The football tradition begins

• Arrive in Portland for a fun weekend getaway (up!)
• Oldest daughter immediately gets sick with a stomach virus (down!)
• Daughter recovers so we visit old friends, eat out, and see the sights (up!)
• Return to Seattle and get stuck in mammoth traffic jams (down!)
• A new work week begins (up?)
• Youngest daughter gets sick with a stomach virus at school, vomits twice at home (down!)
• Daughter still sick the next day but wife volunteers to stay home with her. Daughter recovers (up!)
• I get sick with a stomach virus (down!) but I don’t throw up (up!)
• It snows in Seattle over the weekend (way up!)
• But then it melts and a record-breaking rain storm overwhelms our downspout drain and floods Western Washington (way down!)
• Roto-Rooter clears our downspout drain (up!) but can’t do anything about the regional flooding (down!)
• Wife has birthday and we all go out for dinner and cupcakes (up!)
• Later that night oldest daughter vomits entire stomach contents in bed (down!)
• I’m cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night (way down!)
• The next morning she is fine and goes to school (up!)
• Today, youngest daughter gets knocked down in the school yard, hits head on asphalt, school calls to come pick her up (down!)
• The sky does not fall (up!)

So what next?

Further reading informed me of a fictitious rabbit character in the comic “Bloom County” named “Hodge-Podge” who is “extremely conservative and fanatical about most things, though often ignorant and naive about just what those things are.” He later had “an affair with Rosebud the Basselope, resulting in Rosebud’s pregnacy with jackabasselopes.”

There is, of course, hodgepodge.com, an apparent placeholder domain for a mysterious startup called Product Pipe, Inc. They are seeking investment capital in case you may be interested.

There are the Hodge Podge Cottages located on Caddo Lake in Uncertain, TX. Caddo Lake’s claim to fame is to be “the only natural lake in Texas and by far the most mysterious.” I’m quite sure it is.

And don’t forget the Hodgepodge Society, who’s website invites you to “Please, by all means, depress our royal crest to enter.” Perhaps another time.

So as you can see, a hodgepodge of information about the word “hodgepodge” is available to you should you seek it. In fact, one might say the Internet is a great hodgepodge of information which does, in many ways, resemble mutton broth with vegetables, or perhaps a litter of jackabasselopes.

Until next time…

This year, there were just a couple of day camps for Lily while Julia continued to go to preschool three days a week. A few small vacations spread throughout the summer made for nice changes of scene. We did good keeping it mellow.

For the last week of summer before school started again, I decided to dip into my vast store of vacation and spend my time with the girls. Susan would be busy at work so I would have them all to myself. I dubbed it “Dad Camp”, a week-long extravaganza of copious amounts of my attention, fun trips around the city, and eating just about anything we wanted (within reason). The girls were thrilled by the idea.

On day one, we spent a lazy Sunday morning doing not much. After lunch it was time to go to the dump. I thought it important for the girls to get some understanding of where the stuff goes that we throw in the garbage. The transfer station is a real education. When we got there, they were hesitant to get out of the car because of the smell and the noise, but once they were out and helping me toss things into the pit, they were having a good time and asking questions. After that it was time for more tradition fun at Lakewood Playfield whereupon we decided it was much too hot and only ice cream could possibly cool us sufficiently. So off to Scoop de Jour we went for a cone of the delicious cold stuff. After that, who could resist the lure of Madison Park Playground? OK, I for one could resist, but, you know, it’s for kids.

The next day, Monday, I did actually go to work. Susan was not working and I needed to button things up for the long haul of being away for the next eight days. Dad Camp officially began Tuesday. The day began lazily, which quickly became the norm. I love a slow start to the day, and the girls fell in step with me and my lazy vibe. That was fun for me. We packed up a lunch and headed to Woodland Park Zoo where we spent the entire afternoon. Wednesday was cooler and not such a good outdoor day so we went to the library and then to West Seattle for Cars at the Admiral Twin. Lily had only been to two movies before and Julia just one, so they were extremely excited to see another, especially this one because their young cousins had really liked it. I love taking them to the movies and sharing the fun of the theater experience. Too bad there are so few good movies to take young kids to these days. After the movie, we went to the Frye Art Museum to see the amazing Klompen. This sound sculpture by Trimpin comprised of 120 wooden clogs that merrily tap out rhythms is not to be missed. The girls loved it. The thing is coin operated so bring some quarters.

Thursday was extra special fun because we got to ride the bus! The girls just love riding the bus. I have to admit that I also love to ride the bus (probably because I do it so rarely these days). We took the number 14 downtown and visited the big library. In addition to looking at books and exploring the building, we saw a puppet show. Did you know I love puppets? True fact. The girls love puppets, too. We were a merry bunch. We felt so merry we walked to Pike Place Market in search of… ice cream. And we found some! In addition to a lot of people milling about. It was very stimulating for the girls to see all those people and little shops and counters and stalls all crammed with food and things and people. The Market is an amazing place. We walked back to the bus stop and Lily spotted a long articulating bus and expressed her desire to ride on one of those. As luck would have it, it was a number 7 and that would get us back home just as well, if not faster, as the number 14. So we raced on board. The girls got busy entertaining themselves by making up silly stories and asking a ton of questions. As we climbed Jackson Street, Julia said loudly and in a silly voice, “Are we in Chinaland?” The African dude behind her laughed and I did too as I corrected her, “It’s Chinatown, silly.” Everyone smiled. After exiting the bus, I announced that to get home we would have to climb up the path where all the blackberries are. They both cheered and started racing toward what we later named “Yummy Hill” because it is covered in the most delicious ripe blackberries you can imagine. We ate our way home. That day also happened to be my birthday but the festivities were scheduled for Sunday, and because Lily had soccer practice and Susan said she would take her there when she got home from work, I ended up cooking my own birthday dinner. Did you know that I don’t cook much? True fact. We had chili and cornbread and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t bad.

