iRan it All

The Hot Chocolate 5K event was an overall success.  It was my first race ever, the goal was to try and not walk at all.  I didn't and finished in 39:39.  This was also Benjamin's first 5K race since middle school cross-country is usually 1.5 - 2.1 miles, however he struggled with a cramp and had been fighting some upper respiratory discomfort all week.  He still came in ahead of me.  Ethan came in 4th in his age group for his second 5K attempt with a time of 27:18 and Fox took first in his age group but had a hard time accepting congratulations since his time was 22:19 and he has been trying to get under 20 minutes.  Since running in the cold is no easy task I'd say everyone did well.  Those putting the race together did a fine job and thankfully the blizzard held off until just after the race ended as we drove home in a near white-out!  Fun times. 

Outside my Window:  A covering of fresh snow has made the world crisply white again and the sun is making an occasional appearance.

What's on my Mind:  Making a tough choice about how to handle after school choir.  I am going to be starting a new job in a couple weeks and may need to cancel choir due to a less flexible schedule.  Very torn.

Thankful for: Grace, Inspiration, and Namaste Yoga.  I recently took the plunge and purchased Season One of Kate Potter's series which I love, unfortunately I lost access to it when we changed television providers.  Now I have it any time I want and practice 4 to 5 days a week depending on my schedule.  It has such an organic flow to it and is very well constructed and instructed.  I highly recommended it, great for all levels.

Creative Endeavors: Started working on a new box collage which is sort of a Zen activity for me and I haven't indulged for some time.  The top photo is one I made years ago and the lower is from a Fair project a short time back.  Perhaps I'll post the new one if it's ever finish....

Latest Project: Saturday Drama class!  Amount of students keep changing and hence so do our script selections.  Hoping to get things finalized this week and pray everything sticks!

My 3 Sons: Fox completed what he needed to for his next year's schedule AP English Prep 11, Pre-Calc, Physics, AP Chemistry, AP US Government, Economics, Drafting and 3D Design are his preferred classes.  Hopefully they won't use any of his alternates.  Track season will begin in a couple weeks.

Benjamin and Ethan are gearing up for their spring sports.  Just got the sign up information for baseball (travel this year) and soccer.  The plan was to return to North Branch Rec Soccer but Ben keeps whining to me he wants to go back to AYSO.  It just not going to be feasible with me working more.  I need to keep everything as local as possible.

The first Born:  Ecstatic over the amount she is getting back in taxes!  I was floored to see her even text the word 'Savings' when I sent her the news.  Use it wisely grasshopper.

Employment News:  Just so as not to jinx it, no official announcement yet but here's a hint.

Hoping to Improve:  General office organization and house declutter.  The declutter has been a work in progress for quite some time and has been greatly improving, so much so my son even made a comment about it recently to the effect, "it's definitely lookin' a lot better around here."  But for some reason I can never keep my office together and end up with piles.  I get caught up moving from one project to another and never close things down properly, mind you I know what is in every pile if I need to retrieve something.  Little by slowly I shall make amends.

Food for Thought: Love is the most powerful resource we have. We were all born with an unlimited supply of unconditional self-love within us. Yet many people spend their entire lives searching for that love somewhere else.  From Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People

Last Words:

iMade it

Outside my Window:

What's on my Mind: Keeping it all together. Staying on an even keel but being ready to ride out the waves when life brings about rough waters.

Thankful for:  A fine youth production and decent audiences.  It's always a challenge in our Michigan winters to have a performance Jan. to March.  We got a nice write up in the newspaper as well.  Click HERE to view.

Creative Endeavors:  Trying out new healthy recipies.

Avocado/smashed white beans/cucumber/sprouts on multigrain bread.

Payaya/Mango/Banana/fresh Orange Juice smoothies

Kale/Garlic/Mushroom/Wheatberry Soup

Latest Project:  Getting things ready for the first 4H Feeds Families meeting at the end of the month.  Being in the Radio Western Show at the Pix.

My 3 Sons:  Fox is currently working on getting signatures and getting his schedule ready for next year.  He's decided against Ed-Tech and Dual Enrollment, instead concentrating on taking as many AP classes as he can possibly cram in.

Benjamin needs a change of environment and a new activity to get his energies into.

