Tuesday the 2nd I watched the premiere of The X-Files and was not happy. A moment of excitement couldn’t make up for the rest being boring. Even the Robert Patrick era wasn’t that bad. I also agree that Marvel’s Inhumans was one of the worst shows of the year, but it still wasn’t as bad as the first episode of X-Files. #xfilesdoubleburn Schools were closed Thursday and Friday. I got Nina over to Lifetime gym too late for camp, but Ursula offered to take Nina and her two swimming.
Just as I was putting Nina to bed Friday night, a fire engine pulled up in the parking lot, then another one (eventually 8). Nina insisted I go out and check, and there was a fire in the townhouse on our row – challenging with temps in the 20s. We hosted the girls from the townhouse next to the fire until it was out. Saturday I took her to a Princesses and Pirates Party, which was hard at first because she got there late and didn’t know a lot of the kids, but she rallied. She had a playdate later.
Sunday the 7th Lake Thoreau had been frozen solid for a week straight, so we took the kids out on it for the first time. Later I wanted to let Fairfax County Public Schools know “monitor the weather” all you want, close early if you must, but for God’s sake, open on time tomorrow. They didn’t, of course. Over the last month, and finishing on Monday’s snow day, I showed Nina the first two Star Wars trilogies. I thought that would answer all her questions. I was severely mistaken – I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Tuesday I had my first colonoscopy, happily results were good.
That Friday was my 1st concert of 2018, and a doozy: Ben Folds and the National Symphony Orchestra hosted Sara Bareilles & Caroline Shaw. I wished there had been more Ben Folds, but Sara Bareilles doing all her hits was fun. While I was out Jill and Nina went to Terraset movie night. The next night was a potluck with Jill’s knitting group – it was all ladies chatting yarn and Nina played with the kids in the house, so I curled up in a chair and read most of The Children of Húrin, finishing it the next day. Sunday was concert #2: Eddie From Ohio on their annual 3 night stand at the Birchmere. Hard to believe it’s been 12 years since it started, and that we haven’t missed a year yet. Jill’s sister and mom had come down to drop her niece back down at college, so she had Chinese food with them and then came to the Birchmere with her sister. Meanwhile Chris had come down with daughter #2, so I met them and his brother and mother and we all went out to dinner at Holy Cow (great burgers), then Chris and I went to the Birchmere. Jill didn’t get there until Eddie From Ohio started and left before they were done.
Saturday the 20th my sister was in town for the weekend and we met up with her and her family as well as my dad and his girlfriend at The National Museum of the American Indian. The kids area was a great place for Nina and her cousin to explore. Afterwards we got lunch from some nearby food trucks. That night Jill’s work had its holiday party at Congressional Country Club, very elegant. Sunday Jill started a new weight loss program with lean meats and no breads – definitely a cooking challenge for me, especially compared to our usual fare. I realized I don’t know when I first noticed (I think it’s been a month or two), but it’s so awesome to be able to wake your kid up to reposition them and have them go right back to sleep.
Friday the 26th I was reminded of the only time I saw The Cranberries. Funny, I remember she’d been hit by something and they left instead. Saturday we got Nina’s new loft bed, which had been built by Stuart for Olivia, then gifted to family friends, and now it needed a new home, while someone had been asking about one. Jill rented a truck and we picked it up. It was painted white and had a lot of writing on it, so Nina picked new colors for it at Home Depot (her favorites, pink and blue). Luckily the day was mild after the weeks of bitter cold and we painted it outside. Sunday we put it together after Jill got padding and fabric for the plywood landings.
Tuesday I was wondering which classic rocker would be a must see for Nina next, then I saw Roger Daltrey would perform the Who’s ‘Tommy’ with the Wolf Trap Orchestra in June. Later that night I found emmet swimming’s set at the HFSMas Nutcracker.
