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Living in Holyoke For Real

2009-06-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

We rode out the winter all cozied up in our new abode, working on endless projects and making our place feel like ours. I enjoyed staying home with the sweet bambina and getting to hang out with my family and friends all winter. Juliet has been riding around on our backs throughout every season and is getting to know the outdoors, whether we be plodding around on snowshoes or hiking the many amazing trails that we are so lucky to have access to up here in Western MA. I am rediscovering some of the wonderful places around here that I had taken for granted when I lived out this way before and had since forgotten, and Damien has been doing quite a bit of whitewater kayaking on the rivers that meander through the nooks and crannies of the topography of good ol' Hampden and Hampshire Counties, along with the Berkshire region. Strangely Spring was warmer than the Summer has been so far (rain, rain, rain- we got a rain barrel to collect water from our gutter and it was full in the first night), and we have been totally fascinated watching the various phases of our garden progress- the people who lived here before us were avid, talented gardeners and we can't believe our good luck in terms of yard-splendor.

Juliet has been growing so much and she delights us constantly. Watching her personality develop as she experiences the world's curiosities for the first time has provided us with the most refreshing and captivating moments; we are totally enchanted by her. She is 11 months old now- a walking, babbling, beautiful child.

Some of the most memorable events of the last few months include: the birth of Everest Mooers (and working in the art store!) and all of the following times we have gotten to spend with that sweet pea and his parents, enjoying a fun-filled weekend in the Berkshires at the Petrangelo's cabin celebrating Danielle & Kristin's birthday with friends (I even had enough baby sitters to go snowboarding myself!), my parents throwing Damien a lovely birthday party, hanging out in Boston w/ the Johnsons and looking at a lot of art, going out to Buffalo at Easter and eating the most rockin Polish Easter Dinner of all time courtesy of Patty & meeting baby Huey and seeing all the wonderful people there, spending a beautiful weekend camping in Cape Cod with the Worgesses, relaxing in comfort and style in Mystic, CT with Dianne & Andy (falling in love with the Beluga Whales), turning a shocking 31 years old and celebrating our birthdays (my dad and I share the same birthday) more than once (Max Downtown mmmmmm and a "gahden pahty" where we played florida hockey aka Croquet), watching little Abby Brown turn one, traveling up to NH for a dreamy weekend with my folks and auntie full of hiking, waterfall-gazing, kayaking & canoeing (paddling against the wind as a single canoeist (canoer?) proved hilariously difficult and I think I'd still be out there if my parents didn't flank their kayaks on either side of the canoe to form a rescue flotilla), watching the girl take her first steps, eating countless meals, home-cooked and out, with family and friends, visiting Damien's classroom with the baby to make an appearance for Juliet's adoring teen fanbase, having visitors including David & Patty & my 2nd cousin Janine, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, being surprised at all the various plants and blooms in our backyard, celebrating our first Mother's Day and first Father's Day, and watching the overall transformation of our house (mad props to the hubby).

As I write this a little sun light is actually making a Summer debut, so I must go and get out there. Oh and Damien had a successful school year and has only one day left until he is officially on summer vacation! He had perfect attendance...what a trooper.

Sorry so long...

2009-01-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

I've been ignoring my blog probably because, although I'm hesitant to admit, I've become an avid facebooker. My on-line social life is really impressive and I network while in my slippers. I have found people who I haven't heard from in 13 years! But in the grand scope of things it turns out to be a bunch of random comments, pokes, and pictures of all my buddies partying as if they were still in college rather than a narrative, and as Damien pointed out, this blog has been a log of the last few years and I shouldn't neglect it especially during this huge new chapter of our lives. Furthermore, I've spent too much time looking at Persian rugs on ebay without ever bidding on one, and after I've looked at say, a million little thumbnail photos of Iranian craftmanship, I'm totally wiped. So, without further adieu, I present to you November, December, and January of the Schlaffer/Johnson household.

Juliet is more amazing than ever; I just cannot believe how profound and how beautiful it is to have her, and as I watch her two bottom teeth poking through, I realize how fast this precious time is passing. She turned 6 months old this month! I've been lucky to be able to stay home with her this first year, and I'm savoring every new development. Needless to say, I'm madly, hopelessly in love and that's paired with a mama bear instinct of epic proportions. This has allowed me to gladly give up all levels of coolness and suction a "Baby on Board"" sign on the back of my car in hopes of deterring the slightly sympathetic tailgater. It suffices as a warning that if you don't get off my ass this mama will, if not kill you, harm you without mercy because my girl is in the backseat. Oh I can truly feel the love rushing through my veins.

Having Juliet has made Damien and I especially excited for some dear friends who are also having babies...it's like baby mania! Kara & Mike just had a new baby boy Grant, I held a 5 day-old Wes Holdaway, son of Heather, Chris Storms and Julianna just had baby Huey, and Ed & Juliette patiently await their baby as she is now totally, absolutely 3 days overdue!

We now officially live in our new house after crashing at my parents' for months, moving in, moving back out, crashing at Di & Andy's for weeks, and moving back in again. This was all because fixing up a house turned out to be quite a toxic endeavor, and a new baby, toxins, and paranoid parents don't mix well. But after a lot lot lot of hours of labor, our new house is beautiful and about 3/4ths done. Damien would go straight to the house after work, work until 10pm, drive back, sleep, and then leave at 6 am to do it all over again for months. Our families and friends helped us so much we can't even fathom how to thank them enough. We absolutely couldn't do it without my cleaning, pruning, wallpaper peeling, wall demolishing parents, Aunt Di who is the queen of clean and the best babysitter to boot- she gets mad stuff done, Uncle Andy the awesome painter, will do anything you ask, is always there to lift, clean, move and drywall who had a hand in every room in the house, Uncle Jay the expert electrician, plumber, drywaller, whatever you need man of the hour, even Gregory helped(!); picture Ed Mooers holding up drywall to reach 9 foot ceilings, Marc Guillemette, the mad kitchen beautifer, tiling like the pro he is and hanging cabinets!, Patty the painter of the highest quality painting, Tim Ratkeiwitz sand blasting and powder coating our radiators, David & Tully the strong men drywalling a ceiling in like an hour, Luke carrying all kinds of heavy crap, and the list goes on and on. We love you.
This is our dining room. We hung these portraits Josh Bienko made us for our wedding (prized possession) and now have a light fixture too...
My mother hosted Thanksgiving which was absolutley wonderful- festivities galore. I think there were 40 people who I adore there. We certainly missed my grandparents a lot and thought of them while we ate like royalty and enjoyed one another.

December brought that good old New England snow we missed in Virginia, and Juliet appears to be a fan of the cold weather. Then we headed to Buffalo for a wild holiday week. We saw the whole Johnson clan for the holidays and got to introduce the bambina to a lot of wonderful friends too. I got a massage from Tara (gift from Patty), checked out Storms's new digs, got a spectacular tour of the Birchfield Penny museum by Tully, rung in the new year with Chris, Dana, Klug, Heather, Wes, Heath, Tara, Darren, Bill, Pete, Tully, Luke, Tim and some crazy good lasagnas, went out to eat with Kortni and Kristie, watched a documentary about black eagles at Heath's apartment, and relaxed at David & Patty's house.

January has been cold cold cold and Damien is a chaperone for the ski club at his school so they have been bravely facing the frigid nights and having an absolute ball at Jiminey Peak. In the meantime we continue to work on the house and be with the baby. Solid food has never been so fun! She just started eating the stuff and has so far tried rice & barley cereal, avocado (not the hit I had hoped- it puts a little kink in my plan to emigrate to Mexico), carrots, banana, and butternut squash. We have been seeing a lot of our wonderful old friends here in MA too and have been to a lot of great get-togethers. Halloween was a ball at Danielle's, Tracy and Abby hosted a fun evening and we celebrated the snow at Becky & Mark's party too.

So I think I better stop now and take care of my child. Until next time... see you on facebook! hahaha

Photo Story

2008-10-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Juliet loved hiking in Nash Stream State Forest, NH.

Her connection with nature allows her to have long conversations with little strawberry men

and even sleep through entire hikes up Skinner Mountain, MA.

She was happy when she woke up because we told her we bought her a house...that needed a LOT of work.

And we luckily have had a LOT of help. Thank you Mom, Dad, Jay, Dianne & Andy!

All that work sure musters up some serious appetites. Juliet is our centerpiece.

Our days are set to a pretty amazing soundtrack. Juliet listens intently to Grandpa Joe play guitar and Grandma Kay sing songs.

We took a break in the Adirondacks and cuddled.

Sometimes you need to admire the view (see the Adirondack story below).

Peace.

3 months old

2008-10-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Uncle Tully & Juliet hanging out in a cabin on Rainbow Lake, NY (Adirondaks)

Juliet's Great Aunt Liz came from Colorado to kayak to this spot to take this photo

Juliet listens to Grandpa David play some funky tunes on the clarinet

Juliet snuggles with Grandma Patty

Hikers enjoying Autumn in the Adirondaks

Juliet discovers boardwalks, northern forests, tamarac trees

The whole leaf-peeping crew poses

Big tree-hugger and baby tree-hugger tree hug

Check out our new pad

Our first house! We live in Massachusetts

Becoming Northerners Again

2008-08-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

It was a hectic move from Richmond to Massachusetts with a new baby and all, but thank god for David, Tully, and Bob who flew from Buffalo to help Damien load our entire apartment into a Penske truck and drive it and one of our cars to Mass. I was entirely useless and they took good care of me, and I thank those guys with all of my heart, muscles, and sanity. So here we are staying with my folks during this transition period of our lives in Agawam, and the new grandparents are certainly enjoying the little sweet pea while we are grateful to have a wonderful place to stay as we get situated. A week after we got here we drove up to Canada where a three-week old Juliet got to meet the Johnson side of her family for the annual family reunion on Wolfe (aka Mud) island. We had a beautiful few days with the Johnsons, Lisowskis, Skorges, and Wus. I did a lot of relaxing, eating, and mothering while everyone else was fishing, sailing, swimming, kayaking, cooking, biking, and adoring the baby all around me. It was a great time.
The Mud Island crew this year. What a bunch!

