Fun from the summer

Bun Bun attended bike camp and was learning how to steer and pedal.

Bun Bun turned 9 years old...

... and started 4th grade.

We discovered a park nearby that had a creek, great for throwing in rocks and making big splashes. 

 

Sour dough bread

 

Thanksgiving 2020

There doesn't seem to be a lot to be thankful this year on the whole.  We are deep in another giant surge in COVID-19 infections.  Many people in this country are not taking it seriously.  Personal freedom overshadows sacrifice for the greater good.

Yet, there is a lot to be thankful for...

Many people are taking this pandemic seriously.  While we wait for the vaccine to be manufactured and distributed, there are those who are careful - wearing masks, staying far away from crowds, remaining at home, and even volunteering for vaccine trials.

There's a sense of community for people helping those in need.  Over the weekend, I dropped off a bag of canned goods at a local church.  The parking lot was filled with volunteers sorting all kinds of food.  You can find kindness everywhere, and it isn't too hard.

In less than 2 months, we'll have a new President.

I still have a job that I love.

I have a warm home.

I have my family, and everyone is well.

Equal Justice Initiative

Equal Justice Initiative

Baking

Here are a couple more baking attempts.  Apparently, the flour makes a huge difference.  These are store brand flour.  Friends have sworn by stone milled flour that they mail ordered from a local mill.  I will have to give that a try.

Baked in 500F for 10 min, then reduced to 400F for another 20.  Oven pre-heated to 500C with a pan of water.  Bread had bits raw dough in the middle, but crust was really tasty.

Baked for 45min at 400F with pan of boiling water, no preheating the oven.  While the entire loaf was fully baked, the crust was not as crusty.

Tooth

Bun Bun lost her 9th tooth today.  There had been a loll for a couple of years, and the dentist did warn me that more will be coming out.  I suspected that one could be loose since she had been playing with something in her mouth.

It is now just over two whole months since the PA governor sent everyone home to mitigate the infectious SARS-CoV2.  There doesn't seem an end in sight, although some trends are showing we're headed in a downward trajectory in the number of new infections.  Our county and our township, in particular, have been hard hit with four large assisted living facilities, between the most vulnerable population of people and the staff who takes care of them.  People are getting antsy.  It's understandable that many people have lost their jobs and want to be working again to provide for their families.  People are social beings and want to be with friends and families.  The college students have missed 2 months of school.  Seniors have graduated via virtual commencement exercises.  Nothing will ever be the same again even if the case counts plummet and the governor re-open the state tomorrow.  Until there's vaccine or greater than 70% of the population have recovered from the infection, we'll be wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from each other.

Not sure what school will look like over the summer or in the fall for Bun Bun.  Since mid-March, we've been doing school at home.  Bun Bun sees her awesome teachers almost everyday for about 30 min.  We do school assignment via an iPad app.  She continues her therapies and even has her dance class on-line.  Will this continue into the fall is anyone's guess.

One thing I do know for sure is that Bun Bun has been talking more.  There's a feedback loop where as she's talking more, we are able to understand her more, and she realizes that she can get what she wants when she asks.  She's steadily gaining more vocabulary words and reading with more confidence.  It has been the silver lining!

And, I am reminiscing the fun Taiwan trip and all the yummy foods we enjoyed this time a year ago.  Sigh!  Taiwan wouldn't be a bad place to wait out this pandemic!

More books

A few more books I got to finish since last December.  Even though I've been home and lost the commute time on the train, I am happy to still get some reading done.

Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates

The Body, Bill Bryson

China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan

Rich People Problems, Kevin Kwan

Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow

Pandora’s Lab, Paul Offit

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, Amy Chua

Becoming, Michelle Obama

Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain

Midnight in Chernobyl, Adam Higginbotham

There were some excellent reads in this bunch, but my favorite for the moment is Midnight in Chernobyl.  HBO ran a mini series about the events leading to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the the clean-up efforts with individuals who were directly involved.  This book delved deeper into the physics and chemistry behind nuclear reactors, the working Soviet people doing what they must, and the human stories of labor and sacrifice.  It was an absolutely fascinating read.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom is an older book that had gotten a lot of publicity about 10 years ago.  Being Asian, I can totally relate to some of the anecdotes.  Bun Bun will be glad that I will not be putting what Amy Chua had done to practice.

