Finally in Korea meeting the babe!!

And so...the day begins! We start the day with the most exciting part. We met Tae. We met with a social worker and his foster family, Mrs. Lee and Mr. Khan for about an hour and a half! Tae is pretty mellow and we asked lots of questions. We both held him and he played on the floor a bit with a few toys. Foster mom told us about all of the things that he liked and didn't like ( one of which is white cats). Hmm...Syd will have to take it easy on him. Foster dad gave us this absolutely enormous picture of him that is similar to a window shade I think. They are so amazingly nice and sweet, I felt so badly that we didn't have our present ready for them because it is still lost on a plane somewhere! After that, foster mom put Tae in the pack and then asked for me to carry him for a bit. We went to a meeting together with Tae and I carried Tae around on the back ( ah boo bah ). Shortly after that, we parted ways and we said goodbye to little Jeong Tae until tommorow. Tommorow we will meet with Dr. Kim at 11:30 and then have lunch with her. After that, we will meet with Mrs. Lee, Mr. Khan and Jeong Tae again. The next day is Christmas!....and they have invited us to go to their church with them! They are even picking us up in town and taking us out there! Mr. Khan works at the church; it is so nice of them. Here are some photos of us and Jeong Tae. Hansi always has the camera meaning that we don't have any of Hansi with Jeong Tae!!! We will tommorow though, I promise. Love to you all!!
Hansi and Margaret and Tae

Thai Yoga Level 4

Finally I attended level 4 Thai Yoga Bodywork w/ Tanya Boigenzahn in Mpls.
Please listen to the attached mantra that I have learned. I can hardly stop listening to it.
I think that you will find it mesmirizing (sp?)
More to follow....

http://www.thaiyogabodywork.com/mahamritunjay.mp3

The Hibbing Cabin

A great couple days at the cabin, the Hibbing Cabin that is. Round Lake in the Chippewa National Forest. We had a great time paddling, sleeping, eating, mountain biking and sitting around on the deck with a beer! We will be back very very soon!

Tribute to C. Blaine Harstad, my dad

Well tommorow is fathers day, and that is a time to honor fathers. My father died on April 19, 2008 and tommorow, just as any other day, we will miss his shining face. We will miss his openness to the world at large and to all faces in all walks of life, his interests truly in all people and his ability to accept in a non judgemental open fashion. We will miss his modest ways and we will miss his ability to make a fool out of himself. My sister, my mom and I are all at the cabin, flying his flags, mowing his lawns, setting up his water volleyball net and all of the other many toys and basically, just trying to do the man justice!!

One final thing that we will miss is the extremely silly gifts that dad gave every year. For example, just this past Christmas I received these absolutely ridiculous masks from him. Now, what in the world does one do with all of these gag gifts? Well, they have made for great many a laugh at gatherings of friends. Truly, the man was a bit nutty but...this is why we love him. Dad, we love you, we miss you and your traditions will go on...

My dad was truly committed to his heritage. On the back of his gravestone was an entire family tree from Norway and Germany until now. There was even an article in the paper about it! To read, click the link listed below: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/18154139.html

Utah Avalanche Training and Yurt Trip

Spent Ten Days in Utah. Avalanche Training and Yurt trip with my sister and husband. Too bad Mike ( Kass' husband ) couldn't come. He had to have surgery on his ACL. What a great time and great weather we had. No avalanches!

The Sauna

Here are some photos of our sauna. If you are really nice to me, I might allow you to come over and get a massage/ sauna. Eventually that will be available but for now, we can do it every once in a while. The idea is this.....come out w/ a friend and go for a ride or hike in Jay Cooke. Take a sauna, have a massage, be served dinner and wine on the patio. I will join for the dinner and wine part. It might cost a little more than coming to the studio. What do you think? If you are game, maybe we can figure something out. We love our sauna!!!

SAUNA!!

The sauna is officially operating. Maiden voyage last weekend. Pictures to follow; it is kind of like having a spa in your backyard! Eucalyptus oil, big cedar benches, living rock in the sauna, ipod tunage piped in, we are in HEAVEN!
Photos coming soon......

