Family Mellmann

The past twenty years has been quite a journey; from first travel adventures to last days of high school with braces, birds, licenses, and learning in between.   Patrick with Opa & Oma V (probably in front of an airport) at 3 months. Patrick enters the "double digit years" (turned 10) and was already caring for raptors at a local rescue.     By the time Patrick became a teenager (13 years old), he was an advanced open-water diver.   Milestone - Age 16 - Driver's License     Milestone - Age 18.  By now he knows that he will pursue commercial aviation after graduation. Now 20 years old, he says "farewell" to the teen years. To his driver's license he has added a motorcycle endorsement, a private pilot's license, and is advancing toward his commercial (pilot) license.  He has logged miles on a motorcycle, hours in the sky, and continues stacking up the adventures, all while growing and maturing into a handsome, caring  young man. Happy Birth...

It isn't often that we get to see a rainbow out the front door. 

 So this happened today. Before This was her 8th grade school picture.  She "smiled" with her mouth shut because she didn't like her teeth. This was her right before we left for the orthodontist.   After I can't remember ever seeing such a big genuine smile on her face...and it only cost us $7,000!

It has been a busy couple of months since July when I was seeding herbs, planting flowers, and propagating bushes from cuttings of my own and friends' shrubbery.  We have gone from a leisurely schedule of gardening, house chores, and navigating Covid-19 protocols at the grocery store to long days, late nights, and a new level of chaos management. Patrick and Katherine are back in school.  Most of Patrick's classes are being done remotely except where FAA regulations require in-person instruction.  Having completed his private pilot's license in July, he is now on to "instrument rating".  This will allow him to fly using instruments, which are useful in poor weather when you can't see far in front from where you are and/or can't see the ground.  Up to this point he has been flying VFR - Visual Flight Rules - which means that he has to be able to SEE where he's going (there are some specifics in terms of how high the clouds have to be and how clear the a...

This household is on serious "vacation mode".  Patrick has completed his freshman year school obligations, culminating in his Airman Certificate.  Katherine is enjoying lots of time chatting with her friends, playing games with them, and watching videos.  Joerg is conquering the high seas in his video game, and I have been frittering away my day exploring creative ways to share photos and organize my deck herb garden now that the seeds I planted are turning into plants that want to be pottted.  It has been truly lovely!  To make it even more perfect, it's raining outside which takes away any guilt over not being in the garden pulling weeds.  :) This is my little "herb garden" sitting on the deck near the grill.  All those little seed starts are ready for a larger home, preferably above ankle height for easier harvesting. And, with a little luck, below should be a slideshow of some of the flowers in my garden this year.  Let's see if I learned anyt...

Parades are canceled.  Fireworks are canceled.  Group gatherings are still discouraged.  So how do you celebrate the birth of a nation when all the usual celebratory methods are unavailable?  Good question.  I don't have the answer. However, conveniently enough, Patrick provided us with an opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July AND his new title, "Airman".  Airman Certificate is what it says on the piece of paper that makes him an official (private) pilot.  It is the first, and arguably most gargantuan, step that takes him from being (just) a freshman in college to being a commercial pilot. COVID-19 put a sizable pause in his training, but once the most rigid part of quarantine was over, he was able to get back in the sky...when the weather cooperated.  Then it was fly, fly, fly, and study, study, study all through May and June.  When he came home from flying (what we thought was a routine practice flight) we learned that his flight was act...

Spring has moved away and we are now in full summer mode.  Temperatures have soared into the mid-90s and the rain that is regularly forecast for our area...never comes.  The irrigation systems are working well to keep things green and pretty. If you have a minute, you can watch this little slideshow of what is currently growing in the garden, and the critters that keep me entertained.

I think "quarantine fatigue" has set in. Patrick is tired of being stuck at home and not being able to be social with his friends, enjoying a little city life and traveling at will.  On the bright side, he is back in the air preparing for his "Check Ride" and oral exam which should result in a private pilot's license. Katherine is still unbothered by being stuck at home, but even she has started to complain that she wants the library to open so she can get more books. Joerg...no, nothing has changed.  He still works all day and tries to enjoy some down-time on the weekends. I have continued to work on various projects.  I have spent quite some time in the garden with many projects still on my to-do list.  And I have been knitting to try to finish two outstanding knitting projects so I can start some new ones.  The first project I finished is a lap throw (small blanket for my legs) for the winter months.  This project is currently drying on the blocking boar...

