Skipping Town

Work, school, XC. After work I went to the Waterfront to pick up a couple of things for Lucia's birthday--it's coming up fast, and our weekends have been too busy for me to get out and shop by myself. Our kitchen designer brought two window guys over this afternoon to do some measurements. Once the windows are ordered, the contractor will tell us our start date for the kitchen project. I can't wait. I wish we could just demo everything today. We continue to see pantry moths here and there and I refuse to even open the pantry doors. I've been storing everything on the counter. I cannot wait for a brand-new kitchen.

An addendum to the Night Market fun from last night: At 10pm, Lucia texted to see if it was okay to bring some friends home--her group had run into some other groups. Of course we said yes, and soon about ten sophomores and juniors were hanging out on our patio. Andrew set up the fire pit. One boy was in a tree.  Today was even busier than yesterday. Andrew left very early for Peru. I went grocery shopping and got stuck on the wrong side of Forbes for half an hour while the runners in the Great Race streamed through the city. There was an Upper School XC family potluck in Schenley at noon, and then our block party at four. It was a lot of socializing for one day, and one weekend. Now I need an additional weekend of silence. 

The girls had to be at school this morning at 6:45 to get the bus to their XC meet. Lucia couldn't find her singlet, suspecting she'd left it at school; indeed, her coach had it for her when we arrived. Mom and Dad drove in around 8, and they and Andrew and I drove out to Youthtown for the meet. Both girls were running; this was a gigantic meet with lots of levels and groups. Both ran well. Lucia came in 13th out of 104 girls. She broke 23:00 but didn't quite beat her PR.  At home, we had lunch with Mom and Dad, and when the kids got back to school I picked them up. Meanwhile, Andrew had a quick lunch then took Farrah to the emergency vet, because yesterday we became pretty certain she has an ear infection.  I got a much-anticipated delivery in the mail today: my first shipment from Ffern, a perfume maker in England that creates seasonal fragrances available only to people on their "ledger." Each shipment has an elaborate back story for the fragrance and comes wit...

This week is a blur. It was rainy and Greta was supposed to have an XC race but it was cancelled. Lucia went to XC practice all week and Greta had several rehearsals for the musical.  Wednesday was Greta's Back to School Night, and, for the first time ever, I didn't go. Andrew wen't alone. I had a good reason: Wednesday was prep day for my colonoscopy on Thursday (all clear!). I had to start fasting Tuesday night, and I was already starving by 10 a.m. on Wednesday. I worked from home, finding myself reflexively planning to go to the kitchen for a snack, and then realizing there could be no snack. I was absolutely starving. Drinking 32 ounces of Gatorade mixed with Miralax was no solace.  I had to get up at 2 a.m. to drink another 32 ounces of this terrible mixture, so I went downstairs to watch Gilmore Girls and power through. It took me a long time to drink that much. Farrah came downstairs too and snuggled up with me on the couch the entire time, the perfect support doodl...

Hershey weekend! Friday after work, Andrew, Greta, and I set out for Hershey to watch the Upper School XC teams compete in the PIAA Foundation meet. Lucia had left early in the day on a bus with her team; we wouldn't see her until the meet on Saturday. We arrived in Hershey with just enough time for dinner at Troegs. Greta and I like going into the shop at Troegs because a lot of the beer names sound like perfect names for rabbits--Hoppura, Lollihop, Leaf Seeker. Saturday morning we checked out of the hotel and went to the race course. The girls' team was expected to place 6th, and they placed 5th. There were a lot of tears after the race, the girls disappointed with their times, even though this course is notoriously tough and their coach had warned them to expect at least a minute added to their usual pace. We stayed to watch the boys' race as well, then headed home. Lucia and her team went out for dinner and returned home around 7:30pm. We all went to a party for a bit; ...

Lo and behold, tonight Greta got a haircut, after refusing to get a haircut before the start of school. I told her she had to have a trim before school picture day, which is next week, and tonight was her appointment. She looks fantastic. It's still very long but there are no split ends and there are now some pretty layers. She loves it. She was also very excited that all the women in the salon were fawning over her beautiful natural highlights. Transformed! This week has been very tiring--every single night there has been some activity AFTER what seems like the end of the day's activity: urgent care on Tuesday after a day of XC meets; Back to School Night on Wednesday; and the hair appointment tonight. It's been a hectic scramble of activities. And tomorrow we leave for Hershey for Lucia's PIAA Foundation XC meet. 

