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.

Progress

With temperatures in the 70sF until late, we were able to sit out on the deck this evening with one of the Man's former colleagues who is over here on business.  Yay, suddenly summer seems like a possibility.

Earlier I'd spent a positive morning with my refugee friends. The family's youngest child has been offered a place in the Albany School District's "Pre-K lottery" (great news, but oh dear, let's not get into the implications of education-by-lottery) so we went to the registration office to pick up papers. 

Then we went to call on another Karen family that just arrived yesterday from Thailand.  When we arrived at their apartment they were halfway through a vist from the caseworker who is helping them get settled.  There was a communication problem but my friend, who will normally tell you that she can't speak English, was able to interpret.  She did a great job.  She's no longer the struggling newcomer - she knows the ropes now and can lend others a hand.  I hope she realises how far she has come, and I hope she felt as proud of herself today as I felt on her behalf. 

Wildly sociable

I've had a sociable sort of day, catching up with a friend this morning, and joining Exile #2 at a knitting meeting this afternoon (even though I didn't have any knitting to do).

And late this afternoon the Boy and I joined other families from his school for a "Walk on the Wild Side" event at our favourite environmental education centre - really just an excuse to turn up and hike, and raise a little money for the PTO and Friends of Five Rivers.  We were lucky to have perfect weather, and it was a good time of day for wildlife spotting - we saw a turtle, a goose and a speed-swimming water rat.

For your viewing pleasure, here are our colourful front lawn trees again, taken this morning: