Inga had a soccer game today (they won 4-0 with Inga scoring one goal!). Eric went to it, and then they stayed for a parent's meeting / snack / gathering. Meanwhile the rest of us had a chill afternoon at home. We started a new series called "Travelers," which has been fun so far.

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Winter solstice party

After a day of Christmas shopping and other errands, we finished together with a winter solstice party with a few other families. It was a lovely low-key gathering with tons of delicious food, candles on every surface, and good conversation.

We were able to hold the party in Le Chateau since our renters left this morning. Ivy was primarily responsible for decorating, with help from her siblings.

We were supposed to go to another party after ours finished, but it ended up being too late. That was 100% fine with me. I had no desire to interact with more people.

Inga's soccer team met this afternoon to go ice skating and then to the "foire," a huge indoor carnival at the Palais des Expositions.

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It's super late and I just finished a huge video editing project and my brain is on hyper-focused mode. Time to wind down...

We're officially on holiday now!

Zari and I biked over to her university this afternoon to get her student ID card and meet with the administrative office. Because her program is multidisciplinary, she will be taking classes on 4 different campuses! She can sign up for classes in early January but they don't start until the end of the month. She will have so much time free. I hope she can fiill it with a combination of exercise, college applications, scholarship applications, and fun.

I took Inga clothes shopping to a few of my favorite thrift/vintage shops. She found a pair of pants that she's thrilled about; they can be dressed up or down.

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9 papers

Dio learned 2 days ago that he has to write 11 1-page papers for his PE class back in the States (yes, even through we moved out of the country and transferred schools, they are still making him do all of his classwork for 2 weeks! It's crazy!). They are due tomorrow after school. He powered through 9 of them today and only has 2 more to go. They each have to be about a topic related to sports, exercise, or nutrition.

I gave him lots of ideas based on things I know, so there's BFR training, intermittent fasting, HIIT training vs cardio mixed in with other topics :)

We're celebrating the winter solstice this Saturday. If you live in Nice and we are friends and I forgot to invite you, please come! Send me a WhatsApp message for details.

I made larb for dinner and banana bread with chocolate chunks. When I pulled it out of the oven, I was perplexed. It had a weird, soggy, spongy texture.

Then I realized I had forgotten the butter. And the flour! I am not sure how on earth I missed those two ingredients!

To be fair, I was cooking dinner and helping Dio with his assignments and there was a lot going on. 🤣

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Lebkuchen!

It's offically Christmas now that we've made (and eaten!) Lebkuchen. I mixed up the dough yesterday and we invited our renters (a Canadian family with 3 children) to come up and help us make them. This family stayed in our apartment while we were in the States and now they're staying in Le Chateau for a little while before they go on ski holidays and then finish off the school year in Nice.

It was super fun to finally meet them. Our kids hit it off immediately and they even had a last-minute grocery store run to buy more powdered sugar for the lemon icing. It was literally a run--with only a few minutes before closing, they ran to 4 different grocery stores before they found powdered sugar.

I did sprint intervals this morning. I think my days of normal running are limited, as one of my knees starts hurting after about 2 miles. It's not terrible pain or anything, but it definitely feels "off" once it starts hurting. I'm thinking that's probably not a good sign. But doing sprints is fine. And sprint intervals are probably more effective than jogging anyway. Win win.

Ivy and Inga got the braces installed on their molars today, so now they are all set until their appointment a month from now.

Today was soccer practice for Ivy, Inga, and Eric at Cavigal.

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Thrift store score!

This afternoon Eric and I ran a few errands and then browsed several stores in Old Nice, which shockingly I have rarely done! We found presents (can't say what they are until after Christmas!) and got ideas for other ones.

We also stopped by a thrift store and found a coat for Inga as well as one we thought would suit Zari, a lovely black wool belted trench coat with some fun design elements. I came home and convinced Zari to come with me and just try it on. It was AMAZING! And we also found a spring-weight trench coat in khaki twill with black piping, also totally amazing on her. For a grand total of 15 Euros! She's been wanting to dress a bit more sophisticated than her usual soccer jerseys and jeans. This will go a long way, I think.

I've gotten some other Christmas shopping done and am quite excited so far.

Zari came with me first thing this morning for a quick grocery run to Lidl for lebkuchen supplies. We came home with a full shopping cart and an extra bag! Lots of yummy treats as Christmas is approaching. I mixed up a huge batch of lebkuchen dough and maybe we'll roll it out tomorrow after soccer.

We've given away 5 bags of clothes and other items since we arrived, and we are selling 4 pairs of skis on the online classifieds. I love cleaning things out! With a small apartment, we have to keep paring things down because "stuff" accumulates quickly despite our best efforts.

The girls get the last parts of their braces on tomorrow before soccer. Dio just came home from soccer practice, Eric is at his men's team practice, and Zari is at her "sénior" Cavigal practice, trying out (and trying to decide if she wants to do it this year).

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First day of school!

Everything went well today. We helped get kids out the door and dropped off. Inga and Ivy didn't need me at all, so I just headed out and went running. Eric brought Dio to high school and made sure he was handed over to the person in charge of showing him around.

I took advantage of the sunny day and got vitamin D therapy on the beach with a book. And also a short nap! Eric and Zari both joined me.

Ivy and Inga and I ran errands after school and also looked for Christmas presents. We didn't come home with any gifts but were loaded up with school supplies.

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Dio's team lost 2-3 but I think they played well and played hard. Dio played the 2nd half in center-mid. Although it was sunny, it was cool enough that I got chilled and couldn't warm up for several hours even after I got indoors and kept my coat on. I finally had to take a long, hot shower.

We went to the Marché de Noël this evening. The 3 older kids didn't stay for too long as it was a lot of slow walking around while Ivy and friends played.

I've been a bit more tired today than other days. If I sit down, I start nodding off. At least it's finally bedtime!

