Natalie's "Aussie" Birthday

Natalie celebrated her 9th Birthday in 'down under' style with an Australian themed party at our house. For an encore we had dinner at Outback. The album titled 'Christmas around Canton' features pictures from the tree lighting in Canton and North Canton.

The Polar Express

We just got back from a nighttime excursion to the North Pole on the Polar Express. We boarded a special train from downtown Canton with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Kathy, along with Natalie's friend Maddy Friel and Oliver's friend Madeline Gregory. It was a lot of fun! There was the reading of the Polar Express, the hot chocolate and cookies, and of course, the destination of the North Pole and the visit from Santa. Oliver was a little nervous at first, but by the time the "HO HO HO" contest came around he and Madeline were screaming at the top of their lungs!

2008 Fall Family Pictures

Here are some pictures we had taken in our yard with the help of Aunt Kathy (and Uncle Chuck who kept Oliver entertained). We were fortunate to get that done before the snow came in this week.

RIP Pounce

We said goodbye to our sweet cat Pounce today. She was 14 years old and had survived 3 cancer surgeries. She stopped eating over the weekend and barely drank any water as well. She had lost 30% of her body weight in the last 8 weeks. You can imagine how bony she felt as we petted her. Last night was the first night ever that she couldn't jump up on the bed to cuddle at my feet or on my pillow. I thought it also sounded like she was starting to have a hard time breathing this morning as well. I took her into Dr. Hunter's office today to have her put to sleep. He found her to be anemic, dehydrated, and with two more masses in her abdomen. We knew from the biopsy in August that a lymph node had tested positive for the cancer so it was probably in her chest as well - most likely causing the eating/swallowing problems. We will miss her loud "motor" and her friskey presonality around here. Oliver believes he's already seen her ghost in his room! I searched the library's database for a good juvenile book on pet death and couldn't find one so I think I'll write my own. I hope Pounce is enjoying kitty cat heaven with unlimited cat chow, cat nip, and birds to watch.

Election Day 2008

Congratulations Barack Obama! Oliver did his part in the campaigning.
We spent the day by voting and then having some family time. I went to Oliver's swim lesson and then we enjoyed a beautiful November day at the Stan Hywet Gardens in Akron. After that we got home in time to watch the elections results come in. What an exciting night!
The other album that I just posted is the Halloween party we had at our house. Enjoy!

Trick-or-Treat

Natalie's costume this year is Mariposa. She can be seen in the pictures at right having a great time at her friend Amelia's Halloween party. Daddy braided her hair and Mamma helped her with make-up. Amelia's mom is the one whose costume is "cloudy with a chance of flurries." Check it out. Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon was trick-or-treat time here in North Canton. Oliver, with the help of Dad, became a mouse mummy. Or more specifically - Benjamin the mouse mummy. If there are any fans of Geronimo Stilton's books out there, then the previous sentence will totally make sense to you. We enjoyed trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood that has lots of kids.

Devo!

Here's a picture of me wearing an Energy Dome with Gerald V. Casale of the group Devo! I saw Devo in at the Akron Civic Center on Oct. 17. Devo came back to their hometown to play a concert to raise money for Obama. It was a great concert! Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders (another hometown hero) also showed up and played a great acoustic set. I caught an Energy Dome that Mark Mothersbaugh threw out into the audience during "Whip It." I bought a special VIP ticket so that I could meet the band at a reception after the show. I got my picture with several members of Devo.

First Days of New Schools

Nothing makes ya feel older than sending your baby off to Kindergarten, but that's what we did on Friday. Oliver has Miss Steepleton in the Green Room of the Kindergarten Center here in North Canton. He gets to take the bus! Natalie started 3rd grade with Mrs. Peldunas at Northwood on Tuesday. Check out her tortoise shell glasses. She just got them last Monday and loves them. She also gets to take the bus, even though we live close by. I guess because there are no sidewalks and a busy street, the buses get everybody. Natalie also started Suzuki Piano last week. We are still trying to decide if we have time for dance lessons or anything else. Both kids have enjoyed playing with my cousin's kids, having sleep overs at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chuck's house and chalk drawing in the driveway. CD enjoyed playing 18 holes of golf today with a friend of mine from high school. I enjoyed having two old high school friends over for dinner Friday. I'm still tackling the yard/garden stuff. Then I'll be hanging more pictures and starting to paint the rooms. Next week I start rehearsals with the Canton Symphony Chorus.

Happy Fourth of July from the Dhyanchands. This is a picture of Natalie and Oliver at the Garden Montessori School parade. Natalie rode her scooter and wore her patriotic socks and had red and blue fingernails. Oliver wore his red white and blue shirt, but as you can see was not really interested in wearing the tri-cornered hat from Williamsburg.