Ethan was part of the Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr. cast and did a wonderful job as 'Bill' for his solo plus a great part of the ensemble pieces as well.  He may do a part in the Radio Westerns also.  Cast list isn't out yet.  Below is a photo that appeared on the front page of our local paper.

The first Born:  Had a rude awakening.  Electric bill - over $300 for a one-bedroom apt.  Investigation showed it to be a meter reader error.  Whew.

Employment News: Pending.

Hoping to Improve:  Yes.  One way is my first 5K this weekend!

Food for Thought: When you step out of the process of dieting and into the process of health, the number of pounds you weigh takes a backseat to making moment-by-moment choices in favor of life.  ~from The Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People

Last Words:

Peace be with you.

iHave a Dream

Halfway through the month and all is well.  Just logged a bit over 40 miles running which I feel is a pretty notable accomplishment for someone who flatly stated they "couldn't" and "would never" run.  Just made an investment in a pair of proper running shoes, figure if I'm going to do it I should do it right.  Rehearsals for my Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr. production are going well however I have yet to get all players there, seems there's always been one or two missing for some reason or another.  Next week begins crunch time and all hands MUST be on deck!

Outside my Window:  After a brief warm spell we are back to a light covering of white and below freezing temperatures and it doesn't look pretty.

What's on my Mind: Keeping all my volunteer projects moving in a forward motion plus earning money as well.  I am on the board of the Lapeer County Concert Choir and will be putting together a grant proposal to help extend our audience base for our spring concert.  Working on how to word things to make the endeavor seem even more amazing than it truely is.

Thankful for: All the ladies that I've come to know and consider friends since I've moved into the area.  Women who are smart, faithful, funny, encouraging, interesting, motivated, and inspirational to me.  They come from a variety of areas: church, choir, 4H, homeschool, public school, the community at large.  Their down-to-earth, unpretentious nature, and ecclectic interests are very important to me.

Creative Endeavors: Choreographing and making props for the SHR production.  Preparing for the fourth year of After School Choir, getting music chosen and ordered.

Latest Project: Just got the preliminary paperwork filled out for the 4H Feeds Families Committee which I will be the Leader/President of.  I did not come up with the original idea mind you.  Our 4H club did entrepreneurship as their educational focus last year using the Project Clover idea from another county.  The kids raised funds and got donations from various organizations to purchase several animals at the auction, get them processed then donate the food to area soup kitchens.  I volunteered to keep the concept going and broaden it to involve all the livestock areas.  It's a really cool thing.

My 3 Sons:  XBox 360 obssession.  They got one for Christmas, it's been a bit ridiculous, but this two shall pass.  We've also been discussing how to proceed in regards to purchasing animals to raise for the 4H Fair, last year we raised three hogs, two got auctioned and one went into our freezer.  I'm not feeling like I want to have another one for us yet, we just don't eat that much pork.  Ben would like to raise one again though and Fox was interested in giving it a go as well.  Ethan can take it or leave it.  Whatever we decide it needs to be soon so we can put in our order with the breeder.  Ben also wants to raise some sheep however we'd just do it for freezer meat not for 4H.

The first Born: Feeling the shock of having insurance premiums deducted from her paycheck but happy to have coverage so she can go to the doctor and dentist again.  Ah, the joys of being a grown-up.

Employment News: Nothing new.  But I've been asked to be in on some brainstorming sessions for activities that could lead to something in the future.  Story of my life.

Hoping to Improve:  Staying positive even around naysayers.  Not trying to prove anything to other people that may judge my life choices and just be secure in the work that I do whether it's paid or not.

Food for Thought: All of us were born to be healthy and naturally slim. The fact that you are not slim and healthy now merely means you have walked, perhaps for many years, away from your natural instincts.  ~from Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People

Last Words: Well every person you can know and any place that you can go and any thing that you can show, you know they're nouns. A noun's a special kind of word, it's any name you've every heard. I find it quite interesting a noun's a person, place, or thing.  Yes, I am obssessed and will be until the production goes up February 1, 2, and 3.  

iLove Change

Happy New Year Everyone!  Another 365 days to conquer. What will they hold?  I am a huge fan of change and the turn of the calendar can be a time of great hope and challenges.  Everything that came before is already done and you can't go back but now there is a new beginning.  This year I am going to change the format of my blog slightly and use a Daybook style instead of my normal journal style, hope it is still as entertaining and informative.

Outside my Window:  A crisp winter day, slight foggy, with a good covering of snow.

