Saturday, January 31, 2009

Crossing into Canada

Colin’s recent travel jogged a childhood memory of my own.

The Background:

I’m not sure if my own children have ever had the experience of hunting for night crawlers. However, when I was a child, a fishing trip to Canada was a yearly event for my family... Tradition dictated that my brother, my dad, and I would go outside about an hour after dark when the ground was damp and hunt night crawlers. I don’t know if you can really appreciate the size or the resistance of these creatures unless you’ve had the experience first hand.

As a country kid, I was usually barefoot or wearing flip flops… We’d use flashlights and would sneak around the damp yard stalking these giant earth worms. Some would just peak out of their holes with just the tips of their heads and would instantly retreat into their hole as we approached. Others would have most of their body draped out onto the ground. They were sensitive to light and vibration and moved at lightning speed so we had to strike quickly in our attempt to grab them. If we were lucky, we could catch one and drop it in our bucket.

Typically however, they’d put up a good fight! There was often a wonderful tug-of-war which sometimes ended in half a worm if you were overzealous. All too often the slimy worm managed to escape our grasp. By the day we left for our trip however, we would have a giant can (3 feet tall) filled with living night crawlers.


Crossing the Border

We’d hold our breath every time that we went through Customs. Even though it was back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, we would often be stopped and our car and boat searched by Customs Officials. Not only was this intimidating, it could also mean a long delay (maybe a half hour to an hour) to our vacation. On one particular trip, the Customs official had my dad open his trunk… The officer opened this interesting looking 3 foot tall can that presented itself before him and plunged his arm elbow deep into it as he asked my dad what was in the can. When my dad was able to reveal the contents, the search came to a halt and an embarrassed officer told us that we could now go ahead. We tried rather unsuccessfully to hide the amused looks on our faces as we continued on our way.

Friday, January 30, 2009

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I vowed that I'd get to bed early tonight so that I could actually
accomplish something worthwhile tomorrow!
Suddenly it is 1:00 am and AGAIN
I'm reading news articles and blogs on the Internet.
I have always been a night owl!
GOOD NIGHT!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A Sense of Relief

Colin arrived earlier this afternoon (Wednesday), in spite of a few glitches along the way.
We never realized that he'd need to bring proof of his attendance at the University to get through Customs. Luckily he was able to resolve this and he arrived in Groningen this afternoon according to schedule. He's settled in and will spend tomorrow picking up various items that he didn't have room to bring along with him
and registering with the International Office among other things.
His luggage and all 4 of his instruments made it there in one piece...


I'm so glad that his classes won't start until next week. The schools in the area were all closed today.Yes, it was lucky that he made it out just ahead of the storm that came through our area!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Check Mate


As I sit here listening to snippets of the Jay Leno show, you Colin are flying north east of Labrador. An hour or so ago you were over Nova Scotia. Amazing, I can go to check out your flight status and they actually SHOW where your plane is on a map in REAL TIME!!! While I am falling asleep I'll picture you over Greenland.

I'm hoping you will get a chuckle out of the picture I've posted. I was looking for photos of Groningen but found this one of Amsterdam instead!!!

Sooo Colin.... You'd better keep practicing chess while you're over there cause I'm taking the challenge seriously!!!

(Surprisingly we're not the only ones who take pictures of the chess game we're playing!!!) :)

PS... It's highly likely there'll be snow days all over tomorrow... except for the fact that it's regents week.... Glad you made it out when you did!!!

Monday, January 26, 2009

BON VOYAGE




Say Farewell to Colin and wish him luck.




He leaves tomorrow (on Tuesday) for a semester at Prince Claus Conservatory, Hanze University, Groningen, The Netherlands. Wouldn't you know, here's a storm warning tomorrow so hopefully he can fly out of Philadelphia tomorrow night. He goes from there to Dublin, then on to Amsterdam and finally he'll take a train to Groningen. He will stay there into July at least!


We will certainly miss you Colin !! We are also excited for you however, and all the opportunities and experiences that await you!
Jazz on!!! (I know... I know.... jazz is not a verb...YET!)

PS.. I just edited the posts below (Jazz Clubs) so that you can follow links to Jeremy Davenport's page!


Sunday, January 25, 2009

Seahorses at Feeding Time

This video shows some funky looking Seahorses.  We just happen to be looking at them during their feeding time.  If you look closely you can see a ghost Lindsay in the background right after he lets go of the branch.  I tried rotating the video so that it would be right side up, however when I did this, I lost the animal's head from view.  So everyone, lie down on your left side when viewing this!!!  We saw this in New Orleans as well.  They certainly have some first rate museums there! (I wish you were viewing this a little larger. It's awesome when seen full screen.)

MOVIE TIME

We've seen some powerful movies lately. I especially like "Defiance" which takes place in Poland during World War 2. The link to the movie will give you some background into the true stories that inspired the movie. We saw this movie right after visiting the World War II museum in New Orleans.

Feel free to check off all of the movies that you've seen that you would highly recommend on the graph above. Also leave comments here about the movies that you've enjoyed!
Michele

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Blog Kindergarten

In the course of the last 2 weeks I've turned from total blog ignorance to somewhat of a blog addict. I just visited One Minute Writing Prompts. A writing prompt is giving and people respond to the prompt in the comment section. There are often some very clever responses. Granted this is just playful writing without much substance... Still, I'm amazed at the variety of themes for various blogs and clever titles people have come up for them. Maybe we'll need to come up with a better title than, "Gordon Family." There are so many blogs to explore out there! I feel like I'm in Blog Kindergarten!



