España

 We spent a week in Spain. We flew into Madrid and took the high speed train (186 mph) to Barcelona. Stayed there for a few nights at an apartment (AirBnB) in the Gothic neighborhood.




Selfies are so overrated.

 Tom is catching up on the news at our apartment over a little splash of DYC Spanish Whiskey.

Later that week in Madrid, there was no ice in our hotel so he set off to find "yellow, por favor" (ice, please) to avoid drinking it neat. DYC whiskey is, well, on the low end as whiskys go...ice was a must.

This apartment building was more than 300 years old.  Refurbished, yet full of character. Very comfortable, though, with all the creature comforts of home!

The view from our apartment balcony in Barri Gothic, Barcelona.

Our apartment was on the 3rd floor of a mostly unlit narrow stairwell.

Our daily activities typically consisted of walking, stopping to eat and drink, walking more, and repeating it all again. We averaged 9 miles each day which was good, because we consumed a lot of tasty food and drink!

 Guadi's unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. In this postcard it looks quite finished. Maybe someone photoshopped it.

Walking down the stairs in one of the towers (see previous picture).

 The ceiling inside the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

A bar in the Barri Gothic section of Barcelona, mere steps from our apartment digs.

 Gaudi's Park Güell with the city and sea in the background.

 A public fountain in the park.

Gaudi's Park Güell

 Above Gaudi's Park Güell overlooking Barcelona and the sea.

 I found a couple of geocaches in Barcelona. Geocaching is like high-tech hide and seek where you use satellite data to find a cache. Inside each cache is a log to sign and room to leave and/or take a small treasure. Here I am holding one of the caches.  Tom is a good sport.

 Barcelona, along the Mediterranean Sea.

Don't even think about getting between me and my seafood paella (complete with whole shrimp and baby squids).

 Taking a load off.

 Oh dear.

Tom is on a never-ending quest to find amazing bread pudding. He was quite fond of this one.

 There is nothing more iconic in Spain than Jamón Ibérico (cured ham). All over Spain in small shops, the market, and even restaurants you'd see pig legs hanging from the ceiling. The guy in this picture told us a leg will last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on whether it is a holiday, a weekend, or week day.

 And here is how the ham is served, either on slices of bread or with little crackers like these.  For Tom, it all tasted even better with gin.

 Sorolla Museum, Madrid.

 The Sorolla Museum highlights Sorolla, an artist from the late 1800s, whose work celebrated the beauty of Valencia and the south of Spain.

Although we visited a Picasso museum, I took this picture of my postcard since photographs are not permitted in the museum. I was glad Picasso took time out from his googly-eyed portraits to paint us a mandolin!

Our last night in Madrid we went out for tapas with Lisa and Carlos (my sister-in-law's sib). Lisa was a wonderful help while we were in the planning stages of our trip with excellent tips, advice, and the desire to get together while we were there! They are a lovely couple!

Cabin Fever 2015

 We've had some great cross-country skiing this winter.  I took this picture one day after work as the sun set.  

 Tom and I decided to check out Door County, Wisconsin the same weekend that the Packers played the Seahawks.  We went to a bar across the street from Lambeau Field to watch the game. While the loss was disappointing, the Packer fans were a lot of fun and made us feel right at home.

The Lard Controversies. Do you remember these? One of the best lines was when Aunt Harriet said, "Barber, there isn't a cookie lard could enhance." Um, these snicker doodles got high marks and...well, guess what they were made with?

Years ago Tom broke his middle finger. Actually, I think he's broken all his fingers over the years. Recently his finger was really bothering him so we consulted Dr. Selkow who prescribed "ice."  Tom hasn't complained about his finger since.

 Each year I take my students to Starved Rock State Park to see the bald eagles.

 Sunrise on the farm.

 We went to visit Mom and Dad in Hilton Head this past weekend. In Atlanta, the plane's engine starter burned up so we had to go back to the gate and have a new starter installed. Can you see the mechanic holding the little piece in his hand?

