Good Books

Lots has been happening around here and I feel as though I'm composing a blog post daily...but somehow they haven't been making their way from my head into cyberspace very well lately.  I am happy to report that I have a very good excuse for my negligence: good books.

I have been on "summer vacation" from my Montessori classes (still have some things to be doing but no classes and a more flexible timetable, for sure) since coming back from the States and so I've treated myself to some fun reading.  Remember last year when so many of you sent books with my mom for a literary birthday surprise?  A little over a year later and I still haven't read half of them.  Well since coming home from the U.S. I've read three books, two of which were part of my birthday collection. 

What a pleasure!

It is so fantastic to lose yourself in a book!  With class reading, I rarely take time to pick up a novel or something non-class related to read.  It's been nearly a year since I've let myself sink into and get lost in some good fiction.  My two latest reads were The Pilot's Wife, Annita Shreve and The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach.  Both were great, but especially the second was one of those books that catches you from the first sentence and then lingers with you beyond the last page.

Now, unfortunately, I do have to get back to class reading because we have quite a large paper due in September and getting it (mostly) taken care of in August would really be ideal. 

Other than reading, the biggest thing going on around here has been preparations for the exchange student we'll be hosting from the end of August through November.  A sophomore student from my home town will be coming to live with us and study at the local high school this first semester.  We're very excited for the opportunity and have been busily cleaning, painting and furnishing the upstairs bedroom where she'll be staying. 

Inevitably, this has meant organizing all of the upstairs--my old classroom, and our "junk" room--not just the spare bedroom.  It feels great to get things up there squared away.  We've been thowing away a lot, donating other things and I have several posts up on an equivalent to "Craig's List" in hopes of selling a few items we  no longer use/need.  Suddenly the second story is becoming a part of the rest of the house: a place I like to be!  We have one more trip to Ikea planned and there are still some windows to be scrubbed, but it's starting to look nice up there. :)  Nothing like guests to galvanize a cleaning frenzy!

A Note on Heat

This is just to say we've come out of a crazy heat wave which to my mind gave new meaning to clichés such as "suffocating" or "opressive" heat. 

On Tuesday of last week the car thermometer read 35ºC (95ºF) on my 8:30am morning commute (!).  We had daily highs of 113º+ throughout the week, and even by 10:30 pm the temperatures only dropped to around 100ºF. Saying simply that it was hot is a terrible understatment; being outside was like sitting in an oven with a heavy blanket wrapped around you. 

Heat and sun are violent phenomena in Spanish, and with good reason.  They say the heat aprieta (squeezes) and the sun's rays pegan fuertes--hit hard.  After a week like this last one, I'd say the lexicon is quite appropriate.  The brutally sunny, sweltering heat of Spain is anything but hospitable and usually far from plesant.

Thankfully, the worst has passed. 

...Now the highs of between 100º-105º feel refreshingly, cool by comparison. ;)

Back to the Grind

Although I never blogged about it (we are wary of announcing online long absences from home), we spent the last two weeks of June in California with my family.  It was great. :)

I will spare you the details of our preparation and travel; but suffice it to say that neither was uneventful (unfortunately).  The Friday before our Sunday (eeeearly) morning departure, I nearly burnt down the house and had to spend all afternoon "mopping up" with the help of several bottles of cleaning fluid.  Then our layover at Gatwick airport turned into a nightmare when some poorly informed Norwegian Airlines employee insisted that we needed to show our return tickets in order to pass through to international connections...

...But despite a soot-covered home and British customs, we made it all in one piece and forgot every bit of the trouble we had getting there the minute we stepped through the doors at Oakland International Airport and were received by Maggie's smiling face (due to traffic, my parents got there shortly after our arrival).

We spent our first week camping at a plush KOA in Petaluma, where my Aunt Jeanne and Uncle John joined us with their grandkids, whom I had never met (they are nine and six!).  Emily was especially thrilled by the whole experience because we slept in my mom's fire tent pitched outside my parents' big fifth-wheel trailer. :)  We roasted sausages over the campfire and marshmallows, too.  We swam in the pool, visited the children's museum in Petaluma (twice), had a luau (!) and generally enjoyed each other's company.

During our stay in the Bay Area we also made a visit to the San Francisco Zoo and met up with friends who live in San José with a daughter just 10 months older than Emily.  It was such fun watching them play together.  They seemed to genuinely enjoy each other.  My best friend, Miriam, who lives in Philadelphia (!), was also able to visit us that first week and even spent the night with us after our day at the zoo.

