Reflections

Memorial

When we went to NY to mourn and celebrate the lives of my grandparents, I got to spend some quality time with my aunties (all who are from my mom's side, but still knew and loved Jane & Joe and came to support us THANK YOU!). Here you see aunts: Cynthia, Dianne, Tina, and Katherine. It was so wonderful to be together.

Here are the 2 poems I read at the memorial service. "The Gardener" is quite old and "The Machinist" is new.

The Gardener

Grandma bends in the garden, emerged in her leafy green world.
With her hands she nurtures and loves the soil
in the way that she loved her children: my father, my uncles, grown, rooted.
She still flows through them, and teaches them how the seasons illustrate their days.
The veins in her fingers are life lines to the Elephant Ears and bean leaves,
the arteries from her heart give rise to the tomato seedlings.
Grandma’s gift to make things grow shows us how to grow.
Her life teaches us how to love the earth, how to love each other.
And while lines of time echo in her face, they give me a sense of expression,
her unique sparkle that I hope I someday know.

Like a single leaf reveals a map of the anatomy of rainforests and rivers,
like a solitary flower divulges the secrets of the migration of birds,
I look at my hands and I know she is in me too-
her fiery soul at peace in the garden.


The Machinist

My grandfather, with his larger-than-Thor hands
could make the tiniest parts whir miraculously.

His palms, wide like Lake Victoria. His Nile digits, long,
constructed like a hand should be, with substance and authority.
His were hands of the gods, appearing almost cumbersome
and surprising everyone with their grace and fluidity.
They could manipulate the most intricate pieces and
unfathomable tools, utensils for elves.
He could give metal bits and bolts purpose.
He could make sprockets and washers part of something
grander than what they were when they were alone.
He could give them life.

The machinist with the Saharan fingerprints
made my head so small when he held my face.
With the moons in his fingernails he could hold the universe.
He held his family and showed us that we too were
something grander together than when we were alone.

When he died we gathered all the little bits of his life we could find.
I’m putting them together like a machinist.
And the love interwoven in every piece, in each detailed moment,
is whirring miraculously.

Erica Schlaffer

In Memory of my Grandparents

Sadly I write about the passing of both of my paternal grandparents. My grandma Jane, 80, died peacefully at home on March 21st, and my grandpa Joe, 86, died 12 days later on April 2nd. It's been difficult to lose two such important people in our family's lives with such little time in between. We are so thankful to have been so close to them, and will pass on the love we learned from them and will keep them alive in our memories. Perhaps it is a testament of the human spirit and true love that they died so near to one another, which is a comfort to me. They will be deeply missed.

I can't help but be profoundly affected at this time by the meaning of the cycle of life. I feel like the notion is personified as I carry a new baby within me while I experience the loss of an entire generation of my family.

Spring Travels

We had so much fun when Patty and David came down for a visit. We went to Montecello (brought the butter lamb with us), walked all over Richmond, ate a lot of delicious food, played music, and got to spend some quality time together. It went too fast!

A couple of weeks later it was time for our Spring break, and we drove south in search of warmer weather. We did find it for a couple of days. Our first stop was Congaree National Park, where we kayaked our brains out in the floodplain forests, and the trees were above and below us in the tangible and the reflective form. We could navigate right through them. It was so peaceful. We camped in the middle of the swamp on some raised ground and awoke in the wee hours of the night to an owl hooting right above us.

Next we went to the beautiful and romantic city of Charleston, where gorgeous homes and historic cobblestone streets treated us to its quaint beauty around every corner. We then drove to see my cousin Nadine, who turned out to be only 3 days away from the birth of her baby, and aunt Maryellen. It was so nice to see them and talk about bellies. Then we drove to the Francis Marion National Forest and went for a beautiful paddle with alligators sunning themselves on the riverbanks.

The next day we drove further south to Hunting Island State park, and by sheer luck we got the last camping spot in the place (in fact some unruly teens had been kicked out of it, otherwise, everything was reserved because apparently it was everyone's spring break). We spent the rest of the week there kayaking, sitting on the beach, hiking in the gorgeous forests full of Live Oaks, Loblolly Pines, Fan Palms, and Palmettos. Looked like Latin America. Totally beautiful.

I was very thankful to have the week off because I had time to reflect upon the very recent loss of my beloved grandmother, Jane Schlaffer, and it and gave me the chance to try to peacefully come to terms with it.

