Snow!

We had snow falling all day. The girls had their last indoor game this morning, which they won against the best team in Dio's age category. They stopped by a Mexican restaurant for lunch.

It's been a full day of cleaning and packing. I see the end in sight, although two certain teenagers have overpacked and can't get all their clothes into one carryon. We keep telling them they can leave some stuff here but they want to bring more than we have space for!

Tomorrow's to-do list:
- buy more AC/furnace filters
- house tour to our renters to show them where shutoffs are, how things work, etc
- meet with my repair guy to go over things to do while we're gone
- disconnect the car battery
- wash all of the sheets
- eat, toss, or freeze all of our food
- continue taking pictures of every room (good for documentation, insurance, etc)

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Poor Ivy. She woke up with a fever and feeling terrible. She wanted to go to school so badly! She had several big assignments due, and it's her 2nd to last day of class. But there was no way she could go. I assured her I would drop off her big science project and get in touch with her teachers.

She got to hear me give Grand Rounds to BC Women's in Vancouver...meet with a charitable foundation about a grant for open-access medical/surgical training modules...meet with my grant writer. A day in the life of mama.

We're only a few days from leaving and we still have so much to pack and clean. I keep asking the kids to work on their own rooms but they've had too much homework.

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Tiling, studying, cleaning, & packing

I've been helping renovate one of our rental apartments, sneaking over many evenings and weekends and working alongside our miracle worker Larry--brick mason, former general contractor, plumber, electrician, welder. You name it, he can do it!

Today we laid the kitchen countertops--2x4' tiles with Schluter metal edging. I've never laid tiles this big before! I also did a bunch of painting. We only have a few days left since the tenant is moving in on Saturday!

Tomorrow is backsplash tile, Tuesday is grout, Wednesday is installing the upper cabinets, Thursday is deep cleaning. Phew!

The kids all had a lot of homework this afternoon and evening. Dio had to watch The Truman Show for his English class--I caught the last half of it with him.

I did some packing and deep cleaning. Only 1 week left!

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A few pictures from life over the past few days...

Today's theme: frozen soccer

I drove 5 hours bringing kids back and forth to soccer games an hour away...froze while watching the games...same with for Eric with the other kids. We even did an exchange along the highway, finding a halfway point and switching carfuls of kids.

They had to plow the snow off the fields so the kids could play.

Ivy went to her first school dance last night and had a blast.

Inga, 2 friends, and I went to a cookie contest & gingerbread decorating activity tonight. They were the cookie judges. I don't even want to know how much sugar they consumed.

We had fun decorating the gingerbread manger...they had some fun details, like a swimming pool with miniature gingerbread men lounging in their pool floats...3 girls holding hands and a soccer ball at their feet...

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Go Inga!

It's super late and I've been not sleeping much and so this is all you get from me today!

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My day was so full going from one meeting or appointment to another...then I finally had a few minutes, only to turn around and drive Dio to soccer practice! Whew! Eric and Inga also had practice, and she went to the other team's practice after and then they got something to eat. It was a late night for them.

Meanwhile poor Ivy was at home with no one around and no one to make dinner...

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More snow!

Because we're leaving for sunny Nice in 2 weeks, I'm happy to see more snow and cold weather. Plus snow is better than frozen gray-brown ugliness.

I had some intense meetings today, so in the late afternoon I took a mental health break (aka going to the rental apartment and painting!). After dinner, I took Ivy and Inga and a friend to a discount clothing/home goods store. Inga found 2 pairs of jeans.

What else? I can't think of much so off to bed for me!

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Snowfall

We had a nice snowfall yesterday. Some parts of it were more blizzard than anything else with all the wind. It's supposed to be quite cold for the next week so I think the snow will be staying. In November, it's more common for the snow to disappear the next day.

The girls had an indoor soccer game yesterday, ending in a tie. That was our only scheduled weekend event. We did lots of painting over at the rental apartment, went to the indoor fieldhouse, and made banana chocolate chip muffins. It's been a relaxed weekend.

We're starting to pack up boxes, getting ready for our migration to France in just 2 weeks.

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Life has been ramping up...more than usual...as evidenced by my lack of journaling!

We visited my sister in Dayton Wed-Thurs, driving back yesterday night. My parents were also there so it was a fun part-family reunion.

Zari was invited to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Eric's cousin, who has some American friends. But she woke up on Thanksgiving day with a fever and sore throat! She stayed in bed all day and of course had to miss out on the festivities.

