Auf Wiedersehen - Until I See You Again

Our precious three weeks with Phil have finally drawn to a close. We accept it, though. We're used to these goodbyes. First Phil was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months in 2006, then he PCS'd to Korea for 8 months in 2008. Thankfully we're getting really good at "soldiering up" and dealing with missing each other. Separations force us to be our strongest selves, and help us to appreciate one another more than we otherwise would. There are so many lessons to be learned, and so much growth to experience, from these goodbyes. 

I attribute much of our family's closeness and team mentality to our extensive traveling and also to these lengthy separations. We're constantly in situations that call for us to think and act as one mind, to help one another, to depend on one another in critical ways. We're each a pillar of our family structure, and each of us knows it.

The Frankfurt airport never saw so much hugging. Surprisingly there were very few tears, because we all felt so loved and so close, and we knew that Phil would only be gone for another three months. Compared to eight months, three is a breeze.

Comic relief!

As Lvov used to say, "We love our-chothers!"

Beachcombing Belgium

On our way to catch the ferry in Calais, France, we visited a lovely stretch of beach in Belgium. It was a chilly, sunny day - sounds of seagulls, surf rolling itself at our feet again and again like a mantra. It was wonderful to walk on sand again, to sink into sand dunes, our bodies avalanching to the glossy glow of beach below. 

Hunting for empty razor clam shells -  they look like old Chinese men's fingernails stretching outward  from beneath the sand. Hours later we boarded the ferry with pocketfuls of them.

This is the North Sea, close to the English Channel. Across the water, England. Our new home.

Akychame and Daddy: reminds me of the "Footsteps" poem. 

We watched the barnacles poke out for meals, then hide in a wink.

Little miss celebrity in Hello Kitty bathrobe and "bling"-ful shades.

Windswept, barren loveliness everywhere. Everything buried and unburied by sand and sea.

September Creations with my Two Sous Chefs

Voila! One lovingly hand-picked and home-cooked apple torte (created with apples hand-picked from a little orchard nearby). Every bite is filled with memories of tree climbing, laughter, and ripped jeans (mine, ripped while climbing). Even the executive chef does a little "sous" chef-ing from time to time. Who knew that serendipitously discovering apple trees along a Nordic Hiking trail in the Rheinland-Pfalz counts as dessert preparation?

Deep sweet chocolate and Kahlua brownies with bitter almond-cinnamon cream and toasted almonds.

Love Love Love

Just thinking about our little family today, and all of our happy memories together.

Our Family Names, Embellished with Japanese Mythological Symbols (2002)

A Thousand Miniature Get-Well Wishes from Lvov

The second week that Phil was away, I caught a cold (compounded by allergies). To keep me company, Lvov sat at my desk next to my bed tinkering away for about an hour and a half. This is what she was making, instead of playing outside or watching a movie or playing with the hamster...(please click on this picture to see the little notes!)

My children are so wonderful, they even make being sick joyful. They are my joy, every minute.

Some Musical Inspiration from a Lamentably non-Musical Jalina

It's so strange that all of my songs and photographs can fit inside a slim few inches of metal (there in the middle, in the blue case). I love iPods, MySpace, blogs, Wikipedia, and navigational systems just as much as I love gardening, getting hopelessly and serendipitously lost on road trips, making earth-friendly cleaning products, and reading mythology with my kids. What can I say? I'm a 21st century mama.

Tonight I updated my iPod with lots of great songs: a jazzy old Nina Simone song "Feeling Good," "Dissolved Girl" by Massive Attack, and "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Patrick Watson. I'm so in love with this song:



Also... "Beyond" by Bluba Lu, and "My Moon, My Man" by Feist. Lovely music...

I just checked out Bluba Lu on MySpace, and coincidentally their top friends are Cinematic Orchestra, Portishead, and Brian Eno. I totally love that scene. Here's a great video from Bluba Lu (though I prefer their music with Androniia Popova):



Here's a video of them creating the song "To Love You," featuring Androniia Popova's enchanting vocals. This is one of my favorite songs, right up there with practically every song by Portishead. It's beautiful:

TO LOVE YOU at STUDIO ONE


And of course I also downloaded lots of free Radio Lingua German podcasts. I listen to these on the Autobahn all of the time. Haben Sie ein Doppelzimmer? Kann ich mein Gepack hier lassen bitte? That was this week's lesson about staying in a hotel. I highly recommend these 3-minute "quickie" podcasts. They're easy fare for a drive to the store or 20 minutes on the tread mill, and they offer many different languages. You could learn to ask if you can leave your luggage at a hotel in many different countries. ; )

Lvov's "Sponge Bob" 10th Birthday Party!

Phil Finished the Luxembourg Marathon (Despite a Twisted Ankle!)

Click to enlarge photo!

I'm so proud of my boy! The whole time I've known him, his dream has been to finish a single marathon. Then, from out of the blue at age 35, he runs 3 marathons in 8 months! Crazy! First, he ran the Frankfurt, then the Bad Durkheim (a little German town along the wine road in Germany), and now the Luxembourg marathon. He's obsessed! It's really uplifting to see all of the people in their 60's whizzing by all of the younger folks...wow...that's going to be Phil one day! And I get to come along and hang out in wonderful cities and cheer him on without even breaking a sweat. Well, I window-shopped at some exquisite Luxembourgian (my own word, I think) clothing boutiques during the run and ate some fabulous pastries (but nobody was exactly cheering me on or anything). I'm pretty much just along for the ride. Each marathon is so different and so invigorating; the thumping music, the camaraderie, the street performers, the raucous parties after...it's wonderful.

Lvov's Apology Gift Left Outside of Akychame's Door the Morning After an Argument

Inside the tissue paper baggie is Lvov's prized possession: the smoky quartz rock she bought at Idar-Oberstein, the mining village where we visited the church in the cliff. These girls are always leaving little love notes and gifts for each other, and for us.

Lvov's Relf-Referential Artwork

Please enlarge to see what I mean! Is this clever or what???

A Typical Home-School Snapshot (when we're not outside exploring)

Reuniting with Friends from 20 years Ago

A Loving Note from my Dad in a Children's Book (dated Christmas 1976 )