The Past Three Months & Getting Up Off the 'Couch'

Here's what we have been up to the past three months.

I need to start back with ABQ. Our experience in ABQ had its bright points, but overall we were feeling tired of being on the road. The patients and staff I worked with in the VA were nice people, but I never felt that I connected with the organization. Suffice it to say there seemed to be too much bureaucracy and politics that affected everything. In any case, we were feeling strongly that this might be the last locums job abroad for a while.

Our trip to Colorado was a nice reprieve, which Karen detailed in the previous few posts. We had a safe, uneventful trip home and we were glad to be back. I was lined up to work with Cherokee Health Systems one more time. This time I was in the Seymour, TN office, working directly with my friends from residency, Ken and Betsy Mays and Richelle Schiro. But Karen and I were really tackling the question of what to do next. We were feeling that the time had come to settle into something more permanent.

We prioritized ideas of what we were looking for in a community - walkability, good school system, job, etc. We eventually landed on North Canton, Ohio, where Karen grew up and her sister currently resides. North Canton has an excellent public school system. It is a small enough community that everything is easily accessible without spending much time in the car. It is within easy driving distance of museums, etc. in Canton, Akron, and Cleveland. There is a great airport within 3 miles. There are extended family ties to the area as well.

So I began my new job search at the same time I started my new job in Seymour. We made a trip up to North Canton in May where I interviewed with 2 nearby community health centers. I decided to join Akron Community Health Resources, a small but growing community health center in South Akron. I was most impressed by their management. This job is 12 miles from North Canton - my shortest commute ever. The timing for the new job worked perfectly as they needed me in July shortly after my time with Cherokee would be finished.

As for selling our house, we have had it on the market since early May with only a handful of showings. However, the market slump favored us in our purchase of a new home. We found one pretty easily that was everything we were looking for at a great price AND only 7 doors down from Northwood elementary school! It has a remodeled kitchen, a sunroom, gardens and a level picturesque yard with a playland. We were especially excited by a blueberry bush growing on the property. You can view pictures of our new house at this link.

I finished working at Cherokee in mid-June, and once again had a great experience. Since then I have had some time off which I have mostly spent giving Karen a break from the kids. We have also worked determinedly at getting in some last minute Knoxville and Tennessee experiences before we leave. These have included going up the Sunsphere and World's Fair Park, eating at Tomato Head, and visiting our friend J.D. Dimick's farm, for starters. Most importantly, it has been a time to reconnect with good friends before our departure. The photo album titled "Back in Knoxville" shows some of these most recent adventures. I have captioned some of the photos to provide explanation.

Right now we are in the middle of packing boxes and planning the logistics of our move next week. We will be starting our life in our new house on Wednesday, July 9. My new job begins on July 14.

PS - If you are confused about the 'Couch' reference in the title, check out this travel section from the New York Times.

More Boulder

Today and yesterday we squeezed in all we could of Boulder. On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market, visited the Dushanbe Tea House, ate lunch by the ampitheater, visited the library, walked the labyrinth by the stream. Then today we went to the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster and walked around the Cochran's neighborhood and found bunnies and prairie dogs. We re-celebrated Oliver's 5th birthday with his friend Riley who turns 5 in two weeks. He is beaming in the picture with his new Cracken shirt! We are all looking forward to flying home tomorrow to our own beds and to our own kitties!

Tea Tour/NCAR

Friday we enjoyed taking a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. The mint room cleared our sinuses and the gift shop took our money. :) We found a letterbox at the edge of the tea factory's parking lot, so we stamped in. Then we let the kids play at the Scott Carpenter Park, named after the famous astronaut. A family of 5 deer crossed the road when we drove up to NCAR - the National Center for Atmospheric Research. CD's friend Raj Pandya, an old friend from his high school in Rockford, works there and gave us a tour. We enjoyed the views of the Flatirons and Devil's Thumb and ended the big day with a dinner at Red Robin.

Denver Zoo

Thursday we spent the afternoon at the Denver Zoo. We enjoyed the Komodo Dragons, Polar Bears, and more. The weather was hailing in the morning, sunny at noon, cloudy and windy in the afternoon, so we mostly visited the animals in the buildings! Then at night we got to meet up with Geetha and Mark for dinner. Oops! We forgot to take their picture, so you can't meet them. We had just been at their wedding last Labor Day weekend and saw them again in San Diego last October. The kids enjoyed seeing their condo and meeting their cats , Chance and Prudence. Oliver especially enjoyed Mark's Godzilla toy!

