Impromptu stop at Niagara falls, Canadian side, and then on to Toronto

Second and third weeks of summer vacation

Aiyana and I have been continuing to visit universities. We visited Northeastern University in Boston earlier this week. That was very impressive. And the pricetag was very impressive as well, but not in a good way, at around 70k per year! Some pictures are below.

Yesterday, we visited University of Rhode Island. Not impressed with it. I don't think Aiyana will apply. The University itself is not academically that impressive, and the surrounding area is dead. It would've been a wasted trip, were it not for Aiyana's excellent play list, which we listened to on our ride, and for the fact that we always find a way to make our trip fun even when we're in the middle of nowhere, as we were yesterday.

Tomorrow, Ed, Aiyana and I are driving to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal for a week. We'll be visiting a bunch of schools there, and we're looking forward to that, plus the change of scenery.

Here are some pictures from this week.

Next time you're in Boston, try Life Alive. Excellent café.

My beautiful Aiyana. I'll miss her so much if she goes away to college. Just like I miss Sena.

Peace

First week of summer vacation

This is my first time since I was a school student having the summer off. I must say it feels weird, but also good, like I'm a little kid again. Remember that feeling when the last day of school arrived and you had the whole summer ahead of you?

So here are some of the things I'm doing this summer:

Spending time with Aiyana, and as much of it as possible! We go on little outings around here, like for example Elizabeth park and West Hartford last week, which I'll post some pictures from.

We're also taking lots of college tours: Aiyana has already visited Washington DC colleges on her own, and Ed and I will also go with her again in July, when Sena's internship ends. 

Aiyana and I are also going to Boston to visit colleges in the next couple of weeks, and then we'll be going to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in mid July with Ed.

In August, we're taking family trip, all 4 of us, to Romania and Turkey. We'll be in Bucharest, and in the mountains and the seaside, and we're also visiting Istanbul.

Other than that, I'm still going to school for a few hours each day, working on my aerospace class, which I'll be teaching in September. And, Ed and I are working on building a wind tunnel, also for that class.

We all miss Sena a lot, but the one thing that makes it easier is that she seems happy there.

The slow return

As children, though we don't try, we are masters at The Joy of Being.

As we grow up, we lose that and we start trying. We try hard to achieve. We have goals that we think, once achieved, will bring us happiness. But that happiness is ever elusive. As soon as we achieve a goal, it slips away from us, and now we pin our happiness on a new goal or achievement.

Eventually, with time, we come to recognize that what we are looking for is what we once had, that simple joy of being, which is available to anyone at any moment, though it takes a certain state of being to be able to feel it.

Life is practice in cultivating that state of being.

One year ago today

One year ago today I went to the emergency room for my gallbladder. Although it all ended well, it was a really scary time, and it took over my whole summer. Today, I am so grateful to be here, feeling well and able to enjoy the many blessings (sorry for the cliche, but it's quite true) of every ordinary day.

School is almost over and I feel really good about how this year went. My first year full time teaching!!!

I am also excited about a grant I received recently from our school, to build a wind tunnel for my aerospace class next year. 

Ed is helping me build it, or should I say that he is building it, and I am helping him design it.

In other news, Sena is doing well, working in the Senate building in DC. I miss her and still worry a lot, but I'm also happy and proud of her.

Aiyana is going to visit her soon, and she'll also visit a couple of universities she's interested in at the same time.

The farm is going well due to our amazing farm manager, Dan, without whom there would be no farm right now.

I'm just about done reading War and Peace. It is truly amazing and even better than anything I ever heard about it. Hemingway said that to read the Russians is like opening a great treasure, and he is right. Opening a great treasure that will stay with you forever. That's been my experience with Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky and Chekhov. I got a bunch more Tolstoy from the library to treat myself over the summer.

Thank you for reading my blog and for being interested. I am grateful to be here to share.

Peace 

How it feels?

This past week was our last week as a family for a while. Yesterday, Sena took the train to DC to start her internship with Senator Blumenthal. Who knows where her road will lead after that?

She was excited and of course I'm also very excited for her, and so proud;  and, at the same time I'm in a bit of shock for myself, even though I knew this was coming. I've been super clingy with her lately, trying to enjoy every moment, and probably spoiling many of them by trying too hard....

Right now I just feel sore in a weird way, like when you get hurt and you know you're hurt but you don't know where or how to explain it.

I'm kind of embarrassed by how I feel, and I certainly don't want to hold her back or make her feel bad in any way. I know that I'll figure it out with some time, so I'm going to give myself that time to just feel it, even though I can't put words to it very well.

You know how everyone says the years go by fast, they really do, but somehow it doesn't sink in until it's your turn.

This is a picture before she got on the train yesterday.

And this one is Aiyana at Trinity college, which we went to visit after dropping Sena off yesterday.

And this is my little corner where I read and write and find peace

Sena sent this picture. She can see the Lincoln memorial from her room!

I'll end with this one of my beautiful girls.

peace

Reels!

After Sena introduced me to reels, (short videos on Instagram), I've been having a lot of fun making them with little scenes from my garden and other places I love.

