Window slammed shut

Law program decided to increase their already expensive tuition by 25% and not post it until I received the bill.  They apologized and I withdrew.  End of story.

Chocolate Cake

Baked and Photographed today.

Which of These Things is Not Like the Others

Survived the first day at school.  Much of the class is young, eager, and wore flip flops.  Let's just say I stood out in my black dress pants, button down shirt, and closed toe shoes.  The interesting part is that about a third of the class is not from the U.S. so it makes for some expressive and divurgent political discussions about the creation and enforcement of international law. 

I survivied my first law class in fourteen years - Whoooosssssshhhhhhh (giant exhale!).

You People Are Good

Remember a couple of posts back, I wrote there had been an opportunity to leave Mouseland that we turned down because it required moving every two to four years which we decided was too much to ask of our kids.  The responses to that post were along the line of a door closed, a window opens.  So last week I receive an email that appears to have nudged open a window.  No, we are not leaving here, but it is an opportunity.  This fall, on a lark, I applied to a program for an advanced degree in international law.  It is a one year program if done full time.  I really never thought I'd get in, but I guess the university didn't look to hard at my transcript because I have been accepted and I start tomorrow.  Not only did the university agree I could enter the program, they agreed that I could do it part time.  So I have managed to schedule two classes around my kids schedule so as not to disturb their universe. Plus the unversity has summer classes (namely the equivalent of thesis writing during the summer).  It is possible that I could be half-way through the program by August.  We are still going to keep looking to leave Mouseland, but in the meantime this gives me the opportunity to learn a new area of law and increase my marketability for when I am ready to return to work (and I can see that day coming as Hew finishes Kindergarten this year!).  And for now I can still pick the kids up from school except twice a month so the impact is pretty limited.  No it is not immediate gratification and I don't get to pack the boxes yet, but still - an open window of opportunity.  Although I admit to being terrified as law school was a horrendous nightmare for me and I have now volunteered to return to it for 24 more credits.

And on an unrelated note, the freeze has left Florida leaving behind a trail of dead citrus and tropical fish, but I still loved it.  It was cold and the grass is dead and the kids wore jackets to school  - and it is so over.  But for now, I have my roses to remind me that even in hell it does freeze over once in awhile.

Just another day

Yesterday, after a bike ride, I began working on these

. . . sanding off the old paint, putting on the new paint, so that this weekend I can paint the walls. Then I made . . .

. . . Julia Child's French Onion Soup as it is still cold here. I follwed the recipe exactly and the only change I would make is to leave out the salt as the stock had plenty without adding extra. But even so, it was divine with . . .

. . . the two loaves of French Bread I made that morning.

I even attempted to make my own mozerella from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll, but discovered that milk that says pasturized here is really ultra pasturized thus killing off the stuff needed to make the cheese and turning my mozerella attempt into some mushy yuck. Sorry no pictures of that mess.

Today it is German homework, my favorite italian meat sauce, and clean the house as my parents are arriving here after driving 1500+ miles for warmer weather.  I guess visiting wth their grandchildren will have to do as the warm weather  doesn't appear to arriving anytime soon.

Happy Friday!

The Path Not Taken

For a bit now, we have been contemplating a new opportunity.  I always thought that once the opportunity came we'd know exactly what to do - run for the border of Mouseland and never look back.  However, this opportunity comes with a condition that has made us pause in our mad dash to leave.  The new opportunity would require us to move every few years - sometimes nationally and sometimes internationally.  We would have limited input in the locations and some of the potential locations are still "developing".   For Hubby and me, the idea of paid travel every few years sounds like a fun adventure, but it's not just us.  Taking this opportunity means that our children would have to move a lot.  When we inquired about stayng in one location for six years so the kids could start and finish high school in one place (btw - six years because they are two years apart, not because they will need six years to graduate), the answer was resoundingly negative.  We could probably have four years, but not six.

We have tried making the list of positive and negative aspects.  While this opportunity would definately be interesting and challenging, the financial benefits are not any greater then our current situation.  And while we might find living in a developing nation interesting, I don't think our children will see it the same way, especially when they will settle in only to have to start over every two to four years.  And how will I feel when the education choices for them are "limited"?  I think we know the right answer for us and our family, but sacrificing an interesting path doesn't come easy when we have been looking to leave here for so long.  Sometimes I hate being a grown up.

p.s.  Thanks for the encouragement.  After I wrote this, I went for a run and on the last hill (well, the only hill really - afterall this is Florida!) the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" came on my ipod.  I just had to laugh.  While I love the Rolling Stone version of the song, my new favorite is the Glee version of it.

