HOPE

So in general I try and stay away from politics and religion in our blog or from promoting any particular view. We all have our own opinions and I respect that some may be different than mine and who really cares that much what I think about these issues anyway?

But I just finished watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech for the presidential nomination and I feel the need to write. Unfortunately, when I get this worked up and emotional about something, it's hard for me to communicate it coherently or in logical bullet points, but I'll try.

I know that politics will make the most naive and optimistic of us cynical and I understand that words are easy; actions are hard. But let me tell you why this candidate makes me feel so full of hope that it hurts.

There are 101 reasons why I happen to be a Democrat rather than a Republican (though I'm not much of a fan of either major party), but this isn't about what Obama had to say about the war in Iraq, or tax cuts, or corporations, or reproductive choice or foreign policy or any of the other areas where I happen to believe that his ideas are better for us as a country than those of John McCain. I get that we can disagree about those things.

But where I hope that we all could be inspired is the vision he has for us as a country and the faith he has as us as a people. (and I can already tell that I'm SO not going to be able to say what I'm trying to say here.....)

Basically when he talks about what his hopes are and belief in the country, it sounds like the country that I knew growing up, the one I liked living in, the one that I was proud to represent whenever I was overseas and one that did serve as an example or inspiration for others in less fortunate situations.

-- He talked about us getting back to looking out for each other and caring about our fellow citizens; that we are all our brothers' and sisters' keepers. It matters if there are those of us left behind by the economy or stuck with out health care. It's not someone else's problem; it affects all of us.
-- He talked about taking personal responsibility; that while government needs to do more to help us, we have to make choices to live more energy efficiently, or encourage our children to turn off the tv and do their homework.
-- He talked about leaving the country and the world a better place for all of our children, that that is the promise and the debt we owe to our parents.
-- He talked the need for all children to have access to strong education, and to invest in science and higher learning.
-- He talked about the need to return to the idea that we can all in this country, even if we disagree, work together toward common purposes. He rejected this increasingly virulent notion that anybody that disagrees with you is a bad person or doesn't have the best interests of the country at heart.
-- He rejected the idea of leading or speaking for a 'red' america or a 'blue' america and spoke of the commonality of the dreams of the people of a united states of america
-- He spoke of regaining our stature in the world and beginning of the hard work of rebuilding our alliances and friendships.
-- He disavowed the torture and systematic disregard for the constitution and individual rights of the past 8 years

Basically he called on the country and said, aren't we tired of playing to each other's fears and inciting divisiveness and bringing out the worst in each other? The country...our history...all of our potential is better than that. We are better than that. And the problems we face are big enough that the only way to overcome them is if we move beyond name calling and isolation and realize how much we all share and work together. But if we do move beyond the politics as usual and red state/blue state paralysis and the recriminations and distrust, we can make a change.

I want to believe in that sort of world and country again. I want to live in a place where we take care of our poor and old and sick, where everybody has an opportunity for education and for making something of themselves no matter where they start, where we celebrate science and learning at the same time as we honor blue collar workers and farmers, where we are respectful of each other's differences while celebrating our commonalities, where we actually try to work together to make something better in the future, instead of fighting to get the best advantage in the present, where we try and actually live up to the ideals in the constitution and bill of rights, and where we are responsible and respected members of the international community again.

Okay....at this point I'm blathering on and I know I sound like a pollyannish ninny. It's not like I think all that is easy. It's not like I think that if we elect Barack Obama all that will just *poof* happen with a snap of the fingers. We may never totally get there. And if we do, it will take years and years. But if we don't elect leaders who believe in that sort of a vision for our country and that sort of change , and who are willing to talk to us like grownups about what it's going to take to get there, then we'll never even get started down the road.

becca

And they're OFF!

Van 1 crew at the finish of last year's race

Matt, Karl (not running this year), Brian, Sarah, Joe, Dave

Brian and his comrades in Slow Code's Van 1 just took off for Timberline Lodge and the start of the 2008 Hood to Coast Relay. Sarah will start running down the hill at the team's official start time of 5:15 pm. And I do mean DOWN the hill. Her leg drops 2000 feet over the course of a little more than 5.5 miles. BRUTAL. In contrast, Brian's first leg (leg 3) drops only 900 feet over 4 miles. (he makes up the distance in his second and third legs, which are 7.25 miles and 6 miles long).



I should see them about 2 or 3 in the morning when they come through exchange 13 which I am in charge of this year. (How I got roped into running an exchange for 14+ hours overnight is a whole other story) and then they should get into Seaside around 5 with the guys in Van 2 finishing the race sometime between 6 and 7 pm on Saturday. In beween they're going to have a blast. Brian may twitter during the race if he decides to be a total geek (so check the sidebar), otherwise we'll share stories sometime next week.