What's on my Mind:  A discouraging interaction with a family member.  Breaking bad family legacy is always a challenge and what I've realized is the only person I can change is myself even if others don't see it or acknowledge it.  I can not alter the functionality of generations past but I can do my best to make ammendments in my future generations.

Thankful for:  My health.  Many people I know were dealing with illness over the holiday and reading all the prayer requests on the weekly church program makes me realize how lucky I am.

Creative Endeavors:  Rewriting some parts for the Schoolhouse Rocks Live production since I did not have anyone come forward that could do the roll of Tom the new teacher so I'm working it out as if the kids are lamenting about going back to school and wishing teachers could make learning more interesting like in the Saturday shorts.  Also planning for sets and costumes.

Latest Project:  Just walked my first 5K in Flint and was so inspired by the age and variety of runners and walkers I'm considering moving up my 5K run goal to participate in the Hot Chocolate 5K Run in February, depends how training goes.  I am currently up to running 2 miles.  Ran into some North Branch ladies at the run and was invited to join them Saturday mornings to run/walk with them.  Sweet!

My 3 Sons:  Fox participated with me in the New Year's Resolution event doing his first 8K and coming in 3rd in his age class with a time of 36:44.  Ethan is in the Schoolhouse Rock production and will be featured as Bill.  Ben is planning to try for the Space Camp trip again this year. 

The first Born: Alex has decided to continue her college hiatus and has been working many hours at the BK lounge.  She is still trying to figure out what she truely wants to pursue and helps me out with various dramatic endeavors.  I'm enjoying this new stage of our relationship.

Employment News: Unfortunately I did not even get an interview for the non-profit job I applied for which was a bummer but I have been subbing quite a bit lately.  Put a few other applications in online however don't know if they made their way through cyberspace and into the right hands. The search continues.

Hoping to Improve: My reactions to negative situations and not letting other people's choices effect me adversely.

Food for Thought:  "The state of your mind is more important to reaching a state of health than diet or exercise. It is your subconscious and conscious mind working in unison that will either support you or sabotage you on your journey."  from Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People by Jill H. Podjasek, M.S., R.N.

Last Words:  Run happy - Live happy!

Love this photo from The Cancun Marine Park

designed to encourage coral growth to keep the oceans biological flourishing,

an amazing fusion of public art and environmental conservation. 

design-dautore.com

So Long, Farewell 2012

This will more than likely be my last post of the year.  I hope it finds everyone grateful for what has transpired this past year and looking forward to the opportunities in store for the next.  Alexandra and I sang together with the Lapeer County Concert Choir for the Christmas concert the first weekend of the month.  It has been nice to have her be a part of it and for her to be singing with a group once again.  We had a decent size audience on Friday and a packed house at the Sunday performance.  She is planning to sing with us again for the spring concert as well.  Sweet!

I met the challenge and completed 50,206 words of a novel in November but continued to work on it adding about another 3,000 since the end of the month.  In fact I'm so geeked about it I'd like to continue to edit it and possibly format it to sell as an ebook.  Alex has agreed to be my editing partner, reading it when I'm ready and giving me some feedback for tweaking.

Fox has continued to train with the North Branch Community Run Club twice a week that is organized by the cross country coach plus runs 6 miles on Kings Mill, which is filled with several killer hills, twice a week.  He has noticed a marked improvement in his 5K times due to this.  Ethan has been staying after once a week for the Ruth Fox Run Club and does 4 or 5 miles there.  Last week he ran his first 5K at the Santa Shuffle in Lapeer.  Below is our Bronco group that participated in the Shuffle, picture is a bit blurry but it doesn't lessen the fun.  I have also begun a running regimen, going out every other day, started the weekend after Thanksgiving, going twice around the loop on the property, six times around is a mile, and adding on in small increments.  This week I am now at 1.5 miles.  Benjamin usually comes out and runs with me when he's home.  My goal is to run the North Branch Spring Fitness 5K in April.

Got Fox's first trimester report card: Accounting I - A-, Algebra II - A-, AP Prep English - A, AP Psychology - B, AP World History - A-, Seasonal Activities - A.  Nice job.  We had a meeting with the principal about amending a couple bummer grades from last year to help keep his GPA in check plus inquired about dual enrollment and some virtual classes for his Junior and Senior year.  Mr. H was most accommodating and encouraging and I very much appreciate that.

