Signs of spring

 The end of February starts bringing signs of spring and hope.

Simon loves cats

 

House Project: Siding, windows, gutters

 We finally bit the bullet and forked over a small fortune (via home equity loan) to replace the siding, windows, and gutters on our house. We bought this place six years ago knowing we'd need to replace and fix many things. This was the most expensive, but it should be the last big project.

After (above)

Before (below)

The cool thing is we can now open all of our windows and they all have screens. Now all we need is some nice spring weather!

Self portrait

 

In her early work, simply titled "self portrait" the artist shows herself reflected in a computer screen, taken by her phone. The idea that her self is being transmuted through two screens symbolizes how screens have come to dominate our lives and affect our sense of self. Furthermore, the artist looks very bored, as if she is so tired of screens, but also tethered to them in order to perform her job requirements and live in a modern society where communication, banking, and planning are all done with computers. The fact that there is no window visible, except the computer Windows logo at the bottom of the screen, is meant to reflect the way that screens separate us from nature. The WUNC sticker under the monitor and the reflection of the pen and paper connote another time period, when writing or radio dominated -- two communication technologies that probably also unsettled society and changed daily life when they first emerged. The paintings on the wall in the background depicting trains and ships also connect to the idea of technological advancements that opened new frontiers and sped up communication. In it's whole, the photo reflects not only the tedium of modern life, but also the idea that technologies have always been altering human life, and that there is really nothing new under the sun.

How to build a fort

 Simon and Harrison spent a lot of time working on building this fort structure down by the pond. When they finished, Simon made a schematic to explain how to build one. 

Fruit

 I'm still making insane plates of fruit for the kids' snacks. Simon now likes to create his own beautiful plates. He took a long time making those cherry halves!

Zac's birthday and game night

Zac turned the ripe old age of 44 on a cold Saturday. After opening presents and completing Simon's treasure hunt, we spent the rest of the day getting ready for our game night party. Zac and Alice frosted the cupcakes (my hands were squeezed out after decorating his cake that morning). We cleaned the house and I chopped a bunch of fruit and veggies to go with the pizzas. It was a really fun party. The adults seemed glad to have a chance to play games with other adults (like euchre). Meanwhile, the kids played games, went outside, had an illegal nerf gun war in the basement, and generally caused chaos, but everybody had fun.

New Year's Eve

 Our neighbors, Mike and Kim, were having a Trivia Night party on New Years Eve, so we started out there for a while. Simon went over early with Calvin and was already defeating a kid in arm wrestling by the time we arrived. Kim and Mike have a ton of friends and it was just too chaotic with our kids there, so we eventually migrated over to Kelly and Pete's, where they were watching the OSU game and things were a bit quieter and calmer.  Kelly had fun showing me all the bizarre clothes her mother-in-law gave her, and the kids took turns trying on the ridiculous high heels. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes lost the game at the last minute, when they could've won with a field goal. Zac and Pete were pretty sad. Happy 2023!

Friends for the Holidays

 The week between Christmas and New Years provides a luxurious amount of free time where we were able to get together with our friends. I usually either forget to take pictures or don't want to seem like a weirdo taking pictures (because my friends are not the type to document everything for social media).

Anyway, one night we had our vegetarian lasagna dinner with our two vegetarian friends, Natasha and Andrea. The kids get their own table and do a good job playing together for the most part.

Izzy spent the night.

Another day we got together with Jess and Anna. We picked up Jess at the airport from Paraguay, then went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. We had them over for supper the next day and did a sleepover.

And let's not forget Alice's best friends, melons. (This is what happens when I take Alice to the grocery store with me.)

Ice at Yates Mill Pond

 Christmas weekend was very cold in NC (no snow though). We mostly stayed inside for a couple of days, but I was feeling too cooped up, so I texted Natasha and she was thankfully up for doing a hike around Yates Mill Pond on the day after Christmas. It was a lot of fun with the ice and icicles!

Our pond at home also froze. The kids collected ice from it to put in our freezer -- (yuck!). 

Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

 

(And evidence, from the next day, that I do occasionally play with my children. I'm not sure why I always look so tired and grumpy though?)