The Curtis Clan - Winter 2018
Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox
Christmas Break
As usual the girls got off 2 weeks for the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays. Because they fell on a Monday, they decided to start on the Equinox Thursday, December 21and end on Wednesday, January 3, which while nice only gave two weekends instead of the more leisurely three.
On 22 December, we took the girls with us to the SLSO: Music of John Williams concert (this was the 18th Anniversary of our First Date which also took place at SLSO).
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The Curti at Powell Hall for the Music of John Williams
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On 23 December a beautiful couple inches of snow covered everything bringing a feeling of December and Christmas time. (Very cold temperatures and a few more inches would keep a smatering of snow the entire break)
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Christmas followed the traditional and comfortable schedule of family holiday traditions. On Christmas Eve, the girls served at 5 pm mass at holy Redeemer, followed by an evening of soup, conversation, gospel readings and carols at the Sages (including the recent addition of the Chair of Knowledge questioning o of the nieces & nephews that were still around). Returning home, the girls hung there stockings up for Santa (If you don’t believe, you don’t receive),and then turned in, followed by the parents about an hour later.
| Hanging the stockings with care |
Waiting at the top of the stairs |
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On Christmas, the girls slept late (yeah) and after a 1 ½ hours opening presents we had a leisurely breakfast of cinnamon rolls. The big gifts were a kayak for Jane, fencing gear for Cate, a Google Home assistant for Bethany and a life time supply of pajamas for Randy. In the afternoon, we took another lasagna to Nancy at Manor Grove, as per her request. That evening we watched the last 7 of 9 episodes of Stranger Things Season 2 on Netflix (because nothing depicts the spirit of Christmas than fighting monsters in a parallel universe set in 1984).
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Trying out the kayak with Pepper (who was less than enthused with the hatch that was just her size)
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In the days that followed, there was more family time with the Sages. On Tuesday, the adults met at Llewellyn’s and then came to our house for drinks instead of going to karaoke in honor of rosemary’s 40th birthday. On Wednesday, we caught a matinee of Star Wars: The Last Jedi after failing to catch it on Christmas day. The evening was at the St Peter’s Sages along and included the addition of a kids rob your neighbor game by Jane to go along with the version. Thursday, was officially the Sagemas gathering, gift exchange and showing the 2017 version of the Sage Twelve Days of Christmas: https://youtu.be/LGE9XVnXuiM. Friday, was a fair well breakfast with the Sages before the Indy Sages left. The last event was at Rosemary’s for a Make you Own Burrito night hosting of the Chicago Sages before they left.
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Cate depicting How I spent my Winter Vacation
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January
What to do on a lazy Saturday January 6, 2018 while mom was snoozing? In an epiphany of fun, Cate dipped dyed the lower 2 ½ inches of her hair purple though it turned out more reddish brown. “Accidently” Pepper dyed her paw purple too.
| Cate Dip dying her hair with Pepper's help |
Sleeping B and Gussie |
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That Sunday we took in the fun musical review “The Marvelous Wonderettes” at the Rep with the girls (and Ella) who got 4th row center together on a forecasted icy night when most season ticket holders exchanged their tickets (The St Louis Repertory Theatre offers bargain student tickets but no Senior discounts, which tells you everything you need to know about the age demographics of the audience).
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Our Marvelous Wonderettes
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Jane joined the WGHS Swim team but missed all of the December meets and practices over a whooping cough scare. It was going around (a team member had it) and it took forever to get the negative test results back as the labs were backed-up. Her first swim meet took place at rival Kirkwood HS, which has an incredible natatorium on campus thanks to a generous alumni donation.
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Jane at Event 4, Heat 1 JV 50M Freestyle
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Jane loved the camaraderie and the spirit of the team, including traditional the team’s “spaghetti” dinner prior to a big meet, which we had to force her to go to the first time. At least, she was big enough to tell us how much fun she had and how much she enjoyed it 2 ½ hours later.
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Jane at Kirkwood's starting blocks
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To be honest, the parents love the HS team so much more then the YMCA and summer swim leagues. Three events for Jane, in an hour and 15 minutes AND we didn't have to spend 5 hours timing events or compiling results. High School Swim Team Rocks!
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Jane grooving in her swim team pull-over
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Meanwhile Cate continued fencing and looking pretty cool in her Christmas present gear.