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Soccer and more soccer!

Ivy had fun helping Eric with an under-9 girl's tournament. I had a hard time falling sleep last night so I was super tired this morning. As a result, the other kids had a late start with no one to wake them up until I was awake.

I did another big grocery run to the Asian food store, butcher, and produce market. I can now make things like larb, Thai coconut chicken soup, and Thai curries (which I made tonight with sweet potatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, onions, and a bit of chicken). It's so much more fun to cook here because I can actually get the ingredients I need.

Ivy and Inga have sore teeth and have been eating a lot of soft foods.

Eric and I went to Inga's game this afternoon. Their team is ranked #1 and they were playing the #2 team. They won 4-0! Inga didn't score but had several good assists and a few shots on goal. She played center-mid and attacker.

Tomorrow will be busy but in a fun way. I'll be going to Dio's game in the morning while the others go to church. Then there's some sort of music program and potluck picnic after. Then in the late afternoon we're meeting several friends to go to the Christmas market.

We just watched the new Beetle Juice movie tonight. Zari found a random scholarship essay contest themed around Beetle Juice so she's going to write it and see if she can win the scholarship.

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Braces x2!

Well, it was a big day today--Inga and Ivy got braces. We thought they were just going in for pictures and then they'd get them next Wednesdays. But no, they had time today! They have everything but the braces on their back molars on.

I did lots of walking around town running errands this afternoon. I can't say why because it's Christmas present related and I do have children who may read this!

Inga had practice earlier this evening and then Eric and Dio left right after she came home for his practice.

I felt fine today but while we were watching Beetle Juice this evening, I had about 20 minutes where I completely conked out.

We have a big soccer day tomorrow. Eric is helping out with a tournament for the under-9 girl's team, and Ivy is coming along as his assistant. Then in the afternoon Inga has a game. Dio has a game on Sunday. Still, everything but one event is here in town so it's not too bad.

We went to Zari's "remise du bac" this evening, where they picked up their diplomas. We were expecting a big event with hour-long speeches. But we all gathered in a big room with no chairs. There was a 5-minute speech and then everyone lined up to pick up their dimplomas from a series of tables. They milled around for a while, talking and eating some snacks. And that was it!

Zari was one of 9 students in her graduating class who got a "mention très bien avec félicitations du jury," which means a score of 18 or above and in the top 1.8% of students nationally. Not bad for missing half of every school year and doing it in a second language! Yes, I am totally bragging :)

 

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We got all the kids re-enrolled in school, with Dio, Inga, and Ivy starting next Monday. Zari's university semester doesn't start until January. She's working on various applications and scholarship essays.

I had a nice mid-afternoon walk with Zari and Eric. It was sunny and very windy. A brave person was out windsurfing, or whatever it's called when they're hooked up to a parachute and a surfboard. Parasurfing? Kite surfing?

I brought Dio to his soccer practice while Ivy and Eric went to theirs. He had a good time and his coach had very positive things to say. Except when I first went up to talk to the coach after practice, he approached me with a grave expression and said, "Your son was very misbehaved at practice today." Which is completely unlike Dio so I suspected something. Then he grinned and said, "Just kidding! He was great!"

We have orthodontist appointments tomorrow morning for Ivy and Inga.

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Freeze Family annual migration

We have arrived in Nice! Despite our first flight getting cancelled and us not being notified until a few hours before we were supposed to leave, it all worked out. We left our house at 1 pm and arrived in Nice at noon the next day.

As soon as we set foot in our apartment, French life started up. We ran into several friends and neighbors just heading out the door. Right after lunch, Ivy went to the park and played with a group of friends all afternoon. Eric and I walked to Lidl (our favorite grocery store) to stock up. I walked to pick up the "2Good2Go" surprise bags at a local bakery. (Check out the amazing breads, sandwiches, pastries, and brioches that we got for just 8 Euros!)

I haven't slept since yesterday and I'm really feeling it now.

We spent much of the evening hauling out bags from our attic storage, trying on clothes, making a "donate" pile, and unpacking suitcases. Still lots to do tomorrow but at least it's a start.

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Christmas parade, farewell party

Today was filled with various activites and amazingly, it hasn't felt stressful at all. There was a children's christmas program at church this morning. We came home for lunch and then Eric and Dio had to leave right away for a soccer game (which his team won by a large margin with Dio scoring a goal!).

The rest of us did some cleaning and laundry and then went to help out at the Christmas parade. I drove one of the parade vehicles (a van for a local radio station) and the kids helped by filling candy bags and passing out candy. Our friends who work at the radio station are hosting an exchange student from Italy. I told her, "This is so stereotypically American!"

We had a bit of time after the parade to do final cleaning and packing. Our new renters came over at 5 pm to go over the house, things like thermostats, gas/water shutoffs, how various appliances work, where the linens are stored.

We had dinner once they left, with Eric and Dio arriving home just on time. And then...a farewell party for Ivy and Inga's traveling soccer team! Some of them are still running around outside in the dark. A great way to send off the Freeze family 🙂

We leave town in the early afternoon so tomorrow will be relaxed. I have a few errands to run in the morning (thrift store drop-off, recycling, and a few purchases). But we're very close to ready.

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Our grand departure is just a few days away. I've been fixing all sorts of little things around the house that I've ignored, figuring "I'll get to that later." Well, later is now.

Dio has come down with hand, foot, and mouth disease! Besides being in the expected places, it's all over his face and arms. It looks like he has a bad case of acne. Poor kid...and he has soccer games today and tomorrow and has to run with sore feet.

Zari has officially finished high school (again). It's quite anti-climactic as she left with zero fanfare.

Tomorrow will be our big packing and cleaning day. Sunday is already filled with several activities so we can't rely on having much time then. And then Monday...au revoir!

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So much Zoom!