Had auditions for a production I am directing at the Pix Theater for Schoolhouse Rock Live!  The group I had is made up of many kids I've worked with before in either the schools or drama classes but with a few new faces thrown in.  Still need to recruit a young adult to play the teacher but have a couple prospects in mind.  Ethan is going to be in the show and I'm trying to get Ben to be in it too since he is such a good singer and memorizes things easily but he is not budging at this point.  Ugh.

Saturday Ben, Ethan and I helped with other folks from our 4H Swine Club at the Holiday Depot pick-up in our community.  This is a great service project and it is always a good time to be a part of it.  When we homeschooled we would go and help them get the boxes of food items packed up for the families but now the process is streamlined and the boxes are prepared elsewhere so we just help carrying things out to people's car for them.

I've also been making final preparations for the fourth year of After School Choir which will start when we come back from the Christmas break.  I'm doing two groups again, 2nd to 4th graders in one, and 5th to 8th in the other, hopefully we'll have a good turnout and the kids will like the songs I've got planned.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. 

Mine will begin with a New Year's Resolution 5K Walk while Fox does his first 8K Run. 

Giddyup Broncos!

Three's Company

November has been enrichment month for the boys and I, since ending our homeschooling one of the things I miss most is our field trips.  Then it hit me, we can still do field trips whenever we want!  So I decided to schedule an outing each week of the month to broaden our horizons, explore some landmarks in Michigan and just spend time together learning. The boys have been very appreciative of my efforts and most of them were a big hit.  First we went to a Friday evening performance by the Oxford Community Theater of "Who Remembered My Soul" a fabulously written play about the stories of Holocaust survivors.  It was done in a Reader's Theater format but all the actors did a great job of memorizing their script and relaying it as if it were their own.  This sparked some great discussion on the way home.

Our next outing was to Midland, the boys had a Friday off of school so I made reservations for tours of the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio plus the Herbert H. Dow Home.  We went through Alden's home first and were the only ones on the tour other than a gentleman from the Bay City area who shared with the docent that his father had been on the planning commission for a church in Dearborn that the architect designed.  This caused much giddiness from the various employees at the landmark and when we went into the archives they pulled out the files on the project and found the man's father's name on some documents and showed us some Polaroids of a craftsman making the huge wooden cross that hangs in the sanctuary of the church.  While all the cupboards were open the boys and I were reading all the labels fascinated by the projects Mr. Dow designed.  Much conversation was had about how cool the house would be to play hide-n-seek and have Nerf wars in.  The Dow legacy was also of interest.  Fox wished he could see some of the movies that Mr. Dow had taken.

After a satisfying lunch we then went over to house Alden grew up in. The Herbert H. Dow home, built 1899, is a beautiful structure in general but the most surprising tidbit to me was that Herbert and Grace Dow had the forethought to plumb and wire the house for electricity even though these advancements were not being used yet.  The coat bench in the entry foyer was an heirloom that had been in Grace's family beginning with her grandmother, knowing she would inherit it, the space was specifically designed for the piece.  However it is not the oldest piece of furniture in the home, this is instead a lovely Asian tea cabinet with intricate carvings and all sorts of hidden doors and drawers.  It was nice being the only ones on the tour that day because the docent let the boys and I ask questions all the way through the home and was very forthcoming about the Dow family and her experiences working with the organization.  She was interestingly an entomologist by trade employed by the Dow Gardens but loved the home so much she eventually began doing tours as well.  I highly recommend a trip to Midland to see these marvelous landmarks as well as the full garden.  We've also made a mental note to return and visit the Alden B Dow Museum of Science and Art plus the Herbert H Dow History Museum.

The next week we headed out in the evening after school to Saginaw for their Heart of the Holidays event.  In the literature I found it said that the Children's Zoo was open for free and lighted, plus they were lighting several other buildings that evening. There were to be horse drawn carriage rides and a gingerbread house contest also.  Well, the zoo was not lighted much, it was a very dark night and you could not see the animals at all, the paths weren't even lit very well.  It was quite pointless, we never did find the building that had the gingerbread contest, the wait for the carriage ride was ridiculous, and there really wasn't that much going on over all.  We did stop at the living nativity display in front of the church to pet the sheep, goats, and donkey, admired the Clydesdales from the sidewalk and quickly took our leave.  That evening was truly a bust other than giving Fox some driving time taking us out there.  Oh well, can't win them all.