The boat builders: Norm, Ozzie, & David

Who you'll find in my arms.

Juliet meets her great grandmother.

Our blissful little triad.

Happy baby.
4 weeks old and all clean.

5 weeks old and thinking about things in the world.

Damien found class 3 whitewater here in MA...this is him paddling Zoar Gap on the Deerfield River! He starts his new job in a week as a freshman English teacher at West Springfield High School...

Juliet: The Love of Our Lives

2008-07-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Introducing Juliet Schlaffer Johnson

2008-07-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Juliet Schlaffer Johnson is here and she is breathtaking. No usual blogger, I am writing on Erica’s behalf while she recovers and takes care of our sweet daughter. Having borne witness to a beautiful but very long labor, I can state emphatically that there is no power like that of a woman set to give birth. So here is how it happened. Erica was almost 2 weeks overdue when she took the advice of our midwife and consumed more than a healthy dose of castor oil (no worries, it’s not the stuff you put in your car) to inspire labor. Her contractions started on Tuesday and lasted for about 8 hours. I guess we were up until about midnight before we fell asleep. If you have been through this than you know that a laboring woman doesn’t go to sleep. So our excitement ebbed with her contractions. But by 1 or 2 on Wednesday we were back in action, and (I don’t want to give away the ending here but I think you can look at the pictures and guess at it) we weren’t going to get any sleep until midday on Friday. Erica’s contractions were intense but with a great support team, a candle lit bath and a couple of pots of coffee, we managed to stay at home for a long time. We arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning, bleary eyed and exhausted and a tiny bit scared and excited as hell to find out that she was already 5 cm dilated (that’s half way for all the rookies out there). And that was good news. By 1 in the afternoon she was 7 cm dilated. By 5 she was 6 cm. Now I’m not the mathy-est person, but I can tell you that was a bit scary. So let me back up a bit… I think I’ve already said that there is no strength like that of a woman in labor. Erica went 40 hours without so much as a Tylenol. She had an incredible support team: her doula, her midwife, a nurse who massaged her feet and held her like a baby through some of the toughest contractions (do most nurses do that?) her mother (picture here a mamma bear protecting her cub) and me. All were brave as hell and we all fought with her. Erica was so beautiful and so exhausted and if she slept at all she slept for seconds at a time between contractions and only 2 or 3 times. We tried to be there for her and we told her to keep going but I have to tell you what really happened: we were carried by her strength and we all kept going because she kept going. So you can imagine, if you are still reading this, that we were all distressed by the fact that she had regressed from 7 to 6 cm. This is the part where those of us who spurn the whimsical use of drugs look toward God and thank heaven for the anesthesiologist with the epidural. This is the part we weren’t aloud to watch (presumably because the needle was soooooo long). This is the part where the hospital sends a doctor who reminds you that they are watching and that they cannot allow this poor woman to suffer much longer before they will require a Caesarean birth. The next two hours were scary. But they were also very productive. The epidural relaxed her cervix enough that she was able to have her baby. Gladly, it also wore off before it was time to push, so that she could feel her contractions again. What follows… well, you either know already, or you need to experience it for yourself. But I can tell you that I have been around the world and I have loved every second of it and I have never seen anything as beautiful as our little girl (see attached photos) take her first worldly breath into Erica’s chest as she cried out for her. We are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl. The first born to my family in 55 years. The first grandchild on either side. Like her mother, she is peaceful and beautiful. It feels good to fall madly in love so quickly.

Born: July 11th 1:14 am

8 Lbs 6.4 oz.

19.7 inches long

Summer Solstice

2008-06-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

Find out why these fine people are jumping (and why I'm not) http://www.jumpbecause.com/
And heck you should jump for something. because.
Paddling the lower James River: Brian, Gerry, Jenny, Damien, & Mandy

Damien navigates down Hollywood rapid

May & June

2008-06-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

After turning 30 at the beginning of May and seeing the world through a perspective of new-found wisdom, I realized with more certainty to enjoy every possible moment of my life. So as the mid-atlantic states transition from Spring to Summer, and my belly keeps on growing (so very parallel to the earth) we've been enjoying ourselves immensly. We took a wonderful trip to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and enjoyed the pristine beach for a day.

Damien saved a very un-shy turtle from the road.

We had a lovely long weekend in the mountains of West Virginia with a crew of rad people. Here is a picture of Dana and Chris enjoying the view from Matt & Peter's cabin while the others sun themselves on the dock of their pond.

Here I am at 8 months along. As of today, there are exactly three weeks left until my proposed due date! It's been an amazing experience. Truly profound. We don't know the gender, yet everyone tells me it looks like I'm having a boy. Who knows?! I am really starting to get excited to meet the little bambino in there! My girlfriend Tracy had a beautiful baby girl named Abigail in May. Congratulations! I'll keep y'all posted as things progress!

The Freedom Writers

2008-06-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a handful of my students who wrote their own Freedom Writer's diaries about their lives. It was inspired by the group in California who did the same thing, not only to express themselves, but also to overcome stereotypes and prejudice. They really had some amazing stories to tell and did an amazing job on their projects. You can see here what my classroom looks like. I will only inhabit that space for just over a week more... the school year has come to an end and I will sadly not be working there again next year because we are moving!

Reflections

2008-05-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Memorial

2008-05-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

When we went to NY to mourn and celebrate the lives of my grandparents, I got to spend some quality time with my aunties (all who are from my mom's side, but still knew and loved Jane & Joe and came to support us THANK YOU!). Here you see aunts: Cynthia, Dianne, Tina, and Katherine. It was so wonderful to be together.

Here are the 2 poems I read at the memorial service. "The Gardener" is quite old and "The Machinist" is new.

The Gardener

Grandma bends in the garden, emerged in her leafy green world.
With her hands she nurtures and loves the soil
in the way that she loved her children: my father, my uncles, grown, rooted.
She still flows through them, and teaches them how the seasons illustrate their days.
The veins in her fingers are life lines to the Elephant Ears and bean leaves,
the arteries from her heart give rise to the tomato seedlings.
Grandma’s gift to make things grow shows us how to grow.
Her life teaches us how to love the earth, how to love each other.
And while lines of time echo in her face, they give me a sense of expression,
her unique sparkle that I hope I someday know.

Like a single leaf reveals a map of the anatomy of rainforests and rivers,
like a solitary flower divulges the secrets of the migration of birds,
I look at my hands and I know she is in me too-
her fiery soul at peace in the garden.

The Machinist

My grandfather, with his larger-than-Thor hands
could make the tiniest parts whir miraculously.

His palms, wide like Lake Victoria. His Nile digits, long,
constructed like a hand should be, with substance and authority.
His were hands of the gods, appearing almost cumbersome
and surprising everyone with their grace and fluidity.
They could manipulate the most intricate pieces and
unfathomable tools, utensils for elves.
He could give metal bits and bolts purpose.
He could make sprockets and washers part of something
grander than what they were when they were alone.
He could give them life.

The machinist with the Saharan fingerprints
made my head so small when he held my face.
With the moons in his fingernails he could hold the universe.
He held his family and showed us that we too were
something grander together than when we were alone.

When he died we gathered all the little bits of his life we could find.
I’m putting them together like a machinist.
And the love interwoven in every piece, in each detailed moment,
is whirring miraculously.

Erica Schlaffer

In Memory of my Grandparents

2008-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sadly I write about the passing of both of my paternal grandparents. My grandma Jane, 80, died peacefully at home on March 21st, and my grandpa Joe, 86, died 12 days later on April 2nd. It's been difficult to lose two such important people in our family's lives with such little time in between. We are so thankful to have been so close to them, and will pass on the love we learned from them and will keep them alive in our memories. Perhaps it is a testament of the human spirit and true love that they died so near to one another, which is a comfort to me. They will be deeply missed.

I can't help but be profoundly affected at this time by the meaning of the cycle of life. I feel like the notion is personified as I carry a new baby within me while I experience the loss of an entire generation of my family.

Spring Travels

2008-03-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun when Patty and David came down for a visit. We went to Montecello (brought the butter lamb with us), walked all over Richmond, ate a lot of delicious food, played music, and got to spend some quality time together. It went too fast!

A couple of weeks later it was time for our Spring break, and we drove south in search of warmer weather. We did find it for a couple of days. Our first stop was Congaree National Park, where we kayaked our brains out in the floodplain forests, and the trees were above and below us in the tangible and the reflective form. We could navigate right through them. It was so peaceful. We camped in the middle of the swamp on some raised ground and awoke in the wee hours of the night to an owl hooting right above us.

Next we went to the beautiful and romantic city of Charleston, where gorgeous homes and historic cobblestone streets treated us to its quaint beauty around every corner. We then drove to see my cousin Nadine, who turned out to be only 3 days away from the birth of her baby, and aunt Maryellen. It was so nice to see them and talk about bellies. Then we drove to the Francis Marion National Forest and went for a beautiful paddle with alligators sunning themselves on the riverbanks.

The next day we drove further south to Hunting Island State park, and by sheer luck we got the last camping spot in the place (in fact some unruly teens had been kicked out of it, otherwise, everything was reserved because apparently it was everyone's spring break). We spent the rest of the week there kayaking, sitting on the beach, hiking in the gorgeous forests full of Live Oaks, Loblolly Pines, Fan Palms, and Palmettos. Looked like Latin America. Totally beautiful.

I was very thankful to have the week off because I had time to reflect upon the very recent loss of my beloved grandmother, Jane Schlaffer, and it and gave me the chance to try to peacefully come to terms with it.

When we got back, Damien got to catch part of Richmond's punk rock bike festival fondly known as Slaughterama or "Evil Fool's Day", and reported some very wild scenes there. Check out the pages 64-67 at http://www.rvamag.com/shared/webRVAv3i12.pdf to see it for yourself.
Damien turned 31 on March 30th, and we celebrated with a romantic dinner back in Richmond.

