Words flow out, and Holly as an adult

Sometimes when I don't write here, it's because my life is really busy. And I do write, every day, just not here.

I suppose I will regret, someday, not having everything in one place. It's scattered. There are links here to much of it: SandraDodd.com Once upon a time it was on a user group, my daily writing. Then AOL forums. Then unschooling.com. Then unschooling.info, and yahoogroups. I do write at Always Learning. Sometimes that is quiet, because of Radical Unschooling Info, on facebook. Judging by the list of former hoppin' spots, that won't always be so busy.

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Holly is grown. Twenty-one years old, for the past eight days. And in that time she has started a new job (cleaning The Pit, in part, which sounds really terrible, cleaning a pit, unless one knows what pit that is *). She's started babysitting for a family she knows through another friend, too; ironically, one of the things they could use a babysitter for is that they have season tickets for Lobo Basketball games. It's like "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry, which is also like how I gave my sister a ball of string (and some other gifts) for Christmas, and she had brought me the cast iron string-ball she had (hanging dispenser for string, though she hadn't known what it was until I told her). At least in that case the two went together well, and I got to keep the string and the iron holder.

Holly's party was the Saturday before her birthday, on October 27, at Amped. Keith and I were there for the first half, serving pizza and punch, but the party continued and Holly seemed happy with it all. It was a great idea she had, to host a music party at her favorite venue.

Tam King showed up!

But kid stuff can be better than adult stuff. Her friend Ryan is in the hospital, in intensive care, and she's been there a fair amount, supporting Will, who has been Ryan's best friend for seven years or more. Ryan recently lost his job when the restaurant he had worked at for a long time closed; he, Will and another friend just rented a house together. Ryan was at Holly's birthday party and is very nice guy.

Short video on unschooling

This is part of a series Lisa Cottrell-Bentley organized. Here's her page with the intro and bio: Meet Sandra Dodd as she tells us about Doing Unschooling Right!

Judy Jetson, or Riff Raff

Holly's hair inspired some comparisons to beloved characters... with that hair.

Two very long interviews

I'm putting these here so I can find the art again. Nice links. :-)

Doing these exchanges, for the creation of these interviews, wasn't easy. The questions were hard. Sometimes we negotiated different questions, or different answers. But the results are pretty good, and the images Rashmie created for it all are nice. (And she lifted photos from my site and facebook, and it was fun to see what she chose, too.)

Bicycle shop in Leiden

On July 3 I was in a bicycle shop in Leiden, with Graham Dusseldorp. It was crowded and exotic. I didn't report all my exciting activities last summer, but now I need to bring the photos here, because I'm using one for Just Add Light and Stir, and want to give it a bit of Netherlands-bike-shop context.

In Leiden, people REALLY ride bicycles. There are family bikes and cargo bikes.

There were lots of baskets, for bikes.

One stack had pink baskets and I said "Barbie," but Graham, whose daughter is much younger than mine, said "Those are Disney Princess." Then I saw the doll seats:

I just made a slide show of the others from that shop. Nothing here is a good photography. It's evidence, not art. :-)

Some fantasy, some reality

Holly and Will, at the Twisters fast-food restaurant that sometimes portrays a chicken place in "Breaking Bad." It's a happy photo.

Marty lately

Marty went to class on his roller blades today. I peeked out to watch him go. I've always loved seeing him skate. He needs new wheels. I offered to buy some, but he says he'll do it with his money, because they'll probably be $100. Oh. Not his little-boy skate prices.

A few days ago he asked me to come and spot him on a project, to be outside the jeep. He was bending a piece of heavy aluminum, to make a curved shield. He had already done a center bend, but wanted the edges rounder, and thought of what he had to make a mold and a press.

(Photos to come, but I will say... it involves a hole dug in the vacant lot, and his jeep.)