My expected 5 hours of Zoom meetings only turned out to be 4. But that is still a lot! Tomorrow should have much fewer meetings.

Dio stayed home from school today. I think he'll be back tomorrow. This is a 24-36 hour illness that is short but super intense.

I made a dish that the kids loved. No recipe but I caramelized an onion in butter, then added a pound of chopped mushrooms until they caramelized as well. Deglazed with a bit of water, then mixed in some flour. Added about a cup of broth and brought to a boil to thicken. Meanwhile I sauteed strips of pork chops in butter. Added about a cup of cream to the sauce and then mixed in the pork. Served over brown rice. Super simple but packed with flavor and I didn't even need to add any herbs or seasonings except salt.

And then when we were eating dinner, Zari noted that we didn't have any vegetables! Whoops! I told her the mushrooms were close enough. We eat vegetables or salad so regularly that it's super weird when we don't have them.

That's all in the exciting life of Rixa the Zoomer. Bonne nuit.

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3rd one down

Zari felt well enough to go to school this morning. Since it was a chilly 12 F (-11 C), I drove her and Dio to school.

But poor Dio...apparently he started feeling terrible during school. He went to the nurse but since he wasn't registering a fever, she sent him back to class. When I picked him up from school, he was shivering and shaking and almost crying. He promptly went to bed and has stayed in a sleep coma most of the day.

Ivy and Inga are outside playing in the snow. It's almost 10 pm. I told them, "Sure, you can go for 5 minutes." Several reminders and probably 20 minutes later, they are still outside. It's hard to say no when kids ask to play outside!

I have about 5 hours of Zoom meetings tomorrow. Need to gear up for the meeting marathon!

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Cold and sick

We'll only have one day in the next week where the temperatures will get above freezing! I'm ready to leave winter behind.

Zari woke up extremely sick with the same thing Ivy had on Thanksgiving. She was in bed all day, sleeping for much of the time.

I worked on her storm window frame this weekend. It randomly started rotting even though it's not really exposed to any consistent moisture. It even had mushrooms growing on parts! On Friday I soaked the rotten areas in a mildew remover (I figured it couldn't hurt). On Saturday I removed the completely rotton parts, drilled holes to help the wood hardener soak in, and then applied epoxy hardener to all of the soft areas. Today I mixed up the epoxy wood putty and rebuilt the frame. It's clamped and weighed down. Tomorrow I'll sand and get it ready for painting.

We finished Season 1 of Only Murders in the Building. It's been really fun although it has the occasional jokes that are a bit inappropriate for children. Eric clucks disapprovingly every time someone says an F-bomb, which actually draws more attention to it! We all know he doesn't like that word.

We left Zari resting in bed after dinner and went to the indoor track. The track itself was taken over by the baseball team, but the basketball court was empty. I walked the halls of the athletic center while the others played Horse and juggled soccer balls.

It's Christmas carol season. Ivy loves singing with Eric. I caught them at the tail end of a song, unfortunately.

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Saturday cleaning, ear piercing

I got into my bed Saturday night, intending to warm up and then get back out to write in my journal. Well, I never made it out! Too warm and comfortable.

Today was a big day: Inga got her ears pierced! She's the first sibling to do so. We went to our local tattoo/piercing shop, which looks super sketchy but comes well-recommended. The piercing guy has been doing it for 19 years and, as you may guess, has tons of piercings and the most enormous ear gauges I have ever seen. He was super nice and the process was quick and not too painful. Ivy came along to watch.

The aftercare has changed a lot since I had my ears pierced when I was 9! No more spinning the earrings 2x/day, no more cleaning with antiseptic solution. Just salt water & soap cleaning 2x/day.

We had a Freeze Family Cleaning in the morning and finished deep cleaning the kitchen, except for the fridge. We'll do that a few days before we leave.

In the evening we toured the big historic estate right off our back yard, Lane Place. It was built by the Lanes (hence the name!) who were close friends with Abraham Lincoln. 

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Cold cat & DIY winter cat shelter

Temperatures have plummeted, with a high of 24 F (-4 C) and tonight's low at 17 F (-8 C). Our kids have been very concerned about our friendly wild cat. So this afternoon, we decided to build her a winter shelter. Inga came with me to the store--at which point I realized, "Huh! I guess it's Black Friday!" We bought an insulated cooler and straw. That's all you need!

It's very easy:
1) cut a hole in the cooler with a large coffee can (about 6" across). I heated the can over a flame and then melted my way through. I had to reheat the can several times. It's the easiest and cleanest way to make a perfect circular cut.
2) Duct tape around the opening to cover up any sharp edges
3) Fill with straw (NOT hay!) and nothing else. No blankets or towels.

I ran several other important errands today, reminding myself why I really do not like winter. The wind was blowing and it was snowing and I was definitely not warm enough in my winter coat.

Dio, Inga, and Eric went clothes shopping to look for some essentials, like pants and athletic shoes. Zari watched Doctor Who with her friend.

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Mulch party

We "volunteered" the kids to help us lay all of the mulch. With very minimal grumbling, they all helped and we finished it all in under 2 hours. We also swept the front porched, picked up branches, pulled some final weeds, and picked up all of the stray bricks and organized them into a brick pile.

I'm glad we finished in the morning because rain arrived after lunch and hasn't stopped yet.

We started a new series: "Only Murders in the Building," which is really fun.

We headed to the university indoor track for a Freeze Family Soccer Game. I got coaxed into joining (a bit reluctantly--I'm the odd one out with zero soccer skills).

Ivy came down with a fever this evening. We gave her hot honey lemon tea, a hot bath, and then tucked her into bed. She's determined to be better tomorrow since we're driving to my sister's for Thanksgiving (about 3 hours away).

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I went on my morning walk with our walking group and it was cold! I had a hat, scarf, and gloves but should have worn thicker gloves. It was cold enough that I was too wimpy to redo my scarf, even though that would have made me warmer in the end.

I worked on Portuguese and Spanish translations of our breech book (no, I am not translating, but I am taking the chapter translations and putting them back into the book publishing software and doing all of the formatting). I did a lot of German chapters a few days ago.

We did our annual fall mulching today. We have about 1/3 of it spread and the rest to do tomorrow with the Freeze Family Team. Because there is no school!!

On Ivy's suggestion, we watched "And Then There Were None," a 3-part mini series. I love the somber cello theme, always sinking back to a low C.

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Clean house

We cleaned the house to get it ready to show to a prospective renter. We think we'e found someone, which is a great relief as we're leaving in 2 weeks. I love having a clean house. Ahhhh.

One more day of school and then we are on holiday for 5 days! I foresee a lot of cleaning and packing in our future.

Eric sent me some videos and photos from the weekend tournament. Enjoy seeing Inga score!

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What the Arcane?!

We finished the final episode of Arcane Season 2. The 2nd season was great and also a bit mind-blowing and also a bit hard to follow. We're left with so many unanswered questions. I feel like the last episode was a bit abrupt, given the multiple story lines they were trying to wrap together.

Ivy and I finally finished her third goddess artwork--an ocean goddess. Now we have fire, earth, and water.

Inga had 4 games over 3 days this weekend.
Friday: tied 2-2 (Inga scored one and assisted the other)
Saturday 1: lost 3-2
Saturday 2: tied 1-1
Sunday: lost 5-2, Inga scored both goals

We did a kitchen deep clean yesterday, plus window washing. With our departure date only 2 weeks away, we have lots to do!

I brought the other kids to play indoor soccer at the university. I walked around the track and had a brief nap on top of the high jump mats.

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We had snow all day, enough at times that it was more blizzard than gentle snowfall. We don't have good winter gear any more, which was a bummer when Ivy wanted to play in the snow. We're usually gone before any snow appears.

Eric's brother happened to be near Inga's scocer practice; he lives on the other side of the country but was in our state for work. So they got together during her practice and then went out for dinner afterwards.

I've been cold much of the day, staying close to the radiators, snuggling up to hot packs, and wearing sweaters. I have become such a wimp compared to my Minnesotan childhood!

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I finally got the videos from Saturday's indoor games edited!





It snowed this morning. SNOW! It didn't stick at all but still...we're supposed to get more tomorrow.

Our electricity in our garage is all hooked up and all utilties are buried. The back yard is a muddy mess but the excavation company will come back in the early sprint to re-grade and then plant grass seed. With the new electric service and a 50-amp charger, we can now charge our car fully in just a few hours, rather than a few days. Woohoo!

Dio and I went on a late night grocery run as we were out of most things. I "volunteered" him to come with me. But it was fun because we stopped by a shoe store and found him a pair of shoes (not buying them yet). I then looked online and found the same shoes at an outlet store with free shipping for about 40% less.

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"I'm so bored"

While Inga and Ivy were gone at soccer practice this evening, Zari and Dio and I were sitting around without much to do. I was done sitting in front of my computer. I didn't have an interesting book to read. I had done some sewing earlier on but was sewed out. We were all very bored. We looked for a movie to watch but never settled on anything.

The other thing of note today was big excavations taking place in our back yard. We're bringing water/sewer/electric/internet out to our carriage house (which eventually will have a 1 bedroom apartment) and burying the utility lines at the same time. "We" = a company as this is beyond my scope! We'll also be able to charge our car in the garage overnight, rather than it taking several days.

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I still haven't gotten to editing the soccer videos from yesterday. But that's ok--we did other fun things today. I made our usual pancake breakfast this morning and sent the family off to church. I stayed home and did some sewing and baked loads of sourdough bread.

We watched one more episode of Arcane--wow!--and now are waiting until the next 3 are released next weekend.

I made 15-bean soup for dinner. Then we went to the university indoor track and played soccer and basketball.

I've been helping Zari reserach scholarships to apply for. There are so many random ones where you write an essay on some topic they assign. While they might seem small, they would go a long way if she chose to study in Canada, where tuition is 1/10th or 1/20th of what it is in many American schools. Suddenly $500 here or $1000 there becomes a HUGE step towards covering tuition!

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Eric, Ivy, and Inga had an early start for a Saturday, leaving at 7:45 am for a soccer practice an hour+ away. Mid-afternoon, they had 2 back-to-back indoor games, which I went to as well. I appointed myself the videographer and captured all 8 goals scored between the two games: 4-1 and 4-3. Inga scored 5, Ivy 1, and another teammate 2.

I put Zari and Dio to work with some deep cleaning indoors and the final raking outdoors. Ivy and Inga will have their turn tomorrow.

Inga is at a sleepover with a friend and soccer teammate.

I have loads of videos to edit so for now, here is Ivy's goal. She hit the top crossbeam and it bounced in. Beautiful.

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Art fair

We had a grand total of 8 minutes to visit the local art fair between kids getting home from school and leaving for soccer practice. Ivy was sad not to have more time, but at least we got to admire all the kids' artwork. (Ivy and Inga don't have art class this semester).

Zari had a drawing of Ivy and a photograph of me.

Dio had a silly ceramic mug.

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Rain today. The leaves have mostly all fallen and now it's depressingly gray and brown everywhere.

I shuttled kids around a lot today, due to the rain and Zari having a Rotary Club lunch a few miles away from school, plus an evening athletic awards banquet.

Ivy and Inga had indoor soccer practice, which feels super luxurious as it's here in town! No driving an hour+ each way!

I've got a day full of meetings tomorrow. Yay me. I don't mind them per se, but sometimes I just don't want to be on yet another zoom meeting!

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More milestones!