Eric and I drove back into Indianapolis for dinner with friends who we haven't seen for several years now. They have been living part-time in France--sabbatical years and many summers--and are trying to do the same thing we're doing with a half-time academic schedule.

We leave in just over 2 weeks and all of the prep work--packing, deep cleaning--needs to start happening.

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Life has been busy...but that's not really new! Inga and Ivy had an indoor game in the morning, then Inga had a club game in the evening. In between, I took them and a friend thrift shopping. Ivy found some fancy shoes for the school dance, and Inga found a necklace. I found myself some knee-high leather boots ($6) and a sweater ($3).

I've got to get the house tidied up because we're showing it tomorrow to a prospective renter.

I filmed, edited, and produced a rough draft of a new lecture today. I think it's almost ready for the final production and release!

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Morning excitement

I woke up to discover that someone had hacked one of our bank accounts and completely emptied it--almost $30,000 gone instantly! That added a small bit of stress to my day (understatement of the year). I spent about an hour on the phone trying to get it sorted out. They're fairly confident they can get it all back...but until it's back, it's still gone.

Yeah, that was fun.

I had 6 meetings. Maybe more--I lost track after a while.

What else? It was raining so no walking group today. We had thunder and lightning at school pickup, but it cleared enough for soccer practice in the evening.

Ivy was feeling sick, but she didn't want to miss school so she powered through it. Her friend said she looked feverish. I'm trying to convince her that a hot bath/shower and early bedtime would be a good idea.

I made quiche Lorraine today with a homemade pie crust. Yum. I have to find ways to use up all of our cream!

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Soccer, cream, and swimming

Inga and Ivy had an indoor game yesterday, winning 1-0. Inga then went straight to a club game, where they won 9-0 and Inga scored 2 goals.

I did some work on the rental apartment while the girls were gone at soccer. Dio and I raked leaves in the backyard.

Some friends gave us 5 liters of heavy cream--for free! They bought 10 liters at the Amish grocery store for $4.50 total and couldn't use it all. Would I like half? Yes, please! I made a big batch of butter and still had 4 liters left over. Today we had crème brûlée for dessert, and I anticipate many desserts and dishes involving cream in our near future.

We all went to the university pool this afternoon, plus one of Inga's friends. I couldn't work up the drive to get in the relatively cold water...so I sat on the side in my swimsuit enjoying them play.

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We're enjoying a warm spell after this last cold snap. Tomorrow should be almost 70F! We'll do a final leaf raking. Ivy and Inga have an indoor soccer match, followed by Inga's club team game. But that's all the soccer we have all weekend!

I'll probably work over at the rental apartment while the girls are playing soccer.

There's a huge football game, the Monon Bell Classic, tomorrow. No chance of getting tickets, and Eric already gave away his one ticket. I'm not that into American football, but apparently it's super fun to watch.

We're loving the show "Resident Alien." I think we just finished episode 5.

I sewed "Freeze FC" badges onto the indoor team's shirts tonight. I love the new badges! I'll snap a picture tomorrow.

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Workshopping

I'm at a breech training today and tomorrow, observing Dr. Denny Hartung teach. It's lovely not having to push the baby through for 10 hours a day!

The hot water in my hotel room is warm, but not hot. So disappointing. After a day in a cold classroom, I was hoping to relax in a hot shower. But this morning's shower left me shivering.

I woke up way too early again, 4:45 am! A slight improvement over 4 am, which was the case the prior to days. But still! What is up?

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I get to sleep in a hotel for the next 2 nights; I'm out of town at a breech training. Maybe I'll sleep better? I've been waking up around 4 am the last 2 nights and it's exhausting.

Today I built and filmed this setup for our simulators, using a bench rather than having to strap it to a higher table and lean over to push the baby through. I used a foldable bench and a wood serving board.

My next project is to build a hinged, adjustable support so the simulator can tilt up and down. If it works, it would allow for 4 birth positions: hands & knees, standing, supine, & birth stool.

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Sooo cold!

It snowed through this morning and then got sunny but still very cold. Brrrrr! I am not acclimatized.

I woke up around 4 am today and couldn't get back to sleep. Grrrr!

Okay, time for bed. Ahhhh!

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Frozen Sunday, first snow

Inga and I got up well before dawn in the freezing rain for a soccer game 1 hr 15 min away (where she practices 3x per week). I felt so sorry for those poor girls, having to play in the freezing rain! I was fortunate to find a parking spot right next to the field, in the middle, so I watched from the comfort of the car.