There was no school for us the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so we took the opportunity to head over to Farmington Hills for some adventure.  As luck would have it my daughter Alex and her boyfriend were able to join us after they got off work which was a real treat.  Our first stop was the Holocaust Memorial Center. I had read about this some time ago when we homeschooled but the kids were to young at the time to make it a field trip, then Alex went into school and things got crazy from there so we never visited.  This was good timing since Fox has been studying the time period in history and the younger boys have touched on World War II as well.  Being that we are coming into the holiday "gimme gimme" season it was also a wonderful sense of perspective as to how good we have it.  Even in tough times I can say we have never known true suffering to the extent that Jewish families did during this horrendous effort.  They really did a wonderful job planning the museum. I liked the display of three quilts, each square designed by a survivor and an audio story accompanies their square.  Also the interactive stations at the end of the tour that give you scenarios regarding tolerance and humanity asking what would you do, was quite poignant as well. 

After such a hard hitting excursion we needed to follow it up with some fun.  Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum just two miles up the road was definately the ticket.  The place is packed with coin-op machines, from quirky to tricky, antique to modern, funny to frustrating.  Alex and Paul had fun in the photo booth and got "married" via coin-op license.  Fox tried every fortune telling machine there was.  Ben and Ethan pretty much did a little of everything but mainly stuck with the pinball machines.  I took a trip in the wayback machine having a go at PacMac and Asteroids, then finished out the night at my old standard - skee ball.  There was so much crammed into the little space, from things hanging on the ceiling, pictures of celebrity visitors, old signs, and the machines themselves.  Marvin should really consider upsizing to a larger space!  Good times, could have easily gone through $20 in quarters a piece!!  Consensus was this stop was the best of the all.

Not sure exactly what we'll do for next week, I've got a couple options.  One is the attendance of my community choir concert but I feel bad counting that as enrichment since they are pretty much subjected to it twice a year no matter what.  I'll come up with something though. 

Trimester One ended before the Thanksgiving break, Ethan already got his report card, all As and one B.  Ben hasn't received his report card yet but I know from the school website he has all As (pretty much has all year).  Fox's grades are the ones still outstanding since Finals had to be scored before the grades were compiled.  

At the Fall Sports Banquet the Cross Country team was recognized for having 100% Athletic Scholars which means everyone on team maintained a 3.2 grade point average or above.  That's nothing to be sneezed at!  Keep up the good work Broncos!

In between (an sometimes during) my substitute teaching days I am still working on my novel for National Novel Writing Month coming round the bend to 40,000 words out of a total 50,000 to win the challenge.  My concept has been one in the hopper for many years and although it came into print a little different than I anticipated the result is still pleasing to me.  That's about what's been going on in our neck of the woods.  The little white snow flakes have been starting to blow but I am by no means ready for winter.  Hope all is well in your world.

The Outer Limits

Time has once again gotten away from me since I returned from Italy.  I meant to do one more post about the trip but the excitment as faded since getting back to the normal school routine.  Cross-country season has ended, it was not my favorite year by any stretch.  Adjusting to a new coach was interesting.  Some changes I liked, some changes I didn't.  Thankfully the old coach has a young son who is in Ethan's grade and runs the elementary open races so he was a great encouragement to Ethan in his runs even when I was out of town.  Next year the boys will all run officially on team.  Three galloping Broncos, yeeHaw!

Big brother Fox and Ben get Ethan pumped up for the Marlette Elementary Open race. (above)

High School XC member Fox Parton cheers on Middle School members Austin and brother Ben,

complete with Subway Italian in hand post HS race.  (below)

Fox muscling through at the 2012 Division 2 Regionals. (below) 

20:10 was his finish time, not his seasonal best or all-time best.  Last year at Regionals he squeaked in just under 20 minutes.  Total plateau this year but he's staying in training and looking forward to breakthrough in the 2-mile and 800 meter during Track.

I had a birthday since my last post.  It fell on a Monday but we had a day of fun the Sunday before.  The boys made a delightful brunch then we headed over to Lansing to see an MSU student production of 'James and the Giant Peach' featuring a North Branch High School alumni.  It was a technically savvy production and very well acted.  Afterwards we stopped at the Anthony Hall Dairy Store for cones all around!  It was a gorgeous day for a ride, I just wish my daughter could have accompanied us but was unable to because of her work schedule.  We did get together that Friday though to see Ben Affleck's lastest film 'Argo' about the Iran hostage rescue.  Awesome Flick!

