Co-op Snapshots

I will be passing this tower every Monday and Wednesday on my way to Shakespeare class! I thought it looked especially nice today with clouds hugging it amid the blue sky.




Tuesday, August 28

As I got into my car in a parking lot, I looked up and saw this bank of clouds.

The Five Friendlies

Otherwise known as BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, and NiNi.... These little people were given to us last night by a newly arrived Chinese student. The Five Friendlies, official mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic games, are inspired by the color of the five Olympic rings.

And of course, being Chinese, they symbolize something! The Friendlies display the traits of the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope, the swallow, and the Olympic flame. Traditionally the fish is the symbol of prosperity, so BeiBei carries the blessing of prosperity. The next Friendly, JingJing is a panda, which was selected for optimism and happiness. The red Friendly, HuanHuan represents the Olympic flame - for passion. Next comes YingYing, the orange antelope, who represents harmony and health. The last Friendly is NiNi, the swallow, for good luck.

When the names are put together - Beijing huanying ni - they say, "Welcome to Beijing."

Goofing Around

After lunch today Juli asked Jerry if she could fix his hair. And, of course, I captured the results in photos. I got my turn, too, as evidenced by the bottom picture! Lots of giggling....

Favorite Things

1. Freshly baked bread

Floodwall

Jerry and I visited the Louisiana State Museum today. The museum highlights the unique culture of Louisiana. I learned a lot.... like what Creole means and what a courrir is. There's a special exhibit called the Floodwall: a wall of drawers that were in houses in New Orleans that flooded after Katrina. The pictures don't capture how moving it was to look at the wall and listen to the voices of some of those they belonged to narrating their experiences.

"I didn't decide to build a floodwall. The drawers came and they took me. It was a trap set by fate. Once again, I found myself in a place that I didn't have the courage to leave." ~~Jana Napoli - artist and creator of Floodwall~~

Cooking Class

One of the electives in co-op is "Cooking for Large Groups." The students make lunch for as many of us that want it! Today was enchiladas and homemade salsa.

Symbols

Sizzling Summer

At least it wasn't as humid as usual, which made these high temps bearable.

Frustration

I saw this message entirely too much today!

Sunday, August19

Sunset as viewed through our bedroom window.

Sixty new Chinese students at the university this semester and about twenty-five were at our house tonight for a meal.

Thursday, August 16

Our youngest co-op student. She was taking my picture with that green block in her hands and I took one of her! She's been in the U.S. less than a year and is already very comfortable with English.

Quilt Wall Hanging

I finally got a quilt for the wall at the end of our dining room. It fills the whole wall and makes the room look much more homey! I am happy! (Do you see the kitty? I didn't know she was there til I put the photo on the computer!)

Catching Up on Photos - August 13 & 14

We had our church community group last night. Remember Selah, the baby I cared for last semester? Here she is now, alone and with her Daddy. She's 11 months and walking!

I was only a day behind, but left my camera at some friends' house. So I'll put them twodays worth in one post. We're doing school again. Here's Juli (and friend) spread out on the floor doing Latin.

At Our Back Door

Balloon Race!

We woke up this morning at dawn to see the balloons race! It was actually somewhat comfortable that early and it was a beautiful sight seeing all the balloons come in, drop their bean bags on a target and float off again to the next drop point.

On the Road 2

Here's what we saw on the interstate today! Actually, we saw four balloons. Two were in the air and two were grounded. There's a balloon festival in town and I hope to have better pictures tomorrow if I can get up early enough! (Why they would choose to have a balloon festival here in August is something I can't figure out!)

On the Road

I actually chuckled out loud the first time I saw this billboard. Get it? (I tried to get this while driving, but couldn't pull it off. So Juli took it for me.)

New shoes for Juli and me.

Summer Fruit

Thirty-One Years!!

I met that guy behind me there thirty-one years ago today! In some ways it's hard to believe it's been that long, in others it seems like we've always been part of each other. God has blessed me in him.

Saturday, August 4

We shopped for a new table for our breakfast room today. All day. We discovered some fun and unique stores and also found out that Juli likes looking at furniture.

Friday, August 3

Sometimes when plants come up I'm not sure if they're weeds or flowers. So I leave them. It's not easy to tell, but these leaves sprouted up all in a row and I have no idea what they are. In time, I should be able to figure it out!

The Ones I Love

Fun night tonight! Kassie is here and so we are complete. John came home from work with a complete head of hair, but when he came down for supper he was missing most of it. He'd asked Stephanie to give him a buzz cut and she left some hair on top! He plans on keeping the Mohawk for a few days.

Juli with her Shadow. Matt and Kassie

Stephanie and John

Jerry after a run.

Wednesday, August 1

I bought milk at Whole Foods (cheapest place I've found for milk) and found out that I got a very small refund for not getting it bagged!