Garden of the Gods

Wednesday we stopped by Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs while on our way north. We enjoyed the amazing geology and took a little hike. We saw some beautiful magpies nesting in the trees at the base of the rock formations. We were amazed by a lot of brave rock climbers attempting to scale the rocks that they were allowed on. At the Visitors Center, Oliver found some prehistoric squid painted on the mural above our heads. Then we drove up to Denver and met our friend Lyn Davies and her daughter Brynn at a restaurant in Englewood. Unfortunately, Jeff had to stay at home because he was sick. Then we drove to Superior, CO to stay with our Friends the Cochrans who moved here from Knoxville last summer.

Santa Fe Revisited

Monday we left ABQ and headed to Santa Fe again. Before leaving we took pictures of the kids Favorite Easter eggs before eating them for breakfast, in case you're wondering what those pictures are. Once in Santa Fe, we headed for the plaza. The kids enjoyed the Daffy Duck bench outside the Chuck Jones Gallery. We enjoyed the Georgia O'Keeffe museum. The kids used Daddy's sketchbook to try their hand at drawing a buffalo skull. Tuesday morning we went to Loretto Chapel to see the famous spiral staircase. We also enjoyed the Dancing St. Francis sculpture outside the Cathedral down the street. Natalie and I visited the Palace of the Governors which she had read about in her Josefina books. I stuck my head in the new state capitol building and enjoyed all of the amazing art, esp. the new art quilt exhibit. Then we all headed to the Museum Hill to take in the amazing International Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Both places had really fun children's areas and amazing exhibits. Note the fun adobe playhouse in the pictures. Then we found a playground for the kids in a remote area east of town near the Santa Fe National Forest. Even this remote play area had a St. Francis statue looking across the mountain toward a cemetery on the hill.

Last Days in ABQ

We've been packing in the experiences here on our last days in Albuquerque. We accidently found a new park while in route to another place. The kids loved the "spider web" climber made out of red rope. Check out the neat pictures. Friday we went to Casa San Ysidro, a beautiful authentic adobe home run by the Abq Museum. Natalie has been reading the American Girl Books, specifically the ones about Josefina who lived in the New Mexico territory in the 1800s, so this place was like the book came alive to her. I loved the family altar/shrine area and the amazing apricot trees, esp. the one in the picture that is growing sideways and needs a support to keep it up. Oliver and Natalie loved the ant hill that they found in the courtyard as much as anything. On the way home we saw some sheep taking a nap by the road. Saturday we finally made it to the Pueblo Cultural Center and enjoyed watching the Zuni Bear Dance group as well as a weaver weaving belts. On Saturday afternoon we revisited the Explora Children's Museum and said goodbye to our friend Joe Martinez, my Dad's buddy from his Air Force days. Today we enjoyed the Living Sea movie in the Dynatheater (IMAX) and a Planetarium show. Then we went Letterboxing in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. We had to hike through a desert trail and down an arroyo and find the box under some scrub oaks. We were excited to find it and there was a "hitchiker" inside to boot! Then we tried to go up the Sandia Tramway, but it was too windy and had to close for the day. On to a park close to our apartment where we found a letterbox easily by a cedar tree at a playground (hence the picture of Natalie in front of the tree). We made a point to take pictures of our last sunset of Albuquerque and I celebrated by trying to fly a kite in the crazy winds. The kids danced in the arroyo and we took pictures of all the tumbleweeds. Enjoy!

Oliver's 5th Birthday

We revisited the Aquarium and Botanic Gardens just before Oliver's Birthday. We got to eat lunch next to the shark tank and the sea turtle put on quite a show for us. Oliver picked himself out a shirt from the gift shop which says "There's a commotion in the ocean." He loves the fact that it has two giant squids on it. We had a Star Wars theme for his birthday this year. We bought gourmet cupcakes for the occasion from a local bakery called Cake Fetish. He also got a 3-headed dragon puppet from Natalie and the book Flotsam by David Weisner (which also has squid in it). But his favorite would have to be the light sabre or "life saver" as he sometimes calls it. He and Daddy have taken their light sabres into the arroyo to have "dance fight" time. If we had to pick a sport for Oliver at this point, I'd say he is headed for fencing in the 2020 Olympics. After opening gifts he chose to go putt-putt golfing for his special day. The next day was Easter. We had lots of big neat plans, but all of them got thrown aside as CD's cold/allergies got worse and both kids were struggling with congestion. We did an indoor egg hunt in the apartment and colored some real eggs as you can see in the pictures.

