8-28-11

I painted trim around the window on the front of the studio, and around the garage this morning. We picked out a color to paint the doors and will be doing that this week, hopefully.

I love these anemones that are growing in the back. Today I submitted an article to a magazine called Women in Engineering which is published by IEEE. If accepted, it would not be a peer reviewed journal article but hopefully it would count for something.

8-27-11

One of my favorite things about late August is eating figs right off the tree.

Today I painted and weeded. Here is the back door trim that I painted.

8-26-11

Potatoes and tomatoes. My sister wrote a song by that name once... These beauties are from the CSA. I love the um... pregnant female potato! She even has a belly button. I love this photo- had to lie down on the brick sidewalk to get it just right.

Today was my "writing day." I worked on a piece for a magazine called Women in Engineering. So yesterday was my first day of classes this year and it went ok. I need to get into the groove...

8-24-11

I worked all day in my stinking office. So ready to teach tomorrow- I live to teach.
Dan and Aza finished painting the third side of the studio. One side and trim to go.

8-23-11

Met with my grad student who figured out a motor mount with Legos.
My office smells like skunk mold. The custodians sprayed it with a chemical and now it stinks like skunk mold chemical.
Made my first batch of homemade pasta sauce ever tonight and it was the best stuff ever.

8-22-11

Shuttle to Atlanta, flight to Lexington, home in bed with a migraine all afternoon. Eggs for dinner.

8-21-11

I spoke today in the atrium of this building to a group of new students, their families, and faculty. It was fun, and really well received.

8-20-11

Got a manicure and pedicure today. It smudged on the way to the car so I had to have it re- done. Hope this lasts awhile!
Went to visit Miss Cary today in the hospital. Sad to see her on her last leg at 89. People do not age in their spirit.

8-19-11

You know you're home when there's a wedding cake on the kitchen table and it's no big deal.
Love it!

8-18-11

Today I worked on a bit of a blurb for a grant, dealt with some issues regarding my trip to Auburn, picked up the CSA, dealt with a migraine, and chopped up about 20 peppers and blanched and froze them. Chopped up hot peppers too and burned my hands. Had to use Tec-Nu to get the pepper oil off my fingers!

8-16-11

This was the most fun I had all day. We had an all-day-long meeting (which was called a retreat) at Keeneland. OK, the bread pudding was almost as fun as posing with my department like this. Since this is the start of my third year here, this was my third retreat and it was nice to feel so comfortable around everyone.

8-15-11

I woke up at 3:30am and ate a banana, a carrot, some avocado, and peanut butter. Fasting was not fun, juice and all.

Anyway, this is a beauty I saw today on a fig.

Today I worked on my speech for next weekend, ate a BLT for dinner and had ice cream for dessert. So much for health!

8-14-11

Dan cut down a bunch of limbs today that were hanging over the front yard. Now the yard looks more opened up. I wish I had some colorful annuals planted out here. Today is the last day of a three-day juice fast. I'm hungry and weak and not sure this was a good idea.

8-13-11

The last lily of the season.

8-12-11

This is an almond and two halves of a peanut. These little buggers really caused a commotion! We were ready to purchase a new dishwasher because the old one was not working. Water was flooding out, the pump was not working, error codes were flashing... and we were just washing dishes by hand waiting for the Labor Day sales to commence at Lowe's.

But we are a family who fixes things. What we can't fix, we try to Freecycle and I was afraid nobody would want a free broken dishwasher. Dan decided to take a look at the pump. He pulled it out and it seemed to be perfect. I said, "why don't you check the hoses to see if something is in there clogging things up." He said, "that was my next task." So he disconnected all the hoses and guess what he found? Yep! An almond and two halves of a peanut. And based on where they were, even if we had gotten a new dishwasher, these little nuts would have stayed put because we wouldn't have changed that particular hose.

We love fixing things. Washed a load of dishes last night... and it was a lovely sound.

8-11-11

CSA day today! We got celery, chard, tomatoes, green and red and hot peppers, eggplant, a watermelon...