When we got back, Damien got to catch part of Richmond's punk rock bike festival fondly known as Slaughterama or "Evil Fool's Day", and reported some very wild scenes there. Check out the pages 64-67 at http://www.rvamag.com/shared/webRVAv3i12.pdf to see it for yourself.
Damien turned 31 on March 30th, and we celebrated with a romantic dinner back in Richmond.

Rock Stars

Damien's brother Luke and his girlfriend Andrea, who live in Boston, MA, have just won the grand prize in the electronica genre of the John Lennon singer/songwriter contest. Check them out and hear the song at their website: http://www.acousticchatter.com/

They are so awesome.

Be sure to vote everyday for their song to help them win the next phase of the competition! The voting ends April 26th. They are counting on everybody to support them to show the judges that they can network and establish a fanbase. Please visit http://www.jlsc.com/vote.php everyday and cast your vote for Acoustic Chatter "Sky Turns Red!" in the Electronic category. Thank you for your help!

While you are at it, look at my other talented brother-in-law's blog where all of his fabulous art is showcased at http://www.tullisjohnson.blogspot.com/

What a family I married into.

Kayaking the James

Here's Damien on the upper part of the James River on Pony Pasture Rapids. So fun!

It was another beautiful day.

Inflatable Belly

I'm now in my 23rd week, and I am astounded at this experience so far. As I write I am feeling all kinds of little kicks and pokes, and both D and I are so amazed. Time seems to be passing by quickly. I feel the best I have so far in the scope of this pregnancy and I've still been riding my mountain bike on easy trails.

pics- (me on bike at 4 months & me w/ flowers at five months)


I'm alone this weekend. Damien went to Buffalo because a dear friend was killed in a snowboarding accident. Sadly, Leon Carr, one of the most genuine and lovable folks you could ever wish to meet, died last Tuesday after hitting a tree at Holiday Valley. He had a helmet on and was quite a good snowboarder too. A very sad time for his friends and family.


We have been busy with work, and have had a couple of really great weekends. We went up to the cabin in West Virginia and got to meet Chris's sweet pea Dana. We did some hiking in the snow, made sock puppets, and Dana and Chris baked a monster cake.
I flew to Mass. at the last minute one weekend to see to my Grama who was doing very very badly, but when I got there she had woken up which was quite a surprise and a relief to everyone! I got to spend some nice moments with her and the rest of my family.


Ed & Juliette came down for a few days! It was so wonderful to have them here again. We had a ball. We went hiking, biking, fossil hunting, cooked some delicious food (homemade dumplings), ate out, knitted and crocheted, and enjoyed the sunshine and each other's company.

Now I will dedicate my week to tutoring the kids who are subjected to more standardized test mania, wrapping up a Shakespeare unit, and taking care of my ever-growing belly.

Our Most Exciting News

If I haven't seen you in person, then you might not know that I am 4 months pregnant. We finally got to tell people over the holidays. I figure however, that if I didn't see you then, then I need to tell you now! Damien and I are so excited and in awe of the fact that we're creating a little tiny human being while we work and sleep and eat. Suddenly my world seems more magical and my belly rounder. So we are due toward the end of June ...
Besides that we are just going about our everday business back at work trying to teach the teenagers of Richmond and enjoy the mild winter we are having down here. Mwaa!

December & January in Pictures

Damien admires a huge White Oak in York River State Park (Virginia)

Andrea & Luke host us in their Boston abode

I get to hang out with my cousin(s) Corey (and Justin, Courtney, and Gregory) at Di's house

Joe is enamoured by the snowy view from Wildcat Mountain (NH)

Christmas in Downtown Richmond is glowy

Dianne & Andy enjoy Christmas Eve Eve at mom & dad's house

Kay & I snowshoeing in the Great Gulf Wilderness in the White Mountains (NH)

Me, Danielle, & Tracy are so happy to be reunited for the holidays

Winding Down 2007

I can't believe another year is close to its conclusion already. As I sit at my desk here at John Marshall High School, the Virginia sun is warming up our day to a high of 78 degrees. This is a record breaker for December, kinda creepy, but also really nice. I think I'm actually going to put on flip flops after school today. We've had a lot going on lately- one major upsetting experience for me- one of my favorite students was shot and killed about a week and a half ago after a house party, and my school is still recovering from the tragedy. It truly broke my heart. He was my student for two years and I had nicknamed him my "even day sunshine" because of his brilliant smile and charm. It has been difficult to help my students come to terms with the empty desk in our classroom, and how he was just with us and now he's not. He was only seventeen and killed by another seventeen year old. Such a senseless shame. We've been discussing how to end the cycle of violence in our communities, but I think having a conversation about it is a lot different than living in the reality of it.
On a brighter note, we've been going on some fun weekend excursions hiking and biking around the area. We are looking forward to the 2 week break we have coming up, and we will drive north to Massachusetts for the festivities. Well, the bell is going to ring and a surge of students will soon be flooding my room for another exciting period of English 10. I hope everyone is well and has beautiful holidays. Keep in touch!