Outside my office window I have a garden hook that I put a hanging basket on, and a hummingbird feeder.  When I need a distraction I watch out the window for my old friend the hummingbird to come for a visit.  We have had a strange spring so I wasn't sure if it would come back or not, but last evening as I was watching a gardening show and knitting I had one visitor.

One of our international friends (from the crew we get together with for Christmas Adventsingen, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Halloween) came up with a way for us to get together to check in with each other.  Each week we have a video cocktail call.  Bring your own booze (or drink of your choice) and catch up with what everyone is up to. We talk about what we're drinking (if it's interesting), commiserate over the state of COVID-19, catch up with any of the kids (college kids) who call in, or chat about whatever is on our mind that evening (travel...or the lack of, summer plans...and how they're changing because of COVID, etc.).  It's a pleasant way to connect with friends without having to prepare a dish to share or leave the house. Tonight, after dinner, I started a fire in the fire pit and settled into my swing to knit and relax until the cocktail call began.  One by one the friends called in and we enjoyed a fun evening catching up.

The school year is winding down and Spring is in the air. Patrick has taken is last final exam, turned in his last paper, and given his last presentation.  For him, summer vacation has begun.  What school will look like in the fall is still unknown so, while he has registered for his classes, there really isn't anything to do now until August.  All focus is now on how to get something fun and refreshing out of this summer in a country still in panic. Katherine has one more looooong week of school (well, it feels long).  There won't be any cumulative final exams for her, but each of her classes will have final tests on whatever chapters they are working on.  Summer vacation is right around the corner. With the ending of school, we also finally get some nice weather.  We had a hard frost Wednesday night but that was (hopefully) the last one.  With this beautiful sunny weather I have managed to get some flowers planted. For dinner tonight I tried a recipe...

Our days continue to go by "normally".  Patrick and Katherine continue their journey through distance learning as they wind down the school year.  Joerg continues to do his job from the comfort of our home office.  Laundry gets done.  The house gets cleaned (despite the ongoing challenges to find basic household cleaners).  And I venture to two different grocery stores to get the ingredients for meals (that's one more than normal because the supply chain is most definitely interrupted). A local store that provides farm supplies and livestock feeds, as well as more domestic animal products like dog food and birdseed, was declared "essential" (and therefore remains open) in this quarantine environment so I was able to restock my birdfeed supplies.  I have enjoyed filling the feeders each season, but seldom have the time to just sit and watch the birds (and squirrels) come to dine.  With a little more down-time on my schedule these days, I have found th...

With temperatures reaching almost 50 degrees Fahrenheit today and a bright sun in the sky, it was a good day to work in the yard.  Patrick helped me move stones, which we salvaged from Isle LaMotte two summers ago, from the pile where we abandon them to their new home on the east side of our property.  Two summers ago we did a deforestation project removing nearly all of the soldier pines and many of the hemlock from our forest.  In the newly open space, Patrick helped me build a patio space for the fire pit and my swing. Leveling the ground was nearly impossible as we fought with tree roots and buried logs from the logging operation, but we managed to piece together a patio. While I was leveling ground for the stones, Patrick did the ugly work of collecting dead bur plants and preparing them for a fire.  Last summer we were gone for a month which, during the summer growth period, is a really long time.  The weeds took over, and the worst weed is the bur....

It is the end of our third week of distance-learning school and, I think, the end of our fifth week in quarantine/“stay home, stay safe“ (I honestly haven't been keeping track).  Katherine now gets to enjoy one week of Spring Break (Vermont schools were instructed to honor their regularly scheduled vacation plan), but for the rest of us things are pretty "normal" (I use that term loosely); Patrick will continue his schoolwork, Jörg continues working, and things remain constant for me, although with Katherine out of school it will be more relaxed and flexible. I am hoping that the weather is warm and springy next week so that I can spend time working in the yard and garden preparing for the summer.  I am ready for some fresh color in the gardens, birds at the bird feeders, and enjoying leisure time listening to my little fountain. I have used my altered schedule to work on projects that have languished on my want-to-do-list for a very long time.  One such proje...

