More Flower's From Grandpa's House

This guy was so cute. Standing all alone in our yard. Until somebody ate him. :(
Just thought i'd post these in the spirit of Spring! And cause our blog looks a little drab to me.

Fort Collins

So here is our adventure through the city of Fort Collins. Initially the city seemed not green enough to me...which is almost crazy to say because actually it is one of the most "green" cities ive ever heard of/been to. Of course, it is still April and, while it is 60-70 degrees out and, we went mountain biking and hiking, the trees are allowed to take their sweet time to bloom again. We were quite amazed with how active the city was as soon as we pulled in. There are bike lanes on every street, and they are all being used!!! Everyone here is super concious of pedestrians and cyclists because they're almost more popular than drivers! There are also beautiful parks wrapped around every neighborhood (practically), and hiking trails throughout the city...not to mention along the foot hills ("Front Range") and mountains skirting the city.
I thought it would be dry here since it looked so rocky in pictures but, in fact, their is a huge reservoir here and a few lakes too! When we pulled in, I almost wrote the city off altogether because I "wanted my trees"...but to be honest, this is day two and we are LOVING the landscape! Its so useful! This next picture is for you D2.

And the city is lined with trees and parks so in the next month or so it will be amazing im sure! Oh, and pretty much everywhere you can imagine there are recycling centers, bike/snowshoe/etc rentals, organic & local food shops, little "mom & pop" stores, etc. Best of all, the people here are incredibly friendly. Our jaws have dropped many a time since yesterday because of the courtesy and friendly remarks people made to us. Daniel and I decided that it must be because these people aren't inside their houses all year round like we are in Michigan. They actually see eachother, realize they have PEOPLE as neighbors, and interact with them because EVERYONE is out and about. :) We highly recommend a jot through this city if you can make it here.

Check out this EXTREMELY tall bike. Its kind of hard to see but the guy seemingly climbing down from that tree is actually using the tree to get off his incredibly tall bike.

A small village nestled in the mountains. We passed a sign that said Stout - Population 47.5. Daniel asked a very good question, "how do you get half a person?!" Also, check out how nice these log cabins and homes are. No one seems to live in a shabby place.

Getting ready to hike up Horsetooth Mountain. Fort Collins is approximately 5000 feet and we are going to work our way up to 7,600.

Mid-hike. Layers on, layers off. Its warm, but there is snow. Its freezing in the wind, but warm warm in the sun.

This is Horsetooth Mountain.

Our view from Horsetooth.

This is a lovely resturaunt that we had dinner at tonight. Its local, organic, and vegan. Sweet. I had a fabulous salad with marinated tofu and seaweed, and Daniel had a tempeh/blackbean burito with sour "cream" and guac and a salad. Oh, and we shared a cup of this exotic white bean, tomato, fennel and lavendar soup! I never would have put those ingredients together. The couple that owns the resturaunt is very nice. Moved here from North Dakota with their 4 kids last September and started the business which has been open for 2 months. Soon to have organic beers & wine. Next time we'll take pictures of our food! Its way more fun that way!

Road Trip - Iowa, Nebraska....

Yesterday evening we arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado. We have been sleeping in the back of our Honda Odyssey and loving it. So far we spent the night in Stuart, Iowa at their AmericInn - well, their parking lot that is.

This is a picture of a huge coal train we saw when we stopped to stretch for a second. We were amazed at how long it was...and where did all that coal come from?!

The corn/soy/canola fields of Nebraska....

These reminded me of the gangly swampy trees in Florida...and it was hot like it too!!!

It was bitter sweet when we would see all these "happy" normal cows w/their babies...and then pass 3-4 cattle trucks carrying these guys off to....cow hell.

Goodbye House, and A Day in the Windy City

These were my pretty flowers outside Grandpa's house. Goodbye flowers - stupid snow. Goodbye Grandpa's. I had quite a moment the other day as I closed the garage door to the house behind me. I've been so excited, and anxious to move forward with our plans...and I finally stopped for the first time in a few weeks, to look around me and realize that I, yet again, rushed past another point in my life.

Our first home as newelyweds. What a beautiful home and fabulous times we had there. I really enjoyed the many movie nights I got to share with Daniel in our basement, or cold winters days by the fireplace, my own laundry room (beats the apartments!), entertaining at Thanksgiving, raking our first yard, cold walks at 6 am around our neighborhood, bike rides to the park, basketball at the elementary school next door, being within a bike-rides distance to family. All so wonderful. Slow down Marlayna. This is one my life lessons. Slow down. :) Ok. Maybe I should tattoo that somewhere I would see it often...inside my wrist or something.

I would live in Chicago. Its like an insane ant farm....everyone's so busy with their individual world, each creating their beautiful little life - all of them so separate but so interwoven. Its like a little tornado of humanity.

I dont have a picture but Iowa is full of windfarms! Daniel said they went from horizon to horizon. As much as I feel controversial about what they do, they sure are beautiful to look at!

WELP, Now we're on to Colorado... check you later! :)

Love,

Marlayna (& Daniel)

Father-Son Motorcycle Time

So my Dad and I are planning a week long motorcycle trip down to South Carolina in mid-May to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherohala Skyway, Deal's Gap...etc. For those of you who don't know him, my dad is legally a Motorcyclaholic. Seriously. I think he has the world record for most miles on a motorcycle in one year for someone who was working full-time (it is going to be WAY higher this year now that he is retired!). To put this into perspective: You could blindfold my dad and drive him out to the middle of NoWhere, Michigan and within 5 seconds of taking his blindfold off I am quite confident that he could tell you where the nearest gas station is, where the bathrooms are inside of the gas station, the road with the best scenery and most curves to get there, and where you will most likely see a police officer waiting to catch you speeding. THIS IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION!!!

