December 2021

We packed more into December than any month this year.  Around the world, the next strain of virus is still running rampant, but we got our shots and went places where there were fewer people, mostly outdoors.

Nick's Black Belt ceremony was early in the month, at a local high school, he and the rest of the class that earned their belts performed a presentation and got their actual belts.  Nick was the only one to get an 'old belt', he'll be wearing mine from thirty years ago... no chance my waist is ever 30" again, he'll put some more meaningful hours on it.  I had a reputation for being unbiased in my martial arts days as an instructor and judge, and so I'm confident Nick pushes himself harder in the moment than anyone else I saw on the floor. I love his intensity.

We shared a quiet Christmas at home, Nick received a hover-board and a train, and kindly acted excited at new socks which he really needed (his toenails eat through socks.)  Brandi got herself a bird house made of mahogany and copper that's nicer than our house. I got a ham (yay!) and a year's worth of credits at the local car wash.  And so many gift baskets from friends and colleagues that we are drowning in snacks... popcorn, crackers, bread, cheese, pickles... it's awesome.  A few odd things came in the arrangements, which Nick says it's OK we don't like them now because, "our taste buds reset every seven years." I just need him to pick up around himself, like the army of empty cans in his room, which I questioned, and he quipped, "they are protestors."  That makes as much sense to me as 'smuggling sea pickles' but he's been doing a lot of that lately, too.  I don't think that's code for something awkward, but I don't ask.

Rather than stay home for the full holiday, Nick and I made a three-day-run south to visit family and visit the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.  It's another four-hour tour with a layover, deep in Appalachia, a track famous for having many movies filmed along it's run. A better layover than Owosso, this stop in Dillsboro had a micro-brew that was excellent, and a fudge shop, that's all we needed.  And best, no screaming kids on the ride.  We made it home before New Year's, to watch the Orange Bowl (a dud) and get in more naps before 2022 begins.

Link to Pics.

Jason

November 2021

It was a quiet Thanksgiving at home, an outstanding meal cooked by Brandi, my favorite meal of the year.  We've been so busy shuffling between Nick's karate classes as he prepared for his Black Belt test (three days a week and four-plus hours on Saturdays), Piano, and then Driver's Ed, there's been no standing still.

He was well prepared for Driver's Ed, the first stage in MI which allows him to get a license at fifteen years. The school that we found a spot in, after a six-month wait list, is a mess. There's cats circling the kids in the class, the instructors show up late, and then leave early and lock the kids outside the building in the cold. We're through it in five weeks, then he gets behind the wheel.

He and I took a Sunday run up to Owosso to see a steam train on it's last day of run, with no intention of boarding.  Then someone handed us free tickets at the last minute, so on we climbed, and took the trip to Ashley, MI, which was a re-creation of the North Pole (I didn't realize how bad the economy was in the North Pole... everything is out of business.)  We huddled for a hot dog in the Fire Station, had a our picture taken with Santa, and bought a couple bags of the best popcorn ever.  Except for the screaming kids on the train, which have now deterred Nick from having children in the future, it was a pleasant afternoon.

A few pics here.

Jason

October 2021

October was a simple month... a nice haircut, a recognition ceremony at SFS for last year's Honors accomplishments, and a quiet Halloween since we didn't participate.  Brandi and I sat in the neighbor's driveway and the kids grabbed their candy from the many bowls, Nick never surfaced.  He dressed as a Peaky Blinder for school, which was a big hit, and goes well with his passion for trains (period-correct attire.)

Just a couple pics this month.

September 2021

As summer winds down, you can see in the pics here how we spend our evenings... sitting in the garage listening to the ballgame, taking a walk, or in the pool right up until the end.  Nick is getting to the point where Grandpa is bowing out, and Nick and I are closing the pool on our own (only took 50 year to convince him we are able).

