The Wheels on the Bus....

Taking care of a 4r old, even part-time, really eats up your day...plus, it's fall & nice for yard cleanup, plus, I've been subbing a bit at school--didn't think I would be holding out that option for those good long term jobs in spring, which will be plentiful w/lots of retirements on the horizon due to contracts changing due to our state new repub. governor's union busting efforts...don't get me started...    So, school is on my mind....and I promise Isla pics after this for a bit, since Isla is never off my mind & I uploaded new pics that have been on my camera forever...            so, one more school related post...

ShangHai school bus.... the actual characters are:     Shang hai Shi (city) Xiehe Guoji xuexiao

Astrid , granddaughter #3, looking out the window of her bus.  Sofi, granddaughter #1 asks why there are curtains on the bus (since hers has no curtains...)  neither, of course, have car seats...which makes one wonder...not in China though... and Sofi wonders why Astrid just can't come over to visit us on the bus.
I'm not sure when one develops a sense of world geography and distances.
On the other hand, she does know that to get to our place in Mexico (Isla), we have to take:
a car; a bus, a plane, another bus, a taxi, a ferry, and finally, a golf cart.   a fun series of things, to her...

Granddaughters #1 & #3 are enjoying their bus trips, maybe as much as their time at school...
who knew?

and here is Evie...granddaughter #2, at her Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool in Milwaukee, WI
She looks equally happy with what is in store for her...    bug vs. bus is more like it....
looks like lots of trees, leaves & critters           and the classroom stuff is really innovative...global!

Evie breaking in her new rainsuit at school.

Evie celebrated her birthday at school - she carried a huge globe and walked around the sun 4 times. Pretty neat way to celebrate 4 years on Earth!

 

here is Sofi getting on her daily bus and getting some help with her backpack..
So there...
that takes care of the start of another school year....for another generation...
And again, it does seem like Sept is the beginning of the year and change for so many... I think in a place with seasons it is more pronounced.
Somehow, Jan here, the beginning of the calendar year...does not feel like a real change... whereas Jan. in Mexico does feel more like a beginning of a year...I wonder why that seems to be... just my own feelings...
But, whatever...it gives me the chance to have a new beginning, twice a year.  I'm liking that!
And it may be the case for Sofi also, if she gets to have some time in Mexico at school as well...we'll see...
If so, she'll be trading bus rides, for golf cart rides....all good!

Happy New Year, Happy School Year.... Sept 2012...

 It seems more like Sept, vs. Jan. is the beginning of the new year. 

So many new beginnings for so many kids, and guess we have all been there... 

This year, we have 3 granddaughters all beginning a new school program. 

Our eldest, Sofia, is beginning 4K, and starting today, is going to ride the school bus, getting on at our place.  (We will make some changes during her school year, which probably even includes her coming to Mexico with us and attending a primary school like she did once before.  She had so many wonderful experiences...I can't wait to for her to do it again...Yea! for Mexico...we were thrilled with the care and attention & friends she had at a local Isla primary school...

For myself...I am especially enjoying the beginning of the school calendar, with NOT working!!! 
It is my first year since 'retiring' since not taking on a job-share, long-term subbing or tutoring at the Sept. start of the school year... 

Yay..for freedom!!!!  

First day of School (4K) — 

Granddaughter No.2, Evie, (below, in a tree, is going to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool in Milwaukee.  Hope to add more photos of her in the actual classroom..

We look forward to hearing some good nature stories from her.  Schlitz--Milwaukee..yes, the beer baron...but, glad to see they have branched out from beer to other endeavors...am sure beer paved the way...but, whatever.... I love that they are behind a nature based preschool 
here's Evie in a tree....at an open house, to check it out...and Violet is below, as always...an 'acolyte.'...

Granddaughter No. 3 is beginning preschool in Shanghai, China.  It seems she does like it, and is already learning Chinese very quickly.  Can't wait to follow her progress. Very soon she will pass my own Chinese ability, which has grown very rusty after over 20 years of non use.

Astrid Goes to School                              

1. July 25

   First day at school 

   

Astrid Goes to School

One Room Schoolhouse Reunion--August 2012

Brace School 2012 reunion party (25 photos)  (fifty years after closing in 1962)  

     photos by Nat Davauer   
              (I'm putting the link to his facebook page to get to the photos he posted...) 

The Brace School in Fall River which my grandma restored over the last 20 years. My grandpa, dad and aunt went there through 8th grade.

Nat (my son)  took these photos for Dolly (my mother-in-law),  y,who restored the schoolhouse, named the Brace School (in honor of her great, great uncle, Henry Brace, who donated the land on which to build the schoolhouse in Fountain Prairie, WI... 

So, it's now in the family and is a wonderful place to visit...kind of like 'Little House on the Prairie'

We have had several classes have an actual day of school there, re-enacting what it would be like 'in the olden days.'   Dolly makes it extra fun by having the kids participate in churning cream to make butter using an old butter churn, and they get to help make the mashed potatoes too, because how else to enjoy the freshness of butter?  There is nothing like 'hands-on' learning. 

The kids love the use the old slates, go through the separate hall doorways for boys and girls and play the old recess games like 'Annie Annie Over' (teams on opposite sides throwing the ball over the schoohouse roof & running to catch and tag the person with the ball).  

Just good old fashioned fun.  