Currently I am engrossed in the challenge of NaNoWriMo also known as National Novel Writing Month.  The challenge is to write a novel or more specifically 50,000 words in 30 days.  I've done the challenge twice before, the first time I won, the second I fizzled out.  So far I've started out like gangbusters, have a solid idea and a plan for it's development which is usually half the battle of writing....anything.  I've also been working on some independent article subbmissions for various family magazines.  AND add in some days of substitute teaching here and there plus preparing for a production of Schoolhouse Rock that I'm directing at the Pix Theater in Lapeer, auditions to be held December 3 and 4.

San Marino Italy, a view of the castle from the fort.

an artist in San Marino

View from the plane heading back to Rome.

What's coming up?  Well, November has been deemed enrichment month by this homeschooler at heart mother.  Last Friday the boys and I went to see a wonderful production about survivors of the Holocaust called "Who Remembered My Soul" put on by the Oxford Communtiy Theater.  This Friday the boys do not have school so we are heading to Midland to tour the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio and his parents home as well that is still full of it's Victorian era designs and furnishings.  Also on the upcoming agenda are a trip to Saginaw, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, a 5K Run and 1.5 Mile Run/Walk on Thanksgiving and a 70th Birthday Party for my dad.  Yippee!  Have a Nifty November and don't forget to be creative!

A Different World - Part 2

Rimini is a beach town, a tourist destination. Although it was the beginning of the off season when we got there the water was still a pretty happening place when the sun was shining.  Contrary to what Americans perceive, not everyone goes topless.  You pretty much do whatever and wear whatever, from swimsuits to skives to business suits you see it all down at the beach.  Many locals come by after work for a walk, bike or run along the shore before heading home to make dinner.  The variety of shells is amazing and you find lots of pieces of stone and terra cotta that washes up as well probably from some ancient ruin or shipwreck.

Amongst my perusing of hotel tourist literature and a by chance sighting during a bus ride I was delighted to find the Ceramic House also know as Casa Ugolini, a private residence on the Via Flaminia owned by Cesare and Susanna Minelli Ugolini.  Cesare was an antique dealer and ceramics collector who created a masterpiece using tiles and ceramic pieces set to be discarded from local sites around Rimini.  Although this was not open to the public for tours it was quite the sight to behold from the street.  If you'd like to find out more click HERE for a great video tour and description plus some other photographs.

Another very cool find was an archaeological dig site.  Years ago when Rob was here for previous training this particular spot was a construction site with the usual orange net fencing surrounding it.  Apparently when they went to begin a new structure they discovered the ruin of the Surgeon's House, plus an even older development underneath that.  The Museo della Citta oversees the site now and it is part of the museum admission.  They've covered it and built walkways across so you can see everything quite well.  Unfortunately my photos do not do it justice in the least.  I did however find a couple videos on YouTube should you care to know more. 
Click and enjoy!  LONG VIDEO  -  SHORT VIDEO

My visit through the museum was quite interesting.  I went on Wednesday morning which was the free admission day only to find the place virtually deserted except for myself, two art students, and a couple museum lady guards.  They are quite particular about the order you go through the museum, or maybe they just want to make sure you see everything.  If I started to drift off course one of the ladies would come down and "scuzi" me into the section I should be at first.  They did not speak English other than "photo ok, no flash" again contrary to what I was told that "everyone pretty much speaks English".  Not the case my friends.

The exhibit about the Surgeon's House had descriptions in English and were excellent.  As I toured the upper floors I quickly discovered that was the only exhibit with English explanations.  There was an amazing display on the Crucifixion of Christ with art ranging from oil paintings to ceramics to wood carvings, paintings on wood, stone/marble, and metal work.  Then, bam, a retro advertising lithograph display!  Another area of marble and stone carvings and pieces, lots of mosaics, tapestry, furniture, all incredibly old then....hello....a contemporary photography exhibit, which was fascinating!   From there I headed over to the Piazza Cavour to check out the open air market, which is basically the Italian flea market where all the shops have someone out selling off overstock for cheap.  Not exactly the second-hand shops I was hoping to find and due to their crazy sizing I didn't purchase much.