Friday was a rather lazy day. In fact, I’m having trouble remembering what we did. We checked out Coulon Park in Renton and decided it sucked. The playground was good but it was in the hot sun and unusable on this day. (Why do park developers put play structures in the sunniest spots? They must not have children.) The rest of the park felt totally devoid of nature. There were signs everywhere that you couldn’t ride a bike or walk your dog? (No dogs!?) Totally weird. When Susan got home we all went out for sushi and to play at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill. Love that place.

The long Labor Day weekend was family time. We hung around the house, did chores (including six loads of laundry), bought school supplies and some new clothes, did the shopping, and went out for a low-key birthday dinner at Hi-Life followed by cake and ice cream at Mom’s. A nice little dip in the lake on the north shore of Seward Park cooled our heals on Monday afternoon.

And then today, the final day of Dad Camp, we wrapped up with some rather unusual (for Dad Camp, that is) errands, including Office Depot for more supplies, G.I. Joe’s for new soccer cleats, and Trader Joe’s. In between all that driving around in the hot car we checked in with Susan at her new school to help with last minute preparations. Tomorrow, the new school year begins and we go back to our busy busy schedules. Summer comes to a close. And it was a nice summer, indeed.

Me: Oh really, how’s that?

Lily: Cause when you do this (gives me the finger) is means you don’t like someone.

Me: (Smiling) Yeah, pretty much.

Lily: (Gives me and everyone else at the dinner table the finger, big grin on her face as she does it.)

What is this, the heck?

This one from my wife:

I was once followed by a wild hog.

Whatever pet we were to choose it had to be rather small and easy to care for. Maybe something that could survive without constant attention? I also thought it would be nice if the pet could provide an educational experience for our daughters, so they could not only share the responsibility of taking care of an animal but also witness the life cycle of something from nature. This idea narrowed the choices down further to something with a short life span.

It turned out that the answer to our pet problem was a 220 million year old crustacean, Triops longicaudatus.

I first became aware of Triops at my daughter’s preschool. There they had a little tank of fresh water in which some Triops eggs had been tossed. In just a couple of days, a dozen or so tiny Triops hatched. Irregular feedings thereafter meant fewer and fewer Triops in the tank until one lone Triops, a pretty big guy after two weeks of eating his cousins, remained. The water in the tank was a bit murky, lending a certain mystery to the Triops’ life and times. I was intrigued. I decided we should try raising Triops.

Of course, it’s silly to think of a two inch long crustacean swimming in a murky tank of water as a pet. Isn’t it? Perhaps. Our daughters referred to our Triops as “our pets” even as they giggled knowing it was a bit absurd. Nevertheless, they do exhibit some pet-like qualities: they are animals, albeit a simple and ancient species; they require food, light, attention, and regular water changes; and they are gregarious swimmers that are quite entertaining to watch. There are, however, two qualities which the Triops possess that do not grant them high marks in petitude: their tendency to eat the weak members among them and the incontrovertible grossness of their peculiar visage.

I will refrain from posting a photo of the Triops as I think it would be too shocking for you. If you really must take a gander at it’s horribleness, you may go here. I’ll wait, but consider yourself warned… Ok, did you have a look? Are you satisfied?

Anyway, you may have noticed that I referred to our Triops in the past tense two paragraphs above. That is because this morning, after 24 days of life, all nine remaining Triops dropped dead. I don’t know why. And I’m not overly concerned about it. In fact, I’m quite relieved. I am a bit curious if it was the algae that did them in. I changed the water several times but the algae came back quickly. Perhaps the poor buggers suffocated.

And now I offer you a poem by Ogden Nash:

The Shrimp

A shrimp who sought his lady shrimp
Could catch no glimpse
Not even a glimp.
At times, translucence
Is rather a nuisance.

Of course, I spent the first hour at the fair looking for the best way to leave it. I’m not big on rubbing elbows with the teeming masses, and, like Colin Powell, I’m always looking for an exit strategy. But I was there for the kids. The kids! They were into it so what could I do? I tried to love it. It didn’t quite work out for me; I felt like I gave more than I received. Too bad for me.

But let’s talk about chickens for a moment. Who knew there were so many breeds and colors of hen and rooster? I found the variety fascinating. The bantams were down right cute. And I saw a tiny hen with the longest legs I’ve ever seen. I swear she was half stork.

The rabbits were beyond fluffy, the piglets beyond squeaky, and the goats beyond… horny? It goes without saying that the animal specimens found at the fair are the cream of the crop, and in some case they make the cream and are the crop.

Now the rides were alright but expensive as all get out. $4 for a lousy spin on the carousel? Come on. We blew more dough on the rides than any other thing. But again it was for the kids. The kids! They loved it, and that’s what counts.

I’m sure we’ll be back next year. Maybe next time I’ll try one of them steaks. Moo.

But what do I know of pairing wine with food? Nothing. I’m strictly an amateur. But I do know what I like to some degree. With chocolate it must be red and rich. I thought I had a good candidate in “the cellar.” It was a 2002 Black Label Claret from Coppola. It had been hanging around for a year or so. The deal was sealed.

This wine rocked my socks off. The cake, too, was stellar. These were two very rich substances going toe-to-toe until the final bell. The wine was lively and fruity, a great addition to the rich, dense cake. I ate too much. I drank to much. It was a good birthday.