The Curtis Clan - Winter 2016

Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox

Christmas Time

Winter started with Randy and Bethany celebrating the 16th Anniversary of dating/togetherness with a dinner date at Amigo’s in Kirkwood, followed by a viewing of Sisters at Ronnie’s.

RnB 16th Anniversary Date Night

The following week and a half was solid holiday FFF (Forced Family Fun). It started with us finally getting around to taking an official family picture for the Christmas card mailing which we stuffed on the 25th. Isn’t that where the term Christmas Cards comes from?

Unused Curtis Family Photo with dogs 1	Unused Curtis Family Photo with dogs 2

As part of the kids present to their parents (Gramy and Gral), the Sage Siblings produced a 12 Days of Sagemis video with the dozen grandkids each taking a “day”. As the second oldest, Jane chose to extol the joys of Two Cuddly Puppies and Cate, as fourth oldest, went with Four Giant Books. The video came be found here: https://youtu.be/D5muh4UT5u4

Jane - Two Cuddly Puppies	Cate - Four Giant Books

Our days of Sagemis started on Christmas Eve Eve, with the Shaw boy cousins came for a sleep over. We took them along with us to see the Winter Wonderland light show at Tillies Park, finally taking the girls after saying “maybe next year” for awhile. Arriving shortly after it opened, we waited 30 minute in line for the 20 minute drive for $10 for the van load. It was much better than expected. Christmas Eve was an evening with the comforts of family traditions: dinner of soup with the Sages, followed by bible readings, and carols, and lastly the Chair of Knowledge inquisition with Uncle Van after Amy and Alvan left for Mass.

Cate and Jane with their Christmas Wedgewood	The girls modeling their new clothes

We had the best Christmas morning in a long time with happy girls and no drama. We took toasted raviolis to Nana at Manor Grove for dinner later in the day and watched Star Wars: A New Hope on the Blu-Ray to wrap things up (getting prepped for watching Episode 7).

Bethany on Christmas mornining	The girls posing with the dogs and Harry Potter hat

Boxing Day saw the Sage tribe gathering for a Townie Brunch with the out of town Sages showing up through the afternoon. The annual cousin / grandkid gift exchange in the late afternoon was a treat, as was the Sage Pizza dinner afterwards.

12 Sagemis Cosuins	Sagemis Cousins pointing

The cousins playing with the trains

Sunday of Sagemis 2015 was Lucy Shaw’s Baptism, a two hour event with mass (yikes!). That evening we went to the St. Peter Sages and the Rob-Your-Neighbor game.

Rosemary, Bethany and Lucy Shaw

2015-12-27 Rosemary Bethany and Lucy.jpg

On Monday, after a 10 day wait, we caught a matinee of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Hi Pointe. Not a perfect continuation but pretty darn good and so good to see Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon again.

Getting ready to see a matinee of Star Wars:

The Force Awakens

Kansas City - Road Trip

With the Sage family obligations behind us, on Tuesday we left on a mini vacation to Kansas City. We started with a visit to the Truman Library and Museum in Indepedence, MO followed by a windshield recy of the Truman home and Community of Christ Temple for the Reformed Church of Latter Day Saints (the location where Jesus is going to return to earth so they say). We then checked into our room on the top floor of the Downtown KC Marriott, offering a terrific view to the south.

Dinner was at the local favorite: Mintzskys Pizza at the City Market in downtown KC, which greatly pleased the whole clan as good pizza always does.

RnB with Truman	Cate & Jane with Harry

We're just mad about Harry!

The next day we went to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum to visit the Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood exhibit, which was great enjoyed, enjoyed, tolerated and barely tolerated in descending age order of the family members. There was a similar reaction as we made a quick tour of the rest of museum. There was a more positive general consensus about our lunch at the KC diner chain favorite: Winsted’s next to the Country Club Plaza.

Ready to visit the Benton exhbit	Benton's Hollywood

While looking for the Boulevard Brewery, Randy found the KC regional NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) facility; the last regional archives that I hadn’t visited. A 10 minute visit still counts right? Randy’s Busman’s Holiday at NARA-KC

RnB enjoyed a couple of Boulevard Brewery beer 4 ounce tasters even though there were no tours left at the packed visitor center. The free tour tickets “sold out” in 4 minutes at 10 am as the kids back on holiday from college used this as a place to reconnect with their pals. A very different vibe than what Randy experienced ~25 years earlier, a couple years after its founding when a middle aged, beer barreled, yet very knowledgeable volunteers gave a very informal visit to a dozen or so visitors in contrast to the pretty, scripted, yet depthless coed cooperate guides that did the A-B tours.

