Chinese Gardens

My dad's cousin Len (the 83 year old yoga instructor) has been having some difficulties with her neighbors over a 40+ year old laurel hedge (they cut it down without notifying her, damaging her fence in the process, and although it was on their side of the fence, it was on her property). As her back yard and garden have been a private oasis for her for more than thirty years, she is understandably upset. Negotiations are moving exceedingly slowly so one day last month, when the neighbors were out working on the stumps, Len was feeling particularly frustrated. I drove to Portland and we decided to go to the Chinese Gardens downtown.

I had been to the Japanese Gardens up in the west hills, but had never even heard of the Chinese Gardens. They are located in Chinatown and are pretty nondescript from the outside, but are pretty spectacular inside. They have packed a lot into one city block and somehow managed to give it a sense of openness and serenity that was just what we both needed.

Len said she prefers it to the Japanese gardens because she does not have to walk as much. She is very athletic and strong but has very worn out knees.

I loved the detail on the tiles here.

When we parked the car on the back side of the gate, the whole place seemed like another downtown structure, but once we entered, I was carried away. It wasn't until we reached this vantage point that I remembered that we were, indeed, downtown among the regular bustle of city life.

Everywhere things were starting to bloom. It was a perfect time to see so many blossoms and new growth.

We went back to Len's house and had a wonderful dinner and conversation. A great day for me to spend as a regular adult (rather than a mom-unit) and hopefully distract Len from her dispute for a short time.

Lost camera

A post-Thanksgiving party with Nance.

We use Toe's camera sparingly, so when I finally take the time to download the photos, I am often surprised by the content. This time, we lost the camera the afternoon of Toe's birthday among birthday gifts and wrapping paper. It resurfaced magically a month later. It's a little like finding a time capsule (or the days where you'd find a random roll of film and take it in for development).

Look at that hair! This was pre- head shave.

Wait, Mom, I really can get into the shower with my clothes on? COOL!

The birthday cake Toe made with his Grandma (Rosemary) with the re-lighting candles

The inside was glorious!

Camping-ish

It's not quite "glamping." We brought sleeping bags and had to walk more than a city block to bathrooms. HOWEVER, it was not really camping either. We had a roof, mattresses, and a space heater. There was electricity in our room. And for now, electricity is the deal breaker.

 We took Toe camping for the very first time a few weeks ago. It was a trial run. With his CF, bacteria in public bathrooms is a concern. The smoke from a campfire is a concern. We need electricity for breathing treatments (hypothetically we could do them in the car, but still... electricity is preferred). We had the opportunity to try at the local KOA. The Cub Scouts held their district pinewood derby in the Game Center there and Scouting families were invited to stay Friday and Saturday nights. We opted to go just for Saturday as I did not know how it would go with Toe's health. He has had a rocky winter/spring since January. His lungs are great, but he just finishes one virus when he catches another. He has mostly had low energy and run fevers high enough that I have had to keep him home from school. He was sick the week prior; I wasn't even sure if he would be healthy enough to go. 

There were many advantages to this experience. The greatest was that the campground was a fifteen minute drive from our house: we could drive home easily if things went badly. Instead, we had a perfect weekend.

Toe and I got there on Saturday and spent the afternoon walking around the grounds. Toe jumped on the giant jumping pillow. We played chess outside with oversized (three foot) pieces. We played ping pong. We shot hoops. We went to the camp store and got flashlights, wood for a fire, and marshmallows. On the way back to our cabin, when I told Toe it was time for dinner, he did not want to stop. He said in frustration, "It's just like you poured awesome all over my pancakes and then ate them yourself!"

Another Scout family from our den stayed next door, so while the boys played, the dad (an eagle scout) gave me a refresher on making teepee-style fires. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. By the time J arrived straight from work, the other family had gone to bed and Toe and I were reading Harry Potter aloud by the campfire.We did breathing treatment and Toe read by flashlight in his sleeping bag on the top bunk before falling asleep.

J had the next day off and Monday was a teacher work day (no school for Toe). We decided that we should stay another night. When we told Toe the next morning, he was elated. The weather was stunning. Toe did breathing treatment on the front porch while J read to him. Toe had opted to leave all tech at home, so instead of ipods or PSPs, we just read and enjoyed the sunshine.

