Family Mellmann

It's been roughly ten years since our last Mentor Graphics Platinum Club trip and this year it's called the Siemens Golden Eagle Club.  We have been getting a few days of sun, rest, and coastal walks before the corporate festivities begin…in about thirty minutes…here on the "big island" of Hawaii. Unlike past trips, we didn't need grandparents to stay with our now-adult children.  We just packed our bags and left.  Actually, one of those adult children (Patrick) is subbing for my music classes and the Spring Program while we're away.  And both of them have been tasked with duties while we're gone. Aloha!

 Patrick is mere weeks away from graduating from college.  He has achieved his private and commercial pilot licenses, earned his instrument rating, became a Certified Flight Instructor, and (by the time he graduates) will have completed his BS in Aviation. While his college student cohort was enjoying Florida or some other warm and sunny vacation spot for their Spring Break, Patrick and his friend and fellow pilot went to Florida to obtain their qualifications to become "multi-engine" pilots.  They had to do most of the class work ahead of time so that when they met with their instructors they were already knowledgeable so that most of their Florida time could be spent actually flying a multi-engine airplane. They were both successful (no surprise), but the victory didn't come easily.  The pre-Florida prep work kept them busy as they studied for this class while still maintaining their other course load (which is 21 credits for Patrick this semester) and working....

Spring Break is almost over.  It has been a nice respite from the rigors of my regular schedule.  It's been an active time cleaning out the basement, baking, chatting with the kids, and thinking about coming projects that need some attention, but active and busy are two different things.  I like active...not such a fan of busy. Today we said good bye to all the cubby/shelves that were used in Patrick's room (serving as storage in the basement for the past five years or so) and Katherine's (still serving in her room until this morning).  After 15 years of solid service, they are moving to another house to hold more legos, more toys, and more books. And, to celebrate the passing on of many things from our basement (the cubbies were just the beginning!) I made another cookie recipe from my grandmother's recipe file.  Today it was one of her favorites, Butterscotch Ice Box Cookies.  The recipe comes from "Aunt Martha Trimpe".  Martha was Alvin (a maternal ...

When the kids were in elementary school and were going to have an extended break (winter break, spring break, etc.) I would plan some activities for us to do during those days.  We did craft projects, baked, went to the playground, walked on Church Street, or spent an afternoon at Pizza Putt (now closed) climbing, playing mini-golf, and trying our hands at arcade games.  If there was snow on the ground, we might go sledding or build a snowman. The kids are grown now and plan their own activities, but as a teacher (volunteer though I may be) these breaks offer a new opportunity to work on projects or do things I don't always make time for during a "normal" week.  I spent yesterday working on chores and riding out whatever bug is trying to get me down.  Today I hit the grocery stores (yes, stores - plural - it takes three stores to get my groceries these days) and then came home and baked cookies. Several years ago I received a recipe box that belonged to my maternal g...

As anniversaries go, this year was quiet and easy.  Fighting a belly bug, I spent the morning resting, knitting, and futzing around on the computer.  Patrick decided he wanted to go ice skating and invited us to join him.  I haven't been on skates since the kids were little but I didn't want to miss out so I went along.  My feet is all you get see of this adventure, other than a nice shot of Patrick gliding by as I sat in the ice arena penalty box, but rest assured I did make it around the rink a couple of times and I never fell. The real celebration came at dinner time.  Joerg and I have gone out for sushi on our anniversary for years.  When the kids were little we would hire a sitter, later that sitter was Patrick, and now they both like sushi and prefer to go with us.  We have gone to the same place for years (even during COVID when we had to do carry-out sushi) so the owner, who is also the hostess and waits tables, knows me by name.  I suppos...

Well, maybe not outside.  But INSIDE the house, I'm doing my best to bring in some spring color.  Between our very short growing season and the critters who like to eat my bulbs, I haven't been able to grow spring flowers since Katherine was little (last picture; little Katherine and my last spring flowers). Last year I tried layered bulb planting in large pots by the front door.  Not only did nothing bloom, when I dug in the dirt to plant summer flowers, there were no signs that I had planted a single bulb.  What a disappointment. So, last fall I decided to try my hand at forcing bulbs.  I bought some bulbs, packaged them up, and stuck them in the bottom(coldest) drawer of my refrigerator (much to the chagrin of my family...my refrigerator is already a bit short on space) where they stayed (several are still there) until early February when I put them in two test pots by the patio doors (south-facing). In a week's time I already saw little green bumps appearing...

Last fall, as I was beginning a photo-related project, I discovered that our personal cloud had fallen victim to a ransomware attack (our own fault).  From the company that manufactured our cloud system, we got some help decrypting the files (almost entirely photos) but what they gave us was a jumble of files with no rhyme or reason to the sorting and it appeared to be almost entirely thumbnail sized images (small, low resolution, and low quality).  It turned out that we actually had both full sized and thumbnail but since they were all unorganized, unsorted, and missing any kind of recognizable file name (like katherine-piano recital) I really couldn't advance on my project.  Until I could summon the will to set aside the time required to filter through all those images and try to put them back in order...the files just sat on an external hard drive. Over the summer, a "techie" skilled friend came for a visit and worked some programming magic sorting the pictures into so...

With college graduation right around the corner (mid-May) and a possible move to another part of the country (one goes where the jobs are and the cost of living is manageable) Patrick is starting to prepare for full independence and life on his own. While he may not move the day after graduation, today he started packing away some of our old dishes (we got new ones) which will serve in his first kitchen.  It was very convenient that our new dishes came in these sturdy, already labeled "GLASS", boxes with bubbles and foam packing materials.

In addition to black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and downy woodpeckers - who all eat from the bird feeders, I have several mourning doves.  Normally, the doves, who are ground-feeders, will find a spot in the garden to rest, but it has been cold and blustery here today and it seems that these two wanted to rest on higher ground.  Maybe they're watching for my goldfinches; they seem to have flown south for the winter.