To those slogging through our adventures on multiple sites, I thought I'd post something here for your viewing pleasure. We are mostly repacked for our early morning train ride to Boston tomorrow. The butterflies are kicking in. I know that we have the essentials (and then some) in our bags, but tomorrow we'll meet some of the folks that we will be living with for the next 4 months.
I wish that we could unpack and settle tomorrow, however we will stay in temporary rooms due to the Forum on Global Engagement taking place on the ship as we travel to Montreal next week. Sooooo, our summer of temporary housing will continue until August 25. Of course the entire fall is dedicated to study of and preparation and exploration for each port, nothing static or 'settled' for 3 1/2 months for the Nelsons!
As one friend recently deemed us the 'nomad family', I have a feeling that returning to our home next summer will be a very surreal experience. Since July we have shed personal items and clothing at each stop we take (we have literally left something everywhere we have traveled this summer). Some of this was due to total lack of space in our van, but it has also helped us to prioritize and examine what is truly essential. I'm sure we have more to learn and we may regret that extra bag as we board the train tomorrow, but I think we are as slim as we feel comfortable being for a family of five traveling with school and teaching materials in addition to travel guides for multiple countries, clothing for a variety of temperatures, toiletries and medications, not to mention snacks (especially for the biggest 'kid').
Off to enjoy the last full day in a spacious home and run one more load of laundry. Just a reminder that we have the dedicated blog for Semester at Sea at this link:
http://nelsonvoyage.wordpress.com/
This site allows you to sign up for an email so you don't have to remember to check our blog, you'll get an email when we post!
Finally, we appreciate all of the support this summer with a strange variety of doctor appointments as well as flexible family and friends willing to house, feed and love this nomadic family. Keep the prayers coming for our safety and health this year!!
Much love,
Kristine (for the Nelson family)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
For the Inquiring Minds....
I wanted to post a brief family update so that all who care to know are up-to-date. First, Kristine's knee update...I do not require surgery!! Went to physical therapy on Friday and the clicking has stopped. I have done the exercises semi-regularly (it IS only Monday) which were suggested for building up the muscles around my knee cap (I apparently have "mushy" knee cartilage). There is still tenderness, but I worry less since the clicking and popping has stopped. I will not attempt running until going up and down stairs is easy and painless. I also had part of my toe nail removed on one of my big toes. Probably something I should have done a year ago, but it was getting to be very tender and with the proposed walking schedule this fall, felt it was time to do something about it. Now I have to soak it twice a day for 10 days and avoid the ocean for a month.
This brings me to family news. After cramming MOST of our belongings into our van, we left Winston-Salem on Saturday and are currently with Louis' sister, Amanda, and her family on Signal Mountain in Tennessee. We are having a lot of fun with cousins on their trampoline and will be attempting some outings in the area this week. On Saturday we head back to Virginia for a week at a lake with friends and then to Norfolk for more family and lastly, to the DC area to visit my brother, Ray, and his wife, Ann, and depart for Boston via train on August 20! Louis went to work with his brother-in-law, Tommy, today and made headway on some things he needs to accomplish prior to Semester at Sea. Speaking of SAS, if you are unaware, we will have a SAS-only blog for those who are interested in the fall trip our family is taking and less in the regular family updates! You can also receive email notifications which are quite handy for knowing when we post about a port-of-call. Here is the link:
http://nelsonvoyage.wordpress.com/
For our praying friends, we had some plumbing issues in our house which seem to be resolved, but would appreciate any prayers for all to go well with the house while we are out of the country. Our tenants are two lovely ladies and a dog and we desire for their stay to be stress-free and uneventful!
As always, we are available by cell phone (434-906-0566).
Hugs to all.
Kristine
This brings me to family news. After cramming MOST of our belongings into our van, we left Winston-Salem on Saturday and are currently with Louis' sister, Amanda, and her family on Signal Mountain in Tennessee. We are having a lot of fun with cousins on their trampoline and will be attempting some outings in the area this week. On Saturday we head back to Virginia for a week at a lake with friends and then to Norfolk for more family and lastly, to the DC area to visit my brother, Ray, and his wife, Ann, and depart for Boston via train on August 20! Louis went to work with his brother-in-law, Tommy, today and made headway on some things he needs to accomplish prior to Semester at Sea. Speaking of SAS, if you are unaware, we will have a SAS-only blog for those who are interested in the fall trip our family is taking and less in the regular family updates! You can also receive email notifications which are quite handy for knowing when we post about a port-of-call. Here is the link:
http://nelsonvoyage.wordpress.com/
For our praying friends, we had some plumbing issues in our house which seem to be resolved, but would appreciate any prayers for all to go well with the house while we are out of the country. Our tenants are two lovely ladies and a dog and we desire for their stay to be stress-free and uneventful!
As always, we are available by cell phone (434-906-0566).
Hugs to all.
