We had a very relaxing 4th of July weekend.  On Friday, Jim and I went to a nearby caverns called Dixie Caverns - we have lived here 14 years and we hadn't ever been there! 

Here is Jim walking up to the door with our tour group -

                                   

Here are a few pictures.  I didn't get very good ones inside the caverns -

                                   

                                   

                                   

But you all know what caverns look like.  And it is dark, wet, chilly, and slippery down there, and it has a millions steps!  But it was nice to see it.  We followed that up with a trip to Walmart and then lunch.

Every year our town has a Fair - rides and all - and an room of exhibits where anyone can submit things to be judged.  There are things in every catagory possible and for every age group.  In the past, when my girls were younger, we submitted several knitted and crocheted items, plants, food, etc.  We haven't done that in years, but every year I like to go see what all is there, what items won prizes, and who that we know put things in.  So, on Saturday afternoon, Jim and Betsy and I went over to the Salem Fair - just to the exhibit room.  I took some pictures of exhibits submitted by several people we know, young and old!

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

Otherwise, we were all very lazy and spent the rest of the day reading, napping, watching TV, and for me, working on an applique quilt - oh, I did go to the nursing home to see my mother.  And we cooked on the grill and ate on our porch, as we have been having very mild temperatures this weekend.  We could see fireworks from our windows, so we didn't even go downtown to the big fireworks display!    What a wonderfully lazy day! 

Today we went to church - Jim teaches one of the adult Sunday school classes sometimes, so that was first, then the worship service which, as I have mentioned before, I interpret from my pew for practice, and in the afternoon, I went, as I often do, to the Roanoke Deaf Fellowship, a Deaf church with a Deaf pastor.

That was my weekend!  I have some time to work some more on my applique now. . .
                                    

Last week I drove to Orlando, Florida, with Betsy and one of my sign language study group friends, Gina, for the "World's Largest Silent Weekend."  There were over 600 people there, and it was my 3rd year to attend.  It is wonderful!  It was held at a hotel in Orlando.

This was the first year I went to the advanced classes!  They have classes for every level from a novice signer - one who knows no sign at all - through beginner, intermediate, and then advanced.  Sign language interpreters can earn CEUs for the classes - maybe someday that will be me!

The conference begins on a Thursday night with a large meeting, where we meet the teachers, hear the schedule, etc.  There are so many choices of classes to go to all weekend that it can be confusing.  There are over 100 different classes to choose from!  Then, at the end of that meeting, the silent weekend begins, and we are suppose to remain "voice-off", using only sign language everywhere we go, including our hotel room, shopping, restaurants - everywhere!  We actually started our own "voice off" as soon as we left home.  We did, however, allow ourselves to talk in the car - Gina and I aren't good enough at sign language skills to drive, sign, and pay attention to the other person's signing at the same time!

I took several classes - most of the ones I took were 2 or 3 hour classes, so I didn't get a lot of different ones in.

Here are the ones I went to:

Introduction to Legal Interpreting - not that I want to do legal interpreting, but much of it does come up in other interpreting situations, and I think it is a fascinating area of interpreting.
City, State, and Country Signs - many, many US cities, and most of the states have their own signs for their names and are not just fingerspelled, and so many countries have signs for their name. 
Theatrical Interpreting
Developing Receptive Skills
Trilingual Interpreting
Religious Songs

Also, I went to 2 different ASL storytelling shows that were lots of fun and very interesting!  Many of the teachers and the storytellers are Deaf themselves.

Some of the other classes offered for the different levels included fingerspelling, numbers, ASL idioms, Deaf culture, ethical situations in interpreting, and quite a few classes on religious signs and interpreting.  Many classes are repeated year after year, so I have taken some of the others in the past.

It was a wonderful weekend!  We did very well remaining "voice off."  Sometimes, Gina and I would forget and we would need to remind each other.  It can be quite a struggle to think of what you want to say, then think of how to sign it, and then actually sign it correctly!  I bought a few DVDs of some of the things I want to continue to work on.

One night there was a show called, "ASL Idol" where the audience can compete in several storytelling situations, using ASL features, and it is all improv.  So, there are stories using alphabet handshapes, number handshapes, classifiers, personification, and more.  Betsy was in it, and she won a prize for her story!

The whole experience is very worthwhile and a lot of fun, and every year I have come home with my skills having improved.  The classes are all taught in sign language, so I am working on my receptive skills the whole time I am there.

For anyone reading this who is interested in this Silent Weekend next year, the website is www.drsign.com.  And for my local sign language and interpreter friends, there is a reduced group rate and reduced rates for registering early, so do let me know if you are interested!

Oh, well, the dog I posted pictures of will not be ours - the woman who has him wants him to be able to run loose, and we don't have a place for him to do that.  She just lets him out to run free and then he comes back, but we aren't able to do that here - especially not with a dog that isn't ours for 30 days.  There are some dog parks in the area, but not where Betsy could take him every day when she is working.

So, that woman, as well as the woman who is the trainer we are working with, will keep looking for another dog.  If the Lord has a hearing dog in His plan for Betsy, I am confident He will show us the right one!