Serenity Now

I was up early and packing the car with more supplies (fishing poles, camp chairs, my tent) and then it was time for the drive up past Grand Rapids to Rockford. What a gorgeous weekend for camping!

I spent the day with Jonathan, setting up my tent, talking with my family, visiting the dam in Rockford, making s'mores, and enjoying the sunset! A very relaxing day, before a very active weekend!

Floating on Root Beer

The planning/packing for the family reunion camping trip was in full swing today. Oh yes, every year pretty much my entire extended family heads up to Rockford to camp on my great uncle's property, which sets picturesquely on a pond, on a several acre cow farm, next to a babbling brook and several nature trails. It's the outdoorsman mecca. I never run out of things to do! I can't wait. There's swimming, floating, fishing, hiking, river walking, talking with the fam, cooking over the campfire, s'mores, way more food than any one person could ever eat, scavenger hunts, sleeping next to the river sounds...it's heaven. A close second to Gull Lake.

Anyway, today I prepared by packing, making lists and piles of clothes for my different activities for my OUT OF CONTROL weekend (I have the family reunion camping trip Thursday/Friday, rehearsal dinner and bachelor party on Friday night, wedding on Saturday, going BACK up to camp on Sunday morning and ANOTHER friend's wedding shower on Sunday afternoon...kill me now).

I also made rice krispie treats, chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin bread to take along. Jonathan, my nephew and my brother's family came over tonight and we had a chance to walk over to the pit that was once the house two doors down. Jonathan loves his work machines and there's a real live back hoe right there in front of him. He points and chatters a whole lot. Later tonight we had root beer floats. He liked his so much he wanted two straws!

Rollie Pollie

This evening was spent with my friends Jim and Ari, who will be getting married this coming weekend. Jim and Ari seemed to be a little stressed out at first, but I came bearing peace and my endless pool of patience that I borrowed from the last school year. It spread I think. Although several times I did have to yell at Jim to just shut up. That's not new.

Highlights: Ari and Jim gave away many chicks and goats to people in starving countries and then we rolled their pictures around pencils and tied them with raffia...270 times.Then Jim pretended to stick one up his nose. I won't be taking that one.

I was able to witness the practicing of "church tongue" and it seemed slightly acceptable. The toilet overflowed in Ari's bathroom. I would pause every now and then for a "Fresca break". Jim and Ari will CERTAINLY not be attending that brush up dance lesson that Jim thought was a brilliant idea until he brought it up to Ari. No dazzling during the couples first dance. Jim and I went to Burger King, which seems to be the cool thing to do late at night in Michigan. Then I stayed up way way way too late reading more of the Twilight series. I'm onto New Moon now. Yikes.

Twilight: It's official. I'm addicted. I knew I would be. I used the Barnes and Nobel gift card I got from Kate for my birthday to buy it. I knew this time would come. I spent the entire day reading, like the huge nerd I am. It will only get worse! How could vampire-human love ever work out?!

Watching the tide roll away...

Gull Lake has many splendors, one of them being sunsets. I've mentioned how much I enjoy being home and on the lake, but never quite so much as when I go out in my boat and am completely surrounded by water. It is where I belong.
I went on two boat rides today! Since it was a lazy Sunday, I spent the day on the lake, chatting with Ari, the soon to be bride of the wedding I'll be in next weekend. I like being able to talk to friends in that transition phase of life, and she most certainly is. Good things are gonna happen. Even Daisy was up for a boat ride tonight with my mom and me!
You can't beat the sunset!

A West Side Story in the middle and more

Here's my friend Katie. I drove to Lansing (in the middle of the mitten that is Michigan) to see her perform last night in West Side Story. She played Anita (I want to leeeeve in AmerIca), with a pretty convincing accent. I was very proud of her! It's been awhile since I've seen community theatre, which is a switch from Broadway stuff (I sound like such a SNOB!), but I did enjoy it. Her husband Nate was the lead guy, Tony as well, so it was enjoyable watching the Jets AND the Sharks.

