My trip to ASRS in Seattle this year was short but action packed. I headed straight from my red-eye to beat the breakfast line at Bacco Cafe, meet with industry folks, stop for Pike Place Chowder, and join an IDMC work lunch, before registering for the conference, presenting my case, and dining seaside at Aqua by El Gaucho. Traveling light with no luggage, I squeezed in 9 meetings after my presentation on CRISPR’d monkeys on Sunday, then sampled spicy shabu shabu solo at Qiao Lin Hotpot before my flight home. Last weekend, we visited High Hand Nursery, where we failed to get a maple tree, but scored some gelato for Westley and fabric and gourd art for Melody. We passed Roseville on the way back to shop for a rug and couch for our second-floor landing. Sadly, the buffet at Mefhil no longer served goat curry, and neither the chicken n’ waffles at Sarom’s, or pizza n’ pasta from Mamma were worth writing home about. Westley upgraded to a 20″ Trek bike from Facebook marketplace, and advanced his board game skills to include chess and Killer Bunnies. He also overcame his movie fears to enjoy Arrietty, Pom Poko, and the Super Mario Bros. movie, while Melody and I wrapped up the final seasons of His Dark Materials and Picard, which nostalgically reunited the TNG cast for a final mission. On weekends, we caught up with my old classmate Allen’s family over burgers, then shared leftovers and a movie with Liam’s family as we counted down the last days of summer before second grade begins.