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Cate loving her fencing gear
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Engarde
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BEM Dinner Out
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On Sunday, January 21, Jane and Randy celebrated the break in the month long freezing temperatures and broke-in her new kayak with a 10 mile float trip on the Meramec River from Onondaga Cave to Blue Springs with Uncle Charlie and Scotty. We saw lots of Canadian Geese, about a dozen Bald Eagles, one Blue Heron, an armadillo and a single turtle along the way. Breaking the remaining ice floats was fun. We all over prepared and packed our dry bags but we glad not to need them (the Power of Negative Thinking [i.e., Being Prepared]).
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January Float Trippers leaving Onondaga
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| Jane with 2 eagles in trees |
Two eagles overlooking the paddlers |
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| Jane, The Ice Breaker |
Randy with an eagle too |
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On a warm Sunday we got to hang out with cousin Henry and Lucy and went to Margaret Park. Going to the “park” is an outgrown joy for the girls but a good excuse to revisit when the younger cousins are around.
| Walking to Margaret Park on a warm January Sunday |
Townie Girl Cousins |
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Golden Age for White Men in America
Occasionally seeing things in Facebook make you glad to be alive Right Here and Right Now while wistfully thinking the Golden Age for White Men in America was 6-7 decades earlier and it could have been OK too..
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1950 Home Economics Advice
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But what about the cocktail? Bethany ALWAYS does those things and greats me with a cocktail. ;)
While reading this, I was struck that it should be accompanied by Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Wives and Lovers". Jack Jones won the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1964 with his version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ7WT02wFOk. Times have changed.
February
For the first Saturday in February, the Curti had Ice Cream for Breakfast at Serendipity in Old Orchard; a Curtis Family tradition since 2010 (and we have most of the mugs still to prove it). Bethany got her standard maple-bacon waffle sundae, Randy chocolate peanut butter with a strawberry scoop in a chocolate dipped waffle cone and the girls both getting double scoops of Cookie Monster Ice Cream...perhaps the only flavor it’s safe to ask Dad to hold your cone for a second.
| In line for ICFB |
ICFB - Dad prrof choices |
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That Thursday, Randy gave a presentation regarding the Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) program to the Webster Groves High School Advanced Physics class with Phil Wojak. He’s gone back to see his HS physics teacher every couple years who is still at it having started teaching in 1961 and is in his 50th year at Webster. I think he’s got the most tenure in the state, even though he’s down to teaching only the one Advanced Physics class. He’s been an inspiration for a long time. Afterward, we had breakfast together at the Boardwalk Café in Old Orchard with his other Favorite and Best Student Todd Hammond and shared stories of what we really did as student assistants our Senior year.
The next weekend Bethany, Lisa Liss and Laura Bonty had a WWWWW (Winter Women’s Wine Wellness Weekend) which is usually at Trout Lodge, but they had to improvise as the YMCA remodeled TL over the winter. The Bed and Breakfast at Edge-Cliff Winery which hosts the wine tasting “class” they’ve always chosen to attend provided an easy choice for several days away from kids and husbands.
| Laura, Bethany and Lisa |
Little House on the Winery |
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Mid- February brought another light snow to WG but while a cold winter, the snow fall was never enough for a day of sledding all winter.
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Light Snow on Tuxedo
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2018 began with a conversation that had been brewing for a while in the family. We had talked around it tentatively since fall but with a retreat and some other significant tasks looming, we had a talk with Cate about getting confirmed in February with the rest of her 8th grade PSR class, or more specifically NOT getting confirmed. It was a difficult decision and we were glad to have the kind and caring Father Brown at Holy Redeemer help us grapple with this. Instead of Cate writing the required letter explaining why she wanted to be confirmed, we had her write one where she explained why she didn’t want to be. It included the following:
“This has been hard on me and my family for months and I did not decide this to get out of psr, church, or any of those other things like it. I know this choice is nothing to joke about and I am taking it seriously. I might come back to the church but I don’t think I will but I will look to be the best person I can be with is the main point of all of this anyway.”
Cate continued to alter serve until the end of her rotation in May and whenever they need people to fill in on the days she attended mass (including the time without any adult supervision when mom was out of town). In mid-February, she and Randy began attending Eliot Chapel Unitarian Church. Being led by a woman Reverend immediately impressed her, along with the music, which literally including singing the late 1960’s non-denominational, spiritual of peace, love and togetherness: Kumbaya. It’s been good thing for both father and daughter.
