Hazy, crazy

So hot today there was a heat-haze, and so humid my hair has been curly-crazy like I had a really atrocious perm (no, you don't get a picture).  This particular hot spell won't last, but it may be a glimpse of the summer to come.

Cool-aids

A couple of firsts for the year today, starting with the kids getting back in the pool. Brr, the water is still really cold, but it was up to about 90F out so they could take it.  And air-conditioning on for the first time, cooling the house down before bedtime.

Also today, not for the first time this year...a drive to the airport to wave the Man off - again.  But it's just a short trip this time, he should be back to spend Sunday with us.  I'm hoping he'll write and tell you about where he is tomorrow.

The Man adds...here is a picture taken in my hotel this evening. You're not allowed to swim in this water, but it is very special, being a mix from 1700 rivers and lakes around the world...

 

...including the dear old River Thames, and those other famous British bodies of water: Lake Owego Camp and Lake Parsippany.

There's a big clue in one of these photos as to where I am...

Seoul to Seoul

The Man writes...for my second day in Seoul I hiked up Namsan Mountain and then took the elevator to the top of the Seoul Tower.  From the observation deck 1500 feet above the city it was possible to get some grasp of the sheer scale of the world's second largest metropolitan area.

I then walked down the other side of the mountain, past the Seoul Millennial Time Capsule (to be opened in 2394) to Namsangol Hanok Village. This is a collection of half a dozen restored traditional Korean houses. The interiors were also furnished in a traditional manner, but sadly we were only allowed to peer in, not to enter and try to fully appreciate the atmosphere.

However, I did get to see what the kids do for kicks in this part of the word:

Musical babies

As I've mentioned before, the Boy's music teacher is very much pregnant.  Today (to her relief, I'm sure) was her last day at school before maternity leave.

The Girl's Irish dance teacher is also expecting a baby soon, so this evening was the last dance session for a while.  The students' moms all clubbed together to buy a customized green onesie and bib printed with a Celtic knot and the legend "Born to dance" (no pressure, kiddo).

And yesterday we received an email from the Girl's skating coach letting us know that her new baby boy had just arrived.  Happy news!  I hope she'll leave it a couple of years or so before she tries to find out if he was born to skate.

If it had been any 'otter...

...there's no way the Man would have made it round the whole length of the Bethlehem Memorial Day Parade today.  That is quite a cosy costume he was wearing, and if the temperature had edged much above 70F he wouldn't have lasted the hour it took to wind up and down the streets past the cheering crowds.

But he did a grand job, hamming it up in style (now I know where my son's dramatics come from).  He was happy to oblige all the kids who wanted to high-five him.  Not just little kids, some quite big people too. There were also two rather attractive lady fire-fighters who wanted their picture taken with him.  Hm, I never imagined I'd one day say to my husband, "Well, that's nice, but don't let me catch you cuddling pretty girls when you're not dressed up as an otter."

There were nine of us in the Parade representing Friends of Five Rivers, but the Man really stole the show for us.  What a wonderful husband I have - otterly awesome!

Art and Seoul

The Man writes...last weekend I found myself completely unexpectedly in Seoul. My first stop was the National Museum of Korea.

Apparently it is the sixth largest museum in the world and a sign outside claims that is exactly the twelfth most visited. Inside there is an overwhelming collection of thousands of Korean artifacts from ancient to modern times, including works regarded as national treasures.  But the building itself, which is around ten years old, is also very impressive.

Travel Times

It has been a rather dismal day here, cold and very wet, and brightened only by the return, eventually, of our favourite Man.  For reasons too tedious to go into, it ended up taking him longer to get from NYC to Albany than it did to get from a somewhat remote town in Korea to New York.  But he's back now!  Hooray!

He had an unscheduled couple of hours to wander the city - can anyone recognise what he saw?

Dad tracker

I don't usually keep track of the Man's flights etc when he's travelling, unless I have to pick him up from somewhere and need to know if he's on schedule.  But for fun today I've been following his journey on flightaware.com.

I have to say, it hasn't been quite as exciting as tuning into NORAD's Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve - for one thing, Korean Airlines doesn't swoop around as much as Rudolf and the other reindeer (to the Man's relief, I should think).  But off and on I've watched his plane slowly inch across the Pacific, then the USA, over the course of nearly 14 hours.  I know he landed almost on time at JFK.

Alas, onward travel from New York City has proved complicated so we won't have our Man actually back home until tomorrow.  As you can imagine, we're all looking forward to seeing him again after his three weeks away - it's like waiting for Christmas!

Bidding everyone a good night

Charity highlight of the year tonight: the International Children's Art Auction, which I've raved about before.

