Last fall Jack performed in the pit orchestra for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." It was unusual for the director to choose a fall musical instead of a play. This production was especially fun for him because the pit got to be on stage. They created a very small orchestra and he got to wear costume and make-up. He said it was great fun to get to watch the show at the same time - a lot less than boring than the dark black pit.

I got Jack's permission to share some photos he took during the show's run. His POV is fun.

The far kitchen cabinet had been a little crooked for a long time, but in November if suddenly sagged farther. I guess I overloaded the cabinet for what a drywall anchor can handle, because it started ripping off the wall. Ben and I disassembled a few cabinets. I decided to repair it by cutting down the cabinet so it will fit entirely on the support bracket. I learned about drywall patching and did my own paint matching to cover the tears. I took the Ikea cabinet apart and built it up again as a single cabinet and a shelving unit using the old parts. Had to trim the soffit and do other annoying tweaks too. It turned out pretty good in the end, but what a headache!

Here's some daily life pics from Nov-Dec 2025. Somehow they got mixed up in order, so never mind that! I'm trying to catch up on a lot of journalling and I can't be bothered!

My assigned winter holiday shift was Thanksgiving this year. I decided to celebrate at home the day prior, so we had a traditional full dinner on Wednesday!

It totally warmed my heart at work to received this video and picture of the Christmas tree being set up.

Once again Ben found a feed of the Japanese New Year's program Kōhaku Uta Gassen. It has musical performances from K-pop and J-pop groups as well as kooky cultural traditions and shout-outs from different regions of the country. Sam got to hang out with us while Jack went to a sleepover.

The next day was a simple celebration at home for Ben's 45th birthday. I tried to make Miyeok-guk, the traditional Korean birthday seaweed soup. It was not great. Not sure if I messed it up or it's more of an acquired taste. Ben has really gotten into cooking over the past couple years and his skills with Asian flavors and techniques surpasses mine. I don't have a picture, but I think I made his usual Italian Cream cake for dessert. It was a pleasant, relaxed day at home together.

I wanted a no-stress easy birthday this year. My regular massage therapist had to reschedule, but Ben whipped up a full spa treatment at home that soothed my muscles and made me laugh at his commitment to the bit. We had lunch out at a local chinese restaurant. For dinner I ordered a generous amount of meats from my favorite barbecue joint. The kids were big fans of this dinner, I might make it a tradition. I made lemon squares for dessert and they didn't turn out good. I don't know what I did wrong! The base was squidgy and the curd was too tart and not flavorful. Ah well, most of my other bakes turn out great and I've been a baking a lot this year.

Jack got his driver's permit in January and has been doing great! The first few weeks were a little wobbly, but now he has a good feel for driving around our neighborhood. We're slowly adding in driving on the freeway and working on endurance and focus. Ben is a great teacher! He seemed to really enjoy being a driving instructor. The pictures are of his first time behind the wheel, and the first time I rode with him.

Sam participated in his school's Science Fair as a seventh grader. He wanted to study the best regions to pet cats. We solicited many friends and family to gather data for his research. I helped with with the study design and Ben help with the graphs. He put together a fantastic project board and did a great job presenting at the fair. The science teachers gave him great feedback during the fair. Days later he was surprised to receive an award for "winning" the fair! Way to go, Sam!!

It feels like there's always something breaking or something I want improved about the house. At least this toilet leak was a one-day job. Then I opened up our bathroom exhaust fan. There's a flapper valve that taps whenever wind blows over the top and the noise was driving me crazy all year. It took a long time to figure out how to gain access to the flapper, then it was fairly easy fix to add padding. Another long time to wrestle everything back in place, and ta-da! Silent bathroom!

The last project here was a longtime dream. Our living room is so dark, even with 5 lamps illuminating it. I can't embroider or knit at night because I can't see! I had an electrician install LED wafer lights and I LOVE it. I planned to do the drywall repair myself, having learned some basics after our basement repair and the kitchen wall disaster. I didn't do a very good job. I should have spent time leveling all the pieces, instead of assuming I could mud and paper them to blend in. I'm fairly unhappy with it and might scrape it off one day if it for a do-over. But after two days of work (mostly waiting for things to dry between layers) I wanted to move on. Good enough.

Here's some day-to-day photos from the first quarter of the year. (Yeah, as you can tell I've been super slacked about posting. My shift put me on day call so I'm trying to use this bonus time to catch-up).

For the SECOND musical of the year, Jack performed in the pit orchestra for Big Fish. He was bummed to be back in the "black pit" but he still had a great time.

Jack went on a school trip to California over spring break. The performing arts (theater, choir, orchestra, band) were all invited for a trip to Hollywood to see Beetlejuice with a Q&A session, to Universal Studios, and to Disneyland, including a learning session at the Disney Academy. He had a total blast. I don't have much to say, I'm just going to dump in some of his photos. Sorry these are in reverse order!

And here are Jack's instagram posts (some overlap in photos):

Jack is a busy dude! At the same time as Big Fish he had a concert for Chamber orchestra. Here are some pictures from that show and unwinding afterward.

Then he also performed twice with the school's choir at a special concert downtown. I didn't attend, but a friend kindly sent video, and the school insta shared some photos:

Betty turned 80 years old this year! We came over for the weekend to celebrate. We had great food and a chocolate cake. She and the boys played the newest engrossing game, Pokopia. Of course, we got to visit with the Waterhouses and Sulei too.

I was flabbergasted when Twice announced their world tour stops and Denver was on the list! We never get big-name groups! Ben is a total Twice fan, a "Once" and I told him we HAVE to go. Not only that, our friends the Walkers have daughter who is also a Once. We tempted them with a Denver visit and they took the bait! We had a great time catching up - our kids have grown so much! The concert was fantastic. Daehyun and Chaeyoung were out on health leave, but the other seven delivered. Of course Jihyo stole the show! She's sincerely the best. I'm glad Momo was there too, since she is Opal's favorite member.

I had a total blast. It was so fun to see our old friends and hear about life nowadays. It was so weird seeing a concert in my own town - no uber or hotel! Staying up way too late on a Tuesday night! 😂 Totally worth it.

Those pokemon are back in vogue at the Mason household. I briefly played Pokopia (too immersive and work-like for me). Jack is back into card collecting. He practices driving by going to different stores checking stock. He was super psyched when he got two packs from Barnes & Noble. I had to wait for him to calm down so he could focus on driving on I70 for the first time afterward. Then at home he had Sam film an unboxing ("unpacking?" "reveal?") video.

It paid off 😂

This weekend Ben took him out again and he got a couple more packs. Ben bought him a special box set that he has wait for his birthday to open. Teenagers - so weird. It's like having a child and an adult at the same time.

Jack debuted as an actor this week in the senior-directed one act play "Our Place." He had a lot of fun in this new theatrical setting - learning lines, taking direction, costumes fitting, make-up, everything! He did a great job and had a lot of fun with the process.