Santa Fe Palm Sunday

We drove to Santa Fe on Palm Sunday to view the procession around the plaza. Every year the Catholic, Episcopal, and Presbyterian Churches near the plaza join together on Palm Sunday for a procession of palms while singing "All Glory Laud and Honor." It was an amazing sight. Oliver loved chasing the pigeons. We took in the New Mexico Museum of Art and ate lunch. Then CD took the kids to the Santa Fe Children's Museum while I went to hear the Santa Fe Pro Musica sing Bach's St. John Passion at the St. Francis Auditorium. Note in the pictures that Natalie was old enough and brave enough to climb the climbing wall at the children's museum.

Petroglyphs Revisited

Last Saturday we returned to the Petroglyphs, but this time took Daddy with us. Also this time we climbed the highest, toughest trail. It was a very windy day, so we felt like we were going to be blown off the top of the mesa. The strong winds also made it hard to take good photographs b/c we couldn't hold our camera as still, so they are a little fuzzy.

Prairie Dogs at the VA

One day walking around the VA campus at lunch I thought I spied a prairie dog. Sure enough, on closer examination, I found a whole network of prairie dog burrows. Here are some pictures we took of them peeking out. The Namaste Road picture is for the benefit of all our Indian relatives.

Art is OK

Thursday afternoon we had a wonderful surprise. While driving around doing errands, we discovered some sculptures near a bus stop on Menaul Blvd. We did a U-turn and parked in the lot to investigate. After taking a few pictures, we discovered more in the parking lot. We kept following the trail and it led us to a fun shop called Art is OK. The kids found dragons, mermaids. cowboys, frogs flying an airplane, an armadillo, and more. Enjoy the pictures.

Gettin' Our Kicks on Route 66

The historic Route 66 runs through Albuquerque and we have enjoyed a few of the places along it. First we tried Kelly's Brew Pub and then Standard Diner. Both of these places are old motor works locations now made into restaurants! Then I took Natalie to see the ballet Coppelia at the Kimo Theatre. What a lovely work of art that building is. I'm so glad the local citizens saved it from demolition in the 70s. It is done in the pueblo deco style and was built in 1927. Glowing buffalo skulls, cermonial canoe lights, Indian drum chandeliers and amazing murals grace the interior. They even have one of the old movie projectors from the 1930s sitting upstairs for your to walk around and look at. Central Avenue, as Route 66 is called in town, then runs west of downtown and edges the southern border of Old Town. We have spent a lot of time in that area, as our earlier post suggests. Most recently we enjoyed the First Friday Fractals at the Museum of Natural History and Science. It was an amazing presentation by Jonathan Wolfe of the Fractal Foundation. Now we have fractal fever. We have checked out books on snowflake structure and Oliver has drawn smiley face fractals. Check out the amazing pictures of math making beautiful art!

Isleta Pueblo/Friends

On Sunday we had a fun time at the home of Joe and Jerry Martinez. Joe was my Dad's buddy from his Air Force Days. As kids we stopped by a few times to visit here in Albuquerque while we were on our trip out west to visit other relatives. It's been about 20 years, but I remembered parts of their home and yard. Natalie and Oliver enjoyed playing with their grandkids, climbing trees and dancing as you can see in the photos. Joe took CD and I two miles down the road to Isleta Pueblo. It is a beautiful old mission with thick walls, old paintings, and beautiful stained glass. Joe used to play guitar here years ago. Joe is retired from his job if 30+ years, but now works part time at Explora, the local children's museum so we see him a couple times a week there. He also does community theater, and we just missed him starring in the role of Galileo at the museum in January. He was directed by Lou Ann Graham, the sister of Vivian Vance. Vivian you might remember from the I Love Lucy Show, was also a performer at the Kimo Theater here in Abq (see next post).

More Old Town Photos

We sure have been enjoying the Old Town area of ABQ. Last week we twice visited Explora , the children's hands-on museum. They have great exhibits as well as neat architecture and outdoor playspaces. We really enjoy all of the public art here as well. Oliver's favorite is the tile mosaic wall near the parking lot of the museum. Also in the pictures at right are two from the famous San Felipe de Niri Church in Old Town on Saturday. Then we had a nice lunch of Indian Fry Bread Tacos. We also enjoyed trips to the Rattlesnake Museum (where a Prairie Rattler put on a show for us with its tail) and the Turquoise Museum (where Natalie was in Geology heaven). We even had time to visit the Atomic Energy Musuem, too. Last Sunday had us headed to Popejoy Hall here on the campus of UNM to see the traveling musical "A Year With Frog and Toad." We've read the books to the kids for years and listened to the soundtrack, so it was fun to see it live. We tried Letterboxing for the first time Sunday afternoon. We had some great clues and a chilly but scenic walk to a site nearby. However, the secret location had been relandscaped and the box was no longer there. So, we'll try again this weekend.