I was also able to catch up with my friend Carrie, who I haven't seen in over a year. Sad, but not so sad because we were able to catch up instantly! I love when that happens with friends, it's like we haven't been apart for that long! We got some late night diner food in East Lansing (back to my college roots) and then I spent the night with her kitties occasionally lounging on my face.

In the morning we got up and lounged around talking about our shared love for So You Think You Can Dance, then met up with Katie again for lunch. I also was able to see Katie's mom and family, whom I love. Since we were college roommates, I feel a sort of bond to her family, which is nice. Carrie went home to nap while Katie and I took the afternoon to drive around the city. She took me downtown Lansing to visit Old Town, which has been rejuvenated quite a bit. Bought a wedding shower gift for my friend Laura at the cute little store (pictured with Katie). Our spontaneity took us then to the Michigan State campus to drive around to see the new buildings there. That brought us past the Diary Store, MSU's little home made ice cream shop. We quickly did a U-turn and sauntered right in to purchase ice cream (and Michigan State cheese...for my parents (both alums)). It was quite a day. Here I am posing with more ice cream. Man, I love ice cream I guess...

Katie had another show, so I sent myself on my merry way back home and enjoyed the hour long drive through the countryside. I saw mostly this:

Later tonight I went to visit my friend Jim. He's getting married next weekend and I've been helping him with the World Fair Wedding type preparations. What an extravaganza this wedding will be! Whew! So, I've been folding programs (he couldn't find the pew book he wanted for the church, so he's MAKING his own...) and tonight we sampled some of the frozen lemon concoction he had flown in from Rhode Island for the big show. Oh, and here's the guest list...half of it. My friend Mary was there too and we watched while Jim and his father poured gasoline down some ground wasp holes so that future guests would not be attacked. That was generous, and very funny to watch grown men STILL playing with fire.

Boatin'

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and so I spent it on the beach. I cannot pick out a more serene place in the world other than Gull Lake. Coming home is like going on vacation. How can I NOT love that?! I spent the last several weekends in New York City, hotter than hell, busy with work trainings, bouncing around the city, all while trying to forget the nagging feeling that all I wanted to do was sit around by the lake. I. LOVE. IT. Wait, wait, what is this feeling? Oh, that's being stress-free...it's amazing.

My mother and I have been known to take a boat ride here and there, so we've been having fun with our little lake toys the past few days. Today we went for a ride in our little fishing boat, which is just a motor boat that makes my hand feel like it's been asleep if I steer the tiny motor for too long. We took a ride around most of the lake, enjoying the weather. Daisy liked it too!

Dilly Beans!

My mother always has been, and will be a canner. She cans nearly anything you can think of, or at least has at one point in time. Bread and Butter pickles, peaches, salsa, strawberry jam, beets, asparagus, cherries...the list is long. You name it, she can can it. That's right, she can can.

Today was the annual canning of Dilly Beans. These are some of my favorites! Beans, that taste like pickles! Perfect for hamburgers! I can't live without em.

I helped this year, in hopes that I would pick up some of the canning skills. It seems that most of my mother's cooking skills have simply bypassed me in the years. It's too bad. I WANT to be a good cook, but I feel as if I might have missed that boat to some extent. I'm still trying though, so it's good to be home to learn from the best!

The Tear Down

There's been quite a bit of building going on around Gull Lake. The two houses next to my parents both sold last year after (or maybe the year before) and then both of them sold for at least close to a million dollars. This place is insane.

The house directly next door to mine was completely torn down, and now a overly large green house stands in it's place boasting what will be highly manicured lawns. It's kind of spectacular. And the new fence kind of makes part of our yard wash away. Moving on.

The house next to the new big green house was recently sold. The man who bought it owns some plethora of companies somewhere in Richville, USA and now he's come to town. His wife didn't even look at the house or the property on which it stands on (she just wanted him to tell her when it was all destroyed and ready to build).

