Quarantine Keyboard!

There are just some things in this world that remind you of a different time, a different life. Music and the piano are those things for me, as I wrote about in a nostalgic  post in 2018.  While we will all remember life "before COVID" and "after COVID," I sometimes remember my life divided into periods of  "pre-medicine" and "post-medicine" (as a career as an often-on-call doctor can truly be all-consuming with little balance if you let it), a difference which sometimes seems more stark than even pre- and post-kids.  

I had been contemplating getting a piano for our home for some time, both wanting to play again (after almost two decades of not playing much at all!), and also hoping that one or both of my children may want to take lessons/play in the future (I believe I started lessons when I was six, just a bit older than Iver is now).  I had to re-post these oldie photos.

with Grandpa Alton at the farm house in Fisher, MN, circa 1984

Beginning piano, 1987?

I was hoping to get an acoustic upright rather than a keyboard, but my Dad pointed out that there are wonderful digital options these days with weighted keys that feel like you're playing a real piano, not one with light "Fisher Price keyboard-feeling" keys, and the weather here in Humboldt (wet/rainy) may create issues with requiring frequent tuning. (I still also have my old Yamaha flute, but other than showing it to the boys, it hasn't been touched in decades, either!)

I was at first hoping to purchase one at a music store locally (I've been very intentional lately about avoiding shopping at online retailers like Amazon and trying to support local or small businesses whenever possible [obviously with a few wrenches thrown in now due to public health concerns]). I ideally wanted to be able to try out the instrument before purchasing one.  I also thought about getting a used instrument using Craigslist as a source, but thought it would be pretty hard to scope out how good/reliable the instrument was and also didn't want to spend a lot of time in-person "shopping" (which I hate even in non-pandemic times), or figuring out how to schlep it home.  But then the COVID lockdown hit and, well, everything is closed and we shouldn't be going to places other than our own house (and essential work or grocery shopping) so to the internet I went.  I ended up getting a full-size (88-key) Yamaha model with weighted keys (and good reviews), as well as a stand and a bench, which Kelvin just assembled for me so we could get the keyboard on it. I neglected to buy a dust cover initially but one should be on its way, as both kids are all over the thing and I've taken to unplugging the power cord on the back of the instrument just to discourage mindless banging with unclean hands on the new "toy"!

It's been joyful to just sit down and play. After close to twenty years, I'm definitely rusty, but the finger muscle memory comes back... kind of like riding a bike.  And at least my fingers are well exercised from typing frantically in our clinic's EMR (electronic medical record) for charting in medicine over the past two decades, so picking up and playing on piano keys isn't such a stretch! 

Here is me in scrubs (home on OB call on Monday evening) playing the end of Bach's Invention No. 8, one of my favorite classical pieces from my favorite composer. 

I'm flirting with the idea of attempting to teach Iver piano if he's interested (he, being very strong-willed, will not be talked into anything that he remotely doesn't want to do).  I'd much prefer to have a music teaching professional handle the job but I don't think that it's realistic nor safe to have someone come to us (or him go to their location) anytime in the near future. I also knew that getting our own instrument first was needed for him being able to practice. I suppose I'd also like to "feel out" first whether he has interested in learning how to play before I cough up money for formal lessons that he may dread or fight (to be fair, I recall hating being forced to take piano lessons and my parents told me to stick it out until age 16, after which I was allowed to "quit" if I wanted. They were right-- I voluntarily continued to play and had to admit that they were right to force me!  However, I don't think I was ever quite as strong-willed as is our five-year-old).  I also don't see how ZOOM/virtual teaching for a child of his age is likely to succeed as his first introduction to the instrument, just as I am skeptical about the logistics and point of  "virtual" kindergarten as may be a potential plan for the fall (but let me know if you think otherwise and please suggest any beginning piano teaching books!).

For now, the piano is living in our master bedroom, and just looking at it brings me joy. While I've been reading a lot, I haven't picked up any languages nor any additional "quarantine hobbies" or skills, as cooking (or baking sourdough from scratch) and growing things in the garden are not interests of mine.  However, I have been craving something "new" and some novel things to do to break up these months, and I think tickling the ivories again/reviving what used to be a huge part of my pre-medicine life as a music nerd will be a great activity for me during this extended time at home, which seems like it will last much longer than we previously anticipated.  I've taken out some of my old piano books, my parents may send me some other old music that has been living at their house, and maybe I'll even get some new material to practice on.  We all need a COVID escape (and toy); while this was a somewhat expensive one, I rationalized that it replaces just a portion of what we would have spent in travel this month, as we were slated to go down to Orange County in two weeks, a trip which we cancelled, and our travel costs will will be way down for the next 1-2 years. It's great to be BACH in the game (on the piano bench) making music!

Goofboys

The kids are saying and doing so funny things lately.  I've been trying to remember to write down some of the things that come out of their mouths these days that make me smile/laugh!

Niall (2 years and almost 5 months) has been talking a ton and having full, fairly reasonable conversations. Here is him telling us why he's not in a family picture taken in 2017.

He also says things like "Whobody did _____?" instead of asking "who?" and because he knows the word "somebody."

