Visiting Land O'Lakes

El 29 de diciembre nos fuimos a pasar 10 dias con la familia de Nuri en Land O'Lakes. Al llegar el lugar era un parque de invierno, totalmente cubierto con nieve y como sacado de una postal. El 31 en la noche Ian, el hermano de Nuri, llego de California y al dia siguiente todos salimos a disfrutar la nieve y los hermanos con Ruhiyyih fueron a esquiar alrededor de la casa.

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On December 29th we went for a 10 days visit with Nuri's family up in Land O'Lakes. As we were arriving we were finding a winter wonderland, all covered in white snow and as if we had jumped in a post-card. On the night of the 31st Ian, Nuri's brother, arrived from California and on the next day we all went to enjoy the snow, and the brothers and Ruhiyyih went cross country skiing near the house.

Feliz Navidad

MERRY CHRISTMAS :: FELIZ NAVIDAD

We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and may all your wishes and plans accomplish their goal and give you joy.
Today we went for a walk downtown, visited the Christmas tree that is placed every year inside the Capitol and had the chance to see some of the ornaments made by students all over Wisconsin and hung on the tree.
Here are some pictures, including one of Nuri with a sample of the ornaments made by his Mom's students at Conserve.

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Queridos amigos y familiares, les deseamos una Feliz Navidad, un Prospero Anio Nuevo y que todos sus deseos y proyectos alcancen su culminacion este anio y les den gran felicidad.
Hoy fuimos a caminar por el centro de la ciudad y visitamos el arbol de Navidad que se arma cada anio dentro del Capitolio. Vimos algunos de los muchos arreglos que los estudiantes del estado de Wisconsin hicieron y fueron colgados en el arbol.
Aqui hay algunas fotos, incluyendo una con Nuri y uno de los adornos hechos por los estudiantes de Nancy (su Mama) en el Colegio Conserve.

Nuri's yoggen fruz

Nuri makes the most amazing yogurt ice cream, and for his birthday Ruhiyyih gave him beautiful ice cream cups and here is a picture of one made with raspberry, YUUUUUM!!!

TWO YEARS :: DOS ANOS

Today we celebrated our two years anniversary, went for dinner to a Thai restaurant, opened cards a loving messages from friends and family, and dearly remembered that beautiful winter day when we said each other the Words of Baha'u'llah and exchanged vows in the Most Special Place on earth.

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Hoy celebramos nuestro segundo aniversario. Salimos a cenar a un restaurant de comida Thai, abrimos tarjetas y mensajes cariñosos de nuestros amigos y familiares, y en especial recordamos aquel bello dia de invierno cuando nos leimos las Palabras de Baha'u'llah e intercambiamos nuestra promesa de matrimonio en el Lugar Mas Especial sobre la tierra.

FALAFELS :)

Leila hizo falafels hoy y al comerlos con pan pita y humus, fue como transportarnos de vuelta a Israel, estar conectados otra vez con la Tierra Santa y las experiencias que tuvimos en aquel Lugar. Estaban buenisimos -y eran de un paquete de falafels instantaneos de Haifa ;) gracias Nahid!
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Leila made falafels today and while eating them with pita bread and humus, it was like transporting us back to Israel, to be again connected with the Holy Land and the experiences we had in that Place. They were great -and they were from a package of instant falafels coming from Haifa ;) thank you Nahid!

Greenfield Village II

Greenfield Village wouldn't be the village it is, if it wasn't for Mr. Henry Ford. Here there are some pictures of Mr. Ford's significant buildings, the first is the Ford Motor Co., the second photo is inside this building and all is set as Mr. Ford left it, and the following two pictures are inside his home (or his parents' home, where he grew up).
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La Villa Greenfield no seria la villa que es hoy si no fuese por el Sr. Henry Ford. Aqui ponemos algunas fotos de aquellos edificios relacionados con el, la primera foto es de la Compañia Ford, la segunda es dentro de este edificio tal y cual lo dejo el Sr. Ford, y las siguientes dos fotos son dentro de su casa (o la casa de sus padres, donde el crecio).






Here is a picture of the horse-drawn vehicle we took to have a ride along everything, our guide/driver was Pistachio and he was very helpful with information and tips on how to enjoy the village. Oh! And then we have a picture of where to go and eat -unless you bring your own lunch- the Eagle Tavern from the mid 1800s.
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Aqui ven una foto de un carruaje tirado por caballos belgas, el cual tomamos para dar un tour y ver toda la villa, nuestro guia/chofer se llamaba Pistachio y nos ayudo mucho con informacion y sugerencias de como disfrutar la villa. Ah! Y de ahi veran una foto de un lugar donde puedan almorzar (a no ser que traigan unos sandwiches) una taverna de mediados del 1800s.