Rock Stars

2008-03-06T19:01:00.001-08:00

Damien's brother Luke and his girlfriend Andrea, who live in Boston, MA, have just won the grand prize in the electronica genre of the John Lennon singer/songwriter contest. Check them out and hear the song at their website: http://www.acousticchatter.com/

They are so awesome.

Be sure to vote everyday for their song to help them win the next phase of the competition! The voting ends April 26th. They are counting on everybody to support them to show the judges that they can network and establish a fanbase. Please visit http://www.jlsc.com/vote.php everyday and cast your vote for Acoustic Chatter "Sky Turns Red!" in the Electronic category. Thank you for your help!

While you are at it, look at my other talented brother-in-law's blog where all of his fabulous art is showcased at http://www.tullisjohnson.blogspot.com/

What a family I married into.

Kayaking the James

2008-03-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here's Damien on the upper part of the James River on Pony Pasture Rapids. So fun!

It was another beautiful day.

Inflatable Belly

2008-02-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm now in my 23rd week, and I am astounded at this experience so far. As I write I am feeling all kinds of little kicks and pokes, and both D and I are so amazed. Time seems to be passing by quickly. I feel the best I have so far in the scope of this pregnancy and I've still been riding my mountain bike on easy trails.

pics- (me on bike at 4 months & me w/ flowers at five months)

I'm alone this weekend. Damien went to Buffalo because a dear friend was killed in a snowboarding accident. Sadly, Leon Carr, one of the most genuine and lovable folks you could ever wish to meet, died last Tuesday after hitting a tree at Holiday Valley. He had a helmet on and was quite a good snowboarder too. A very sad time for his friends and family.

We have been busy with work, and have had a couple of really great weekends. We went up to the cabin in West Virginia and got to meet Chris's sweet pea Dana. We did some hiking in the snow, made sock puppets, and Dana and Chris baked a monster cake.
I flew to Mass. at the last minute one weekend to see to my Grama who was doing very very badly, but when I got there she had woken up which was quite a surprise and a relief to everyone! I got to spend some nice moments with her and the rest of my family.

Ed & Juliette came down for a few days! It was so wonderful to have them here again. We had a ball. We went hiking, biking, fossil hunting, cooked some delicious food (homemade dumplings), ate out, knitted and crocheted, and enjoyed the sunshine and each other's company.

Now I will dedicate my week to tutoring the kids who are subjected to more standardized test mania, wrapping up a Shakespeare unit, and taking care of my ever-growing belly.

Our Most Exciting News

2008-01-13T06:45:00.001-08:00

If I haven't seen you in person, then you might not know that I am 4 months pregnant. We finally got to tell people over the holidays. I figure however, that if I didn't see you then, then I need to tell you now! Damien and I are so excited and in awe of the fact that we're creating a little tiny human being while we work and sleep and eat. Suddenly my world seems more magical and my belly rounder. So we are due toward the end of June ...
Besides that we are just going about our everday business back at work trying to teach the teenagers of Richmond and enjoy the mild winter we are having down here. Mwaa!

December & January in Pictures

2008-01-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Damien admires a huge White Oak in York River State Park (Virginia)

Andrea & Luke host us in their Boston abode

I get to hang out with my cousin(s) Corey (and Justin, Courtney, and Gregory) at Di's house

Joe is enamoured by the snowy view from Wildcat Mountain (NH)

Christmas in Downtown Richmond is glowy

Dianne & Andy enjoy Christmas Eve Eve at mom & dad's house

Kay & I snowshoeing in the Great Gulf Wilderness in the White Mountains (NH)

Me, Danielle, & Tracy are so happy to be reunited for the holidays

Winding Down 2007

2007-12-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe another year is close to its conclusion already. As I sit at my desk here at John Marshall High School, the Virginia sun is warming up our day to a high of 78 degrees. This is a record breaker for December, kinda creepy, but also really nice. I think I'm actually going to put on flip flops after school today. We've had a lot going on lately- one major upsetting experience for me- one of my favorite students was shot and killed about a week and a half ago after a house party, and my school is still recovering from the tragedy. It truly broke my heart. He was my student for two years and I had nicknamed him my "even day sunshine" because of his brilliant smile and charm. It has been difficult to help my students come to terms with the empty desk in our classroom, and how he was just with us and now he's not. He was only seventeen and killed by another seventeen year old. Such a senseless shame. We've been discussing how to end the cycle of violence in our communities, but I think having a conversation about it is a lot different than living in the reality of it.
On a brighter note, we've been going on some fun weekend excursions hiking and biking around the area. We are looking forward to the 2 week break we have coming up, and we will drive north to Massachusetts for the festivities. Well, the bell is going to ring and a surge of students will soon be flooding my room for another exciting period of English 10. I hope everyone is well and has beautiful holidays. Keep in touch!

A List: November Whirlwind

2007-11-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome time when my parents came down for a visit. We picked them up near Virginia Beach and spent the weekend strolling on the beach, feeding seagulls from our 10th story room, exploring Bald Cypress forests, spying a whole fleet of dolphins, and dining galore.
Then we all came back up to Richmond where we hung out in Carytown, got spoiled by them, wandered through the beautiful landscapes of Maymont Park, and where we enjoyed hosting them in our Churchill abode. We were very sad to see them go.
The next weekend we jumped on a plane to NYC with some other teachers from Richmond and attended the National Conference for English Teachers in Manhattan and had a really enlightening experience there. The city's intense vibe kept calling us to come outside. Damien and I practically walked clear across Manhattan and in doing so saw such a frenzy of activity and had sensory overload. I've been there many times before, but each time I go back I can't believe how charged with energy that city is. We strolled through a vintage flea market, we saw kids break dancing on a moving and very crowded subway car, we got off in Chinatown and watched people playing traditional instruments and games and felt like we were in China again (and killer dumplings to boot), we literally ran around Chelsea, which is the most phenomenal art district imaginable- in and out of galleries before closing time, we were blinded in the neon glow of Times Square, we got dizzy watching ice skaters going around in circles in Rockerfeller Center, we ate some serious New York pizza, we had pie and coffee in a diner on 23rd St., we people watched like it was our job, we made our way through immeasurable crowds, we rode the bus here and there, we admired the Hudson, we walked past the various retail districts like the diamond and the fashion districts, we drooled in the cases of the most amazing gourmet bakeries, we felt like ants, we felt like lemmings, we felt like humans, and oh yeah we attended the conference. The workshops and meetings and speakers were very informative and progressive too!
The next week we drove to Buffalo to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Johnsons and had such an enjoyable and relaxing time there. We ate furiously and savored it too, we took naps in front of the fire, we walked in the falling snow, we toured the Birchfield art gallery with Tully as our personal guide, we played music and Pheonix sang, we hugged Brenda really hard and thought and thought and thought about her son Danny who was devastatingly killed in Iraq and sent all our love out into the universe, we saw Tully's new apartment, we went out and had fun, we watched a movie on Heather's couch, we said what we were thankful for, we rode bikes down Elmwood, and we are still missing all that comes with good ol' B-Lo.

Putting the Art into Autumn

2007-10-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

SONAR

We bee-lined it to Pittsburgh PA last Friday afternoon and made it in time for the art opening SONAR, an installation brilliantly put together by some of the finest people in the world: Chris Lisowski & Tully Johnson. Their exhibit focused on the harmful effects the usage of sonar has had on the environment and marine life. It was awesome, and the place was packed with the constant flow of viewers checking out Pittsburgh's gallery crawl circuit. They really had everybody floored with their political voice, amazing paintings, a beached Sperm Whale, and government documents being read through a water-submerged speaker. Check out more at Chris's website: http://www.feralfarm.com/

The next day we rode bikes all over the city, and got to see many of its unique neighborhoods, art galleries, and myriad bridges spanning not only a mountainous terrain, but also three rivers which converge right there.

We went to the Chihuly exhibit in the burg's botanical gardens, and that was truly astounding. Every room was full of large glass blown sculptures meant to fit in with the environment including floating in various ponds and appearing to grow right out of the dirt. It was expansive and fascinating. Chihuly's Orange Glass Room

We got to have a Lisowski home cooked Italian dinner and hang out with the Lisowski family and Patty Johnson and Brenda too. We also got to see Ajay who his doing his residency in Pittsburgh, and meet his lovely wife too. So wonderful. Buffalo buddies Chris S, Bob B, and Kristie B were there for the festivities too and we really did have an interesting Karaoke experience at a local bar on Sat. night. It was a great weekend.

Here Damien is under a sun-speckling canopy of pre-autumn treetops! We spent a nice day hiking around Pochahontas State Park. He has Giant Biceps!
Damien and I also went to the Williamsburg Art Festival down here in VA and rode our bikes around and this horse tried to eat my shifter.

Soft Nose, Delicious Shifter

Protests in Burma

2007-09-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever I close my eyes and remember Asia, I always see the serene, smiling, dignified, sparkling faces of the people of the Buddhist nation of Burma (the ruling military dictatorship calls the country Myanmar). The monk-led democratic protests going on there fill my heart up with so much hope and then it breaks a million times when I hear of the violence the military has responded with. The military junta has jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, dragged away and beaten the leading monks, and killed nine peaceful protesters. Here is a link to click to see an amazing photo gallery- it seems to go backwards in chronology, so the first pictures are later dates. The pictures of the peaceful aspects of the protest are so beautiful...maybe they can give us just a little window to see the strength of the citizens who live there.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2007/09/25/GA2007092501415.html

Kayaking the Weekend Away

2007-09-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

morning kayaking afternoon kayaking night kayaking

bald cypress kayaking

flower kayaking

We've just returned from a wonderful kayak-camping weekend in the Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area just to the S. E. of us. We spotted a lot of wildlife (a big Bald Eagle was circling over us this morning), cooked up some delicious meals, kayaked our brains out, and enjoyed a lot of needed peace and relaxation.

