Road Trip: Colorado!

                                                            Just look. Wonder and look.

They ALL love to climb the boulders, it's their mini-Everest. Oldest on top, Charles half-way down. He made the most trips up and down, part mountain-goat, that child.

Mon amouur in our warm and cozy cabin (which was especially warm the first night, as Cate had found the thermostat and cranked it to 79 before we figured out why we were all removing layers of clothing.) She was the child who used to sleep in pj's, a sleeper AND a wool sweater.

Valentine/Ariel, wondering how the heck a mermaid found this comfortable:

 We stay at a YMCA complex when we go; some of the perks: playground equipment by the cabin:

 A lesson in bravery, perseverance and endurance:

This next one, I'll admit, was my: "please get out of the car, the lake is so beautiful and we never did get a family photo!" Alas, there was no one around to snap it, so we are still missing Papa, but look at those colors!

Sleepy brothers on the way:

One last glimpse of the snowy peaks; exhilarating and mournful, but with the promise of home at the end of the road.

How-to-have-a-happy-holiday Guide

First of all; cut out all normal activities, like homeschooling, work, etc., and just go with the holiday flow. What? You need to eat, so you have to work...darn, us too! So, where to start?

Go cut down a tree, pick the day it starts to snow and no one really wants to go except Mama, because you will HAVE A BLAST! :

 Attend the Christmas program at church; Valentine narrator

 Gael, in the choir:
 

Gather with Waldorf homeschoolers in a friend's barn for a Solstice Spiral. The photos are on my husband's phone, but imagine, if you will:

It's quiet and dark. a hundred feet of pine boughs form a spiral on the floor of the barn, stars scattered here and there, awaiting their flame. The children go one by one, through the maze to light their candle, held in an apple from the one at the center of the spiral.

Here is the view of the falling snow from the window of the passvie house of simplify, live, love: where we held the event:

Trim the tree:

Celebrate the birthdays...Thierry, age undisclosed:

Cate, twenty years old: we went to visit her, between finals, to bring cake and take her out for lunch.

Travel through another wintery storm, across the bridge to a friend's birthday at the pizza parlor and roller-skate rink; go ahead; skate!, then park and take a midnight walk to see how the Mississippi likes to crunch itself up into laugh lines:

Homeschooling looked a lot like a nice, long break where "child-centered education" was every single day. And making our hearts and homes ready for Christmas, in the spirit of Advent, became my priority.

When asked, early December, what he would like to do today, Gael's immediate response? Make elephant toothpaste again, with even more food coloring involved this time:

Attend a family work party for Daddy, kids invited to test the merchandise:

       Get together with friends to welcome in the light again after the longest night of the year:

       Breathe in the peace of the season and bask in the joy in your own favorite spots in your home:

Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year to you!!!

No Shave November? Who's Got Time?!!!

Instead of writing a novel or growing a beard, our month of November into December is full of happenings and joy. Here is a how-to guide: start off the season with a great Thanksgiving meal, with as much as your family (and their dogs) and as many friends as you can gather. Normally, we would also have had my sister and her family (evil Black Friday takes her away from us now by beginning on Thursday) and some neighbors and stray people far from home; China, Africa, India, Ohio...

 Next, let your little brother do the dishes:

 And watch (or don't watch) him take pictures when NO ONE is looking:

Then continue by celebrating all of the birthdays, friends and family alike, in November:
(Elizabeth, godmother of Charles, at a surprise party chez us):

 There were kids everywhere, here in the school/playroom:

Valentine turns 15:

Attend the parade, of course! Bring your own thermoses of hot cocoa and coffee, and end up in the local newspaper because you were brave enough to venture out in the cold and wind for it:

One week later, host family and friends for a post-run-meal after a freezing cold run in December for a good cause; the Jingle Run for the Arthritis Foundation:

Don't forget to hang your stockings for St.Nicholas!

Make a gingerbread house, and an old-fashioned wreath:

Next up: Go find the perfect tree, in the SNOW!

San Francisco and ATA 57

I left home alone for almost a week. I did. I had a hard time believing it all came together, and no one came down with a fever, the flu or a broken limb in the minutes before my departure, but they didn't and I did. I attended the 57th Annual American Translators' Association Conference in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.The conference is for interpreters and translators; from all over the world. Taken altogether with the venue, the course offerings and the attendees, it was truly a feast for a language-lover's mind and soul!

My first trip to California; the ferry back across the bay after a bikeride over the Golden Gate

Here are a few highlights; advocacy; or why I am an interpreter. My every day work does not allow for advocacy in any form, but just by being present and remaining true to the message I convey from one party to another, I am a part of the right side. 

Making sure the people who need the services have access to them is the first step. Presentations by James Dickens of the Office of Minority Health in the US Dept. of Health and Human Services on C.L.A.S., and by the folks at The Community Interpreter addressed both healthcare disparities and the need for culturally sensitive treatment and ethical behavior on the part of an interpreter. 

French translation, visit with my Auntie and Godmother and the whole family, traveling by bicycle in a city and more below...

The Bridge

Lunch with my auntie, my uncle and (above) my cousin and her three smart, beautiful, charming children. Sausalito. 

Golden Gate Park: Botanical Gardens

Saying farewell to Auntie Margie and tiny Keewi

Golden Gate Park: Japanese Tea Garden

Not yarn; but oh my; the colors of embroidery floss!

A favorite San Francisco moment: reading poetry upstairs at City Lights

The "had to do before leaving" lunch with my adorable roommate; fish n' chips at Fisherman's Wharf

Half of my mother's family lives in the Bay Area, or the other side of the bridge, so getting together was, naturally, a priority, while I was there. The last time they visited Iowa was about fourteen years ago. It was like old times, with new characters thrown in. It was the best! I met first with my aunt and we strolled around Sausalito, after we found a spot to stash my bike for the day. We met my cousin next; outside the restaurant, holding my brand new second cousin! She is so sweet, and adorable, it was heaven. Then we joined my uncle and the two brothers of baby; all perfect charmers. The boys wanted to talk politics, it was the eve of the presidential election, but my aunt had forbidden the topic. They found ingenious ways of bringing it up indirectly...it was cute. Thank you for a fantastic time, all of you!

 

Later, I took the ferry back to San Francisco. I had to almost dare myself to do it, but I was determined to bike across the bridge and find my way to a cafe in Sausalito...and I did.  I  practiced first by biking around SFC on Wednesday. I got lost for three hours, in the neighborhoods they don't show you in Disney movies, then found Golden Gate Park, the Presidio (or the Royal Fortress of St.Francis) and the whole beautiful way back along the bay. What a day! I ended up having my first shoe shine too; my boots needed some serious work after the dust and dirt of the day. I don't think I will ever have a public shoe shine again; too high up, too public, but my boots still look great, two weeks later. 

I attended a couple of translation sessions, just to delve more into other topics. The one I particularly enjoyed was by Luc Labelle on elegant English>French translation. It made me think, stretch the brain a bit, hmmm, a lot, I guess, like when I was still in school. 

I shared a hotel room for the first time since college, with incredible roomies; three the first night; from Mexico, Boston and Germany, and two the rest of the week from Argentina and Mexico. We CELEBRATED the Cubs winning the World Series together, commiserated over the downside of our diverse professions and tried out new dining experiences all over the city.

Thank you to my family; for the extra work this caused, the sacrifice of a normal week in your life, and to the attendees who made this an experience to remember. It was!