I used to actually stand on the property quite a bit as a child. I made friends with the grandsons (one of which was my age) who stayed many a summer day with their grandparents on the lake. So I'd kind of bob over to the property line and yell "Deeeeeeeeeeeeiteeeeer" and then eventually he'd come running out ready to ride bikes or swim or build a fort in the raspberry bushes or perhaps just sit on the stone fence watching cars go by. It never occurred to me to knock.

So anyway, now is the end of an era, because it's pretty much gone. Soon there will be another monstrosity to take it's place.

Bird Sactuary

Thanks to Michigan State University, there is a little safe haven for wild birds! I've grown up going to the Bird Sanctuary since I was a little kid, attending camp, doing river walks, going to the other various places (all listed in the previous link), like the Dairy Farm (baby cows suck on fingers...it's gross, but sorta cool). It's a nice place to visit for a relaxing afternoon with waterfowl.

My nephew Jonathan loves to visit, so my mom and I packed up the stroller today to feed the geese and ducks with their buckets of corn. Jonathan's not really a fan of letting the trumpeter swans just jab their beaks out and eat out of your hand, but my mom and I bot do it like pros!
Here's my new friend, the trumpeter swan. Did you ever read The Trumpet of the Swan as a kid? Go buy it now!
Here we see the Australian Black Swan and their newborn babies...
Here's where the father black swan tried to attack me for taking pictures of his babies!
And there are also efforts to restore Michigan back to it's old prairie self: here ya go! I go from city to country in about 60 seconds!

Travel zone

I can literally put myself into a travel haze most of the time. I love it! I settle into a seat with a book, stop for the occasional beverage that comes my way out of nowhere, and then suddenly I am at my destination! Love that!

I read a book called Sold today, which was about a young girl being forced into prostitution in India...very good and interesting. Really helped pass the time!

Next thing I knew, I was in Lansing. Hooray! Spent the rest of the day with my mom, my dad, my nephew, my brother and this:

The Misadventures of Jane, Claudia and Rachel

My friend Rachel really likes weird things. Sometimes I humor her. Today was one of those days.

I can usually be talked into any kind of road trip, simply for the sheer joy of spending hours on a freeway next to people I like talking to. How about a trip to Philly to see the Medical Oddities (Mutter)Museum?! Sure, why not? How about taking the Chinatown bus? Sure, why not? Sounds great! Here's how it all goes down...

Today I got up super early (what IS this, it's a Sunday!) after the WORST night's sleep I've ever had...don't know why, I slept for maybe 2 hours, dozed for the rest. The worst. Anyway, so I caught the subway with Rachel down to Chinatown and that's all fine and dandy until we walk around aimlessly for awhile trying to find the correct Chinatown bus (who knew there were so MANY!?). The West side trains weren't working, so we finally found the correct bus place, but Claudia wasn't there because she was forced to take a cab from the Upper West Side. Doh! We stand around in the heat. My face is goo.

Claudia jumps out of the cab like wonder woman on steroids, right about the time the bus is ready to pull away (but also just after a cop car drives up and writes the bus driver a ticket (?!)). Things are good as we sit down in the slightly used looking, but plush seats. The status of air conditioning is unknown.

When the bus starts to move out from under the Manhattan Bridge, there is a slight breeze coming from the overhead vents, so it seems that all is good. That is until we are halfway there, having a perfectly fine conversation, when Claudia's arm rest falls off. No seriously, it just feel off. Yep, you get what you pay for on the Chinatown bus ($20 round trip to D.C., Boston and Philly). Good stuff. There are several minutes spent trying to reapply the armrest to the seat. It ends in triumph after a few attempts at placing a rouge bolt. We probably should have used gum.

Philly comes not too soon, and we get to fulfill our brunch requirement at a diner in the Reading Terminal Market (which has everything, and is amazing). We join the city on a walk to the museum (heading in what we think is the right direction). Face turns to goo again, but the city looks pretty under the blue sky.
We wind up on an overpass of some kind, walking through a construction site, and pretty much over the street we want to turn down. About 10 blocks past where we want to be, and a few dashed ideas of just rolling down the hill, we come to a busy street next to the train station. We play frogger with the traffic and win, and then slowly wind our way back down to the street we originally wanted.

The Mutter Museum FINALLY comes into full view, we sop up our selves and head on in for quite a treat of skulls, catalogued drawers of things people have swallowed (there was everything from bones, to nails to staple gun sized staples), shrunken heads, conjoined twin skeletons, enlarged colons, books made from human leather, and a plethora of history on all things medically odd. Wow. You must go, it's a wonder!

After the fun of all things dead and strange, we wandered back out into the oven of Philly and found ourselves at an Irish Pub in the "Gayborhood". Not kidding- actually called that. We had a lunch/dinner snack and then walked back towards the market and the bus. We actually managed to catch the 5 o'clock bus, even though our tickets were for 7, so we could beat the rush hour traffic home from the Jersey Shore, but also because I'm the idiot who decided to go on a road trip the day before leaving for a month. I sat in back with Rachel in pretty much the only two empty seats together. This bus's air was truly non-existence, so we actually just sat and baked in the sun for most of the ride home. I was sitting goo.

Since we were kinda hungry once we got back to our own sweltering city, Rachel and I got it in our heads that we should find a Jamba Juice and have a smoothie. The only one we could think of was in Union Square, and we were in Chinatown, but since it didn't SEEM that far, we started off for the subway, but decided to walk. It was hot. Really stinkin' hot. Still. And much further than anticipated. So, let's just say I got a lot of exercise today. The smoothie in Union Square was so worth the wait though.

I de-outsideified once I got home, then packed a few belongings and fell into my bed.

Cleaning and Packing

What else is there to DO on the hottest freakin' day of the summer? Stay inside to clean and pack! I'm leavin' on a jet plane on Monday for Michigan. It will be the most relaxing month of the whole year, for sure. Well except for the family reunion camping trip, Jim's wedding, my humongous party and several road trips around the state and possibly Chicago...Yeah, relaxing.

Anyway, since I'll be in Philly tomorrow I decided to get ahead on things and pack today. Yeah, good plan. Here's how it usually goes:

I sometimes make a list of things needed to pack. This time I just started laying things out I didn't want to forget. Next I mentally check off that list one by one. First pajamas, then socks, then t-shirts. The I get bored and I decide to clean my kitchen starting with the dirty dishes, then the fridge. Then the recycling needs to be bagged and taken out, then I need to organize which mail and bills I need to take. Then I go back to the mental list and check off a few things, sometimes adding a few MORE things that I just finished, just so I look like I've accomplished something significant.

This goes on and on, except then I clean the living room, ball up dirty laundry to take, remake my bed since I'll be subleasing my room for part of it...oy. Seriously. It's exhausting. All of this is intermittently prone to bouts of throwing myself on the bed and sighing loudly. It's awesome, you wish you were me.

In the meantime, I took a picture of my sunflower that died on my fire escape. Stupid sunflower.

Nothing much

Another day of training down at Hunter College, another day of braving the streets. This time entirely on my own. I survived! I also bought a bike helmet! That was the big event of the day. My Friday night was spent falling asleep on the couch to a That 70's Show marathon (I'm sort of Awesome, I know) and waking up for some friends who drunk dialed me. Yay!

Watch out!!

Today, I became an official biker in NYC. That's right! I was terrified to begin, but since Dan has two bikes I decided to give it a try. We did a test run together on Tuesday when we went apartment hunting (need to move at the end of August), but today I was on my own for part of it. The commute: Insanity and more.

I had a training for the Early College Initiative, which is the umbrella group of several schools in New York that are meant to send underrepresented children on to college. They begin taking college courses in the 9th grade, and can work up to having an Associates degree by the time they graduate high school. It's an amazing concept, but my particular school had a rough year of it last year. It's a new start, and meeting with several of the other schools to plan and get ideas was actually really nice and invigorating. I can't even begin to put into words how great it will be to NOT be a "first year teacher" EVER again. Phew!

Commute home: on my own, calming and sweaty! It's been HOT!

Outing in Manhattan!

I had a BIG day planned for today. Since I was putzing around in my apartment and playing with couchsurfers earlier this week, I decided that today would be the day to do errands and such. It was a good day for an outing in Manhattan. There was certainly much to be done, so much so, that I had to make a list. I love lists!

So, because it was a beautiful day, and because I had a list, I set out to the bank first, then to mail a package at the post office, then walked down to the Met to pick something up, but it didn't end up working out. I then traveled down 5th Avenue, which was quite the bustling place today! Look at the crowds! Ah summer in New York!

I also passed by the Plaza (which used to be a hotel, but now it's sky high priced condos...go figure). It's a spectacle, and I enjoyed the contrast between the architecture here. Old vs. New. I think it's a matter of personal opinion which one wins.I have always wanted to stop into the Japanese department store called Takashimaya. It's been on my City To-Do list for several years actually, and I decided that today was the day! It was awesome, things I'd never seemed before! I spent about an hour in there just browsing around, looking through a coffee table sized photography book- Aerial views of Africa called Eyes Over Africa XXL...amazing. It cost $2,000, but it was sort of life-changing as well.

One of the main reasons for going out today was to head down to a formal wear shop that I'd called around for. This particular store had women's tux pants! Just what I've been looking for. In August, I'm in my friend Jim's wedding, standing up on his side, in a tux. I'm actually really looking forward to it, but since I'm a little bit more curvy than most men, the tux I'm renting looked a little dumpy on top of a Jane body. So, I was on a mission! Mission complete! I have awesome women's tux pants. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I DO live in New York, so that made it a bit easier. Only ONE of the stores, the one mentioned above even had a remote idea of what I was talking about over the phone. I'm feeling better about not looking so man-ish for Jim's wedding now. Hooray!
Later tonight was another first- outdoor movies in NYC. Such a popular thing around here. Tonight they were showing Almost Famous on Pier 54 on the Hudson River down in Chelsea. A lovely night to be out with friends. Dan came along, and so did my friend Bertina, who brought her friend Tina. Good show, good company!
Here's Bertina and I enjoying the movie, and enjoying the gummie bears! Eating-one of the things we do best!

Bikes and Bats

Today was the perfect day to be outside! Beautiful day in the neighborhood. Once Dan got home from planning with his school today, he got his other bike all fixed up and we took a bike ride around the upper east side/east Harlem. What a fun time! I loved it! I was really nervous to go out on the street at first, but I suppose I'm an adventurer at heart, so I got right into it. The goal was to find a new location for an apartment for next year (looking for a cheaper place). We found a few, but really, the highlight was just riding around. We topped it off with sandwiches in Central Park. Gotta love the park!

Later tonight, my friend Adina called me while she was on the way to see her boyfriend play softball with his company in Central Park, so I decided to tag along. We had a fun time sitting on the grassy knoll watching them loose (it was still a good game!!) A beautiful day and a beautiful night!

Great American Food

We had some couchsurfers today from Denmark. Dan and I took them both to dinner because it was David's (center) birthday. The Barking Dog makes excellent pot roast. Seriously. Tomorrow's post won't be about food! I promise!

Anyway, when asked where they'd like to go for dinner they said "American food"! So, we took them to the place that advertised for it. Why not right?

I suck!

I forgot my camera when I went to brunch today! I didn't do much with myself today, but I did meet up with my friend Bertina at a place called The Smith with her friends. She owes me a picture of the most delicious egg dish. My mom's right, I do blog about food a lot. Does that make me a bad person? I think not. It makes me cultured!