Winter

I may wish that Florida looks like this, but I'll have to settle for some cold weather here.  A week of lows in the 30s.  Now if it would just snow . . .

Photos taken in Vail, Colorado

December 2009

Thank You Santa!

Maine December 2009

I really think that I'm going to enjoy learning Photoshop!

The First Moon

Just a moment to reflect on the year that has passed. To remember the new places we've visited, the new memories we've made, the new dreams we've imagined.

Just a moment to remember those we have lost and the love we've let go.

Just a moment to say goodbye to one year before welcoming in another. 

Just one more moment . . .

Welcome Winter!

Taken December 19, 2009
Vail, Colorado

Drama, Drama, Drama - It Must Be Thanksgiving

Somehow I thought that this year would be the year we were finally past the drama that accompanies hosting Thanksgiving for PH's family. For nearly ten years, we've sent out the invitations and included everyone - PH's siblings, his mother, his father and his father's fourth wife, the step/adopted children from marriages two, three, and four (wives two and three are dead) . Sure there's been the occasional snide remark that left me and my favorite adopted sister-in-law in the kitchen downing a glass of wine while we commiserated on how we ended up as part of this motley group. And there's been a few years of rule setting, such as if you bring a convicted felon to the meal he's not to be left alone with the kids, no the Rottweiler is not invited, and if the invitation says 1:00 PM, I am not recooking and serving another meal at 6:30 PM. I have also come to realize that except for favorite adopted sister-in-law, no one will bring anything nor will they help clean up; I can hint or outright ask but there will be no response except from adopted sister-in-law and my Grandmother. I have learned to accept all this, but none of that prepared me for this year.

First, some background - my childhood memories of Thanksgiving include a meal with my Dad's large family at my Grandmothers farm. While everyone helped there, my Grandmother always hosted the meal and she made sure to include something that each grandchild liked. I have had the privilege the past few years of cooking this meal for my Grandparents who escaped the northern cold and wintered here. Sadly my Grandmother died this year in April and my Grandfather is not well enough to travel to Florida. At my Grandmother's funeral, I spoke about how difficult Thanksgiving would be this year without my Grandmother there. Now here's the important part*******I told PH's mother (MIL) this in mid-October and said I would be doing our traditional Thanksgiving. I explained how much it meant to me to carry on my Grandmother's tradition of hosting Thanksgiving. MIL never said a thing during this conversation.

Now fast forward to Halloween and what do I find in my email box, but an announcement that MIL is hosting Thanksgiving this year at her new rental home. Obviously, her ex-husband (FIL) and his various adopted/step children and current wife are not invited. And of course, my other Grandmother and my Aunt and Uncle who come to my home are also not invited. PH (and this is one of the times that he earns his name Perfect Husband) immediately emails back MIL that other family is expecting to come to our house as they have done for nearly ten years and that he is sorry but we will not be coming to her house. Then there are conversations with PH's siblings where we tell them that we understand the predicament they are in. Obviously we will not be upset with them for going to MIL's house, but obviously MIL will be furious if they come here. So one sibling will be here and the other three will be with MIL. Here's the other kicker - this holiday has been the one time all year that PH, his siblings, and their children all get together. So while MIL always laments the fact that her grandchildren are never together she has managed to destroy the one time during the year they do see each other.

So preparations are underway for our smaller Thanksgiving (still 15 people!). I'd like to say PH and I are over MIL's behavior, but we're not. I keep trying to remind myself that my own children will learn from my actions and if I cut MIL out totally, the kids will learn this is acceptable. So for now, I am going back to cooking and teaching my children the joy of preparing and sharing a meal that includes the yeast rolls my Grandmother loved and the pumpkin bread recipe from my Mother.

Disapointed

Yesterday morning the results for elections were in. The voters in my childhood home of Maine decided to repeal legislation that allowed for same sex marriage. Whatever your view on homosexuality, denying a person the ability to marry is unfair and as marriage is regulated by the government, a denial of equal protection in this country. Yesterday's Facebook comments prompted an on-line discussion among my childhood friends - those who are openly gay and those who are deeply religious. One friend who would describe himself as right wing and religious said that if "they" would just agree to civil unions and not use the word "marriage" then he could live with it. It was the use of the word "marriage" that was too great for him to bear, and civil unions would provide the legal protections that are necessary.