Here's a link to one from this morning:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd3Iz34F5MY/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Everything

The feeling of everything combined

The unbearable beauty

Everything fading away

Yet somehow ever present

How to hold it all

How she could never hold it

How it was gone

How it would always be there

Aiyana and her friends

Aiyana went to prom today with her two best friends. My girls are getting so big! I am happy and proud of them, and also feel a sweet kind of sadness about it all, about how fast time is going by...

And she's done!

Sena graduated on Sunday. So proud of who she is and everything she's done. 

Peace

The youngest college graduate!

Here's a really nice video that UConn put together to celebrate their youngest and oldest graduates this year. Sena, at 18, is the youngest.

The video shows some pictures of her being homeschooled as well. Looking back on that time, I have such mixed feelings: I LOVE that we had that time together, and that I was able to be with them every day. But I also wish I had given more and been more patient, and less stressed about the farm....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agSWNoUVWgQ

Happy May Day!

A little video from this morning.

https://youtu.be/z7oE8ywONcc

End of April pictures

This morning, Aiyana and I had a little walk in the orchard. The peaches and pears are in bloom and the orchard looks magical. There are dandelions and violas and other little flowers of all colors all over the ground, with bees and bumblebees buzzing all around. Truly, it feels magical, and very restorative, an escape from the troubles of the world.

In other news, I'm about halfway through Tolstoy's War and peace. I don't want it to end. But I still have about 500 pages to go, so it won't end any time soon. 

I also have been looking through my aerospace class curriculum for next year. I'm already getting very excited about it. Apparently a lot of kids signed up for it already.

This past week has probably been my best week at school yet. I've been reflecting on what made it so, and I think a big factor has been me setting strict boundaries around work and outside of work. I haven't been bringing any work home, and I've been really deliberate as to how I use my time at school, at home, and what constitutes good enough.

My mind of course always wants to spin into what else needs to get done, but I'm paying attention and refocusing as much as I can.

Here are a few pictures that I hope will bring some beauty into your day. Enjoy the weekend and this beautiful time of year!

Oh, and I cut my hair. I'm happy about it.

peace

Today, in the orchard

Peach blossoms and bumblebees to bring you peace and relaxation.

Enjoy 🙂

https://youtu.be/OElhOcKF6Jk

Sena's TEDx talk

Link coming soon...

For now, just a screenshot.

Bumblebees in the orchard and Sena's TED talk

A little video I made in the orchard, this morning. I hope it brings you peace and relaxation:

https://youtu.be/KGqVHvHAkdk

Also, today Sena is giving a TED talk. Can't wait to go to that! I'll post the video when I have it.

Have a great weekend!

Hopelessness is just another strategy

Hopelessness, in regards to climate change, is just another strategy to keep us despondent, apathetic, and inactive!

The truth is that there IS hope. As the latest IPCC report points out, right now we have everything we need to make the changes needed to avert the worst climate change effects. In that sense, we are powerful. And our voices matter. But we must act immediately and at a large scale.

We must tell our elected representatives that the era of fossil fuels is over, and we must keep them accountable for their words and promises.

So do not let yourself be kept down by despondency and hopelessness. YOU, and we all, together, can influence and bring about the positive changes we need. Just show up and keep showing up and don't let anyone tell you it's too late. What we love and what we hold dear is at stake. 

Tomorrow, Earth Day, is a good opportunity to come out and let CT legislators, or your legislators wherever you live, know that building new fossil fuel infrastructure is not acceptable.

I will be at the climate strike at the CT State Capitol, at 2pm, and I hope to see you there as well.

Thank you Sena and @sunrise_connecticut

for organizing tomorrow's climate strike. Can't wait to be there.

Peace

Happy Day

April break started out great.

Today, Sena and Aiyana and I went for a little outing in West Hartford. We had lunch at Hartford Baking Co. (which is amazing and if you haven't tried it, you should). We did a little shopping: Aiyana got a bumblebee ring and I got a dress. We looked at some pots and pans that Sena could get when she goes to DC and needs to cook for herself.

Then we went to an eastern European store also in West Hartford and got some cardamom tea and plum jam.

Then we went to another Eastern European grocery store in Rocky Hill and got some things for Romanian Easter, which is coming up next weekend. I'm going to make dolmas, and Sena and Aiyana are making Pashka. We're also going to paint eggs.

It was a beautiful day. I am so happy. 

And here is a little video I made this morning, in this little special spot that I love.

https://youtu.be/CPICZ--1yF4

Peace

April vacation!

April vacation is here and I am so ready. School was busy and stressful over the past few weeks.

But I'm learning to set boundaries, and I intend to spend most of this upcoming week resting and recovering.

I have War and Peace to read, and most of all, I look forward to spending time with the girls, doing fun little things around here. Sena will be going to Washington DC soon, and every moment spent with her now is precious.

This is a beautiful time for a vacation too, with all the flowers starting to bloom and the trees leafing out.

I hope that you are able to enjoy this beautiful time of year too...

Peace