Un Festin

Preparaciones-

7:00 am

Limpiando al Ritmo de Boogie: quitando los polvos, sacudiendo las telaranas, arreglando los banos, aspirando la casa, sacudiendo y planchando los manteles, lavando la cristaleria, puliendo la plata, viendo ideas en las Real Simple, Martha Stewart, y Victoria para decorar la mesa/casa, y todo escuchando musica Cajun/Zydeco.

House Cleaning Boogie: Dusting. . . . cleaning cobwebs, scouring bathrooms, vacumning, moving furniture, shaking out and ironing tablecloths, washing crystal, polishing silver, perusing fall magazines for table and decorating ideas, listening to Cajun/Zydeco music.

Fiesta
7:00 pm
Hicimos la cena con los 22 personas que vinieron a nuestra casa a comer. Familia y unos otros sin familia que no tenia adonde ir para celebrar el dia. Fue bello, tantos familiares, y entre ellos gente mayor con sus cuentos, gente joven reunidos con sus primos y los sobrinitos. Lo pasamos bien todos.

The dinner party with 22 people who came to eat at our place, Family and those without anyone came to celebrate the day. It was beautiful seeing so many family members, and amongst them the elderly with their stories, the young together with their cousins and little nieces and nephews. We had a good time.

Thanksgiving

Dia de Accion de Dar Gracias

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Dad gracias en todo porque esta es la voluntad de Dios para con vosotros en Cristo Jesus.

1 Tesalonicences 5:18

Lord, when I have food,
Help me to remember the hungry.

When I have work,
Help me to remember the jobless.

When I have a home,
Help me to remember those who have none at all.

Block Party

El teatro no puede desaparecer porque es el único arte donde la humanidad se enfrenta a sí misma
-Arthur Miller-
Usually this is when everyone on your block of the neighborhood gets together for a meal or event. In this case it’s a group of “speechers” coming over to BLOCK or work on their interpretative choreography.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader;The Dark Island
La Travesia del Viajero del Alba; La Isla Oscura
C.S. Lewis

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry -Lloro por La Tierra,
Mildred D. Taylor

Alice in Wonderland -Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas
Lewis Carroll

Our youngest director never at a loss for enthusiasm!
No falta nunca entusiasmo nuestra directora mas joven!

Enchanted with Chihuly

Ventana en la lavandería, Sacramento, California, noviembre 2008

Colored glass holds a special delight all its own. I especially love blue and green sea glass and old glass bouys.



Chihuly has captured our attention as of late and we've watched his studio work, followed his exhibits and dream of glass blowing some day.

Glass Fantasy

For now we see through a glass, darkly… 1 Cor. 13:12- Ahora vemos por espejo, oscuramente...

Santa Rosa Debate

2008-2009 Debate TopicTeam Policy Debate/Debate Politico de Grupo
Resolved: That the United States Federal Government should significantly change its policy toward India/Resolver: Que el Gobierno Federal de los Estados Unidos deberia
significativamente cambiar su politica hacia India.

Fracasar no es una opcion;
Failure is not an option (bumper sticker on our way to the tournament)

Perserverance- "Never, never, never, never give up;
Perserverancia- Nunca, nunca, nunca te rindas. " - Winston Churchill

Vinedos (Vineyards)

"Mira a la derecha
y a la izquierda del tiempo
y que tu corazón
aprenda a estar tranquilo." - Garcia Lorca

El viernes sobrevivimos un desvio de casi 2 horas aprovechando el tiempo para sacar fotos en este bello lugar.
Friday afternoon we survived an almost 2-hr. detour through Napa Valley by taking advantage of photo opportunities along the side of the road.

La tarde soleada nos regalo el perfecto talon de fondo para apreciar la esencia de esta tierra encantadora, y mejor zona viticola que tenemos en CA.The sunlit afternoon provided the perfect backdrop for appreciating the essence of our state’s best wine country.

Sonoma – Valle de la Luna tiene una belleza aspera y ruda.

Napa - Con colinas verdes, un paisaje que goza de una dulzura mas rural.

A Day in the City - San Francisco

Union Square, San Francisco, November 2008

Union Square
S.F.*Last Friday I caught the downtown Amtrak for San Francisco to meet up with Jim who had been there all week for training. How I love train travel and there’s little I enjoy more than a good adventure. To leave for someplace new with only a sketchy idea of time and destination is thrilling! I journaled:
Sacto-Davis: plowed fields, beehives, strewn tires & homeless sites, rivulets & rivers, a white heron, a hawk, large flocks of little birds, leaves yellowed by autumn along the tracks. I am reminded of the book memorizers who lived outcast lives in Farenheit 451.
Davis to Fairfield: a lovely young student boarded and sits across from me to study. She has dreamy blue eyes and dark lashes, but seems extremely nervous and distressed over a Chemistry midterm with her book, notes and papers all across the table. I think about my oldest who aspires to study medicine at UCD.
Fairfield-Martinez: mudflats, grasslands and ever closer hills with brown and green velvet, giant steel warships and freighters appear to be grounded/docked in the grasses, but are instead on bodies of low water, oil refineries. I wonder about toxins and pollution levels and how much wildlife has been affected here.
*After a stop, transfer to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)and ride into the City I disembarked at Union Square Station. It was bustling with shoppers, panhandlers, city folks, all going somewhere. . . there’s movement all around and in every direction. The energy and excitement of places like this are wonderful. Having this opportunity to spend a free afternoon in S.F. I browsed the SF Chronicle for ‘must see spots’, Fri. 11/14. I discovered that the Museum of Craft and Folk Art had a special exhibit, The Shape of Things; Paper Traditions and Transformations. And it was a comfortable walk from Union Square. Nice!