Her team won 4-0, with Inga scoring one of the goals and making several other shots on goal. We were back home by noon, at which point it started snowing and hasn't stopped yet. I actually love the first snow of the season. If it's going to get cold and dreary, I'd rather have snow than dismal gray and brown. Too bad it won't stick around for more than a day.

Zari also had her first snow today and baked bread for the first time! Maple syrup on snow is a Freeze family childhood favorite.

We got the house all cleaned up to show to a potential tenant while we're gone in France. It's nice to have a reason and a motivation to get everything tidied up.

We made homemade pretzels this evening and they got eaten before I could take pictures.

I'm really tired from being up so early!

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Not a successful soccer Saturday

Dio and I were out the door at 7:30 am for a tournament south of Indianapolis. He was playing for the B team as a fill-in (one level down from the A team he's on), so he was a bit hesitant because he didn't know anyone. They one the first game and lost the second one. He wasn't thrilled with the team and felt like the level of play was really poor. We got home near 5 pm.

Inga and Ivy had an indoor soccer match, the first of the season, which unfortunately they lost 4-1.

By time I got home it was time for dinner, and then I had a live session at 8 pm.

I have to get up at 6 am tomorrow to bring Inga to a soccer game north of Indianapolis.

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What are some of the things I was up to today?

Breech meetings
Writing up an outline for a new course module
Arranging simulator shipping from Poland to Austria
Painting, sanding, and caulking over at the rental apartment for a change of pace
More breech meetings to plan another course module
Spray painting plantation blinds white (because I'd rather spend $30 on spray paint than $700 on new blinds!)
Checking in on a Portuguese breech live session to ensure the host was all set to go
Driving Dio 45 minutes to soccer practice, sitting in the car for 1.5 hours, and then driving him back. Had a little cat nap in the car.
More breech work

Inga also had her usual soccer practice 1hr 15 min away.

Time for bed!

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I'm wrung out from hours of intense meetings today. I think it was 5 hours in all.

After the first bout, I just had to go do something non breech-related and low stakes. So I headed over to the rental apartment and painted woodwork and sanded the walls.

Dio is working on an essay about how music affects the brain and body...Ivy had a youth activity and ran around playing games in the dark...Inga had soccer practice again in Indianapolis. Haven't heard from Zari yet today, which is unusual! She must be busy with homework.

I was up at 5:30 am, stressing about all of the stressful things that we were going to be meeting about. Time for bed!

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4+ hours in the car for 1 soccer practice

I got soccer practice driving duty for Inga tonight, since Eric was tied up with a big university event. I was in the car for 4 hrs 20 mins for a practice that lasted just over 1 hour. It was nice to drive with her--she was mostly memorizing a Spanish presentation. But I still think it's insane that we do this for her 3x a week, and Dio and Ivy also have far away practices, and they also have indoor soccer teams, plus all of their soccer games.

I keep thinking, "I want to go back to France so I can see my family again and eat dinner together."

I had some fun tests done today--mostly to rule out unlikely things. So I got all hooked up to all sorts of wires and machines and got to exercise on a treadmill wearing 10 wires but no bra or shirt! Fun times. I had a nice conversation with the ultrasound tech, especially when she heard about my line of work.

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Too much of a good thing?

Phew! We had a full weekend of soccer tournaments. Inga was up at 6 am, back at 10:30 pm, and up at 6 am the next day. Dio also had tournaments both days, and Ivy had a game somewhere in the middle! In all, we were shuttling 3 kids between 4 different locations an hour away over 2 full days. Enough!

However, the good news is that Dio's and Inga's teams both won their tournaments! We have videos of each scoring a goal during the last game.

What else? It was a busy fun week with Zari and I didn't write much here.

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I got myself to the gym this morning (yay!) even though I was not feeling motivated. Then I got Zari started on painting the woodwork in the rental apartment. Zoomed back home for a busy day of meetings and video editing.

We started watching a really funny show: Resident Alien.

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Victory!!

Ivy's 2-day tournament ended in a smashing success. They won 4-0 this morning and 4-1 this afternoon. It was so cold in the morning and I was underdressed! We had about 3 hours between games, so we got something to eat and then wandered around Walmart and Target. Then we sat in car and rested.

I loaded Zari up with every spice in my spice cupboard, using tiny ziploc bags. She is super excited! We made lemon poppyseed muffins because why not?

