Griffin and I spent some quality time in front of the mirror this morning practicing shaving. We made it with no nicks or lost body parts.
First Shave
All posts by Andrew
A Doozy of a Valentine’s Day
Tuesday, February 14, began like many other Valentine’s days at the Stocco-Roy household. The table was set with a surprise for the kids. Andrew got up early to make strawberry shortcake.
Griffin awoke and was frustrated that a lingering cold seemed to be getting significantly worse. He was tired and stuffy. We had him do a COVID test just out of habit. Meanwhile, we were all enjoying ourselves.
Laughter turned to shock when Griffin’s test came up positive. Panic! Everyone else takes tests. Maggie is positive too. What? How can this be?
First COVID in our house since waaaay back in November of 2020 when Oliver tested positive. That time was far scarier, of course, because it was pre-vaccine and we thought we would all catch it from him and it wasn’t clear how bad it might be. Now, even though COVID is rather hum-drum in the world around us, it was still surprisingly upsetting. No school for the two of them. Testing every day for the rest of us. Worries about sub plans and school.
Most importantly, we had a wild weekend planned for Presidents Day: three nights at a cabin in northern Minnesota, skiing, a sauna with potential icy dip in the lake, and a dog-sledding adventure (Sandy and Stape’s awesome Christmas gift to the family).
At first we duped ourselves into thinking that we could still go as long as the rest of us avoided the COVID. Griffin and Maggie would have to stay masked, but we could avoid others until Sunday when they would be in the clear. The dog sledding was on Monday, so everything would be fine. We had the kids packing on Thursday and were getting ready to load the car on Friday when Sarah realized that she wasn’t feeling well. COVID test was negative, but she was worried.
We sat down to think it through. Instead of focusing on how to preserve our plans, we considered how we would feel if someone else showed up at Du Nord (the place with the cabins) with active COVID cases in their family. We would think they were jerks for putting the rest of the community at risk. Sigh. So, we did the right thing and cancelled the trip. (Darn golden rule…)
This turned out to be a good thing. No further COVID cases that we’ve yet detected, but Sarah definitely had a stomach bug (not fun) and Griffin’s recovery has been slow. We managed to make it feel like a staycation, complete with the kids cooking a surprise feast for us on Friday night. The menu: fresh French fries appetizer (from scratch, hot oil and everything!), pasta with fancy sauce, fresh squeezed orange/mango juice, and butterscotch blondies for dessert. There was an intention to make a salad too, but somehow they forgot that bit.
This set a great tone for the weekend, where we chilled out, played lots of games, watched some movies, and managed to do some epic cleaning of the house.
Lion Dance
One of my favorite middle school events in the years before COVID was the Chinese New Years Assembly. Put together by my amazing friend and colleague, Neil Bray, it features music and skits by students and culminates in a lion dance by a local family troupe (the Ha family). This year, we were happy to have the Ha family back at school for an in-person event. I caught a bit of the dance on video:
Christmas 2023
We flew to Bethesda to visit my parents for about a week around Christmas. A major blizzard and arctic chill was kicking off on the day we left, so we were lucky to make it with only a moderate delay. It was cold in the DC area too, but not nearly as bad as places further north. It was a fun trip, overlapping for a few days with Dave, Nancy, Raven, and Max.
The National Cathedral
One of my favorite places in the DC area is the National Cathedral. Despite my irreligiousness, I have always found places of worship (of any religion) to be compelling. In boarding school I used to sneak into the chapel and sit on a pew to read. At Oberlin I enjoyed Finney Chapel in the same way. Overseas, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish shrines, mosques, and temples. Most such places create a sense of awe and peace, calming my thoughts and providing space for contemplation.
The National Cathedral certainly has heaping portions of awe. I discovered it in late high school when the west towers were still under construction. I think my friend and D&D buddy, Dan Williamson, (“Toby,” back then) was the first to introduce me to it. It was free to visit, so I used to swing by fairly regularly to wander around or find a comfortable nook to read in (or to scribble notes for my next D&D adventure).
Ever since being damaged by an unusual earthquake in 2011, it has an entrance fee to help cover repair expenses. (Repairs are ongoing, hopefully to be completed in 2025.) Between that and getting out to DC infrequently, I have only visited a handful of times in the past few decades. It remains as magnificent as ever.
One thing that I appreciate about the cathedral is the history and culture that is woven into its art. There’s a grotesque (like a gargoyle) of Darth Vader. There are busts and statues of presidents and historic civil rights leaders. There are stained glass windows commemorating Native Americans and the moon landing. On our latest visit, we learned that the cathedral recently decided to replace two windows portraying Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson with designs by Kerry James Marshall.
We visited as a family on the Tuesday after Christmas. Here’s a haphazard selection of photos from our visit.
Gingerbread Wonderland 2022
We visited Norway House in Minneapolis to see their annual Gingerbread Wonderland exhibit. As always, it was amazing to see the variety of styles and skill levels. Anyone can submit an entry. The requirements:
- It must be less than three-feet wide or long.
- It must be 75% gingerbread.
- It must be 100% edible (other than lights and the baseboard).
I’m including a lot of pictures, many of which are not great shots, because we want them as inspiration for future gingerbread creations of our own. Who knows, maybe we’ll even submit a creation some day.
Winter Break Begins
After a whirlwind of post-Thanksgiving school, we’re all on break again for the winter holidays. Griffin is at an all-day D&D game with some friends. Maggie and Oliver, meanwhile, are building an epic from-scratch gingerbread house with Sarah.
Update: See below for a few pictures of the construction process and final product.
Winter Beauty
Maps
Oliver has been working on learning countries around the world. This week he completed a map of Europe. He hasn’t labeled everything yet, but I love the creative spellings (Itle = Italy; youkran = Ukraine, etc.).
Mini-Mama
While we were loading the car today, we heard gales of laughter from the cabin. We returned to find Oliver decked out as a miniature Sarah.
