My Posterity

On Mortality

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer last week and I am still reeling from it.

Her prognosis is good, she will be having a hysterectomy on Monday and they will determine her stage and phase of cancer. Apparently this kind of cancer has a high survival rate because you can remove the part of the body it has attacked fairly easily and comprehensively. Any prayers or good energy you can spare on her behalf would be deeply appreciated.

Up the Canyon

Living near the mountains is much like living near the beach: you have to make a concerted effort to enjoy it and actually schedule time so you can build memories like these:

My Conferenceness

The last picture I posted was of me on stage prior to starting a conference which I co-chaired the last few years. It was a ton of work, all life-consuming really, and those of you who have had the misfortune of being in my presence during the month of July the last three years, you know just how little else I do during that planning time. We had 1000 participants but even more challenging, we had five difference groups running completely different conferences all in the same building. Herding cats to submit agendas and logistical details in a timely fashion simply wasn't possible so we were running last minute on everything, of course. However, it is finished and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction on behalf of my wonderful organization and all the people who contributed to the success of the conference.

Those of you who have noted my absence during the summer (mental if not physical) will be pleased to hear that I am passing the baton to a co-worker who will chair it next year and I will be merely and advisor.

I am both thrilled and sad to be finished with that work but surely the time will be sucked away by some other event.

In other news, I will be traveling to Madrid in August to provide some professional development to a group of nuns interested in authentic assessment. You read that correctly, nuns. They are principals of 40 schools as part of a network. I am going to be doing this work in Spanish and I am very nervous about how that will go, but I figure anyone else would have done it in Spanish and if they are nuns than they ought to be more forgiving of my errors, no?

My only regret is that I am going alone. If anyone has some spare time I would love a little company.

Oh and last piece of news, I am writing this from my new iPad which I love to bits and pieces. If you don't have one, trés sad.

Finito

Day of the Sardines

In Spain, Ash Wednesday is a very sad event in which the partying comes to an end and they bury the sardines.  Or something like that, to be honest I can't remember how the sardines fit in.

But I do know that it is associated with the end of a party and great weeping of the Spaniards and I know how they feel because the end of Grandpa camp is marked with great sadness for our family.  Here is a commemorative film highlighting some of the great moments:

Grandpa Camp II (III)

Sorry for my dearth of posting, I am in heaven (aside from the weather, ahem) at the lakeside North Carolina Grandpa Camp.

For those who do not recall this little gem of an experience from last year, it is a combination of working hard and playing hard, my favorite mix in life.

Working hard:  Making meals for 20 people 3 x a day:

I am actually just taking a break from my paid job, the real chef is Aunt Jenny with the fab legs.  I show up to be her sous or provide periodic dishwashing support along with a few others not pictured.

Playing hard:  Intertubing children

Working hard: Kids' nightly chores to keep those shoes in line

Playing hard:  No explanation required

Working hard:  Preparing for the annual conference day and night (no picture but you can imagine me sitting at the computer and staring really hard)

Playing hard:  Eating delicious gourmet meal after delicious gourmet meal. 


I have some other pictures but Aunt Abby so kindly posted them on the Caboodle so I was able to borrow them for this post.  Stay tuned for today's events...

Working hard:  Making Harry's Hogwart's Haystacks for a crowd

Playing hard:  Eating red velvet cake pops and a treasure hunt for Hidden Harry Handouts

Partay