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Zari is here!

She drove up with Eric and Ivy at 5 pm. We immediately went to a chili cookoff and Trunk or Treat party. Then we came home and watched a movie.

We let Ivy sleep through the early morning game. She wasn't feeling 100%, so she and Eric went just to watch the 2nd game.

I did lots of work on the rental apartment: testing some paint colors, applying epoxy wood hardener on some of the window frames and sashes that were feeling just the slightest bit soft. I also stripped all of the painted hardware, starting with an overnight boil in the crockpot. Some needed an extra bath in paint stripper to get the last bits off.

Inga, Dio, and I went thrift shopping. Dio founds lots of things--pants, shirts--while Inga found nothing. I got a sweater dress, a long-sleeve t-shirt for a pajama top, and a pair of Adidas pants that will be Zari's painting pants. (I'm putting her to work, and paying her, to help paint the rental apartment.)

Ivy and I have an early morning tomorrow for day 2 of the tournament. If they win, we won't be home until 5 pm. If they lose, we'll be home at noon.

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Ivy is still sick. Poor girl! We keep thinking she'll get better and every day it lingers. She had a tough evening. During dinner she had a terrible headache and that set her off.

She has an all-day soccer tournament but I doubt she'll be well enough to play, especially for the 6:30 am wakeup! If she's feeling better, she may join for the second game at noon.

I made the kids help over at the rental property. Today's job was removing all of the hardware (hinges, bin pulls, knobs, etc) so we can repaint everything. I need to strip a lot of it because some lazy person painted over it. Ugh. Mortal sin of home renovating.

Eric, Dio, and Inga just got back from playing indoor soccer at the university. Ivy is in bed and I'll be getting under the covers soon. And...Zari arrives tomorrow for a week-long visit during her fall break (reading week)! We are so excited.

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School break, sick

It's been a boring school break for the kids. I have so much work that I can't really do much to entertain them. Ivy came down with a fever yesterday and she's been in bed the past two days.

Eric, Inga, and Dio are playing indoor soccer at the university. I'm super cold and just want to stay under the warm blankets!

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After a morning meeting, I brought the kids to the rental apartment for more cleaning and prep. I scrubbed woodwork and windows while the kids took nails and screws out of the walls and spackled the holes. There were well over 100 nail holes in the walls! What on earth was this person hanging up?

Inga had a friend over in the afternoon; they played chess, went on his skateboard, made Smores with us, and watched a movie.

Dio and Eric drove to his soccer practice about 40 minutes away. It's far but at least he gets his driving hours in.

Lots more video editing and transcription preparation...

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Rain, dishwasher deal, drawing, decluttering

The rain continued through mid-afternoon, for which we are so thankful.

I drove about a half hour away to buy a used Bosch dishwasher for the rental apartment. It's only about 5 years old and was a steal for $50. I hope it works well for many years!

Dio and Inga spent many hours drawing today. Dio drew his friend-who-is-a-girl who, at this point, is more of a girlfriend. Inga drew some beetles and a picture of her friend-who-is-a-boy when he was a toddler.

I decluttered the kid's toys up in the attic this afternoon. I invited them all to come and help...but no one did! So I decided what to keep and what to give away. I wasn't too radical; I kept a bit more than half. We can go through items more when/if we move. I listed the things on the online classifieds and I hope I can give them away quickly!

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Slave labor

With much grumbling--some real, some good-natured--we worked over at one of our rental apartments this morning. Everything is covered with sticky bits of who knows what, so the goal today was to spray, scrub, and rinse all of the woodwork. It's no small feat given all of the intricate cracks and moldings!

This picture is from a long time ago before we took the carpet out...but see all that woodwork? All those tiny window panes? So much stuff to scrub and clean!

Eric couldn't convince any of the kids to go to the university soccer game. So he went alone and had a good time. I did some last yard work before the rain came. It's been probably a month since it's rained and much of the state is in a drought. We are so glad to finally have rain again! My thrifted rain barrel is already full and overflowing.

We watched a movie together this evening.

Zari sent me a picture of what she made (hardboiled eggs, green beans, fish), and I sent her a picture of what Eric made (orzo & bean salad).

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School break!

The kids are on break all next week. Eric's break was this Thursday and Friday--not long but at least he was able to sleep in for 2 days.

The carriage house bathroom is framed in. It looks small but is quite spacious; the vaulted ceilings are quite high.