HUMAN STATUE AGAIN


I STILL can't get over all of the
HUMAN STATUES that I saw!
And I didn't even photograph 
ALL OF THEM.

TOUR GUIDE


Thanks Lindsay for driving us all over and for being our tour guide.
I hope that you didn't get too far behind in your work.
It was really good seeing you again.
Tons of people say HELLO!

Jazz Clubs


Soooo.... did Colin get to play in any clubs in New Orleans?
Some of you have been asking.
He played in a few different clubs.
Our first night there he sat in with Jeremy Davenport at the Ritz Carlton which shared the building with our hotel. Colin thought he was only going to play one song but Jeremy kept him up there for 4 songs... Really fun.
The next day we saw Jeremy's picture on a building on a street corner.

HUMAN STATUE


Imagine writing down that your 
profession
is a
HUMAN STATUE

Friday, January 23, 2009

A TASTE of NEW ORLEANS


Human statues, street musicians, carriage rides, miniature street cars...
What a colorful city!
Most of these were taken in the French Quarter
or nearby.
As you can tell, I couldn't stop taking pictures.
We still didn't have time to do everything!
I hope that you can also enjoy the flavour of New Orleans
from my slide show.
(The slide show has about 40 pictures- more than those in the background.)
(It is a little slow getting started!)
()ops- one photo got in there that didn't belong. Can you find it?)


A Taste of New Orleans

A time of Hope


It was rather nice watching the inauguration in the hotel lobby.
A room full of strangers suddenly became friends.
I was hugged by a couple who confessed to being non-US citizens.
Champagne was poured and the community burst into applause spontaneously throughout the speech.

New Orleans Insectarium

Thursday, January 22, 2009

So...

Would you believe it was in the 70s today and sunny? This just proves that the cold came down here with you. New Orleans was trying to make you feel at home.

Also, today I managed to drop an entire roll of stamps into my coffee at work. Fortunately the stamps were salvaged. Unfortunately, the coffee was not. (The glue aftertaste just made me sad.)

SURVIVOR

Way to go Colin!!

This is what happens when you wander into the insect cafe at the insectarium. They're a little too gooey for my taste... Plus the exoskeleton gets stuck in your teeth!

JUMBO GUMBO


THIS NEW ORLEANS VERSION OF
GUMBO CAN BE
A LITTLE INTIMIDATING!


What do you think of this picture of Jackson Square at sunset??

WE'RE BACK


Hi EVERYBODY
We're back from NEW ORLEANS!
It's been a while since Lindsay and Colin have been together! Here they are our first night!

Friday, January 16, 2009



TO THE GORDON CLAN
AVOID GEESE AT ALL COST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS
That's what my last fortune cookie said!
REALLY

Alright, I'll do it

Ok mom, I'll post to the blog. If everyone is nice, I'll post a picture of the cat too. (She's not speaking to me currently, as I've just abused her with the damp corner of a paper towel in an attempt to clean gunk of mysterious origins off her fur. She'll decide she loves me again when it's time for her breakfast in a few hours).

Hello everyone. My name is Lindsay, and I work with addicts. I am the receptionist at a substance abuse rehabilitation facility which also has within it a psychiatrists office and we see patients for various other psychological disorders as well. So far I haven't encountered a single patient who is crazier than my mom and her friends.

I mean that in the most loving way possible of course.

Right now New Orleans is going through a cold spell. It's gotten down to the low 50s these past few days, so everyone is pretty sure we're at the start of the next ice-age and they're bundling up like they may lose their extremities if they stay out in it too long. Even I am putting on a spring jacket whenever I head out of doors.

I hope everyone out there is doing well, and perhaps I'll have something of substance to say the next time I post.

Love you mom.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Retired Teachers


Retired teachers are often found smiling or eating!
Or smiling and eating!

Janice
can always find
something to
smile about!!!

Alice Research



Here's a sneak peak at some of the research that Alice did.

MORE ALICE STUFF


Roberta,
You're not holding your book!!!

ALICE STUFF :)

We proudly display our new copies...
Where did Roberta go????

ALICE SHARES HER NEW BOOK

ALICE THE AUTHOR

I am thrilled to say that I attended a rather impromptu book signing for my friend Alice.  A small group of us were already meeting for lunch, so Alice arranged for us to meet at the library ahead of time so that she could share some background information, describe some of the research that she did, and read us a chapter from the book, Adelia!  I always knew Alice could do ANYTHING that she put her mind to!  Not only was she an amazing teacher, (just ask my son), but now she's a published AUTHOR!  WAY TO GO ALICE!!!!  I can't wait to read it from cover to cover!!

WHY LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS?




Lindsay, This is for you!!!

ALL THAT JAZZ

Colin, This article if mainly for you, but others may find it interesting as well!
Check out 
Talk to the Newsroom:

Monday, January 12, 2009

I know you kids are too "hip" to carry our picture with you... This is just one more way of "haunting you while you're away!!"