Balloons and Curtis Salgado

This weekend is the Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival in Albany. It's a craft fair and hot air balloon festival that is family friendly and cheap. I hadn't been for several years, but last night the parents and I attended my favorite part of the festival: The Night Glow. This year there were six balloons lit up after dark, and as a bonus, Curtis Salgado was playing a concert. It was a great. Too bad my pictures aren't. :)

Questioning....

When I was a kid I asked questions. Often instead of a good answer I'd be sent off to "look it up." And I'm glad since the skill is a useful one, and one I wish my students would learn. The Internet has taken looking things up to a whole new level. But I often wonder if we have traded good research skills for easy answers. My students love Wikipedia and don't understand why I often encourage them to look deeper. But I digress...

Yesterday I was doing my workout when I overheard a conversation between a member I'd never met and Karin, the employee on duty. The subject that came up was language school. This new (I soon found out) member is moving to Costa Rica at the end of the year. I was curious about why she chose Costa Rica, so I asked. After all, if don't ask....

So, this very nice woman answered my inquiry. She and her husband are missionaries, and their church has a language school in Costa Rica. Oh. Mission work is something I know very little about. So I asked another question. And another. And...well you get the picture. I finished my workout and realized I'd totally monopolized this woman for twenty minutes. I thanked her most politely, wished her luck on her mission in case we don't cross paths again, and left with greater knowledge than I had previously. I hope I wasn't too pushy, and that I didn't turn her off to polite inquiry. If I did, I'm really sorry.

A Rosy Glow

As I drove home tonight I was reminded again why I love living here. The sun was setting, shining a warm rosy glow over the fields and trees. I rolled down the window and smelled "summer". That combination of fresh air and freshly mowed hay mingled with plowed fields. I missed that when I was living on the Coast. There, the sunsets were spectacular (when we weren't fogged in) but the smells were different. They just weren't homey enough.

Summer's End; School's Begin

Okay, so I know that technically that is not a true statement. But I have to go back to work tomorrow. Summer vacation is over, ergo, summer is over. And it was just too short. I'm really not ready to put my teacher hat back. Thankfully, we don't have students for another week, so I guess I'll have some time to adjust.

This year will be different. Education cuts mean a half-time contract. Financial concerns aside, the scheduling will be a challenge. I'm not absolutely certain how that's going to play out just yet. Wish me luck.

Noonish and other words

Last weekend I typed a brief itinerary for our family reunion. I used "noonish" to describe the time for lunch. One of my cousins, who was visiting from out of state, wonders what that word "noonish" meant. When I explained, she wanted to know if that was an "Oregon thing." But it got me thinking about words, and where they come from.

Noonish. I don't know the origins. But putting the suffix -ish onto a time seems to enter my life often. When I make plans for dinner, it's "sixish"; plans for a movie, "seven thirtyish" And my friends do it too! Is it an Oregon thing? Or does it come from somewhere else?

Language evolves to fit our needs. I remember conversations during high school French classes about the role of the Academie Francais, which attempts to regulate the French language. Yet the French, like other cultures around the globe, have integrated words from different languages to suit their needs. And goodness knows that children constantly make up words to fill voids in their vocabulary. Sometimes those words stick around well into adulthood. I have one friend who uses the word "fantabulous". She's been using it for as long as I remember (we met in 4th grade), but I don't know when she started. But I do know that every time I use it, I think of her, even when she's in far off places like Guatemala.

Summer Weather

I just had to post about the weather. Last week we hit 106. And had nine consecutive days with the temperature 90+. That just doesn't happen in western Oregon!

And today...the temperature maxed out at 66 degrees.

Israel Family Reunion

Wow! The event I've been looking forward to (and dreading) is done. I'm a descendent of Michael Israel (b. ca 1736) and his wife Sarah Graves. Each year some of his descendents get togehter for an annual reunion. The reunion travels around the country (the last four have been in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and now Oregon). Next year, we're tentatively planning for New York.

So, the reunion is great. These people are wonderful, and we have fun. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone. The dread part was had a lot to do with being this year's host. It seemed like so many things went wrong. there was a mix up with hotel. My first caterer cancelled at the last minute. And I really didn't know what to do with everyone. But the biggest fear was "what if nobody shows up."

In retropecct, the reunion when well.

July 30 - most of the attendees arrived. I had a meeting room available and we spent time greeting each other and catching up. It was a fairly early night. All those east coasters were ready for bed by 9:00 pm. We owe a huge "Thank You" to the Corvallis Applebees for not freaking out when 17 of us showed up for dinner.

July 31 - I planned a trip to Champoeg State Park. They have a great visitor's center, and since most of the family came in from out of state (California, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Alabama) it was a good choice. Mr. & Mrs. Hinds, who provided costumed interpretation were awesome! We ate lunch at the historic Butteville store. Dianne and her crew did a great job of providing lunch for all 23 of us. And Judy at the Newell House Museum welcomed us graciously without prior notice (I didn't think we'd have time to visit).





August 1 - About 15 of us made a quick trip out to North Palestine Cemetery this morning. I told about the family branch that came west. This afternoon was some scheduled downtime/visiting/sharing. I had to get things ready for dinner. I owe Kendra and her crew at Bo-Mack's Barbeque for saving the family dinner. When my other caterer flaked, they very graciously stepped in and fulfilled our needs. The food was excellent! And I really appreciate all the work put in by the team at the Corvallis Holiday Inn Express getting the banquet room all set up on such short notice.




As I said, it was a great reunion. Definitely a success, which I'm greatful for.