Pooks Canyon

In Barcelona children go to school from 9:30 to 5:00. At first I thought this was just Axel's school but one look at the 9:15 metro and sidewalks tells me that this is the schedule for most schools: the young people in Barcelona have backpacks on and are going places. The schoolchild, in his native habitat, reticent for Mom to be taking photos. Lunch at Axel's school is from 12:00-2:00, where they have a multi-course meal with dining etiquette and decorum strictly enforced. It brings to mind that time in Belgium when a 10 year-old Leah attempted to eat a french fry with her hand and had said hand lightly smacked (though I can report that, despite strict treatment, she did like those lunches).  Let's just say Axel is dining with a knife and fork at lunchtime these days. After the leisurely meal Axel can choose to participate in a variety of activities.  Afterall, they do have 2 whole hours. Yoga, Drums, Violin, Cinematography, Coding/Robotics/Drones are all on tap...

Did you know that the King's Landing footage in Game of Thrones is shot in Dubrovnik, Croatia?  I did not until Leah visited there last week.  Here she is, having seized control of the Iron Throne. The happy travelers. Leah sent me lots of pictures of her out and about.   Love, love, love!  Keep 'em coming Leah! They kayaked around the island of Lokrum, which served as the scene location for Qarth in season 2 of Game of Thrones.  Leah wrote, "there were all these ruins and an old monastery (not still in operation). And it's said that monks at that monastery cursed Napoleon." She also said, "there were all these wild peacocks but they were not afraid of people at all and just wandered around and would come right up to you." She continued, "and there were babies!  Like, baby peacocks."  Can you see the two babies above? She also reported that the island is now a wildlife reserve and people are not allowed on ...

It is 10:30 pm in California and that means it is 8:30 am in Corfu.  Leah, Pepper, and Michael will be leaving Greece today, on their way to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Earlier this week they took The Kalypso Star on a trip around part of the island.  The Trojan/Dolphin logo, along with the blue and white motif seems exceptionally Greek.  The boat has a glass bottom and they were able to look down to see fish as well as look out at the old fortress.  The old fortress has its roots in the Byzantine era with earliest structures dating back to 6th century AD. Here is Leah joining the fray of a maritime statue in front of the New Fortress, new fortifications having been put in by the Venetians starting in the relatively recent 1500s AD. They also rented a paddleboat and took these pictures looking back at the island. The cliffs of Corfu and the clear waters. Corfu from a distance. Requisite cat picture.  Leah reports that this cat came a...

Grecian cat enjoying a cushion. When I travel I always love to take pictures of the cats .  Yeah, I know, it is probably not good news that kitties are running amok all over the world... but they are just so cute.  When Jon and I were married in Puerto Vallarta I remember visiting a restaurant on what I will forever call Cat Island (its real name is Isla Cuale).  Jon offered a piece of fish to this very charming kitty and, by the time the waiter returned, we were surrounded by about 15 cats.  The waiter gave us an exasperated look.   On the good news front, last year we returned to Cat Island and found a vet clinic had been established.  On that very day they were spaying/neutering kitties en masse.  While the tables of groggy post-surgical cats in the open air was very strange, the progress for the kitties of the Rio Cuale was heartening.  But, I am off-subject. I did not come here to write about Cat Island. I came here to write...

Leah moved in to her college dorm last week. This weekend I clicked on the Leah link in this blog and reminisced about her wit, her chicken hat, and her willingness to choose her own path without bogging down on trifles like what other people think.  Go Leah!  We love you :) This weekend we also moved out of our rental in downtown Chico and into a fifth wheel trailer. It is really cool and weird at the same time. We are only partially "on the way" as we are just staying at the Almond Tree RV Park here in Chico.  We still need to clean out the rental. I get a shiver of joy every time I remember that we are now able to tow all our possessions around with a truck. This kind of lightness has been a dream of mine for almost two decades. Speaking of decades, I'll will complete my fourth one in a few weeks. In retrospect, this decision to hit the road seems too coincidentally timed with my big 4-0. Mid-life crisis? Is this the Cyndi equivalent of buying a Porsche? Everything...

