2-26-10

Rough night of non-sleep, light came in the window early- and bright- from all the snow reflecting it outside. Above is the view from Jes's front door. Snow up to the railing. Below is a view of her back yard- a snow filled container surrounding by the tops of a fence.

The icecycles coming off the roof of her house are monumental. And they break off during the day with a crash while one is napping.

This is where I hung out all day recovering from my epic voyage yesterday. Dan and Jes went skiing while I curled up on the couch trying to stay warm with a cat on my lap and a wood stove blazing, reading Discover magazine. I could have taken a walk into town but recovering from an epic voyage also meant tending to a very bad headache.

Once the sun went down, and Dan was home, we walked to where Jes works and got a grande tour. She is doing some fun stuff with these kids. They are lucky to have her. Ironically she works with a young woman who 1)also went to UVA 2)lived in the same dorm as Jes three doors down 3) double majored in the same exact fields 4)four years before Jess. Wild. Also, her roommate is her best friend from the 4th grade who also made her way to Colorado from Virginia after college.

We went to dinner at the Cottonwood Grill or Inn or something like that and had a wonderful time. I wish so much that Jes could be part of our lives on a more regular basis. It sucks having her so far away.

2-25-10

Today was one of those traveling days from hell. I left Lexington around 7am this morning and by the time I got to Jess's house in Steamboat Springs, Colorado 20 hours later I probably could have been in New Zealand. Traveling in the wintertime is just so unpredictable. I should have known that a connection in Detroit was a baaaad idea. I'm thankful I made it at last, but am not looking forward to the return trip on Tuesday. Here are the key highlights of the day as I wished I'd flown US Air instead of using my frequent flyer points on Delta:
*waking up to see snow. again. in Kentucky....
*sitting on the runway for an hour waiting to be de-iced in Lexington
*landing in Detroit just as my flight to Denver was taking off without me
*having to scan my boarding pass for an alternate plan and seeing that the alternate plan meant a trip to Atlanta
*flying first class from Detroit to Atlanta and getting served treats from a basket
*having to pay $50 for an earlier flight from Atlanta to Denver
*missing every phone call to and from Dan while he was traveling from Lexington to Denver via Charlotte on a USAir free ticket.
*Landing in Denver then RUNNING through the airport to try and catch the 3pm shuttle to Steamboat and missing it
*Sitting in a corridor near an electric outlet to charge my iPhone in Denver for 3 hours (see photo above)
*crammed on a bus with 10 passengers on what should have been a 3 hour trip to Steamboat, but was a 5.5 hour trip through a snowstorm
*pulling up to my daughter's house and seeing her wave at me through the window and my husband come out to greet me. Priceless.

2-24-10

For the past two days I have been observing student teachers in high schools around the county. Today after a long day at one school I drove to my office to pick up my computer for our trip tomorrow. It was snowing and I tried to capture that with my iPhone camera... to no avail. Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early (actually it won't be bright yet- it will be prior to dawn) for Colorado to visit Jes! Squirt will be holding down the fort, working, and taking care of Frisbee. Look for very snowy pictures to come!

2-22-10

Mom, what are you taking my picture for? Come on! I'm just cooking dinner- what's the big deal?

Thank you Squirt. He cleaned up too.

2-21-10

The snow is melting and the snowdrops are in bloom. Today I went to church and enjoyed myself thoroughly, came home and had fresh bread with avocado on it... then went shopping for some new clothes. Cooked dinner, did some work, and made plans for the week. I checked out a book from the library and look forward to reading it in bed tonight.

Found this beetle in the leaf litter and thought I'd bring out his stunning color by making the surroundings black and white. He was really a beautiful beetle!

2-20-10

Went to E-day today and waited 15 minutes for this Rube Goldberg contraption to go off before I gave up and attended a luncheon.

Came home from luncheon to find Dan's bread dough had risen up and out of the mixing bowl and down the sides. What a hoot! Well, it baked up fine and we had it for dinner. A rustic potato bread with rye, caraway, and mashed potatoes. Warm with butter....mmmmm....

I had a migraine today and after treating it, fell asleep. Woke up depressed- think it was the effects of seretonin depletion. I don't know, but it was a horrid thing to feel. I just sat there and cried for no reasons at all. What a terrible way to live, even for a short time. It lasted a few hours then melted away after a warm bath.

Happy birthday, Mom! 76 sure looks good on you. I wish I could have driven down to visit today.

2-19-10

I don't look like this. At least I'd better not. Someone was taking photos today during our conference at the university and even though the camera looked decent, the individual did not know how to operate the machinery. The flash was pointed incorrectly. The aim and focus were off in most of the photos. This one of me is just horrid. It has been posted on a website and I'm horrified. At least here it's anonymous! Next year at this particular conference I'll be the one taking photos! I look like an alien growing out of a red head's brain! Photoshop my butt off and it will be hilarious! Anyway, the conference was great.

2-16-10

Left for school early in the snow this morning. Came home to a sweet Valentine card from a special little girl wearing a chicken apron! Watched Lost tonight- highlight of the day. That and the Valentine card :)

2-15-10

Decided to bring my camera with me on my trek to school this morning. Leaving the house...

Entering the arboretum...

Arriving at the bus stop on Limestone, I see a snow thing across the street.

I walk to my building and work all day only to reverse and repeat the journey at 5pm in more blowing snow...

2-14-10

Happy Valentine's Day! In the absence of Gearhart's Chocolates, Dan got me the next best thing- Old Kentucky Derby Mints. Mmmmm.... we enjoyed them so after dinner. It's supposed to snow 8 inches tonight in which case all my many meetings scheduled for tomorrow would be postponed, but I doubt it will happen. I'd better "do my homework" anyway just in case, as I used to tell my kids.

2-13-10

Happy Birthday Squirt! I can't believe my baby is 19 years old. We had a little "afternoon tea party" with Squirt and our neighbors where we served homemade breads, cucumber spread, homemade cinnamon buns, mint tea and Earl Grey tea. A good time was had by all... evening spent watching the Olympics. I can't believe they are having to keep the snow from melting in Canada with tubes of dry ice. Freaky freaky weather. Yesterday 49 states had snow- now that's a satellite image I'd like to see.

2-12-10

The College Snowperson. After my morning breakfast writing group, I had a luncheon at school. After the lunch I was walking back to my office when I spied two employees making a little snowperson outside Dickey Hall. Couldn't resist taking an iPhone picture of the blind dude.

Tonight Dan took me out to dinner to celebrate the successful submission of a 1.2 million dollar grant proposal I've been working on for about a year and a half. Unfortunately, we decided to try a local German restaurant and it was not good. I spent the rest of the evening in bed, but managed to get up to watch most of the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. Gave up around midnight when the flame had still not been lit. Argh!

2-11-10

Walking home from school/work as the sun is setting, I find warm baked bread waiting for me. This is Dan's rye bread.

2-9-10

I haven't seen the ground in days. This evening I took some freaky photos from inside the house while holding the camera still against the window panes. In the lower picture you can see the reflection from the kitchen and my husband's head. Strange. The snow closed down the public schools so I didn't get to do the student teacher observation I had planned. Annoying. Instead I worked on grant writing.

2-8-10

Aza sent me a picture of the huge icesicles outside her apartment window so I took this photo to show her our tiny ones. While she and the rest of Virginia have been buried in multiple feet of snow, we have had mere inches. Today Squirt started his new internship at the university. He had a good day and I'm hopeful that he will get a lot out of his experience. Meanwhile I went to observe a new student teacher and got lost and missed the class. Bummer.

2-7-10

Today I painted and graded papers. Top photo courtesy of Dan. We painted the den, laundry area, and mud room. One color is Powell Buff and the other is Library Pewter.

You can see below that one wall is pewter and the other walls are Powell Buff. It's the same in the laundry area and back entrance/mud room.

Tonight while we are at a Super Bowl party, Squirt (above) is going to paint the rafters in the den Library Pewter. Photos to follow....

2-6-10

The little house next to ours went on the market today. It is so tiny- only 1100 sq. ft. and they want $239,900 for it. Crazy. Well at least that will keep prospective buyers away until the price comes down. It would make a nice little cottage for our "Plantation." Jes, wanna move to town and live next door? Aza? Mom???? Miss March???

2-5-10

Friday. My day starts early and wet and gloomy. I have an 8am meeting with people from the college of ed and the college of engineering. A good group- lots of synergistic ideas. Cry off and own at work at times, worried about Squirt, feeling depression sneaking in my brain. He has come down with a cold of some sort and didn't eat his dinner last night. I think maybe he feels too sick to run away this weekend and am relieved..

Had a meeting with colleagues- January, March, Mags, and the WIC (Woman in Charge) and got a pink heart cookie from January. They are all so sweet to me. They invite me and Dan out for dinner. We go. Squirt calls me while I'm waiting for my burger... he has been offered an internship at the college of ed and accepts the offer. He starts Monday. Something about video games for high school kids to get them motivated to learn. I'm not sure but it sounds like something wonderful to me. I eat a Dove Bar for dessert. It doesn't get much better than this.

2-3-10

Wednesday. Not a happy day. Squirt seems to have given up looking for a job. He is thinking he will leave this weekend for an extended stay in the wilderness. I am very very very sad and worried about him and just want him to be happy so much. I love him SO much. It's so hard being a parent to an adult child who is struggling to find his way in the world. He has to find his own way. I have to let him.