But what is a marriage? Isn't a marriage more than just legal protections. Yes, marriage allows for insurance, estate, and financial protections. But most people enter marriage for deeply personal reasons and many enter a marriage with deep affection for the person they are marrying. Marriage is a way of declaring a commitment to a single person. I understand that for many there is a religious significance to marriage, but there are a good number of heterosexual couples who marry without any religious implication in their ceremony. Are they any less married?

I have friends who are married. They had a ceremony to announce their commitment to one another; they share the responsibility of a home, they work to support one another, they have made wills that leave their estate to the other, they travel together, have family holidays, fight over mowing the yard, pay bills, and in all things, share a life. Their separation would be considered shocking and a "divorce" would have to occur so entwined are their lives. Is there relationship any less of a marriages because they are two men? Denying them the term marriage is choosing form over substance, and is unfair and wrong. And while I understand that not everyone is comfortable with homosexuality, I actually thought that Maine would recognize equal protection.

****now climbing down off high horse, but still deeply saddened . . .

Let's Run Away . . .

Better Late Than Never

The October 2009 Daring Baker challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.


I have to admit that I failed this month. I just couldn't seem to get it together - was it the heat that kept turning the meringue to liquid, the ground hazelnut flour (what a pain that is to make), the overly sweet coffee icing? The result was not a macaron, but a flat, not so good cookie; or as my kids said, "It's okay but not very good." Seriously, that is how bad it was - the kids turned down cookies. To see how it should be done, visit the other Daring Bakers and maybe by next month I have my baking mojo back (or at least it might be cooler).

Travel Suggestions

I am in need of some travel suggestions for the spring. Well, really I need to narrow down all of the places I want to go and pick one (or maybe two!) places. The parameters of this challenge: ten or so days late March/early April includes Easter weekend but not traveling that weekend, husband who will not even remember where we are going until he packs the night before leaving, two children then ages six and eight, needs to be warm enough to be outside but it can be jacket weather, not more than one plane connection between Florida and destination (sorry no 30 hour trips to New Zealand - Hubby already vetoed that idea!), if anywhere near Paris will have to stop and see family for a few days, need quaint and pretty scenery, good food, prefer that part of the time is NOT in a major city, and the perfect place to make lasting memories and yet relaxing.

I need specifics people! Not just a country but a town or area. Anyone?

MONDAY!

Feeling like I am in an alternate world this morning . . . .

Culture Shock

If ever you want to see the vast spectrum of humanity in the United States travel from Seattle, Washington to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the same week. We thought the kids were ready for a National Park trip; I'm not sure we were ready for Gatlinburg . . .


We spent the weekend listening to KK, age 7, correcting spelling seen around town - "Corn is spelled with a C not a K, right Momma."

Und die Blumen . . .

Bringen die Blumen in der Morgan.

Blumen, Blumen, und mehr Blumen!

Meine Lieblingsblume.

Ich habe diese Fotos in Seattle.
Oktober 2009

Please feel free to correct my limited German

Pike Place Market or My Idea of Heaven

The history of Pike Place Market is as rich and colorful as Seattle itself. Its nine acres and 100 years of operation encompass thousands of unique and interesting stories — stories of immigration, internment, gentrification and urban renewal — that explain why Pike Place Market is called "The Soul of Seattle."

Between 1906 and 1907, the cost of onions increased tenfold. Outraged citizens, fed up with paying price-gouging middlemen too much for their produce, found a hero in Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle. Revelle proposed a public street market that would connect farmers directly with consumers. Customers would "Meet the Producer" directly, a philosophy that is still the foundation of all Pike Place Market businesses.

On August 17, 1907, Pike Place Market was born. On that first day, a total of eight farmers brought their wagons to the corner of First Avenue and Pike Street—and were quickly overwhelmed by an estimated 10,000 eager shoppers. By 11:00 am, they were sold out. Thousands of shoppers went home empty-handed, but the chaos held promise. By the end of 1907, the first Market building opened, with every space filled.

A century later, Pike Place Market is internationally recognized as America's premier farmers' market and is home to nearly 200 year-round commercial businesses; 190 craftspeople and 120 farmers who rent table space by the day; 240 street performers and musicians; and 300 apartment units, most of which house low-income elderly people.

"The Market," as the locals affectionately say, attracts 10 million visitors a year, making it one of Washington's most frequently visited destinations.

All the above information on Pike Place Market was found at http://www.pikeplacemarket.org.

And the last photo is after a day at the market - PERFECT!

Where I Have Been

I Love Seattle!