 Here we are with Mom and Dad on the beach!   We toured the island, took walks, ate great food, and just visited. It was a blast!

A washed up jellyfish.

Dad pouring Manhattans.

Winter Wonderlands

We had the siblings and outlaws out for dinner.  Here are the sibs! Colorado Slope Survivors

Dan's house in Boulder.  Notice the physics book in the fireplace.  Outraged, I asked what if people did that to my book? Tom's reply: "It would increase sales."

Here we are topping Berthoud Pass at 11,000+ feet en route to Winter Park Ski Resort. The weather report included: winter storm warning, heavy snow warning, and avalanche warning. When I declared that we should give this whole "ski trip" idea a second thought Dan said, "Are you kidding?"

Intrepid snowboarder and skier.

Back at the ranch on New Year's Eve.

Illinois winter sunsets.

Costa Rica...pura vida!

Costa Rica - November 2014

My colleague, Todd, and his daughter Shelby and I traveled to Costa Rica recently to set up a faculty-led study abroad experience for our students at ISU.  We met with a university to establish some connections as well as explored the nature of Costa Rica.  These are coffee beans which are almost ready for harvest.

It look like I will be traveling back to CR in May to take 10-12 students plus another faculty member!

 Shelby and her dad embraced  the opportunity to hold the boa constrictor.

If you click on this picture you'll see a little dart frog on the green plant. I enjoyed the frogs and butterflies much more than the snakes.

 Marta and I visited Costa Rica 28 years ago and our visit to this volcano, Poas, was unlike our current trip because usually the crater is socked in with clouds.  Todd, Shelby, and I had a rare experience to see Volcan de Poas on a clear day!

Both this picture and the previous were taken at Universidad de Veritas. Apparently this food vendor is the most popular person on campus with all of his tasty treats like empanadas!

We did a canopy (ziplining) tour and these fellas were our guides.  I had a blast with them.  The one with the helmet asked if I had ever been in Costa Rica before. I said yes, 28 years ago, probably before you were born. He grinned and said, Actually, I was already 2 years old."

I didn't take my camera with me for fear of dropping it, but this is the kind of ziplining we did. The most amazing moment was when we went belly down and head first over a rain forest gorge.

 The guy in the blue shirt with me, Luis, organizes ecotours for many universities in the US including SUNY Cortland and U Nebraska at Kearney to name a few.

This picture of me with the sacks of coffee beans was taken at a coffee plantation.  The beans are ready to be roasted.  The white beans are for export and the brown and white beans are sold locally.

Dan created a GPS unit for one of his engineering projects at school. He is demonstrating it to us in this picture.

We had the whole family on Thanksgiving this year!  It was surprising how capable we were in polishing off a 16 lb turkey over the course of 2 days! After dinner we broke out the instruments and had a jam session.  Joel is playing the nose flute. Do you see Dan on the guitar? He's been playing since August and is pretty good!

We had a bass guitar, mandolins, and guitars all going.  It was a blast!







The last picture below is young Maddox. We are watching him for our friends so they can have a getaway to Indy for the night.  He's quite the charmer (actually, he's sound asleep right now)!

Shadow, the dog who lived every day like it was a Saturday

This picture was taken on September 12, 2014, the day we realized she had lost her sight.  She continued to enjoy snoozing in the sunshine and eating her doggie dinners which were often enhanced with table scraps. She especially enjoyed washing it all down with our reverse osmosis water and ice cubes.

Kids loved Shadow. Braydon was especially fond of her.  She had such a soft, furry coat to pet, not to mention her pleasant disposition.

She kept careful watch over the farmstead. She faced off in the middle of the night against coyotes, treed squirrels, and tried to convince the cats that she was queen.  

Family photos seemed better when Shadow joined the party.

 A boy and his dog.

Shadow came to us in June 2004 when Lori, from Dr. Whitman's office, called to say someone had brought in a stray dog that was too nice and smart to put down.  Lori was right.