Family Mellmann

Life is full of routine and often mundane tasks. While replacing appliances is neither routine nor mundane, it is pretty...pedestrian. Sometimes, finding joy in the boring is a real challenge, however, we are celebrating the arrival of this dishwasher. For most of its life, the out-going dishwasher has brought one frustration after another. From repeatedly broken drawer parts to several silverware basket replacements, we have poured more money into The maintenance of this machine than it was probably worth. Add to that the general frustration of drawers that fall off their track and unexplained (and sporadically unpredictable) puddles of water on the floor, and you have the makings for a real love/hate relationship...heavy on the hate. The new dishwasher has great expectations to fulfill. It's German engineering and manufacturing set it should last a long time. The manufacturer's claim is that it is engineered to last for 20 years. We haven't had a single appliance ...

Patrick continues to enjoy his chosen college path. While some of the more...mundane...subjects (like English and Computer Apps) aren't particularly exciting, he is learning a ton of information about airplanes, flight, and aviation science. In a typical week, he will fly two to three times to practice skills, develop Tower speak (learn how to talk to the Tower), learn new skills, and train for emergencies that one hopes never happens (like engine stalls).  He gets to experience life at an active military airport when the "Ninja class" planes are in motion (Ninja is the category name for fighter jets), as well as the regular airport operations of commercial jetliners. During some of his training flights, they will go over to Plattsburgh New York to practice touch-and-go maneuvers (fly-approach-land-slow down-take off again) and fly in unmanaged airspace.  Plattsburgh is a small airport with no Air Traffic Control so pilots have to speak directly to each ot...

Katherine turns 15! Another year has passed on this avid reader.  It hardly seems possible. She continues to challenge what I thought I knew about parenting, and each day she manages to make me laugh.  What is particularly funny to me is how she tries SO HARD to be funny - but isn't, but then she'll just say something at the right time and with the right turn of phrase and I will just burst out laughing - and she's confused.  "Why was that funny?" (to which I laugh even harder) For her birthday, we loaded this girl up with Kindle books, a membership to a book club called Kindle Unlimited, and for good measure, included some actual non-digital books.  She is reading everything from graphic novels (comics) to horror, fantasy fiction to action-adventure, and most recently added brain science and psychiatry.  I can't wait to see what this next year will bring!

The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are getting cooler, and the horizon is on fire with fall foliage colors.  Today was a beautiful day for a motorcycle ride.

This morning Patrick 'took off' for a special flight. Since about the second week of school he has been flying 2 to 3 times each week, but this flight is with an FAA inspector rather than his regular instructor. Today's flight is a check flight to make sure he is on target with where he should be at this point in his training. Go Patrick!

Another Green Up Vermont Day is in the books, despite the rain.    Except for two years (out of town for one and forgot the other), we have been participating in GUVD every year for sixteen years.  We've lived in Vermont almost seventeen years, but GUVD was over by the time we moved here in 2000. The kids have participated every year.  First, in baby backpacks when they were too little to walk and help.  But as soon as they could walk, we put gloves on their hands and rubber boots on their feet.

The first week of school is in the books…see what I did there?  Just a little back-to-school humor. Katherine is adjusting to  three new teachers and the new teaching styles that come with those new teachers.   It is definitely a mix of like and don't like.   Fortunately, her math (Algebra 2) and science (Biology) teacher remains the same, and she has her favorite choir director (that's me!).  Patrick is adjusting to life in college with a complete shift in how the schedule runs. Several of his classes work on a block structure where they meet once a week for three hours. Sometimes the breaks between classes are 45 minutes and sometimes they are 90 minutes so he is also having to learn new strategies for time management.   Unlike high school, junior high, and elementary school, managing your time is no longer the school's responsibility. Now that he has had each of his classes once he has started purchasing textbooks. One of the more experienced students in his class advise...

 It is that time of year. We look back on our summer of adventure and stories and experiences, and we look forward to a new school year  with new classes, perhaps some new friends, and new experiences.  Katherine marches off to her sophomore year of high school. And Patrick flies off to his first year of college as a commercial pilot-to-be. This back to school picture doesn't look much different than all the pictures previously,  except that they look so much older now, but as they return to the routines of school they do so with  new memories and adventures, new stories to tell, and perhaps slightly changed by their experiences.

The down-side to going on an epic month-long road trip is that life doesn't stop simply because you're logging miles, making memories, and having a great time.  Back home the garden continues to grow and so do those little pests we in the gardening business call...WEEEDS.  Many of my bloomers are already done blooming so it's hard to tell where the perennials end and the weeds begin, but I still have a LOT of work to do. After an hour, I could barely see any progress although my trailer was getting full and my hands were starting to complain. Three hours, half a gallon of water, and a few rose thorn stabbings later and...you can still barely tell that I have done any work. *sigh    Let's call this my first run; a second run to come in a week or so. By that time I should have made it all the way around the gardens the FIRST time.  And from this angle it looks more accomplished. Unfortunately, the weeds have grown up so badly around my compost b...