My Favorite Time of Year

It doesn't get better than this, especially when this is my view from my spot on the couch. I spend a lot of time by this tree, now :)

We decorated this weekend so Bean could be part of it. It felt good to get the house picked up after a lot of chaos the past few weeks, and then we trashed it again with all the Christmas stuff, haha.

This view, too. 🥰

I love having all of my kids here. It's been louder, more tense at times, crazier, and more fun. 

Bean had to head back Sunday afternoon, but it's only 2.5 weeks until she's home for a month! 

Turkey Day

It's been a party around here :) We all love having Bean back and these two had a dance party the first morning (and I have no photo evidence because I like sleeping, but Bug and Bean stayed up until 1 or 2 most nights watching movies. Her brothers have missed her!)

Lots of play time with the crutches, and knee scooter and crutch, too. These kids are loving all the extra things I have around right now.

Wednesday night, Daddy-o and Peanut did the baking for the next day--3 pies. We got together with Daddy-o's parents and brother's family. It was actually a small crowd for that side of the family, but still a fun day.

And the pies tasted just as good as they look.

I didn't get many pictures the day off--it's hard when you aren't very mobile and the kids were mostly running around outside or downstairs where I never ventured. But I got my food :)

There's a pretty big age span here, but these kids always have fun together.

The cousin lineup was short this year.

So thankful for family and good food!

Joshua Tree National Park

A few months ago, I planned a camping trip to Joshua Tree. I figured we could camp for 3 nights and then drive the rest of the way to San Diego to pick up Bean for Thanksgiving. And then I broke my ankle. I was actually planning on going until just a couple days before, but it became apparent that I was not going to be able to get around well at all, and it just wasn't going to be a good idea. 

So, while I had 4 days of quiet at home, the boys got to go explore and hike a new national park for us. The campgrounds seem to be typical of the desert parks--small spaces, close together, and at high season, loud. Doesn't sound like they got much sleep, but they did have fun hiking to a couple of oases, some beautiful rock formations, an old adobe house, and seeing all of the cacti. (Maybe I can get one of them to come back and write more about the pictures below, but here's a photo dump:

And then, on Tuesday, they drove to UC Irvine to pick up Bean who had taken the train up to meet up with her friend, and with me out of the car, there was room to pick both of them up and bring them home for the week.

 

Views from the Couch, and Other Chairs

This is me these days. Lots of time on the couch with my ankle propped and everyone else running around taking care of everything as best they can. The boys have done a pretty good job helping me when they are home, and Daddy-o is doing everything he can in the evenings and mornings.

I was well-fed this past weekend. But I think Daddy-o has realized that with all the other extra stuff he's had to take on, meals should probably be simpler for a while. The enchiladas and Mexican rice that he fixed on Sunday were delicious but left a pretty big mess in the kitchen. 

We've also been well cared for by friends who have dropped by meals and done the grocery shopping and driven me and Peanut to the places we needed to go. When people have asked what I need, it's hard to know, other than the rides, but the food really has been a big help, too.

One of those rides was to the orthopedic doctor who said it's definitely broken and will see me after 4 weeks, but to expect 6 weeks in the boot. As soon as it doesn't hurt, I can start putting a little weight on it, but so far, that's not working out.

I taught science from a mostly seated position again this week.

I had several fun activities for the kids to do for our nervous system week and Peanut helped out with the younger classes when I needed something. It's all working out and I think we should make it through the semester which ends in a couple of weeks.

I also have another friend who loaned me this handy contraption--we call it my peg leg, and I'd say the boys are having a lot more fun with it than I am. But I've gotten okay at balancing and can get around hands-free for about 30 minutes before my bent knee start hurting. So that has been really helpful, too.

This broken ankle thing isn't fun, but we're working our way through it.

Saved by Citizen Science

What to do when you are leading a nature group the day after you find out you have a broken ankle? I got lucky on a couple points and was able to carry on. First, Bug was off for Veteran's Day so the newly licensed driver was able to act as my chauffeur to get me to San Ramon where we were meeting up. AND, by some miracle, I had planned a citizen science project which could be done by the parking lot, so no hiking required.

After talking about lichen and discussing what citizen science is, we split into 5 groups and measured the lichen on the trees in the area.

Found some pretty good specimens which are an indicator of decent air quality. The kids did a good job with the project, and even the ones who didn't have much interest in that part had fun with the scavenger hunt I prepared to look for different types of lichen.

I'm so glad this one worked out because as I told one of the parents who was shocked that I hadn't cancelled, it's easier to go forward than to figure out refunds for everyone. Bug did great driving on the freeway for the first time (which didn't have as light of traffic as I hoped) and his help at the activity was great. And this project was doable, even though I was wiped out when it was over.

