Maggie’s been asking about dying her hair for a long time. Sarah tried dying it at home last summer, but it washed out after the first trip to the pool. So we finally made a professional appointment. The choice of color was suspenseful. Last week she wanted it to be bright red. This morning, she was leaning toward “greenish blue.” The stylist convinced her that purple would work best with her natural color.
For the first time since 2011, I was able to go to Camp Widjiwagan this year as a chaperone for the week-long seventh grade trip. It was glorious to be back up north in the heart of winter.
The overall experience was similar to my first trip (as described in this post). I still enjoy cross-country skiing, but haven’t improved much in nine years; I still have a hard time managing downhill slopes where I pick up too much speed, panic, and crash. The sauna-dip experience involved much less trepidation, since I remembered it fondly from the first trip. It was just as good this time. For bedtime readings, I warmed my cabin up on Monday evening with one of my favorite creepy stories, H.P. Lovecraft’s The Cats of Ulthar. The next night, the students requested more, so we dove into The Call of Cthulhu for the remaining nights, wrapping up on Thursday with a few brave students managing to stay awake for the ending.
A personal highlight, as mentioned in my previous post, was our Wednesday DFRPG game with Sam doing a masterful job in the GM’s chair. It was the closest my beloved character, Zafir Abrashi, has come to dying, being nearly digested by a giant carnivorous plant!
I didn’t take many pictures, but the selection below provides a sense of things. (All of the following are my photos except for the chaperone group which was taken by Molly McMahon.)
Update: My colleague, Cheryl Wilgren, shared some additional shots from the trip:
Gaming before lunch? Check. Gaming again after lunch? Check. Roaring fire? Check. Surrounded by wintery wilderness? Check. Still managed to get 17K+ steps and more than two hours of active minutes? Check! Can a day get better than this?
This kid got some pretty great presents this year, but clearly they don’t compare to the play telephone from 1979 and vintage Fisher Price helicopter at Grandma and Grandpa’s house 💕
While visiting my parents, I idly mentioned to my dad that I was looking for a good book on Southeast Asian mythology. With a gleam in his eye, he motioned for me to follow him down to the basement library (one of at least two rooms that could be called libraries in this house). Three minutes later I had this stack balanced under my chin:
Should be able to zip through these in the next four days…
It was this little guy’s third birthday today. Griffin and Maggie lavished love and attention on him all day, making it feel extra-special.
Quote from Maggie right after Oliver woke up:
Oliver, do you know how many times you’ve gone around the sun? Three times! You’re going to go around the sun many more times. Lots and lots! You’re going to keep going around the sun until you, um, until you … pass away. [Whispers to me: I think that’s nicer than saying he’s going to die.]
Happy Birthday to this bright star. I feel like this is such a great picture to capture the moment this three year old is in: independent, capable, and confident. He’s also silly and curious and loves his older brother and sister so much. What a light you are, Oliver Louis ❤️
Ever wonder what happens if the handle of your bowl breaks off while you’re pouring the sour cream topping onto your cheesecake?
Cheesecake after an asteroid strike. Note that this picture was taken after I did as much cosmetic reconstruction as possible.
I’m hopeful that it will taste ok, though the bowl blew clean through to the pan, ripping apart the graham cracker crust, so the slices won’t have the classic profile (either visually or texturally).
By comparison, below is a picture of the above cake’s sibling, sans apocalypse:
Pristine cheesecake
Update:Â The damaged cheesecake was as delicious as the pristine one. There was one bite, maybe, that seemed like it had too much sour cream.
We recently replaced the medicine cabinet in our bathroom (while cursing manufacturers of cheap fiberboard accessories that begin disintegrating after your first shower). The kids decided to hang some artwork in the wall cavity behind the new cabinet, hoping that someone will find them in “three hundred years.”
The secret cavity
Close-ups. One each by Griffin, Maggie, and Oliver.Â
The cabinet installed
Who could know that behind these mirrors lies a cache of secret art?