As a new parent I always thought of milestones as something for little children (first teeth, crawling, walking, getting rid of diapers, riding bike, swimming...). It's fun to realize that "big" kids still have milestones, too!

Zari passed her driver's license test this morning with only one error (stopping at a green light while turning left). Otherwise her examiner praised her for having "excellent technical skills." Eric and I have been swapping stories about how both of us failed our tests the first time so it was amazing that she passed on the first go!

Our local BMV didn't have any spots open for several weeks, so we went to another BMV about 35 minutes away in an even smaller town. It turned out to be a blessing since there was very little traffic and it made the driving test less stressful for Zari. I think we may use this BMV branch again for future children :)

She also received an acceptance letter & partial first-year scholarship to the University of Ottawa! This was for a program starting in January so she's not entirely sure she'll start then. More likely she'll defer until the fall. But it's great to start having options.

I love Tuesday mornings because it's the end of my 36-hour fast and it's the only day I eat breakfast. I had an absolutely delicious leftover tamale for breakfast and another one for lunch (just as delicious).

What else? Dio had practice about an hour away tonight, as usual. We all watched one episode of Arcane Season 2. It's amazing so far!

While going through my computer files, I found this photo of me and Eric when I was about 21 and him about 25. I made that costume as a final class project (it was that or write a paper--I'd much rather do a creative project!). Who'd imagine that 25 years later I'd still be using that costume?

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So cold...

I get super cold on my long fast days. It kicks in about 24 hours in and I become a Frozen Freeze! I put on the layers, snuggle up with hot packs, take hot baths...still cold.

I took Zari out driving for more practice with parallel parking and parking lot parking. Driving test tomorrow morning!

My day was fairly routine: exercise at the university (35 min elliptical + weight lifting) and then breech work.

Eric brought home dinner from a university function--tamales! I can't wait to eat one tomorrow once my 36-hour fast is done. Honestly anything would be delicious at this point.

We had everyone piled on our bed or sitting on our bedroom loveseat at some point this evening. The normal gathering spot is our library, but sometimes we shake things up a bit. I love it when everyone piles into the same room. Reminds me of living in France.

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Victory!

Dio and I woke up at 6 am for games 2 & 3 of his soccer tournament. The first one, with warmup at 7:15 am and game at 8, was overcast and rainy. I stayed in the car until the last possible moment. They won 4-1.

We then had 3 hours between games. Not enough to go home. And with the rainy weather, there wasn't much to do. We picked up some food and then drove to the next field, as the games took place in different areas. We sat in the car with the heater on, listening to the radio, reading, or just sitting and thinking.

The sun came out for the noon game, which was great. Dio's team won 1-0, leaving them the tournament champions!

Meanwhile Eric drove Inga to Cincinnati, Ohio for a game, leaving at noon and getting home close to 9 pm. So much driving for just one game, it's crazy! Although Eric says the team didn't play well, they still won 2-0.

Dio and I got home a bit after 2 pm. I was super hungry by then. I fast in some form every day, so it's not unusual at all for me to eat at 2 pm or later, or not at all. But I was famished today!

We watched one episode of Arcane Season 2. Then I went out to start a fire, but it was so windy that, once it got going, I realized it would be no fun. With gusting winds constantly changing directions, it was impossible to get close enough to enjoy the warmth.

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Eric and Inga had a marathon soccer Saturday, while Ivy and Dio had half-marathons. He left with the two girls this morning, first for 2 indoor games (they won 21-1 and 8-3!). Ivy got a ride home with a team mate, while Eric drove Inga to her traveling team game. They won 2-1 in the last minute. They got home around 7 pm.

Dio got a ride in the late morning to his soccer game about an hour away. I couldn't bring him because I had a breech live session over the lunch hour.

Zari didn't have anything going on.

Once Ivy was home, we made cookies. After Dio joined us, we finished catching up on Season 1 of Arcane. Zari is beyond excited about Season 2 coming out tomorrow.

I took Zari and Ivy grocery shopping. It went much quicker with two helpers.

Dio and I have to get up at 6 am tomorrow for...guess what? More soccer!

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Middle school musical

While Eric was at Dio's soccer game, I brought Inga and Ivy to see the middle school musical, which was at the high school so yes, we went to a high school musical!

I had several meetings today, plus my normal exercise in the morning.

I brought Zari out driving after school. We practiced parallel parking and I think she has the technique down. It helps to have a backup camera and distance sensors!

Because Eric didn't have time to make dinner, I had to do a "what's in the fridge?" meal. We came up with cabbage sauteed with bacon, roasted sweet potatoes, and stuffing mixed with some stale baguette slices. Not bad actually!

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Back in the classroom

I got to visit one of Eric's university classes (writing for video games). They're working on a narrative video games where one of the main characters is a home birth midwife. So I was the guest speaker to teach them about birth and midwifery and put a midwife's life and work into context, so they could build a realistic narrative around it. Fun stuff!

I had my normal walking group and then a day of breech work.

Eric came home from school a bit before the kids got home. I was working and he was lying on the bed taking a rest. He said, "Come nap with me!" so I took my book and read next to him for a bit while he slept. Then the sleepiness became contagious and I had a short nap too.

Dio's friend was supposed to pick him up for evening soccer practice (an hour away) but he never showed up. Finally Dio messaged him and he had forgotten to comey! So I had to drive Dio last-minute, cancelling a meeting that I had scheduled. He arrived 30 minutes late but at least we got him there. He really likes his team. I just wish it weren't so far away. At the same time, Eric was driving Inga to her practice.

Zari has her driver's test next Tuesday! We are crossing our fingers that she passes but also reassuring her that it's normal to fail the first time around so not to stress too much about it.

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Lots of tears today as my children heard the election results. I don't care about party affiliation but I do care about basic humanity and decency in my leaders. Oh...and not dying of a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy! This is happening in states with strict anti-abortion laws.