We've been doing well and are back in the swing of teaching- we have plunged right into the hectic crowded urban high school life, and are feeling a lot more peaceful this time around. I'm teaching an extra class twice a week after school and we are also taking a grad class after school, so our schedules have suddenly filled up to the point of bursting during the week, but we are enjoying it. I'm looking forward to implementing a recycling program at my school with a couple of other concerned teachers and students.

It is still hot down here- somewhere around 90 degrees today, and we are looking forward to the fall weather! Not much else to report... except all the friends with brand new babies in the world! Congratulations Kristin & BJ, Josh & Maryjo, Auntie Danielle & Baby Daddy Gumby! We love you and your beautiful little offspring/nephews!

The See Saws at Fountainhead Regional Park

2007-09-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

Mountain Biking & Marriage

2007-09-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is already our 3 year wedding anniversary and the first day the students come back to school. With the addition of a graduate class on Tuesdays (tomorrow tambien), we decided it would be too full of a day to celebrate, so we utilized the long weekend to represent our anniversary instead. We drove to Fairfax, VA and went mountain biking at Fountainhead Regional Park for 2 days (9 miles of some wonderful and technical terrain), while staying in a plush room at the Marriott (thanks Di & Andy), and eating Thai duck curry with grapes and pineapples at a spicy restaurant. It was wonderful. We are so thankful we found each other in the universe. Today I spend the day preparing for and meditating on a full school year ahead. I have butterflies. Big ones-maybe Atlas moths.

Peru's Earthquake

2007-08-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

We were so sad to hear about the devastating earthquake that rocked Peru 2 days ago. It measured a 7.9 on the Richter scale and there are over 500 dead and rising, and over 800 injured. We were in the area just 3 weeks ago and can still picture it perfectly. In fact, Pisco was our last stop (this is the town the suffered the most casualties). That was the jumping off point for the Islas Ballestras. We're closing our eyes and remembering that place and all the beautiful faces we passed there. We are thankful to be safe and hope the area and people will heal quickly. Here's a link to a recent update from NPR and you can listen to the details there.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903552

Mud Island and Massachusetts

2007-08-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

The crew at Mud 2007

After some kayaking days in Richmond, we hopped in the tiny Ford Focus hatchback (pinenut) laden with two longboats and 2 bikes (we came back with 3 bikes- thanks dad!) and headed north to Buffalo. There we got to see a few sorely missed friends and hung out with them late into the evening (this is the Buffalo way of course). Then it was off to the Johnson's annual family reunion up on Wolfe Island in Canada (right smack in the middle of the St. Lawrence River which makes for kayaking heaven). (I'm in a parenthesis mood). Most of us still call it Mud Island even though we stay on Wolfe because the venue used to be right across the water on a teeny tiny island (Mud). It was a festival of eating gourmet meals, sailing, kayaking, biking, camping, water skiing (go Luke!), wakeboarding (I stink and had sore forearms for the week), playing Patty's well crafted game of whip golf aka thunder horseshoes (no sorry I forgot the real name), fishing, covering fish with ink and making fishprints, relaxing, becoming immersed in the swarms of swallows at sunset, daytripping into Kingston, korkling (damien's new found love for flipping upside down in his kayak with a scuba mask on, gazing at the fish unil his breath runs out, and then uprighting himself with his perfected roll technique), and being together with wonderful people.

A field of Sunflowers on the island

Damien takes me out in the Adirondack Guideboat aka the "Romantic Boat" made by the hands of his father and grandfather

Then we were off to meet my folks in the beautiful Adirondacks where we picnicked on their land, kayaked, and caught up with each other. In the morning we rushed down to see my grandparents- grama Jane had been admitted to the hospital the night before and thankfully we found her doing better than we expected. That being said, she still was in enough danger to need to remain in the ICU for a few days. I'm glad I was close enough in the area to be with her. When we were sure she'd be OK, we headed back to Agawam and had a few days to enjoy the company of one another and snuck in a few quick but wonderful visits with some peeps. To celebrate my parents 30th wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday, Aunt Di took us all out to Max Downtown in Hartford and we all agree that it was one of the most exquisite and amazing dining experiences we've ever had. Thank you Dianne! We played lots of music togther, and we got to play with Danielle's boyfriend Andy who is a great guitar player. We belted out a few of our favorites! We went moutnain biking with Marc in Robinson, hung out by the pool with a whole crew of fantastic people, and tried to spy some falling meteors. The time flew by.

The Schlaffs perform in the playroom

Now we are home in VA and it's like a sauna down here. It was a great trip! We meant to see more people than we actually did, but we had a ball and if we missed you this time, let's make sure we see you at x-mas! Missing everyone and so thankful for all of the wonderful people in our lives. Mwaa!

Adios S. America

2007-07-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Goodbye South America

After La Paz, Bolivia, we cut across the northern tip of Chile and had the chance to explore an area of vast desert and snow-covered volcanoes. We stayed with a family in Parinacota, the most beautiful village that consisted of only ten families, and was the coldest place we had been yet. The area was full of vicunas, llamas, condors, and even flamingoes. We took a few long and rambling walks in the area and discovered a lake (all of this is in Lauca National Park) that was truly an oasis, so the wildlife viewing was incredible.

Vicunas grazing in Lauca National Park, Chile

The church in the center of Parinacota

We traveled through the driest desert in the world called the Atacama and found ourselves in a very pleasing beach town named Arica (I kept thinking everyone was talking about me) where we frolicked around for an afternoon. The next day we crossed back into Peru. Our next stop was the jumping off point for what are known as "poor man's Galopagus islands," more likely to be found on a map under the name of Islas Ballestras. A boat helped us view the beautiful area and we spotted Humbolt Penguins, Peruvian Boobies (these are birds of course!), Peruvian Pelicans, Inca Terns, 3 kinds of Cormorants, sea lions, and dolphins.

He tried to eat D's shoe

Then it was back to Lima to explore the bustling streets, a monastary with catacombs, and the grand squares of crumbling colonialism.

Now we are back home, kayaking and relaxing in the lush beauty of the humid summer we have found here!

The Mountains and La Paz

2007-07-15T15:30:00.001-07:00

We took a harrowing boatride on Lake Titicaca to the Isla del Sol in Bolivia to find a magical place where people live an amazingly tranquil lifestyle. There had been a snow storm the night before with thunder and lightning and the lake had monsterous waves on it. By the time we got the the island, the sun came out and all was peaceful.

A view of Lake Titicaca from Isla del Sol

We then headed to the village of Sorata, where the Cordillera Real portion of the Andes tower overhead. We hired a guide and set off on a three day trek. We slept at a green lagoon, and then wheezed our way up to 16,650 ft up to a glacier lake. It was amazing. There was snow, and much awe in mother nature found there.

Damien and our guide Pablo have a snack on day 2 of our trek

Relaxing at our final destination- Laguna Glacial

After some well deserved showers and sleep back in town, we headed to the capital of Bolivia- La Paz which is where I write from now. It is a vibrant city, one of the most colorful, exciting, and fascinating cities I can remember. We stay in the ¨witchcraft¨market area, where herbs and all sorts of strange concoctions are ready to be offered to pachamama, including dried llama fetuses that you are supposed to bury under the corner of your house for good luck. The markets are incredible, the architecture is beautiful and the people are so very interesting. THe city literally has its own heartbeat.

In the morning we head to the northern tip of Chile, as it proves to be the easiest border crossing back into Peru, as there are protests directly from here that have the roads blocked. We figure we´ll take advantage of our detour and explore a National Park there that is supposed to be one of the finest in all of Chile. Much love coming at you from South America!

From Peru to Bolivia

2007-07-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

After Machu Picchu we both came down with some kind of flu thing which held us up for a couple of days, but finally we headed to the southeast to the world´s highest lake- Titicaca. En route we drove through the remnants of a major protest and for miles there were boulders of every size thrown in the road to thrwart travel and we even spied an overturned car. Our bus driver was an excellent swerver. We found out that the citizens were protesting against some major company in the area that was polluting their river to such an extent that the people could not eat the fish in it any more.
When we arrived in the town Puno, we had the chance to take a boatride out into the vast lake. The destination was these traditional floating islands made out of lake reeds that people actually live on. They use the lake reeds to build their boats, their houses, and literally to build the ground they walk on! It was fascinating.

We seemed to become instant friends with a particular family there, and I spent a long time singing songs with them (twinkle twinkle little star was a big hit, and I had to sing it like 10 times so they could get the pronunciation just perfect), while Damien hung out with grandma in the kitchen discussing pollo de lago (chicken of the lake) - his and her own personal joke about a certain duck the locals enjoy eating. Hanging out on the floating islands
After that it was another dramatically beautiful busride around the lake, past intermingled herds of alpaca and sheep grazing in the treeless, windswept highlands of the Andes, past adobe villages, and miles of potatoes of every variey. We reached the Bolivian border and crossed over (sketchy policia there asking if our money was fake) to find another beautiful little town on Lake Titicaca- Copacabana (not the one from that song) which is situated at 12,600 feet and leaves you breathless the moment you walk out of your door. Bolivia is known as the most culturally traditional country in S. America, and we are enamoured already. Bolivians believe that they are all direct descendants of Pachamama (mother earth).
This morning in front of the church in the central plaza, the people were decorating cars and buses with flowers, garlands, ribbons, bows, praying with incense under the hoods, and sprinkling wine on the tires all in an effort to please the spirits that protect travelers. I like it here.

Need anything to decorate your car with?

Hola de Peru

2007-07-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

Exploring the streets of Cusco

Well, we have been in Peru now for a little over one week, and we´re quickly falling in love with this country. We first explored Cusco and Pisac where impressive ancient Inca foundations are overlapped with Spanish colonialist architecture and the effect is some of the most stunning places I have ever seen. It´s winding cobblestone streets, adobe walls, terricotta rooves, and ruins everywhere. The locals are quite friendly, and they may have an adorned alpaca in tow. The markets are full of colorful textiles. One night in Pisac we didn´t sleep because of the festival celebrating July 1st, and there was the infinite ringing of church bells and horns and drums and dancing.

