Nov 2021

In an effort to break up the days, we took a weekend trip to Providence. We had no idea how big of a deal it would be to the kids – a month later they are still saying, “Can we go back to Providence?”

Not that it was a terribly exciting trip. In fact, I felt as if they city no longer has the quirky appeal that it had when I lived there; now it feels like most other cities. Still, the hotel had a pool and that’s what counts. And a zoo.

I was really fascinated by this giraffe, though I’m not sure why. He stayed close by for a long time and we got to really study his anatomy. Giraffes are just weird creatures if you take a good, hard look.

Mina enjoyed watching the flamingos – and pretending to be one.

When we were ready to leave on Sunday, we took a detour over to Fall River to check out Battleship Cove.

Linus is just the right size to be a submariner.

Linus was surprisingly ambivalent about the whole thing. But once Yen suggested that we could send some of the photos to his teacher. Then he got very interested.

And maybe went a little overboard.

Yen and Linus haven’t been getting along all that well, so it was a relief when they started enjoying the visit together.

After our visit we found an Azorean restaurant (Marisqueira, for future reference) that went way beyond expectations. For a glorious hour, we really felt as if we were in the Azores – we were the only table in the restaurtant not chattering away in Portuguese. The food was outstanding. It was absolute bliss. Here’s Mina blending in with Euro style.

Back at home, we both back to our usual arts and crafts.

And Mina was sick again, so she had a day with Yen.

Luckily she recovered in time to attend a birthday party.

We did some baking together.

Everyone visited the dentist.

And there were so many leaves to rake!

The weather has been up and down, but we’re still outside as much as possible.

Linus started karate. I think I already posted this, but just in case… And as an update he has mastered 1 pinian and will go for yellow belt after the holidays!

I bought the kids cake pops as a special treat one day, and this is how I discovered that Linus will no longer eat any “cute” food – if it looks like something cute, he won’t do it. After this picture was taken, he burst into tears and I had to put it back in the bag. Later I fed it to Mina when he was away. I’ve said it before: this kid is a future vegetarian.

Mina and I went to a fundraiser paint night at the school.

Acrylics are not my medium. But Mina nailed it!

We renewed our Trustees membership, so we can go back to Decordova again!

Linus is going to be furious when he realizes I’ve shared this, but he let me record his little Bartleby bedtime song. It’s for history.

And speaking of cute little things, the hat thieves are back.

Ugh. We’ve all gained so much weight – or rather, Yen and I have, and the kids have gained because they’re growing. Still, family exercise is in order. Mina is our trainer, of course.

It’s not much of a workout, but we’ve also been bowling.

Did I ever post this? Mina created the entire cast of Avatar out of paper, then put on an incredibly long show one evening. We mostly stayed awake for it.

We’ve been keeping busy with dance parties. I get an invitation at least once a week.

And there’s singing.

One evening we went to the library and the kids entertained us with a puppet show.

Buns! Mina says they aren’t regulation because they “have holes in them.”

I will leave you with one non-kid photo. One day I was working away in my upstairs office, when I heard all the birds in the yard start to scream. I knew that meant a predator nearby, and I looked out the window. This hawk was right outside my window! Not a great photo, but it was a nice moment in my day.