8-9-11

These are called Naked Ladies, or Naked Lilies because they pop up in the middle of nothing with no greenery. The greenery came up in the spring, soaked up all the energy from the sun, then the flowers in August. They smell lovely, and do not close up at night like day lilies. I actually cut these after photographing them because Squirt has to mow the lawn and these are in the way. They will live on in the house for a while...

8-8-11

Penguin ice cube trays from England. They are no longer for sale except on eBay, where I bought 8 of them.

8-7-11

The dishwasher stopped working last week while Dan was gone. I thought I'd fixed it, but it broke again. Today Dan got to work trying to find the problem. We discovered water in the pan and I read about a floating switch. We still don't know how water got in the pan, but suspect something serious is wrong with this 12 year old dishwasher.

Aza went to Ikea yesterday and bought herself a desk. Here she is trying to read the instructions and assemble it. We moved the other twin bed out of her room and up into the attic, and moved the hope chest over to Squirt's studio apartment. What to do with ALL those extra pillows we no longer need???

I've worked all weekend on my syllabi and Blackboard sites getting ready to teach again. I'm finally really looking forward to it, and have some fun changes planned.

8-6-11

Squirt washed all day today and got the addition and the studio all scrubbed and ready to paint. He and I went at the tough patches with bleach late in the day after the power washer was returned. It looks so much better. Dan returns home tonight from a week in Oregon- I will be asleep when he arrives, and it will be really nice to have him back home.

8-5-11

Arum italicum seed pods. Some say it's a really invasive plant- native to England. It grows in some patches of my yard and I don't mind it. beautiful seed pods late summer.

8-4-11

Today I worked on syllabi for my classes and finished one. Big accomplishment! Squirt rented a power washer for the house but it didn't work so he has to take it back tomorrow. And.... I'm trying to whiten my teeth a bit. However, I don't think it will work because I have naturally gray teeth. If it gets the coffee and tea stains off that will be ok. I made a delicious dinner this evening that all enjoyed. Green beans, sweet potato baked fries, stir fried chicken with onion and pepper. All ingredients were from the CSA except the chicken.

8-3-11

Wheat Grass! We juiced about six inches of growth and it was delicious. Today it has nearly grown back... I had a migraine today and spent a bit of time recuperating in bed. Finally got my act together late afternoon.

8-2-11

 

 

 

Yesterday I ordered a juicer and it arrived today. This is for the Squirt, as he is determined to eat more fruits and vegetables through juicing. Tonight he made several blends. First, cantaloupe+cucumber+mint. It was ok. Then he made apple+lemon+ginger+parsley+spinach+celery and it was green and spicy! A bit too much ginger, perhaps.

8-1-11

 

August. I can't believe it's here and the summer is almost over. Today I worked on school stuff, but also crocheted and watched TV with Aza in the evening. I got a whole bunch of home spun wool from Baza's mother who got it from a man who dyes the wool with natural barks and flowers. I balled it up today and crocheted a headband.

7-31-11

 

We need to paint the studio and the back of our house. Which color combination is best? I took a picture of the studio today (center photo) and used the Sherwin Williams website to try out different colors. I need to do the same with the back of the main house too.

7-30-11

 

Dove at the bird bath. We went out to dinner tonight at Masala Indian Restaurant with friends- had a lovely dinner! Afterwards we watched an episode of Mad Men. Excellent show.

7-29-11

 

This is me. I caught a glance of my image in the mirror- no make up- hair just air dried- just me. This was me (click here)when I started this blog... almost 6 years ago. I think I've aged a bit.

7-28-11

 

 

 

 

I love picking up the crop from the CSA each Thursday. Today we got even MORE squash and zucchini and cucumbers and tomatoes. Aza made a delicious salsa with all ingredients from the CSA. Here is the recipe she used: http://southernfood.about.com/od/salsarecipes/r/bl40212k.htm

7-27-11

 

 

 

 

So much has changed in the garden since I was gone. Naked lilies, Brown Eyed Susans, new hostas flowering, and new lilies.

7-26-11

Squirt cut his hair. A lot. He did this himself in Virginia. Hmmm....