What would Judi do?

Finally!  I can get into my blog!  I haven't been able to so far on this trip.  And when I see it, it's in German (which is funny because I'm in a French speaking area).  So happy to see you, my blog. So much is happening on this trip.  It really is the trip of a lifetime. I have much to say but only want to jot down notes now so I don't forget.  Between my notes and my over-a-thousand-pictures, I'll remember this forever. 1.  Geneva likes flowers.  It's smells good here almost everywhere.  I can't identify them all but I'd like them in my (very big in my head but small in reality) garden. 2.  There are free pianos set up around the city just for people to play.  It's marvelous to be walking down a street and hear beautiful music.  Sometimes people bring others for accompaniment.  One had a flute player.  That was fun.  One boy started out at one location, put a hat on the piano and was amazing.  Dur...

I'm a firm believer that every once in a while you need to get scared.  Not scared as in my-life-is-in-danger scared.  But gee-I've-never-done-this-before scared.  It's a different kind of scared and a pretty useful one for me. I can count on my hands the number of times I've scared myself only to find that it's improved me in some way or another.  I almost didn't get on the plane to Poland to meet up with a guy who I knew for three weeks six years earlier.  I was beyond scared.  What if he wasn't there?  What if he was really a serial killer?  I had no idea what to expect.  It was an amazing trip.  I would've missed it all had I not gotten on the airplane. I was scared to move to Maryland knowing no one.  I knew I didn't want to live in Lansdale the rest of my life but I didn't know what I wanted to do.  I moved with the idea I would be here for three months.  That was 19 years ago.  Even after I was married and ...

Lots of people don't know that before I became a sign language interpreter and entered the world of deafness, music was (and still is) a huge part of my life.  I had a small record store business - music was as much a part of me as my toes. It's not just listening to the music that affects me, though that started it all.  I love the feel of vinyl.  I love the weight of records (as opposed to cds).  I loved watching videos.  In fact, one of the earliest memories I have regarding music was sneaking a tv into my room to watch a short program on some UHF station called Rockworld.  They showed European videos and I fell in love with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Lene Lovich and the Cure.  It was so different from the Philly and teenie bopper music I listened to.  I remember seeing Siouxsie Sioux and thinking I wanted to be her.  She had dark eyeliner and yellow eyeshadow.   ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9otg_Cm50RE )  The other kids wa...

It doesn't seem so long ago that we took the girls to their first day of kindergarten.  I remember that day clearly.  Mike and I made sure the girls had everything they needed.  We walked them into the school, made sure all was set and then (I reluctantly) left.  The tears were streaming down my face, Mike's arm around my shoulder.  The other parents looked at me walking with my head down and sniffling, and made their sympathetic "oh, kindergarten parents" comments.   It seems very long ago. Being an elementary school parent has been an interesting experience.  The girls have had far more homework than I expected.  They've had wonderful challenges and experiences, too.  We've all met people along the way who have affected us permanently.  The girls are now fluent in French, love music and art and have had to learn to get along with others.  It's been an overall good experience. It never occurred to me that I would ...

I love presents!  I love getting gifts and, when I do a good job, I love giving gifts!  Sometimes I'm spot on and sometimes I'm really off base.  Surprising someone with something they love is always fun. So, the challenge today is my top 5 gifts.  That's so hard!  I've been very blessed in my life to get more than 5 awesome things.  Hmmmm......let me see if I can narrow things down a bit. 1.  Tiffany coins.  Tiffany - yes the Tiffany and Company with the pretty blue box - didn't used to do gift certificates.  Instead they had Tiffany coins.  They were heavy and beautiful and shiny.  My brother got me several over the course of a few years.  I horded them.  I couldn't decide what I wanted so I just saved them.  Every now and again I'd take them out, hold them in my hands and then put them back in the small cloth pouch they arrived in.  Several years later, my then-husband added to my collection and took me to...

Books are a big deal in this house.  My kids are voracious readers so there are books everywhere.  It's actually something they get in trouble for - reading all the time.  They sneak books in the bathroom, under their dinner plates, between the cushions in the couch - everywhere!  In fact, I was lying in bed  with them one day (they were sharing the bottom bunk of the full size bunk bed set) when I decided to look around.  Hidden in that bed were 26 - yes, 26! - books.  They were under the pillows, between the slats - all over. You'd think this is a good problem to have, right?  It's not.  It's annoying.  But it is cool to hear them talk about their favorite characters, books, authors, etc. But sometimes I like to read, too.  I just don't leave my books near the toilet.  So this list will be a family combo list. 1.  M & A - Mysterious Benedict Society - all books in the series.  They love them al...