Another train trip, this one Brandi and Nick to Bellevue, OH. The trains (Nick insists they be called 'steam locomotives') were two former Nickel Plate Road "Berkshire" types, numbers 757 and 765. Nick says the 765 was a visiting locomotive from Fort Wayne, Indiana, restored to operation about 45 years prior.  The 757 was only cosmetically restored,  and still needs a lot of work but the museum that owns it are still proud the way it looks. There were a whole lot of other locomotives there such as some vintage diesels (the good ones, not the crusty ass GEVOS used today <Nick Ed. Comment>).  (Can you tell Nick was standing over my shoulder while writing?)  And some old cars there, too, a Chevy truck Nick admired.

I took a weekend trip to DC to see Brad, see the last Nationals game of the season, and sit in the bar watching football all weekend. Good company and relaxing, great food, and a refresher on how to maneuver the local rail system.  He and I went down to the Mall one morning for a walk, had breakfast at a food truck (I love my food trucks) and stumbled into a commencement ceremony where we heard Elizabeth Warren give a speech. There was more to this trip, wait until the January blog post.

Pics here.

Jason

August 2021

There's a web page locally where people give and take items for free, I've gifted a few items.  A post appears for young girl's training bras for gifting... in our neighborhood... which almost all 55+ residents, except for Nick, and the two girls down the street.  So we know who wore the bras.  I ask Brandi if this is awkward, and she tells us the story of her early womanhood and how her family embarassed her in celebration.  Nick responds, "You don't see me celebrating a wet dream."

Nick was introduced to awesome pizza in our trip through Chicago when we stopped at Lou Malnati's, one of the best in my opinion, and now Nick's favoroite.  To offset this, we tried Little Caesars' new Calzone, made with some cheesy goo that's not even real food, we call it Plasfredo (plastic alfredo).  Ultimately, it's better when you're the one making it, which Nick was able to do with his Pap in PA, when Bobby had him making pizzas at Paesano's one evening.

Brandi and Nick took a trip to PA to see trains and visit family.  Everyone is getting older, her grandparents are dialing back their responsibilities, but they're all still around. They were able to visit Danville, and Huntingdon, and hear Bobby's story about the cat that walked out in front of the truck. The highlight was really a couple days on the eastern side of the state visiting a train museum and sight seeing.

He got a new gaming laptop, as the old one was six years old and worse than I thought, a good portion of the screen was burnt out.  He split the cost with me, and got a nice one, to hang his 'Something Quiet' sign on (so when I tell him to go do something quiet, he can go to his PC.) So now he's got a good device that monopolizes most of his time, talking to friends (I know there's a teenager in Iowa in the group, so that feels normal.)

It's been a hot summer, lots of days by the pool listening to the ballgame on the 'radio' (app).  We set a new record for passing the ball without dropping it, 88 tosses, in between Nick trimming hedges and moving sod.  We've optimized our time outdoors this summer, with Brandi walking (and lapping Elon Muskrat) and catching up on our chores.

Lots of pics here.

Jason

July 2021

Nick is learning to walk with purpose, hit and miss.  Trying to give him more experiences, we enrolled him in golf lessons for a month this summer out at Heatherdowns CC. I've left him alone and am not watching him, but when I do he's pretty good, I quietly observe in the background for a few seconds, he drives the ball about 80 yards, and I go back to my car and wait. Wasn't sure how well he'd do, but from this experience, he's 'on par' with the other kids his age.  I hope he pursues this more, when we can find time.

He's started his candidate's class, working towards his black belt later this year.  Which means there's always a jock strap sitting on the counter or on the floor, always something missing he needs immediately (a binder of moves, a wristband) and lots of commuter services needed to the karate school.  He's putting in long hours, and making progress, I can see it (and I know a thing or two in this area.)

We made it back to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh this year for my work, Ford asked us to attend for some brand measures. The agency offered Nick a job for the week since they had kids working as runners, but he had other plans, three full days of walking around seeing every plane he could see. (And napping face-down on the table inside the Ford trailer, enjoying the A/C, in between his adventures.) More than napping, he did run water and incentives out to the interviewers, help me drag equipment to and from the car (we caught a ride once on a cart). He got offers to help refurbish a warbird in Michigan, and to take flying lessons here locally.  He's an easy travel partner, knows the routine.

