Skipping Town

Saturday, November 29 We didn't have to leave the resort until noon on Saturday, so we squeezed in a few last bits of vacation life. Andrew went for a run; I walked to the coffee shop for a latte; we both took a last swim in the pool; we all had breakfast with Molly and Luca before they left for their flight; the girls and I took a last walk on the beach. Then it was really time to go. We piled into the rental car one last time, and Andrew drove us to the airport. The travel day was long but fine. Everything was on time. Back to winter in Pittsburgh. We were very happy to see Farrah and Nutmeg. Sunday, November 30 Mom and Dad spent the night at our house last night not only because we didn't get in until after midnight but also because today we had matinee tickets for Les Mis (booked well before we decided to go to Tulum). We got to the theater early and spent a little time walking around the Market Square Christmas market. Then we saw the show. It was absolutely wonderful--one...

Our final day in Tulum began early with the breakfast buffet. Then Andrew called for our rental car, and we all piled in, squeezing all eight of us into a van meant for seven. Lucia and Luca shared a seatbelt in the middle of the backseat.  Our destination was the Tulum Ruins, not far from the resort. We were talked into having a guide, which turned out to be not much more money than just the entrance fees, and we were very glad we had one. We all learned a lot about the various uses of the buildings that were now ruins, and lots of things about Mayan culture, traditions, and innovations. It was a great visit. The view from the top of the hill where the castillo rests was amazing. Next we drove into downtown Tulum for some souvenir shopping. We bought some lovely dreamcatchers, and Lucia and Greta both bought bracelets. On our way back to the resort we stopped at a big supemarket/superstore called Soriana so Mom and Dad could get a new suitcase, since theirs was damaged beyond repa...

Another spectacular day in Tulum. Nay, not just a day--Thanksgiving in Tulum! We slept in a bit this morning (well, not me; I got up and read on the balcony) and went to the breakfast buffet around 9am. We tried a different one this morning, Vela Sur, with very pretty outdoor seating.  With the whole day ahead, we set up by the pool right outside Casa 3 (where our room is) and spent the morning swimming and reading. The girls ordered hamburgers for lunch but then also came with us to the lunch buffet for desserts. Greta and I took a walk on the beach and collected some pieces of coral. We had several iguana sightings and many hermit crab sightings. Greta rescued on in danger of being stepped on by scooping it onto her book and depositing it in some landscaping. Rain arrived in the mid-afternoon, so we gathered in our room for a game of Code Names. Then Mom and Dad went to their room to relax; I set out with a book to read in the main building; and everyone else went to the gym. I c...

An epic day in Tulum.  This was the day we'd pegged for cenotes. Mom and Dad decided to sit out this excursion and have a relaxing day at the resort. So, early this morning, Andrew, Lucia, Greta, Molly, Luca, and I got up early and went for breakfast at the Vela Norte buffet. I practiced my Spanish while ordering an omelette, a very straightforward interaction I managed to butcher by asking that my omelette be made "very very good kitchen" (instead of "very very well cooked") and that it be made not with egg whites only but with "all the eyes." Obviously I was trying to say "all the eggs." That doesn't make much sense either but it definitely makes more sense that "all the eyes." Then Andrew got our rental car from the valet, and we headed off to the first cenote: Gran Cenote. Though our GPS told us we'd arrived, there was no signage anywhere--just a few parking spaces along a cement wall, and a small building with two turns...

A full day of rest and relaxation in Tulum. This resort is pretty amazing. We started the day with a buffet breakfast at the Vela Norte restaurant, and it was excellent. I tried to sample a little of everything (didn't come close) so I could focus on my favorite things next time.  Then we changed into swimsuits, slathered up with sunscreen, and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon by the pool. We swam mostly in the ocean. It's a beautiful beach, and the girls dove around with their goggles on. The water is so clear. There is a rocky barrier that keeps the waves from getting too wild. We went in and out of the ocean throughout the day, read in our pool chairs, dipped into the pool, ordered food from Seasalt the pool bar. Lucia and Greta are both obsessed with the hamburgers. They both had one for lunch. Lucia also polished off two plates of chips and guacamole.  Mom had a brief spell of illness today, caused by something she ate or drank or maybe just from the heat. But ...