I left the boys to play and drove home. Ok, here's the advantage to camping fifteen minutes from home: I was able to sterilize nebulizers in my own kitchen, pick up more medicine, check my email, and take a shower before I went back to the camp site. I found the boys playing ping pong.

We decided to search for the "Nature Trail" on the edge of the property. After a detour for playground time, we found a raised pathway through a wetlands. J and I were taken back to the days when we would regularly hike together. Toe loved the pathways.

We saw a beaver dam, a tree frog, coyote scat,  and a herd of elk as we squished along platforms above thin layers of mud.

I made the fire for dinner and we roasted hot dogs and ate freeze dried meals J and I had purchased for a backpacking trip ten years ago (still good!). J and I made the meal and tended the fire without really discussing what we were doing, just flowing between tasks comfortably.

The thing was, we have to pack so much to travel anywhere and do so many breathing treatments, that the additional work for camping did not seem difficult. I felt relaxed and happy the entire two days.

Each experience was  delightful surprise for Toe. He was shocked a sleeping bag could fit in a stuff sack. It looked like a magic trick. He loved cooking hot dogs over the fire. He was shocked that the powdery stuff in those foil bags could actually turn into food. It was a weekend of discovery and delight.

And we were still able to do Toe's breathing treatments as usual.

Sunday night, after we had extinguished our fire and had gone inside to do breathing treatment, we heard raindrops on the roof. Our space heater had warmed the room and we sat there, cozy and warm, reading together. It was only a couple of nights, but we all felt pretty spectacular for days afterwards.

Family work day

A few weekends ago, we took a trip to town to help my dad's cousin prepare her yard for spring/summer. Len is one of my favorite people and role models. She is an 83 year old yoga teacher who, despite arrhythmia, cultivates  her 3/4 of an acre with roses, fruit trees, and a large vegetable garden. I am telling you, there is no one like Len. A full novel would not do this woman justice.

Suffice it to say, we went to her house to help clear debris that came down in various storms this winter.  Toe and I picked up downed branches and sticks while J attacked blackberry bushes and clematis that had run amok. Len was out there with us the whole time...

We had a great afternoon and hope to spend more time with her as spring progresses, doing some of the heavier work.

Flowers have already started blooming in Len's yard. You can tell everything is hopeful for spring.

Can you tell how Len feels about Toe?

Meta-Technology

My brother has become very interested in a new game on the computer called "Tabletop Simulator." It is what it claims to be. You can choose the type of table you have and the background. You can then use the "Chest" to pick items to play games on the table: cards, dice, RPGs (role-playing games), chess... People have made a variety of "mods" so you can play other games on your virtual tabletop: popular board games like Candyland, obscure board games from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, My Little Pony figurines, many different card games; I am astounded by the number of choices available.

I find the idea of playing cards or a board game on the computer sort of bemusing. Why wouldn't you just play the real game? I guess the idea is that this way, friends from around the country can get together and play board games and/or cards. To add to the experience, you can add mods so that you can have virtual sodas, chips, and other items on the table that are not necessarily used in game play, but that add to the flavor of the experience.

I admit it, Jam and I have actually played Candyland in two adjoining rooms on two computers.

I showed up at Mom's house the other day to find the Jam-Man really excited about the newest mod: a virtual tablet. So now, in this virtual tabletop game, you can have a virtual tablet. But the virtual tablet doesn't just look like a tablet, it works like one. You can now go online on the virtual tablet while you are playing virtual board games on Tabletop Simulator. Say while you're playing and conversing over microphone/headphones, you get into an argument about some unusual piece of trivia. Now you can look it up on Google without leaving the game.

Ok, my mind is officially blown by this.

Jam-Man showed me how you can actually watch YouTube videos on your virtual tablet while playing Tabletop Simulator.

I am reminded of my grandmother's bathroom, actually.  When I was little, she was the first person to show me a mirror that folded out from the wall so you could see the back of your head and if you angled it correctly, you could see yourself in the mirror watching yourself in the mirror watching yourself in the mirror to infinity.