Tonight was Back to School Night for the Upper School, and Andrew and I got to meet all of Lucia's teachers and hear about her classes for the year. We're excited about what she'll be learning, and this group of teachers seems amazing. It should be a good year for her. Late tonight, too late, when I went into Lucia's bedroom to make sure she was almost ready for bed since she is still coughing with this may-as-well-be-pneumonia cough, I instead found her in her top-choice dress for Homecoming, her hair freshly straightened, with a full face of makeup and a complete selection of jewelry, standing appraisingly in front of her bathroom mirror. What to do but assess along with her and agree that this particular dress is the right choice, and the other two options are pretty but not special enough, and the jewelry selections are perfect, and now it is TIME FOR BED. I left the room laughing. Then I told Andrew to go in and say goodnight to Lucia, knowing he was expecting her ...

Today was just an insane day. Both girls had afternoon XC meets, in different places at the same time, so Andrew and I had to divide and conquer. Andrew left work and drove to Youthtown to see Lucia's meet. I left work and drove to Fox Chapel to see Greta's meet. It was a blazing hot day, and neither girl had a great race--Greta because of the heat and a very tough, hilly course; Lucia because of the heat and her persistent cough. Andrew said she was really upset, because she'd hoped to PR and instead had a higher time than the last race. I met Greta back at home (she wanted to ride the bus home with her team, because it is fun and good for team bonding), and we then left for her piano lesson. Andrew got home from Youthtown while we were gone (took over an hour in traffic), and then Lucia got home at 8pm, after going out to dinner with her team. As soon as Lucia walked in the door, I swept her back out to go to the pediatric urgent care to get her cough looked at. It just w...

 Friday, September 12 End of the week. We went to the pool for dinner in the evening. It was slightly too chilly to swim, though Andrew did get in. Saturday, September 13 Greta had her first race of the season this morning, way out at Youthtowne. She did great, coming in 24 out of 76 and getting a PR. Afterward, she rode the team bus home and hung out on Walnut Street with two teammate friends.  Later in the afternoon, we went to the pool for a nice swim. And we were back to the club Saturday evening for the annual Clam Bake. We met at our house first for prom-style photos and then had a fun night talking and dancing. Though we did dance in the baby pool, we did not, this year, go down the waterslide fully clothed into the main pool. I wore a dress with embroidered swans. Everyone was pretty amenable to going along with my absurd swan dance. Beth and Nate are used to my shenanigans but even the other friends with us didn't seem (too) alarmed. Sunday, September 14 Greta and I h...

Wednesday was an ordinary day of school, work, and XC. Thursday, Lucia went to XC and then out for bubble tea for her team. Greta had her audition for the middle school musical, and then she and Andrew ran in Schenley while I walked with Farrah in Panther Hollow. After dinner, Lucia and I shopped online for homecoming dresses--it's that time of year--and ordered a few to try on. Then, in a brilliant alignment of stars, both girls agreed to go up to the club for a night swim with me and Andrew. It was a beautiful night for it, and the water was very warm. It was a perfect end to the day.

Another week begins, with XC on Monday and then piano and tutoring on Tuesday. Lucia came home sick on Tuesday afternoon; a cold is taking kids down rapidly at school. Luckily for her, XC was cancelled because a fire in Squirrel Hill had degraded the air quality too much to run.  Andrew and I are nearly done with season 4 of The Bear. The cleaners came Tuesday and our house is sparkling. Getting the house ready for cleaning, including relocating Nutmeg to the attic for the day and then relocating her back to Greta's room in the evening, is a huge pain. Greta is often successful at catching Nutmeg and getting her into a carrier, but sometimes Nutmeg is just absolutely determined not to be caught. It's a circus.  We have booked a fabulous vacation over Thanksgiving this year--Tulum. Molly and I have talked for years about taking a family trip to an all-inclusive over Thanksgiving, and we're finally making it happen. We are all very very excited. 

A nice relaxing Sunday. Andrew and I ran errands in the morning (farmer's market, Giant Eagle, Trader Joe's, Target, Staples for return dropoff) and then were home for the rest of the day. We took Farrah on a walk so I could pick up some library books. I read on the porch. I made potato salad to have along with Andrew's fried chicken sandwiches for dinner. The girls and I watched an episode of This Is Us while I worked on another crocheted pear. I wish we had another day to this weekend. Not ready for it to end.

A whole week of blogging missed. The only excuse is that it was a week full of intense CT scan-ziety, and then a reassuring appointment with my surgeon/oncologist: everything stable, a win. Huge sigh of relief. I had such an amazing summer, feeling back to myself (well, myself with short hair), and now--now I will get an amazing fall, too. Didn't want to bury the lede after such a long absence, so I'm giving the health update up front. Now, the past week's recap: Sunday, August 31 - Greta had a birthday party to go to, and Lucia had plans with friends, so Andrew and I went up to the pool in the afternoon and had a lovely swim. The water was so warm, though we were freezing once we got out.  Monday, September 1 - Labor Day - We had a super fun day with Mom and Dad in Connellsville. We arrived in the morning and went to Gabe's, where we all found a few things. We went to IHOP for lunch (I'd found a cache of gift cards in a pouch!), and then spent the afternoon at home...