A List: November Whirlwind

We had an awesome time when my parents came down for a visit. We picked them up near Virginia Beach and spent the weekend strolling on the beach, feeding seagulls from our 10th story room, exploring Bald Cypress forests, spying a whole fleet of dolphins, and dining galore.
Then we all came back up to Richmond where we hung out in Carytown, got spoiled by them, wandered through the beautiful landscapes of Maymont Park, and where we enjoyed hosting them in our Churchill abode. We were very sad to see them go.
The next weekend we jumped on a plane to NYC with some other teachers from Richmond and attended the National Conference for English Teachers in Manhattan and had a really enlightening experience there. The city's intense vibe kept calling us to come outside. Damien and I practically walked clear across Manhattan and in doing so saw such a frenzy of activity and had sensory overload. I've been there many times before, but each time I go back I can't believe how charged with energy that city is. We strolled through a vintage flea market, we saw kids break dancing on a moving and very crowded subway car, we got off in Chinatown and watched people playing traditional instruments and games and felt like we were in China again (and killer dumplings to boot), we literally ran around Chelsea, which is the most phenomenal art district imaginable- in and out of galleries before closing time, we were blinded in the neon glow of Times Square, we got dizzy watching ice skaters going around in circles in Rockerfeller Center, we ate some serious New York pizza, we had pie and coffee in a diner on 23rd St., we people watched like it was our job, we made our way through immeasurable crowds, we rode the bus here and there, we admired the Hudson, we walked past the various retail districts like the diamond and the fashion districts, we drooled in the cases of the most amazing gourmet bakeries, we felt like ants, we felt like lemmings, we felt like humans, and oh yeah we attended the conference. The workshops and meetings and speakers were very informative and progressive too!
The next week we drove to Buffalo to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Johnsons and had such an enjoyable and relaxing time there. We ate furiously and savored it too, we took naps in front of the fire, we walked in the falling snow, we toured the Birchfield art gallery with Tully as our personal guide, we played music and Pheonix sang, we hugged Brenda really hard and thought and thought and thought about her son Danny who was devastatingly killed in Iraq and sent all our love out into the universe, we saw Tully's new apartment, we went out and had fun, we watched a movie on Heather's couch, we said what we were thankful for, we rode bikes down Elmwood, and we are still missing all that comes with good ol' B-Lo.

Putting the Art into Autumn

SONAR

We bee-lined it to Pittsburgh PA last Friday afternoon and made it in time for the art opening SONAR, an installation brilliantly put together by some of the finest people in the world: Chris Lisowski & Tully Johnson. Their exhibit focused on the harmful effects the usage of sonar has had on the environment and marine life. It was awesome, and the place was packed with the constant flow of viewers checking out Pittsburgh's gallery crawl circuit. They really had everybody floored with their political voice, amazing paintings, a beached Sperm Whale, and government documents being read through a water-submerged speaker. Check out more at Chris's website: http://www.feralfarm.com/



The next day we rode bikes all over the city, and got to see many of its unique neighborhoods, art galleries, and myriad bridges spanning not only a mountainous terrain, but also three rivers which converge right there.

We went to the Chihuly exhibit in the burg's botanical gardens, and that was truly astounding. Every room was full of large glass blown sculptures meant to fit in with the environment including floating in various ponds and appearing to grow right out of the dirt. It was expansive and fascinating. Chihuly's Orange Glass Room

We got to have a Lisowski home cooked Italian dinner and hang out with the Lisowski family and Patty Johnson and Brenda too. We also got to see Ajay who his doing his residency in Pittsburgh, and meet his lovely wife too. So wonderful. Buffalo buddies Chris S, Bob B, and Kristie B were there for the festivities too and we really did have an interesting Karaoke experience at a local bar on Sat. night. It was a great weekend.