Here's what else makes me cultured: Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs make me cultured because I took pictures of them yesterday at the American Museum of Natural History. I enjoyed people watching and dino watching while waiting for my friend to hurry up and get there!

Horses!

I met up with my friend Brad today to see the Horse exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. It was craziness over on that side of town because Bon Jovi was playing a free concert in Central Park (I heard some of the sound check while waiting for Brad).

Actually, horses are way more interesting and historical than I ever could have imagined. I'm not much of a horse person, but I have enjoyed them every time I ride. I try to say hi and pet a nose or two when I pass by the carriages lined up along Central Park South. If in New York, I highly recommend the exhibit, showcasing how horses really have shaped human history. Weird, but true. Think about it! Or go see it. Or don't. Whatever, but I thought it was really interesting.

Later Brad and I cashed in on the fun little deli I know in Korea Town. Super good, super cheap, super filling. I took a nap on the couch when I got home and then was invited to go out in Astoria in Queens, so I ventured out of the Manhattan nook for once and had a nice time with Rachel, Claudia and friends. Despite the good company and conversation, the hot weather, warm nights just makes me miss home. I guess it's a good thing I'll be going to Michigan for a month starting next week. :)

The Property of Langston Hughes

So, I realize that this week has been full of posts on the Harlem Renaissance, which may or may not be boring. Sorry if it's the boring part, but as a teacher, I might as well spread the news right? I loved this week! I had SUCH a good time getting to know the presenters, seeing the art, hearing the music, delving into the literature and the nightlife that all went on in this neighborhood about 60 years ago. How wonderful is it to be able to study the Harlem Renaissance IN Harlem! It's sort of what all those artists were dreaming about!

Our project came together today in the form of Langson Hughes' scrapbook (I have a digital file of it, if you want to see it, just ask), which might not be all together historically correct (that he would have had such a scrapbook), but he did live the life, and we portrayed that correctly. It was very creative, collaborative and exciting to put together, so I can only hope that my students will feel the same way.

The greatest group ever!

This is why I love teachers! I was working with the awsomest set of teachers in my group this week, focusing on the literary circles and parties that happened during the Harlem Renaissance. We worked hard to create a multi-genre project (I'm writing snippets of conversations from a party, and a poem by Langston Hughes (well, channeling Langston Hughes- no pressure)).

Today a man came up from the Lincoln Center to give a presentation and teach us about the music of the Renaissance- specifically jazz. We watched a clip of an old Bessie Smith movie, sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" around a piano (which was VERY powerful) (oh, and check out the kid that sings it in the link...he's amazing! I just found it on YouTube and spent a few minutes listening to his other stuff!) and then listened to a few Duke Ellington pieces and drew pictures. As a group we picked one picture to tell a story (they picked mine showing a man sitting on a couch (back view) and a woman's hat and glove just peeking around a door). It was set to "Black and Tan Fantasy" if anyone wants to look it up. My art was very bad, but the story was quite good, which we then turned into a skit and preformed for the class. I loved it! I played the part of the man, and so, as good teachers do, we became resourceful and made hats (since that was a specific part of the story). My friend, and coworker Neveen, carefully taped mine to my head. I heart teachers!

Schomburg Lives! and cookies in a bag.

Here we have my new friend Adina- she likes to carry free cookies from our training program in the pocket of her backpack...this is why we are friends. Oh, and she also lives a block fro me.

It's interesting that this is the graffiti that we saw out of the bus on the way home. Just yesterday we visited the Schomburg collection at the 135th St. New York Public Library, where he organized and collected MANY of the remaining art, literature, photographs and beyond from the Harlem Renaissance. Very cool.

This message actually was in East Harlem, or Spanish Harlem, which would make sense, since Schomburg was a Puerto Rican immigrant at the time, making important history that represents both sides of Harlem.