Saint Patrick Catholic Church of San Francisco, 756 Mission Street., a Historic Landmark from 1851

Juxtapositioned with the Jewish History Museum (cubist  building to the left)

It was an eventful day, ending with tapas around the Mission District and then a late night ride home. Sometimes it's easy to forget that we live so close to so many wonderful places.

Museum of Folk Art and Crafts

Beautiful origami and other paper creations

Sanos & Locos

«En asuntos de amor los locos son los que tienen más experiencia. De amor no preguntes nunca a los cuerdos; los cuerdos aman cuerdamente, que es como no haber amado nunca», Jacinto Benavente.

Rustic bike in a small northern Spanish town

Seleccion de la Semana

Pick of the Week - I could listen all day!

A Museum Dedicated to Harvest

When we were in Gran Canaria, Spain we got to see the making of a new museum in the south area of the island. It's a museum dedicated to the agricultural history of the "Fortunate Islands" and specifically the harvest of the tomato in that region. It reminded me a little of the Discovery History Museum in Old Sacramento. The inauguration of this Museo de la Zafra is today - there at 7:00 this evening. Fascinating! Aqui celebramos este acontemiento cenando con bocadillos y Sopa de Tomate, por supuesto.

Apples from Apple Hill, California, November 2008

Cualquiera sabe cuantas semillas tiene una manzana, solo Dios sabe cuantas manzanas tiene una semilla.
~Anonimo
Anyone knows how many seeds an apple has, but only God knows how many apples are in each seed.
~Anonymous

Lo Mejor de Octubre

"Then came October; full of merry glee." -Spencer-


"No hay disfraz que pueda largo tiempo ocultar el amor donde lo hay, ni fingirlo donde no lo hay", - François de la Rochefoucauld-

Jack'O Lanterns at the Bones' (all pun intended-haha) house.

On Halloween some strange characters emerged from their rooms. I just love the hairy monster above and this cowgirl!

Olive/Aceituna

The eighth month of the old Roman year. By the Slavs this is called 'Yellow month," from the fading of the leaf; to the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Winter fylleth, because at this moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin.

Colorful gourds; the last harvest from our untended garden.

The Art of Great Gift Giving/El Arte de Dar Buenos Regalos

En estos dos ultimos meses he recibido tres regalos especialmente encantadores.
Ahora bien, no es que estos regalos son tan caros, pero que han sido tan diferentes y personales.
1-Un regalo me acompaño desde Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Espana. Con cuidado, lo empaquete en mi bolso y me lo lleve de un lado del mundo al otro pasando por siete aeropuertos (no me lo preguntes) con los ninos para finalmente llegar a casa. La caja con una Santa habia sido propiedad de un Conde famoso del siglo XVII; una especie de reliquia religiosa que carinosamente me dio de broma un amigo arqueologo al salir de la isla.

2-El siguiente regalo fue una caja hecha a mano, creada para celebrar mi cumpleanos. Nunca he visto nada parecido y me asombra contemplar el tiempo y pensamiento requirido para crear tal obra maestra. Se parece a una flor que despliega sus petalos uno por uno y cada uno (12 en total) contiene una cita o foto de familia y amigos favoritos. Es realmente magica.

3-Finalmente, hubo el regalo de tiempo que me dieron una querida amiga y mi dulce hija. Porque las dos sabian lo mucho que queria hacer un blog, me regalaron su tiempo para que pudiera gozar de esta forma maravillosa de comunicacion.
Ahora, las personas estas son de un raza especial. Te escuchan esmeradamente cuando hablas. Prestan atencion suficiente a los detalles para descubrir como eres y que tipo de regalo te daria mucha ilusion. Tienen el don de hacerte sentir unico y especial. Es un Arte Verdadero. Vosotros me inspirais mucho! Valentin, Michele, Diane y Risa
- Muchas Gracias!
These last two months I’ve been the recipient of three incredibly lovely gifts. Now, it’s not that the gifts were so costly, but that they were very different, rare and extremely personal.
1-One gift accompanied me from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. I carefully packed it in my handbag and carried it from one side of the world to another through seven (don’t ask!) airports by the time the children and I finally arrived home! The ceramic box with a winsome saint was once the property of a famous Count from the 17th century; a religious relic of sorts, jokingly and lovingly given to me by an archaeologist friend upon my departure.

2-The next was a handmade box created for my birthday. I've never seen anything like it and am awed by the time and thought required to make such a masterpiece. It resembles a flower that unfolds petal by petal, with each petal containing quotes and photos of family and favorite friends. It’s genuinely magical!

3-Last, there was the gift of time bestowed upon me by a precious friend and my sweet daughter, both who knew I how much I wanted to blog. They gifted me with their time so I could enjoy this wonderful form of communication.

*Now, people like this are a special breed. They listen carefully when you talk. They pay sufficient attention to personal details to discover what you are like and what type of gift you would treasure most. They know how to make you feel individual and special. This is a True Art! You all inspire me - Valentin, Michele, Diane and Risa. Thank you!!