Weekend activities

Thank goodness it is Monday so I can get something done.

The weekend started with A. making the counterclockwise
loop of the Claremont Wilderness Park without stopping.

Friday evening included a bicycle maintenance workshop for the cycling team,

high school Comedy Sportz (old video),

and a Halloween party.

Everybody was up early Saturday for different events, but there was still time for a post-run dip in the hot tub followed by

a visit to a church rummage sale. 

The rest of the day was filled with Village Venture.

First stop included the library book sale,

followed by wandering around the booths. I loved these business cards.

I loved the Golden Retriever rescue booth, too!

This is was my favorite costume, which was inspired by finding the cheese at a thrift store.

I spent time volunteering, offering to register voters, handing out information about
how to contact elected officials and encouraging active participation in democracy.

Following in my parents' footsteps we have started going to more live theater.
It was great to see our children's elementary school classmates and D.'s students perform.

Sunday included a mountain bike race (no mechanical problems and no injuries - hurray!).

The last big event of the weekend was the farewell event for our
international teachers, which was an energetic group this year.

 

This video was their summary of the time here and a way to say good-bye.

But now it is time to take out the trash, pay the bills, and get ready for Halloween.

Will I Miss This?

Last week I donated to and volunteered my time for the German Club's Oktoberfest. We were lucky that the weather was pleasant and I was lucky not to be cooking the sausages. I especially enjoyed seeing students I had not seen since they were in elementary school. Nice group of kids at the high school!

 These pictures are from a few years ago, but not much has changed.

I was back on campus on Saturday for the speech and debate team's tournament. My job was to keep the judges fed and happy. This picture is not of that event, but it had the same feel to me!

Another week, another event on campus. Today was pie day for teachers (yes, I understand that it was not March 14, but that is pi day - two different things). It was fun to work at such an easy event - making people happy with very little effort. Plus I enjoyed seeing the faculty and staff.

No volunteering at school next Wednesday since the schools are closed. Good idea to schedule training for the day after Halloween!

What I See

I started running on campus twenty years ago and some things have changed.

Hens have been on my route for a while the coop has a little window where I can drop things off for them. I finally defrosted some vegetables the tenants left in the freezer. I am not the one who gave them persimmons, which are seldom around the house long enough to go bad.

I watched this area get marked off and then watched the process of it being created, but I would never have guessed it was a putting green until I saw it. I have seen someone using it once, but maybe early in the morning is not the best time practice putting.

The biggest change was the replacement of my favorite porta-potty (always available, always clean). I should probably find out if they are unlocked early in the morning before nature calls. I know the needs of the students are a higher priority than mine, but I am still a bit sorry about the change.

Passing Time

Why so few blog posts? Sometimes there is nothing much going on and sometimes there is so much going on that there is no time to post. Here is a brief photo summary.

We celebrated the holiday season with lots of company.

For six weeks we are paired with two international teachers (Argentina and Estonia) who staying at a local hotel while they take classes and shadow a teacher at a high school. It is entertaining to hear their questions about the US ("Do Americans really leave their shoes on when they go inside?") and they are patient while they answer all our questions. The university paper wrote up the program here.

Lots of homecoming activities - crowning of the king in the park followed by the parade (drone video here). There was the game that night, which some of the teachers went to so they could get pictures of players and cheerleaders, just like in the movies. The fireworks were a bonus. I am not sure any of teens we knew watched the action on the field.

Lots of cycling is going on. A. uses his road and mountain bikes with D. or with friends. I went out on my single on a spouses ride and over fall break we had a little tandem ride. The big ride was when A. made it to Baldy village. I am not sure I like knowing how fast he goes coming down.

Some time and energy is spent avoiding the pumpkin spice traps. These were at the fabric store!

We have been doing a good job of having family reading time in the evening, but recently we played a game first, followed by a reading of the book that inspired the game.

Off and running!

A Good Beginning

The inauguration of Pomona College's tenth president began almost a week ago with music, poetry, and art events and wrapped up today with a symposium in the morning, a ceremony in the afternoon, and party in the evening. I am so impressed with not only the inauguration committee's ability to organize all the events, but even more so with the search committee's success in finding a fantastic person.

The ceremony was held in Bridges Auditorium and you can watch the entire event here.

The highlights for me were the gamelan performance, hearing President Starr's college professor speak, and President Starr's inaugural address. I wish her father could have been there for the occasion, but was glad to learn that her mother and parents-in-law were there.

All around campus were poems submitted (and some written) by the college community.

The party included live music, food trucks, and a photo booth.

Congratulations to President Starr and wishing her all the best during her time at Pomona College.

Not-so-quick trip

When I said it was a quick trip to Ohio I meant that I was not there a long time. Actually getting there was not so quick.

I got to the Ontario airport, usually an echo chamber, one hour before my flight and the security line was all the way past the baggage claim and starting to wrap back around. I was worried about making my flight but figured if I missed it I could take a flight a couple hours later that went to Cleveland by way of Phoenix, a flight I had intentionally not chosen because I was worried about a heat wave in Arizona, which would not have been unusual for mid-September. What I didn't realize was that if I missed my flight I would have had to buy another ticket since it would have been my fault for not getting to the airport two hours before the flight.

I was so happy to get to the gate as my group was boarding. I was so happy that I got a seat I like (up front, I have no problem with middle seats) and my seat mates were friendly. When we arrived at Chicago Midway I didn't mind that our plane couldn't get to the gate right away because I could see that my next flight was delayed. It was a beautiful day, but it had been foggy earlier.

As we pulled up to the gate I checked to see whether my departing gate was close to the arrival gate. Cancelled. Reload. Cancelled. Aagh. I got off the plane and asked the airline representative what to do and he told me which gate to go to so I could put my name on standby. I was feeling okay about it until he muttered that there would be twenty people ahead of me.

That was optimistic. My next long line of the day was to put my name on standby. At least I had the sense to write to D. ("Help, help!"). He found trains, planes from O'Hare, and rental cars. Meanwhile I started asking around to find out who else was going to Cleveland. One guy closer to the front of the line got on a flight through St. Louis, but it meant missing the baseball game (bummer, since it was win number 22 in their big streak). Two other people were put on the next flight and not standby. That left me and the guy going to Oberlin to plan his 50th college reunion. Off we went to the car rental place.

Wow, third long line of the day! But thank goodness D. had reserved a car because some agencies no longer had any. The ones that still had cars were raising the prices, according to the people behind me, one of whom had a dad who went to the same high school I did. Small world.

Finally, on the road! I appreciated that my travel partner was willing
to drive out of Chicago, which turned out to be easier than expected.

Our first stop was in Indiana to change drivers and get some dinner. We were in such a rush to get out of the airport that I didn't even get any popcorn! I was amazed to see a smushed penny machine, but it took my quarters and not my penny so I have only this picture. The options included an Indy car, the US flag, an Amish horse and buggy, and a four-leaf clover.

Our next stop was to switch drivers in Ohio (don't you just love driving where the states are small so you can be in three in just a few hours?) and it was a much nicer facility. Plus there was another smushed penny machine. This one was more expensive, but it took bills and provided the penny. Success. Options for this one included Ohio State Buckeyes, Blue Heron, a deer with an enormous rack, and The McCoys and Hang On Sloopy. 

My new friend and I were both a bit sad about not having tickets on the turnpike anymore. We also talked about how we spend our days, studying languages, and how good it was not to be sleeping in the airport! I might have arrived at Cleveland Hopkins almost eight hours later than I originally expected, but I got to sleep at my parents' house. All is well that ends well!