Raincharm’s Weblog

More time with E. Carl goes to a baseball game. We go on a walk that includes shopping. Some angst. Uber and heading home.

The primary reason for the trip was to get to know E better. And to see Ashlan and Allen. Time with E included the early morning play while his breakfast was being prepared. A few toys and keeping him on the bed/couch. This generally went reasonably well, and he never fell off, so we count it as a success. Most play time was in his play area. About 5′ by 7′ with a padded carpet, surrounded by linked plastic walls. Large enough to accommodate a grown person along with a growing, 26 pound child. Toys entered the enclosure and could be played with until they were unceremoniously flung. Stacking and nesting toys were favorites, along with the shapes that can slide along wire mazes. And especially a smallish container with a purple lid that could be opened and snapped shut. The best is finding exposed wood floor to bang toys against. Of course this activity is discouraged as they are trying to not annoy the downstairs neighbors.

I did get an opportunity to carry E about the hall for a while to distract from the crankies. We looked out of the windows next to the elevator and into the mirrors in the hallway. Oh, and I had a good 45 minute period of unsupervised (by either parent) play while an errand to find cat food was run. We survived.

Carl and Ashlan and two of her friends went to a Mets game on our last evening. The outing was a success, execpt that the Mets played poorly, and it wasn’t really good baseball. 5-0 Nationals win.

We did walk down to the waterfront overlooking Manhattan, twice. We were at the Gantry State Park, across the river from the UN. The first time Carl and I hung out for a while. The second trip was a hit-and-run version, and we slingshot back towards Trader Joe’s and some other grocery store. We wanted to refill their larder before we left town. Next time we need to have some meals in mind to make ahead of time. I find it hard to do on the fly.

They have been working their way through 100 foods for E to try. I think the plantain may have been the final food, although Ashlan was not pleased with how it turned out. E would be a fruititarian if given the choice.

As for angst, I didn’t have a work dream until the last night. But I did get a call on the last day gone that one of my longtime co-workers passed away. She had taken forced retirement (not forced by the office, but by health issues) about a year ago, and it all finally caught up to her. I miss her enthusiasm. A person who truly enjoyed Mondays. And the Seahawks. We do seem to be spending more time than is welcome learning about medical terms and tests.

On arrival in NYC we took the easy route, and got a cab to the apartment. Apparently it’s a flat fee from JFK to Manhattan, but not to Queens. It cost significantly more than the last visit, but then the price of gas is significantly higher too. And I didn’t cherish figuring out the Air Train and subways in the dark after a long day. For the trip back we ordered an Uber, that was not cheap, but more reasonable.

The airport terminal we were in, 7, was pretty uncrowded. Not extremely fast, but definitely not slow. We had left plenty of time for movement around the airport after our bus on the tarmac experience on arrival. None of that today. Walk in, security, find a place to chill and wait for boarding. Piece of cake.

I guess the next thing is to plan the next vacation. There are a few likely potential reasons to leave Seattle. We’ll see what happens next.

Two outings today. First up was a park visit with a few of E’s friends.

Second was a visit to the Jackie Robinson Museum. This included a subway ride. The N to be specific.

It’s only been open for a few months. We spent about 1-1/2 hours reading and looking at most of the exhibits. I learned a few new things as well as seeing evidence of things I thought I knew before.

And we made it back. On the R train to a station. Dinner and some shows, and Carl is snoozing on the couch, soon to be bed.

I feel like I should post a picture of a changing table here

Here is a very hard to decipher picture of planes back ends. I always thought that once I had exited the plane through the jetway, my time on the tarmac for that flight was over. Not so yesterday. We exited, walked for a while and were then directed to a staircase, down, and onto a bus. The bus took off across the tarmac, behind the planes being loaded and unloaded. Use your imagination with the picture, it was dark.

Finally back into the terminal and more walking. Finally to baggage claim and the taxi line. The taxi took about 45 minutes to an hour after we reached the front of the line. But we made it.

Today has been a tired day, with a group birthday party in the middle. Many babies and their parents.

Back at the ranch, everybody spends some time in the pen.

My victory for today was leaving work at 4:30. This is when the office closes. Yesterday it was 8:30 when I left. I am glad I stayed late yesterday. The work I accomplished yesterday made today manageable. Not that there weren’t a few bumps, or I should say edits, along the way. The first set of edits was welcome and expected. The last set came after I had printed and stuffed the letters into envelopes. So, there has been more recycling today than in the last few months together.

I had support from 2 other coworkers who made it possible to get where we got. They were wonderful to help, even though they had to participate in a science fair tonight.

The deadlines are at least partly of my making. Some dates have outside influences, but my taking 4 days off is on me.

My reward at home, a happy face and dinner.

Looking forward to a liesurly evening.

But Carl was

Is it Spring?

Schools have been on Spring Break. Evidence – lighter than normal traffic.

There is baseball. And the baseball games are COLD. My set of clothes includes: long underwear, jeans, socks (sometimes wool), boots, long-sleeved t-shirt, sweater, light jacket, double jacket with a down inner and waterproof outer, scarf, knit hat, liner gloves, and driving gloves.

There are flowers.

The answer from this corner is now a resounding YES.