A Narnian winter

Okay, so this is an older photo (taken from the first big storm of the year in December), but I would like to convey a sense of what this winter is like.  It's like cold and snowy.  Except not the nice fluffy white snowflakes floating to the ground while we're drinking hot chocolate and watching White Collar.  No, it's a gale force wind whipping those flakes around.  But it doesn't all fall at once, more like a 1/2" every day.  In the weather's defense, at least it warms up sometimes and melts all the snow before dropping back to single digits.  

 We spent the holidays in Nashville with Jill's family.  On the Sunny, 50 degree day, Jill and I left the kids with grandpa and grandma to take a nice hike at the reservoir.  I think we walked 8 miles.  It felt like spring.  On Christmas eve, all the kids put on a nativity scene for us.  This tradition will continue.

 This Christmas was the first that Clara was super excited about one particular toy.  Thankfully she reminded us what it was every day so that we could eventually figure out what it was.  She called it "control dusty", at which I nodded knowingly without knowing.  Jill ordered Remote Control Dusty, a remote controlled airplane that rolls around on the floor.  It's not a bad toy.  Clara has played with it several times.  But even better, she made her own airplane out of toilet paper rolls, tape, a spice container, and flashlights to match Dusty and played with it about as much.

 I got Jill a new short chef's knife (it's Japanese!), and she got me a soldering gun (still looking for my first soldering project).  Janny got a lego organizer that looks like a big lego head.

Janny's funny new saying goes like this.  "Mommy, can we have dessert?And says yes!"

 New projects are created daily around here.  Our desert scheming tonight led to the idea shown below:  toasted marshmallow chocolate m&m cookie (broiled in the oven).

Church league basketball started again this month.  Our superduperstar from last year moved away and several solid players are busy (hmmm...) this year.  So we've struggled in our first two games.  I suspect we'll struggle all year because we can't defend or score well.

Have I mentioned that I'm really trying to practice guitar this winter?  I'm doing pretty well, almost playing through Over in the Meadow mistake-free.  

Thanksgiving up north

If you know me 'n Jill well, you know that we don't always have grown up things under control.  For instance, our drivers' licenses.  Since we have tended to move every so often, we never paid much attention to what the address said on our licences.  Our car is correctly registered under our residence, so I assumed we were law abiding citizens.

However, a store recently rejected Jill's attempt to purchase a bottle of wine on account of her license being expired (Jill is still getting carded!  What a beauty!).  Wouldn't you know it, mine was too.  So a few Mondays ago we headed out to the dmv to renew.  The dmv is closed on Mondays.  So we went again on the day before Thanksgiving, and found about 50 people in the waiting room (I guess international students spent their week off learning to drive).  We walked right back out the door and drove up to Michigan.

Before Christmas, we will get them.  I'm sure.

Who are on the ball?  Clara and Janny!  They help mommy in the kitchen, create projects out of tape, paper, and whatever else is handy, and ask us to read books**.  I spent about 1/4 of my life sweeping tiny pieces of paper, looking for Clara's bunny, and tracking down caps for markers.

** Hansel and Gretel is a current favorite.  I hope this doesn't mean that mommy is really mean, and that I'm incompetent (how hard is it to find wood in the forest?).  Personally, it's quite a shock to go from reading about Frog and Toad to this story of starvation, abandonment, witchcraft, cannibalism, theft, and murder.

 Clara is super duper excited about Christmas.  She gets to nap by the lighted up Christmas tree.

 Aunt Jo did her usual fine job of assembling the White family for photos.  First, the Knutsons.

 Then the Smiths.

Then the whole Whites (except for some working folks, like Paul out fracking rocks in Pennsylvania).  In addition to celebrating Christmas, we gathered to celebrate Grandma White's 90th birthday!

We also celebrated Grandpa Smith's 90th birthday, but Aunt Jo wasn't there to take photos and put them on facebook.

Finally, we are down to a family of 4.  Fereshteh moved up to the big City last month in pursuit of her fortune (and maybe true love?).  She had been very busy recently, so the change felt gradual.  Still, we miss her huge personality and dramatic life (I mean that as a compliment).  Watch out Chicago!

more mediocre ideas

Some random ideas from sitting around a lot during Thanksgiving week are clogging my thoughts.  Maybe by publishing them here, I'll think of something that's actually interesting.  As always, feel free to use any idea.  Just don't get too upset at me if it doesn't work out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New colleges

In a rust belt town, start a new college.  A hired professor will earn about $30,000 per year.  She/he will be the teacher/advisor for a group of 30 students.  (If you're quick at math, you will note that this means each student will pay $1000 per year in advising fees to the college).  This professor will guide the 30 students through their field of expertise (history, english, whatever).

Any additional classes that a student wants to take can be done through the new massively online classes.