Petroglyph National Monument

Happy Leap Day everybody! Earlier this week I took the kids to Petroglyph National Monument. The volcanic rocks were amazing. See if you can spot the roadrunner in some of the landscape pictures. We also saw a cottontail, but it was too fast for my camera. The picture that looks like a small building is on fire, is really the entrance hut with the New Mexico flag flying. We listened but didn't hear (or see) any rattlesnakes, but we were definitely in their habitat. Take note of the one rock with the "stripes" of lava. Amazing. The petroglyphs were made by people carving (probably with flint) into the volcanic rock to expose the inner, lighter color. The Sand Dune picture is looking east toward the city of Abq and the Sandia Mountains. Note how close the "development" comes.

Winged Migration

Today we "attended the church that is choired by birds" as Wendell Berry the poet would say. We went back to the Rio Grande Nature Center and enjoyed hiking their trails, seeing the Rio Grande, and watching a seagull escape from a bullying crow. We also got to see our first Roadrunners in the wild. We heard them first and thought it was a woodpecker, but it was really the sound of their feathers when they fly a short distance. Then we saw three of them scuffling in the sagebrush. They were too fast for me to get a picture though. The highlight of the day- and maybe of my life-was seeing hundreds of Sandhill Cranes migrating today. They were flying north up the Rio Grande and would often stop near the nature center to drink from the pond or eat from the nearby field. We got lots of great pictures. Check them out. As soon as one group would fly over head and organize to go north, another would approach from the south. I think we could have stood there all day and enjoyed the show. Even diehard birders with their fancy cameras and binoculars were amazed by the show.
On a different note, the kids got haircuts this week. Check out Natalie's fancy hairdo in the pics. She also lost her 4th tooth AND we found a street in ABQ called Natalie Avenue!

ABQ Biopark

Here in Albuquerque they have a train that connects the Zoo to the Botanic Garden/Aquarium. The whole thing is called the Biopark It makes for a Grand Day Out, as Wallace and Grommit would say. We met our friends the Cochrans at the Zoo in the morning. After a thorough walk through the zoo, lunch, and some playground time, we took the train over to the Gardens. Of speical note were the miniature train gardens and Children's Fantasy Gardens. Note the pictures with the giant pumpkin, dragon, castle, and big vegetables. The kids decided they would like to live in it. Then we visited the Aquarium where Oliver hoped to find a squid. The only squid we found was a small one in the gift shop, but a good time was had by all.

Guide to Balloon Museum Pics

Karen here. On Friday I took the kids to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. Across the street was a great playground. The first few pics show the kids having fun with the Sandia Mountains in the background. The geodesic dome in the background belongs to Explora, the children's museum that we'll check out next week. On Saturday we got to spend the day with the Cochran family, our friends from Knoxville that now live in Boulder, CO. They drove down for the long weekend and went with us to the Balloon Museum. ABQ is know for it's Balloon Fiesta every October, but they also have this impressive museum open year round. The kids enjoyed climbing into the baskets, making their own mini balloon, and trying their hand at weaving. After the museum closed, we enjoyed playing outside and seeing our long shadows. Watching clouds change is a fun activity in the big skies of New Mexico and there was a particulary unique cloud morphing before our very eyes as we left the museum. Check out the pics of it by the New Mexico state flag. Afterwards we ate at Garduno's Balloon Saloon and Oliver enjoyed holding Riley's hand.

Guide to Rio Grande Nature Center pics

Karen here. On Wednesday I took the kids to the Rio Grande Nature Center. It is part of the New Mexico State Park system. We got a kick out of the geese and ducks eating from the bird feeder. The rabbit statue on the ground by the feeder seemed to confuse the one Canada Goose. The Cottonwood trees were amazing as were the views of the Sandia Mountains. I enjoyed taking pictures of the Cottonwood silhouettes. After living in Seattle and Knoxville which are so heavily wooded, it's interesting to see an entire tree standing alone and stretching itself in all directions, barely touching another and being completely backlit by the sun. The kids enjoyed the toad sculpture and the short hiking trails. We plan to come back on a Sunday morning for a bird watching hike while we are here. I want to see a Roadrunner and a Sandhill Crane if I can.

ABQ and the VA

I'm blogging from the VA Medical Center in ABQ. If you didn't know ABQ = Albuquerque. This is how everyone around here abbreviates it. I suppose this makes everyone's lives easier.

If there is a polar opposite to Seattle, in terms of climate, I think we couldn't have picked a better one than ABQ. The abundance of sun and the dryness are the most obvious differences. You can see for miles here in almost any directions. The land is smooth and flat, although with picturesque mountains jutting out here and there (especially the very close Sandia Mountains). There is a lack of tall trees and buildings. The temperature this time of year varies 20 degrees in the course of a day. Because of the flatness, I forget that we are nearly a mile above sea level. Our family are all experiencing our current altitude physically, with varying symptoms of altitude sickness. It is like jet lag that goes on for a week - fatigue, flu-like symptoms, headaches, irritability. So, ABQ has been taking some getting used to.

Here at the VA things are different as well. The first few days at any new job are always an adjustment. Getting to know my way around, remembering people's names and jobs, and figuring out how things are done here are my primary tasks. Figuring out the new computer system is often a job in itself. Well, they definitely do things differently here. This is what I have been able to piece together from the last two days:

1. The computer system is older, but very stable, and very fast. Cybersecurity is a big thing here, so one has to get a lot of training on security and go through lots of hoops and passwords to access the program that one wants. The system is a little archaic - it doesn't do all the work of data-entry for you. Today, I figured out how to create my own template for office notes - this is like a computer worksheet which allows me not to have to type as much for each patient visit. I am using all sorts of skills (but mostly typing).

2. I am only scheduled to see 15 patients a day - one every half hour. This seems very light, but consider this: I have one exam room (which also serves as my office). I don't have a dedicated assistant - I just grab one that isn't busy. The patients are generally complicated, but also very appreciative and friendly.

3. It is a lot easier to get lab, radiology, and medicines as every thing is here and you can order it on the computer. A lot of the time, someone, one of the nurses presumably, has already ordered labs and the results are available as I am talking to the patient. That's nice, but strange.

As time goes by, I am hoping to learn more about this institution, if people actually enjoy working here and why, and "service-related conditions."

I was able to figure out my bus route. I was hoping it would be as simple as in Seattle, but it wasn't. It was going to involve 2 transfers and a little more than an hour to travel 10 miles. Karen and I decided to simplify things by her driving me at 7:16AM about a mile to the stop of the bus that takes me right to the door of the VA, just before 8AM. I made the walk home from the stop last night, and I had gorgeous views of the mountains colored by the sunset.

Safe Arrival and the Sunport

We arrived safely in Albuquerque Sunday afternoon. The airport here is called the "Sunport" and was filled with lots of beautiful public art. We ate a quick lunch at Fuddruckers and I decided to eat like a local and order the "Fudd 66" burger. (Route 66 runs through town). Anyway, I found out that a little green chile goes a long way and had to scrap 2/3 of them of my burger! We are laughing at how opposite of an experience we are having here as compared to Seattle. It's so dry here that our allergies are active, we shock ourselves every time we touch a light switch,door knob, or each other AND we are constantly putting on lip balm and hand lotion. The high desert climate is giving us lots of sunshine for our bodies to produce vitamin D. Oliver has noticed how much different his shadow looks here in the sun. CD started his job at the VA today. More later.

Eastside Community Health Center, Redmond

It’s been about a week and a half since I last worked at ECHC. My current duties have involved cleaning and fixing our house and learning the rhythm and routine of homeschooling our children. Homeschooling has been fun, but also a challenge as I figure out how to juggle the requirements and personalities of the two kids. But it is always amazing to see what concepts they can handle. I have started teaching Natalie some Spanish, so that she can now tell time in Spanish. Oliver just picked up the basic rules and strategies of “Chest”(chess), but prefers his own variation where pawns can jump like checkers pieces.

Back to ECHC. I have to say I miss my little routine in the Eastside. I miss getting up to take the bus. I miss the occasional day of being able to see the mountains on the way to work. I miss my tiny little clinic and the walking path, shops, and restaurants of Redmond. I even miss my tiny little work area and computer, where I would handle my flow of tasks and chat with my friends while drinking really good coffee (for an office). In fact, there is not much that I do not miss about my experience at ECHC in Redmond.

From Day 1 (actually Day 3, after my orientation to computers), I could tell working here would be a new challenge. I had never worked in such cramped quarters. I usually had my own office to retire to since residency. A place to escape the hubbub and handle the workflow in private. At ECHC, I worked in a workroom which I shared with the average of 8 others. But in the cyberworld, you don’t need a lot of physical space. Also when got really busy and in a groove, it got so that I didn’t even miss it.