Here Damien is under a sun-speckling canopy of pre-autumn treetops! We spent a nice day hiking around Pochahontas State Park. He has Giant Biceps!
Damien and I also went to the Williamsburg Art Festival down here in VA and rode our bikes around and this horse tried to eat my shifter.

Soft Nose, Delicious Shifter

Protests in Burma

Whenever I close my eyes and remember Asia, I always see the serene, smiling, dignified, sparkling faces of the people of the Buddhist nation of Burma (the ruling military dictatorship calls the country Myanmar). The monk-led democratic protests going on there fill my heart up with so much hope and then it breaks a million times when I hear of the violence the military has responded with. The military junta has jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, dragged away and beaten the leading monks, and killed nine peaceful protesters. Here is a link to click to see an amazing photo gallery- it seems to go backwards in chronology, so the first pictures are later dates. The pictures of the peaceful aspects of the protest are so beautiful...maybe they can give us just a little window to see the strength of the citizens who live there.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2007/09/25/GA2007092501415.html

Kayaking the Weekend Away

morning kayaking afternoon kayaking night kayaking

bald cypress kayaking




flower kayaking


We've just returned from a wonderful kayak-camping weekend in the Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area just to the S. E. of us. We spotted a lot of wildlife (a big Bald Eagle was circling over us this morning), cooked up some delicious meals, kayaked our brains out, and enjoyed a lot of needed peace and relaxation.

We've been doing well and are back in the swing of teaching- we have plunged right into the hectic crowded urban high school life, and are feeling a lot more peaceful this time around. I'm teaching an extra class twice a week after school and we are also taking a grad class after school, so our schedules have suddenly filled up to the point of bursting during the week, but we are enjoying it. I'm looking forward to implementing a recycling program at my school with a couple of other concerned teachers and students.

It is still hot down here- somewhere around 90 degrees today, and we are looking forward to the fall weather! Not much else to report... except all the friends with brand new babies in the world! Congratulations Kristin & BJ, Josh & Maryjo, Auntie Danielle & Baby Daddy Gumby! We love you and your beautiful little offspring/nephews!

The See Saws at Fountainhead Regional Park

Mountain Biking & Marriage

Tomorrow is already our 3 year wedding anniversary and the first day the students come back to school. With the addition of a graduate class on Tuesdays (tomorrow tambien), we decided it would be too full of a day to celebrate, so we utilized the long weekend to represent our anniversary instead. We drove to Fairfax, VA and went mountain biking at Fountainhead Regional Park for 2 days (9 miles of some wonderful and technical terrain), while staying in a plush room at the Marriott (thanks Di & Andy), and eating Thai duck curry with grapes and pineapples at a spicy restaurant. It was wonderful. We are so thankful we found each other in the universe. Today I spend the day preparing for and meditating on a full school year ahead. I have butterflies. Big ones-maybe Atlas moths.

Peru's Earthquake

We were so sad to hear about the devastating earthquake that rocked Peru 2 days ago. It measured a 7.9 on the Richter scale and there are over 500 dead and rising, and over 800 injured. We were in the area just 3 weeks ago and can still picture it perfectly. In fact, Pisco was our last stop (this is the town the suffered the most casualties). That was the jumping off point for the Islas Ballestras. We're closing our eyes and remembering that place and all the beautiful faces we passed there. We are thankful to be safe and hope the area and people will heal quickly. Here's a link to a recent update from NPR and you can listen to the details there.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903552

Mud Island and Massachusetts

The crew at Mud 2007

After some kayaking days in Richmond, we hopped in the tiny Ford Focus hatchback (pinenut) laden with two longboats and 2 bikes (we came back with 3 bikes- thanks dad!) and headed north to Buffalo. There we got to see a few sorely missed friends and hung out with them late into the evening (this is the Buffalo way of course). Then it was off to the Johnson's annual family reunion up on Wolfe Island in Canada (right smack in the middle of the St. Lawrence River which makes for kayaking heaven). (I'm in a parenthesis mood). Most of us still call it Mud Island even though we stay on Wolfe because the venue used to be right across the water on a teeny tiny island (Mud). It was a festival of eating gourmet meals, sailing, kayaking, biking, camping, water skiing (go Luke!), wakeboarding (I stink and had sore forearms for the week), playing Patty's well crafted game of whip golf aka thunder horseshoes (no sorry I forgot the real name), fishing, covering fish with ink and making fishprints, relaxing, becoming immersed in the swarms of swallows at sunset, daytripping into Kingston, korkling (damien's new found love for flipping upside down in his kayak with a scuba mask on, gazing at the fish unil his breath runs out, and then uprighting himself with his perfected roll technique), and being together with wonderful people.