We went also inside a Court House from Logan County. Between 1840 and 1847 Abraham Lincoln tried cases here as a traveling lawyer, visiting once or twice a year, and dealing on cases resolving neighbors' disagreements over land or things like that. And here Nuri, Mom and Ruhiyyih are standing on the only part of the floor that is original form that time, since when they moved this house they had to refurbish most of it.
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Tambien fuimos a un edificio dedicado a la Corte para el Logan County. Entre 1840 y 1847 Abraham Lincoln visitaba esta corte en sus viajes como abogado, una o dos veces por año, resolviendo casos entre vecinos que disputaban por tierra o cosas asi. En esta foto Nuri, Nancy y Ruhiyyih estan parados sobre la unca parte del piso que es original de aquella epoca, ya que al mover la casa tuvieron que refaccionar la mayor parte de ella.



And to finish our little tour here we added pictures of the area dedicated to Edison and his work, there are replicas of some of the buildings located at Menlo Park Complex, New Jersey, although some structural elemens are original. The first two photos are from the laboratory where the first electric light bulb was created, and we were told that Mr. Ford asked that Edison's chair be nailed to the floor where he used to have it and no one was allowed to sit on it anymore. The next photo is inside the house of Mrs. Sarah Jordan from 1870, who boarded some of the men employed by Mr. Edison. This was one of the first few houses to be wired with electricity, and here is a picture of how it looked like to have light!!
"In 1876, Thomas Edison set a goal to have one major invention every six months and one minor invention every 10 days. He came very close to achieving that goal."
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Para finalizar nuestro pequeño aqui adicionamos fotos del area dedicada a Edison y a su trabajo, hay edificios replicados de los que se encuentran en Menlo Park, en Nueva Jersey, aunque algunos elementro estructurales son originales. Las primeras dos fotos son del laboratorio donde el primer foco electrico fue creado/encendido, y nos dijeron que el Sr. Ford pidio que la silla de Edison sea clavada en el piso alli donde el siempre se sentaba, y nadie mas se sentara en ella. La siguiente foto es dentro de la casa de la Sra. Sarah Jordan del 1870, quien alojaba a algunos de los hombres empleados de Edison. Esta fue una de las primeras casas donde se instalaron cables electricos, y en la foto ven como se veia una casa con luz!!
"En 1876, Thomas Edison se propuso como objetivo de tener un invento grande cada seis meses y un invento pequeño cada 10 dias. Estuvo muy cerca de alcanzar este objetivo."





We thank Mom, Ruhiyyih and especially Aunt Patsy for coming with us to visit this historic place. We loved it!! :) And we learned a lot, about history, inventions, culture, and perhaps it will be nice to share with you some of Mr. Ford's quotes, oh! by the way, did you know Nuri's great great grandpa knew Mr. Ford and was about to join him in business when Mr. Ford was just starting?? Well, his great great grandma thought it was a crazy idea, and didn't let him invest ... :) Here are the quotes we liked:
"The person who says he is overworked, is usually working the wrong way."
"No one really fails, who does his best."
"I shall be kind today - for my own sake if not for others."
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Agradecemos a Nancy, Ruhiyyih y especialmente a la Tia Patsy por venir con nosotros y visitar este lugar historico. Nos encanto!! :) Y aprendimos mucho, acerca de la historia, los inventos, la cultura, y tal vez fuera bueno compartir con ustedes algunas citas del Sr. Ford. Oh! a proposito, ¿sabian quen el tatarabuelo de Nuri conocia al Sr. For y estaba a punto de unirsele en sus negocios cuando el Sr. Ford estaba a punto de comenzar?? Pues resulta que la tatarabuela pense que era una idea loca y no le dejo invertir... :) Aqui van las citas que nos gustaron:
"La persona que dice que esta trabajando de sobremanera, esta generalmente trabajando en la forma equivocada."
"Nadie realmente falla, mientras da lo mejor de si."
"Hoy sere bondadoso - por mi propio bien, si no es por el bien de otros."
(Leila hizo la traduccion, asi que perdonen las fallas ;D )

Greenfield Village I

That weekend on Saturday we went to the Greenfield Village adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum, probably the number one place to go as a turist visiting Detroit. The village was created by Mr. Ford, who brought to this village all the houses (yep, the whole house, with everything inside) that were meaningful to him, either from his town, or his grandparents home from Canada, or the people's homes/workshops/stores that had a special connection with him, such as his very good friend Thomas Edison, or the Wright brothers. It is like being in that time and those working there dresses exactly as they used to dress in that house/store/worshop.

We spent a whole day at the village with Mom, Ruhiyyih and Aunt Patsy, we went to everysingle house and here are some photos... not all of them fitted in this blog, so we will try to place the rest in another one, part II! :)

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Durante ese fin de semana, el sabado mismo, fuimos a una villa llamada Greenfield Village, que queda a lado del Museo Henry Ford, y tal vez es el lugar de visita numero uno en Detroit para turistas. La villa fue creada por el Sr. Ford donde el traslado las casas que tenian un significado para el (si... estan leyendo bien, casas completas, con todo adentro), ya sea de su niñez, la casa de sus abuelos desde Canada, o las casas/talleres/tiendas que tenian una coneccion especial con el, como las de su muy buen amigo Thomas Edison, o la de los hermanos Wright. Es como estar en esa epoca y la gente que trabaja alli, se viste exactamente como se vestian en esa casa/tienda/taller.