Randy on a busman's holiday at NARA-KC	RnB outside Boulevard Brewery

The KC Central Library Parking Garage was only a few blocks away from our hotel. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the coolest library parking garage “in the world” and we happily posed for some family selfies.

Central KC Library Parking Garage	The Curti Love BIG books and we can not lie

We returned to the Plaza for some Mexican food that evening at the whimsical Chuy’s, which suited everyone’s mood.

Cate with our room with a view

2015-12-30 Cate and room with a view.jpg

On Thursday 31 December, the plan was to visit the refurbished WWI Museum at the Liberty mall but alas it was closed for the day, despite not posting this on their web page. This only really disappointed one in the group though. On our way home we stopped in for a couple hour lunch with the Holmes-Hageman’s in Columbia at Truman’s tavern. While good and enjoyable, it wasn’t the Shakespeare’s Pizza we had hoped for as it was closed for the day too.

Liberty Memorial closed on New Year's Eve Day - Sadness

We spent New Year’s Eve simply watching: A Charlie Brown Christmas (and 50th Anniversary Special), The Sting and two episodes of The Wonder Years.

It’s probably also worth noting that this period saw an extreme 3 day rain event in the St. Louis area with local rainfall amounts reaching 9-11 inches between 26 and 29 December. This resulted in historic flooding along the Meramec River and its tributaries, including the Bourbuese River the last week of December. It also resulted in the third highest crest on the Mississippi river in St. Louis (42.58 feet) behind only the historic highs of 1973 and 1993. As such a major section of I-44 was shut down for a couple-few days, which while significant, it occurred in the past within our lifetimes, diminishing the novelty. Age and experience provides the wisdom that while ~4 days of good raining can put a lot of water in the area, the flooding is really bad only in the areas that flood regularly and along the rivers and creeks that do so regularly. Most of the areas outside the FEMA flood zones (i.e. most people) have soggy yards with a potential for sewer backups in the basements but were generally unaffected. Moral: Do NOT build or live in a flood plain/zone. These are fairly well known and definable but developers and others ignore this pragmatic advice regularly. That’s probably the main reason Randy stopped working in the flood control mission of the Corps over 20 years ago. It is too often focused on fixing the same problem at the same location over the long term. Before completely getting off the Soap Box, its worth reflecting that 2015 saw the highest rainfall total in St. Louis by a significant amount (61.24 inches versus the next highest at 57.96). December 2015 was the wettest one on record mostly due to the described post Christmas event just described. June 2015 was the second-wettest month on record for St. Louis but at least it was spread across most of the month.

The rest of winter break was filled with days with no agenda, allowing time for inner reflection like the realization that while traditions may be comforting, ultimately new experiences and adventures are more joyful ones.

January

Besides Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Hi Pointe, over Winter 2016 we also saw The Big Sleep, the Lady Eve and The Quiet Man. Other films introductions with the girls this quarter included: the Marx Brothers A Night at the Opera; Ground Hog Day; Who Framed Roger Rabbit?; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The last hasn’t held up so well but it still has its moments and looks terrific.

CiCi’s night with the Sages courtesy of the Indy Sages Christmas largess

In mid –January, Jane and Cate both participated in the WGSD Orchestra Pops Concert at the WGHS gym. Jane and Cate both play cello, which as we only rent one led to some groveling to borrow one of the District’s for the night. Jane’s Hixson group's rendition of Uptown Funk was a real crowd pleaser (definitely the song of the year). Steger’s 6th graders William Tell Overture was only missing Clayton Moore. Hi-ho Silver!

Jane & Cate before their concert

2016-01-13 BnC before Strings Concert.jpg

Jane celloing	Cate celloing

A couple days later, we had a contractor take down our elm on the east fence line. Given the continued plateau of détente with the neighbor it seemed best to let professionals work on the demilitarized zone and take out the elm. We used Happy Tree in Kirkwood at $1375; about half of what the other bids came in at (plus $185 to grind the stump). That’s a loss of two mature trees along the back yard property line in one year.