Kristine
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Five Yesterdays in Winston- Salem
Parker and I attended a camp here in Old Salem called Five Yesterdays. It teaches kids what it was like to live here in the mid 1700s and 1800s. There were four groups (by age level) that were named after families in Old Salem. Parker was in the Bloom family and I was in the Vogler family. Throughout the week I made: applesauce and gingerbread, a bowl, a long strip of tape that we weaved, a flyswatter, and a small bag of lavender. The tape that we made isn't the sticky stuff that we use today. Instead, the weaved yarn is used like ribbon or string to tie things such as bags and pants (an old fashioned belt!). Parker made most of the things that I made, but she sewed a linen bag instead of making a flyswatter. This has inspired her to sew more things, and she's already finished a small pillow!
The last day of Five Yesterdays everyone came together for a lovefeast. A lovefeast is when the Moravian community joins together and sing songs, reads scripture, and eats lovefeast buns to celebrate something. The picture shows Parker and me dressed for the lovefeast.
I really liked the camp and I hope I can do it again someday! We hope everyone is doing well!
From,
Perri
The last day of Five Yesterdays everyone came together for a lovefeast. A lovefeast is when the Moravian community joins together and sing songs, reads scripture, and eats lovefeast buns to celebrate something. The picture shows Parker and me dressed for the lovefeast.
I really liked the camp and I hope I can do it again someday! We hope everyone is doing well!
From,
Perri
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Life in Old Salem
As Parker posted yesterday, we are spending July in Winston-Salem. With three days of settling in under our belt we are experimenting with math options for our "summer school" session, attempting some physical exertion ("why to we have to walk ALL the way down the street and back?") plotting our immediate and future-futures, playing a bit of Settlers (Nathanael won) and kicking back to watch a couple of Jason Bourne movies. Louis is of course busy at MESDA (the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art), giving lectures, helping with research projects in addition to tackling a few of his own projects. Just another typical summer for the Nelsons!
So what is next? We are currently at Mimi and DadDad's in Huntersville, squeezing in a quick visit, storing clothes and items for winter/England, in addition to housing Louis' car. We return to a week in Old Salem. The girls will attend a morning camp that the museum offers. We will continue tackling math, in addition to gathering reading materials for school and pleasure-reading for the fall, and looking at some tour books for tentative fall excursions. We should probably start looking for housing in Oxford as well! The following week the kids will return to Mimi and DadDad's for camp-grandparent week and Louis and Kristine will accompany the MESDA students on their field trip to Charleston and surrounding plantations. A final week in Winston-Salem to wrap up the month. I think that covers our July plans!
Updates...the kids and I managed to ingest our typhoid pills prior to leaving Charlottesville, thanks for all suggestions and perhaps prayers for the pill taking. Perhaps we should keep practicing prior to our voyage and the malaria pills. We received a call from the company obtaining our China visas and thought the passports were going to be here in Charlotte when we arrived, but alas they are not. If they are not received on Monday I'll need to do a bit of investigating. The City Schools approved my homeschooling curriculum. What were they thinking? Certainly not considering geometry!
Current concerns: I have done something to my left knee. There is a lot of popping above the kneecap and minimal pain going downstairs. I will need to have this checked out prior to leaving for SAS.
That is all to report for now! Here are the kids and I in front our temporary home for July. (Can't seem to get it rightside up, sorry!)
Thanks for reading and keeping up with our adventures!
Kristine
So what is next? We are currently at Mimi and DadDad's in Huntersville, squeezing in a quick visit, storing clothes and items for winter/England, in addition to housing Louis' car. We return to a week in Old Salem. The girls will attend a morning camp that the museum offers. We will continue tackling math, in addition to gathering reading materials for school and pleasure-reading for the fall, and looking at some tour books for tentative fall excursions. We should probably start looking for housing in Oxford as well! The following week the kids will return to Mimi and DadDad's for camp-grandparent week and Louis and Kristine will accompany the MESDA students on their field trip to Charleston and surrounding plantations. A final week in Winston-Salem to wrap up the month. I think that covers our July plans!
Updates...the kids and I managed to ingest our typhoid pills prior to leaving Charlottesville, thanks for all suggestions and perhaps prayers for the pill taking. Perhaps we should keep practicing prior to our voyage and the malaria pills. We received a call from the company obtaining our China visas and thought the passports were going to be here in Charlotte when we arrived, but alas they are not. If they are not received on Monday I'll need to do a bit of investigating. The City Schools approved my homeschooling curriculum. What were they thinking? Certainly not considering geometry!
Current concerns: I have done something to my left knee. There is a lot of popping above the kneecap and minimal pain going downstairs. I will need to have this checked out prior to leaving for SAS.
Thanks for reading and keeping up with our adventures!
Kristine
Friday, July 8, 2011
Parker writes...