The big rectangular frame in the roof (right side) is for the skylight/balcony.

Ivy had a group of girls over after school to do a science project (dropping eggs from a high distance and trying to cushion them with popcorn, parachutes, straw, etc). Then she had one friend come back for a sleepover.

I got to drive a big pickup truck today to pick up kitchen cabinets for one of our rental apartments. I felt like such a country girl. My first car was a pickup (a little 5-speed Ford Ranger, no frills, great car) that we had until just before Zari was born.

Dio and Inga went to the last football game of the season.

Tomorrow no one has soccer games, so we'll do some cleaning and prep work on the rental apartment (with plenty of teenage complaining, I am sure) and then watch the Wabash soccer game in the afternoon.

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Zari is cooking a Thanksgiving dinner with some roommates. She made browned butter mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Her roommate (from Mexico) is making enchiladas. While it's not traditional, it sounds delicious!

Inga had tryouts for another club team in Indianapolis. Dio and Ivy went to the school choir concert (middle & high school choirs). They had a fun time and Ivy wants to be in choir next year.

Work on the carriage house is advancing. My amazing brick mason / I-can-do-everything-guy is reinforcing all of the roof trusses with 2x6s and framing in the closet/laundry area (on the right) and bathroom (on the left). I have started to sketch out electrical plans because that sort of thing is super fun for me. It's still approximate but at least I have an idea of how many switches, outlets, and fixtures I need and about where they will go.

My vision of this upstairs area is:

• leaving the exposed brick on both gables
• white shiplap on the vaulted ceiling
• hardwood floors
• carriage house lanterns above both windows on the gables (already bought at Restore)
• bubble glass carriage house lamps hanging from the ceiling (already bought at Restore)
• there will be a skylight on the left side that unfolds into a roof balcony. They are super cool! Search "Velux Cabrio."

I'm making good headway through the French translation of Breech Pro. Phew. It's hard to be at my desk all day when the renovations are calling my name!

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My hunter-gatherer lifestyle

Weekends allow me to follow a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. I visited three Habitat for Humanity Restores, hunted down more deals at a huge secondhand store and Facebook Marketplace ads, and gathered all sorts of supplies for our carriage house renovation as well as for a rental apartment I'm redoing. I found...

• A new water softener for $50 instead of $650
• A new shower base for $155 instead of $450
• A new bathroom faucet for $89 instead of $350
• A complete set of kitchen cabinets in very good condition, solid cherry, for under $300 total (for the rental apartment)
• A like-new stainless steel electric range for $300 (rental apartment)
• Several boxes of ceramic tiles (rental apartment)
• A new Miele dishwasher for $225, normally $1,800
• 10 amazing carriage house seeded glass light fixtures between $10-$20 each
• 8 dimmable & adjustable LED spots for $2.50 each
• a box of 8 spot housings for under $5 each
• a hammered silver vessel sink & faucet for $75
• a rain barrel for $40
• -an antique marble-topped washstand and mirror for $135, which we'll turn into the bathroom vanity
• a privacy lockset for the bathroom

I am beyond thrilled with my finds.

What else? Ivy was at a sleepover last night and stayed up until 3 am. She was kaput today. Dio went on a class trip to the historic reenactment fair (Feast of the Hunter's Moon), then had a soccer team party & barbecue, then went to a play at our local theater with a girl-who-is-a-friend.

We made a fire & Smores tonight and enjoyed cuddling with our adopted stray cat, Radar. We had a fire last night as well with lots of cuddles. Ivy had a packet of chemicals that turned the flames blue and green. The colors were much more vivid in real life than in the video.

We finished the evening by watching an episode of Quantum Leap. It's cheesy but fun.

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Sleep? What's that?

I had one of those nights where I lay in bed, tired but wide awake, until about 3:30 am. Ugh. Somehow I made it through the day without falling asleep and having things mostly together.

Inga's school team lost sectionals 2-1. They were ahead 1-0 until the last 15 minutes. She was so disappointed and came out of the field crying.

Zari continues to be very social, going to all sorts of activities and clubs, talking with classmates and professors, doing things with roommates. We are thrilled!

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No games today. School soccer is finished for Ivy and Dio. Indoor soccer starts next week for Dio and then in a few more weeks Inga's club team will start. Inga has sectionals tomorrow. If they win, they advance to regionals (?). If they lose, that's the end of the school soccer season.

Not a whole lot to report for work--lots of computer work, meetings, etc.

