Sabbath of the Seventh Year

Sabbatical leaves are are based on the same idea of using the fields for six years and then resting them for the seventh. Most people on leave are doing plenty of work, but it is still a chance to recharge.

This is not a way to announce that we are taking a leave, but a post to say seven years ago we opened our home to Maggie, the sabbatical dog (click here to read that post).

It's that time again!

I Voted!

When I got an email reminding military and overseas voters to return their ballots I knew there was a problem. Because California changed its rules in order to increase voter turnout there had been no election last November because it was an odd year. The most recent time I had voted had been when we were overseas and I hadn't changed my address back to the US. I didn't have a ballot to return.

I went to the polls on election day and they asked me to turn in my mail-in ballot in order to vote. When I was unable to do that they gave me a pink envelope with a form to complete and a regular ballot. After voting my ballot was placed in the pink envelope and I was told my ballot would be counted within the thirty-day limit and I could check the status online.

After thirty days I did check and the site said my ballot was counted. I also changed my address back to California and made the big decision to permanently vote by mail. I figure I can turn my ballot in at a polling place if I want. If I am working the election I don't have to worry about making time to vote.

All that was great and then I got mail!

Now I am set for November. If only people would stop asking me to run for office!

Summer

The weather has been great and the pace of life has been great, too! The World Cup is over so we have time to do other things.

Time for a two-sided jigsaw puzzle. The other side has political stamps.

Time for a picnic and Shakespeare under the stars.

Two of us tried a group ukulele lesson.
The person who plays the cello picked it up very quickly!

photos from Getty Images
And two movies!

Not shown - swimming, cycling, and watching the Tour de France.  Also not shown, summer homework and summer research. Wish you were here!

Family outings

It's normal for teens to want to hang out with friends, but we also want to do some things that include the parents. We have been trying to schedule one thing a week, taking turns picking what to do or choosing something together.

A. took a year-long ceramics class and will have a pottery class at school this year. 

He is lucky to have access to a wheel over the summer and has found a place to fire pieces.

Despite this, we had never been to AMOCA, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, less than five miles away. What a treat! 

Local artists sell pieces in the gift shop, which you are allowed to pick up and examine.
I was worried we wouldn't make it to the museum.

The museum is in a old bank,

complete with Millard Sheets mural, the only non-ceramic piece in the permanent collection.

Walking through the exhibits with A. was a treat since he was able to help me see the pieces through his eyes. Maybe we'll go back for an artist workshop and demonstration.

Of the current exhibits I especially liked the juried show.

Neo-Jomon: Tonosama Head
By En Iwamura
Best in Show

This is made of clay. I cannot even imagine how long it took to make.
I did not touch it but I really, really wanted to.

Hard to believe this is a ceramic piece, too.
I didn't touch this one, either.

A personal collection was on display in the basement.

It seemed to be about fairy tales with cautionary messages.

But I thought this message was just as important to remember.
Never buy anything for your kids.

"While antique shopping with his parents on Lincoln Boulevard in Los Angeles, this stein caught young Robert Wilson’s eye. After much persistence his parents finally purchased  the tankard for 13-year-old Robert. Thus began his lifelong love of collecting Mettlach ceramics. He and his wife collected an impressive 3000 pieces!"

Looks like we'll be back here before too long!

Random Iceland Pictures

One last post of pictures that didn't fit anywhere else.

so many adorable souvenirs, so little need

yarn-covered hangers at the cafe where the choir rehearses
and where we watched a World Cup game

lupine, which we saw all over

Iceland poppies

small-town ambulances

lichen

moss

forest spirit

taken as we drove by 

and on a sign not much farther from there

I am struggling to learn about it, but did find this quote on another blog. "Kleifaheiði, (404 m) a mountain road from the Barðaströnd coast to the head of Patreksfjörður. On the top of the moors, at their western edge, is the Kleifabúi cairn in the shape of a man, raised by road workers. It is said the it resembles Hákon J. Kristófersson (1877–1967) a farmer and a congressman from the farm Hagi at Barðaströnd."

midnight in Borgarnes on 21 June

What a great trip!

Hot pots, pools, and spas

We tried all three!

We didn't see anyone enforcing it, but we did wash before putting on our suits.

photo credit - DAG
Our first swim was at Fontana Laugarvatn, a spa with a cafe.

They had three pools with different temperatures (32-40C) and 

we could get in the lake to cool off before getting back into the warm water.

Our next swim was at the end of a single-lane gravel road.

photo credit AAT
where we could sit in the hot water and look out onto the ocean.

Reykjafjardarlaug 

photo credit AAT

This one had a brief mention in a guide book, but I am not sure we would have found it if there had not been three cars parked there already. There was an honor box for payment and no showers, which might be why the pool was not very clean.

photo credit AAT
Not far from the pool was a very warm (45˚C?) natural hot pot.

photo credit Charles Haynes
It was great to get out of the cold air and into the warm water to have a soak.

The final spot was not visible from the road,

 

but there was definitely a pool

and a hot pot.

If you looked very carefully beyond the hot pot you might have noticed the mountain range on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, including the snow-covered Snæfellsjökull volcano to the west (right-hand side of picture). We crossed the Breiðafjörður and had a stunning view, which was good since it was rainy and very overcast the next day, when we had considered visiting.

We didn't buy many souvenirs but I liked this magnet, the road sign for pools.
Hot pots are usually marked by the same symbol with a thermometer.

Broken

Let's hope it stops at three.

I was sad when we learned that the price to fix our 17-year-old washing machine was the same as the price of the new one. On the other hand, it made the decision process very easy!

My teen has had the same watch for 5.5 years and doesn't understand why I keep buying this style when I know it will break. On the other hand, I love all the features and it is only $10 to fix.

Sigh. We received a pair of these chairs as wedding gifts. On the plus side, I married someone who likes to sew.