February 17 -- Week of Jubilee

There isn't going to be a lot of commentary on this update simply because I want to do another one of our time in Bakersfield and Shafter too.  We've had a couple of rather busy weeks and weekends.  The week started on February 10 but got exciting on February 12 when the forecast seemed to be calling for a lot of snow.  Wednesday at school was like the day before Christmas vacation.  The kids were jumpy and excited and so were many teachers.  Everyone felt sure we would miss the next two days of school.  Eden and Charlie, who had been visiting in Puerto Rico with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Frank flew home Wednesday night, glad to get in before the airports shut down.  It was beginning to snow by the time they got home.  Just for the fun of it, they decided to "continue their relaxation" by getting snowed in with us.  So they came right from the airport on the metro and a cab.  I think this picture was from Thursday evening supper which looks like green soup, of course!   Everyone looks cold, don't they in their fleeces over sweatshirts!

It ended up that there was a foot of snow and we did have Thursday and Friday off from school.  I was going to drive up to Jubilee after school on Friday and Steve was going to fly there on Thursday night.  But his flight was cancelled, so we went together early Friday morning in order to get there in time for an 11:30 lunch for him.  The roads had been well cleared, so we didn't really experience any problems in driving.  I had not driven that route since Grammy died--strange, since what had been so familiar to me, I hadn't seen in almost two years.

Breezewood

                                

Isn't this barn beautiful?  Steve always stops to take a picture of it in its various moods and seasons.  It is between Breezewood and Pittsburgh.

We had a nice room on the 19th floor of the Westin at the Convention Center.

Our room at the Convention Center Westin.  

It was a room with a view indeed.  This captures the golden bridge (with others in the background and down river...or is it up river), the hills and water as well as the cityscape.

                               

I stopped at Jubilee Pro as it was getting ready to start.  Steve's book was on every table.  It was being given to everyone at the conference for professionals.  As I stopped in, I saw Bob and Joanne Willson and Chris and Ian Welsh as well as other friends and acquaintances.  There were about 360 people present at it.  Steve was speaking with friend, Jay Jakub, near the end of it about the economic paradigm the Mars Corporation is bringing into being inspired by the concept of Biblical Jubilee.

                

The book table sponsored by Hearts & Minds Bookstore has turned into a book store now with lots and lots of tables and displays of all kinds.  That Byron Borger is amazing, along with Beth and a handful of others to help.  The picture below shows the table with Steve's book displayed--the pretty yellow of Van Gogh's reaper standing out.  Of course, this, as well as the handouts at the Professional Jubilee, were the very first public exposure of the book.  Pretty exciting stuff!

                             

On Saturday morning, Steve and Jay again had a large workshop during which Steve introduced the theme, "What if you decided that the Biblical economic principle of Jubilee was true?"  He fleshed that out a bit and then introduced Jay to elaborate on the Mars Project of the Economics of Mutuality, only the second time the project had been publicly introduced.  There was a great deal of interest in it by many who stayed afterwards to talk with Jay and Steve for quite some time.

                         

I had visits with some old friends while there.  A nice afternoon visit with Carol Wilson Gonzalez at her house on Pennsylvania Avenue.  The feel of it is much the same as it has been for the years you remember in our homeschooling days.  On Saturday at lunch time I went over the the Home to have lunch with Rachel, Jean Hemphill, and John Mark, who is the brother of Grammy's best friend from high school.  He is 94!  That was a very pleasant time.  I also saw Aunt Maureen Wright, though only briefly as that was when Eden called to say the furnace at home was not working (We'd run out of oil AGAIN!).  So we went to work on resolving that.

Rachel is pictured here with a photograph that Steve gave to the home of the Point at sunset.

On Sunday morning we were able to have breakfast with these dear folks!  Of course, they were having a very busy Jubilee with students and daughters and their boyfriends, but we had a good visit together.  The continuity of relationships is one of the precious things about going to Jubilee.

On Monday I had a call from the office saying I had a delivery of flowers.  Naturally, I was surprised and not sure what or who.  But here they are.  They were to have been delivered on Friday for Valentine's Day, but since that was a snow day, there could be no delivery.

                                

And here was the note accompanying them.  So sweet!  I'm sure she meant to say, "...one of your favorite daughters!"  In any case, it made my day!

Then, surprisingly, I had a call the next day--Tuesday--from the office again saying that they didn't know what was going on, but I had another delivery of flowers.  Lo and behold, it was the very same bouquet with the very same note.  Evidently, the florist folks were not sure I had gotten the original bouquet.   So, as I told Jessica, "One for school and one for home!"  They are both still beautiful!