Randy’s pal Anthony came into town for the Missouri Restaurant Association soiree and brought him along as his date (Lesha couldn’t make it). Great food, an open bar and surprisingly we didn’t embarrass ourselves (too much). Bethany served as our personnel Uber driver to pick us up and drop us off so we could really enjoy the open bar.
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Anthony and Randy enjoying Restaurant Assoc. Dinner
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On Thursday, February 22, Randy’s team at the Corps of Engineers (Environmental and Munitions Branch, EC-E) moved into the new remodeled space at work. EC-E really won the lottery by being one of the last groups with most of the team getting direct window views having spent 2 ½ decades in a room with no windows.
On the last Friday in February, Randy took the day off to chaperone the 8th grade Team Phoenix field trip to the Missouri History Museum, taking in the Civil Rights in Missouri and Panoramas of the City exhibits. Fellow dad, Kelly Hendricks came along and only mildly embarrassed our daughters when we pointed out that the circa 1920 3-D photos of inflating aerial balloons in Forest Park were not hot air balloons as the docent had been instructed but rather hydrogen/helium ones as evidenced by the round shape of the balloon. The racks of gas canisters and Goodyear logo were also give aways.
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8th Grade History Museum Field Trip
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At the WGHS Girls Swim Team End of the Year banquet, Jane and Sophie won the Best Friends Award for being nearly inseparable during the season (but weren’t sitting together at the banquet as Jane kept her ride (Dad) company)
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Jane and Sophie - Swim Team Buddies
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In support of getting an Honors grade in English, Jane needed to do extra work and projects throughout the year. During the Shakespeare unit, she had to read Macbeth and also do a special project. She chose to direct a scene from the play and coerced her friend Kristen and Cate, to do Act 2 Scene 2 see YouTube. (https://youtu.be/FtdSY2NslHw). Cate and Kristen had the worst end of the project as Jane only had to hold the camera…er…Direct and the other girls had to do the lines. Cate had Lady Macbeth’s contempt down but no Scottish brogue and they used a more modern text as opposed to the original: .” Hark! I laid their daggers ready; He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.” Everyone starts somewhere.
| Maacbeth |
Act 2 Scene 2 |
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Jane got inducted into the French Honor Society along with a number of other Freshman
| French Honor Society |
Jane Amelie |
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March
We started off March with a nice neighborhood cocktail party. It’s good to have an excuse to spend the day cleaning the house for a party (scrubbing the floor, vacuuming, mopping) every so often. The photos are from Randy’s obsolete Galaxy S3 phone which will not be missed.
| Tuxedo Park |
Cocktail Party |
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The second weekend in March provided a bit of drama that turned out just fine in the end. On Thursday, Randy’s mom Nancy was stretching her right leg about 6 in the morning and heard a “pop”. After getting an x-ray at Manor Grove, it was confirmed that she had a femoral neck fracture (i.e. broken hip). When I heard the news about a “neck fracture”, I got super concerned that she broke her neck. I’m not digging the use of adjective and nouns in the “femoral neck fracture” description but I don’t know of a better adjective for neck but there should be one.
We took an ambulance to Mercy Hospital about 6 pm and proceeded to enjoy the standard hour’s long wait of not having a life threatening issue in a trauma center. About 8:30 we got a private ER examination room which was pretty good as others in the waiting got gurneys in the adjacent hallways with curtain dividers for “privacy”. At 10:40 pm, we met with a Orthopedic Physician’s Assistant (PA), who provided us some options beyond the NO SURGERY that Nancy was pushing for (the last time she had surgery didn’t go so well as you well know). Finally about 1145pm, we got moved into a room after 5 hours of waiting.
On Friday, at 7 am we meet with the Orthopedic Surgeon. As expected, he was a strong advocate for hip replacement surgery for pain management and to reduce potential for blood clots and other issues from being bed ridden. Nancy was still strongly leaning towards NO SURGERY. However, after getting candid opinions from two GP docs (i.e. my best friend from High School and a neighbor of 28 years), they both provided an unhesitant advocacy, almost word for word, for the Orthopedic Surgeon’s recommendation. We were sold, until we were visited by the Mercy Hospitalist who provided a very nice advocacy for NOT doing the surgery and just trying to treat the situation with pain meds, which was what we originally wanted to hear. Indecision set in.