I did my usual morning exercise and then breech work most of the day. I had a midday reprieve bringing Zari to and from a Rotary Club lunch at our local Country Club.

No soccer practices today! Woohoo! Eric brought Inga and Zari to pickup soccer at the university this evening.

Zari only needs 1.25 more driving hours to meet the 50 required hours! I went to schedule her test today, and the first available slot was almost 3 weeks away. I'm worried that if she doesn't pass the first time, we won't have time to schedule it again before we leave.

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Murder photos (do you get it?)

For your enjoyment, a few pictures Zari took the past few days (the Lego thing is for a class assignment).

I pushed through a few extra hours with my fast and went on my morning walk first. Then I got to eat! Woohoo! Everything is delicious after 38+ hours of fasting.

I recently did a podcast interview with Dr. Melanie Jackson of The Great Birth Rebellion. If any of you are interested in birth stuff, here's the link: https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2148894079

What else? Ivy and Inga had their first indoor soccer practice. I was supposed to drive Dio to his practice this evening, but the time and location got changed and it would have interefered with an evening meeting. Fortunately, he found someone to ride with. 

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It rained most of the day, so Zari and Dio got rides to school. Dio is always so happy to not have to bike.

My day was fairly unremarkable: exercise, then breech work. It's my fasting day so I sat in another room during dinner--it's too hard to watch other people eat! Ivy and Inga had practice so they were gone all evening. Dio's teammate was supposed to pick him up, but he never showed up. And Zari had a special dinner honoring the top student athletes.

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Travel tournament

Eric and Inga got back tonight from a weekend tournament in Lexington, KY. They left yesterday at lunchtime. The kids helped me with some indoor and outdoor chores (lots of leaf raking in particular) while I laid brick edging for our raspberry bed.

We re-watched several episodes of Arcane to get ready for the new season coming out, 3 yesterday and 3 today.

After dinner yesterday, we had a gorgeous bonfire and Smores. Ivy was feeling sick all day, so she stayed inside and had a long bath instead of coming out for the fire.

Today was also quite relaxed. I took Zari driving to practice the stick shift. We stayed in the high school parking lot so she could drive without the stress of other cars. She did well for her first time driving stick and only killed the car twice in 30 minutes. Although it stresses her out, it's good to at least know the basics of driving a manual transmission. I doubt I'll be able to convince her to do much more of it...but it's a start!

Zari has been enjoyed the telephoto lens she got for her birthday present. It fits on my BWB Nikon as well as her camera (my old Nikon) that is back in France. She's been taking a photography class this semester, so it's a nice fit with her interests.

I woke up at 3 am this morning from a nightmare about Ivy doing handstands and breaking her neck, paralyzing herself. Then I couldn't get back to sleep for hours. So much for getting extra sleep when Daylight Saving Time ends!

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Zari's first vote

Even though Zari is now a legal adult, we still get to experience firsts with her: her first time voting! We walked to the county courthouse together and were done within 10 minutes. What's depressing about our county is that most local, regional, and state positions don't even have any Democratic candidates. Yes, it's THAT Republican here that people don't even try to run.

Ivy and Inga had an award celebration for their middle school soccer team, and then Eric brought Zari and Dio to play indoor soccer at the university. I took a bath and read a book and now Ivy is taking a bath.

More soccer this weekend, including an overnight trip to Lexington, KY!

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Zari is an adult! 18 years old!

Wow, I can't believe it's already happened. 18 years since she was born and I first became a mother. It doesn't feel that long ago.

She dressed up for school as a fang-less vampire (the fangs wouldn't stick!). She was worried that she would be the only one at university dressed up, but we assured her that a lot of the students and faculty dress up.

I picked her, Dio, and her boyfriend up after school so we could all go trick-or-treat together. Inga went to a friend's house before I could take a picture! So for the first time ever, we are short one photo.

Dio was Kaz again from Shadow and Bone, but he couldn't find his fedora hat. He still cut a striking figure.

Ivy graduated into Inej's character (worn by Inga last year).

Inga was a Canadian, wearing every bit of Canadian gear we could find: socks, gloves, t-shirt, hoodie, scarf, and flag.

Eric was a "lazy wizard" because he threw on a cloak (one I made years back for myself) and grabbed a staff. Instant wizard!

I pulled out a costume I made back in my university days for a class project, a reproduction of a dress from the 1770s. I haven't worn it for ages.

We ran into one of Inga's friends, who I had made a leather bustier for last time she was over. I love how she accessorized it!

Once we got back, we ate a delicious dinner that Eric cooked and then had birthday cake (made by me and decorated by the kids as a team).

We read Zari's birth story as we were gathered around the table. Her boyfriend got the entire unedited version, complete with placentas and breastfeeding and guttural pushing noises.

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We're enjoying a few days of unseasonably warm temperatures. But it looks like tomorrow will be stormy and rainy. I hope it eases up enough for Trick or Treating in the evening.

Ivy and Inga both went to the same practice tonight (the one that's over an hour away). Zari and Dio didn't have anything scheduled so the 3 of us ate dinner (salad made with orzo, cucumber, bell pepper, cherry tomato, red onions, & feta cheese, plus this za'atar-spiced beet dip on top of pita bread, https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zaatar-spiced-beet-dip-goat-cheese-and-hazelnuts).

The girls didn't get home until 10:15 pm, as usual, so that means a late night and tired children tomorrow morning.

I mostly did breech work after my morning exercise. I took a short mid-day break to sit in the sun on the front porch steps and give our stray cat belly rubs. She's quite tame now compared to when we first met her.

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Too much!