Monday was our first day "back" to normal.  Normal as in the kids are back to school; Joerg never stopped working, he just stopped walking to the office.   Joerg, working from home.    Katherine, ready for her 8:00 class (Algebra 2) to start.   Patrick,  in his meteorology class. So everybody has returned to "work" and while the execution is different (sitting at home instead of at school or in the office) they are doing what they would normally be doing during the week.  Like Joerg, little has changed for me and I have continued to do my work despite the upheaval in the schooling arrangements (which includes me not having to teach music anymore this year).  But things are definitely different. I tried to do my "Monday Chores" and felt like I was walking on eggshells everywhere.  Joerg needs quiet for telephone calls and concentration.  Patrick and Katherine need quiet so they can hear and participate in their class...

Well, that didn't take long.  We are one week in on what appears to be several weeks of "lockdown", or as the Governor of Vermont calls it, "Stay Home/Stay Safe" and already real boredom seems to be setting in...for some of us. Katherine came to me late yesterday expressing her irritation with having "nothing to do".  It seems that she has read all her books, all the books from the library, AND all the books on Kindle Unlimited, which of course I find highly suspect.  She asked (over and over and over) what she could do so each time I would offer some helpful ideas; go for a walk, help me clean up the gardens, empty the dishwasher, go to the taekwondo gym in the basement and do some kicking, write a letter, write a story...I went on and on but she didn't like ANY of my ideas.  What she really wanted was more screen time. Patrick has completed the school work that he could do without being in class (two projects that will be due later in the sem...

Today Governor Phil Scott announced that in-person instruction has been canceled for the rest of the school year.  Many colleges (like Patrick's) have already made this call, but now it's official for elementary, middle, and high school students across the state as well.  That means that Katherine will finish her school year online.  She is very happy about this. Meanwhile, we are gradually settling into a new "normal".  We are blessed to have a large home that allows us to spread out and have our own space.   With a week of "Stay Home/Stay Safe" under our belt, we have found ways to co-exist and still get things done.  Joerg has the office where he can close doors if he needs to.  Patrick and Katherine can each retreat to their bedrooms if they want, but sometimes choose to hang out downstairs or sit at the dining room table to play on computers.  I have set up my own satellite office in the living room where I can make phone calls without...

It's not quite the same as sitting in a pew, singing with the pipe organ, and chatting with my friends after, but it's better than nothing.  And knowing that during this live stream the church is united in being parked in front of a computer is novel and fun to consider.  It's also good to know that it won't last forever.

We usually like our adventures to involve motorcycles, travel, or new scenery, but it seems that our current situation has us living a new kind of adventure. It looks like both kids will start their home school adventure around March 30th.  In the meantime, "social distancing" has them mostly stuck around the house.  Apparently desperation and boredom have lead them to start playing video games collaboratively.  I can't remember the last time they were this civil toward each other for such a long stretch.  We'll see how they're doing a month from now.  :)

It has been strange around here for the last week.  Everyone has been sent home to do their work.  Patrick's college classes were canceled around the middle of last week and he is now just waiting for his instructors to move their training materials online for "distance-learning". Many colleges already offer online courses and distance learning options so this isn't a dramatic shift for them. However, many of his classes benefit from student/instructor interaction.  He has been grounded from flying until further notice. And Men's Wearhouse, where he works, has closed all of their retail shops and sent the staff home. They have done a nice thing by paying their employees (even the part time and hourly) for regularly scheduled hours, so the three shifts a week that Patrick normally would work he will be paid for. Jörg was also sent home last week and told not to come back until further notice. The work marches on, of course, so while his venue has changed the worklo...

Sorry for the "epic post", but it's been an...epic life. Today Joerg and I celebrate twenty years of wedded bliss and family adventures.  I was recently challenged by an older, wiser, and long-married mentor (thanks Mom) to see if I could remember something special from each of those twenty years.  Since I can barely remember what I'm supposed to be doing twenty minutes from now, I had to cheat and refer back to photos to get the timeline right. So, here we go. Year one: a transatlantic move for one of us, a cross-country move for the other, get married, buy a house and move again, have Baby #1.  Not bad for the first year. Three years of adjusting to Vermont, married life, and parenting flew by like a shot.  The adventures begin.  From checking out the scenery from the (frozen) water, learning about Vermont's sugaring history, introducing Patrick to trains, raking leaves, getting Patrick his first suit (of many), teaching Patrick to fish, and w...