The facilities will be a previously empty building in the downtown area.  Housing should be quite cheap in this town (it's a rust-belt, soon-to-be ghost town.  There is no university support staff (looking at you deans, provosts, etc), no sports, no IT.  Just learning.

If the professor wants to earn more money, the options are to advise more students (of course this may diminish the experience for those students) or write proposals to funding agencies.

Accomplishments:
Reduced cost of higher education (perhaps improved, compared to some schools)
Found employment for a bunch of underemployed academics

Cheaper doctors

1.  Medical school is now free (taxpayers on the hook for what, $150,000 per future doctor?)
2.  Doctors then pay a $10 - 20k tax per year during their career (in additional to normal taxes).

Overall savings for taxpayers.  Even doctors that work in truly underserved areas should be able to afford to pay an additional $10 per year in taxes.

Very wide ranging magazines

You know how after about the 3rd issue of just about any magazine in the world, articles start to feel a little redundant?  We will pool a large selection of magazines.  Each month, you get a completely different magazine.

You didn't like Time last month?  Bam, here comes Vanity Fair.  VF hasn't been the same since Christopher Hitchens' untimely death?  How about Midwestern Living this month.  And so on.

Better distribution of education spending

In the U.S., local property taxes provide a big chunk of the funding for public schools.  This is madness.  Pool this money at the state level and distribute the funds evenly (okay, sure, use some cost of living adjustments when needed).

whither October

Tonight Janny told me, "Thank you, Daddy.  You're a nice boy."  Clara later added, "I like the way you talk."  Feeling pumped up, I can finally report on recent events.

My primary excuse for not reporting lately is Jill's lifestyle change.  She wakes up at an unreasonable hour every weekday for her exercise classes.  To make this happen, she's in bed every night around 9p.  So instead of rarely doing dishes, I do some.  I also clean a little.  Is that a good enough excuse?

Some time ago now, my parents visited us as part of [one of MANY] long trips this year.  I'm pleased to recall that my mom left uninjured (though no bicycle riding took place).

 Clara and Janny take about 1 or 2 baths per week.  They play for about 15 minutes and then scream like maniacs when it's time to wash hair.  It seems that Clara is getting near acceptance.  This would be a big relief.

 Before going to bed last night, Jill checked in on the girls to find that Janny's bed was empty.  Over the weekend, we thought she was in bed until Fereshteh came home to (and the details are unclear here) Janny crashing from the couch to the floor.  Much screaming ensued.  But back to the newer story, we looked through a few rooms before finding Janny sleeping behind the couch in the front room.  I picked her up and returned her to bed without waking her.  Sound sleeper!  Also, a sneaky little girl!

For Halloween, Honest Abe and Rosy the riveter stopped by for a chat.  Nice to learn a little history on Halloween!  Clara's chicken costume was from a nearby garage sale.  Janny was the 'the crane' alien.  The neighbors also stopped by to show off their candy stash.

 Another bright red explosion by the front tree this year.  I've moved about 15 bags of leaves to my leaf/compost pile.  The girls picked up a few leaves.

 Jill took care of the pumpkin carving project this year.  Clara first wanted an angry pumpkin, but later changed her mind.  Now her pumpkin is two-faced.

 The kids are very excited about working on "projects" lately.  The most popular project is to tape knick-knacks together with masking tape (sticks, paper, small plastic toys, bags).  We were a bit surprised that masking tape costs nearly $5 per roll, but the cost per hour is quite low.  Another project is to make either an obstacle course or a balance beam.  Either versions requires dragging ALL of the pillows, cushions, and blankets into the front room and scattering them on the floor.   Cleaning up is not a project.

I did a sort-of gravel road race near Kickapoo with the Wild Card gang the previous weekend.  I got dropped from the lead group of 3 about 18 miles in.  I couldn't recover from the last hill, so the tail-wind assisted surges wiped me out.  The course was fabulous with nearly 60 miles of almost continuous unpaved/roughly paved roads.  

Finally, there is another scary, abandoned rail bridge not too far away.  100' tall, no railing.  Who is up for adventure?

poking the rust

Jill recently completed a small house project:  chalkboard paint wall!  The east wall of our bedroom is now yellowish-green with lots of chalk marks.  Guess who has enjoyed the wall the most so far?

We're continuing to tour local parks and forest preserves.  Last weekend we visited Riverbend Forest preserve (home of the largest lake in Champaign county).  There are some nice trails, and the lake has a very fun pier with some covered benches and tables.

We have been to Kickapoo state park on a number of occasions, especially back in our mountain biking days.  Never before had we checked out the other parks nearby, so today we went to Kennekuk forest preserve.  As a bonus, my parents are in town this week, so we left the kids at home with them.  No one complained about being tired or hungry the whole time!