We also squeezed in a visit to my Aunt Kitt and her husband Peter, who live in Sonoma.  Coincidentally, my cousin and his family were visiting at the same time so we got even more family time out of the deal.  We had a delicious barbeque feast and enjoyed their crystal clear pool to beat the 100+ temperatures.

The second week of our stay was all at my parents' home in Sierra Valley.  We had intended this to be a week of relaxation...and in the end it was, I suppose; but there are just so many people to see and things to do that inevitably we did end up feeling rushed on more than one occasion.  Still, on a whole we kept a great balance and didn't over-book ourselves.

Sunday the 25th we had a family reunion with the Barkley's (my mom's family) at a Reno Ace's baseball game.  My dad's Aunt and Uncle from South Shore came along, too.  It was a really fun event despite the high temperatures.  My mom had reserved seating adjacent to the airconditioned bar (good thinking) and the seats themselves, were also shaded during the game, so it was all good.  We got some good visiting in, but didn't see a whole lot of the game, honestly. ;)

My aunt from Portland made a trip down to Reno just to see us (!).  I was so excited that she was able to make it work with her schedule.  Of course, attending the family reunion was an added attraction.  She stayed through Tuesday with us up at Rainbow Ranch and subsequently got her fill of my little Emily (oh, us too!).

My second parents (Miriam's family), threw a potluck party for us--or as Miriam put it, a "Viola Viewing Party"--on Monday night and we spent another great evening eating delicious food to our hearts' content and laughing and chatting with friends.  Later in the week we got together with the Stantons again because there is never enough time with good friends.  We took a lovely walk out to Fraizer Falls in Lakes Baisin followed by lunch at the restaurant where Lucy is waiting tables for the summer.

The rest of the week we did actually relax around home.  We made a few trips to Reno for some shopping, had a quick coffee with my Aunt Su, and spent an afternoon with Auntie Maggie, who showed us her apartment, introduced us to her handsome kitty, Finn and took us to her favorite haunts around downtown Reno.  Sundance bookstore and ice cream on the shore of the Truckee river were highlights.

Lucy was working a lot of the time we were there, sadly; but we did get time with her and her silly, ball-obsessed dog, Diesel, too.  Tita Lucy spent a night out at the ranch and we made cookies together--a big hit with Emily!  But perhaps the most special thing we did with tita Lucy, was going for a ride on my mom's old grey mare, Hobo.  Emily seems to be shaping up to be quite the cowgirl, something her Ga and tita Lucy were happy to indulge.  Towards the end of the week we were even able go play with Lu's new baby filly, Scarlet.  Emily was pleased to see that Scarlet nurses just like she does (ha!).

Unfortunately the saying is true: Time flys when you're having fun.  Our time in Poonahphoonah (as Emily says, California...) was too short.  Two weeks flew by and before we knew it we were back on the plane and headed East.  Now it's been nearly two weeks since we've been home and the transition hasn't been easy, espeicially not for little Emily, who got very used to being with both of us 24/7.  I am working four mornings a week during the summer and since we've been back, she has spent the majority of my time away from home crying and making life pretty miserable for her poor mamá. 

Getting back to work hasn't been easy for me or Angelines either.  It's always rough getting back into the groove after a good vacation.  I think this third week will see things smooth out a bit more since our jet-lag is fully gone at this point.  We've got our refrigerator restocked now and menus made up for the coming week, too...so that is very helpful where I'm concerned! 

I'll leave you with some pics from our visit. :)

Barkley family reunion at the Ace's game in Reno :)

Luau at the Petaluma KOA.

Lucy let me play with Scarlet, too!

Three of my favorite cowgirls.

Fraizer Falls with friends--a beautiful day for a hike!

You may be seeing this one on a Christmas card... :)

Dinner after a day at the zoo.

Don't these faces say it all??  At OAK International Airport.

Airplane selfie.  Emily was the best little traveller EVER.

Brushing Mr. Finn with tita Maggie.

Between the Ears

My Whoa Whoa (my dad's father) could be a gruff man, although perhaps that was a characteristic he carefully cultivated, hiding that fun-loving sparkle in his eyes beneath his impressively bushy eyebrows.  The thick, silver, wirery hairs that curled up at the ends, gave him a look somwhere between severe and comic.  And I suppose that's a very accurate description of my grandfather himself.  He could be a force to be reckoned with, for sure; but he loved teasing and playing with us, too.  He was famous for complimenting my Grammie's cooking with the line, "Goooooood groceries!", which always got a laugh from us grandkids.  When I went to college, I remember him telling me (for perhaps the 100th time) that I should study psychology because in his words, "All we are is what's between the ears."

