ποΈ Week Notes 045
ποΈ // Nov 2, 2025 - Nov 8, 2025
Mary and I took a quick camping getaway this weekend to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. We rented a cabin at Steamboat Rock State Park for a couple of nights and it's literally the first time in 25 years that we've both left our kids behind to go away for a couple of days. The older three will all be legal adults by December, and the younger three are almost all in double digits, so they were definitely ready for this scenario as well. We have plenty of family and friends in the area, and Mary's parents are only ten minutes away.
β½οΈ Spurs 4-0 Copenhagen - Huge bounce back win for Tottenham after the weekend offensive debacle against Chelsea. Xavi had his best game yet, Brennan Johnson opened the scoring again, and Odobert got on the board as well. Then we went down to 10 men and Micky Van de Ven did a Son length-of-field goal in a classic "the cover might be better than the original song" kind of moment since he's a 6'4" center back not a forward.
π§οΈ A lot of rain this week, but my silicone seal job on Mary's car held up and the skies cleared up just in time for the weekend.
β½οΈ Spokane Velocity scraped out an amazing come from behind victory against Georgia Tormenta to win 4-3 on penalties in their first home playoff game. They'll actually be hosting their semi-final playoff game as well thanks to Portland Hearts-of-Pine upsetting their opponent. Hopefully they can get some payback after a brutal end of season blow out on the road.
π In the small world department, Mary's mom's hair dresser lives over by Meadow Ridge elementary, and recognized our kids from Halloween night when we went trick or treating over there. She told Kathy that they and their costumes were the talk of the street!
π₯Ύ Hiked to the top of Steam Boat Rock Saturday afternoon and got some amazingly scenic views of Banks Lake and the surrounding geography. The hike up had a surprisingly tricky climb over cobble and rock near the beginning that made us doubt that we were going the right way, but luckily some hikers were coming down at just the right time. I was disappointed in the lack of trail signage or maps, but it was an incredible hike overall and we took lots of photos.
ποΈ Steam Boat Rock State Park completely exceeded my expectations and was a great place to spend our anniversary getaway. Our cabin was a really relaxing place to stay for a weekend, with all the amenities you would want other than indoor plumbing (there was a very clean restroom with four separate bathrooms and two showers across the parking lot). The campground is great and this time of year is actually a perfect time for a visit with the fall foliage colors and lack of crowds. I'm sure it's super popular during the summer.
Reading
π¦ΈββοΈ Batgirl Vol. 5: Deadline π The girls have been after me all week to finish this one so we could all finish the Gail Simone run. I really enjoyed the main storyline, but having to go through a bunch of alternate timelines and tangential material first kind of dragged things down for me.
π The Worst Ronin ππ Really enjoyed this clever mashup of mobile phones, girl power, and feudal Japan quite a bit, but there was a little bit too much casual swearing and general edginess for my younger daughters right now. It'd be cool if there was a sequel a few years from now when they're ready for this one.
π In Real Life ππ A cool story from Cory Doctorow about a young American girl befriending a Chinese gold-farmer in a MMORPG and gaining a greater appreciation for the economic realities of the world we live in. Not quite as fun as The Worst Ronin, but one my daughters can definitely relate to, enjoy, and learn something from.
Projects
βΊοΈ A lot of camping preparations this week, like gathering up firewood, finding sleeping bags, camp stove, and camping cookware.
π‘ Reinforced the barriers around our garden with plywood sheets and feel like we're finally in a solid place as far as keeping out the dogs go. Also spread out a bunch more pine needles everywhere to reduce digging and mud tracking from the dogs and it's been pretty successful so far this week.