Market day in Pisac

Then we were off to two more places in the Sacred Valley- the first was Ollantaytambo which is a thriving town that remains the same as the original Inca design. It is truly a magical experience to wander through that town of thatched rooves, impeccable stonework, and ruins looming on every hillside. Rumor has it that there was one hell of a battle there between the Incas and the gold-thirsty conquistadors. The mountains are huge, and there the climate is actually a mountainous desert. Cacti and orchids growing side by side. White capped mountains jutting up in the background in every direction.

Enjoying an afternoon in Ollantaytambo

Next we decended down a little bit into a lush climate known as a cloud forest to make our way to the most famous Inca ruins in South America-Machu Picchu. It was never even discovered by the Spanish because it was in such a precarious location. We woke up at dawn and made our way there, and our 1st glimpse literally took our breath away. We spent the whole day there in awe of it´s prisine beauty and how in the world they could build such an asthetic and complex city literally on cliffsides. Phenomenal. I think its impressiveness is due to the combination of unbelievable stonework and the dramatic green mountains jutting up all around it. We have been climbing mountains every day and are becoming accustomed to the altitude, and now we are back in higher elevations. Next destination: Lake Titicaca. There is so much more to say, and I am still working on uploading pictures from our camera so that I can pair images with my lacking descriptions. Adios!

Machupicchu early in the morning

Damien looks out over the sacred valley

Off to Peru

2007-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Damien naps in a sublime spot in Shenandoah NP

With the school year being over, and us feeling a lot lighter, we got in the car and drove to Shenandoah National Park to compliment our peaceful state of being and do some more exploring. This was after some extensive celebrating with fellow teachers who every so often would bust out with a passionate rendition of "School's Out for Summer." Damien's department head told him, "Congratulations, you just made it through the hardest year of your life," while the rest ask if we are really really really coming back next year. We assure them that we will not be adding to the high turnover rate of inner city school faculty just yet.

Back to the vacation part! We had reserved a cabin about 1/2 a mile off the Appalachian Trail and right in the middle of the park. We saw lots of deer and one especially clumsy spotted fawn, but the wildlife highlight was certainly creatures who had been fairly elusive to me in the past: bears. We saw 6 bears in 2 days! The first 2 were spotted right off the Doyles River Trail on the way to and from the waterfall you see in the picture. On our second day, we completed an 8-mile hike (sore calves- need more training for our Andean trek!) and saw a huge mama bear and her three cubs right behind our cabin! They went running up the hill and the big one stopped about 75 yards away while the three little ones climbed up to the top of a tree above her. We had binoculars so we could see their baby faces and they were beautiful. Mama was not moving and staring at us. Every so often she would clap her lips together to make this loud noise and we're pretty sure she was telling us not to come any closer. There was a little gnashing of the teeth as well. We admired them for about 20 minutes and were awed by her size. We were ready to run if necessary. We decided to get out of her line of sight so that they could make a move to leave. But we couldn't leave either because that's where we were sleeping and it was around 8:30 pm. So we stayed quiet and out of view and after quite some time we saw them come down and move on. It was incredible!

We found out that mice like licking olive oil too.

There are massive Tulip trees in the park

So now it's packing mania over here. Our flight into Lima is on Tuesday. We're bringing all of our gear for cold mountain weather and a crazy idea that maybe we should go to Bolivia too. Trying to fit all we need into our 2 backpacks. Thank god for zip lock bags.

9 months of torture is worth 9 weeks off

2007-06-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Bwa ha ha! We're on Summer vacation. We can't believe we have completed our first year of teaching. All I want to know is why didn't they have ninja vs. pirate pillow fights when we lived in Buffalo?

Mom's Visit

2007-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful visit with mama Kay when she flew down here last weekend. We kayaked the Mattaponi, shopped, went out to eat, frolicked all over Richmond, cooked, relaxed, saw Spiderman on a rainy afternoon, wore pretty dresses (not D of course), took her to watch us in some rapids and Damien surf river waves, played rummy at night and played hooky in the morning, made friends with a turtle, missed dad, and enjoyed each other's company. Love you!

Trevor the Wonderdog

2007-06-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

It was a very sad day for the Schlaffers 5/31/07. Our beloved little house beast, our Trevor, aka Trevor the Wonderdog, aka Captain Fall Dog, aka Crimp Ears, died. He was 16 years old and so very elderly. We are all thankful to have had our little free-spirited guy for so long as part of our family. This is a picture of him when he still loved to climb the mountains in New Hampshire.

Mountain Rendevous

2007-05-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

We certainly are very fortunate to be able to have a beautiful getaway close to home. We got a chance to see our homies for a weekend in the mountains of West Virginia, where Jimmy Lisowski and his friends (who now have become our friends too) own a gorgeous cabin. Chris was there and even Bob Klug and Bella came for a side trip on their move from Buffalo to Hudson, NY. It was marvelous to be able to be with such awesome people (and dogs)! The picture above is the view we got on what was definitely the most adventurous portion of our weekend. Damien, Chris, Bob, Jimmy, and I went on a crazy 12 mile mountain biking excursion. It was steep and treacherous. It was difficult and exhilarating. It was so rocky, wildly exhausting, and the views were brilliant! When we finally had arrived at the expansive vista, our tired bodies and spirits were uplifted and we knew we'd actually survive the journey. This was after we met the thunder and lightening storm and torrential downpours as we rode along the highest point on the ridge. The last two miles were amazing single track through blooming Mountain Laurel, purple slate, and mossy switchbacks. We all had wounds, stories of flying through the air with our bikes left behind us, scars from timber-bashing, sore wrists from maneuvering over large boulders, and giant grins on our faces. It was truly great.

We spent the rest of our time together relaxing, swimming, eating, and enjoying each other's company.

When we got home, Damien helped me build some brick planters for my little garden and we added some potted jade and peat moss. Sure feels like summer down here.

Bringing the Wicked to Virginia

2007-05-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ed & Juliette, our dear sweet peas, drove down here from Northampton MA, and brought the "wicked" with them. I easily fell back into using my native Mass lingo and we really did have a wicked awesome time together. We went to the bald cypress swamp out by Virginia beach, rode our bikes around Bell Isle here in Richmond, ate lots of wicked delicious vegan food together (including Ethiopian mmmm), explored the city, clotheslined a few coffees, and just enjoyed each other's good company. We miss you wicked bad!

For my birthday (which is the same day as my dad's) Damien got me a beautiful whitewater kayak paddle. I thought that was it. I was so excited I said I wanted to go look online right then for whitewater kayaks (we only had 1 whitewater boat, in case you're wondering our other boats are for flatwater- so the paddle was the perfect impetus to finally go ahead and buy a 2nd whitewater boat). We ran inside to get to the computer, and I took a step backward when I saw a beautiful kayak sitting on the kitchen floor! It had a giant pink bow on it. What an amazing present. Here's a picture of me using it on the James River after a set of rapids you can't really see in the distance. I've named her Clementine.

There is officially only one month left in the school year!

Happy Mother's Day too to our extradordinary mothers.

The Butter Lamb Goes to Chincoteague

2007-04-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Butter Lamb takes a ride on the kayak to enjoy the sunset.

Spring Break was wonderful with our families in Chincoteague. Our rental house was right on the water and Damien, Kay, Joe, Patty, David, Tullis and I kayaked and biked every day. Assateague National Seashore was right around the corner, and the bird life was incredible. We ate like maniacs, played music, enjoyed each other's company, cooked, read, made some collaborative art, and relaxed. The only bummer was the chilly weather. Often I found myself kayaking in my winter coat and hat thinking, "this just doesn't seem right for April in Virginia, no?" (Today it's 87 degrees here in Richmond). But despite the unusual brisk weather, we managed to have a wonderful time. It was truly beautiful there. We had a Polish Easter celebration which included Perogis and Butter Lambs, and Patty's famous Easter Breakfast. We also got very close to the wild ponies of Chincoteague, who looked so noble with their manes blowing in the wind.

David glides over the smooth waters of the tidal channels by our place.

The Schlaffers line up according to height.

The Johnsons enjoy the end of beautiful day.

Damien and Tully work on our collaborative piece featuring many birds including the "Sparrow De Dios."

Wild wild ponies, couldn't drag me away...

It was a wonderful vacation. We miss you all so much!

30 in the Blue Ridge Mts.

2007-04-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

I took D on a surprise birthday getaway weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cabin was built in the 1700's and is a magical spot in the universe. We did a whole lot of hiking, relaxing, bird-watching, and eating. The Redbuds were blooming in their purple splendor and the mountains were huge! We also saw a bazillion deer, got up close and personal with a vulture eating a dead racoon, had a strange encounter with some cows with staring problems, found the greenest river, hiked next to a tall waterfall, explored the quaint town of Lexington, and pretended we lived 200 years ago in our dreamy cabin.

Poem

2007-03-04T16:05:00.001-08:00

I wanted to post this beautiful poem that our friend Yang You wrote for us. She is a dear friend and an amazing poet. We miss her because she's all the way in Taiwan. Hope you enjoy!

Farmers
white snow
quiet and Acceptance.
silver mirror
reflect and whole come back to true image.

Diversity of seeds.
waiting for changes.
Farmer! Farmer!
Please come.
I want to grow up and become mature.

Many words in my soul.
Haven't come out.
Maybe a poem?
Maybe a song?
Maybe a golden apple?
who knows?

After being cared by teacher farmer.
A great nature forest of students.
A beautiful garden of students.
A wonderful clear sky will be there.

A fruitful life will come!!

Beware the Ides of March!