In light of that insight, it is perhaps ironic that he suffered dementia in his last years.  His brain began to fail him and play tricks on him.  He would have long conversations with a beautiful black and white portrait of my grandmother, who had passed away years before; and some times had trouble recognizing us.  "I'm Sam's girl", we had to say to jog his memory back to us, and a flutter of recognition would cross his face as he'd smile saying, "I'll be! Aren't you pretty!".

As most of you know, I didn't follow my Whoa Whoa's advice.  I studied Literature and Spanish Language, majors which might very well be oposite to any scientific study.  In the last few weeks studying my degree in Montessori education, however, I was reminded of his words.  We're nearing the end of our theorhetical studies and will soon begin more practical classes.  This final "module" (as their called) is titled Scientific Validations.  I wasn't sure what to expect from a title like that, but as it turns out it is the most thrilling and interesting module so far.

The purpose of the class is to take a look at Montessori's theories and methodology in the context of the most recent breakthroughs in neuroscience: mirror neruons, flow theory, emotional intelligence, to name a few.  It has been astounding to corroborate the observations of Dr. Montessori from more than half a century ago, with modern research which has become impressively precise thanks to technological advances (electrodes for measuring neural activity, for example).  I am in awe of this pioneering, Italian woman's insight and capacity for rigorous scientific observation.


Neuroeducation is a new term I've learned in this class.  It refers to educating with the brain in mind (pun indended!).  If we truly want deeper learning in our students and improved education in our schools, we must look at how the brain functions and develops in order to effectively adapt teaching and learning methods. Traditional teaching and learning ignore the fact that the brain is a social organ, for example, encouraging competetivity over cooperation.  But pedagogy aside, I am amazed by the marvels of this pinkish-grey organ of roughly just three measly pounds.

Mirror neurons, for example, are absolutely amazing.  Through the simple observation of an event, these specific neurons allow us to experience it, on a neurological level, as if we ourselves were participating.  The same neurons fire when we see a person eating as when we ourselves are enjoying a meal.  Not only that, these specific neurons also allow us to "absorb" the emotions of others in our environment.  Don't you automatically begin to smile when you approach a group of laughing people?  Haven't you ever felt your own happiness drain out of you when another person enters the room in a bad mood?  Mirror neurons are the biological reason behind those reactions. Ultimately, mirror neurons make up the biological hardware that allow us to empathize with others. We are hardwired to interact in society and to care for one another. 

The complex neural circuits that develop in our brains even from before birth change daily and throughout our lives.  The famous saying about old dogs and new tricks isn't exactly true.  The human brain maintains it's most unique characteristic--plasticity--until the end of our days, though in a varrying degree.  Every interaction we have with our environment and the people and things that surround us has a chemical and often physiological impact in and on our brains--actually changing the existing neural connections and or creating new ones.  Humans are a complex whole, that cannot be denied, but certainly the single most influencial organ in making us who we are does in fact lie right between the ears.

April Showers, May flowers and Pilgrims

April showers bring May flowers...

And what do Mayflowers bring?

Pilgrims! 

The last week in April, after a straight 31 days with no precipitation of any kind and record high temperatures for the season, we got rain.  Not much, but it was damp for a few days anyway.  The fields were already browning mid-April, so I'm not sure about the promised flowers in May.  In my patio at least the flowers have taken a beating, but not for lack of water.

Don't worry, there are still plenty of blossoms.  My roses are budding out and a few are blooming.  My California poppies have been at it for about a month now and I've got bushes of daisies.  But there is one bed in my patio that I've been thinking about replanting for some time.  It was full of calla lillies, which are beautiful, but only have flowers for a month or two and then their huge green leaves seem to weigh down those crispy stalks and rather than a nice neat bed of plants, it becomes a tangled jungle of green-going to yellow.  Then in September-October, we've got to cut back all the dead (now completely brown) leftovers and the bed is completely "empty" until around January when little shoots start coming up again.

Such is the life of a bulb, I suppose, but it just seemed a waste of space in my opinion, so last weekend I went to town and ripped out the whole bed.  Those of you who garden will be pleased to know that I gave the bulbs to my neighbor who has a beautiful flower garden outside her house.  She was very happy and my conscious was clear--it wasn't outright "plant"icide.

I have since added new soil and planted six little tomato plants. :)  For some time now I have been wanting to plant veggies.  Having such a big patio in a place with such a looooong growing season (provided you have a sprinkler and some shade, that is!), it seemed a pitty not to take advantage and grow some good vegetables.  Now that I've got my 'mayters, I'm thinking of going really crazy and planting some peppers and maybe eggplant, too, in some of the pots that are currenly inhabited by ailing flowers.  I'm looking forward to homegrown gazpacho!