Here's my day:

• 7:15 am: wake up, get the kids up with backscratches (a morning ritual of ours), shower, get dressed
• 8:15 am: kids go to school, I drive Dio and Zari since he has some ceramic artwork that needs to be driven home
• 8:30-9:30 am: walking group
• 9:30-10:30 am: breech work
• 10:30-11:30 am: revise a publication with my co-author and resubmit
• 11:30 am-12:45 pm: more breech work, lunch, short spell sitting in the sun on our front porch steps and petting our stray cat
• 12:45-1 pm: pick up Zari and bring her to her university class (since she didn't have her bike today)
• 1-3:45 pm: breech work
• 3:45-4 pm: pick up Dio
• 4:20-7:50 pm: drive Dio to and from his soccer practice, picking up 3 teammates along the way
• 8:00-9:20 pm: hop online for a podcast interview with Melanie Jackson of Mel the Midwife
• 9:30-10:10 pm: Zoom meeting with my video analysis team (USA, Canada, & Australia)

Meanwhile this evening Ivy and Inga caught a ride to Ivy's soccer game about an hour away (they lost 2-0). Eric had a department social and then drove to see Ivy's game, getting home around 10 pm.

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Back to the grind

7 am wakeups...everyone out of the house early...back to the normal school schedule. I went to the gym as is usual for MWF. I also attended a lunchtime reading at the university by Michael Martone. Very fun and a nice break from computer work.

After school the usual soccer craziness picked back up, with me driving Dio one direction and Eric driving Inga another. More driving for everyone tomorrow, and yesterday, and the next day, and the next day...it's too much.

I have loads of meetings tomorrow, from the morning until 10:30 pm (broken up only by, guess what??? driving Dio to soccer! Maybe I'll find time to eat, maybe not. Scratch that--I will definitely find time to eat since it's my fasting day today and I am hungry after 36 hours!

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Back to soccer insanity

After a lovely week of actually seeing my children, we're back to the usual craziness. Zari left at 5 am for a debate tournament. Ivy left at 6:15 for a soccer tournament an hour away. Eric and Inga left around 7 am for a soccer game 4 hours away. I drove Dio to and from a birthday party mid-day, 40 minutes round trip each time.

Ivy has another game tomorrow, more games if they win.

On top of it, Eric got a leak in his tire in the last part of the 4-hour drive. He was able to find a tire store and it turns out we had to replace all 4 tires....the tread was pretty much gone.

I also got a tire leak today, but that was nothing new: 2 of the 4 leak consistently. I've brought them in to be fixed and it's still ongoing. I have an appointment to have them looked at tomorrow yet again.

I caught up on breech work today and made bell peppers stuffed with brown rice and pork sausage for dessert. All of the pepper came from my parents' garden! Our fridge is stuffed full of garden produce and our cupboards are filled with cans of applesauce.

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Mounds State Park

We took a trip over to Mounds State Park to see the Indian mounds. These were ceremonial/astronomical, not burial mounds, dating back over 2,000 years.

It was a gorgeous day for a nice hike around the park trails after we visited the mounds.

Also some pictures and videos of the carriage house. The doors need to be repainted but we're getting close!

We had a stressful near-accident in a roundabout, where Zari was in the outer lane and someone from the inner lane cut across to exit. Zari was rattled so we pulled over and took a little break. We also had an impromptu ice cream break while charging the car. We got the smallest cones and it was so much ice cream I couldn't finish! 'Merica.

My parents leave tomorrow, and most of us have an early start due to various soccer tournaments. Not a sleeping in Saturday!

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We've been home the past two days, crafting, playing, and working on home projects. The nickel gap siding is completely painted, the closet door installed, the carriage house railing reinstalled and the carriage house doors working! It's probbaly been many decades since those huge old doors have functioned. It's so satifying to finally get them functional again.

We have lots of silk paintings finished or close to finished...resin art curing...

The weather has been amazing as well. I just want to bask in the sun all day.

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Well, it's been busy lately and I've fallen into bed with good intentions of getting back out and writing in my journal. Good intentions that totally disappeared because I couldn't stay awake!

On Saturday (Oct 19) we had a family work morning painting the carriage house and doing yardwork. Inga had a game in the afternoon, winning 2-1 (she scored one of the goals). My parents arrived and then we went to a really fun fall party: potluck, chili cookoff, bonfires, horseback riding, trunk or treat, and hay rides. A great time.

Sunday was relaxed. I am trying to remember what we actually did and drawing a blank! Oh yeah, now I remember: Eric went with Zari to play Ultimate frisbee, but they didn't have enough people. I brought the other kids to the university athletic facilities. Ivy and Inga swam and Dio went to the weight room, and Zari and Eric joined him there. My parents went to a concert at Wabash, which turned out to be very weird and very loud, so they left during intermission.

Monday was a big day trip with everybody minus Eric (he had to work) plus Zari's boyfriend. We drove up to Indiana Dunes National Park and spent an idyllic day on the lakeshore. It got up to 78 degrees! Amazing for late October on Lake Michigan. I waded in the water and honestly should have gone swimming. Ivy and Inga were in for a while.

The kids had a driftwood lifting contest, beach wrestling matches, and lots of other fun. We also went hiking along some of the dune paths, one of which had over 480 stairs!

We stopped at the Abilene Candy Factory on the way home. I let each child choose 1/4 lb of their candy of choice. We also stopped for dinner on the way home--we originally were planning on getting home in time for dinner but we were all having so much fun that we stayed a lot longer than planned.

Our day ended up being a bit over 12 hours from start to finish. Zari got 5.5 hours of driving time in, some of which was quite stressful with busy freeways and congested roads. But she did it!

Today we stayed home and did lots of crafts and other activities. We canned a massive quantity of applesauce from 3 huge boxes of apples from my parents' trees. A few friends were over for things including silk painting and leather working. My dad helped make frames for the silk painting and got our driveway ready for its annual weed preventer spray. My mom cooked a huge batch of borscht for dinner, which we ate on the front porch. We ended the evening with fire & Smores, then an episode of The Rings of Power.

