Currently / 4.6.18

I got to celebrate my birthday one more time this week! Jose got us tickets to the Astros home opener on Monday night, so we snagged a babysitter and managed to get the timing just right so that even though the game started at 6:10, we made it! We even had 10 minutes to spare which, as it turned out, was enough to see the opening lineups and watch the World Series champion banner get revealed. Hurrah!

We had awesome seats on the 11th row just past 3rd base (they were a splurge but hey — birthday present), the weather was awesome, and the crowd was full of energy. Since they won the World Series in Los Angeles and started the season in Arlington, this was the first time the Astros played at home since their win!

The logistics of going to a baseball game are a lot more complicated for me now than they were a decade ago, but I’m glad we made it happen. Last year we went to Opening Day but never made it back for another game. This year we’ll hopefully make it to at least a few more games, including somewith the girls.

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After our baseball date night, Jose promptly left town for the rest of the week on a work trip. He’s been in Santa Barbara visiting a company that will be making new, additional solar arrays for the space station. Yesterday there was a 5.3 earthquake just off the coast that he said felt like a car slammed into the building, so that was…exciting? I’m glad it was a “small” one, in any case.

He doesn’t travel very often, maybe twice a year on average. As the girls get older, managing as a solo parent for several days definitely gets easier. We ate at home on Tuesday and Thursday, but went out to Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday. We rarely go out on weeknights so that was a fun treat for everyone. He gets home tonight, but not until after the girls will be in bed.

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I came home from the baseball game on Monday to find a package from my Alison Glass mini quilt swap partner! It was the absolutely gorgeous rainbow mini that I’ve already hung on the wall right behind my sewing machine. (My partner Stacy posted a closeup on Instagram that you should definitely check out.)

I’ve done quite a few swaps now and overall, I’ve had fantastic luck with my partners. Everything I’ve received has been really great, and most of them are hanging either in my sewing room or in my cubicle at work. But this mini that Stacy made is really just incredible. She took my engineering background and used the Large Hadron Collider as inspiration. There are molecules and atoms hand-embroidered on each origami-folded hexie, and the entire thing is hand quilted with the atomic energy symbol. She included the most lovely letter in the package and I was so touched by the thought and effort she put into this mini. I feel lucky to get to hang it in my room!