Love this video that Brandi found about 'Why is Gen Z Humor So Weird?' Really helps understand things about Nick (and the kids I'm hiring at work) that don't make sense.

Pics here this month.

Jason

June 2021

Strawberry picking in the first week of the month was the best we've seen in years. We'd normally pick a several quarts in about an hour, this year within 40 minutes we have over 24 lbs of berries, so big and perfectly ripe red.  The result was four pies, a batch of jam, shortcake, and a couple pounds still left over for the neighbors.  Last year's picking was overwhelmed with people due to Covid and their anxiety to get out (nothing else to do), this year was a quieter return of the regulars.

Nick and I made a trip to Cabela's one Sunday morning to pass the time. I bought a new pair of walking/hiking shoes from a guy who had retired as a pilot for Ford, and from our shared timeline, we probably flew together twenty years ago. We enjoyed the taxidermy and fish tanks, and got out without spending too much.  Also stopped at our breakfast place in Petersburg, Papa's.  Sadly our regular server is moving on... graduated from college. The pic here is of our table at Star Diner on Saturday mornings (every Saturday since 1995).

Brandi took a short vacation to Atlanta at the end of the month, easy round-trip flight. With mama gone, Nick and I ventured out.  On a perfect Sunday afternoon, we headed to Akron to watch the Erie Seawolves play the Rubberducks.  The Tigers AA team has three future stars in the lineup, and we found front row seats for $17 apiece. Two-dollar hot dogs, cold beer, a boat of pierogies and kielbasa, and a lot more cheap junk food kept us in our seats for eight innings, with a 9-4 win, and no rain until we got about five minutes north of the park upon leaving. He's a good sport spending the entire day watching baseball, not really Nick's thing, but he was good conversation and easy to hang with nonetheless.  Highly recommend this park, nestled inside downtown Akron, small capacity, and great sightlines.

We opened the pool mid-month, delaying in anticipation of possible cicadas that never came. Our happy place in the summer, the peaceful pool hidden in the trees. (He didn't get paid for his help this year, though, he got a little lippy with Grandpa... gotta learn that lesson.)  New neighbors are well behaved, liner is intact, Nick shaped the hedges better than I even could, we're ready for summer.
Don't think he's not extremely helpful, though, one evening Nick made dinner, he grilled us burgers (and then disappeared, it's not assumed he'll join us at the dinner table without an invitation.)

There's a new video here of Nick playing piano. He won't let me listen usually, I had to beg him for a short concert, in a weak moment. The music is from a popular video game.  Here's the original, and here's Nick's version.

Photos here.

Jason

May 2021

Nick surfaces from his suite upstairs for food, wanders into the kitchen and peeks into the fridge.  I'm sitting at the island, it's as if I don't exist.  He pulls out some leftover rice and proceeds to warm it up in the microwave, but not before spilling some over the counter, onto the floor, eating some off the floor, nearly dropping the bowl, flinging it several yards across the kitchen, attempting a cleanup with the towel, while mumbling to himself, "Nothing of value shall go to waste."  He's better at mowing the lawn, got a good routine from several mows this summer, he can nearly take that job on himself.  And he's now able to plant trees nearly independently, we placed two young spruces in Grandpa's yard where some older trees have faded out.

The SFS graduation was on a day of pouring rain at Gesu church, a ceremony for the eighth graders headed into their freshmen year. Feels like I could have predicted Nick's place in the event before it even started, as it mirrored my own experiences.  The host who read off the names of each graduate, as the approached the principal for their certification of completion, skipped Nick's name in the order, forgot to call him aloud, and then proceeded to double back with the tone and attention of an afterthought, "Oh, and Nick Mantel," she mumbled. They had awards for damn near every category, and by my account every kid in the class of roughly 50 received stood and received at least one, except Nick.  I'm proud of the kid, excellent grades, and under the radar, don't peak in high school.

At home, we've started to remodel the basement, where eventually I will be able to work from home with more space.  Walls are roughed in, electrician is up next.  (We could always use some more foam, of course, that too.)