I asked Jam to take a screenshot of this phenomenon because I find it so baffling. The photo you see above is of Tabletop Simulator. Playing on the virtual tablet in the center of the table is a YouTube video of how to use Tabletop Simulator. I kid you not. Once he took the photo, Jam said, "I should have put a soda and some snacks on the table for you!"

I will let you decide how to process this information. I am feeling decidedly old.

Double Birthday

J and Toe celebrate birthdays one week apart. This year Toe had two birthdays - his own, and a joint birthday shared with his dad.

J's parents have made it a tradition to fly up from Texas to participate in the celebrations. I think this is their fourth year to make the journey and thankfully this year we were not moving (they have arrived mid-move TWICE. Apparently January is our favored moving month).

Toe and his Grandma Gus made his birthday cake together (for the actual day). A thee-layer extravaganza with rainbow cake, multi-colored icing, and eyeballs. It was, without a doubt, the best cake I have ever seen. They worked together through the baking, the dishes, and the decorating stages. I love that they have this time together and enjoy each others' company so much.

A week later, for the double birthday, we went to the new Arcade in town and then to the grandparents' hotel to watch the Superbowl (the grandparents took Toe swimming in the pool). The arcade is fantastic. Every game is a quarter and different ones are featured (and free) each day. Many of the games are from our childhood (MANY lifetimes ago).  Toe got to try Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Joust, Star Wars Podracing, Mortal Kombat, and some kind of Star Trek game that involved the Borg.

To make J's day, it turns out that the place sells COMICS and one of his favorite kinds of ice cream (Bears in a Tub - green apple ice cream, berry swirl, and gummy bears. It is truly disgusting). There is a tardis entrance to the bathroom. I told the people there that they had made this place as if they had pulled it out of my husband's imagination.

We were joined at the arcade by one of our favorite families.

Toe laughed so hard playing Mortal Kombat, I became a bit worried... :) A few friends surprised J and showed up at the arcade to join us. Mr. Bill and I actually ate a weird Frito concoction - nachos in the Frito bag... I had my sodium intake for the week.

Back at the hotel, we left the boys to watch the game and took Toe swimming and then home for breathing treatment. The Seattle loss was the only low part of the day.

J and Awesome watching the Superbowl

It is such a gift that the grandparents are willing and able to come share this event with us every year! Such a great time.

Foreshadowing

Upcoming teen attitude

On a family car ride last week, we had our first taste of the teen years. Toe was tired. He climbed into the car, put his sunglasses on, his hood up, and started reading his book. J and I turned on the radio and were excited to hear Prairie Home Companion playing. From the back we heard, "Turn it off! I can't read!" We were stunned. So stunned, we actually turned it off. We want to encourage our kid to read, sure. Silence for a few minutes.

Ok, we thought, no radio, we'll just talk. J started telling me about his day the day before and about some shows he likes to listen to on the radio. "QUIET!" came from the back seat. We both looked back, and there sat, not our boy, but a shadow of the teenager parents dread- moody, dark, removed, complete attitude.

Obviously, at seven, this would not do. We ended up having a brief but firm talk about how we are a family and we all have rights in the car and how we would work to be quiet, but he could not act like that, that he was completely out of line. He was not pleased and let us know that he just wanted to read. J and I continued our conversation and we could feel the heat from the fuming in the back seat.

He snapped out of it pretty quickly and read happily in the back.

And truthfully, I'm not sure if I was seeing foreshadowing or an imagined shadow.

We parents do that sometimes. I think back to my teenage years and remember arguments I had with my dad where I felt he was seeing a threat in me that did not exist - he was looking at me and seeing what he imagined, not who I was. Toe was just having a grumpy morning. That doesn't mean he'll turn into that sullen teenager.

Toe is a kid. He sometimes has attitude (and needs to know when it has gone too far). But generally, he's sunny and compliant and helpful. I snapped this photo about two minutes after our conversation. He was trying to dodge the camera.

However, we are on the alert: our kid continues to grow and new things are on the horizon.

Thankfully not yet