One day I took an extensive bike ride that went along the canal and totally tripped on kitchen gardens.  I live in a rural area and people have all kids of gardens and crops but I was just so enamoured with these plots.  I watched in fascination as an elderly man came out of a his garden gate across the canal and trucked down a good 20 meter incline with a couple watering cans to fill in the canal.  They do not use heavy gardening equipment like we do in the states, at least not on a small scale. This guy had to be at least in his 70s if not older.  He probably jumped on his bike later that day and pedaled to his favorite local hangout to converse with friends as well.  Elderly people in Rimini are in great shape!  Loved seeing old ladies in their skirts and sensible shoes tooling around on their bicycles.  That's one thing I wish was more feasible to do in my little town, get around by bike.  There's plenty of places to go and bike ride but to conduct your day to day business that way just doesn't work.

One other thing I'll tell you about Italy.....it's got some great knockers!  From antique to modern, great style and designs.  Super fun.

That's all for now.  Next time I'll share a little about San Marino and of course a few more photos.

A Different World - Part 1

Ciao amici!  I have returned safely from Italy and had a wonderful time but it is good to be back home in the USA.  Life in Rimini has a very different pace than in my little Michigan town.  I thoroughly enjoyed going everywhere by bike and that there was so much to see so close to where we stayed.  Below is the Arco D'Augusto which used to be the entrance way through the wall that surrounded the city.  It was destroyed during an attack years ago but much of the wall still remains.

Seeing all the ruins around the city makes you realize how "young" a country America is.  There are buildings that have been there since 200 A.D. and others that pre-date Christ's arrival.  Instead of making everything a tourist attraction or tearing the structures down they instead just built new architecture around them.  I saw school buildings, apartments, malls, and playgrounds that had ruins as part of their structure.

While people do have cars, the vast majority travel by bicycle or motorscooter.  The main streets have dividing lines but the side streets do not, those on 2-wheels do not follow any set side or direction so it can get pretty hairy sometimes.  Everyone is out and about in the mornings taking care of their errands or going to work, then about 12:30p everything shuts down except for a few restaurants and cafes.  Most shops open up again around 3:30p or so but should the owner feel so inclind they may not return at all.  In the evenings everything comes alive again as families come out to socialize until 11p while the younger set stay out in the clubs.

There are three different section of Rimini, one as in the photo above is refered to as the historic section as you can tell by the old style row housing, one home may have very old brick, doors and shutters, while the next one may have been currently updated and modernized.  At the end of this particular street is a pretty amazning piece of a castle wall which I left some of my DNA on when a car came up as I was coming around the corner and I swerved to get out of the way!  Near the hotel there are larger houses and apartment buildings which is like the West Bloomfield sort of area and then going toward the outer rim of the city is the more middle class.

Below is photo from the Piazza tre Martiri. There are two main piazzas that are very busy, with music and open air markets and festivals going on several days a week, plus a few smaller ones intersperced among the neighborhoods.  I had a most fabulous lasagna from a little "fast food" place near here one day for lunch.  Whenever you order something you have the choice of getting it warm or cold.  Things we usually take warm in the US they eat cold and visa versa.  Ice is rarely used in drinks and there are no ice machines in the hotels.

There is no lack of churches and they are all stunning.  The Tempio Malatestiano below is one of the older structures. Off the streets of the piazza there are these little pocket prayer rooms with candles and such where people stop in and give honor to whatever saint that shine is set up for.  Church bells are constantly going during the day to announce a service starting.  I did go to mass at a church around the corner from the hotel. It was a very traditional service, I enjoyed following along with the readings and tried to say the reponses with them but they go really fast.  Their little 10 person choir was just wonderful.  People are very friendly and happy there, lots of laughter can be heard on the streets.

The Ponte di Tiberio was built in like 240 A.D. and they still use it which is incredible. I rode an extensive bike/walking path from the bridge through the Parco XXV Aprile which ran along the canal to the outskirts of the city.  I liked getting away from the touristy area and seeing how the "regular" people lived.  There isn't any regulation about where you can do business and I found many people had a mechanic shop, cafe, retail, or computer business out of the lower level of their home throughout the residential areas.

