He got right up at 9 when I opened his door. He used mouthwash this morning, then we headed downstairs. We finished reading Beasts of Olympus: Hound of Hades, then he played piano. He was doubling the melody, but using fifths, an octave higher. We played Minecraft in a lucky block world, then had our French toast for breakfast outside. We started reading Have a Hot Time, Hades!, which is pretty funny.
We went back inside to go play upstairs on the bed, then he played a lot more beautiful piano and we played chess, and he played by himself. We went for an ant walk, talking bits of his leftover French toast. We gave pieces to a total of five different ant nests. One of his nest, the first one he really paid attention to, is interesting because we didn’t see any ants out, but after just a minute there were several ants on the bread. We spent most of the time with the nest by the tree though, and he talked a lot about how their tunnels were among its roots, and they have a line of ants going up the tree: “There’s a connection between the tree and the ants…it gives them food up in its branches…they’re packing their social stomachs…”
We went home and watched the latest Grian video. Carly got home near the end and played chess with him as she listened to the meeting about how the way we pay rent is changing next year. I made lunch: coconut rice, peas, and schnitzel. Carly had to head up and get back to work, and he played chess by himself as I finished.
We ate outside and listened to a couple Wow in the World episodes: VIP was a word of the day. I brought out pie, and after he asked about slavery in the Roman Empire we watched “The Horrible of an Average Roman Empire Slave” (https://youtu.be/jsmWI1TnfDA) on my phone. He then wanted to go upstairs for a Brother and Sister sort of game. He told me, “I’ve got inspiration and I’m using it.” He did another “Going Upstairs” dance and we headed up and took turns pretending to be the slave and the master.
We went downstairs and did some music time. We watched a couple of videos about intervals from Two Minute Music Theory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4foeFlkiAk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5txFkdX4_c&t=162s) and another ASAPScience video about an audio illusion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDiXQl7grPQ), then did Earpeggio and I was practicing piano.
August had fun ripping up the old lamp cover that was bound for the garbage, then when Carly came down they played some quick chess before we went up for his time with Gabi. Gabi couldn’t get Zoom working on his laptop though, so we rescheduled for tomorrow at 11. They played more chess and he played more by himself again and I made a full list of notes on the piano that have something wrong with them—about fifteen that buzz or get stuck or the such. I tagged them all with stickers so I knew which ones needed attention.
August and I went for another ant walk to check on the bread. We found that the ants had slowed down or lost interest as the bread dried and hardened, but that the nest of big ants had been able to pull theirs into the entrance to their nest.
Back at home Carly cut his hair and he watched Mumbo Jumbo episode 12 and had a lollipop. I was working on the piano. I tightened everything up and straightened a couple bent pieces. One step back though, as one of the pieces I had made split at the screw and I need to make a new one again. Put the action back in, and August played. More than half of the issues are taken care of. We’re getting down to pretty minor issues.
Cassie called, and Vivian was still really upset about August making beacons near her house the other day. We all had a talk about it, with Carly, and they figured it out and got to playing. I finished a little more on the piano, then went for a run.
I got back and took a shower. August played a bit long, then they hung up. Carly headed to the bank, and August finally ate his corn. He made faces and shapes in it as he ate it off the cob with his missing teeth, then asked me to cut it off so it would be easier with his missing teeth. Carly got home right as I started reading the Hades book.
He of course wanted chess, and they played. He was getting a bit whiney, and I don’t think he ever went out to water plants with her, like he’d agreed to. She got him upstairs and I gave him a bath. They played another game of chess while I got his crackers ready. In his room he asked, “What’s rejoiced mean?” He said it was from an Ants Canada video. Another word of the day.
We did some Sister and Myna game, then I read Have a Hot Time, Hades! We listened to “The Buried Moon” on Stories Podcast, then brushed our teeth. He asked if someone steals if they have to pay it back. We discussed that, then said good night. In the bedroom we read about Athene and Arachne. New words were depose and serpent. He had us do the “Mozart” high five from a Simply Piano commercial, then had a short Sister game meeting a girl who can weave anything.
As soon as the lights were off, by 10:50, the questions started: “What would it be like for an ant to drown?” Then a bunch of others. Like why hanging would kill Arachne and the difference between murder and someone dying and several less morbid ones. We listened to Johann Johannson’s Orphee, then he was stuffy and doing a lot of nose rubbing and his thing where he seems to hold his breath, breathe, hold his breath. I got him to breath calmly, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth as he likes, and that seemed to help. He didn’t even seem that stuffy, but it was bothering him. The album finished, and we then listened to Englaborn & Variations and he finally fell asleep a bit before 11:40.
Doubling up an octave and a fifth:
Song of the day:
French toast for the ants:
Figuring things out in chess:
Going upstairs dance:
Ripping fun:
Piano harp:
Haircut time:
