Well, here I am back in L.A. It was actually good to get home. I've been away so long--7 weeks. The vacation was really good, but I guess I was finally ready to get back to my life!

Thanks for the pictures, Patti and Karen V. !

Kathi, My classes are Tuesday and Thursday afternoon into evening. I'm taking 9 credits, 12 is full time. I don't know what the homework load is going to be so don't know how much actual free time I will have. I know I will have 6-hour long labs on four Saturdays which will be outside for the grading and drainage class. I will have at least one outside lab for the graphics class.

Today, I will be cleaning off my drawing desk in my home office to set it up for the graphics class. I bought a T-square for it yesterday - woo hoo! I also bought a nice professional compass, and a new 16' tape measure where the tape stays out until you push a button. Easier than the old locking mechanism. Never thought I'd get so excited about buying tools!

P.S. Blogger is acting up right now so can't post this immediately.

Your classes sound interesting karen. It makes me think about doing something more interesting with my working life. I like working with middle school age children but I was much happier teaching in the computer lab. Ah well.

I'm a Para in Kindergarten at Union Street School. I have been in Kindergarten for 20 years. I started when my youngest started school. I really like working with the younger children...they still like you! Karen V, are you going to school fulltime? Maybe we'll see you on HGTV someday. You can come and practice on my yard! Have fun........Happy Thoughts....

Kathi, what grade do you teach, and where?

Dinner with Chris was fun last night. He showed me all of his photos, including some movie clips, taken with the camera, of him and his friends jumping off some cliff into the river. Really funny. I showed him most of my photos till he had to leave because it was getting late.

I had my second class today - Landscape Graphics Studio. What fun! I'm SO jazzed! Today's class was 3.5 hours long. Already working with the drawing tools in class. Already have homework, but it's more like playtime. :)

For some reason the Internet was down since yesterday. Funny how much we have come to relaying on just sitting down and pushing send! I look forward to seeing what is here on the blog and IMing...so, I am glad that its connected again. I went into school yesterday and did a few things....name tags...all that fun stuff to do. My first day back is Monday. Kids start Tuesday except for Kindergarten. Teachers do home visits for 3 days, so that gives me lots of time to get things done before the little ones. Once I get in there its like I never left! Should be a fun year.
Safe travels, Lori....Karen V. thanks for the pictures. We're looking pretty good! lol....Happy Thoughts.....

Lori, Have you ever thought about seeing a career counselor? I did that with my sister when she was out here last year. For me, it validated what I had been feeling. It was expensive but worth it. Though you could probably find a good book somewhere. You could also contact your alma mater. I'm sure they have some sort of career counseling. Maybe for free.

Karen, it's inspiring to me to hear how enthusiastic you are about what you're studying! Sometimes people our age sound so bored with their lives, and that always depresses me. I want to figure out something exciting--or at least new and different-- to do when I get back to L.A.

Hi everyone!

Well, had my first class last night - Landscape grading and drainage. Went very well. I was a little emotional at one point because I never thought I would have this opportunity. It feels so good. On the way home in the car I yelled, "Yay, me!" I'm not nervous at all. For me it's like playing. I get to draw and use graph paper and be outside. I also get to learn to use surveying equipment this semester! Can't wait!

Weather is still hot out here. 87 deg right now. Was supposed to get to 98 today! Things grow great out here, as you can imagine with all of this sunshine. Just need to supply a ton of water. Haven't had a vegetable garden for years, though. And there is no flower garden in this place. Had hoped to rectify that but it's low priority at this point.

My son, Chris, is coming over for dinner tonight. He will share photos of his raft trip in Utah and I will share mine from VT.

Bye for now! karen

Two more days for me in Vermont--today and tomorrow, and then it's back to L.A. on Friday. It went really fast. I've been having a good time--doing a lot of kids things with my sister's kids. Just what I like doing. Guess I never completely grew up.

Our garden has started to produce, finally! Summer squash, cukes, tomatoes, beans, and Neil even has some peppers which usually don't grow. Now if only the frost stays away for a good long month or more! We didn't grow pumpkins this year for some reason. Last year I think I ended up with over 25....a lot of pumpkins for one person! The rain went around us this afternoon. Only a few drops which was good. I'll mow tomorrow...maybe! Karen V. good luck at school. At least you are out of Kindergarten! Lori, when do you go back to CA? Back to reality for all of us! Happy Thoughts.........

Hi Karen, good luck with classes. I'm not sure that I'd be up to the challenge at this time in my life. Good for you!

Boy, it's only 5:30 but it's awfully dark out. Gonna rain like crazy. Dave is dashing around the yard behind the lawn mower. I don't think he's going to get too far.

I noticed today that my pumpkin plants are looking great. I think we'll have quite a crop this fall.