Here's a few "fun" picture books.

The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables, Catherine Reid
Obama, an Intimate Portrait, Pete Souza
Shade, Pete Souza

I tell ya, reading about Michelle Obama and flipping through Pete Souza's coffee table books has given me a whole new perspective on the Obamas.  I have much greater respect for them.

I'm taking a short breaks from books for now.  The Genetics Society of America conference started today.  It was suppose to be held in Washington DC, and thousands of geneticists from around the world were expected in attendance.  A few weeks ago, the organizers canceled the in-person meeting and moved everything on line.  Presenters presented their work from the comforts of their homes to hundreds and thousands of participants listening in on their computers from the comforts of their homes.

Covid-19

That's the acronym of the year that has turned the whole world upside down.  Here in our local community, schools have closed, and everyone who is able has been working from home.  We have been asked to stay home in an attempt to slow the spread of this highly infectious virus.

Bun Bun hasn't been to school since March 11th.  Class rooms have moved on line via virtual chat rooms.  Bun Bun's marvelous teacher has been recording herself reading to her students everyday.  We see her for formal instructions at least twice a week.  Children in our state will not be returning to school for the rest of this academic year.  So, at home, I've been spending a lot of time helping Bun Bun with her school work and facilitate her OT, PT, and speech therapy sessions.  I'm glad I teach college students because I certainly don't have the knack for educating small children effectively.  Dear God, I pray that Bun Bun doesn't regress much and forget everything she has learned.

The lab I've been working in has shut down since March 18th.  The work there has continued virtually with reading & discussing journal articles, deeper analyses of data, and thinking and rethinking projects.  Our lab meets at 3 times a week just to connect and keep our minds sharp.

Now that the weather is warmer, we spend a lot of time outdoors.  I'm grateful to have a nice back yard where now we have hooked up a swing between 2 large trees for Bun Bun.  She's starting to outgrow her toddler house and slide.  We've dusted off her scooter and let her zip up and down the empty street with glee.

When we go beyond our home, we are required to wear masks when we go out to the community only for essential activities like grocery shopping.  All other non-essential businesses have closed.  Doctor's visits have been canceled or postponed unless it's life-threatening Covid-19 related.

How long this lasts is anybody's guess.  I saw on the news today that Wuhan locked down for 76 days.  I am afraid it'll be much longer for us.

The swing between 2 trees

Tutu dress on Scooter... the child loves to look beautiful!

I've taken up baking.  It's a way to make snacks and save a couple of trips out to the stores.  Here's tasty homemade bread that kind of looked like store-bought.

Disney World & Princess Potato & zippers

Since late summer, Bun Bun has been uttering something that sounded like "candy corn".  We didn't think much of it since Halloween was around the corner.  But, I also knew that's not what she was really saying.  When asked, Bun Bun did say it is edible, small, and orange.  Made sense!

About a month ago, I finally figured out that she's been saying Disney World.  Oh!!  Disney World!!  One day, we'll go.  One day!  We've made it an incentive for Bun Bun to speak with clarity.

Bun Bun has been making great progress in speech.  She is able to enunciate new words she has learned with fairly good accuracy.  It's those words she learned when she was a toddler that has been much harder to correct.  Book is still doot.  Bye remains dye.  Her /k/ sounds like /t/.  She says, "Daddy, loot!  Loot, Daddy!"  Her friend, Jack, is Jact.

It is so much fun to have more conversations with her.  She is increasingly able to answer questions beyond "yes" or "no".  Even though she is obsessed with princesses, she does not want to be called Princess Potato.  It does get her to laugh and protest!

What has been the most exciting is her conquering the zipper!  It's been an IEP goal for at least 2 years.  Bun Bun has had no problem pulling the zipper once the ends of hooked up but just didn't have the finger strength or coordination to engage the zipper.  On every progress report, it's been small baby steps.  Over Christmas break, she at last managed to put on her winter jacket and zip completely without any help.  We celebrate and move on to tackle small buttons next!