Education Week 2016

My Education Week experience this year was full of '1st'...

First time I have ever gone alone without a friend or group of friends.  I had planned to go with my friend Jan but her husband surprised her with a trip to Iceland so her 100th Marathon would be a memorable one.  Yes she has run 100 marathons!  She has amazed me for all the 26 years that I have known her....

 I think running a marathon in Iceland is a good reason to skip Education Week this year! And I did see lots of friends.  Some from my current ward, some from Idaho and even one from Loveland, Colorado where we lived almost 40 years ago!

• Only time I have ever gone to a 'weight loss class'
• Which probably influenced me to NOT have a mint brownie or BYU ice cream or fudge....this was definitely a first
• Very first genealogy class ever...
• First time it really hit me how many years I've been coming to Education Week.  I remember years ago when Michael Ballam was everyone's favorite teacher.  He told us about his new baby boy, Ben, who had been born with spina bifida.  And now Ben is home from a mission!  He served in Hawaii with his parents. Isn't it great that he could do this!!!
• First time I have ever stayed with sister-in-law Tammy and her husband Richard.  This means I got to spend time with several of their cute grandkids including the adorable Annie.
  
  
  
• Great speakers I heard for the 1st time were Hank Smith and G. Sheldon Martin.  Sheldon is the brother of my new favorite from last year, Shad Martin.
• First time I've ever gone on a hike...a nice Saturday morning stroll with Tammy up Provo Canyon by Bridal Veil Falls.
  
  
  
  And a few other thoughts from Education week...
  
  
  I took 46 pages of notes and 6 photos with my phone.
  And I only have 4 personal goals and 6 seminary goals.
  I still think Michael Wilcox is the best speaker ever.  I learn so much from him each year. 
  My sister-in-law Katherine is a great Education Week buddy!
  
  
  This week of learning is a great boost to my year! Now bring on the early morning seminary!  Starts next Tuesday and will be every school day at 6:15 a.m.!  Just me, 18 teenagers and the Old Testament!
  
  
  Our theme for the year is 

Wake up and be awesome!

Fisherman's Wharf

After the Barça game and a short nap we decided to drive down to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner.  I had visions of sitting outside on a bench eating shrimp and watching the seagulls.  I had forgotten one thing....San Francisco can be cold, even in July!

Cold but still a really fun place to walk around!

We enjoyed clam chowder inside a nice restaurant.  I'm not complaining because this was our view!  I  love San Francisco!

Driving Down Memory Lane

George and I lived in the Bay Area of Northern California in 1978-79.  Mary was born while we were there.  It seemed like the perfect time to go back and do a bit of remembering.

The apartment where we lived when we moved to California.   Americana Apartments.

 We lived in the first floor apartment just behind the patio umbrella.

When we moved there we were 'adults only' but after Mary was born we no longer qualified so we happily moved a few blocks into a cute little house.  We were only there a few months so neither of us had really clear memories of what the house looked like.  I was in a post natal fog and he was teaching early morning seminary so we have excuses for our memory lapse. We just couldn't agree as to which house we had lived in.  Since it is my blog, I am putting the house that I think was our home!

Here is our church.  Mary was blessed in this building on Grant Road.

And George had a fantastic year working at HP Labs on Page Mill Road in Palo Alto with some of the smartest people he had ever known .

What a great life we have had!

FC Barcelona vs. Man U

Game day!  The traffic getting into the stadium was dense but thanks to George's brilliance, we were at a hotel that was walking distance so we avoided all the car traffic and just walked on over!

Two of the most famous stars playing that day were Wayne Rooney for Man U.

And Luis Suarez for Barcelona!  I admit that I had my doubts about Suarez.  If you don't remember, he was the one who bit someone while playing in the World Cup and was banned from all soccer for several months.  When Barça signed him, I was not sure I'd like seeing him in one of our jerseys.  But he had a phenomenal year.  Scored lots of goals and behaved himself!  Not only did he score a lot, he worked hard and had many assists.  I'm impressed with him.  Plus, yesterday he was the only player who signed lots and lots of jerseys as he left the field after the practice.  He was a fantastic signing for our club!  The attacking 'trident' of Messi, Suarez and Neymar is one of the best ever!

My view as the teams came on the field.....

Here come the teams led by captains Andres Iniesta and Wayne Rooney.

The looks on these little boys is priceless!  I think they should have cute old grandma ladies walk out with them!  I'm volunteering! The tall guy is Gerard Pique whose girlfriend is the singer Shakira.  The other player is Sergio Busquets.  Both fantastic players!

Although the game ended with this score.....

It was still a fantastic afternoon.

Dream Job

When I grow up I want to be the official FC Barcelona photographer! Just look at his cameras!  I can imagine what great shots I could get with that lens.

You get to hang out on the field with the team while you 'work'!

Plus you travel with the team and are all buddy-buddy with the players!

Hey, I want to try out your camera!

I'd fit right in huh?

Barça Barça Barça

As soon as I heard that FC Barcelona would be making a US tour this summer I started dreaming of attending a game.  When I saw that they were playing Manchester United in Santa Clara, California, I got really excited!  So for Mother and Father's Day George and I gave each other a trip to California and game tickets!  Then George surprised me with tickets to the practice session which included a dinner and a chance to 'meet and greet' a Barca legend.  So excited!!!!!

