Rose and I were chatting in the kitchen about her upcoming school band concert, and she said to herself, that's what I should do, practice the piano. And she did.

John warned me that Rose and David were fighting, but when I walked in the door, they were busily turning the living room into various houses and pet centers. They politely negotiated for the eagle vs. the monkey.

We went to the international district today to join in the lunar New Year celebration. Rose got more and more withdrawn and prickly. I kept asking what the problem was, and she finally explained she felt uncomfortable like she was foreigner and didn't belong here. I told her I completely understood. I had, in fact, been worried that we were crashing someone else's party even though it had been heavily advertised in the news. But, when I got there, there were plenty of other white families, and the teenagers running the booths seemed very eager to share their culture. We listened to taiko drumming, did calligraphy, made dragon masks, and paper lanterns before our hands got too cold, and we headed to our next adventure. Next year I'm going to take the bus, so I don't have to worry about the crazy parking, and I'm going to get there early enough to follow the lion dancers around.

I started talking to Rose about the history of racial segregation in Seattle and how living in a separate part of the city had not been a choice at the time but it became an easy way to find other people who shared your culture. Now, I have to think about how to honor her respect for other peoples' space while helping her to see when she is welcome.

We came home from a full day excursion. Rose went straight upstairs and read a book to David.

I told Rose there was no cheese left in the house, and she would have to have a hot dog. She said fine, can I have a bun with that? Yes, she could.

Talking about food, I told Rose she couldn't have cheese 4 meals a day any more because it wasn't the healthiest choice. She had tofu spread with breakfast and lunch, no complaint.