Best Escondido Christmas shots!

Hi all...I've randemly (actually blindly...couldn't see what was being chosen) put up some photos here...and will try to email you the whole slide show. What a great time was had by all...thanks Mom for a really super Christmas! You will notice that we ended Christmas dinner not with a whimper but a bang. If you don't know about that story...ask! Anyway, Grama promises to get a new Mixer out of the deal!

Jenny checks in

Howdy all!

Talk about an active family - you have more irons in the fire than anyone else! Very cool to hear what everyone is up to. I'm posting a photo of Andrew and I, since none of you have met him. Also, pics of Lindsey posing next to her "new" used car and of the Jack and Sally pumpkins I painted for Halloween. Will see Lins and my folks on Sunday, before I take them to the airport Monday for their flight to San Diego. Take the golf cart out for a spin for me! Wishing everyone a fun time together and a peaceful New Year!

SO here is a pic of joe and tova who just left after staying with me for about a week to return to minneapolis till January and my roommate steve who also just left tonight for michigan (his home). good times. Also, wanted everyone to know that I had my first committee meeting on sunday with two other woman to start the first ever all green charter school. We are frustrated with the school system and want an opportunity for young people to have a say in an supportive, educational experience. This is a school that will probably not open for another couple years but we are committed to meet every week until it does! hurray! sadly, my program is really hard to run right now because I can't help but feel like i am putting a bandaid on a broken back. Not good. really not good. But I will last the rest of the year- I hope. jk. Am excited for saturday because I go down to SD- HURRAY!

December in Chicago

Katherine, you promised me you would blog your school work and what is going on with your youth. Get your voice out there in the family space that just loves to hear you speak. I am off tomorrow to New York after a big weekend of hosting an International Potluck at our Church. We hosted a couple from Kenya who originally came from the Congo. I talked a friend from Benin and one from the Cameroons ( West Africa) to cook us pounded yams and goat meat plus a couple from Kenya and Sudan to join about 60 from the Church. We had two presentations on HIV/AIDS- Sally did one on Zimbabwe that was a real tear jerker....also produced a check for $150.. may put Sally on the road raising money. Come back this Thursday night and then Friday is my birthday and Sally is taking me to a Chicago Bulls basketball game for my gift.... home for another week and then we go to Atlanta for Xmas with Sally's daughter and a drive to New Orleans on the 26th coming back on the 29th. Will be a lot of sports..best thing about Sally's family..and Tony.
Dick

What a pleasure, my first stay on an Oneida Reservation… outside of GreenBay Wisconsin. A blended family of 17 years ago… Paul Smith of Oneida tribe and Beverly Scow of a tribe in British Columbia…met in a huge Canadian govt-Mohawk stand off in 1990… when a govt was mowing under a sacred Mohawk burial ground to enlarge a golf course. Gosh, I don’t remember it…apparently it was broadcast world wide but not in the US…total shut out of news. 2 Helicopters went down, one legislator who was trying to bring all to the table was ‘accidentally killed’…several movies were made of it. I have no memory of this!!! Anyway, now Paul is the director of all of Heifer’s work on and with native communities, Bev is associate director of Wise Women Gathering Place… and becoming a ToP Trainer.

I wish you could all see this house. 5 bedrooms… 3 of the older children have other ‘friends’ staying here, who are trying to go to the good high school in Green Bay, not the one on the ‘reservation’. I can’tell where they are sleeping. Two of the smallest children ages 7 and 9 moved out of their room so I could sleep…and SLEEP I did, wow, wonderful. Anyway, every single table or shelf surface in the common areas are packed with stuff/photos about the kids… and as far as I can see, they are all on honor rolls, basketball or lacrosse teams, doing something. I noticed that 3 of them had permission to be picked up this week by a policeman, to be taken holiday shopping. And I noticed from photos that they had a grandchild born with a severe cleft palate in 2003 who lived for 7 months. There are photos of the child being held separately by the whole family.

Let’s see…there are dishes of cat and dog food up on separate shelves…none on the floor…apparently each pet knows where its food is. And all trash containers are off the floor as well…I think that is so the dog that stays indoors during the day will behave. And the kitchen and floors are immaculate. Everything in it’s place. Awesome. Lynne remember how hard it was to keep our light colored kitchen floor looking clean? Aha, the youngest (7) just came by, it’s his job to feed all the animals in the a.m., apparently, taking handfuls of stuff here and there. His name is Kwnahta – everyone has an Oneida name, which after the first ‘mental’ block, come easily. So what he calls himself sounds like ‘quinn’. He just laughed at what other non-natives would do with his whole name, he likes his name.

All house doors are left open during the day…this is an area of about 3000 residents that was built in the 70’s-80’s, after a Casino was built and some funds began to flow. This is NOT a rich tribe…however, the casino money does fund a huge health/social service center, where we are holding our course these two days, and I think some of the high school. The school is designed to be in the shape of an eagle… which apparently you can really see from the air…from the ground driving by you can see the head (the huge round gym), the eyes, the ‘wings’ as pods on each side. By the way, I did find out that the Oneida tribe here IS a part of the New York Oneida (Iroquois) tribes… this group was moved to Wisconsin early. The New York group flows over to Canada… apparently.

Snowing in Chicago

Yes, Linda sent us her snow and now we trying to see if we need to re-organize our lives, but luckily Cal plays Stanford with a boal game at stake. This is my first blog. I am not sure how to put photos on it but will try. December is here. On 11th go to NYC for three days. Then Sally and I will fly to Atlanta to spend Xmas with Theresa, Sally's daughter and then drive to New Orleans on the 26th to be with the Stovall family gathering..luckily they like sports and get to honor by volleyball skills- was voted the tournment Charlie hustle award last year. We watch a lot of football. Oh, yes, I have a 66 year birthday on December 14th. Sally let me choose what I wanted...tough...finally choose to go to a Chicago Bulls Basketball game!!! Now I will try a photo. did it..every week we have to put in a picture and a note about week! Thanks ,Linda

First Snow!

Our first snow...about a foot expected, and will go over to Chicago to visit Dick... so take a look at our birds, our squirrel, Lynne finishing back yard snow-readiness...and our two best 'heavy snow' shovelers, who are out contracting for 'advance ' heavy snow lifting. We love these guys!

More photos -trying a smaller size to see if the layout is more interesting!
Anyway, here is Tony - Thanksgiving morning! What a guy...and did a remarkable job of helping Lynne set up a new TV set up. Whew. Thanks Tony...You ARE IN!!

Gay and Cheryl came by for their yearly visit...and gave us an excuse to just laugh for an hour. As they left, Kay said 'I just love it when they come by.' So...lets keep our record going...how many years as it been so far?

We didn't get any photos of our bowling! Darn. OK... you all just wait ...we'll get everyone's shots up here for Christmas! Ron? Lynne... we'll all know how to do this!