travelers two - Travelogue

Speedy & happy!

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:05:59 -0400

Freja's becoming a speedy crawler! Right-click (or control-click if you're on a Mac) here to download a great little movie Brita made y

First crawl

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:36:40 -0400

Tummy time

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:58:50 -0400

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Songs for Freja

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:50:43 -0400

I used to sing a lot, when I was younger - my voice has suffered from lack of practice over the years, so I have been a bit self-conscious about singing when other people are around...

Freja, though, seems to call out the song in me, and I find myself singing to her a lot over the course of these early days...

Freja Hélène Poole Johnson

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:17:40 -0400

After ten days spent getting to know her, and trying out a few names that we liked, we've decided on a name for our little one:

She's here!

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:29:34 -0400

Answers to the usual questions:
Born Aug 30 (her due date... what do you expect from Brita's kid?), at OHSU, at 2:08PM.
7 lbs 5.5 oz. (3.33kg)
19.5' long
Some photos here.
Disposition sunny, feisty, eager
Eyes blue, hair color yet to be determined... stay tuned!
Name: Freja Hélène Poole Johnson

Apparently Brita started feeling labor contractions on Friday, and they became increasingly frequent throughout the day Saturday. Not certain it was real labor and not wanting to derail our plans for the day, she said nothing! We went to Wilsonville on an errand, and then to Aurora Salvage for fun, since we were in the neighborhood. We took the slow roads home through farm country, crossing the Willamette on the Canby ferry. It was a gorgeous afternoon.

Two new adventures

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:34:22 -0400

This spring & summer, we've got two new adventures brewing. The greatest is that we're expecting a child, our first, at the end of August. We've all three been healthy and Brita's pregnancy has gone nearly as well as possible, so we count ourselves lucky and we're eager to meet the new baby! Friends & family have generously shared their leftover baby things—and some new ones as well—so we're materially well prepared. We continue to read about birth & parenting, and we've got a great doctor to help with the birth itself up at OHSU.

Brita on a mountain road above Hood River, in the gorge.

Home again, new home

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:29:31 -0500

As you can see, we've not had much need for blogging these past 8 months. Summer was lovely: we attended a couple weddings with family & friends, and visited friends we'd not seen for many years.... and also a few new friends we met in our earlier honeymoon travels.

In September, we moved into our new house and began unpacking. Our new address, by the way, is

Middle age: surprise!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:13:08 -0400

We stopped in Seattle for a quick family visit on our way to Becky & Gary's wedding in Missoula. I rode up from Portland with Beth, while Brita flew in from her fundraiser in SF, and we hung out for a few days. We went for a bike ride, ran errands and made repairs at mom's house, and visited family.

One night we were all supposed to meet for dinner, and someone had the idea to eat at a place on Lake Union. Susanne wrote to say she was flying in from DC that morning, so I invited her to take a walk with me in the late afternoon and then join us all for supper.

Will called while Susanne and I were walking near the arboretum: Brita and mom were stuck in bridge traffic, and the restaurant was closed for a private party... maybe we should meet there anyway and have a drink nearby while we wait for other to arrive? Sure, I'm easy. Better we decide where else to eat in person than trying to do it in a series of 19 cell phone calls.

Janet had read in a magazine that a new bar had opened nearby, on a boat. That sounded like fun, so we decided to try to find it.

Leaving India, heading home

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:41:21 -0400

In some ways, preparing for our next journey feels like many of the other steps we've taken over the last year. We have confirmed our travel arrangements, charted the hours we have left and decided how to spend them, bought some gifts and souvenirs to remind us of our experiences, and enjoyed last-minute explorations and observations. We've packed our bags and made ready for as-comfortable-as-possible travel.

Steamy Varanasi, cool Dharmsala, damp Delhi

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:55:04 -0400

The temperatures in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia were like training camp, preparing us to handle the heat of India - and a good thing, too, since India in late May and early June is about as hot as either of us has ever been...

Almost Tibet

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:15:44 -0400

We're in Dharmsala now, near India's border with Tibet, home to a large population of Tibetan refugees. It's dramatically different here from everywhere else we've been in India. For one we're at about 6000', in the foothills of the Himalayas. The air is cool and clean, the topography spectacular, and for the first time we're in a small town.

Heading north, to newness

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:37:21 -0400

We left Varanasi yesterday afternoon, on a slow train that rocked its way through dry ochre landscapes on its way toward Delhi. We slept well, despite earthquake dreams no doubt inspired by the motion of the train...

My little teacher

Fri, 30 May 2008 09:20:06 -0400

Since I'd studied Sanskrit for a year in college, I thought I might take a crack at learning to read Hindi. The writing system developed for Sanskrit is still in widespread use in India, so at least learning to read signs and menus seemed within reach. I began deciphering any devanagari I could find with English transliteration printed beside it, and I started to remember some of that I'd learned almost 20 years ago at Reed.

On our first day walking along the ghats in Varanasi, we met 10-year-olds Vandana and Anjalie, two of the many children peddling souvenirs to tourists.

Vandana, on the left, and "Pinkie" (Anjalie) beside her

I is for inspiration, and India

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:30:24 -0400

Basket trader on the Poipet-Seim reap highway