Good progress on the carriage house. They've reinforced most of the roof joists (sistering 2x6s onto the existing 2x4s, which will also give us the needed depth for R38+ insulation for the unvented vaulted ceiling via closed cell spray foam).

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Sectionals and building permits

Every time after we finish a big renovation project, we say "No more." Then...a year or two or three passes...and suddenly we're starting something again! This time it's our carriage house, which we've been wanting to finish into a proper apartment for only 14 years.

Our brick mason turns out to also have worked as a licensed plumber and electrician and he has built his own house start to finish. He's eager to help us with this project, which is a first for us. We've always done pretty much everything ourselves. But his prices can't be beat, and his quality of work is great. (Plus he gives us free tomatoes and cucumbers from his garden! Bonus!)

The goal this fall is to get all the framing, plumbing, and electrical done, and maybe also the insulation. There are only a few small areas to frame (2 bathroom walls, 1 kitchen wall). Anyway, I submitted the plans today to the city planning department so we can officially start.

Next summer and fall will be the finishing work, which I'll be a lot more involved with because I'm super picky that way.

The history of the carriage house is interesting. The living area next to the garage was labeled as a "gardener's quarters" in the paperwork, and it used to be a gorgeous finished living space. We met someone whose family bought the house in the 1920s. Soon after we bought the house in 2011, he was in town for some sort of school reunion. He was in his late 80s at the time. He recounted all sorts of memories from living in our house, including that they used to have a maid who lived in the maid's room (now a laundry room, off the back staircase). The gardener's quarters back then was a music room with a piano.

When we bought the house, the previous owners had left a 7 foot wide hole in the roof of the carriage house when a tree fell on it during a tornado. I suspect they collected the insurance money but never repaired the roof. We had to rebuild the roof and unfortunately the entire room was in ruins. We had to pull out everything: decorative moldings, flooring, furniture, woodwork...everything was rotten. We took it back to the bare studs and floor joists and are essentially building an entirely new living area.

Dio and Inga both had sectionals today. Inga's team won, although apparently they didn't play very well. Dio's team tied 0-0, went into overtime, and lost in a shootout.

Zari called tonight and related that she was a bit tired: "I stayed up until 2 am talking with my roommates." Ah, college life!

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Fancy French Food

Eric and I were invited to a fraternity dinner. When the kids were little, we used to go to these several times a year. Since Covid, though, we haven't had the opportunity. The university fraternities regularly invite faulty & their families to have a special dinner with them. This one was by far the most impressive we've ever been to!

They had fraternity alums helping cook and serve, which I thought was a lovely gesture of loyalty and solidarity.

Zari has found a used bike and today she trekked to Canadian Tire to get herself a bike lock. Now she can explore Toronto on the next level!

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Victory & nuit blanche

Ivy had another game today (#5 this weekend), winning 6-0. She scored 2 of the goals. This was for her club team and was out of town, so it was just Eric and Ivy.

Inga had a tryout for a club team in Indianapolis, Indy Premiere, and they are interesting in taking her. She has two other tryouts next week. Looks like a lot of driving in our near future for practices & games. Sigh...

Given that there are between 30,000-50,000 extra people in our little town, it hasn't seemed very crowded except for Friday's parade. I wonder where they all are?

Zari went to a Nuit Blanche outdoor art exhibit in downtown Toronto last night. She wasn't sure if she should go, not knowing what it would be like, but her roommates wanted to check it out. I encouraged her to go and she loved it. Among all of the interesting/weird/cool art was a wrestling show.

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Champions!

Ivy had an all-day tournament, ending with her team winning the conference championship! They scored 7-0, 8-2, and 3-1. Ivy scored the final goal in the final match. It was beautiful. I brought Inga and Dio to the second game. Dio wasn't feeling great, so I took him home and came back to watch the final.

 

(Dio is now sick with a fever and has been in bed most of the afternoon and evening.)

I did yard work and house cleaning this morning.

Zari ran a 9k this morning with a university running club. She reports that her legs are tired and wobbly. But I'm proud of her for doing it! Here's a video and a picture from her run along the waterfront.

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It's been a busy past few days, with (guess what?) soccer and work.

Our little town of 16,000 is hosting the Motocross of Nations this weekend, bringing in over 30,000 people! We can't believe that people are flying in from all over the world to come HERE.

There have been all sorts of events getting set up, including a parade downtown.