A field of Sunflowers on the island

Damien takes me out in the Adirondack Guideboat aka the "Romantic Boat" made by the hands of his father and grandfather

Then we were off to meet my folks in the beautiful Adirondacks where we picnicked on their land, kayaked, and caught up with each other. In the morning we rushed down to see my grandparents- grama Jane had been admitted to the hospital the night before and thankfully we found her doing better than we expected. That being said, she still was in enough danger to need to remain in the ICU for a few days. I'm glad I was close enough in the area to be with her. When we were sure she'd be OK, we headed back to Agawam and had a few days to enjoy the company of one another and snuck in a few quick but wonderful visits with some peeps. To celebrate my parents 30th wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday, Aunt Di took us all out to Max Downtown in Hartford and we all agree that it was one of the most exquisite and amazing dining experiences we've ever had. Thank you Dianne! We played lots of music togther, and we got to play with Danielle's boyfriend Andy who is a great guitar player. We belted out a few of our favorites! We went moutnain biking with Marc in Robinson, hung out by the pool with a whole crew of fantastic people, and tried to spy some falling meteors. The time flew by.

The Schlaffs perform in the playroom

Now we are home in VA and it's like a sauna down here. It was a great trip! We meant to see more people than we actually did, but we had a ball and if we missed you this time, let's make sure we see you at x-mas! Missing everyone and so thankful for all of the wonderful people in our lives. Mwaa!

Adios S. America

Goodbye South America

After La Paz, Bolivia, we cut across the northern tip of Chile and had the chance to explore an area of vast desert and snow-covered volcanoes. We stayed with a family in Parinacota, the most beautiful village that consisted of only ten families, and was the coldest place we had been yet. The area was full of vicunas, llamas, condors, and even flamingoes. We took a few long and rambling walks in the area and discovered a lake (all of this is in Lauca National Park) that was truly an oasis, so the wildlife viewing was incredible.

Vicunas grazing in Lauca National Park, Chile

The church in the center of Parinacota

We traveled through the driest desert in the world called the Atacama and found ourselves in a very pleasing beach town named Arica (I kept thinking everyone was talking about me) where we frolicked around for an afternoon. The next day we crossed back into Peru. Our next stop was the jumping off point for what are known as "poor man's Galopagus islands," more likely to be found on a map under the name of Islas Ballestras. A boat helped us view the beautiful area and we spotted Humbolt Penguins, Peruvian Boobies (these are birds of course!), Peruvian Pelicans, Inca Terns, 3 kinds of Cormorants, sea lions, and dolphins.

He tried to eat D's shoe

Then it was back to Lima to explore the bustling streets, a monastary with catacombs, and the grand squares of crumbling colonialism.

Now we are back home, kayaking and relaxing in the lush beauty of the humid summer we have found here!

The Mountains and La Paz

We took a harrowing boatride on Lake Titicaca to the Isla del Sol in Bolivia to find a magical place where people live an amazingly tranquil lifestyle. There had been a snow storm the night before with thunder and lightning and the lake had monsterous waves on it. By the time we got the the island, the sun came out and all was peaceful.

A view of Lake Titicaca from Isla del Sol

We then headed to the village of Sorata, where the Cordillera Real portion of the Andes tower overhead. We hired a guide and set off on a three day trek. We slept at a green lagoon, and then wheezed our way up to 16,650 ft up to a glacier lake. It was amazing. There was snow, and much awe in mother nature found there.

Damien and our guide Pablo have a snack on day 2 of our trek

Relaxing at our final destination- Laguna Glacial

After some well deserved showers and sleep back in town, we headed to the capital of Bolivia- La Paz which is where I write from now. It is a vibrant city, one of the most colorful, exciting, and fascinating cities I can remember. We stay in the ¨witchcraft¨market area, where herbs and all sorts of strange concoctions are ready to be offered to pachamama, including dried llama fetuses that you are supposed to bury under the corner of your house for good luck. The markets are incredible, the architecture is beautiful and the people are so very interesting. THe city literally has its own heartbeat.

In the morning we head to the northern tip of Chile, as it proves to be the easiest border crossing back into Peru, as there are protests directly from here that have the roads blocked. We figure we´ll take advantage of our detour and explore a National Park there that is supposed to be one of the finest in all of Chile. Much love coming at you from South America!