2007-03-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

The title of this post was chosen because we are now diving into Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a play in which Caesar is betrayed and assassinated on the 15th of March. My students read Shakespeare's lines as if they are riddles with meanings they can't quite decipher, but they seem to enjoy the concept of murder, betrayal, and dictatorship. Everyone is eager to play the role of dictator even though they disagree with the concept. Oh how power influences... We can't believe that there are just 4 teaching months left in our first year. We are certainly busy, but this new world for us is, at least a little bit, more comfortable now. I must admit my frustration however; the standardized test mania that my students and I have been enduring is outrageous. I feel that I can now confidently testify that the art of teaching resides under a heavy dictatorship of scores, accreditation, and performance which measures nothing in the realm of critical thinking, the love of literature, or ways to be practically successful in the world! Even Caesar might have objected!
We've been having some fun lately, which was largely due to some wonderful visits from some wonderful people including my mama one weekend and Danielle and her sweet pea Andy the next. What a pleasure it was to have such dear guests grace us with their presence! We went to Jamestown, the original settlement that was established 400 years ago, with my mom. The picture is a statue of Pocahontis that was erected there. It was so great to have good friends and family around. Thank you for you; we miss you very much and are so grateful to have you in our lives.
We've been out mountain biking and have had some amazingly warm days. Virginia is gorgeous! We are now trying to figure out our summer plans and I think something abroad may be in store for us again. We are itching for a good trip. I'll let you know what we decide, because weighing our options this time has proven difficult. There are just so many fascinating places to see...and of course the price of a plane ticket makes an immeasurable difference too.
Damien is turning 30 on March 30th! Certainly it will be a celebration of sorts. Another orbit around the sun. We are thankful for every beautiful day of our lives, which are accented with challenges, 5:30 am alarms, police presence at school, the reality that success depends on the circumstances of what situation you are born into, moments of unexplainable beauty and compassion, and of course, without exception, the amount of love that we can bear to give which seems to exponentially come back at us in disguise.

The Many Faces of the James

2007-02-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

This is the foggy, gray, and contemplation-inducing side of the James' personality. Damien sits in this very spot almost every day on his way home from work. I think his peaceful outlook is enhanced through his relationships with nature.

We had a fantastic weekend in West Virginia with the Lisowski brothers. We had Jimmy's cabin which is perched on top of a mountain and overlooks a breathtaking valley full of trees. We spent our days hiking, exploring, biking, eating, reading, and making various paper mache birds for Chris' art show, which we hear was a great success in Pittsburgh!

We also went snowboarding on a 50 degree sunny day in the Blue Ridge mountains last weekend. And this weekend we went mountain biking at Pochahontas State Park. Being outside in the winter here is less frigid, and the temperatures certainly make it easier to enjoy the outdoors.

Teaching is going well for us. It is utterly exhausting, both physically and mentally, and it's rewarding beyond explanation. We typically work either at school or at home on school stuff, on average, for 12-14 hours a day. I constantly feel overwhelmed, but I also feel nourished in a way I have never experienced before. The high schools here are a bit insane and totally stressful, but they are also a source of joy for us. Sometimes I forget who I am during the week, and on Saturdays I breathe in the world and notice things like clouds and can actually here my inner voice saying, "hey!" I'm still searching for the right balance.

Well enough of that. The Superbowl is this evening and I'm rooting for the Patriots! Go New England! Bwa ha ha...

My Beautiful Dining Room Table

2007-01-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well, our beautiful dining room table of course. Our apartment has been graced by the workmanship of an extraordinarily talented woodworker. His name is Norman Johnson and he is Damien's amazing Grandpa. He has given us a gift that will be cherished by our family for the rest of our lives, and likely longer than that too. This is a big thank you to him and Ozzie (D's Grandma), who worked so hard and so carefully to give us a table made out of equal parts Red Oak, love, and fine skill. Thank you also to our parents who both splurged and bought us gorgeous matching chairs, which were stained by Norm to go with the table. Lastly, we now have a beautiful set of place mats & napkins to compliment our stunning dining room (the perfect x-mas present, thank you n&o). Here's to many meals remembering your kindness and elegant talent- we are honored. P.S. And of course thank you David and Tully for driving all the way to Virginia to deliver the goods! What a pleasure to have you here...

A Low Carbon Emissions New Year

2007-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

We both had the typical resolutions in mind: more exercise, worry less etc., but ultimately, Damien and I have resolved to try and reduce our personal carbon emissions this year. We hope that perhaps you will, or already have, embarked on the same path to attempt to be a part of the movement to curb the urgent climate crisis. If you have any questions, watch Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, or National Geographic's State of the Earth (thanks Klug!) You can stream 5 excerpts of this film at www.nationalgeographic.com. It's interesting to see your own impact on the state of the earth: calculate your footprint in terms of your carbon emissions at this website: http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

or at this website:

http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm

There cannot be anything possibly more important than this. But, as you may already know, there's hope if we all work together. Wanna know some simple changes that can help? Go to: http://www.nativeenergy.com/more_you_can_do.html#1 Let's be guardians of the very near future.

I Heart New York

2007-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Aww shucks. 12 beautiful days in Buffalo. We spent our time with our friends and families, (once again the Schlaffs and Johnsons were together for another unforgettable Schlonson experience). We gathered from all the corners of the country, we cooked, we hiked in the Niagara River Gorge, we went to Jamestown, we played lots of music, we spoiled each other, we learned how to recover a hard drive, we took care of Trevor the Wonderdog, we read books, we crocheted, we ached with laughter, we smelled the earthy aroma of Norm's woodworking studio, we watched Rudolph with three little boys in pajamas awaiting Santa, we ate ice cream for breakfast for our first snowfall this year (which certainly wasn't Buffalo's first), we held Pete & Alie's new baby, we painted ornaments, we danced to Babik in a crowded bar, we stayed up until 4 in the morning, we ate chicken wings, we threw parties, we went to other peoples parties, we were caroled to, we cheered for the Sabres, we were thankful, we saw Fred Slacks play, we made cookies, we hopped around waterfalls at Chestnut Ridge, we told stories, we were cold, we were cozy, we felt so lucky. Thanks everybody! We miss you!

Crazy Old Massachusetts

2006-11-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

I was debating whether or not to stop this whole blogging nonsense. I thought that since no one left any comments on it anymore, no one was reading it. But, I was pulled back in (easily I have to admit) after my trip home to find out that people were reading it after all. So my mute friends and family, here's the next chapter, and please don't shy away from cyber-dialogue (it helps me to know somebody is out there).
We are well into the second quarter at school. It's still crazy, but we've become one with the chaos. Fights, lock-downs, fires, and run-on-sentences made up entirely of four letter words are just companions to the roots of education. My writing students are in the midst of researching strong leadership figures, and they truly have some wisdom and insight to what makes up a just world. Still, I can't help but cringe as I realize how they, like many teens, so easily buy into what's fed to them by the media. I guess it has to do with them being so image-conscious and so connected to pop-icons (we all remember identifying with our musical idols and Hollywood heartthobs). Luckily by nature they question and object to everything(at least that I say or do), and certainly this must be the basis of a critical consciousness. I hope they can eventually direct it toward their media literacy, because their icons seem to glorify violence to no end.
Thanksgiving in Massachusetts was wild and wonderful. We had an awesome people watching experience in the JFK airport during our 4 hour delay on the way home. We saw my parents who are amazing, and my elderly dog Trevor who is still so cute and stinky. The whole Johnson clan came too; from Buffalo and Boston which was entirely wonderful. The crew on Thanksgiving day was huge with family & friends from Colorado, New York, Michigan (a surprise to boot!) Boston, Northampton, & Agawam. It was totally sumptuous and topped off with a musical smorgasborg (how do you spell that?)- all were involved until late in the evening. I got to hang out with my homies whom I miss so dearly. I saw my friends Tracy & Ben get married on Friday, which was beautiful. We visited my Grandma & Grandpa on Saturday in New York, and then attended my 10 year H.S. reunion on Sat. night! I saw about a million old friendly faces in way too small a time period. Now we are back down here, feeling a little alone, a lot busy, and very thankful.

Damien & Nepali Paper

2006-11-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Give Damien some handmade paper and you wouldn't believe the beautiful things he might do. Right now he's working on a trio of Shakespeare's ladies: Ophelia, Juliet, and Desdemona, which is who you see here.

The leaves are peaking only now down here, and we took a fun day trip down to historical Williamsburg yesterday.
It was a gorgeous, colonial town; picture-perfect and a little too touristy, but we enjoyed the outing back in time. There were some giant trees there, certainly around well before those white settlers came and set up camp.

The nights have been cold and the days are crisp and sunny, and teaching is a whirlwind. On the weekends I blink slowly and remember the world again.

Kayaking the James River

2006-10-29T14:41:00.000-08:00

We spent a beautiful fall day on the river Saturday. It alternated from flat water to some pretty good sized rapids. Our states were peaceful, exhilarated, peaceful, exhilarated. It was all big clouds and falling leaves.

Saturday in the Swamp

2006-10-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is a Bald Cypress swamp whose tree limbs are draped in Spanish Moss, and whose knobby "knees" stick out of the water all around them. Those "knees" are actually a part of the Cypress' root system, not the remnants of dead trees. It was a beautiful forest with a fairy tale ambiance. After exploring this area, we went across the road and wound up on a long stretch of beach which overlooked where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic.

Nearing The End of Week 7

2006-10-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Time is passing by, and it's measured in chapters of The Outsiders, and stages in the essay writing process. It's measured in the times I erase the date each afternoon and scribble tomorrow's with a chalky screech. Things are going well, and teaching is like what I imagine hang gliding might be like: exciting, nerve racking, and even beautiful when you get the nerve to relax the muscles around your squeezed eyes and take a look at the breathtaking scenery. And that's about the same moment that you realize you're a vulnerable land-mammal plausibly about to fall furiously like an anvil. But somehow you don't, even though it might feel like you will, and your heart breaks a thousand times in a second because it's so overwhelmed with everything.
Pictures of Biggie Smalls and 2Pac are taped to my wall as onlookers and game pieces if needed. They are not only a testament to my students that I am indeed not only hip to their musical legends, but I am also a hell of a lot older than they think I am, because I could actually drive when those two were still alive. This is a good thing when they say "Ms. S., welcome to the ghetto," and I smile and say, "you should see India."
I have learned so much already.
Virginia is beautiful; fall is gentle here. We mourn the loss of all those centry-old trees in Buffalo. Tully was still out of power when we talked to him on Tuesday! We are always thinking of our loved ones and you give us strength and a deep sense of gratefulness. Mom came for a long weekend and it was so wonderful and so grounding....
We'd love to hear from you all so leave a comment or drop us an email! Love E & D

Teachers should be Gajillionaires

2006-09-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

I must say I've worked harder in the past two weeks than any effort I can clearly remember, although perhaps my memory is being replaced with the methodical plunking on the keyboard of lesson plans, which is the ouija board of my future. The actual school part is a whirlwind of madness; I'm throwing out all my education and resorting to any tactic possible to restore even a sliver of control, to find a needle in the mountains of paperwork, and every now and then, it works. And even though I dream constantly of school, like about a giant pencil sharpener solving all of our problems, I awake to find real, grinning teachers telling me the first year is always the hardest. I pleasantly thank them and wonder what in the world was I thinking? But after two weeks of really hard days, I'm finding that I'm actually growing to like the kids. This positive connection is quite contrary to what I thought possible in those first days which felt like light years, and I'm half dreading and half curious to see what the third week will bring.

Kayaking the Spine of VA Beach

2006-08-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of our last couple of weekdays off and drove east to the ocean. Damien had researched a remote place to camp in the state park on Virginia Beach called False Cape, with no vehicle access. The choice was to either walk 6.5 miles to the site, or our favorite, kayak 9 miles to the site. We kayaked on Back Bay, following the shoreline which so narrowly separated us from the open ocean. The day we started the waves were raging, so we were thankful to be on the calmer yet still wavy side, with, fortunately, the wind at our backs. We made it there in about 3 hours and were astonished by the beauty we found there. We camped under an ancient Live Oak, which do not grow up north, and walked less than a mile to the ocean side to play on the beach. Not a soul was around. It was amazing. It rained a bit, but it was nice. In the morning the bay was still and glassy like you see in the picture. We had a calm paddle back, though we still can feel all those miles in our shoulders and traps. We were so hot when we got back to the car we decided to take another dip on the ocean side at a public beach, which was fun, until I started feeling all these sharp little stings on the inside of my suit. I found that about a billion little sand-sized critters had gotten stuck in there and were pinching me. It took a long time for me to remove every last one, and it certainly cut my swim short. I haven't been able to identify them yet but they were kind of like a tiny spider crossed with a tiny shrimp the color of sand with eyes that were black but looked green in the light.

Anachronistic Entry

2006-08-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

I meant to put this pic on a while back- this is up in Canada (Mud) when David and I flipped the catamaran and I never got wet-kinda like running on a log. We were helped back into upright position by some local friends. We then proceeded to have one of the most exhilirating rides ever in the very windy afternoon. Thanks David -what a time!

Making Richmond Home

2006-08-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Well y'all (ha ha not yet), here we are in Richmond, Virginia. We are really enjoying it so far and are starting our pre-service training on the 21st of Aug, and the kids come back to school on Sept 5th. Here are a couple of pictures- our backyard, front porch, and a spot in Shenandoah National Park, which we hiked around in yesterday. I'll post some of the interior of our apt as soon as we finish hanging up our art. We moved in during that incredible heat wave. Dante surely would have designated the inside of our Penske truck a whole new level in Inferno, wherein those who collected too much stuff during their lifetimes would be tortured accordingly.
Fortunately, my parents drove all the way down here to help us get settled and it was a wonderful time. Happy Birthday To You Mom! Today's her day. Anyhow, we started exploring the city with them and were sad to see them go. Richmond is full of pleasant surprises, and our neighborhood is really historical and hip, boasting lots of cool restaurants, cafes, old churches, an Edgar Allen Poe Museum, cobblestone streets, and even a quirky farmer's market that looks like a flea market on Saturdays. We live atop the steepest hill and riding our bikes up it in the heat has been something to celebrate every time. The James River is right here, flowing east through the city and there are many rocks to sunbathe and play on, and lots of swimmers, kayakers, and rafters are seen floating around in the mid-day humidity. The water is so warm it's borderline refreshing. We've been out kayaking once and saw a lot of bird and animal life. The southern lifestyle has been easy to fall into; everyone is pretty laid back and very friendly. It is a southern rule to leave your porch light on all night, and the meat department at the grocery store reminds me more of Asia than anything: chicken necks and feet, pig hooves, gizzards and various glands. And no Frank's Red Hot, but many other spicy concoctions are to be had for sure. Damien bought a car- a 2003 black Ford Focus Hatchback that gets 37 miles to the gallon! That really beats my trusty purple robot. We hope for some more visitors soon! Ahem... I think we're heading out to the beach tomorrow (this piece of info is meant for enticing). I'll keep this blog updated. We miss you!

Guess Where This Is

2006-07-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Nope, you're wrong. It's Michigan! Damien and I were surprised to find ourselves in what felt like another country, but what was actually Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. We spent our time there running down giant sand dunes (and plodding slowly back up them), snorkling in the gorgeous blues, and camping in a lush forest. An insane storm came in one night and the whole area lost power, which was still without watts when we left. We extended a trip to Michigan to celebrate my cousin Mike who sadly passed away two years ago. We stayed up until 4 am with my mom and my cousins and my aunts & uncles catching up and having fun around a bonfire.....then in the morning it was blaring Polish music and people drinking more beer, the sign of a party with stamina. Thanks to my totally rad family, to a state with a lot of hidden secrets, and thanks to another beautiful memory in my cousin Mike's name.

fish

2006-07-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

the fish thought our snorkles worthy of inspection.

July 4th

2006-07-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

This year I had the best view of fireworks I've ever had. The water mirrored the sky's fleeting ornaments while the heart-stopping booms traveled over the surface and a million tiny lights rained down over our enamored heads. After the show was over we saw fireworks down the river further and I said that must be in Canada. It took a minute to realize that was impossible considering July 4th celebrates independence for the United States. Brilliant as a firework.

Richmond or Bust

2006-06-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

We have finally decided upon, or it was decided for us (various factors fit together, some that we had control over and others that were precariously and blatantly out of our powers, proving that the universe works in unexplainable but wise ways and thankfully, I have learned the valuable lesson that stressing out gets one nowhere but deeper into a frenzy which was wholly unnecessary because it always works out in the end, etcetera, etcetera) on our next destination (this was my point, drumroll please): Richmond, VA. With two jobs in two high schools, a new mountain bike, and the sum of all our experiences, we head for the South as official English Teachers.
All we know is that there is whitewater kayaking right in downtown Richmond, and with that thought we rest a little easier, knowing we will at least become better paddlers in the rapids. And of course we now have the chance to have our own classrooms full of young people who's greatest chance for life success depends on what skills they learn and how they view the world. My goal is to foster compassion and critical thought.
Buffalo has been especially beautiful lately. This is due to the glorious spring we are having, and also that it is being viewed through departing eyes. My parents in-law just moved into a house around the corner, and it's been so wonderful to see them so often. We went to Pine Lot last weekend when my parents came to visit (miss them!) and we saw a huge bear running through a field. He stood up on his hind legs which showed his impressive height and a belly I wished I could touch. We all went to the Allentown Art Festival too, which was full of some great art as you might imagine.
Buffalo went through a time of hockey mania recently, when the Sabres fought it out to game 7 in the semi finals of the Stanley Cup. They lost eventually to N. Carolina. It was a treat to see Doug Janik, one great player who I went to high school with in Agawam, playing for Buffalo, and even scoring a goal! After they lost this city seemed a little unsure as to what to do with itself. But since then things are back to normal, and there are farmer's markets, glasses of wine on cafe patios, bike riders of every sort, flowers galore, rests in the grassy city parks, dogs catching each other's aromas on soft breezes, music festivals, camping expeditions, gay pride parades, barbecues, friends, and a plethora of gatherings. Buffalo: nestled in between two great lakes, on the gorge that divides the US and Canada, a place where no buffalo ever roamed, and where the Niagara just keeps raging and raging.

Spanish Moss

2006-04-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Savannah! We went there briefly on Spring break along with W. Virginia and Virginia. A whirlwind tour full of beauty. And alligators. Dolphins slapping their tails just off of the beach too! We're done student teaching in 2 weeks and are now assessing our future plans. I've added another link to the 7th grade blog I made where my current students published their poetry. It's similar to the high school blog link that is also there.
We have an interesting neighbor across the street. For the past year he has been tallying up the American dead in Iraq on large posters stapled to his fence. It's eerie walking out of our apartment every morning to see the numbers increasing like an odometer. I remember when it hit the 1,000 mark some time ago. Today it says 2,390.

Canopy Tour

2006-04-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

We have a new sport/hobby. Tree climbing! All it takes is a fairly simple getup of ropes and harnessess. And good knots of course. And a sling shot or a sock filled with enough pennies that it could kill you coming down the other side of the branch. It is a surprisingly vigorous workout, and once suspended in the trees it is quiet and you sway with the wind. Here are some pictures of Damien and his view from up above as we hiked with friends Bob Bill Kortni Bella and Blinker at the Eternal Flame south of Buffalo.

This blog needs some color

2006-03-19T14:25:00.001-08:00

The orchid show at the botanical gardens. They really are fascinating plant-like creatures.

An insect tale

2006-03-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

We took a walk around Buckhorn state park yesterday. I felt like a tiny insect in the reed-like plants all around me, which were forming uncommon angles in the wind and slicing up the scenery like venetian blinds. It was all golds, reds and grays. We saw a field full of fat Robins, and in the woods there were a few Red-Bellied Woodpeckers flying around us. Big pieces of ice floating down the Niagara. We are now student teaching at our second placement, which is going well so far. Click on the link to the right entitled English Class Page to see a blog I made for the high school I taught at. Students showcased their poetry on it based on the Holocaust, the topic of our unit. There are also a couple of pictures. Tomorrow is Spring and we woke up to big fat snowflakes falling down this morning.