This weekend we experienced a mixed bag, including a birthday celebration, a disc golf tournament, and a viral Internet post. It all started with Leah turning 18 on Friday.  She requested, as a birthday present, that we let her have the house to herself Friday night to host a party.  Since we live in a small house with one living space, we said yes. It would be hard to have a nice party with one’s parents taking up the whole couch.  The only rule: do nothing that gets anyone sued, evicted, or jailed.  This rule seems to cover most of the bases. Jon, Axel and I were left needing a place to stay Friday night.  We were planning to play a disc golf tournament in Paradise on Saturday morning (a whole 20 minutes from Chico), so we booked a room at the Comfort Inn right near the golf course.  When the front desk asked for my zip code at check-in I felt a little sheepish answering 95926. The tournament, Shasta Series 2015 (#2) at Lava Creek Disc Golf Course, ...

Tonight we attended the Sherwood Montessori Christmas show. No slipping out early for us- having a child in the youngest grade and another in the oldest grade. No matter, though, the show was entertaining, that quintessential mix of proud, embarrassing, and adorable moments. Axel's class sang a song called "We Are the Mosaic" which was very cute. Leah played the lead villain, Wolfgang, in Little Red Riding in the 'Hood . She is quite the budding actress, though I'm sure she'll kill me for writing that. Good thing she never reads my blog. Axel looking handsome in his grey vest. He was nervous before the show so I told him to picture the audience in their underwear. He later reported that he did just that. He loosened up talking with his blond classmate. Here's Leah, ahem Wolfgang, before the show, in the green hoodie. Wolfgang strutted around the stage and got several laughs from the audience. The other children are members of Wolfgang's gang. We...

Today we learned, belatedly, that there has been a fire at the De Dolle Brewery in Esen, Belgium. Jon and I toured the brewery last year and consider the owner, Kris, a friend. Apparently a hot water tank caught on fire; one employee was seriously injured and is now recovering well. The brewery is still functioning but there will be some production delays. There is more info about last year's visit to De Dolle at this link . Best wishes to Kris, his wife, and the whole De Dolle crew. On the other recovery front, Axel's toe continues to heal and he seems to be getting around with little pain. Leah's doing some recovery as well, from the intense, daily, 90 minute track workouts. Jon gave her some muscle ice lotion and told her that she would adapt after a few weeks. We really work our youngsters out hard here in Boulder! It appears to be a Fall day outside. Something about the gray quality of the sky says Fall, despite some flowers pushing through. Another good day to ...

Today was spent mired in the vagaries of new computer configuration. On the upshot, after trolling forums for answers to my Windows 7 woes, I discovered that my previous responses to other Windows forums earned me a little gold badge of nerdliness. Nice to be recognized. Jon just left for a Tuesday evening group ride, leaving a wave of embrocation vapors in his wake. Earlier, he took Axel for their weekly stint at the velodrome. I never washed the clods of Palo Duro Canyon off the frame so Axel probably left a trail of red dirt everywhere he went. Leah is going in circles of her own, having joined the interscholastic track team at Southern Hills. She aims to be a sprinter. I did a little 3 hour bike ride yesterday, myself. It turns out the offices of the company I subcontract for can be reached almost entirely by dirt trail. Unfortunately 3 hours was a bit long for my first ride of the season and I am feeling the pain today. It is a good day to be stuck at a computer receiving s...

Here's what we've been doing instead of blogging... Leah started Middle School. Here she is annoyed to have her picture taken while waiting in line to have her picture taken. I guess that is kind of annoying, but as it turns out, this is a more "natural Leah" photo than the school portrait. The school portrait has the forced smile that is de rigueur for middle school students. Axel started Big Boy school at the local Montessori Elementary (Pre-K to Fifth grade). Here he is dwarfed by the gym/stage/cafeteria. Axel turned 3 and rode this horse to Steamboat Springs for a mini-vacay. Leah absconded with Axel's cow poke vest and rubber band rifle (BD gifts from Dad). The hat is her own. Grandma gave Axel a lovely wooden US puzzle and a beading toy. All very Montessori-esque. Grandma also came to Steamboat... here she is looking cute and treating us to a Gondola ride. Axel and I at the Gondola Summit. Leah and Axel enjoyed the ride. The next day we babysat Sam wh...

Tonight we saw the Rockies play the Padres. Rockies "untied" the game in bottom of the ninth... I was glad both because the Rockies won AND because they did it without extra innings. Axel hammed it up all night long. Leah and Dara enjoyed the game.