A Tamara Story

Our dear friend Tamara Cardon is going on a mission with Bob to the temple in Bolivia. The mission president called her and told her that it is the poorest ward/stake/branch in the church. She was instructed to bring very simple clothes. We all love how Tammy dresses and know this is going to be an adjustment.
She told a story of a young family, father, mother and two year old child, that saved money knitting sweaters to earn their way to the temple. The day came when they were catching the bus for a six hour ride to the temple. When the bus pulled up it was crowded and there were no seats. They offered to stand. "No," they were told, "all the standing room is taken." The couple watched how people put some of their belongings under the bus in the compartment beneath. They asked if they could ride in the bottom of the bus. The answer was yes, they crawled in the bottom of the bus with their two year old and made the journey.

Two Wild Indians

What Else Are You Supposed To Do For Your 51st Birthday

This is the photo after we went skydiving. I was a little queazy and shocked that I'd just had the super surreal experience of jumping from an airplane. Tony gave this present to me on May 5th but I didn't take him up on the present until September. Everytime I thought of skydiving, I broke out into a sweat. So I carefully kept putting him off. And patient, loving soul that he his, he just patiently waited.

The motivator was my odyssey for the school year. This is the third year I've challenged students to do an odyssey. The first year, I didn't even do it and it was a very informal request. The second year, I made the kayak trip of the Napali Coast my odyssey. I knew I'd do an odyssey every year for the rest of my life. Kind of like a pilgrimage.

Several of the students mentioned that they wanted to skydive. I told them about my husband's present but that I was too chicken. Even telling them brought sweat to my armpits. Then I chose it as my odyssey for the year and a false bravado arrived to at least book the experience.

An odyssey is an adventurous journey often fraught with peril. It requires some sacrifice. This fulfilled both of those requirements that I require of my students. It gave me the courage to go through with the dive. I was relatively relaxed-I knew I was going through with it, so I enjoyed the pre-jump process.

When it came right down to it, I knew there was no choice and I was determined to experience it to the fullest. When actually jumping out of the plane, I was supposed to put my head back, but I wanted to look desperately. The instructor ended up pulling my head back. I wonder now if it was only so the newbie parachutist didn't freak out. It went all too fast and I was loving it, though thoroughly scared.

It wasn't until the tandem jumper started guiding the parachute that it made me sick. Other than that, it was truly amazing. And surprisingly the landing was smooth.

I would go again. Really.

After thought: It was a Friday night and PJ had just completed her first week of college and dorm life. I guess she came home that night expecting us to be sitting around lamenting her moving on and away. She walked in the door and asked, "Where's Mom and Dad?"
To which Holly replied, "They're skydiving."
To which she was totally shocked. How appropriate.

“Whatever frees our spirit, without giving us self control, is disastrous.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

School at the JPaul Getty Villa Summer Institute

I just returned from an incredible experience. Three days of study from experts in the fields of Greek and Roman antiquity--the culture, the history, the preservation of ancient artifacts. Most of our lecturers had PHD's from Oxford or Berkley and had a passion for their interests. It was also a behind the scenes look at art installation and art conservation.

The photo is Victorious Youth, a Greek bronze created between 300-100 BC. The Romans at this time were gatherers or thieves of Greek art. The feet broken off at the ankles indicates that the bronze was attached to a marble or stone pedestal that was too heavy to transport. The bronze was roped and ripped out of the statue. Quel dommage. He was then transported by ship and found thousands of years later in international waters-the ship must have sunk. When found, he was rather encrusted but this is what preserved him. It's an amazing piece of art.

A Rainy Night

May 29th-- raining and 54 degrees this morning when it wasn't raining. A strange May with expectations of city-wide flooding. I've loved it and have been able to pull a ton of deadly grass off the hillside. We planted strawberries, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, peas, squash and they've been fed abundantly. There are now three patches of berries and I'm expanding the goldens-our favorites. It's a competitive jaunt to the garden to beat out Max, Annika and Holly who love the berries as much as me.

So....here is Jillian with her friends from Chicago, Jake and his sister Lauren. They built a fire and made s'mores. The sky was intensely beautiful

Jillian and I Visiting the Graves