Will update with pictures later...but I need to get to bed!

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The kids are excited--school break started this evening and grandparents are coming to visit tomorrow!

I had to bring the car in yesterday morning for an alignment. The nearest place that can do it is an hour away. There was another issue with one of the passenger seats spontaneously moving, so they gave me a loaner car while they fixed that as well. I thought it would be several days but it only took until that evening.

Eric had to drive Inga into her soccer practice that evening, so he picked the car up. At the same time, I drove Dio to his new club practice, about 35 minutes away. So much driving.

The nickel gap siding is ready for painting tomorrow. We have all of the nail holes filled courtesy of Ivy, Inga, Zari, and me. I have a few spots to sand on the corners. We'll have a Freeze Family Painting Party tomorrow morning and maybe we'll get the whole first coat done!

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Walking group was chilly this morning! I was glad that I brought a hat and gloves.

I was hoping to go to a university lunch lecture, but I got a last-minute Zoom call that took precedence. It's ok--there are lots of other campus events that I largely ignore or miss 🙂 And honestly, part of it is just for the free food and the interesting lecture is a side benefit.

No one had soccer practice or games today--a miracle! Ivy and Inga went to the last middle school football game for the season and called us halfway through: "We want to come home--we are too cold!" I made them bring two jackets and gloves and they still couldn't stay warm. Wow. This is coming from Ivy who wears shorts and tshirts much of the winter!

We had time to watch one episode of our show after dinner (Eric: street tacos with ingredients from the local Mexican grocery store). Inga has a field trip tomorrow that leaves early and gets home late. I'm letting her wake herself up!

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Yesterday we had plans to swim at the university pool, but then they got foiled by almost everyone having something else going on that afternoon. I am drawing a blank about what I did in the afternoon! It's like totally gone. We did watch an episode of The Rings of Power at some point.

Ivy had a school choir concert, which I got to attend. Eric was off driving Inga and Dio to their respective soccer practices (Dio has started up with a club team now that school soccer is done).

This week's 36-hr fast is 2/3 done and I'm hungry, but not nearly as hungry as I would expect. Weird and nice given that I'm fasting until tomorrow.

I did some filming today (breech-related videos). It's amazing how making maybe 10 minutes of finished videos takes well over a day. I had to set up my studio, get everything exactly as it was 2 years ago (these videos are various updates so they're getting inserted into longer existing videos). I'm still editing at the end of today and then I have to do captions and then get them translated and then produce the videos in 4 other languages. Probably several days of work for 10 minutes!

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Stray cats and skunks

We have this cute stray cat who has been hanging around our house mewling at us. She lets us pet her if we wait for her to come up to us. Inga has fed her bits of meat once or twice so I think we'll be seeing a lot of her.

We were outside sitting on the front lawn late tonight, hoping we'd spot the Northern Lights. No luck...but it was a gorgeous night with a half moon. The cat stayed with us most of the time and got bits of ham and tuna.

Then Inga saw something out of the corner of her eye. She thought it was another stray cat...but no! It was a skunk. We all ran inside and called it a night.

It was a school holiday for everyone today. The kids had a friend over for much of the day. We pulled out all of the costumes and fabric and craft supplies. It's a bit of an explosion of materials but we did make a purse and a skirt by the end of the day.

Ivy had a game about an hour away this evening (losing 3-1), which Inga and Eric attended. Then she came back, grabbed a sleeping bag and pillow, and went to a friend's birthday party/sleepover.

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Everyone came home after school, for the first time the entire school year! Amazing!

Not a whole lot going on otherwise and my left shoulder/neck is really hurting so I'll keep this brief. (Too much computer work.) Tomorrow is a school holiday and the kids are having some friends over. I'm envisioning a day filled with crafts, games, and outdoor time. I hope we can make that happen.

We had time to watch one episode of The Rings of Power tonight.

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Shiplap done, a long wait

Eric and I finished up the shiplap siding late this afternoon. So satisfying! Now I have to paint it....and install the door...and then install the garage door tracks. But it's getting closer!

Dio had his sectional game, which both of us were able to attend. They lost 1-0 so his soccer season is officially over. Zari also had a sectional (away) and lost 5-0 so she is also done. I waited for her at the high school for over 1 1/2 hours! Eric thought she'd be home at a certain time but it turns out her team ate at a fast food restaurant. So I sat in the car...waiting...and waiting.

I did some filming today because we have a few lessons that need updating. I have to do a bit more tomorrow or Friday. Then editing, captioning, translating, etc.

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Stinky morning

We woke up to the smell of skunk. It happens on occasion when there's one in the neighborhood. Zari had to leave early just as it was starting to not be 100% dark. I warned her to be careful going into the garage 🙂

I had a good work day after my morning walking group. When Eric came home in the afternoon, we put up more nickel gap siding in the carriage house. One big wall is totally done and 2 other walls are about half done. Gorgeous weather so it was a pleasure to be outside (kind of) working.

We had time to watch two episodes of the new series we've started: The Rings of Power. I'm loving the costumes, especially that deep teal color that's used in so much of the fabrics.

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Feast of the Hunter's Moon

Yesterday afternoon we took the whole family, plus one friend, to a historical reenactment/festival celebrating Fort Ouiatenon and the history of the French-Indian war. A fun excuse for thousands of people to dress in 18th century garb, do handicrafts, sell food cooked over an open fire, and offer all sorts of diversions such as Highland Games and axe throwing and cannon shooting.

It's been so long since we've been able to do something together as a family.

Dio had sectionals today and his team won 2-1 in a shootout. He'll be playing again on Wednesday. Ivy and Inga are done with school soccer, so they came home right after school today. It was fun and weird to see them home! I was working in the carriage house when they came home. Eric helped me put up more nickel gap siding, and then I started to install the door to the under-stairs closet.

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