A lot of past attendees came out to enjoy the day, the oldest being Ken Gohr, who will be 99 next wk. 

He is shown holding his original diploma.  He is the guy we bought our farm from.   

Happy Birthday Ken!  

Some good memories were shared all around that day (August 5th).  

Good food too--not freshly churned butter, & mashed potatoes, but a friendly community potluck.

Nathaniel Davauer  

(also, fyi...his professional website is  www.davauerphotography.com  )

From Kayak to Tall Ships

Out in a Kayak on Pike Lake in Wisconsin
 (I really need to get one of these to use on Isla... easy & fun, especially with Sofia along for the ride.)
You really get a very up close and personal experience with the water when you're in a kayak.
Except for actually being IN the water (which I often am), kayaking may be the next best thing.
We have canoes here at the farm, and we loved canoeing from years ago. That is nice, but always does require two people. And nowadays, we're often all doing our own thing.  It's even hard to get two people, even if one is my husband, to agree to do the same thing at the same time.
Kayaking solves soooo many problems...
... and provides so much peace & quiet  out on the water....

On the other hand, being on a tall ship would be majestic... sailing vessel the Denis Sullivan
was moored last week in Port Washington for Maritime Days.  My aunt worked as a guide that day on some of the other ships in the harbor. My brother & sister had tickets to go out on the Denis Sullivan, but due to a late breaking cloudburst, with lightning, it was canceled.  Maybe next year....


This ship actually has programs for teachers and students for professional development. I might look into that.  Beats sitting in a classroom...(my teaching certificate expires next summer...I'll think on it...)
It is normally moored in Milwaukee on L Michigan...but I see it does go into the Atlantic & Caribbean.
---------

Schooners Denis Sullivan, Madeline will become centerpiece of annual Maritime Festival this weekend

 My dad had a series of sailboats, and I've been on some out on Lake Michigan--you don't want to be out there in a storm, & I remember huddling down under the bow in a treacherous storm. I was quite young, but my aunt said we had to get Coast Guard support to be towed to shore. I probably blocked most of the bad stuff from my memory. My mom put up with a lot to be his 'first mate.'
My aunt had commemorative bricks with their names inscribed installed near the old lighthouse museum.      
(Capt. Roy Durst, & First Mate Pat Durst....
and they did often use those monikers  :-) 
Here's my aunt Joyce, w/us, her nieces, and me holding a small bag of ashes of my mother, which we sprinkled over the stones.  

 

And then, here we are...the survivors of Pat & Roy's many voyages...
  ...who scrubbed and varnished many boat decks 
and hoisted plenty of sails in our day...
we are indeed survivors...







Another tall ship that is impressive, & often seen on Isla is the Thor Heyerdahl, with a young training crew which sails from Germany, I think.   They do sometimes give tours when they are docked on Isla.
I know we have our own photos of this ship, but am not organized enough to find them.

Steve, having done a tour on the USS Jamestown, many years ago...(before internet...cell phones...oh yeah...we used to actually write air mail letters which he was happy to get when they came ahore... off Vietnam...or...wherever they were.  
guess it was secret...



Well...am definitely drifting off topic here.
what was it again?   somehow, it's all related...
anyway... Loved that Kayak experience.   More please!

Made in Mexico

- from 'Hammock Musings from Merida' blog
  sharing info. about  an upcoming film release at MexFest Aug. 17 in London
'Hecho en Mexico'   by Duncan Bridgeman, filmaker & music producer
focusing on & showcasing contemporary music & conversations around Mexico--sounds wonderful!
better yet to actually be in London to see it...but in any case, hope I can see it somewhere...

Colibri' - Hummingbird at the farm

Sometimes I wonder how to meld my two worlds...my two lifestyles...and living spaces.
It's great when they can intersect, and one can remind me of the other...
That does happen, often with references to nature.
Here's a hummingbird, a frequent flyer to our farm garden...

He ( or she?) loves the bee balm most of all, and we can usually catch him there at some time of day.
I've never really seen a hummingbird at Casa Colibri' -- except on the wall...
It kind of dwarfs the hummingbird size building its on...

Have a Nice Day

This is a farm not too far from us, in Wisconsin.  We pass it so often,  you can't help but notice it.
It puts out its cheery message to all.
I'm not so cheery lately, having come down with pneumonia of all things...a first for me, so I'm not having such a nice day.  I definitely blame it on a flight from Chicago to Cancun, & on a coughing passenger a row ahead of me.  I have succumbed to air cabin germs before, but never so serious as this. The Dr. agreed, w/the incubation time, CAP (community acquired pneumonia) is the likely diagnosis. 
I really need to start wearing a mask or something on flights, to avoid this kind of welcome home gift.
It caught me off guard, but at least I'm happy to have an explanation for how I've been feeling lately.

 

I feel more like how this barn looks... another barn, even closer to us....

Besides buildings & bodies going down, the corn crop is not looking so great either, due to drought.

 

Here are Sofia, Evelyn & Violet venturing out into the cornfield, before being called back.

The lawn is also suffering.  I am not complaining about that, as it really cuts down the mowing.  An even better benefit is that there are almost no mosquitoes...

That is great.   So, the girls can do more things outdoors, more often.

Love this photo of Violet, on an old bench in front of the barn wall.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get out & weed and do more soon. The weeds seem to keep growing, in spite of the drought.    Have a Nice Day~