And so our adventure begins in Winston- Salem. We are staying in a duplex on Main St. near the children's museum. The owner of the duplex has 2 dogs, Summer and Nadia. Nadia looks like a teddy bear. Summer is 9 [almost 10] and Nadia is 8. Summer and Nadia are calm dogs. I personally like calm dogs. We'll post more soon.
Parker, Perri and Nathanael
Monday, June 20, 2011
Two months until we embark in Boston!
I just noticed the date and can hardly believe that we are 2 months out from our grand departure to see the world (or a large chunk of it anyway). Ghana visa's are in the passports, the Indian embassy is receiving our applications as I type which only leaves China. I will be very relieved to have those taken care of in addition to all of the homeschooling forms and curriculum descriptions turned into the City of Charlottesville!
I have had many questions about what we are doing after leaving Charlottesville on July 5 until boarding the SAS ship in addition to confusion regarding the rest of our year away, so a brief description of our next 11-12 months follows:
--July will be spent in Winston-Salem (Old Salem actually). Louis is teaching the summer fellows at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and they are housing us for the month. We also have a week in Charleston due to the field excursion part of the class.
--in August we are visiting family and friends, ending in Arcola, VA at my brother's house where we'll house our van and then take the train to Boston to board the ship
--December 13 we debark (yes, this is apparently a word) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and will likely train to Virginia to pick up our van, see a new neice/nephew, then spend Christmas in Charlotte, NC.
--December into January we will visit with family and friends ending in Norfolk for a wedding (Louis' step-brother, Zach, and Emily)
--mid-January through mid-June we will be in Oxford, England!
While we are sad to leave our dear friends in Charlottesville we are excited to start our adventures. (Truly, we WILL be back, we have rented our house for the year if that helps assure anyone that we intend to return.) The year will certainly fly for all of us, as time seems to be doing of late anyway. Whenever we are in the States, we are available by pre-paid cell phone (434-906-0566) so please call.
Cheers!
I have had many questions about what we are doing after leaving Charlottesville on July 5 until boarding the SAS ship in addition to confusion regarding the rest of our year away, so a brief description of our next 11-12 months follows:
--July will be spent in Winston-Salem (Old Salem actually). Louis is teaching the summer fellows at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and they are housing us for the month. We also have a week in Charleston due to the field excursion part of the class.
--in August we are visiting family and friends, ending in Arcola, VA at my brother's house where we'll house our van and then take the train to Boston to board the ship
--December 13 we debark (yes, this is apparently a word) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and will likely train to Virginia to pick up our van, see a new neice/nephew, then spend Christmas in Charlotte, NC.
--December into January we will visit with family and friends ending in Norfolk for a wedding (Louis' step-brother, Zach, and Emily)
--mid-January through mid-June we will be in Oxford, England!
While we are sad to leave our dear friends in Charlottesville we are excited to start our adventures. (Truly, we WILL be back, we have rented our house for the year if that helps assure anyone that we intend to return.) The year will certainly fly for all of us, as time seems to be doing of late anyway. Whenever we are in the States, we are available by pre-paid cell phone (434-906-0566) so please call.
Cheers!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Wow, time keeps flying! 3 weeks until move out.
Louis is due back from Jamaica on Tuesday. Soon after, if I did everything properly, 4 passports should arrive with Ghana visas (Louis already has one) and we will then apply for India and then China for all 5 of us. I will be very relieved when that is completed!
We are also set to be in Oxford, England from approximately mid-January to mid-June. However, I can't seem to wrap my mind around making plans for that until the fall is ready. We have a few connections that we need to follow-up with but most housing listings we have seen thus far are for summer or fall. I have no idea if we need visas for staying in England more than 90 days (typical for a tourist entry) or how we are getting there, in due time I suppose.
We continue packing the house and packing for various legs of our next year. The piles and boxes are starting to bother me more than usual, especially since I really do not want to venture to the attic in 90 degree plus weather! Today I enlisted the kids, yesterday was the last day of school and I can't have them bored already! Unfortunately we have run out of boxes so one more thing to add to the list.
Well, I have been trying unsuccessfully to attach a flip video as a test. My patience is waning so I'd better give up for today. Perhaps tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and more pre-travel updates to come!
We are also set to be in Oxford, England from approximately mid-January to mid-June. However, I can't seem to wrap my mind around making plans for that until the fall is ready. We have a few connections that we need to follow-up with but most housing listings we have seen thus far are for summer or fall. I have no idea if we need visas for staying in England more than 90 days (typical for a tourist entry) or how we are getting there, in due time I suppose.
We continue packing the house and packing for various legs of our next year. The piles and boxes are starting to bother me more than usual, especially since I really do not want to venture to the attic in 90 degree plus weather! Today I enlisted the kids, yesterday was the last day of school and I can't have them bored already! Unfortunately we have run out of boxes so one more thing to add to the list.
Well, I have been trying unsuccessfully to attach a flip video as a test. My patience is waning so I'd better give up for today. Perhaps tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and more pre-travel updates to come!
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