All Region

A couple of weeks ago Ava auditioned and made the All Region Choir. The concert was fun and Ava even got a speaking part…the only “solo” for the junior high all region performance! 

 

North Park Trains

We had a nice visit last week to see the Christmas Trains at North Park Mall. North Park is always a festive place during the holidays.

 

Hamster Era

Did I happen to mention Ava got a hamster? She's entered her hamster era. She saved up her money the past few months, bought the habitat and all the supplies. Then, over Thanksgiving Break we went to the local pet store and brought home Asha. Asha was named for the main character in the newest Disney movie "Wish" that we saw the night before. The cats aren't quite sure what to make of Asha and they're not allowed in Ava's room now without supervision.

 

Breits!

 

 

Just heard that Bob Breitenstein, the longtime owner and proprietor of Breit's Stein and Deli is retiring. He has sold the longtime establishment and promises that the place will stay the same. I hope so. Breits (pronounced Brits) is a cornerstone of the Strawberry Hill neighborhood in KCK. I don't generally care for reuben sandwiches but the ones at Breits are amazing. It's a cool old neighborhood. Descendants of Eastern European immigrants the place has a lively old school vibe. I've sat on the back patio and listened to Croatian folk bands practice across the street at the senior center. Then they'd come over to Breits and chat. I hope the place stays the same as it always was. 

 

Good Blonde

I picked up Good Blonde by Jack Kerouac a few weeks ago at Recycled Books in Denton. I've read most of Kerouac's stuff so this was one of the few extraneous works I had not come across before. This collection came out in the early 90's and contains miscellaneous essays, magazine interviews and some random stories that Kerouac wrote over the years. 

I had seen some of these essays here and there online (like Kerouac's Rules for Writing) but most of this was new to me. Much of it was great. Other parts...kinda meh. So an uneven collection of writings overall. If you like Kerouac I recommend checking it out. But for the casual reader...you might stick to On the Road or The Dharma Bums.

Icehenge

 

Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson. One of KSR's earliest works. Bought it for $1.50. Looks like a pulp sci fi novel but contains great truths about time, existence and social constructs. It's also a scientific mystery novel but the mystery never really gets solved and that makes it work even better as a story. KSR never disappoints.

Eclipse

Back in October there was an eclipse. We were ready. Barely. Our Eclipse Glasses were delivered by Amazon about an hour earlier. 

New Moon

There was one day last month where my wife and I were able to get away from the kids. We headed to Klyde Warren Park for the New Moon Festival. We made Chinese calligraphy and ate great food.

 

Ol SNU

Of course we had to make an official college visit to the old alma mater!

 

More College Tours

 

 Made a couple of college visits last month. Enjoyed our tour of the University of Oklahoma. Perfect weather for a tour.

 

 

 

Potter

 

We recently threw a Harry Potter themed party for my daughter. She had a few of her best friends over for the night. They ended the night outside watching the first Harry Potter movie projected on the side of my storage building by a fire pit eating smores.