Tumbleweed Runners-Up

I have "get a tumbleweed" on my list. Two have come into the neighborhood. One was on the street outside our cul-de-sac. It was Too Big:



One came into the yard and hid by the trailer, but it is Too Small:



(It's broken, too.)

For the benefit of those who don't live around here and who are flying in, I will continue the quest (and press Marty to look, as he drives more than anyone else) for a Just Right tumbleweed.

Weather, late arrivals

Pretty much it's expected to be cold and still and sunny.

Santa Fe Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USNM0292

The cold is why we can get these condos for so little, this time of year, so good for that!

This morning I worked on kindling for the fireplaces. As you arrive, if you have a fireplace and you want to use it (two units don't and the occupants opted "newer and fancy and no fireplace" over "funky 70's but has a fireplace")... get a basket of kindling when you check in or from me directly if it's not too late. I'll confirm my room number when I know for absolute sure, and the people at the desk will know where I am.

Anyone who arrives after the desk closes and who had a paid reservation for that night can still get the key from a place with a code. That will all come clear if it's necessary to know. It's a system they've used successfully for a long time, and there's someone not far from there with keys all the time, but it's not a hotel so the front desk isn't open 24 hours a day or anything.

Meeting Joyce!

Joyce posted one of her crystal-clear comments on Always Learning, and I responded effusively. I figured I should share it here. The first part is another participant's comment, but the important part was Joyce's clarification.


" I would proudly declare that if I had girls they would not wear pink and would not play with Barbies."

Yep, I've heard people say that.

And can you imagine the reaction if some mom had proudly declared her
daughter would not wear blue and would not play with trucks!

Joyce

Isn't Joyce clear and solid in her understanding of the logic behind why unschooling and mindful parenting work?
I'm stunned and glad when Joyce writes something as clear as she's written above.

It's likely that now that Joyce's daughter Kathryn is grown, Joyce might well gradually wander away from unschooling discussions. She might not, but her website will endure somewhere between "for a while" and "for a long time."

Still, what if you could look at her writings with her voice and her face in your mind? What if you'd get a chance to just hang out with her and eat, and maybe meet her husband and daughter?

That's one of the things this upcoming symposium in Santa Fe is about.
There's only one three-bedroom condo left in our set, but there are several one- and two-bedrooms left. Those are $79 or $99 a night, if you register before the end of November, and they're real dwelling places you could live in. Full kitchen, living room, fireplace, and my husband Keith and I will make sure you have some firewood and kindling and matches for those fireplaces.

The conference fee is $100 for one person, $150 for two, $180 for three, and $20 additional per family member after that. We will evening meals together. One will be a potluck. One night we'll play Apples to Apples and another night we'll have Show and Tell (potentially like a talent show, but no one needs literally to sing or dance).

More information is here:
http://sandradodd.com/suss
and that has links to a blog with photos and to a registration page

I'm really looking forward to seeing Joyce again myself, but I promise not to hog her attention, so others can hang out with her.

Sandra

Schedule

(Starting off rough; can be cleaned up at a later time)
NOTE: The first day would be easiest to miss. Pam and I have spoken other places, and will speak some more on Saturday. We'll be around all the time. People who miss Thursday's talks won't miss the most important parts.

Wednesday if people can show up that would be great; get some firewood and kindling, get settled into your condo.
There is a breakfast room, not fancy, not cooked food, but a good gathering place each morning.

Thursday 9:30 Discussion of what we've learned about unschooling in the past 12 years or so, and how, and what's surprising

12:00-2:30 lunch break (enough time to leave the site, or make a lunch and have a nap, or to hang out with others)

2:30-5:00 Pam Sorooshian, presentation and discussion (topic not named yet)

5:00-6:00 Blake's Lotaburger on site

Thursday after dinner, Apples to Apples and other table games (we have all the American sets and the U.K. Jr. set)

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Friday

9:30 Joyce Fetteroll, "Building Pitfalls" (title subject to revision), stories of how people come to a new understanding, and some of the pitfalls people can fall into while they think they're getting it.

12:00-2:30 lunch break

2:30 Dads meet. Short presentations by Keith Dodd, Cyrus Sorooshian and Carl Fetteroll, and discussion. No moms.

Moms can hang out elsewhere, go touristing, or get food ready for the potluck.

5:30 Potluck dinner, followed by Show and Tell (talk about something you have, found, bought, made, were given, learned, can do...)

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Saturday

9:30 Teens and Young Adults will share what they know, believe and have done regarding unschooling, for the benefit of each other and everyone else there.

12:00 lunch break

2:30, Closing Statements: What we've learned in the past three days

5:30 Enchilada dinner

Hanging out

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Sunday is an unscheduled day. Those who need to go home can check out in a leisurely fashion. Those who are staying for a tourist day can check out on Monday.

Southwest discount air fares

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/10/26/daily14.html

For people planning to attend the symposium, please check here, and see whether it might be less expensive to fly and rent a car than to drive.

The rates are good for the conference dates, but not for Sunday, so it would also involve staying until Monday, which you might have planned to do anyway. Or you could spend Sunday night in Albuquerque.

Dinner Plans

The same room we use for meetings is our dining room.

Communal Dinner plans:

Thursday, January 7, Blake's Lotaburger, grilling at the door. "Open bar" style, you can order from this menu:

Lotaburger (which you can get with cheese or green chile or both)
Hot dog
Chili Cheesedog
Frito Chili Pie
Barbecue Sandwich

And then you can go back for something else!
For those familiar with Blake's Lotaburger, they can't do fries or shakes from the catering truck.

(Vegetarian presence might require a few Dion's Pizzas, which we could send teens out to fetch.)

Friday, January 8, potluck

Bring a dish from home, prepare something in your condo, or get something from a nearby store

Saturday, January 9, Enchilada dinner from RealBurger, on the Old Pecos Trail

Green chile chicken enchiladas
Red beef enchiladas
Beans
Rice
Posole with pork
Red chile
Tortillas
Tea
Lemonade

a map of NE Santa Fe

We'll be up in the upper right, "Fort Marcy." The walk to the plaza isn't far. The walk back would be uphill.



This and another couple of maps: SandraDodd.com/suss/map