There are a zillion trails through the park, but we didn't have much time before we got hungry (okay, so maybe what I said before wasn't true).  We hiked only a couple trails.

It's very Kickapoo-esque, but no one was out on the trails.

Usually on the way home from the Kickapoo area, lunch is at either of the pizza places in St Joseph.  Since we were on the east side of the North fork, we decided to try our luck in Danville, former home of a GM foundry, currently avoided like the plague by most Urbana residents.

We found a restaurant downtown (there are 2?).  Pretty decent food that was reasonably priced.  The downtown area is about 6 square blocks with some pretty nice looking old buildings, most currently occupied by second-hand stores.  It's a little depressing, but maybe there is potential (Chambana never bothered to build a downtown.).

Finally, it's 10:15pm and Janny is walking around with her magnet doll.  Time to lay down the law.  Good night.

Clara's birthday and more

Clara turned 4 on Saturday!  We celebrated in traditional Knutson fashion by inviting neighbors, small group people, adopt-a-students, and church friends.  Janny was the youngest, and I don't think it's polite to say who the oldest was.  Clara picked several friends to be invited and helped Jill with the menu planning.  Instead of a cake or cupcakes, Jill and Clara worked together to make frosted banana muffins with pear and chocolate chips.  Pretty yummy.

The week before, Jill's' mom and dad stayed with us and gave Clara her first birthday present, a scooter!  This has been a huge hit.  Grandpa was quite useful around the house as well, resurfacing our dining room table, cleaning our car inside and out (gross!), and fixing the screen in our front door.

Clara also received a bunch of books plus Gruffalo stuffed animals from Grandpa and Grandma K.  From us, she got a batting tee (I'm loving this!  So far, no broken windows.) and a jump rope.  Some neighbors gave her a baby doll and some oreos (not shared with daddy).

During the Smiths' visit, Jill and I took an overnight trip to Charleston (fact:  Tony Romo lived there) in order to take a break from the kids.  We ate at the popular downtown restaurant, watched movies, and did some hiking at the surprisingly hilly Fox Ridge state park.  Probably the most memorable moment was coming across a steep one lane wood bridge that climbed over a railroad track on our way to the hotel.  It was dark, we driving through a residential neighborhood, and bang there it was.

Finally, do you see the pink roses in the first photo?  I'm very proud of them.  Twice this year I have saved them from sawfly larvae, and I have even watered them and given them compost.  In return, they make flowers.

winnin'

My readers have been sitting on pins and needles awaiting news of the Men's church league division A (that's the top, you know) championship of Champaign-Urbana.  We got off to a small early lead and kept it through the end, winning 9-5.  Another pull-over championship windbreaker is on the way (but not the B league version this time.  A all the way)!  Our defense was superb throughout the playoffs, and we used banjo hitting throughout the lineup to score runs.  Case in point was me:  I got either 3 or 4 hits in each of the playoff games, with nearly all of them being singles.

 Janny has crushed another milestone.  She can ride that there tricycle all by herself.  She also figured out that by whining about being hungry at bed time, she can stay up later.  We're actively working against this trend.  Initially, we only offered leftovers from the healthy parts of dinner.  Now we are pushing much harder on eating bigger dinners and having snacks an hour before bedtime.  Honestly, we're losing.  But we keep trying!

 Clara starts another year of preschool tomorrow.  She'll again be in the Tues / Thurs class at our neighborhood Lutheran church.  She is super excited about going again, but already this morning expressed concern about waking up before 8am to get ready for school.  Kids these days have it rough!

It hasn't rained much this month and the hot weather is returning, so we're playing in the sprinkler.  Last night, I started watering our garden and got distracted with bicycle assembly (maybe more on that next time).  I did remember first thing when I woke up this morning.  The plants seem to have enjoyed the long bath.

Last weekend was our ride around Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin trip.  We stayed at Jessie's family's cabin on the east side of the lake and enjoyed a fabulous sunset on Saturday night with Jarrod, Jessie, Jim, and Beth, and the kids.

The night itself was short-lived as we woke up at 4am to get ready for the 90 mile ride.  Jill and I rode mostly alone, but occasionally we would pick up someone that enjoyed our draft for a while.  The ride itself was quite nice, as there was a nice mix of very rural roads, small towns (Oshkosh!), and lake views.  The trouble was that often I just wanted to be done so that we could start the 5.5 hour drive home (plus N rest stops for the girls) and get some sleep before work on Monday morning.  Note to self:  if there is a next time, take Monday off.

We finished the ride in a clock time of 5:50.  Not too bad!  Jill hasn't ridden any long rides this year, but she is in solid 'boot-camp' shape.  We arrived home at 10:45 pm.  Not bad.  By the following Saturday, I was feeling quite refreshed.

Jill's mom and dad are visiting this week.  Good times.