blooming

The prickly pear blossoms are blazing in the sun. And suddenly the saguaros are putting on their show also. Can't get enough of them.

Light in the kitchen

That's my kitchen ceiling. Will just installed a "solar tube" sky light to brighten up an otherwise sorta dark kitchen. You can see the sunlight streaming in! The natural light is super--shows up all kinds of things. I had to get busy and give my kitchen a little spring cleaning. What a difference. . .the natural light, not the cleaning job!
Will is pretty handy to have around, was a nice Saturday morning project. I held things and handed him tools and of course critiqued when appropriate.

Happy Birthday Helene

Got a tour of Jay and Verna's house-in-progress. It is very nice. That is the garage with a cozy apartment above on the left, where they presently abide while Jay is his own boss and crew as he builds their dream home. Mt Rainier is still the focal point! What a view to wake up to each day (that the sun is shining when you can actually see it!!)

We celebrated another birthday with Helene on the new patio.

Touring Seattle area

Mt Baker Hiway and Chuckanut hiway overlooking Bellingham Bay and Vancouver Island

The amazing flower fields of Mt Vernon

Strolling the waterfront of Puget Sound near Tacoma

Lunch at a waterfront restaurant

Helene and Will and I squeezed in a little touring time. We enjoyed the Bellingham farmers market, took the scenic hiway up to Mt Baker and saw LOTS of snow, stopped in Lynden for a short and so fun visit with DeAnn and John Hiemstra, Holly, Sammy and newest family member whom we had not met, Katie. Spent Monday driving the Chukanut hiway along the coast from Bellingham to the flower fields near Mt Vernon. They raise tulips and daffodils for bulbs and bouquets and now is the peak of bloom. What a sight. Fields and demonstration gardens everywhere you look. Even had time to make it downtown Seattle for a quick stroll through Pikes Market before we headed down to Kapowsin to Jay and Verna's for another day of family time.

pictures of Aaron and Sarah's wedding

More pictures from yesterday's wedding and this morning's brunch at Silver Lake

That's kid sister, Rebecca and friend Travis with Mom Verna and then brother and sister Rebecca and Andrew.

Aaron and Sarah get married

All the DeBoer siblings and Grandma traveled to Bellingham, Washington to share in the wedding day for Jay and Verna's oldest, Aaron to Sarah Matula on April 18, 2009. Was a simple, elegant wedding that suited the bride and groom perfectly. The bride was beautiful, the groom was gracious, the ceremony was meaningful, the setting was elegant and a good time was enjoyed by all. Jay and Verna, Mom and Dad of groom

All the DeBoer's at the Lairmont Mansion

Stephanie Awarded Active Learning Grant

What's the good of a blog if I can't brag about my kids. Stephanie has been applying for funding for her continuing summer research in Japan and other points Asia, as she does every year. It was a little harder this year as academic funding sources, like the rest of the economy, has gotten considerably tighter. But she managed to get awarded a adequate amount so she can pay some rent in Tokyo, etc. But what I am bragging about is the Active Learning Grant that she was awarded from Indiana University to use to perfect a course that she is already teaching. She got it over a lot of more experienced faculty. I told her to send the award letter to me so I could post it on my fridge with all the other important stuff I show off but she sent her grant proposal instead--I copied just the first page. Its in "academic language" but translatable. Good for her!

Active Learning Grant - Abstract
Prof. Stephanie DeBoer
I205: International Communication
February 20, 2009
Grant Proposal
I am requesting an Active Learning Grant to support me as I develop new projects and assignments to
encourage students to more actively engage with the dynamics of a required course of thirty students that I
teach once every year for the International Studies Program, International Communication: Digital Media
and Globalization (I205). My iteration of this course sets the problems of international communication at the
intersection between digital technologies and media globalization. As the most recent set of technologies to
be linked to ideals of globalization, as well as a central component of the everyday lives of these students,
digital media have proven to be a useful platform from which to encourage student consideration of the ways
in which media technologies mediate their and others’ relationships to the globe.
In my continued development of this course, I propose to create new course projects and assignments that
encourage students to more meaningfully reflect upon, analyze and critique digital media in a global context,
particularly by producing critically engaged digital content. These assignments and projects will require
them to adapt presentation and social software with which they are already familiar – in particular blogging
tools and PowerPoint – to more critical and creative uses. On the one hand utilizing these technologies as
platforms for reflection, analysis and critique of the ideologies and power dynamics that often accompany

My version of the Masters

If you read closely the gift certificate says awarded for "First Place". This is pretty astounding as I have never come close to winning a golf tournament--ever. My mouth is still open days after the event!

My friend, Donalee invited me to join her for a Guest Day, 9 hole tournament at her golf club last Thursday. It was a fun day of golf and met a bunch of nice gals but when all the results were tallied, WE WON! I guess I have to credit it to a high handicap and the fact that we both did play exceptionally well. We inspired each other.

Beethoven As I Knew Him

We just saw some of the best theater we have seen in a long time. Went down to the Temple of Music in downtown Tucson to see Hershey Felder in his one-man-show, Beethoven As I Knew Him. It was an flawless and engaging performance as he gave incite into Beethoven's life and art through the eyes of a young man who cared for him in his last years. Even if you are not a classical music fan, this is worth going miles out of your way to see! I tried to follow this up on line and from what I can glean it has only been performed on west coast but maybe I haven't looked hard enough yet. Watch for it.

NCECA

I spent the day at the Phoenix Convention Center thoroughly enjoying the national clay conference--NCECA. It was a trade show, exhibition, demonstrations, lectures--anything that would interest the clay artist. That's Jada, my pottery teacher. She gave a demonstration on using paper clay from 3 to 5pm on the trade show floor.

This is Bill VanGilder, you've seen him on tv if you watch any of the cable network arts and craft shows. He makes it look soooo easy.

They sponsor an annual cup sale to raise money for NCECA scholarships. Artists donate their hand crafted cups for sale and the variety is an art show of its own.

morning walk

Just for fun, I took my camera along on a Saturday morning walk to see what I could catch. My bougainvillea is looking better than it has in a long time, got some pics of the first cholla cactus to bloom and then those desert marigolds. I understand it is snowing today in places like South Dakota. Can't imagine.

More just-for-fun, we met Wayne and Judy today for a Dim Sum lunch. You might not expect to find real dim sum in Arizona, much less Tucson but we have an excellent one.

Hiking Aravapa

What, pray tell, is Will doing!?!?

He is cleaning the rocks and sand out of his very wet shoes after about a hundred stream crossings on our hike up Aravaipa Canyon last Monday. We did about 8 miles in and back, slogging through the very cold stream a lot of the way. Friends Wayne and Jim had never been there so was fun to introduce them to the Aravaipa Wilderness hike and Will and I got to see new parts of the canyon as we had never ventured quite this far up stream before. It is truly an amazing place and such a treasure as it is only about 60 miles from our house. I feel like I am in Utah.

The nesting pair of Black Hawk was present and though we only got fleeting looks this time as they flew up canyon, we heard their call distinctly so I was certain of their identity!

This is one of Arizona's prized perennial rivers so aquatic life is abundant including this little canyon frog who shows up pretty bright on the pack but perfectly camouflaged on the light rocks.