (and packing that away during work hours since the room is still R.’s full time office), and our stuff — clothes, furniture, toiletries, etc. — found homes in every other room in the house. Dennis and his crew showed up pretty much every day to make things loud and dusty — but we knew we could put up with it for the few weeks it would take. [lol, hold that thought …]
—Memorial Day Weekend: The weather was unseasonably cool (high of 72!), so we didn’t even bother to heat the pool, but we did have a good holiday and at least we went bowling with the Patels (opening weekend of the Summer Games pass, doncha know). It’s just as well the weather was crap, since Annika had other plans …

Lukas Life
Ya boi always has something going on, and this month was no exception. He and R. took an online Star Wars creature sounds editing class (the kid is a natural at that kind of stuff, picked it up easily). He got his Covid booster at pretty much the first available time; a couple of weeks later, he got sick (not covid), then R. and Annika got sick (we all four went to get tested — still not covid!) — so there was one Saturday night where it was a no-movie night: the two of them went to bed, while Lukas and I stayed up to play a bunch of games on the Nintendo Switch plus also some real chess (he beats the tar out of me nearly every time).

Annika’s Scene
Ya girl had an eventful month, starting with being honored at the Principal’s Luncheon at school (for the high-achieving kids). There were several social events, including Alana’s birthday party, and the 8th grade dance (for which she got an all-black suit outfit pieced together at H&M, with pants and a tie, and looked super cute!). She went with friends, and said they all did more standing around outside than actual dancing, but pronounced it a good time overall. We were invited to the Art Department’s spring exhibition, where we got to see all the Art Masters’ work — hers was of course our favorite — and talk to her teacher, who had high praise for her. Finally — and to her, most importantly — she went to her first anime convention, a thing called FanimeCon in downtown San Jose over Memorial Day weekend. I took her and Lukas both on the Saturday, where — as we waited in a line that literally wrapped the city block twice — we ran into a friend of hers (Sydney, there with her dad) and met up with the twins Ella and Anna. The girls, all fully costumed as anime characters, formed a party and mostly did the convention by themselves, while Lukas and I prowled around until he couldn’t stand the pain of his wig anymore (he was a character from Demonslayer) while Annika and her friends stayed, to be taken home by the twins’ parents. Annika and the twins went together the next day (so she could wear her *other* costume and have a little independence — I sat that day out). She had an absolute blast, got asked for pics with other attendees who knew the characters she was cosplaying, and can’t wait to go to another con!