The practice session was supposed to start at 5 in the afternoon so I was lounging in bed when George woke me up with the news that he had just gotten a text and the practice time was now at 11:00.  I got ready really fast and we made it on time!  Before the practice we hung around outside and talked to people.  One really cute couple had come all the way from Atlanta to see the game.  Funny thing is that she was a Barça fan and he was a Madrid fan.  I teased her and said, "And you let him hug you??"  They were very fun to talk to.  We have the same deal in our family and we also love our Madrid fan!

When we walked into the stadium there they were, my 'boys' as I like to call them.  I just loved seeing them practice!

I am pretty sure I looked like this the whole time!

I love my Barça boys! Although  Messi, Neymar, Alves, Mascherano. and Bravo did not go on this tour (they had just finished the Copa America tournament and needed, and deserved, a vacation and some rest) there was still a lot of star power!  Plus this is the time for the younger players to get playing time so there were quite a few of the 'kids' there too!

Jordi Alba waved at us when the guy by me yelled his name!

Barça brought their trophies to share with the US fans! La Liga, Champion's League, and King's Cup...and I'm not sure about the others!

Several of the 49ers were there for the practice.  Pretty obvious who is the American footballer and who is the European footballer!!!  The Barcelona players tried their hand at some passing and kicking with an American football and the 49ers tried dribbling with a soccer ball. The Barça players pass like girls and have a tendency to punt the ball straight up in the air.  And of course the 49er players can't control a soccer ball at all........I don't think any are ready to be cross over athletes! 

To try and make up for the change of the practice time, we got an unscheduled tour of 49er/Levi Stadium which is a one and a half billion dollar facility! Very impressive!  I got to sit in the press box.

Some of the art work made me think of Matt.  He loved Joe Montana when he was a little boy.

Matt's favorite shirt said, "Joe Knows Super Bowls".  In fact I think that shirt is still in a box somewhere with Matt's favorite shoes from first grade....pink hi-tops converse all-stars!!

And I did get my photo with two legends Dwight Yorke from Manchester United and Juliano Belletti from FC Barcelona.  Ok I will admit that I had not heard of either of them but Juliano is pretty cute and he scored the goal that won the 2006 Champion's League for Barcelona! I suppose that makes him a Barcelona legend!

What a great day and the fun was just beginning!

PDX Carpet

 

So they are replacing the 28,000 sq. feet of the 25 year old carpet at the Portland Airport.  Sounds like no big deal huh?  Well it is, if the carpet is considered 'hipster'?  I'm not sure exactly what 'hipster' means although I know that Portland is full of people who are 'hipster' and I'm pretty confident that as a 62 year old, conservative, religious, Republican I am not one of them!

The definition of hipster is a young person who is trendy, stylish, or progressive in an unconventional way; someone who is hip.  In the 50's and 60's they might have been called beatniks!

So exactly what makes carpet hip?  Who knows?  And the city didn't even realize that anybody would care about the carpet.  Well they were wrong!  Once Portland realized that the PDX carpet's days were numbered they took to social media to pay tribute.  The idea went viral.  First there was a Facebook page and then came twitter accounts.  Before long, the PDX carpet design started popping up in physical goods.  The trend apparently started with socks and quickly spread to T-shirts, shoes, mugs, water bottles, neck ties, bike jerseys and human bodies.

Here is the new carpet...

My 'un-hipster' opinion is that it is pretty and colorful but I read one 'hipster' review that said it looked like it belonged in a Florida retirement center!!!

No worries if you loved the old carpet.   Just go to any 'Made In Oregon' store and buy a shirt or earrings or a cell phone case or coasters or a onesie or a cap or a mug.  I think I'll buy a magnet....then maybe I will be 'hipster'!

Sweet Grass Baskets

I knew I wanted a sweetgrass basket from South Carolina. This craft originated in West Africa and has been passed down through the generations.  Originally the baskets were used to winnow rice.

Mary and I enjoyed talking to this brother and sister who learned to weave baskets from their parents and grandparents and were now teaching the skill to their own children.

When we mentioned that it was Mary's birthday, we learned that it was her birthday too!

I have always loved buying something directly from the craftsman.  Makes it seem so personal!

My new basket....now it just needs to be filled with some delicious buttermilk biscuits to keep things really southern!!!!

Protests

All over Charleston we saw these flags being displayed.  Any guesses what they represent? Some thought a gun or an animal.....what do you think?  I'll give you a hint....it is protesting something!

Does this help?

These flags are in protest of the pollution caused by Celebrity Cruise lines when they stop in Charleston Harbor.  Does it do any good to have protest flags if no one knows what you are protesting?

Charming Charleston!

'Charming' is the perfect word to describe Charleston!  Tree lined streets, lots of flowers, and beautiful well kept old houses!

Ornate wrought iron...

Fun paint choices....

Balconies....

Typical Old Charleston homes have a long porch on the side on all the floors.  This helped with cooling during the hot South Carolina Summers.

Porch lights have to be gas to give the more authentic look...

Loved this street name!  Only problem is that it is a common college prank to try and steal the street sign.  Once the city tried attaching the sign to the pole in such a way as to make it impossible to remove.  Guess what the kids did?  Yep, they just took the whole pole!

Mary and I had fun looking on-line at homes for sale.  We liked this one right on the harbor.

And this super elegant one, also on the harbor!

We both loved this little courtyard hideaway on the side of this gorgeous house!

I wondered at the price of this home that was probably once a stable or slave quarters.  Our guide said that it was a less expensive one....around one million dollars.  The one we liked the very best was a large old home for 5 million....and it was a fixer upper.  Definitely needed kitchen and bathroom renovations!  Wow! 

Do you think they'd take confederate currency?