When we told him it was time to take a shower, he said, "No, I'm taking a bath. You can't force me. It's my choice!"

He also has a great sense of humor, and was mocking his more explosive brother (who woke up on the wrong side of the bed one day), telling us, "Iver's throwing a fit. He's like, "waaaaaaah!"

When Iver and I were reading, and Niall wanted us to be reading a different book, he kept slamming our book closed and saying "THE END!"

Here's him, acting goofy in his mask at daycare (YES, two-year-olds can keep masks on!).

Iver found a dog poop-shaped rock at the beach the other day and played a "trick" on me, telling me that Pepper pooped in our bed. He kept a really straight face and almost got me!

He also said, "Hey mom, what are those bumps on your arms called? Duckbumps?"

The anniversary of Iver's favorite teacher Angela and her husband was this week and he (newly proficient at cursive) decided to make them (well, him) a "Happy Anniversary" card, inserting himself in the center.

(I'm sure Matt was thrilled to have Iver at the center of his anniversary celebrations)

It has really been wonderful to watch these boys grow and see their amusing personalities develop. They've found so much happiness and joy with each other and us during this dark time for our country and world.  Even though they definitely drive me crazy at times, their jokes and smiles really light up my days!

Beach Boys

The kids have been burning off energy at our new favorite local beach, Luffenholtz, on weekend mornings.  It is teeming with shallow water for splashing, good rocks to climb, and sea life (as well as plenty of space for physical distancing)!

second thoughts... 

Starfish! 

Sea lions offshore

Niall is into climbing, too!

Iver found a (dead) fish!

Beautiful is this beach-- our local outdoor COVID haven!  Love for Luffenholtz!

Flaming out

I don't profess to be a great cook, but last week I hit a new low.

I was trying to broil some bacon (which we don't eat often) to add to grilled cheese and set it, as well as the pan of oil below, on fire (thankfully, no one else was home or napping!).

Smoke alarms going off in our house is a semi-regular thing, because we have over-sensitive ones and not a very good above-the-stove fan at the moment.  (I joke that I need a silencing button for the alarms that indicates "Nope, no fire department needed. Just mom cooking again.")

However, this time, I actually had to remove the pan, smother the flaming bacon with a pan, and then take the tray outside so that the smoke could stop billowing throughout our house (and then fan the whole house until the alarms stopped).

Oops.

I then cooked the remaining few strips of bacon left in the package in the microwave, which wasn't quite as satisfying but got the job done (as I mentioned, we're not big bacon-eaters here) and probably, for safety reasons, should be my go-to method in the future!

Barbershop @ home

I know many people having been lamenting the loss of salon/barbershop care during this pandemic and feeling somewhat frustrated or ashamed of their "quarantine locks."  Truthfully, going to get a haircut is about the absolute last thing I miss amidst this all!  My haircut regimen is something like this: grow hair long for 5-7 years, then get bold and chop it off into a really short 'do (and donate it). This means that I don't really need a haircut until about 2025 (that being said, Kelvin did give me a little trim a couple of months ago because my ends were really split, when I did one of his haircuts. He did a pretty good job, even with some subtle layers. It doesn't really matter much because I usually wear my hair up in a bun or pony, never having had much style). I don't dye my hair either, although I've noticed quite a few more long silvery strands popping up.

Between when we got married (2011) and when we had kids (2014), I took care of doing Kelvin's home haircuts, because it was convenient amidst our work schedules and cheaper than him going somewhere every three weeks (which is his preferred schedule! His gray grows out quickly). After having kids, I encouraged him to outsource this activity (which I don't enjoy), so he first had a friend (Josh) cutting his hair in exchange for six-packs of beer, but then started going to an actual hair salon in Arcata and was a regular with an elderly lady, Vivian.  K's last commercial haircut was probably back in February before our Patagonia trip, and the responsibility was back to mine during quarantine.

"At least it grows quickly," is the response I get after completing the first job (and the subsequent ones are of similar quality, I'd say).

We haven't ever given Niall a haircut, actually-- he was such a bald baby and even now at almost two-and-a-half doesn't have very much (and what he has is thin and fine) hair (apparently K's mom cut his hair when we were in South America but I didn't even notice). Recently, it was seeming a little long, so we put him in our "salon" (a stool in the garage) to trim his locks this past weekend.  He did extremely well!

We went even further and did a mini-buzz with the clipper. Check out Niall with his army 'do and outfit.

The other kid also had pretty shaggy-looking hair, so he got a trim as well (against his will. He is very sensitive, and hates the electric razor "NOT THE BUZZER THING!!!").

(check out the grimacing facial expressions)

SO PAINFUL!

Kelvin puts hairgel in his hair in the mornings, and his mini-me wanted some, too!

Lookin' pretty good, I'd say-- even for home jobs!