We agreed to have an echocardiogram to confirm surgery was the standard moderate risk instead of the high risk, Nancy and I both suspected (the echocardiogram is fascinating to watch if you ever get the chance). Nancy passed the Echo-cardiogram with relatively flying colors and the planned surgery was on for that evening but not before ~3 hours of waiting in pre-surgery Prep. Anyway she left for surgery at 6:30 pm and a little after 8, the Orthopedic Surgeon came out to tell us it went very well, that we should go and wait in her room and she would be up in a couple hours. About 1000 pm, they wheeled Nancy back in her room, but she was clearly out of it. She didn’t know her name, where she was, why she was there, etc. Occasionally, she did call out for Randy as we tried to assure her that all was fine. The staff informed us this was all rather normal until the anesthesia completely wore off but it was still disquieting to experience this temporary loss of cognitive ability.
We went home and got some sleep before returning Saturday morning about 945 am. Happily, Nancy was her normal self, asking about everyone else first before focusing on what going on in her world.
On Sunday, there was some ambiguity to whether she would be discharged or get to stay another day at Mercy. The opinions of the doctors seemed to be that an extra day would be fine but they couldn’t justify it as she was doing so well and hence the standard insurance protocols kicked in and they sent her back to Manor Grove. Except for some nausea issues from some of the pain meds and moving around that afternoon, she all and all did very did very well.
We remain a bit amazed at her tenacity and grace through the whole thing. She continues to set a good example for her son and family to follow
Spring Break 2018 - DC or Bust
On Friday, March 16, we left the St. Louis on a family road trip, once again merging the girls Spring Break with a work trip for Randy. We had a pleasant drive to Pittsburgh and had a nice dinner with Aunt Katie and Uncle Don at Bravo before settling into our Robinson Township Springhill Suites room for a couple days. We spent all of Saturday, with Katie and Don just hanging out; barely celebrating St. Patrick’s except for the men enjoy a few fingers of Irish whiskey.
| Haning with Barrack at the NPG |
4 Webster Statesmen at the NPG |
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We got up on Sunday, and drove into DC / Greenbelt, MD. After an early check-in to the Marriott to drop our car load of pilferable luggage, we headed into town to take in some museums with Randy while he had the day off. We visited the National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art despite the grumblings of two less than enthused teenagers. We also visited some of the outdoor venues of the Mall: FDR, MLK, Thomas Jefferson and Lincoln before calling it a day (a long one) and heading back to the Marriott.
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BJC at the MLK Memorial with the baside of the Nickel in the background
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| Standing in Elenor's shadow |
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial |
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| Lincoln not having a Night at the Museum moment |
RnB reflecting on a good day |
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Great Pizza take-out from DMV Pizza in old town Greenbelt and chocolate cake dessert from the Concierge Lounge on the beds in our room put everyone in a good mood after a long afternoon of sightseeing as people were getting hangry (It was so good, we did it again Tuesday).
On Monday while Randy was at the archives in College Park, MD, Bethany and the girls hopped on the DC Metro and headed to the Mall, talking in: the Bureau of Engraving & Printing; U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Smithsonian Castle Building; Museum of the American Indian; U.S. Air & Space Museum; and the U.S. Capitol Bldg.
| A beautiful day on the Mall |
With the Lunar Lander |
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Jane and Cate with a 100,000 Hamiltons
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Tuesday, Day 3 of the Curti in DC, they went to the Shrine of Democracy visiting the National Archives on the Mall to see the Declaration of Independence & Constitution (sorry, no pics allowed), followed by the Museum of Natural History, and Museum of American History (sadly, the Ruby Slippers aren't back from a $300K restoration yet).
| T-Rex Time |
The PBS Kids exhibit |
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| Jane channeling her inner Leslie Knope |
At Greenbelt Theatre to see Black Panther |
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Movies
Under the cinefile brainwashing for this quarter, we saw: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle; Randy coerced Cate into watching Harold and Maude; the whole family loved Stranger Things Season 2 (finishing the last 7 of 9 episodes on Christmas, draw your own conclusions); The Last Jedi (Star Wars 8); Love Actually; American Graffiti (which the girls loved this time and put Cate on lingering kick of 1950s and early 1960s music/Frankie Vallie channel); Pitch Perfect 3; 1989’s Batman with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson; 2005 Batman Begins with Christian Bale’ The Godfather; The Lego Batman Movie (a definite slight that it wasn’t be nominated for the best-animated film); The Breakfast Club on the big screen; and The Black Panther at the Old Greenbelt Theatre, MD on the last night of winter.