January 2021

The New Year dawned with universal hope for a better year but our hopes were quickly dashed as the rollout of the vaccine has gone very slowly and the mutation of the virus calls into question the effectiveness of ever getting this virus under control. But we can only continue to have faith and work through it all. I spent a couple of weeks designing the annual books for the kids. This year, they wrote a journal so all of the narrative was done by them. I put the text to pictures and had it printed. They were both back from the publisher by the end of the month.

While Karissa painted with Yaymaker for her “December” special day, Max met with Pops and his parents to discuss the summer backpacking trip. They weighed the pros and cons and finally decided to go ahead with the plan to do a 2 week hike around Tahoe on the Rim Trail at the end of July. In preparation, they plan to do a number of shorter 10-15 mile hikes starting in February. To help counteract altitude sickness, they will camp at Tahoe for a few days before the hike. With the decision made, they can now get their gear together. For Max’s special day this month, the 3 of us went to Bass Pro, REI, and Walmart to see what they had. Max will wait until after his birthday to buy what he needs, but Pops got pants and a shirt. I think they are both having fun with the planning and are looking forward to it.

My part in this adventure is to make a lightweight backpack, tent, gaiters and maybe a poncho for Rog. We did a lot of research and decided on material and pattern. Unfortunately, my trusty sewing machine has pooped out on me. I had it in the shop for routine maintenance and when I got it back he said it could no longer do heavy materials or use heavy duty thread. That makes it almost useless for me. He said I shouldn’t sink any more money into it and promised to find me a used machine that will work for me. Still waiting on that. I can’t remember when I got the Husqvarna but it has done so many projects, I am sad to see it go. It even sailed with us on NEOS and sewed the trampoline on the bow, all of the cushions and the bimini. The latest project for it was the screens and awnings for the patio. It is like a dear old friend but time for it to retire. Karissa got to spend a day with us while Max and his dad went on a hike with scouts. Always fun to have her around. We had the kids over for a craft day and they made ton can candle holders. They made a design on a tin can, pounded nail holes to outline the design. Then they painted them. More candle holders for the solstice!! That afternoon they did a Yaymaker painting project for MLK day.

Rog’s dojo got the go-ahead to get back into the gym for karate and he is delighted. They still refrain from close combat but at least they are warm. Wish I could say the same for the fitness gym. It is still outside only and VERY cold. I wear my heated jacket with pocket warmers in both hands. Aikido has started up again as well, but only with weapons. No close contact. The weather was cold and wet all month with a storm at the end of the month that blew hard. The front yard was full of twigs and branches. It took us a day to get it all straightened up. Max was lucky with a break in the weather just in time for his scheduled Eagle Scout project. He made panels for animal shelters and had 2 shifts of scouts to assemble them. His aim was to complete it by his birthday and he got it done with 3 days to spare. He was incredibly organized and did a lot of pre-planning so all went smoothly. He delivered the finished product to the Nature Conservancy on the last day of January.

Rog has been doing a lot of work on his model railroad, finishing switches and rail and designing mountain ranges.

I have been researching projector TVs and we had all but decided to go ahead and get one since our current TV is showing signs of following the sewing machine into retirement. We had the mistaken idea that large screen (80-85”) TVs were in the $5000 range. I also realized that putting the TV on the ceiling meant that everything that hooks into it would need to be relocated or rewired as well; antenna, DVD, wifi router, etc. Then Ryan bought one and I was amazed at the price. So we changed direction and waited for the Super Bowl specials. We found one at Costco for $1299.99, but upgraded to one that was $1499.99 because it allowed more inputs. (and that’s how we spent our economic impact payment) We had it delivered to the house and Rog modified a wall mount for it. Ryan came over to help him lift it into place and it took me a couple of hours to figure out all of the programming for it. Next plan is to build a buffet cabinet under it. When that gets installed, we will take the TV down and cut through the sheetrock to put the wired in the wall. For now, we are enjoying life size entertainment.