In(ter)dependence Day and us Four on the Fourth (Holiday weekend, COVID-style)

I don't know if there has been another Fourth of July holiday that I felt less like celebrating than this one (and I've never been big on large social gatherings or staying up late to fight fireworks traffic)! I am embarrassed and horrified to be an American during what has been a disastrous presidential term with a science-denying administration and national leadership that has (actually not that unsurprisingly but still depressingly) put forth an abysmal effort at containing COVID-19 within our borders, compared to other developed countries. Additionally, the continued inequalities that exist among our citizens, particularly those of color, are even more starkly apparent in light of recent events (not all people were free in 1776 and they're still not today).  Because many of our country's liberty-loving privileged citizens refuse to wear a mask (which I and many others would argue is what is currently the ultimate demonstration of patriotism), we will be stuck down in a semi-permanent form of shut-down for the foreseeable future (years?) without the ability to safely congregate with friends or possibly send kids to school in the fall, among other activities.  (Could we go back to being part of a civilized European country, please? We need Lee Greenwood to write a song along the lines of "God Save the USA," with lyrics including "NOT PROUD to be an American...")

Kelvin and I "celebrated" (with yet another evening home with kids, not doing anything or going anywhere) our ninth wedding anniversary last week, and due to COVID-19 spread particularly in Southern California, we will not travel to Orange County as planned at the end of the month to celebrate Kelvin's father's 70th birthday (which was on July first).  It's a bummer, but such is the reality of living through a pandemic in the good ol' US of A.

We continued social distancing this holiday weekend, and spent the weekend of the "fourth" with our nuclear family of four and no one else, mostly within our four walls and backyard. It was actually a really nice time (I much prefer Friday-led three-day holiday weekends!), with the kids behaving remarkably well and playing pretty well together (it's been such a blessing during this quarantine time for them to have a built-in playmate, even though Niall consistently and maniacally tears down any of Iver's built forts which causes lots of frustration and tears).  They also slept in (until 6:30 or so!) which was a huge gift. We did lots of indoor math (Iver is very into solving logic equations and doing sums or products in his head these days and figured out on his own that the country is 244 years old), reading books, a few crafts, and I even got some therapeutic decluttering in.  We had great weather with time for neighborhood walks, bike rides and some beach time. When the kids were in bed, Kelvin and I watched Hamilton on Disney+ which was really enjoyable (perhaps even more enjoyable than when we saw it in the theater in 2017 because I caught a lot more of the words with watching the subtitles and we were comfortable with  better seats and closer to the "action" in our own living room). Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius, and it was neat that we could listen to his marvel of musicianship, rhyming, and historical storytelling on this holiday weekend "sort-of" celebrating our national beginnings (and, if you're also a Hamilton fan, check out this clever "mask-up").

Iver wishes everyone a Happy Fourth

Iver has been interested in history/presidents (we only talk about the past, good ones), and he'd requested a book about Abraham Lincoln (the assassination fascinated him) from the library (which has been doing curbside pick-up, allowing us to get more and new reading material, which is much appreciated!). Although it was a bit over his head, Iver and I watched the NPR video of the descendants of abolitionist Frederick Douglass reading his Fourth of July speech. Niall told us who his favorite president is (it's mine, too).

THE RED
Niall and Iver discovered last week that some strawberries that my friend Kellie planted last summer  (due to my black thumb!) were bearing fruit (last year, her seedling also produced peas!).  We were (well, especially I was) shocked.  While many people I know have used this springtime time at home to nurture their gardens, I certainly did not (planting/gardening is something in which I have zero interest and even less talent).

Harvested bounty

Iver and I followed a Little Passports activity idea and made red and blue "Holi powder" out of flour, water, and food coloring to celebrate the Indian and Nepali springtime festival of water and color, which I remember fondly from our time overseas. Unfortunately, it never quite dried well and didn't easily get pounded into flour (but still killed some time!). 

We enjoyed many meals outside on our deck (which has been a neat quarantine tradition for us that we will probably continue in the warmer months). My pollen allergies are finally getting better, and I am actually enjoying the time in the outdoors now!

We passed some outdoor family time at Luffenholtz beach in Trinidad, which was new to us!

I love that Iver is doing a black power salute (unprompted) in this photo!

Check out this BLUE, BLUE Humboldt sky!

With Kelvin and I both being physicians who are pretty risk-averse, we aren't huge fans of the idea of home fireworks for children, although (because there was zero chance we'd go anywhere public to view any this year amidst the pandemic) it briefly crossed my mind to get some this year, as Iver had been asking about them.

Nevertheless, we decided unanimously against it, and instead, they had to settle for evening glowsticks which Iver found in our guest room, given to us by a friend Gloria ages ago.  Even though we didn't go out to watch any fireworks (and the kids were asleep), the neighbors sure made up for our lack, as I heard was the case across California!

While we did really enjoy our close family time this weekend, this year (more than in years prior) on the Fourth, I was reminded that I lament where (who) we currently are, and that I crave and strive to live in a country when all men (and women) are created equal and demonstrate an appropriate balance of individual liberty and concern for other citizens as is absolutely critical in a crisis like we have on our hands. When we are there, and when it's safe to leave the house, maybe I'll celebrate the birth of the USA a bit more enthusiastically.

photo: "Liberty Crumbling," award-winning sand sculpture at TexasSandFest 2019 by Damon Langlois