What's left of tree on the property lines

(and the last days of the swing set/fort)

A couple of months later, we took down the hand me down fort - swing set for the kids we’ve enjoyed for the last 12 years. We got it from a family down the block that had it for a decade before that so its time had come. The wood had deteriorated but the swing and handles were still good and ended up on the neighbor’s new fort. Other items like the slide, left on the street were picked up by others in a day. The wood overloaded the trash bins for us and several neighbors for a few weeks much to the consternation of the Midwest Waste guys.

Bethany and Maria celebrating Elisabeth's B-Day

On the last Saturday of January 2016, Jane and Randy took advantage of 60+ degree day and joined Uncle Charlie, Bill, Carol, Scoot and Zeke on the Meramec River from Onondaga Cave SP for a "winter" float. The eagles and turtles enjoyed the near record high temperatures too.

Gang at the start of the Meramec River Float	Jane paddling on our Winter float

That evening the Sage team took 2nd place at the Christ the King Trivia Night, missing first place by 1point ("Nothing but the second best for us Curtises").

The Penultimate Trivia Night Team @ CK

February

Saturday, February 6 was National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day and we started the day by waiting in line outside in our pajamas for 45 minutes to get Serendipity and the complimentary coffee mugs (no mugs for people not in their PJs). Bethany got her regular Maple-Bacon Waffle Sundae and the girls choose Cookie Monster cones. Randy enjoyed a scoop of Chocolate Cayenne and one of King Cake in honor of it being the Saturday before Mardi Gras, which was as close as he got to marking the occasion (…times change).

Waiting on que in our jammies for breakfast ice cream	Nursing our annual ice cream for breakfast habit

s
That afternoon, Bethany and Rand decided to go test drive some cars. The week before we had taken our 12 year old Toyota Sienna into the shop after the Maintenance Light came on again. This time the maintenance code was for the catalytic converters and the oxygen sensors. Not something that stopped the car from running but it wouldn’t pass inspection in May without spending another two grand. This after a 2015 where we replaced the transmission and WAY too many other things with the continuing hope that with the next fix, that would be it and it would be good for another 50,000 miles. This was the final straw, as Randy finally checked the Blue Book value for the van which ranged from $2061 to $3608, with an average of $2835 for Trade-In value. Putting another $2K into it didn’t make sense and Randy should have come to that conclusion last May but it’s really hard for him to give up on things. Besides the Sienna was supposed to move up into 2nd car status as his 20+ year old Suzuki Sidekick starts up with a white cloud of unburnt hydrocarbons, clearly indicating its days are numbered too (but it still has a $1400 average Blue Book value surprisingly enough).

Anyway it seemed like a good idea to test drive our preferred vehicles with third row seating: the Kia Sorrento (Randy’s choice) and the Buick Enclave (Bethany’s choice) based on our experiences at the St. Louis Auto Show a week earlier. At the car show, we looked at dozens of SUVs, minivans and cross-over vehicles to identify what we wanted/needed. Over the course of a couple hours, test driving the Sorrento (bench 2nd row providing poor access to the 3rd row) and Buick Enclave (very pricey and arrogant, disinterested sales person) left us uninspired. Getting a vehicle with 2nd row captain’s seats providing easy access to a 3rd row, remained a key factor with daily car pools still a fact of life for next half dozen years. We decided to give a look at the Chevy version of the Enclave before heading home. At Weber Chevrolet we found a Chevy Traverse 1LT with $6,000 off the MRSP because it had 3500 miles on it as a loaner vehicle for cars in the shop. Add to that it had a roof rack and assist rail step to make putting the canoe on top easier, and Randy could swallow the mediocre gas mileage for family comfort. His lament about there not being a tow hitch was answered with the question of “How often did we use the tow hitch on the Sienna?”, which was hard to argue with (It was a whopping zero).

Curti and the new Traverse

There were tears with leaving our 12 year old minivan on the lot but they weren’t Bethany’s. Ten months of breakdowns and extended time in the shop ended her sentimental feelings for the family truckster that took us all over the US for Cate’s entire life. We think we will be very happy with our new Chevy Traverse and look forward to some more epic Curti road trips though.