There was a great turnout for it this time, and bids came thick and fast.  A smallish long-haired fellow next to me had his hand up for almost every lot. (I've decided I'm not letting my son near a real auction until he's earning his own money.)

We didn't come home empty-handed - we now have works of art from Russia, Belize, Japan and Lithuania.  The takings tonight (around $2,600, double last year's and a record amount for this annual event) is going to help students in rural Belize and orphans in Uganda, so I feel like we really spent our money well.

Weather-wise

I don't know why I'm always surprised by the weather at this time of year.  One day it's beautifully warm, the next it's chilly, or it's stiflingly hot, or it's chucking it down with rain, or we're having a massive thunderstorm.  And I always think, ooh, is this the right weather for May?  It seems too hot/cold/wet/dry/changeable...

Well, I've flicked back through the blogposts of our last five Mays here.  All the same.  Exactly the same. So, the recent dramatic storms (that kept me up last night, and meant I've had to collect the Boy after school two days in a row because he's not allowed to cycle home in a storm)?  Not very surprising at all.

Holy tarmac!

Re-surfacing driveways is quite an industry in our neighbourhood.  People like to approach their garage via some nice smooth tarmac, or "blacktop".  But the other day I came across a flyer from a company that apparently takes driveway sealing to another level:

xxx Pro Sealers:  Beatifying local blacktop since 1993

How cool is that - park your car on your very own hallowed ground!

A good bash

Tonight the Boy performed in his school's Spring concert.

He did himself proud, hidden away in the wings in the percussion section.  He took turns on snare and bass drums, and tambourine.  Overall the string orchestra and instrumental band showed signs of great improvement since their first concert - they've moved far from Mary had a Little Lamb to pieces like the theme from Star Wars, and Pachelbel's Canon in D.

(The guy sitting next to me told me in an break that he'd once played in a High School orchestra that set themselves the challenge of giving the longest ever non-stop performance of Pachelbel's Canon in D.  They played it for 72 hours.  Luckily there were eighty musicians, and only fifteen needed to play at any one time, so he "only" had to play it for 8 hours.  Blimey.)

The 4th and 5th Grade choirs both sang, performing the last two numbers together - 190 children melting before our very eyes (it gets incredibly hot in the gym at this time of year).  The music teacher had picked songs from Disney as the theme - not her most fabulous musical choice, but she's (still, even more) heavily pregnant, so I'll cut her some slack.  The kids sang well, in any case.

Then down to the ice-cream parlour for the traditional post-concert treat.  It was an occasion worth marking: the Boy's last elementary school concert.  Mine too, I suppose (until perhaps I'm a grandparent?).

Boy on wire

There were two celebrations after yesterday's b'nei mitzvah, but we opted only to attend the evening one.  The Boy, who had been elsewhere in the morning, joined us as we headed out to the party which was being held at Troy Arts Center.

Well, that was a treat in itself as we'd not been there before.  Food was being served in one of the galleries (where we came across a familiar face).

Entertainment for the evening was provided by Capital District circus supremo Sean Fagan ("Seano"), whom we know from Shakespeare events at the kids' old school.  Our b'nei mitzvah friends have studied circus skills from him for many years.

Rather than putting on a show, Seano and his colleague just provided lots of circus equipment for everyone to try, so kids had a great time walking a tightrope, juggling, balancing on a ball and stilt-walking.  Though the Girl was reluctant, the Boy threw himself into the activities with gusto:

Mazel tov!

The Girl and I attended a special event today - her friend's bat mitzvah.  And her friend's twin brother's bar mitzvah...so that made it a b'nei mitzvah.  We're rockin' all this Hebrew.

It was a first for us, having never attended such a service before.  Considering it took three hours and much of it was in a language we don't understand, I thought it was pretty enjoyable and certainly very interesting.  The Rabbi was a cheery middle-aged woman with a nice line in comic asides.  She was very welcoming and did a great job in helping us gentiles understand what was going on.

The two thirteen year-olds whose special day this was have been working diligently for a long time to prepare for this event - their first public reading from the Torah, marking their entry into adulthood.  Lots of their relatives participated.  It all felt very joyful.  Three hours actually seemed a fitting length for something as momentous as this ceremony is for a Jewish family.

Photos weren't allowed in the synagogue.  But I took some at the party - more about that tomorrow.

Trip or treat?

Yesterday the Girl had a very early start before a three-hour bus journey - a school outing to the Bronx Zoo!

Polar bears!  Red pandas!  Goats!  I gather it was a very enjoyable trip.   Nominally "educational", but it sounds like it was really just a jolly.  Well-deserved, mind you - the Middle Schoolers have been working hard this year.