How did computers affect my practice of medicine? Overall it was a timesaver. I did add some conveniences, such as ease of writing and faxing prescriptions. But you were also tied to a computer terminal most of the day. Some days I felt like a data entry technician. Some days I really appreciated having this tool to access medical information with ease for medical decision making. So maybe the utility of computers in the exam room depends more on the user and the user’s frame of mind. And of course, there were the days that power failed or the whole system crashed – we still managed to survive and help people at the same time.

I really enjoyed the variety of cultures and ethnicities I came in contact with at ECHC, among my coworker and my patients. I progressed rapidly with confidence in my Spanish. I especially enjoyed all the different type of foods we had at our potlucks.

I would have like to learn more how every one functioned at ECHC. I got to know just about everyone(which was about 25 people), but I was still a little fuzzy on some of the roles people played. I was definitely confused about how the whole organization operated and why some functions (such as scheduling and answering phone calls) were handled off site. I also wish I had more time to glean wisdom off of our naturopathic physician, Dr. Chris Krumm.

Well, we are getting prepared for Albuquerque. Until then, I leave you with at new album of our Return Trip/Back Home. This features our stay in the Gaylord Opry Hotel in Nashville, and wild turkeys in our back yard, among others.

Knoxville ReEntry/Culture Shock & OSP/Theo

We're back amongst the cuddly kitties, the familiar furniture and the cherished yard. We are getting reaquainted with oddities of Knoxville life. Adjustments this week have included: learning to guess when the other drivers might turn as most still don't use turn signals, remembering how to drive when the left lane of the interstate is clogged with senior citizens, trying to understand the Southern accent again, & trying to order something at a restaurant that doesn't come with gravy or bacon. The Seattle area is very pedestrian friendly and it's a law that a pedestrian can walk out at a cross walk at anytime and cars have to stop. It has made for a nice vibe. I tried to stay in this compassionate mode while driving through the Target parking lot tonight and I stopped leisurely to let a lady cross from the lot to the storefront and nearly got rear ended by someone trying to zip past all of humanity.
On a positive note, we enjoyed a lovely meal at the home of Brian and Jean Bonnyman last night. It was a treat to spend time with our "kindred spirits" in Knoxville.
Reflecting on last week, if you are viewing the OSP/Theo pictures in the photo albumn, know that the OSP stands for Olympic Sculpture Park and Theo Chocolates is the amazing fair trade/organic chocolate factory that I took the kids to last week. Rachel, our tour guide, was great and is in the close up picture with the kids. The OSP was astounding. The sculpture, the views, the plantings, the design of the space all weave together a very memorable park. The kids look cute in the woven baskets that hang in the pavillon. Also, the cool frosty pictures were taken at the boardwalk through the wetlands of North Rose Hill Park in Kirkland. The kids loved the Dragon climbing wall as you can see. Lastly, there is a picture of St. Marks, our temporary church home, and Emily our wonderful babysitter.

Back Home

Just a quick blog to let everyone know that we are back in Knoxville. Our travel was safe and stress free, and the kids handled the nearly 4 hour flight very well. We flew into Nashville on Sunday and spent the night at the Gaylord Opry Hotel. It was nice to walk around the gardens. We were even able to take a boat ride in the hotel around some of the gardens. We rented an SUV to take us and our heavy luggage the rest of the way to Knoxville. We found our house where we left it in pretty good shape. Cats looked happy and healthy and we spent a good amount of time cleaning up mounds of cat hair from the beds and furniture.

It was good to catch up on mail, especially Christmas letters. The kids finally got to open up some of the gifts that were sent here, rather than in Washington.

I'll wrap it up for now. There are lots of events of the last hectic week that we'll want to blog with more detail. The last photo album (OSP/Theo) covers sightseeing that Karen and the kids did in Seattle. And I also want to reflect more on my experience at Eastside Community Health Center. But in the meantime we are also trying to catch up on 3 months of "life", plus dealing with a slow internet connection - so we will do our best.

Sunshine on the Sound

We enjoyed a bright and sunny, albeit frigid, MLK day. To make the most of the sunshine we planned a ferry trip across the Puget Sound. We caught the ferry "Kaleetan" in Seattle, boarded and parked our car, and climbed up to the passenger decks to catch the majestic views. Check out the pictures!

The ferry brought us to Bremerton, where we drove south to Tacoma. On the way we crossed the impressive Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and enjoyed even more stunning views of Mt. Ranier. In Tacoma, we made our way to Point Defiance Park and spent some time at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. After the Zoo and a drive around the "Point", we ate dinner at Anthony's At Point Defiance for great seafood and more views of the Sound and Mt. Ranier, as the full moon rose into the sky.