Winter Kayaking Cruise

2006-02-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

perspectives

2006-02-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is an ice formation formed in the smooth hollows of the raging Niagara whose pools collect water which turns to ice and is picked up by a hiker (Bob Klug), placed to balance upright in a crack and peered through so that it frames the gorge.

Big Trees & No Keys

2006-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

How we spent the last few days before student teaching starts (tomorrow!): we discovered a small patch of old growth trees right here in the Niagara region of New York. It was 10 acres of towering Red Oaks and other various giants. Then on the other side of the river (Canada), we hiked in a magical mossy forest to find tall Tulip trees, fat hemlocks and old Cedars. Beautiful. All was successful besides when I fell off a rock, bloodied up my knee and tore my pants. We had a lovely glass of local wine in the quaint Niagara on the Lake and saw some Oldsqaws swimming on the surface of Lake Ontario under a full moon. Our friend Chris Lisowski came up from Pittsburgh for the weekend, whom we relaxed with. He brought us a new piece of art he made. Then he went back to Pittsburgh with my car keys in his pocket. Above is a picture of a tall Red Oak and one of the culprit and our new print. Luckily, our friend Tara let us borrow her car as she and Storms went off to Italy. We'll still make it to our first day of teaching tomorrow.

Adios 2005

2006-01-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

See ya. It was a good year, I'll spare the recap of all 365 days, but I'll look back on it with very fond memories. We spent our Christmas in Massachusetts and then headed up to New Hampshire for some much needed time in nature and to ring in the New Year with some excellent friends. We snowshoed in the Great Gulf Wilderness area (one of our favorite White Mountain spots) next to the Peabody River and found excellent views of Mount Washington and Mount Madison. We also explored the old Cedar forests around Christine Lake and the area around the hypnotic Crystal Falls. All day on New Years Eve day Damien was perfroming beautiful 360s on his snowboard off of a jump he had built in the backyard. Later, with a half hour left until the new year, he went out to celebrate 2006 on a sled, hit that very same jump on his belly and broke a rib (or 2, we're not sure). Sadly, he missed snowboarding the next day at Sunday River. Fortunatley, he is finally starting to heal up, but if you see him, resist the Python hugs.
Yesterday we went to the Body Worlds exhibit in Toronto, and you haven't heard of it, check this out: http://www.bodyworlds.com/ Wow. Also had a good Ethiopian lunch. Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

After finishing all of our classes, we have been spending our time snowshoeing, snowboarding, enjoying our friends, throwing parties, reading, watching movies, cooking, practicing our ninja moves and other things necessary for getting ready for Christmas. Damien has been painting up a storm (see above!) We're driving to Massachusetts tomorrow for the festivities. Hope your holdiay season is peaceful.

I'll Pay You 5$ to Write My Reseach Paper

2005-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

Links

2005-11-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

About the two links to the right: Joshua Bienko and Grace Spivak. Two amazing friends of mine. You can just click on thier name and it will take you directly to their blogs. Josh is in a graduate fine art program in Georgia. You can check out some of his amazing work on his blog (not to mention the wonderful pictures of his sweetpea baby Harper and his lovely wife Maryjo)! Grace is a friend that we made while we were studying in Prague, Czech Republic for our TEFL certification. Similar to when we taught English in Taiwan, Grace is teaching English in Korea. Her blog is full of stories, adventures, and cultural experiences that are truly unique. I hope you get a chance to check out these web pages. Ciao!

Snow in Buffalo

2005-11-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well it officially snowed last night here in Buffalo. There is a fine coating of white all over everything this morning. The day before it was 65 degrees! Damien and I celebrated by eating ice cream for breakfast today (it's a tradition for the first snow) and we were out frolicking under the streetlamps last night.
We have only one month left of classes for the semester, so we are really going crazy getting all of our work done, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have both been observing and doing a little bit of teaching at an urban school here in Buffalo. It's pretty wild, but we are really enjoying it. Student teaching in January.
Sadly, my uncle Crit passed away last month. He was only 48. I'd like to dedicate a poem by e. e. cummings to him and to my family who will miss him very much.

2

to stand (alone) in some

autumnal afternoon:
breathing a fatal
stillness; while

enormous this how

patient creature (who's
never by never robbed of
day) puts always on by always

dream,is to

taste
not(beyond
death and

life)imaginable mysteries

2005-10-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

recap of Bazoinker Ball

2005-10-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

The gypsy & the sailor

1st Halloween

2005-10-31T19:08:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of taking our Nepali friend Ajay to Rhubarb's Bazoinker Ball for his 1st Halloween. Needless to say it was a wild evening, and I think his perception of the United States has some storm troopers, fairies and bloody goblins written into it. Not to mention Rex-quan-doe. And lots of loud music and chicken wings of course. I assured him that his hunter costume was certainly not the weirdest one there. I look forward to Thanksgiving where Ajay will see just how much us fatties can shove into our gluttonous mouths! Also, one night this weekend Damien and I rented the new Aminityville Horror which was so scary that we had to take a break in the middle of it, turn on the lights, and have a conversation about regular things before we could continue watching (with the lights on)! Recently we saw poet John Ashberry read and then answer questions. He told us he was a pretty funny guy and he was too. I'm preparing a unit plan on the Harlem Renaissance and reading poetry from Langston Hughes again, and for the first time I'm really reading Countee Cullen. Once you get into the language and imagine Duke Ellington's jazz bustin out of clubs like the Cotton Club and W.E.B. Dubois talking about the souls of black people and progress and equality and all that art by folks like Aaron Douglas and Augusta Savage, and you listen to those lonely lines of poetry, those little threads connecting us to a wild time in the past, you're like, well, damn.

Pennsylvania

2005-10-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Damien and I and Bella the Puerto Rican dog drove down to Pine Lot Camp this past weekend for a romantic getaway and a quiet place to study. We took some nice walks in the brilliant colors of autumn, Damien cooked up a gourmet meal, we drank a bottle of wine that was a gift from our wedding, and kept warm in front of the wood burning stove. Best place to study on earth.

2005-10-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

A little music session around the wood burning stove at Pine Lot Camp

Massachusetts

2005-10-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

We've had a couple of nice weekends lately. Went to Massachusetts for a last minute relaxing getaway. Saw lots of great people, witnessed a flood of the Connecticut river valley, played lots of music, and enjoyed my family and friends immensely. It was nice not to be studying when I should have been. Went too fast of course!

2005-10-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

"Flood Kayaking"

2005-10-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Autumn in Arcadia

2005-10-17T11:57:00.001-07:00

Eating the top of our wedding cake (there's that face again)

2005-10-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Rockin out in the playroom

2005-10-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Partying in good ol' Northampton

Poetry and Composition

2005-10-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a poem I wrote for my class ENG 692 The Teaching of Writing. We had to respond creatively to an essay by a woman named Brooke Horvath which investigated issues of responding and assessing students writing. It was a strange topic for me to write a poem on for sure, and I have never responded to a critical essay in verse. Don't know if it will be too esoteric. Give it a go.

To the heavy clouds of marginalia remarks
(bleed your rain-thoughts off of the page)

Seep back into the earth and remind us we are listeners,
the students suspended between what has been spoken
and what utterances are patiently awaiting their life.
We are the audience of the planet’s ongoing processes,
and are made up of a sequence of objectives,
(carbon chain, DNA) written all over ourselves step by step.
Paper is thin, vulnerable to the elements,
even from which it comes, wood and water.

Paper lets light through:
add ink and voice and our errors are a beautiful
part of it all, the age rings of wisdom growing.
We are finding the text in ourselves, making patterns
with our ideas, and redesigning our language
time after time.
Those voices are drawn in blacks and blues,
our tiny signatures ensuring our existence
which is evaluated, examined and experienced;
those roles must be ever changing.

Catching droplets of comments, we feel the weight
of them in our hands, and throw them back at the sky.
We are transcending the context in which they had
first appeared to us, and watching them in new angles,
they land back on earth in different shapes.

Urban Kayaking

2005-10-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

We decided to blend our city setting with one of our favorite hobbies today. It turned out to be quite a wonderful experience: Paddling under freeways and various towers, we passed old granaries and the forgotten factories of an era gone (although the General Mills factory is still belting out the aroma of cookies over the whole area). We kayaked between a huge old battleship and a submarine to the surprise of tourist operators watching us from the decks. It was a little intimidating being next to those huge lunkers, but exciting as well. There were many water fowl who have made their homes here in this strange urban land/waterscape. Here are some pictures of this day trip from Lake Erie into the Buffalo River.

2005-10-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

The sun comes through

2005-10-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

Under the bridge to an abandoned factory

2005-10-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Paddling between the submarine and the battleship

2005-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Red and June at our wedding last year.

A tribute to Red Garfield

2005-09-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Damien, Tully & Luke's grampa Red Garfield passed away peacefully at David & Patty's home early Sunday morning. He died under a full moon & he was 91 years old. Being composed of ancient stardust, we are all made up of each other and the universe, and Red will live forever within his children, grandchildren, and theirs and theirs. He will be missed by his loving family.

2005-09-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm soo happy.

Rich Coast: Costa Rica

2005-09-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun in Costa Rica. Wildlife galore. In the tradition of my husband Damien, the listmaker, aka comma boy, I have made a list of the wildlife we saw there.

Green Sea Turtles (laying her eggs!)
Crocodiles
Caymans
Armadillos
2 & 3 toed sloths
Howler monkeys
Capuchian monkeys
Pizotes
Scarlet Macaws (and too many other birds to list including toucans and jungle chickens ha ha)
Eyelash pit vipers
Iguanas
Jesus Christ Lizards
Deer
Eagle Ray (and too many fish to list)
Ginormous Spiders
Leaf Cutter Ants
Poison dart frog
Bill/Kortni/Damien

I don't know how I got here

2005-09-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've been on 2 blog pages in my life-those belonged to my friends who I assumed were superior in "computer" than I. Suddenly, here I am. I thought I was responding to a comment on my friend's page. Ah behold, look what the cyber-universe has in store for me. I was the last to get a cell phone too. Can I delete this crap when I want to?