Kids at the Boy's school also had a treat yesterday - ice-creams all round during the annual whole-school Art Show.

This evening, the disappointing news that we're not getting our Man back for another week - he has to stay on in Korea.  There's not much to be done about it.  Let's hope he gets the chance to post some more great photos.

Psy spy

The Man writes...the final activity of my weekend in Busan was a long walk in Igidae Park. This was a military-only area until twenty years ago, but has now been turned into a scenic coast walk, with steps and suspension bridges, views over to the rather larger Gwangalli Bridge...

Ultrasaurus footprints, and a rock that is supposed to look like a Buddha holding a baby in his arms...

Friday is in fact Buddha's birthday. It's a holiday (for most) and many places have colourful Lotus Lanterns up, including Seokbulsa Temple:

  

I also saw these carvings at Seokbulsa temple, which apparently have been in the national press in the last year. Would anyone like to suggest what these guys are doing? I bet my kids could tell you.

Breathtaking busy-ness

I've been feeling a bit wound up all day about one thing and another.  So what good timing that my Indian friend was coming to town to give a seminar on breathing for relaxation!  I went along this evening, counted my breaths, felt better.

It's a crazy busy time of year at school, with hardly five weeks to go until summer vacation.  It seems like either one or both kids have special activities before, during or after school every day.  I can barely keep up.  The squares on the calendar are packed (Concert!  Art Show/ice-cream!  Zoo trip! Field Day!  Carnival!) and the house is papered with little reminder notes (White T-shirt [for tie-dyeing] by May 27....Wear Weird Clothes, Thurs...).

Great that they have so many fun things to do.  Mad that they have to do them all at once.

UNMCK

The Man writes...this summer marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the fighting in the Korean war.  It is estimated that over three million perished in what is sometimes known as the "forgotten war", as the United Nations (which at the time did not include Russia and China) fought with the South against North Koreans and Chinese.

On Sunday I visited the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea. There is a short historical introduction - I was astonished to learn that at one point in the war Busan at the South East tip of the Korean peninsula was the only part not under communist control - but primarily this is a quiet, beautiful and moving tribute to the 2,300 UN troops from eleven countries that are laid to rest here.

In the (time) zone

This morning I skyped with the Man, who is still in Korea.  I'd just had breakfast, he was settling in for the night.

Later I spoke to my parents, in the UK.  It was afternoon teatime where they were, elevenses for me.

And a couple of hours later I was chatting with an old college friend who is based in Japan but happens to be in London this week.  Lunchtime for me, but he was thinking about dinner.

The Man's at work now, while I'm about ready for bed.  If we're very lucky, perhaps by the time I wake up he'll have added to this inconsequential post with some news about how he spent his Sunday ("yesterday" for me, two days ago for him).  That is if he's not out till midnight (lunchtime) singing karaoke.

One mum went to mow

I mowed a dandelion meadow today - otherwise known as our back lawn.  I did a pretty good job, too, though I'm always impressed by the way dandelions have evolved to survive mowers - that knack they have for just lying down until the danger has passed, then springing right back up again.

I also weeded the front flowerbeds (more dandelions).  Meanwhile the kids, plus a buddy, set off on a variety of wheels (bike, scooter, roller-blades) and indulged themselves at the local ice-cream parlour -
the activity of choice these days when I direct them to "Go and spend some time outside."

In other news, the Girl has adopted a new anime-inspired hairstyle.  It would look even more authentic, I'm told, if dyed blue.

Seokbulsa Temple

The Man writes...travel teaches you valuable life lessons. The one I learnt today was "always ring ahead to check if the cable car is running".

The cable car in question on Geomjeongsan Mountain in Busan had mechanical problems, so a relaxing journey to the mountain top was replaced by a near vertical hike in the midday heat.  The path was quiet and beautiful however, through pine forest, by streams, and with fine views and one or two wonderful little rock temples.

The top of the mountain was once a large fortress.  Parts of the walls remain and I eventually reached the South Gate.

From here a small sign directed me to my goal: Seokbulsa Temple. Almost inevitably I soon got lost, until I met a new friend. Mr Lee, a retired engineer who has lived in Busan all his life, showed me the small unmarked side path I should have taken, and we ended up walking together for a couple of hours, communicating with the help of our smart phones.

Seokbulsa ("Stone Buddha") Temple may be hard to find, but it fully justifies the effort. A natural stone enclave with huge carvings, it is peaceful and awe-inspiring.