Yesterday was not so sunny, but had fun in Seattle visiting the Center for Wooden Boats. In the photos you can see us hacking away at a 30+ foot canoe, under the supervision of Saaduuts, the Master Haida carver who is the artist-in-residence for the CWB. We later drove to the Pioneer Square Historic District and visited the Klondike Gold Rush Museum and Elliot Bay Books. Of course, we rounded the day off with great seafood at Ivar's Acres of Clams. Oliver has become quite the little connoisseur of fish and chips!

Seattle Excursions

This week, CD made it to a performance of the Seattle Opera doing Pagliacci on Wednesday. He enjoyed not only the performance, but the respectful and supportive audience. I took the kids to Marymoor Park in Redmond and we visited the reflexology path again. I want to make one of these in my backyard! Saturday was a fun downtown day. We took the kids to the Seattle Symphony to a concert called "Tell me a Story." They played Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Flight of the Bumblebee, Blue Danube Waltz, and the Harry Potter Suite. The Bennaroya Hall was an amazing a beautiful place to hear live music. Then we walked down the street to the Art Museum to eat lunch and enjoy the exhibits. Then for supper we went to Jeff Reiter's houseboat. Jeff is a colleague of CD's at work and had a little going away gathering for us. The pictures at the right were taking from the top of his "house barge." Enjoy!

So Many Things, So Little TIme

Wow! There are so many things to do in Seattle and the surrounding areas. We feel like we have experienced a good chunk of them, but there are always more.

This weekend we made it to the Seattle Children's Museum. On exhibit was "Moneyville" which Natalie loved. Oliver enjoyed preparing sushi at Japanese cultural exhibit.

Today was a clear sunny day. Very rare at this time of year. The views of the mountains were impressive. After church, we decided to spend another day at the Woodland Park Zoo. We weren't the only ones who had that idea, but we had an enjoyable enough time despite the crowds.

Recently we also made it to the Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum. The EMP was pretty cool with a lot of Northwest music history and interactive music exhibits. But, my favorite part of this dual museum was definitely the SFM. I was in nerd heaven!

These are our last two weeks in the Seattle area. We will definitely miss a lot of things about being here, but we are looking forward to sunnier weather and seeing our home again (at least for a little while).

Guide to "Space Needle" pictures

The pictures to the right labled "Space Needle/NYE" need a little explanation. On Sunday, December 30 we traveled to the Seattle Symphony to check out their Soundbridge music room and attend a "Musical Storytelling." So you'll see pictures of the kids trying out the instruments and enjoying the class. I really like the Aaron Copland quote on the side of the building.
Every winter, Seattle does a Nutcracker March exhibit where they place Nutcracker statues all over town and each one is painted differently. In the picture we are standing by the one entitled "Waltz of the Snowflakes."
Then we got on the monorail and rode to Seattle Center where we enjoyed a train display, a giant checkerboard, the International Fountain, and of course the needle itself. It was fun to read the details of how it was built. My hat goes off to all of the workers who built it and worked for less than $4 an hour!
The next night, New Year's Eve, we traveled to St. Mark's Cathedral. I walked their labyrinth while CD hung out with the kids in the parking lot. Then at midnight we watched the fireworks shooting off the needle right from the great vantage point of the church's parking lot.

Snowboarding

It has been two days since my first snowboarding experience at the Summit at Snoqualmie and I am still wincing with almost every movement. I still liked it very much and look forward to trying it again some day.

We arrived in Snoqualmie Pass on January 1. This apparently turned out to be one of the busiest days in years, according to the locals. I couldn't have been much better weather. Plus, the views alone were worth the trip to the Cascades. I planned on buying a package deal - lesson, rental, and lift ticket. The lesson was taught by a young "snowboarding yogi" who taught us the essentials of snowboard yoga. I felt like the Karate Kid, because he didn't even let us wear the snowboard until we had become proficient in the yoga. At the end of the lesson, I graduated with his praise of being "quality."

After that, I spent the next 5 hours beating my body to a pulp. I didn't remember falling on the snow being this painful when I was 14. Eventually I mastered the bunny slope. I would have liked to go again the next day on the newly fallen snow, but it was physically impossible. Snowboarding looks a lot easier than it is to start. I assume, like most things, the mechanics get more natural with practice. I was pretty amazed seeing people weaving down the slopes, having a conversation, or talking on the cell phone. One of the frustrating things about this sport was having mess with the bindings repeatedly. It involved twisting my body, already in cumbersome clothing, into very uncomfortable positions.

In the meantime, as my body heals, I'll continue doing my snowboard yoga and look forward to my next time on a snowboard.