Becca
Entry on last year's race

Introducing Dashiell....

Or.......entering uncle (and aunt) hood



After a nasty 12 hours of labor, Lori and Jon presented us with our first nephew:

Dashiell Stefan Bloomfield

Mom, Baby, and Dad are doing just fine, though due to Dashiell's small size (5 lbs) they might stick around the hospital an extra day.

We can't wait to watch him grow up.

b&b

Hello from Big Blue!

Brian welcomes you all from the porch of our new house, Big Blue.

So welcome to the new B&B abode. While this house is actually bigger than what we were looking for, it fit just about all our other criteria:

• We stayed in the Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood. This means that we can still walk to just about everything (post office, library, bank, grocery stores, coffee shops, food carts, restaurants, etc.), we're by 3 huge parks, we're right off the bike trail that goes up the river all the way into downtown, and we're near Jon & Lori (my brother and his wife). In fact, we're not just near, we're neighbors. We actually ended up buying a house 5 down from theirs!
• We wanted a house with lots of light. We liked a lot of things about the town house we rented but the dungeony feel of the main floor was not one of them. In this new house we rarely ever turn on the lights due to the large number (and size) of the windows on both floors
• Along with the light we wanted a really open feel where we could watch the kids or socialize with guests while cooking or cleaning up. This was hard to find in an older neighborhood so we knew we’d probably end up with a remodeled place or a teardown. In this case the majority of the first floor is one big room, stretching from the front porch through the living room, dining area, and kitchen out through the back porch

Looking from the edge of the kitchen through the dining area and living room out ot the front porch
(sellers furniture)

Looking past the wall where brian was standing through the kitchen and out the back door

We also really liked the "lodge-y" feel of the place with the pine trim,
and thevaulted ceiling and fireplace in the living room.
(seller's decor)

• Speaking of porches we wanted a place that had great outdoor living spaces. This neighborhood (and this street in particular)is one where folks are frequently sitting out on their front porches and catching up with other neighbors walking by with their dogs, etc.. Even more than that we wanted a place with a great back porch for sipping on some wine to relax at the end of the day or hosting barbeques with friends.
  

• We wanted a little grass for kids to play in, but not so much that mowing took hours (like our place in MN). And a patio for some outdoor furniture (which we just picked up...gotta love moving at this time of year for summer clearance sales!) was a bonus

bonus Calla Lilies out front

• We also were hoping for a decent sized office (as I work from home and Brian has his graduate studies as well as hoping to work from home in the future), a guest room for all the relatives coming to see J&L’s soon to be born kiddie and for other far-flung friends and family, and a place to read or watch tv separate from the main living room. Check. Check. And Check. Oh…and multiple toilets. :-)

We’ve only been here a week and we’re still working on unpacking boxes and figuring out where to hang artwork, but we’re already happier and more relaxed.

So come visit and check out Big Blue. The B&B B&B is open for business.

Becca

(The genesis of the name is pretty obvious...that might be one of our longer term projects to make the place not such a monolith of blue.)

So we've been a little busy....

Okay, so the constant disappearances from the blog are getting old, and certainly aren't helping encourage any readership. We get that. We really do. And we'll work on it.

Before we get back to Turkey tales though, I should explain what we've been up to.

Get this:

Since our last post we have

• Found out our landlords were returning to Portland and we would need to move out when our lease expired in August


• Found a house we liked and made an offer


• Had the offer accepted (after much back and forth)


• Found out the sewer needed to be replaced and there were a bunch of fix-its to do


• Decided to get the house anyway


• Closed on the purchase


• Packed up the old place


• Moved out of our townhouse (and cleaned it)


• Unpacked the kitchen, master bed and bath and office to make the new house a functional residence.

Not bad for 6 weeks, eh?

More descriptions and pictures of the house (and Turkey pics) in the coming weeks

Home owners again ... .woo-hoo!

becca

Ruins for everyone!

While Ephesus (which will get its own detailed post sometime soon), Pergamum and a few others are the best preserved and get all the press, it seems like you could toss a stick randomly along the central Mediterranean coast and hit a Greek or/(and) Roman ruin.

A sampling of our finds:

Atlantis-like feel at the watery ruins of Miletus

The 15,000 seat Great Theater at Miletus

Remains of the Temple of Athena, Priene (beneath Mt. Mykale)

Column graveyard, Priene

Remains of Greek Theater, Priene

Enjoying the power seat, Priene

Imposing steps into the city, Labranda

2,000+ year old wine casks, Labranda


becca

Assorted Turkish Wildflowers

A little color for your Thursday morning...

After the rains in the ruins of Labranda

The ancient town of Priene scattered amongst the poppies

Scary-ass flower in Herakeleia/Kapikiri. Don’t know what it is but it sure has a “don’t mess with me” vibe to it