 We made it to Tulum! Our travel plans went smoothly--Pittsburgh to Newark to Tulum--with no issues. Andrew brought us all into the United Club in Newark so we could relax and enjoy too many lattes (me) from the fancy coffee machine. At the Tulum airport, we picked up our rental car. Andrew is always game to drive us around in unfamiliar vehicles in new countries, and we wanted the flexibility to explore Tulum on our own schedule.  On our way into Tulum, we saw yellow crossing signs along the highway showing not the usual deer or even moose but sinister silhouettes of jaguars and monkeys. I seriously hope we have a jaguar sighting--there were a lot of these signs so it seems they might make frequent appearances. A quick google search tells me that the animal crossing signs along this particular road are meant to protect spider monkeys, coatis, and more. Looking forward to sightings of all kinds as we explore this week. Our resort--the Hilton All-Inclusive Riviera Maya Tulum--i...

Saturday, Lucia went for a run with her team and Andrew went with her. Greta slept in, still recovering from the musical. I focused on packing and cleaning up the house in preparation for our trip. In the afternoon, we all went to the Waterfront to do a little shopping at Target, return a few things, and then see Wicked: For Good. A nice evening before the rush of day-before-vacation craziness. Sunday was very very busy. Andrew and I had a big task: install temporary fencing in the backyard. The retaining wall project involved demolishing the fence at the back of the yard that blocks anyone (Farrah) from hurling themselves off the ledge of our yard into the street below. It will be some time before we can arrange a new fence to be installed. Additionally, the now-destroyed grassy part of our yard is covered with grass seed, covered by mesh netting, covered with hay. Farrah can't walk on this because her paws will get tangled in the mesh. So we bought a large roll of wire fencing an...

Thursday was one of those days where we just keep packing things in. Work, school, and then both kids went with a friend to see a musical at the JCC, which two of their friends (siblings) were in. Lucia has a friend who can drive, so she got picked up; I was on carpool duty for Greta and her friend. While they were out of the house, Andrew and I planned some cenote visits for Tulum and I watched All Her Fault. Friday was the final day of work and school for all of us for an entire week. Yay. In the evening, Andrew went to a hockey game and the girls and I made a fire and watched two Netflix Christmas movies, "A Merry Little Ex-Mas" and "Champagne Problems." "Ex-Mas" was a lot of fun, and made the three of us laugh hysterically. I also fully identified with the crafty, tradition-committed, middle-aged mom calling "But when will we do origami??" as her teenagers head out the door. "Champagne Problems" had a couple of funny supporting char...

A normal day, though I was unable to pick up the kids as I'd thought I could so they had to walk home. I watched an episode of All Her Fault tonight while they were in their rooms doing homework.  And now: the before-and-after retaining wall photos you've all been waiting for! All of these photos were taken from the neighbor's driveway. Our yard and house are above the wall; you can't see them from this angle. The wall collapsing into the down-street neighbor's driveway (there were more pieces actually in the driveway; some had been cleaned up before this photo was taken) Collapsed pieces gone, but still a very decrepit wall  Voila, a pleasing new wall! (Walls, plural, since we had to fix the lower wall too.) You can see the very top of our house in this one. The ivy-covered wall is part of our garage.

We had such a fun weekend going to see Greta in The Little Mermaid. Saturday was another evening performance and Sunday was a matinee, and Mom and Dad joined us for that one. Every performance was fantastic. This is our final Middle School musical in which we'll have a kid on stage, and it was an amazing finale to our Middle School musical run. We've had either Lucia or Greta or both in 5 shows over the past 5 years: Oliver (Lucia), Willy Wonka (Lucia), Seussical (both), Annie (Greta), and now The Little Mermaid (Greta). It's been fun. Andrew and I spent some time this weekend cleaning out the raw storage area in the basement, clearing space for all the kitchen stuff we'll be moving down once our renovation begins. On Sunday, Molly drove in to be with Jeremy and his family after his father's death, so we got to visit with her a bit. The week is off and running now: Greta is still exhaused from the musical; Lucia had a precalc test; work is busy since next week I...

