July 2022

In July I went to Boston again for our summer team meeting and while I was there I was able to gather up a couple of actual, real-life books that I helped create to bring home:

Over the last 18 months I've designed/templated/worked on over 100 books that are now in print and sold in schools all over the country. That number is unusual because typically I work on maybe a dozen books during that same time span. And I have no idea how many books I've worked on since I started in January 2010. It would be cool to have them all on one bookcase at home, but not very practical!

Flying out to Boston again:

The row of tail rudders looked cool:

My company planned out every minute of each day I was there from 8:30am to 8pm, so it was kinda tiring. Even though they kept us so busy that week, a group of us (about 18 people) did get to go to a go-kart place and race for a couple hours. We did five races and I won a race (after starting off in 5th place) and then almost won a second race, but spun out on a turn right near the end. I did record the top two fastest lap times out of the 18 of us, though. The cars were governed at 50 mph, so the races were pretty intense.

Getting lined up to start a race:

Group photo afterwards. Some people kept their head socks on like a buncha dorks:

When I got back home from the work trip I discovered that the pumpkin patch had taken over a large part of the backyard, but I also spotted five pumpkins! Seems kinda early for them to start growing. I'm excited to see how many we end up with and how large they get. There are only three pumpkin plants, but they are monsters.

These are pictures of the same pumpkin taken a week apart:

And there are still more blooms, so possibly more pumpkins:

The garden has kale, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, string beans, pumpkins (at the far left), and radishes. The spinach and radishes have already been harvested:

Even though it's been so hot, I've still been riding my bike often. Here's a toasty Saturday pic just outside of Center Point:

Trying out a newly-opened place for date night... the photo's not blurry, we're blurry, just like Bigfoot:

Kitty cat knows how to enjoy summer:

Work Lunch

Today I had lunch with a couple of my coworkers who I haven't seen in a while. Since our office closed in November of last year (due to the fact that most of us were already working from home),  we don't get to see each other that often. At the time the office closed, there were 6 of us left, but only 3 of us were able to get together for lunch today.

I've worked with Lynn (on the left) since 2006 when we worked at Buckle Down together and then after BD closed she started at CA a few months before I did. Kristin started working in our office 2 years ago; just a few months before the pandemic shut everything down. It was great to catch up and actually see a couple of my coworkers in person after working remotely for so long!

Ringing in 2019

We rang in the new year hanging out with the Von Thuns and playing trivia and card games, including the non-computer version of The Oregon Trail. It was a blast! Then on the morning of the 2nd I flew out to Boston for a few days:

The company celebrated their 50th anniversary in the old Boston Plaza Hotel. It's weird how many new people they've hired, I hardly know anybody anymore. When I started 9 years ago there were just over 100 employees and now there are almost 900. Only a few of the people who were there when I started still remain, so I guess that makes me a dinosaur. Anyway, there was a cocktail party after the company meeting:

The hotel was super cool; it was built in the 1920s and had retained its old timey appearance:

It snowed twice while I was in Boston, but I returned to a very brown Iowa. That's OK, I don't mind the unusually warm January. Hello again, 380:

In mid-January it finally snowed and we got to do all the winter stuff you're supposed to do. Like sledding:

Meet Mortimer the snowman:

As we sat outside around the fire one night, I'm pretty sure the snowman was closer to us than he was when I looked earlier...

Then all of a sudden Rose turned 14! I'm pretty sure no one saw that coming. She had lots of friends over for her birthday and had cake, ice cream, and a snow storm:

Her birthday celebration on her actual birthday:

And her birthday celebration with friends on Saturday:

Lily hates our good time:

The girls split into two teams and went to Lindale Mall to do a photo scavenger hunt. They were a little hyper and got yelled at by a mall cop, but they checked almost everything off the list and the team that won only had one item that they couldn't find. I don't think they had very much fun:

Also, Rose is studying for her permit, so lock your doors and stay off the streets.

Cynthia and I went to Riverside to see Everclear on a frigid Friday night. The temp without the windchill was -4. Thanks a lot, January. It was an awesome show, though, and cool to see Art still rockin' in his own weird way:

January ended with temperatures around -24 and a wind chill of -49, thank goodness. Can't wait to see what February brings us.

Boston

Last weekend the Buchheits came over and we celebrated Jolene's birthday. We sat around the fire and ate cake while the kids went nuts jumping into the leaf pile.

Then on Tuesday morning I flew out to Boston. Leaving the CR airport:

The hotel where I stayed was in the suburbs which meant I ended up doing a lot of driving. Over the past few days I've spent roughly 5 hours driving around Boston because no one else in my group wanted to drive. The map looks like someone took a handful of cooked spaghetti and threw it in a heap... the streets are a tangled mess and there is no grid at all. Even the GPS in my van struggled to keep up! But it is a scenic area and the fall colors are at their peak right now, so I guess there's an upside.

Flying back to CR:

There's 380! I feel like a significant part of my life has been spent driving that boring stretch of road. At least I can crank the tunes and make the most of it.