More About Summer in Corvallis

The heat of summer and long hours of sunlight work their magic on Ben's garden of yellow squash, green beans, herbs, nasturtiums and spaghetti squash. Everything is growing faster and bigger than we could imagine. We, on the other hand, almost withered and died from over a week of temperatures in the 90's and up to 106 degrees.

During the heat wave my buddy Helen arrived from the cool fog of Carmel. We picked blueberries, ate gelato, walked along the riverfront downtown and had delicious dinners on the deck, but all in the heat. Over the weekend Helen and I went to Portland for a WILFP (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) conference of the West Coast chapters. Six women from the Monterey Chapter attended (including Helen) so it was like a mini-reunion for me. So much fun to see everyone and hear news from Monterey. We stayed in a dormitory with no air-conditioning and ate food from a dorm cafeteria. Small price to pay for all the benefits of the conference. I had especially wanted to meet WILPF women from Oregon for future organizing and friendships and, sure enough, I did.


While Helen and I were off in Portland, our friends Frank and Margaret from Pacific Grove stayed overnight at our house and Courtney gave them a tour of Corvallis. We're hoping to spirit them up here when they're tired of PG.


Meanwhile Maya has gone back to work and Courtney and I take care of Ben three days a week. As the photo below shows, it's very hard work!


Yesterday was Aaron's 11th birthday. Of course he seems older and wiser. Only two weeks until he returns to Monterey, just in time to start his 6th grade school year. Seems like just the other day he was arriving for two months of summer and now it's almost over. He'll be back in mid-October for two week break and then again in December. We will miss each other alot.

Thanks for reading our blog,

Valori

Kinetic Sculpture Race -- The Bog section

A little post-script here. The da Vinci Days big feature is the Kinetic Sculpture Race, which is held on the street, at a "dune", in a "bog" and down the Willamette River. Your dear photographer only attended the promenade, the dune and the bog. Here are a few photos from the bog. Next year we will attend the whole race. What fun!


"Whirled Cup" enters The Bog. Note the high heel on the soccer shoe.



The "Big Easy" trying to show what a piece of cake the bog is.



Kids running to help stuck sculpture out of the bog.


"Flash Gourd'n" entering the bog.



The only sculpture without pedal power... actually made it to the finish line.



"Whirled Cup" makes it to the finish line. Puppets cheering and encouraging.


The temperature was in the mild mid-80's. Heavenly Pacific Northwest. The highs predicted for this weekend are around 105. Valori and Helen will be at the WILPF conference in Portland. Friends Frank and Margaret from Pacific Grove will visit Courtney.

--- Courtney

da Vinci Days

Lots has happened since the last posting. Aaron returned home from a week at Sun Camp in the Rocky Mountains. Maya started back to work three days a week. Courtney and I started taking care of Ben while Maya works. So we are continuing to be in various stages of transition.

Interspersed with that is the beauty and wonder of summer in the Pacific Northwest. We tried twice unsuccessfully to go blueberry picking (first time the farm was closed for ripening; second time we got rained out), but third time was a charm. Between the four of us (Maya with Ben in the baby pack), Aaron and his friend Jen, and me) we picked 20 lbs of blueberries. It was truly amazing to see how many blueberries can grow on just one bush, let alone a whole farm.

Part of summertime in Corvallis is a three-day festival of art, science and technology called da Vinci Days (www.davinci-days.org). It's a fabulous blend of extreme creativity, important new technologies, great politics and family fun. And so much good humor and cleverness.

Our friends Meigra and Boye (formerly of Seaside, now in Portland) were here for the Friday evening and Saturday of da Vinci Days. It was great timing. Boye and Aaron had a blast test-riding vehicles that I don't even know the names of. The highlight of the festival, though, is the Kinetic Sculpture Races. Teams come from California, Washington and all over Oregon to compete in their human-powered vehicles that have to survive a road race, then a dune climb, then the mud bog and finally the river race.

Courtney took the photos below at the Kinetic Parade Saturday morning and will give you a flavor of what the festival is about. (Though it's hard to capture in photos the energy and fun of it all.)

While the crowd is waiting for the Kinetic Parade to start they were entertained by this daring young street performer from Portland. That's Boye in the the red tshirt and Aaron in the red cap in the foreground.


Wheely Wonka (from Chico) powered by a team of Oompalas.

This was Courtney's favorite, named Extreme Makeover.

This was my favorite, the Magic Bus, pedaled by a team of hippies in tie-dye.

So this is summer in Corvallis--or at least a piece of it.

Thanks for reading our blog. More next week,

Valori

Summertime in Corvallis

Our first summer in Corvallis is not one we're likely to forget. Ever. For one thing, Ben was born. If that's not enough, it's the summer of settling into our home, planting our gardens and orchard, and beginning to explore the Pacific Northwest.

For me there's an added sweetness about this summer. It's the first time in my adult life to take a break from working. Oh my goodness it's fun! There is so much creative juice bubbling in this household because neither of us has to go off to a job. We're working all the time, but it's whatever catches our fancy and launches us into the next project. There's so much we want to do and we're doing it, step by step, as time, money and energy allow.

Next week we'll add another ingredient to the mix as we start taking care of Ben 20 hours a week so Maya can return to work part-time. It's so thrilling to think how bonded Ben will be with us through that much time together on a regular basis. We'll have that little baby out in the garden pulling weeds before you know it.

Among the many blessings of this summer is the opportunity we have to watch Maya and Eder as new parents. They are an awesome pair! Both are so fully engaged, alert, attentive, mellow, loving, affectionate and practical. And all that on not enough sleep! It is a pleasure and priviledge to be part of their support team.

Another summer blessing is the time we have with Aaron. He's only here for two months, so we have to compress all we want to do with him into that time frame. And right now he's gone to Colorado for a week to Sun Camp ( a rights of passage/wilderness camp for 10-16 year olds at the Shambhala Mountain Center). When he returns we'll be celebrating his 11th birthday with his friends here, John and Jen. Also riding bikes on the many bike paths in our neighborhood, swimming at the Aquatic Center, going out for gelato or homemade donuts at the farmers market. He's such a perky guy with good energy and a sense of adventure.

One more blessing I'll mention is the company we've had and will have over the course of this summer. My dear friend Valorie came the week after we landed here and skillfully led us into the world of gardening. My sister (Kissy/Stephanie) and nephews, Lucas and Matthew, just left after a good long vacation with us. My buddy Helen will be here soon and we'll head off to Portland for a WILPF conference. Our friends from Pacific Grove, Frank and Margaret, will be here briefly--just a couple days--to get a taste of Corvallis. And Courtney's friend Rosanna will stop by to see us on her way through Oregon in August. We're totally up for showing our friends and family around and even feel like we've been here just long enough to qualify as tour guides.

Oh yes, one more blessing. That Courtney is willing to pick up his camera and shoot each time I say "Wouldn't that make a great picture!" Here are just four examples. The top one is of Aaron leaping on our back deck with his cousins Matt and Lucas. The next two are of Maya and Ben relaxing in our living room. Finally Eder and Ben at a picnic at Willamette Park. Thanks, Courtney, for recording our first summer in Corvallis!

Lovingly submitted,
Valori