Kids get out of school at 1:30pm, I don't think they have lunch at school but rather meet their families at home for the noonday meal.  Grocery shopping is done in small increments, buying fresh items for the meals of the day, as much as you can carry in your bike basket or hang in bags off your handlebars.  There's no loading up the van with a "big shop" like we do in the US.  However, their food choices are much more limited, not as much chicken, I don't think I saw turkey there at all.  Lots of ham, salami, promescuitto, cheeses, breads, and veggies.  I'm not even sure if it was beef in the lasagna I had, it may have been ground pork.  That's it for my first installment, more to follow.

Square Pegs

So the school year started out with a bang.  Ethan and Fox had a half day at the public school on the first day and all went well there.  I dropped Ben off at Chatfield for his first day but when I picked him up afterward things did not go as anticipated.  I could tell it was a rough day when I saw him pass through the hall as I arrived.  Once we got out of the building and had a chance to talk he finally broke down.  He HATED it.  The open classroom was extremely distracting, the kids were pretty clicky, and he just didn't feel like he fit in.  I felt horrible, he is not a kid who takes to change easily and I appreciate his giving an effort to try. I suppose I could have forced him to stay and try it longer but somewhere in my heart I knew that wasn't the investment to make at this time, much as I had hoped it would be a great experience for him. The next morning we made a trip to the middle school office and reenrolled him, he had a schedule and was in class by 2nd hour.  I lost him in the crowd as the kids changed classes when he spotted one of his buddies.  He even stayed after for cross-country practice and was MUCH happier when he came home at the end of the day.  It certainly has made our life easier around here having eliminated a LOT of running around and I am enjoying having all the boys involved in the same sport for the fall.

Buyer pictures arrived, we got them delivered and the boys have deposited their checks.  We spent the weekend before school started getting the pig pen and barn area deconstructed so we can begin getting a better layout in before winter.  The boys also helped get the chicken pen and coop cleaned out and the chicks have been shifted over, still not sure how many hens and roosters we have.

Cross-country season had a good start, Fox had a tough run at the first meet in Cros-Lex but picked up his time at the second Brown City meet.  Both Ben and Fox ran at Bad Axe this year as well as the Caro TVC.  Our county meet was a bit of a disaster due to a change in the course and addition of an electronic timing system which did not meet expectations.  This week Ethan will run the Marlette Open Race and the older boys will travel to Garber with the school team.

It's funny how you can have a plan and an expectation for how your life is going to be and suddenly things just change but you know it's all ok.  I have been involved with helping a friend get her neice and grand nephew (who are currently homeless) into an apartment in town and get him enrolled in school.  The young man has been staying with us and going to the elementary school until they get settled in the apartment.  The mom lost her hearing due to a surgery not long ago and does not use sign language yet so communication is challenging plus she operates at a remedial level at best.  I purchased a copy of The Joy of Signing for her and have been encouraging her to learn plus I've been learning and using the signs myself.  I don't know why but I've been very compelled to help this young man get in a safe home situation and receive a good education.  In addition to helping his mother learn how to be a good parent.  I'm not saying or doing this out of judgement, fact is she had a pretty crappy upbringing and really just doesn't know or think about things the way "normal" people would.  She does love her little boy though and I'm hoping that she will understand the importance of making sure he is cared for and educated if they are to stay together, otherwise the choices may be taken out of her control, which would have nothing to do with me.

We've had our first tasting of spinach from the late season garden, bean plants are flowering, and the tomatoes have recently shot up.  Since zucchini is coming in full force the farm market I buy from has huge ones for $.75 each! We've been grating, bagging and freezing some for the winter.  I pulled out mom's old recipie box to find the zucchini bread but stumbled instead upon Zucchini Chocolate Cake to try instead.....yummo!  It was funny to see all the old cards and papers she had in the box, some were made on the old ditto machines from school, you know the ones you'd crank and they had purple ink.  Maybe I should do a Julie & Julia thing and bake my way through mother's recipie box.  But that will have to wait because this week I will be traveling to Italy with my husband.  Oddly, I have absolutely no "plans" for when I get there.  The hotel we are staying in is along the water and they provide free bicycles so I'm just going to take each day as it comes, hanging on the beach, riding through the town, maybe explore a cathedral or two.  I'd really like to find a vintage or resale shop in hopes of discovering some authentic gems for cheap.  Who knows what the future holds in store.

You can't always get what you what.

But if you try sometimes, you just might find...

you get what you need.