Ángela
She's back! Ángela spent nearly a year with us in 2015/16 on exchange from her home in Mallorca, Spain.
This time she brought her whole family and we spent five days showing them the sights, sounds and flavors of Northern Minnesota. My Spanish is limited to yes, no, thank you and beer. Shari's on the other hand is short of fluent but quite functional. Despite the language barrier, and living worlds apart our families are more alike than different. Juame and I enjoy riding bikes and figuring out how things work. Wine makes Magdalena and Shari smile, and they both make everyone feel loved. Ángela's sister Petrina has a gentle voice and by example teaches everyone to laugh more often.
It was five fantastic days that we will not soon forget.
ps. I took the group photo and tried to Photoshop myself in - obviously it didn't go well. :-\
Torna! Ángela va passar gairebé un any amb nosaltres el 2015/16 quan canvià de casa seva a Mallorca, Espanya.
Aquesta vegada va portar tota la seva família i vam passar cinc dies mostrant-los els llocs d'interès, sons i sabors del nord de Minnesota. El meu espanyol està limitat a sí, no, gràcies i cervesa. El Shari, d'altra banda, no té fluïdesa però és bastant funcional. Malgrat la barrera lingüística i els mons vivents, les nostres famílies són més similars que diferents. Juame i jo gaudim d'anar amb bicicleta i descobrir com funcionen les coses. El vi fa somriure a Magdalena i Shari, i tots dos fan que tothom se sent amat. La germana d'Ángela Petrina té una veu suau i, per exemple, ensenya a tothom a riure més sovint.
Van ser cinc dies fantàstics que aviat no ens oblidem.
ps. Vaig prendre la foto del grup i vaig provar a Photoshop en mi mateix: òbviament, no va sortir bé. : - \
regatta
Sitting in the bow of the Ursa Minor, Grace, a chatty coxswain, and 7 boat buddies cruised the 2000 meters in the 60th Annual Duluth International Regatta.
melting
Grace and Isabel are teaming up for a summer sitting job. Sophie spends a few morning a week with Isabel until Grace gets home from rowing (Duluth Rowing Club) at o'clock. Today Isabel and Sophie melted plastic beads in muffin tins forming colorful discs. From the looks of it, should be a fun-filled summer for these two :-)
red rocks!
Our bucket list just got a bit shorter. The Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado is widely regarded as the best concert venue in North America. The John Butler Trio is widely regarded (by our family at least) as one of the best bands on the planet. Combining the two made for an epic Colorado vacation.
concert video from somewhere in Japan - but gives you an idea of a JBT show.
special
Everyone remembers their first car.... Especially when it's a gift from your Grandparents, and if you're the luckiest kid in the 218 area code, it's also a Mercedes-Benz!!! Grandma and Grandpa downsized to one car and gifted Grace their spotless 1999 Mercedes-Benz SUV. It's blue, all wheel drive, built like a tank, has airbags, solid crash test ratings and old enough that insurance shouldn't be too bad. Essentially, the perfect car for a teen driver.
Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Grace's first car is really something special.
public service
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: This person was mistakenly issued a drivers permit on May 29, 2018 . If you know her name or whereabouts, please alert local authorities as she represents a risk to area drivers. Until this person is located, non essential travel in and around the Duluth area is not recommended . ;-)
Le Papillion
Isabel played Le Papillion (the butterfly), by Glenda Austin for her spring recital piece. While it sounds nice here, the high ceiling and sparse acoustics of the church made it something really special. Bravo Isabel!
record high
88°F for May 16th was a new record. Planned dinner on the deck, but by the time the grill was hot, a chilly 45°F wind chased us inside.
yellowstone
Over the past 15 years or so I've made 12 Yellowstone trips (somewhat of guess as the first few trips were shot on a film camera, the slides from which are somewhere, I'm sure...) My photo buddy and naturalist-birder extraordinaire, Spark has joined me on all but one. While the park remains a stunning monument to the beauty and beast of Mother Nature, much has changed over the years. It use to be that an early and late season visit provided a bit of solitude, but recently campgrounds are full, roads crowded and new restrictions in place. While I might complain "our park" is being overrun, sharing the power of Yellowstone with more people will hopefully inspire preservation of our wild places... and for that, I'm willing to share.
ps. The swan and bighorn sheep images are each made from two photos taken a few seconds apart.
bigger tub... or smaller dog.
muscle memory
When Grace's floor music cut out just 10 seconds in, it was muscle memory for the next 2 min... The crowd tried to help by clapping a somewhat unsteady, and likely unhelpful beat that faded. Sound returned in the final seconds, and amazingly was in perfect sync with her finale.
Bravo!
odocoileus virginianus
A small group of Odocoileus virginianus' caught Isabel's attention at breakfast this morning.
