Memory Day: Snapshots

This picture was taken a decade ago, on January 21, 2012.

Two company names ago and long before the extravagant club and casino settings of the present, my company had their holiday party in a conference hall at the Dulles Hilton.

I actually brought the horse from home (though I didn't ride it to get there), since it was languishing in the basement as a prop from my 2010 Halloween costume, Old Spice Guy. The horse still lives with us (Maia calls it "Spotty") but has finally run out of neigh batteries.

Maia's Art Day

I still draw bunnies for Maia on request, but very rarely -- she is more likely to want to draw her own.

This next picture is Mallory Bunny, named after her older friend that shares the same birthday. Mallory Bunny lives in a castle with turrets.

We used to have a Janny Wurts print of unicorns on the beach hanging here, but Maia moved it to her nightstand so she could "see the unicorn faces" before she goes to bed. She hung this original bunny art here instead.

Maia was on a room subdivision kick for a week or so after reading The Berenstain Bears and No Girls Allowed for the millionth time. She diligently copied these letters out of the book. Who's allowed to be in a zone where both boys and girls aren't allowed? Bunnies.

Maia created a checklist for steps she takes before going to school: Wake, Dress, Breakfast, Potty, take Bunny to school, Shoes, Coat, Gooooooo! Rebecca used checklists like these to get Maia off to camp during the summertime.

When not making bunny towns, Maia is building things from Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This is the Zora Domain, which is essentially a building shaped like a fish surrounded by bridges.

Here is the actual Zora Domain for reference.

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

S16 by Woodkid:
After enjoying the uniqueness of Golden Age, I immediately purchased Woodkid's most recent album. It works fine for atmospheric background music, but feels a little forgettable. I'll listen to it a few more times, to see if I change my mind but I preferred the earlier album.

Final Grade: C

The Sun by Bliss n ESO:
The latest album from this Australian hip-hop group is excellent, full of great hooks, beats, and fun lyrics. I never thought I'd hear Carol of the Bells as a hip-hop sample until I heard the first track on ths album. Cadillac Outta Hell is a good representative track.

Final Grade: B+

Money Heist, Season Five, Part Two:
Money Heist finally concludes its latest heist, going out on top. The ending was great and kept me guessing. Some of the plot progression redeemed a lot of the flashbacks that I had dismissed as pointless in previous seasons. This is a series definitely worth watching if you enjoy over-the-top heist plots. The first two seasons have more of a soap opera feel to them, while the last three (the Netflix-produced ones) are very polished and professional.

Final Grade: B+ for this season, B+ for the series

Azul (re-review):
I originally dismissed this game as mostly luck-based, so I have to issue a mea culpa. After Rebecca played this with friends on Board Game Arena, we realized that we had misinterpreted two key rules in the lengthy rulebook which prevented our games from ever reaching their full potential. Now that we're playing it the right way, it's much more enjoyable and strategic.

Final Grade: B

Shower Day

Our latest home project is an overhaul of our guest shower in the basement. The previous shower was a haphazard relic from when I first moved in in 2004 and the basement had been subdivided into separate living areas for maximum renting. The groutwork finally decayed to the point where the wall was soft and I had to apply duct tape liberally to stem further damages.

We went with the same company that did our screen porch and patio. After a few false starts and snow events, the shower is finally complete.

The new shower is now nicer than our main showers, so I'd better start taking more post-workout showers in the basement to get my money's worth.

Weekend Wrap-up

Rebecca had her first day back in the PT clinic on Saturday, so I stayed home with the kids for a nap/Frozen matinee while work continued in the basement on our guest shower overhaul.

On Saturday evening, we had the grandparents over for a ham dinner. Maia learned about all of the places they had lived on a whiteboard map and then showed us where her bunny has lived (born in Alaska because he is a snowshoe, and his cousins are from Philly).

Sunday's snow event was worthwhile if shortlived. We got about 4 inches by evening, but then precipitation turned almost immediately to rain, erasing our gains.

How was your weekend?