April 2004 Flashback - Bethany Jane and the "new" Sienna

Mid-February saw a hard fought, yet triumphant battle with another family appliance: the washing machine. About five years ago, we replaced the circa 1988 one after a couple decades plus of service and expected to have a similar long experience with a model recommended by Consumer Reports that was high middle of the pack cost wise. Not so much. Our “new” Maytag had been slow filling for about a year but it still worked until it flashed an LD code.

Thanks to the internet, it was easy to determine that the most likely cause was a clogged drain pipe. No big deal as washing machines are simple. The first indication of a problem was surface rust on the casing, which turned out to be foreshadowing of the tub nut being rusted to the spindle. Whacking at it with a rubber mallet did nothing. With a neighbor’s (Britt) help, along with some persuasion from a sledge hammer and 2x4, we got the drum knocked loose. Unfortunately it wasn’t a clogged drain but a broken spindle to the drain pump. Something that cost pennies to manufacture forced me to take the whole machine apart and spend $96 to replace the pump (that being among the cheapest offerings). Cheap American junk was my thinking. It’s frustrating and embarrassing that stuff like this breaks so quickly. When the part (a W10155921 - Replacement Washer Washing Machine Drain Pump) arrived several days later I had the girls help me replace the pump. So when we put it back together and it worked, right? Wrong! A LF code indicated we would need to replace the Water Inlet Valve with Wire Harness as well another $90 (the slow fill problem). By this point, we really needed to do a couple loads. Despite offers from neighbors and family to use their machines, it seemed best to take advantage of the life lesson opportunity and take Jane and Cate on their first visit to the Laundromat and show them how much of the rest of society has to clean their clothes (Randy recalled thinking having his own washer and dryer was the best quality of life improvement that came with buying a house). A few days later the EAP3490233 Water Inlet Valve with Wire Harness came in, Randy installed easily and the washing machine was back to normal. The whole episode didn’t endear the current quality of American white goods to us. Oh if there was only someone who could make our country great again….

Cliffs above Pickle Creek at Hawn State Park

(Jane, Cate & Emma are at the top)

Unseasonably warm temperature forecast for 19-20 February prompted a Father-Daughter camping trip on Friday-Saturday. We packed in 20 minutes and lightly nudged another dad Kelly Hendricks to come along too with his daughters Emma (Cate’s classmate) and the 3 ½ year old Katie B (and thus giving our wives a kid free day plus). We merged all the gear into the Hendrick’s voluminous Toyota Sienna, making for a more fun road trip (and another moment of melancholy that we no longer had a Sienna any more). We drove to Hawn State Park about an hour south of WG, getting there with some daylight left to pick a spot along Pickle Creek across from the bluffs and set up the tents. In the morning, we had nice short hike on the Whispering Pines North Trail to the cliff above the campground and back across the creek. It was a great time and we left before the deluge of rain that evening (thank goodness for accurate weather forecasts). A “Winter” Camping adventure, even if it reached 77 degree temps.

Randy Jane and Cate on the bluffs at Hawn SP	Bluffs at Hawn State Park

Campfire Girls	Randy enjoying some quiet alone time

At the end of February, Bethany hosted neighborhood winter cocktail party, including some of the newer neighbors. A fun evening with no one over indulging like has happened in the past from Cosmos.

March

RnB all dressed up to assist at the United Cerebal Palsey Auction night

Bethany with some Pi Phi Alums at the Art Museum

(One of her last gigs as President)

2016-03-11 Bethany w Pi Phi Alums at Art Museum.jpg

The Quiet Man was once again the annual March offering at the Hi-Pointe in the historically Irish Dogtown area of the city. The girls have come to love the annual screening almost as much a White Christmas.

In mid-March, Aunt Katie came to St. Louis for a long weekend visit filled with the a decadent and gluttoness Sunday brunch with the Sages and a Monday night All You Can Eat Special at Pasta House. Too much good food always makes FFF better doesn’t it?

The Sage Gatthering with Aunt Katie	Sage Gathering Group Pointer Pose

On Tuesday, the Ides of March, Missouri had its primary for the 2016 Presidential Election. Randy was voter number 2 in at our polling place. Figuring that voting for Hillary could wait to November, he jumped party lines took to get a Republican ballot and voted for John Kasich instead of the dreaded Donald Trump (he wasn’t the only Democrat in the neighborhood who came up with the same idea).