Pasamos todo un dia en la villa con Nancy, Ruhiyyih y la Tia Patsy; fuimos a cada una de las casas y aqui tenemos algunas fotos... no todas entraron en esta entrada, asi que pondremos las que faltan en la proxima, parte II! :)


The Carrusel from the Herschell-Spillman Co. from the early 1900s.
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El Carrusel de la Compañia Herschell-Spillman hecho a principios del 1900.



At the Wright's bike workshop/store
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En la tienda/taller de los hermanos Wright



A bus from the mid 1900s :: Un bus de mediados del 1900s.



The Village has its own craft works/shops created in 1930-35: mills, pottery, weaving, printing, tin works, glass, and so. These three pictures are from the printshop, a wood fire kiln outside the pottery shop, and the glass shop.
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La Villa tiene sus propios talleres/tiendas de artesanias que fueron iniciados entre el 1930-35: aserraderos, ceramica, tejido, imprenta, trabajo con estaño, vidrio, etc. Estas tres fotos son de la imprenta, un horno a leña afuera de donde hacen ceramica, y la fabrica de vidrios.





Also there are the working farms, where the Firestone Farm is located, brought from Pennsylvania and renovated in 1882. Here Benjamin and Catherine Firestone raised their three children, including the tire maker Harvey Firestone. Mr. Benjamin made his money from wool of wrinkly Merino sheep, which we saw there as well (out in the market there are not that wrinkly anymore)
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Tambien hay areas dedicadas a fincas y granjas, ahi se encuentra la Finca Firestone, traida de Pennsylvania y renovada en 1882. En esta casa Benjamin y Catherine Firestone criaron a sus tres hijos, incluyendo a Harvey Firestone quien se dedico a hacer llantas. El Sr. Benjamin se gano el pan de cada dia con la lana de sus ovejas arrugadas Merino, las que pudimos ver alli tambien (hoy en dia en el mercado ya nos son arrugadas, las han cambiado geneticamente para poder cortar la lana mas facilmente)






"When a new road forced Henry Ford's beloved birthplace from its original location, Ford decided not only to move it, but to restore and refurnish it to match his boyhood recollections. The restoration received so much press that Ford was inundated with requests to save other buildings. Soon after, the idea for Greenfield Village was born." http://www.hfmgv.org/village/default.asp

Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpa Eady

This year we spent Thanksgiving weekend at Grandma & Grandpa Eady's, sharing wonderful moments with Nuri's paternal family. We left on Thursday 22nd quite early, at 4:00 am, so we could avoid traffic in Chicago, and we had a very good drive, making a great time. We arrived and had some snacks (it was close to lunch time) and shortly after Nancy arrived from Land O'Lakes. Ruhiyyih was there already, and slowly slowly -after 3:00 pm- everyone started arriving for the dinner.

We had all sort of traditional food, and after that awesome meal we all sang along and played games. It was truly delightful to be in the company of family, and hopefully these pictures share the spirit of that gathering!! :)

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Este anio pasamos el fin de semana de Accion de Gracias con los Abuelitos Eady y compartiendo bellos momentos con la familia paterna de Nuri. Salimos de nuestra casa el jueves 22 a eso de las 4:00 am, para asi evadir el trafico de Chicago y por ello llegamos bien, sin estres por la manejada. Llegamos cerca del medio dia, asi que nos esperaban con algo para picar y poco despues de llegar, llego Nancy desde Land O'Lakes. Ruhiyyih ya estaba por alla y despues de eso de las 3:00 pm, los miembros de la familia comenzaron a arribar.

Tuvimos todo tipo de platos que son tradicionales de la fecha (el que me causo mucho interes fue un pure de camote con mantequilla y mashmelows encima, horneado por unos minutos, que estaba espectacular! ;) Leila). Despues de la cena todos cantamos y jugamos juegos. Fue una bella noche en la compania de la familia y esperamos que estas fotos puedan mostrar algo de ese espiritu!! :)

The food :: La comida

Cousins ready to attack :: Los primos listos para el ataque

Grandma Eady, Aunt Maggy, Grandpa Eady

Shakira, Aunt Patsy and Mom looking at books from Shakira's publishing trust :: Mirando libros de la editorial donde trabaja Shakira

Jessie and Uncle David watching the game :: Mirando el partido de futbol americano

Watching Ruhiyyih's claymation video :: Mirando el video que hizo Ruhiyyih

Family singing along :: La familia cantando

Jamie and Aunt Kathy :)

Nuri and Tie Die, Shakira's bird :: Nuri con el lorito de Shakira