May flowers also come in other forms in La Roda, namely in bouquets.  This weekend is the romería, pilgrimage for Saint Pancras and we have purchased a flower offering for him.  As you might remember, he's the patron saint of work, health, youth and bread...a good guy to give flowers to, if you ask me.  Tomorrow we'll accompany him from the church out into the countryside and up to his chappel.  Emily and I will be getting dressed up in our flamenco garb for the occasion so I promise some pictures later.

Tonight is the pre-pilgrimage party...but in typical Spanish style it didn't begin until 10 pm and as much as you all may think I'm raising a wild child with total disregard for what could reasonably be called a "normal" schedule, she does in fact have a bed time (around 10:30ish) and so we had to skip the party.  I was tempted to make an exception and take her out anyway, but tomorrow we'll be getting up early to go with "Pantancasio" (how Emily says, San Pancracio) and so she wouldn't be able to sleep in, nor will she get a nap tomorrow since we'll be out in olives all day picnicking and merry-making.  So you see, I am in fact a responsible mother...just leaning a bit more towards a Spanish definition, rather than an American one in this respect. ;)

¡Viva San Pancracio!

Compassion

When I cam home from work Monday, Angelines told me the following story:

She and Emily had gone to the park.  While they were there a morbidly obese little girl of between three and four arrived accompanied by an older sister.  She had trouble even walking because her little thighs were so big.  The dress she was wearing had a huge chocolate stain down the front.  She somehow worked her way up the slide, and after a long while of working herself around once she'd reached the top, she was finally able to get into a sitting position to slide down.  On the way down, however, the poor thing actually got stuck she was so fat.  Her sister had to tug her down the rest of the way.  The little girl then decided she wanted to swing, so her sister stuffed her into the baby swing (the kind that's basically a box to sit in) and the girl was happy as could be.

After some time when the elder sister announced it was time to go and began pulling on her sibling to remove her from the swing, a drama of tears ensued.  The older girl quickly gave up trying to extract her little sister and began to walk away saying, "Fine! Stay here!  I'm leaving!"  Of course,  you can imagine the reaction that got out of the younger girl, who couldn't, even if she wanted to, get out of the swing on her own to run after her sister!  She was bawling full blast at this point and according to Angelines, Emily was watching in complete horror as the whole scene developed--with eyes like saucers, she was looking back and forth between the two sisters with an expression of shock on her face.  I can only imagine what she must have been thinking.

Finally the big sister turned back and somehow successfully wrenched the little one free.  The girl was still sobbing, her face completely wet.  At this point, my extraordinary daughter stepped forward, taking the crying child's arm in her hands and gently gave this stranger a kiss.  Then, as she continued to stroke her arm, she said soothingly, "No llores, estás muy guapa." (Don't cry, you look beautiful.)

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Emily full of grace

About a month or so ago, Emily became obsessed with ballet.  I'm not even sure how it happend...but suddenly her auntie had bought her a tutú and the crown my mom bought her in January is now being put to regular use.  We even bought her a pair of ballet slippers (two sizes too big were the smallest we could find).  At some point, Angelines discovered the wonders of modern technology--wifi (read YouTube) on our new TV (thanks mom and dad). :)  She began putting on videos of classical ballet dancers and Emily went nuts.  She would stand for a full twenty minutes immitating the jumps and moves of the dancers to Swan Lake and the Nutcracker.

It warmed my heart to watch her earnest concentration and sometimes quite acurate moves, especially having grown up taking my little sister Maggie to ballet classes.  In my house, Christmas without the Nutcracker ballet wasn't Christmas at all!  However, for a few weeks now she seemed to have lost interest, moving onto other more exciting conquests--namely going to the bathroom on the lawn (!).

SIDE NOTE: Potty training is in progress and Emily is most interested in her peepee and poopoo.  The other day she pooped in her bucket outside and proudly showed me (yuck...I made Angelines clean it out).  Then on a walk with the dog she declared that she, too, wanted to peepee in the campo "like Bela".  She's taken to running around the patio naked since it's already very hot here, and loves peeing down the drain on the lawn.  I'm affraid she likes going to the bathroom everywhere but in the potty!  ...I'm hoping this is all part of the process.

Anway, back to what I was saying.  Her interest in dancing had somewhat waned over the past weeks, but this evening she put on her crown, tutú and slippers before dinner and asked for the "bailarinas" on TV--I was astounded by her graceful moves!  She's improved incredibly since she first started and it doesn't even seem she practices much.  Anway, here's my little Sugar Plum Fairy for you to see for yourselves. :)