Wordstock

Perhaps it's because our mother was a teacher (and made us look up the spelling of words we didn't know in a giant dictionary by the front door), but I love words in poetry, in books, when talking. Portland is a city obsessed with words too and has an annual event called Wordstock where writers get together and discuss their work. I missed it this year, but found some great quotes in the newspaper this morning. One was from Alexandre Poussin who made a journey across Africa with his wife on mostly the good graces of strangers. He says, "I believe you must have very little goals, but you must follow them to the end. You ought to wish little, but for a long period of time." The only other choice, " is to be unfocused, dispersed and to achieve nothing."

This same article quoted G.K. Chesterton, "An adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." I LOVE that!

Yes, We Can!

I went to the Obama rally in Portland on May 18, 2008 when 72,000 people showed up on the banks of the Willamette River. A young fellow OSU alum next to me shot this picture of Obama with his telephoto lens...we were about 35,000 people back. The Decembrists, a local band that is one of my fav's, was playing when we made our way to the rally. To the tune of O' Valencia, we (my friend, Jacqui, and I) smooshed ourselves into the throng. I'd have to say it was a moving moment to be among so many people and to hear Obama speak.

So on this day after Barack Obama has been elected the forty-fourth President of the United States of America, I hope for change. My hopes are for a national healthcare system for all our citizens, for renewed diplomacy among the world's nations, for the end to the war in Iraq, and for our youth to retain their new hope by volunteering at home and abroad.

Beth in Vancouver, B.C.

There is almost nothing more beautiful than fall in the Northwest. I had a chance to experience it via train as I rode up to the International Conference on Urban Health in British Columbia, Canada. A cohort, Emily, and I were presenting a study from our Geographic Information Systems class last winter. We connected with another couple of friends of ours who were going to the conference and toured Vancouver together. I know these conferences are meant for networking, but I'd have to say the best part of the whole trip was getting to hang with the girls. They're some pretty remarkable women!

Dancing Child

That's the name of this Cauzal Coffee, and it's liquid sunshine. Part of the proceeds from purchases can be donated to specific causes...for instance, to World Relief's Child Survival Project that I was involved with in Burundi. So do the children in Burundi dance? Many do...especially if they have enough to eat, are free from malaria, are immunized against measles, and have clean water to drink. You can tell where my heart lies. Children are the same everywhere. They love to play games, go to school, make music, and explore. If you want to join the cause, check out Cauzal's website: http://cauzal.com/mycauze1242.

Happy Birthday (yesterday), Gabrielle!

Gabrielle had a birthday yesterday. I'm trying to remember what it was like to birth her 23 years ago...I remember the c-section and her coming out looking a bit like a little, old man. Wow! She's changed into a stunning, young woman. I was so proud of her yesterday. She wanted a haircut for her gift and donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. Look at her "before" and "after" pictures:


Then we had a blast in the evening going to Portland to meet two of our other favorite 23 year olds (cousin, Alana, with baby, Adelina, and best "sis," Cherise) at Marrakesh. Of course, big bro, Josiah, came along too.




Not only did we get to eat with our fingers, but Gabrielle got her own personal belly dancing lesson. Finished off the night at our car with the birthday cupcakes that Suzanne helped us decorate. Have a good year dear, Gaby! You are a bright spot in our lives with your exuberance and kindness. I love you!

Crush (noun)

The harvest crush has begun right on schedule! These pinot noir grapes, Dijon clones from France, look just beautiful.

Steven, Martha's husband, is the tractor man. Do you see the forklift on front? It's used to pick up these bins of grapes and move them around the farm. Good thing for us because we're hauling a lot of grapes already!
Martha is doing what she does best...taking care of others. Josiah has a nasty case of poison oak, so Martha is applying calamine lotion before the day gets underway. (He didn't get the poison oak on their farm).
These are the farm dogs...black one is Maddie and the yellow lab is Warnie. Couldn't ask for two better dogs (except maybe my two dogs, Jas and Bee).
Isidra is picking grapes and has done so for about 3o years! Ditto for Mario, her husband.
It's Josiah's first year...look at him dumping those buckets....yea, for the bucket brigade! It's my second year, and a much better one than last year when it poured down rain!!!

Let the Birthday Week Commence!

Gabrielle turns 23 this week! She said she felt like she was still young at 22, but 23 seems OLD!! We celebrated her birthday early with Mom and Dad since they're going back to Arizona the day before her birthday. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant in Newberg, The Golden Leaf, with our special server, Lec, who feeds us delectable curries and pad thai. Afterward, we each made our own banana split and played a game of hearts. Gabrielle often wins, but this time she let the really OLD player (sorry, Dad) win! While I was gone this summer, Gabrielle was invited over for dinner and games quite a bit. We're going to miss them, but this week is all about celebrating.