I took a weekend to visit friends, which was a shortened by a spike in blood pressure, so I stayed closer to home.  I had a nice dinner with Miranda, before continuing on to watch Noah play baseball at a tournament in Louisville all day on Saturday... five hours of ball, a comfortable chair in the shade, very relaxing and much needed.

Pics from May here.

Jason

April 2021

Guest speakers came to St. Francis this month, so I asked Nick about the event. After several minutes of prodding, he finally shared a little.  "This girl from Haiti had a horrible life and now she doesn't, and this deaf priest with deaf kids and deaf parents was a good speaker."  Priest with kids?  Is it any wonder the class where he can't make the grade is religion? He doesn't pay attention. His grandpa planted the pumpkin plant from January in the garden, and when he shows Nick, the kid asks, "Is that a tomato?" No, it's the plant you started.  Driving the slalom, hits the cone.  But give him an assignment on his laptop to build something, and the attention to detail is all there.  Only if he's interested.

He's finally had his first old t-shirt tossed when he wasn't looking, would wear the same stained shirt with holes in it every day, outgrew it two years ago.  Probably should have kept it for his summer job mowing the lawn, but he can't be trusted to wear is only when appropriate.  And he got a lesson in darning socks because he wears holes in socks so fast, either from the long toenails or the intense way he walks.

All that said, about annoying teenage patterns, his piano recital was excellent.  Yeah, he messed up from lack of practice, but the talent is still there, and listening to him play is magical.  His grandmama stayed to watch him play before returning to Alabama.
Oh, and there was Easter Sunday in there somewhere.  Brandi continues to keep him engaged by placing cash in the plastic eggs. Twenty dollar bills make egg hunts much more interesting.

A few pics here.

Jason

February & March 2021

Nick laid low in February and March while Brandi and Lisa continued working in the attic (or falling through it), so the men stayed hidden to avoid an assignment.  We don't mind working, but prefer to stick with what we know, like detailing the Mini for Grandmama while she flew home for a couple weeks.  And we trimmed back Grandpa's hedges for the spring.

He had Eli over one afternoon for a couple hours, so inviting friends to the house (even if they are masked) is some sense of normal. We continue to practice his driving when there's time to ourselves, and we've been to the park a couple times to play catch.  Sadly the most eventful activity of the month is that everyone except Nick now has all of their Covid vaccinations.

Nick's quote of the month, as he picks at the rubber bands on his braces: "I hate being asymmetrical."

January 2021

I didn't think these post would continue, at 14 Nick doesn't want to be talked about, can't get him to write about himself... can't get him to do much of anything, really. The photos are dwindling, Covid doesn't help, and each day feels routine.  But we'll go a little longer. We did celebrate briefly for his birthday, his mother got him balloons and hid them in my closet, which he found ahead of time, even though he never goes in my closet. I imparted on him how critical it was for him to act surprised when she brought them out.  Good life lesson.  Otherwise, life lessons are slow, since he's dialed out most of the time.  His grandpa is willing to pay him for piano practice, but he doesn't. I have a very short list of chores that can earn him money, but he doesn't.  He did blow $450 on a model train, so his fun money is gone, not sure how he'll earn it back.  All that said, he's making the grade at school, was Student of the Week at karate, and listening to him tickle the ivorys is beautiful.  And he shoveled the snow, once. Work in progress.

Grandmama came to stay for a month to help Brandi work on the house. It was a game of musical beds to find her a comfortable spot, which came to an end when she fell asleep with a box of Cheeze-Its and turned Nick's bed dressing yellow/orange.  Nick whispers to me, "she's going to the cot, I'm taking my bed back."  She's so good to him, though, soldering his train parts, talking for hours about nothing. At dinner one evening, Nick motioned to the last steak on the table, and I pointed to his grandmother, to suggest he should offer it to her before he takes it.  Instead, he looks at what's left on her plate and says, "You gonna eat that?"

As we try to toughen him up, his mother says he's afraid of me, which I disagree.  If he was genuinely afraid of me, would he look at me when I'm pissed at say, "If I could draw some eyebrows on you it would be easier to read your emotions."

 2021 Photos here.

Jason