Anyway, my dad wanted to take me on a long ride to see how long I can stand on a motorcycle in one day to better help him plan our trip. I made it from just after sun-up (8:00AM-ish) to just before dark (8:00PM-ish) and I was still having a great time and could have easily done more... I think I passed the test!

We had a great ride and saw some really nice places. We stopped at a nice historical covered bridge in Ada, stopped in a really nice town called Rockford, drove through Sparta (and yes I did yell "THIS IS SPARTA!" ala the movie 300 in my helmet), and ended up at our destination in Muskegon where we got to walk through the USS Silversides WWII submarine (see image above) and the USS McLane WWII Coast Guard ship. It was especially neat for me because my dad used to be an officer on a ship and I got to see what that part of his life was like. In fact, the ship he was an officer on, the "Dar Pomorza" (see image below), is now at the Polish Maritime Museum in Gdansk and I am planning on going to check it out while we are in Europe next year!

All-in-all I had a wonderful day with my Dad and am looking forward to our trip to South Carolina in May!

~Daniel

For Love Of Water - FLOW

My family watched this documentary the other night on the world wide water "crisis". I say that this way because this movie makes you instantly present and conscious of this seemingly insurmountable global issue we have, and then brings you right back up high to realize just how simply we can augment, if not, correct it. It does an incredible job of demanding your awareness and consideration of the way water moves throughout our world, who it "belongs to" - if anyone - or everyone, and the unconscious way some cultures are using it up...

Here is a snipit I found that relays a little bit more info about the documentary:

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "Can anyone really own water?" Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. Run time: 84 minutes

Sound boring to you? I can understand. A few years ago, I wouldn't have even come close to picking up this film to give it a glance-over much less considered it worth spending 84 minutes of my life on. But now I am SO THANKFUL that I am in a place in my life where I don't spend much time concerned with my own well being and I have the space in my heart to consider other's lives and well being. In America, we, even the lowest income families, are some of the richest, most secure, people on earth. We truly don't have to travel far, or do something so extreme to find a place to sleep, something to eat, a helping hand, or water. I mean no disrespect to those who feel they do have these burdens here. I just mean that, if what we think or believe, is what we create, and what we live, then this country has one of the most limitless spaces for creating or believing in whatever you want. What a blessing. It always requires hard work, ample giving to receive a hefty taking. This is the cycle and FLOW of all things in this world. But wow, we have opportunity.

So if i have not caused you to turn away yet, you might like to know that this movie mentions the story about Nestle Co. and how they are pumping (for free) our water out of areas in Michigan, packaging it up and selling it back to us. Very interesting. There are so many wonderful points to this movie, it is hard to recall and post all of them. Like I said earlier, one of the main things I walked away with was a higher level of consciousness, an awareness of how I am effecting the world, of the blessing (and responsibility that comes with it) of having a faucet that, with very little effort, I can flip on and trust will supply me with adequate amounts of clean water.

I highly recommend you find 84 minutes and watch this movie. For the time it takes of your life, it will repay you many times over.

Much love,

Marlayna

To die or not to die...that is the question...

Daniel is fired up about driving on the nuerburgring in southern Germany. There is a company that will rent you a car for the purposes of driving it around this loop like a psycho...cost? Only 800 Euros...or roughly $1000.00 - and possibly your life?????????? I swear im not overreacting. He DID show me a picture of a smashed Ferrari yesterday. From this very track.

My vote: He can only go if I get to drive around it like I used to drive go carts around The Call of The Wild! :) hehehehe

...then we'll both die. And all will be balanced. jk! :)

Marlayna Says....

I hate it when people try to TELL YOU HOW IT IS. Stop it mom.

Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch und...

....and that could be a problem come May. Daniel and I, plus our little ones - Oliver & Heidi (our kitties) will be leaving for Hannover for one year. I am going to be an au pair for a family with three little boys. 6, 4, and 2. Crazy? I kinda think so. I suppose i'll be a pro by the time I have my own kids! This trip is a dream come true for me. A whole year in Europe?! Saweet! Now normally i'd be so focused on the amazing towns, the castles, the wines, the fresh food markets, the tiny shops, the history, the mountains, the ability to bike or walk everywhere, the new language, seeing family and friends there, etc.....but my mind keeps getting hung up on all this....

1.) Its not easy taking two cats across seas. Can you believe that they require passports? Kitty passports! And they are costing us more than we are to get there! They need shots, microchips, special size carrying cases, something to make them go sleepy, and plane tickets! These little guys sure are special to us.

2.) So, im nervous. I actually have a really easy job taking care of these kids for a few hours a day and cooking for the family...but...all i can think about is...how many vegetables will these kids actually eat? i know, its rediculous that im hung up on this. It's europe for gosh sakes. They are quite a bit healthier than we are here, something we are much looking forward to absorbing. Still, im not finding a ton of vegan or vegetarians in Germany on the internet. I'd love to know other peoples experiences. Especially if they were au pairs. Feel free to leave tips on either of those subjects if you read this.

3.)BTW, how do you pack for a year?! I tried starting off with, "what are my essentials?" And all i got was this never ending list: my bike, my ski's (and all the assorted equiptment for both), my clothes, my teas, my computer, my doula books....and on and on. I cannot even begin to fathom the kind of bags im going to carry there. Is this normal? What does it look like when you pack for a year?

I know, im nuts. I dont actually feel bad when I realize - I AM GOING TO EUROPE FOR A YEAR! WITH MY HUSBAND! so cool. these relatively small details can be overcome. and they are - slowly. However, any helpful hints, or words of encouragement...would be sooooo appreciated!

~ Marlayna