Ivy had a club game this evening and scored a lovely goal. Since Eric isn't coaching this team, he was able to film it! She has a school tournament all day tomorrow.

Inga and Dio went to the high school football game this evening, Inga to help her soccer team run the concession stand and Dio because some friends were going.

Zari made borscht today. When she cooks, she often ends up feeding her roommates! She learned that they had never eaten beets and had to remedy that situation. 

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Ivy's team had a game yesterday, winning 9-1 with Ivy scoring and assisting several goals. Inga's team played today, winning 1-0 when the other team scored an own goal.

More video editing for me...not much else to report. Oh, Zari called and founds some suspicious looking bugs in her bed. I had her take pictures, capture a bug and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer, and then start emergency precautions: first, call her landlady and show her what she found. Then wash & heat dry everything on or near the bed; saturate the bed frame and mattress with isopropyl alcohol; and the treat the bed, mattress, and room with diatomaceous earth. Ugh.

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More of the same...

Soccer games (Dio), school, computer work for me. Super hot weather.

Zari is going on a field trip tomorrow to one of the very first regenerative agriculture farms in Canada. She's very excited for it.

I can't think of anything else newsworthy.

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Just one soccer game tonight (Ivy's, middle school), which they won 2-0. Ivy has a club game tomorrow.

Inga is currently tied for the highest scoring 9th grade soccer player in the state!

My day consisted of exercise at the gym, transplanting about 10 hostas, and then zoom meetings and video editing the rest of the work day. I took Dio for an after-dinner thrift shopping trip. He found a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt.

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Ivy's team had a great game, winning 8-0, with Ivy scoring twice. It was an away game, so I wasn't there to watch.

After my morning walking group, I spent most of the day video and caption editing, walking on my treadmill.

Zari made herself leek and goat cheese quiche with a homemade pie crust. No small feat, given that she didn't have a food processor, pastry cutter, or rolling pin! I found her a "no roll" recipe that worked great.

She had to walk far downtown last night to buy shin guards, and it turned out to be a good adventure. The sports store was in a huge mall in an area that reminded her of Times Square.

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More soccer!

Inga's team played against a nearby school with a good reputation. Her team won 3-0, with Inga scoring 2 goals! That was yesterday.

Dio had a very exciting game today (away game, but not too far away) that Eric attended. His team won 2-0.

Tons of video editing and course translation work for me.

I found gnocchi at the Amish discount grocery store, so tonight we ate Tuscan butter gnocchi. I rarely make it here in the US because gnocchi is hard to find.

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Rain, exercise, work, soccer

We've reseeded much of our back yard, so the rain yesterday and today (and much of this week) was very welcome. Dio drove us to school as usual for a rainy day or a game day--as it happens, both! Ivy and Dio both had games. Ivy's team tied 4-4 and Dio's team lost, but I'm not sure of the score.

I did my morning exercise at the university gym and then a full day's work with lots of meetings.

We just got off a video call with Zari, helping her narrow down ideas for a research proposal in one of her classes.

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Cincinnati soccer weekend

Ivy and I are back from Cincinnati, Ohio, with a stay at my sister's in Dayton. We drove there Friday afternoon and stayed in a hotel the first night, since we had activities until late and an early start the next day. Ivy had lots of fun running around with all of her teammates in the hotel. They swam, they went to the exercise room, they played games.

Ivy is a wiggler! I finally had to put pillows down the middle of the bed so she wouldn't flop onto me.

They lost both games on Saturday against very strong teams: 1-4 and 0-6. Ouch! Ivy scored the only goal that day.

We drove to my sister's house mid-afternoon and enjoyed some down time, making homemade pizza, and going to a Hispanic festival on the downtown riverfront park. Today's game we won 6-0. Ivy didn't score, but she had some nice shots on goal.

Meanwhile on Saturday Inga and Dio both had school games. Inga's team won 2-0, with her scoring both goals. Dio's team lost 0-2.

Inga and her friend made a homemade apple pie, all by themselves (I mixed up the pie crust beforehand, but they did all the rest using a cook book.)

We got back just in time for Ivy to join a group of friends at the university swimming pool. Eric and I did some yard work before he left for Ultimate Frisbee.

I put up solar lights on our fence panels.

Zari took some pictures of downtown Toronto from this weekend.

Our Freeze Family group chat has been hilarious recently. The kids are mocking Eric. "Aller petit nain du jardin. Va faire du jardinage," they told him (an ongoing inside joke).

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