A Day Gone Bad

What started as an absolutely beautiful day turned into a bit of a disaster before lunchtime. Peanut has an all-day class at an outdoor nature learning place on Wednesday's right now and I've been using the 6 hours I have in that area to hike the Bay Area Ridge Trail and then work on science classes at Panera or the library until it's time to pick him up.

The trail I chose this time was in Benicia along the bay. The first half was an urban hike--mostly along the streets and I was making good time, and happy with how pretty and safe the area was. It's always a little nerve wracking to hike alone and in unfamiliar places, but this seemed like a good choice--safer than being out on a deserted trail in the hills. I was calculating if I had time to do the whole 9.5 mile loop to cover that section of the trail because I was enjoying it so much.

I had made it to this pretty little cove and saw an egret on the shoreline, so when I noticed a staircase leading down to the bay, I wanted to get a closer picture of the bird. I walked down and stepped onto a small log at the bottom of the stairs which looked totally stable. But it wasn't. The log rolled, and my right ankle, which has been acting up lately, crumpled as I fell. I heard a loud popping sound as it folded, which was the same sound I heard 5 years ago when I sprained the same ankle pretty badly.

After staying on the ground for a couple minutes to let the initial pain go away, I tested it and decided I could walk back up the staircase to the street. There was a bench there, so I sat for a few more minutes. At this point, I was still wondering if I could keep hiking and finish the trail I'd planned, or if I needed to turn back. I was almost to the part of the trail that goes through a state park on the bay, which I was pretty excited about, but after resting it a few more minutes, I decided that I better turn back since I was 2.5 miles from the car. I hobbled along for about 10 houses when I realized I was never going to make it back to the car. Luckily, I was able to call for a Lyft and was picked up a few minutes later. But no more hiking :(.

So, I made it back to the car, drove to Panera, and spent the next 3 hours waiting for Peanut. I got some work done, but when I stood up after sitting there for a couple hours, I could barely walk. Getting to the bathroom and back was excruciating, and same for the car. It had gotten pretty swollen by that point, but I still hadn't taken my shoe off because I worried I wouldn't be able to get it back on. So, I made the very uncomfortable drive home before I hopped into the house and had Bug help me get my shoe off. It looked fat, hurt to walk, so he got to help me with the driving. He had one more day before his license test, so I went along for the ride, but at least I didn't have to use my right foot.

A friend brought me crutches a couple hours later so I could move around the house when I absolutely needed to, but I spent the rest of the evening on the couch with it propped up, hoping that the swelling would come down and it wouldn't hurt so bad.

But, the next morning, it was just as bad, and I knew I needed to go to the doctor. I made it through two science classes, by mostly just teaching from a chair, and then had my friend drop me off at the urgent care, where they x-rayed it and announced that it might be broken, or maybe I broke it 5 years ago (the two doctors who looked at the x-rays didn't totally agree). Either way, they put me in a boot and suggested I go to an orthopedic doctor to follow up. 

So, that's where I'm at, with an appointment next Tuesday to confirm that the boot isn't going away anytime soon. I'm pretty bummed because this means I am not going to make any of my walking or hiking goals for the year. I was only a few hikes away from completing 50 this year, a few miles from getting my 25 miles and while I was a little behind for my 1000 miles of walking/hiking/running for the year, I was totally planning to catch up. But I think I'll be lucky if I can walk boot free by the end of the year.

Just in Time

Look who got his license, and with perfect timing. Now that I can't drive, I'm glad I have someone to be my errand boy!

A Day with John Muir

Since Covid, we haven't had too many opportunities for field trips other than those that I plan, but our charter school has started their trips back up and Peanut and I were able to join in on a trip to the John Muir National Historic Site.

We toured the house that his family lived in for the last 24 years of his life.

It was given to them by his wife's parents, on their family orchard, and more opulent than Muir would have chosen, but it's a beautiful house.

It's always a little amazing to be able to walk in the same places as someone who we've read and learned so much from. Although most of the furniture isn't original, the desk in his office is.

And they have this self-portrait hanging in the room as well. (I think Muir's people sketching abilities are not his strongest talent, haha.)

It was a beautifully drizzly day.

Peanut was happy to find a couple friends on the field trip who he knows from our nature group. We got to go see the bell they would ring for dinner, and the kids all got to ring the bell later.

Peanut was soaking in everything. We had watched the video the NPS created about Muir and read a couple books about him in our history study recently, so he had a solid background and was excited to see this area.

Besides touring the house, we also walked around the grounds.

Muir planted a giant sequoia at his home. It's not the healthiest tree, being isolated from other trees and not in its natural habitat, but Muir wanted to have one of the trees he loved close by when he wasn't in Yosemite.

The ranger spent a while talking with the kids about the NPS and what these parks are. Muir was such a key part of this whole system we now have.

It's beginning to look like autumn around here!