Thursday was Greta's final tech week rehearsal. It's definitely a grueling week, not getting home until 8:30pm and then having to do homework.  Friday I worked from home. It was a chaotic day here, with the retaining wall construction in full swing. There are mountains not only of dirt but also of gravel in our backyard; the entire lawn is torn up from the construction vehicles; and I was asked to move the Volvo this morning to a different spot on the street because they needed to dump yet another pile of dirt at the curb. Is it dirt? Or powdered cement? Who knows. But all day, the house was literally shaking--physically shaking--as enormous construction vehicles rumbled up and down the driveway, each time delivering one powerful block of wall to the backyard. I don't know how they are maneuvering these blocks over the cliff of our backyard into the form of a wall. That will remain a construction-world mystery. But the wall is supposed to be done early next week. Then we wi...

Monday Work, school, Greta musical rehearsal, Lucia studying. Our retaining wall is underway, slowly, and the backyard has been completely destroyed and now features an enourmous mountain of dirt. Mom and Dad came over briefly tonight before going to an event at CMU. I drove them and picked them up, their very own hyper-local Uber. Tuesday Greta had her first late tech week rehearsal until 8:30. I picked Lucia up at 3. Blustery, rainy, cold. Wednesday Another late night for Greta. Lucia went running with her team. I spent quite a bit of the day reading the newly released horror-show emails and lamenting the reality that many, many, many mothers (and fathers!) of young daughters continue to accept, downplay, excuse, and normalize the most horrific of all crimes. I told both kids that we still don't know what else is going to be released, and to tread extremely carefully if photos or videos are made public. They read news updates; they're aware of what's happening. I don'...

A relaxing weekend. Glorious! It's been so long since we've had one of these. Not relaxing for Andrew, of course, since he left for Germany Friday afternoon. But relaxing for me and the girls. Friday was no school because of conference day. Andrew and I had Greta's parent-teacher conference via zoom at 8am and then Lucia's in person at 9:20. Then Lucia rode a lot of miles on her bike with the XC teams and coaches, and Greta had four hours of musical rehearsal. After rehearsal, she and the other eighth-grade cast members walked to Walnut Street for snacks and shopping.  Friday night, all of us finally home, I made pierogies and kielbasa for dinner and then we put on a fire, lit a pumpkin candle, cuddled up on the couches, and watched Wicked. I had never seen it--a year ago, when it came out, I was in the hospital and Lucia and Greta went to see it with Mom and Dad. I wanted to see it before the second part comes out, and I'm so glad I finally did. It was a perfectly ...

Tuesday was the usual busy-ness, though Greta had a late musical rehearsal so Lucia took both piano lessons then came home and had her tutoring session. I worked from home so the day felt manageable. Wednesday took the busy-ness up a notch, with a late work dinner for me at Duquesne. I took the bus there and it took forever and felt like I was venturing out at midnight--I'm still not used to the darkness of late afternoon with the time change. I also took the bus home, and my route was inexplicable. I couldn't see anything out the windows because of the darkness, so relied on the electronic screen showing the stops, and I did eventually get home--but was the bus heading in the wrong direction at some point? Did I unwittingly circle all around downtown? Only the driver knows for sure. I regretted my choice to take the bus that late at night (it was 6:00pm); was grateful to myself for the mask I always keep in my work bag when a woman a few rows up began covid-coughing; but I ref...

Today was our 18th anniversary! The capstone to our very busy month of October. We celebrated with a dinner out at Piccolo Forno in Lawrenceville. It's a very cute place near Andrew's office. Eighteen years--not bad, not bad. We couldn't have predicted what would happen to me, but I'm pretty sure I could have predicted that we'd weather well anything that came for us. 

I'm combining posts for this entire weekend because it was pretty much nonstop activity, a blur of end-of-fall events.  Thursday, Greta dressed up in her Halloween costume for school--she was Luke Danes, and two of her friends were Lorelai and Rory (Chilton years). So part of the early morning before school was attempting to create a scruffy beard for Greta; the adhesive one we'd ordered from Amazon didn't work at all, so we created one with a brown eyeliner. We didn't see her again because she went straight from school to a friend's house for a Halloween sleepover, where they watched scary movies. Lucia had a regular school day and a short XC practice, then came home to get ready for the big States meet in Hershey. Friday, Lucia left early for school, where she met her team and piled into the vans for Hershey. I picked up Greta from her sleepover. (There was no school on Friday.) Friday morning and early afternoon was spent partly working from home and partly getti...