Springbreak in Cincy

It was the girls’ spring break and Plan A had been to go to Pittsburgh for part of the week to see Aunt Katie before she came to see us instead. With a new car beckoning to be broken with a good road trip, our sights turned to the unvisited Cincinnati (unvisted by at least for 3 of us the Curti). On Wednesday, the trip started out in grand fashion until just past Effingham (about an hour), when the 3 non-drivers, streaming different things on our fancy On Star Wi-Fi, all lost service. It was then that we realized it was a 3 month free trial OR 3 GB. The total data amount didn’t registered in the excited exuberance that we had WI-FI in the car. At least we still had a month and a half on the free trial period of the Sirius Satellite Radio.

Curti Comparing Signatures at the Cracker Barrel

(Cate is prepared to be famous or an MD)

Late in the afternoon, we got to Springhill hotel with uunlimited WI-FI, allowing everyone to quietly stream what they wanted with minimal amounts of whining in the closeness of a “two” room suite. A little personal space in a confined hotel room is a good thing.

On St. Patrick’s Day, we went to the Cincinnati Museum Center in the remarkable Art Deco Union Terminal building. The grand hall is truly that. In the morning, we took in the History Museum which sported a terrific model train exhibit of Cincinnati and a sequence of very well done rooms showing the history of the area, which greatly paralleled the history of St. Louis. After a quick minimal lunch, we watched the Omnimax: National Park Adventure, with many of the places the family has visited or planned to.

Jane, Randy, and Cate outside Union Terminal

After that was the EXCEPTIONAL Science & Natural History Museum. The museum offered kids a quiz/factoid hunt where they got points to trade for semi-precious rocks at the end. Jane and Cate spent 45 minutes picking from the petrified wood, quartz, tiger’s eyes, snowflake agate, sharks teeth, etc. It was also great fun to take pictures in the caves and post glacial area. For dinner we had Skyline Chili, which offered a “greenway” option (green noodles) for St. Patrick’s Day.

Jane and Cate in the Cincy Science Museum Cave

On Friday, we took in Jungle Jim’s a ridiculously large and fun international grocery experience. We were happy with the huge liquor, candy and bakery selection until we turned past the checkout lines to see the massive produce and international side of the store. At 200,000 square feet of shopping space, it is literally 20 times larger than a Trader Joe’s. We spent nearly 2 hours and spent $180 on beer and other whims. Fabulous shopping fun.

Jane, Bethany, and Cate in front of the Indian Section

For lunch, we stopped at the historic Findlay Market downtown for yummy Indian curries and Chicken Tiki Masala. Jane got a slice pita when she couldn’t finish her masala (too spicy for her taste).

Enjoying lunch at Findlay Market

2016-03-18 BJC Cincy Findllay Market.jpg

After that was the Cincinnati Art Museum at Mount Adams with a terrific view of downtown. With a little time and effort, we found some free parking, a small victory. The Rookwood pottery was terrific as were the underappreciated Henry Farny paintings of the west. The girls under appreciated most of the Art Museum despite their parent’s urgings to linger longer.

Jane and Cate in front of the Art Museum

Jane, Randy & Cate with the Cincy Skyline

(Baby, if you've ever wondered, wondered whatever became of me;

I'm living on the air in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, WKRP)

Bethany was excited to see that there was Frontgate Catalog Retail Outlet Store near the hotel but the visit turned to be a disappointment of overpriced, damaged goods. The best part was seeing a Mellow Mushroom nearby, answering the question of where to dine. RnB shared a half and half Thai Dyed and Oh Shitake and random beers for a $1 (e.g. Magic Hat #9 and Old Rasputin Stout).

Our nerdlings entertaining themselves waiting to be seated at the Mellow Mushroom

2016-03-18 Waiting at the Mellow Mushroom.jpg

We made quick half hour trip to the IKEA because it was there but didn’t want to buy anything. You know it’s a good day when IKEA was an afterthought for the Curti. Along the way, we picked up a cheap DSL cable, which allowed us to watch Gilmore Girls on the hotel flat screen TV via Netflix on the laptop.

The trip home in the rain along I-64 was anti-climatic as the road home almost always is. Our house was dog free as Gussie and Pepper were enjoying the Tuxedo St. Patrick's Day Dog Party at the Kennedy’s. A good trip and a fine conclusion to winter 2016.