Getting Alsaced

Yesterday we arrived in Cologne, Germany in the morning and drove to the Alsace region of France. Below are pictures of Obernai, where we are staying. With the help of coffee in the morning and melatonin at night, we haven't experienced much of the discomforts of jet lag.

On Day one we visited the castle ruins of Fleckenstein. This castle fortress was built right into a rock.

Day two began with a lovely breakfast of quiche, pastries and cafe au lait. We drove the route du vin through beautiful contryside and villages. Here is the gate of Rosheim.

Most of the towns have a medieval town well.

We drove to the top of Mont de Odile, where there was a monastery set on a spot with cliffs on three sides. We took a walk along a wall built by Celts.

We ate grapes, took pictures of grapes, and sampled some wines.

Sunny and hot vacations

Fresno in June? Yes, it was very hot, but a pool in the back yard – and air conditioning - helped us stay cool while visiting our friends Sheila and Jeff. Jeff was participating in a music festival featuring works by Beethoven with the Fresno Philharmonic. We went to two concerts.

BANKS LAKE

This is a very beautiful spot in Eastern Washington. We camped with a bunch of friends and enjoyed hiking, canoeing, swimming, jet skiing and rock jumping (well, it wasn’t a very big one). Oh, yes, and eating – community meals and campfires with s’mores. We all succeeded in waterskiing on one ski, but one of us didn’t stay up for long. I hadn’t skied in about 20 years. At least I didn’t get sore.

View from the top of Steamboat Rock at sunset.

A Job for Joann?!?!

Yes, for the first time since Celia was born, I have a paying job. (part time.) It all happened rather suddenly. One day back in May it came to me that I needed to get a job. There were a number of reasons for this. I have felt the need for a new challenge, and for someone to hold me to higher expectations that what typically happens in a volunteer position. I also had formed some bad habits of being somewhat obsessive about the house and garden, and over-responsible for things I shouldn’t be taking responsibility for. I also felt the need to be around other people more.

The obvious choice for me was to return to teaching in some way. Though I haven’t taught for pay in 26 years, I find myself continually drawn to teaching in my volunteer work, and I have always really enjoyed it. Over the course of the next few weeks, I talked to a number of people who were involved in some form of teaching. I also checked to see what was necessary to renew my certification, and found that I have a life-time certification! What a surprise.

Because I love working one on one or with small groups, I thought about doing private tutoring, but decided that I needed to find a place to tutor where I could receive training and work with other people. So I checked with a couple of tutoring centers and decided to work for Sylvan Learning Centers. I have gone through their training and am beginning to teach, though very part time at this point. I am learning a lot about what is involved in prescriptive tutoring.

My ultimate goal is to work in some sort of tutoring program for disadvantaged children (similar to my work at First Place) with improved skills in diagnosing and setting up learning programs specific to the needs of individual children. I may take some classes this coming year toward this end.

Joann

Greenwater River Trail

The snow is still deep high in the mountains, so we have been hiking the lowlands. Late in May Dan, Colin, and I hiked the Greenwater River trail. We did get into the snow, but were able to find our way by following the tracks. The river was very full and new plants were shooting up everywhere.

Early Music Concerts

In May our Early Music Continuo Ensemble entertained the folks at Wesley Gardens with tunes from several centuries ago. The array of instruments includes harp, theorbo, viola da gamba, recorder, and lute. Dan and I performed a duet by Henry Purcell called "Resistance is but Vain", which features the word "no". It was a fun piece to do together. About 10 vocalists were involved in the concert. Grace had just returned from the health center the day before after a long ordeal recovering from a broken hip.



Dan played his baroque guitar, Mateo, for the Continuo Ensemble spring recital.

Happy Birthday, Celia!

Happy Birthday Celia!

Below are a few pictures that tell about a few of the things you are passionate about. We enjoy watching you pursue your passions and we share many of them with you...

tea parties...














...education ... good friends









... hiking and the environment



...music


























... Keith.





















...and the Lord.

May you always pursue your passions with energy and joy. May the Lord bless you with peace in the midst of your studies, love from friends and family, and much joy in all you do.

Love, Mom and Dad

Another trip to Vancouver

This time we spent some time being tourists while Celia and Keith studied. We went to Granville Island and enjoyed buying yummy things at the market and looking at the galleries.




Celia and Keith performed with Regent's gospel choir. One of the students there created this group and much of the music they sang as a project toward his degree. You might argue that most of them are the wrong color, but they sounded great!


We celebrated Celia's birthday at an Italian restaurant in downtown Vancouver. After dinner, we enjoyed a performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt, by the Bach choir, which Keith is a part of.







Our trip to Vancouver wouldn't have been complete without a trip to one of their beautiful gardens.