Hi. I'm back in Colorado. Just got home about a half hour ago. Beautiful sunset to greet me. Miss Vermont already. Hope to be back again during the holidays. Saw all 4 siblings, but they weren't all there at the same time so couldn't take a picture.

Interesting goal to have set for yourself, Richard. I'll have to check out that movie. So far I've seen four swimming holes: Buttermilk Falls (gorgeous!), Twenty Foot, and this go-round, Clarendon Gorge and Mendon (?) Falls. Don't think you can swim at Mendon - it's posted all over the place. Well, I guess you could... :) I learned to swim in the South Branch of the Williams River which ran past our development in Chester. It had a large submerged rock that made a nice seat next to a fairly deep little pool. Natural spa!

Well, classes start tomorrow evening. Really looking forward to it. My son, Michael, started classes today up in Gunnison. He wants to be a marriage counselor. Wonder why? :)

Again, it was so good to see you all. Hope to see alot more of my classmates at our 35th reunion. Can you believe it?! I don't feel that old!

Ciao!

I'm glad Kathi sent you a copy of the photo Karen. I was fascinated by much we still look like ourselves. Even my dad immediately knew everyone. So now we have another member here to visit. Excellant.

I like your idea of swimming the lenth of Vt waterhole by waterhole Richard. I'm sorry I couldn't join you , Gerda, and Lori for lunch. It was something I was looking forward to.

Our Lake Champlain Brunch Cruise was good food and company but we really didn't see much. It was smooth sailing though and no lightning. It's the first time since Dad moved back to VT that he made any plans for an activity while I was visiting. I think it shows how much better he's feeling.

We got home tonight just after 6. So the usual 9 ish hours. Always nice to get out of the car in our own driveway. But gas is still up over $3. here. It didn't go down the way it did over the weekend in Vt.

Our tour of the Magic Hat brewery was fun. We brought back several growlers. Realy good beer at a great price. The sampling was very entertaining. The barmaid had quite a sense of humor and a generous pouring spirit!

Good night to all!

lunch (for gerda, lori, and me) was great. it was nice to be able to spend time together and share stories-some old and some new. karen v., it sounds like you are going to study landscape architecture. if that is the plan, that is soooo great. going to swimming holes will bring you luck. i took a bike trip by myself, exactly 25 years ago, with the sole (& soul) objective of going to as many swimming holes along rte. 100 and into the berkshires as i could. from a spiritual perspectives, i intended to swim the length of vermont. it was kind of like burt lancaster in "the swimmer" (he swims across hollywood- pool to pool). anyway, it went well- i met lots of friends along the way and when i returned to burlington, i decided it was time to move into something new with my life. i did and the next wonderful phase of my life in nyc began within 4 weeks of my return. no plan, just serendipitous change and good fortune. i know that the swimming holes is where you have to start. the rest seems to fall into place. -richard

Welcome to the blog, Karen! I see you figured it out. I had a really good time, too, at the "reunion" in Springfield and also at lunch with Richard and Gerda. We definitely have to keep doing this!

Welcome in Karen!!! good job, wasn't that easy?? So now you'll be able to hear the mundane moments of our lives.

I got a phone call from Lori this p.m. She had lunched with Gerda and Richard down on Church St. today. Like the rest of us she had a good time yesterdy and is heading home to CA on Friday.

We're going to a steakhouse for supper tonight and leaving for home tomorrow a. m. first thing. Hope to b home by 5ish.

The cruise was fun. The food was delicious! We toured the Magic Hat Brewery this afternoon. LOTS of free samples. That was fun.

OK. Here is my first official blog entry on this site! Yay! Thanks for the invite, Patti! Took me a few mins to figure out how to create this msg. It was so nice to see all of you yesterday. So glad I was able to be a part of it. It meant a lot to me. Thanks so much for hosting, Kathi. Tomorrow I head back to Colorado to start school (Landscape Design for those of you who don't know). Mixed feelings. Time too short with family, but then again, my two boys are in Colorado, so will be nice to see them. Am excited about school. Tried to pack in as much as I could while here. Discovered two new swimming holes with my little sister, Kristine, last week. Even got my Mom to visit one. Any of you ever explored any? Got to taste some Koffee Kup crullers. A must everytime I'm back... Delicious dinners at The Weathersfield Inn, The Fullerton Inn in Chester, and Three Tomatoes in Rutland. Didn't get to Vermont Country Store yet. Hope it's open on Sunday! Again, wonderful to see you gals yesterday. We'll see if I can figure out how to blog when I get home! :) All for now, Karen Vatne

Lori and I were hoping to meet Richard, perhaps for lunch today but it turns out my Dad has planned a brunch cruise on Lake Champlain at 11. So I won't be joining them unfortunatly. It's dreary, windy and rainy so I'm not sure how comfy his cruise will be or how much visibility there will be. The lightning show is scheduled to begin around noon. So keep a good thought for us please.