We attended a birthday party for a 3-year-old on Saturday. The theme was pink and purple. And also mermaids and unicorns. I don’t have any mermaids or unicorns, so I wore a pink shirt and a purple tie, and a purple pocket square. The 3-year-old was still better dressed.
The parents got some balloons with giant bits of confetti in them. Sadly I was in another part of the party when this happened, but it was decided to pop the balloons and record the pop in slow motion. Confetti was everywhere. They’ll be discovering it for weeks. The cake was a unicorn. Our present was a dress that was reminiscent of a mermaid, but also included about four layers of multicolored tulle.
The birthday girl is the cutest thing. Every present is just the greatest present that was ever presented. I could have gone outside and found her some pine cones and put those in a gift bag and she would be thrilled. But when she gets mermaid stuff, it’s a different level of joy, entirely. It was all very cute.
Elsewhere, just grading and emails and watching final exams come in. And, also, verifying that my spreadsheets and my formulas are all accurate. The sun, you could say, is setting on the term.
I have the last class meeting of my semester tonight: more video projects to screen. After that, there’s only a small handful of things to score. I’ll submit grades later this week and, finally, all of those long-suffering students will be done with me.
I hope they have all learned as much as I did. I always hope that.
It’s time for the site’s most popular weekly feature. Let’s check in with the kitties.
Phoebe has been enjoying this little box on one of the cat trees. The other archway gives her great views of the flowerbed. They like that for all of the birds, but there aren’t a lot of birds around right now. I’m not sure if she believed me when I told her they would be back.
What does a cat know of patience, anyway? Just put your head between your paws, the birds will reappear.
Poseidon likes boxes. This time of year, Poseidon loves the space heater. So I put a box near a space heater, thinking he would love this arrangement. Now he’s taking naps beside the box.
Last weekend I got a strangely shaped box. Poe likes that one, too.
Such a goof.
My closet has some wire rack thing and it was not conducive to my closet system. But I found a solution that did not involve redesigning the whole space. It just required a quick order from Amazon. I thought it would take the better part of a day to implement the new closet setup. It took about 20 minutes. And now we have to watch out for a cat in this long, slender, box.
I officially gave up on outdoor bike rides for the year. The remaining forecast does not look promising and more days in the 30s didn’t seem exciting and I rode outside until mid-December anyway. Time, then, to set up the smart trainer and update Zwift.
It’s flat here, so of course I chose a route that features 2,700 feet of climbing.
The first trainer ride of the year always feels like a first. It’s easier, but more demanding, than riding on the open road. Putting some simulated 10-14 percent gradients in your legs right away is the smart move. Right?
Let’s see if I can move around in a classroom after 90 minutes of that.
