9 Across: Judy and Chris' Big Adventure: It's Been a Long Time!

Hello, everyone,

I know you are probably not waiting with hearts pounding for my new post here, but a few people have asked me to write some more. I still do not see what's so interesting about our lives out here, but if you want.....

Life is really good. That's for certain. I am loving, loving, loving my job. How many of you can say that? ALL of you, I hope! Scotts Valley High School is a very special place, full of wonderful kids who now call me Mama Jude. (I kinda like that....) We are building up trust and caring a little more each day. These kids had a less-than-stellar art teacher before me. She was a hoarder who made the room impossible to navigate, I hear. She also "taught" the IB courses, which are supposed to be college level courses, by not really teaching at all. The kids just did independent study, which mostly meant that they fooled around in the studios, doing not much artwork at all. It's very concerning, as they only have two years to put together their IB portfolio and investigation workbooks for their final examination by an outside examiner! So, now, we really only have one year to do all that work. It is supposed to happen in 240 hours over two years....we really have a lot to accomplish! But, I think I can turn this around. The kids are working hard to accept this culture shift. They actually crave structure, and I'm the one to give it to them!

Chris has been enjoying his retirement. He says he's turning into his father, always looking for little projects to do around the house. He's turned into quite the handyman! It's a good thing, too, because there are always lots of things that need fixing or improving. The dogs and cat are happy to have him home a lot of the day, I'm sure, instead of only having NPR for company like they used to.

The weather here is amazing. It has rained for a total of 5 minutes since we arrived on June 26th. Not kidding....People here complain that it's "hot" when it gets over 75 degrees. It's "cold" when it's below 65, so there is only a small window of "perfect" weather. They are wimps! They have NO IDEA what hot is....hot is when it's 96 with 96% humidity, right? We Ithacans know hot. We also know cold. And rainy. And cloudy. The only thing we're not too sure on is sunny.....

Everywhere I go, I meet someone who came from Ithaca or who was born there or who went to Cornell or something. There was an undercover cop at my school the other day who was born in Ithaca when his father was a student at Cornell. He'd only been back once, but he knew the slogan! That's all that counts, right?

I spent the day today at a riding clinic at my boarding barn. It was with Ray Berta, a good friend and former student of some of the greats in natural horsemanship, like Tom Dorrance and Buck Branaman. Ray took us through a string of exercises on the ground in the morning, and then, we rode all afternoon. It was great to spend the entire day by Quincy's side or on his back. He was a really good boy, learning to come into my energy and give to my pressure when I wanted him to move away. The analogy is a magnet...in order to be connected to the whole horse, we need them to be able to come to us, emotionally and physically, which Quincy has no problem with, but also able to move away from us when we need them to. This is a little harder for him (and me) because we love each other so much that we are always up in each other's business, if you know what I mean. You horse people out there do, I'm sure. Anyway, we have lots of things we can continue to work on. Everyone here says we can do this groundwork in the winter when it's "too cold" to ride. (that means 50 degrees) They should see us at Healing Rein, riding in our Carhartts with two pairs of gloves and our Muck Boots on! The only time it's too cold to ride is when your fingers and toes are numb and your nose is frozen shut!

I don't have a lot of new pictures to show, but here are a couple. Enjoy!

Chris at the cliffs, watching the surfers and the dolphins.