What is THAI Healing Alliance?

As taken directly from the Thai Healing Alliance website, Thai Healing Alliance International (THAI) is a non-partisan network of professionals engaged in the study and practice of nuad boran, also known as traditional Thai massage. THAI endorses students, Registered Thai Therapists, teachers and schools around the world that follow basic guidelines of study and practice. Lists of registered therapists, teachers and approved courses are available to the general public, and application forms may be easily downloaded from this web site.

It is good to have a governing factor over Thai Bodywork. As with all professions, it is important in my opinion for consumers to be aware of the quality of work that they are receiving. Minnesota is a state where bodyworkers are not required to be nationallly certified and thus, truly anyone can say that they are qualified at a skill. It is important for you as a consumer to know the quality of work you are receiving. In receiving Thai bodywork, look for members of THAI and in regular massage work, look for therapists with licenses and therapists that either belong to AMTA or ABMP.

White Grass, West Virginia!

We just had an unbelievable time at White Grass backcountry skiing in West Virginia. I would highly recommend it!
For more beta, go to Hansi's website: universalklister.blogspot.com.

Margaret

Happy 2008

New Years Fun.
Some Friends.
Some Skiing
Some Bearskin Lodge
Some Food
Some Sauna, Some Hot Tub
Some Discussion about the meaning of life.
Could it be better than that?

Yoga North Teachings

On Saturday December 8th, I had the opportunity to give a class at Yoga North. Yoga North runs a 200 hour teacher training every year and this year, I was involved in teaching some basics of Thai Bodywork. I feel very honored and blessed to have this experience and I hope to have more! It was great...hopefully the students learned a great deal; I know that I did!

In Memory: Scott Kimmes

I have lost a great friend and loyal client. One of my good friends Scott Kimmes was/ is one of the brothers that died in the tragic accident in Superior on November 1st. He died quickly but very tragically. He was a young man of 40 years and has a loving wife Mary Kimmes. Yesterday Hansi and I built a cairn in memory of him on the top of our rock wall in the back yard. The cairn sits looking over our beautiful rock garden; we bought the rocks from Scott and his company. I usually see Scott every other Monday evening; tommorow night he will not be in my presence and for that I am saddened. I am unsure that I will ever be able to take someone else in "his" time slot. I will take a moment of silence tommorow to recognize him and his giving soul. Thank goodness he has joined his mother and is with his brother Joey in some higher place. Peace to you Scott; you will be remembered here. We love you and will miss you dearly.

Boundary Waters Mice are Wise

After dining on a fine dinner in the pouring rain on Ella Lake in the Boundary Waters last Saturday, I thought I saw a leaf SLOWLY blowing across the rocks. To my dismay, it was a little vermin taking off with a very large piece of coconut white chocolate. This is not the first mouse encounter I have had on canoe expeditions. They are also known to sit on the edge of freshly baked pizza pans and uninvitedly enter into Jeep Cherokees that are waiting in the parking lot for ten days (while you are on a trip) in order that they may nest into lovely Patagonia Down Vests and home-knit wool hats ( made by yours personally ). They are indeed quite classy and wiley characters. If you enter into the wilderness, beware these sneaky ones.

Focus of Thai Yoga Bodywork

Thai Yoga Bodywork has its history and basis in Thailand, obviously, with a fair bit of focus in Ayurvedics and Buddhism. One of the main focuses is to keep the lower body open and flowing so that the Earth Energy may flow through the entire body more freely. Without open hips and legs, we can not have open shoulders and necks. It is used as a part of Traditional Thai Medicine and is one of the primary avenues to health and longevity.

Namaste, Margaret

Thai Yoga Level 3

Moving right along with Thai Yoga Bodywork.
I am honored and delighted to say that I have completed over 145 hours of Thai Yoga Bodywork Training! I have trained initially w/ Jonas Westring and now have the honor of having completed my basic certification w/ Tanya Boigenzahn of Minneapolis. I plan on completing Level 4 with her in a year and hopefully going to Thailand in the interim. This level was a new thing altogether. Lots of additional armwork and energy work. More to follow; I feel very energized about this work; it is a beautiful thing.