For a change of pace I headed down to Gwangalli Beach for dinner. This is very much a city beach: a broad expanse of sand lined by skyscrapers and restaurants and bars. Unusually it is dominated by a huge suspension bridge which seems to go from one end of the beach to the other.

 
When night fell the bridge was lit up. There were fireworks, old fashioned crooners and other entertainment, and thousands of people of all ages out enjoying themselves. It was lively and wholesome and wonderfully uplifting. 

Gambling in the woods

The Boy is home.  He had a good time.  Maybe we'll give you more details tomorrow (everyone is rather tired tonight), but for now I can tell you that he seems to have enjoyed many fun and educational activities at his camp in the woods, and in his downtime his friends taught him how to play poker.  I gather he also managed to impress everyone at breakfast by scarfing five bowls of rice krispies.

Silent(ish) nights

It has certainly seemed very quiet at home these last two evenings, with the Boy away.  Not that he's so incredibly noisy (though he can be), more that when he's here there's always a story on CD playing in the background.  It's really strange not to have Harry Potter going on interminably in the living room.  Eery, almost.

Having said that, the Girl has just had a shower and retired to her room and... now I'm listening to Harry Potter through the ceiling.  Phew - feels more like home again.

On his way

So, goodbye this morning to one excited but slightly apprehensive Boy, off to Nature's Classroom in Massachusetts.  Parents received word at lunchtime that everyone had arrived safely at the destination, and other than that I guess no news is good news.

It has been an intense couple of days for us 5th Grade parents.  Last night there was a meeting at the Middle School to let us know what our soon-to-be 6th Graders should expect in September.  Then within hours we were packing our youngsters onto a bus, and we'd no sooner waved them off than we were shepherded into a classroom to preview the "Growing to Maturity" lessons they'll be studying next week...

Yikes.  Like it or not, they're all growing up, even this one.

The days are just packed...

The Man is not the only one travelling this week.  Tomorrow the Boy will be setting out on a trip with his classmates. 5th Grade really is just one long line-up of new experiences. 

We received the packing list for Nature's Classroom a few weeks ago.  It's as extensive as when the Girl went on this adventure, even though this time (budget cuts) it'll only be two nights away.  The Boy and I have been gathering all the necessary stuff together over the last couple of days.  This afternoon I labelled everything (not the socks - honestly, I couldn't care less if he comes home minus a few old socks) and when he got in from school he carefully packed it all into the closest thing to a duffle bag that we could find. 

He'll be off in the morning, leaving just the Girl and me rattling around at home...

I'M ON THE TRAIN

The Man skype-messaged me this morning (see today's title) - thirteen hours in the future and en route from Seoul to the town where he'll be working.  We even got to see each other (skype again) once he'd arrived at his hotel.  He was looking good, especially considering he hadn't slept for thirty hours.

It obviously doesn't match having him at home with us but wow, technology is awesome, isn't it?

Early start and a lie-in

Up at dawn, as the Man had to catch an early train to NYC.  It was the start of a long period in transit for him - he's on his way to South Korea again.  But me, I just turned the car around, went home and got back into bed.

Once I'd finished my interrupted Sunday lie-in I was ready to face the day.  I took the children up to Indian Ladder Farms again as we knew the baby animals barn would be open.  We spent a little while with the ridiculously cute kids, ducklings and bunnies. 


The Boy fancied lunch out, so we moved on to the shiny diner.  To my surprise, on the way home the Girl suggested (completely unprompted) another visit to Pine Hollow Arboretum, because she wanted to see the Japanese cherry tree again and to show her brother round the grounds.  Given the amount of arm-twisting it usually takes to get either of my kids to do anything that resembles hiking, this was nothing short of extraordinary.

Fine pine

I spent the morning at the dentist. Not on my own account (for once) but accompanying one of my younger refugee friends - it was a much tougher morning for her, poor girl, than for me.

For a good chunk of the afternoon I was at the local Methodist church for its annual spring Fair Trade Market.  It was a good market, but attendance was affected by the excellent weather outside which was perhaps putting people more in the mood for yard work than shopping.  However, there were enough people there to welcome a special visitor, Gloria, from Guatemala.  She is a basket-maker who produces beautiful pine-needle baskets for the FT organization Mayan Hands.  She's a classy craftswoman whose work is sold in the Smithsonian, and it was fascinating to talk with her (through an interpreter) and to watch her demonstrating her skills.

And after the Market I was keen to enjoy some of that glorious weather outdoors, so Man, Girl and I dropped in at the Pine Hollow Arboretum. It was looking even lovelier than last week.

Farm friends

The glorious May weather continues.  Indian Ladder Farms is once again open for business, so we went up after school and reacquainted ourselves with the goats and other animals.