6-28-14

Eufaula, Alabama. Today we went to this sleepy southern town about an hour south of Auburn to see the old homes. This one was very elaborate inside. We went up in the cupola and looked out over the countryside. This house is owned by the state.

 We hoped to buy some peanuts from this company but didn't run into any.

This is the Shorter Mansion. It was pretty cool too. It had a museum upstairs with a stuffed Bengal Tiger. I created a Tiger Selfie.

6-27-14

Montgomery again today. This is my grad student getting some sugar and napkins for our lunch. We are finishing up our data collection. I had a good day and am glad it's Friday. It was a hard week because I had some unexpected and unexplained depression that impacted my productivity.

6-25-14

Doug came over today to measure our windows. He is going to make us some stained glass panes for our transoms and maybe even the bathroom windows on either side of the glass block window.

We had lunch with him beforehand. He ate soup. He's doing well, just needs to gain weight.

6-24-14

Roses doing well.

Today I went to Tuskeegee and Montgomery for research.

6-23-14

Birds are coming to the feeder, finally. Today I tried to use my telephoto lens to capture some bird action, but it was hard to keep the birds in focus.

6-22-14

 I took pictures of what had bloomed in my garden. Above, butterfly bush and calla lily, below echinacea.

And check out how healthy and leafy my two gingko trees are! 

Hydrangeas are blooming all over the front yard.

6-18-14

Last day of the conference, last session- I'm knitting with my colleagues in the front row.

We left Indy today. It was an emotionally difficult conference-

I found out last night I didn't get a 1.2M grant I'd applied for. Some social situations were good and others were challenging. I think I reached about 50 people with my research and met some new friends. It was good to get home.

6-17-14

This is the hotel I stayed in. Big blue box on the horizon.

Today I gave a presentation in the morning and set up for a curriculum exchange in the afternoon. It went well. I had 20 people attend my talk, and gave out 21 flyers at the exchange. Not bad.

6-16-14

This morning I had a 7am meeting, then came back to my hotel room around 9am with my breakfast of oatmeal and a banana. From there, I worked until 3pm when I went and got a pizza and salad from CPK, then worked some more until 10pm when I decided to stop. I had NO idea that I had so much work to do on my presentations tomorrow. I'd been putting it off thinking it was a small task, and thank goodness I had the whole entire day to work with data, words, images, and stuff. I did not knit, crochet, get in bed, our so much as touch yarn from 9am until 10pm. 

 I hope it was worth it. 

I hope more than 4 people come to my two presentations tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward to Dan coming back from Milwaukee tomorrow. I miss him.

6-15-14

I was exiting the elevator on the lobby level this morning to meet some fellow knit enthusiasts for a yarn shopping expedition when I saw two sets of very familiar eyes... looking back at me with that same incredulous look, like, "what is she doing here?" Two girls, now grown, who I taught in middle school and have known for 20 years. After much hugging I had to meet up with my friends.

I raided the sale yarn, we had lunch at a place called Pure, and frozen yogurt. It was a lovely outing and it was so nice to speak Knit-Speak with female mechanical engineers. Very cool.

6-14-14

OK so here's what happened.

Dan helped me get to my workshop with my big bag of stuff. A huge suitcase.

I set up while LGR was doing his workshop, which was well attended.

Then it was my turn.

I had six participants. 

Two left once I introduced myself and passed out my flyer.

I started to get a migraine. 

It got worse.

I have been in bed ever since feeling 7 ways of horrible. 

At least I knitted.

I will never volunteer to do this workshop again. Ever. Never.

6-13-14

View from the hotel room at the conference. We had an uneventful trip- I slept most of the way.

We walked to an area called Fountain Square and visited a yarn shop, a fish and chips restaurant, an art gallery, and a frozen yogurt place. I really liked that part of town.

Walking around town was fun. I'm nervous about my workshop tomorrow. Hope I can pull it off by myself.

6-12-14

Worked all day getting ready for my conference.

Dan ordered pizza for dinner. 

While eating it outside, he spotted this caterpillar on the zinnia.

6-11-14

I got my hair highlighted and cut a bit today.

6-10-14

Sakura and I had lunch today with Benji, who has been our friend since we were all kids. He loves her, you can tell. They are best friends.

I drove Sakura to the airport and had to stop in LaGrange on the way back to wait on the rain to pass.

6-9-14

There is a mystery plant in our yard. It seems like tea olive, and the flowers have a very mild sweet fragrance.

I spent six hours cooking today. I made homemade corn tortillas, homemade flour tortillas, beef, chicken, caramelized onions, guacamole, a corn relish, popovers with chocolate mousse dipped in handmade caramel, and spanish rice.

6-8-14

Dinner at Mom's is usually fancy. Sta is decorating the crab cakes with fried green tomatoes with a sauce and with sprigs of rosemary.

6-7-14

My sisters Sakura and Sta have been visiting for a few days. Sta brought her friend, a science teacher, with her. We have had dinner together for two nights now at the breakfast room table. Tonight it was a shrimp pasta, caprese salad, and key lime pie for dessert. 

Today I went to the knit store with Sta and her friend. I got enough yarn and a pattern for a sleeveless sweater. I hope it looks OK. It should take me a month or more to make.

6-6-14

I finished my shawlette. Here is Sakura modeling it like The Afghan Girl.

6-5-14

Blooming colors.

Oh how I love to see flowers in my yard. It's just fantastic to finally have this. 

Today I felt great. Worked with a student after lunch, worked on our project all afternoon, went to Kroger, knitted, watched an episode of The Sopranos, and just felt perfect.

6-4-14

We went out to dinner tonight with Gigi and The Economist and my mom... to a BBQ place.

Good times with dear friends. 

6-3-14

Dan and I went to Sam's today and got these two chairs. They are SO comfortable! They recline, have a padded head rest you can move, and have a table with cup holder. So awesome! 

6-2-14

Today I planted impatients and hostas in the flower trough on our patio. I also planted the poor poinsettia since I can't bear to see any living creature suffer and feel left out. See the plants hanging from the wall? They are all succulents. A cactus, a jade plant, and two others I can't think of.

6-1-14

The garden is growing nicely. What a change from last year! See, I'm still keeping the poinsettia alive. 

I planted coleus and impatients in pots out in the side yard. While doing so a couple walked by and said, "Hey Chrissy" to me. I squinted my eyes to see who they were and it was an old high school friend of mine and his wife. They said they LIVE ACROSS THE STREET! Wild. Small town goodness. It's like I added a new friend AND cherished an old one at the same time.

The herbs are being herbaceous and growing like weeds.

Today I did yoga, drank a pot of green tea, ate a banana and lots of walnuts and salads and salmon, cooked a really cool dinner, knitted, put my clothes away, and started my memoir. I started it. Yay. No headache-- it was a good day.

5-31-14

I've been knitting this for some time now. Maybe a week. It's going to be a shawlette... and I think I'm going to like it a lot. I enjoy working with fingering wool but it is time consuming.

Last day of May.

Here are thirteen thoughts...

1. Write a memoir, or at least start one.

2. Taper one day at a time and cope.

3. Relax.

4. Exercise.

5. Start cooking again.

6. Knit.

7. Look forward to the trip to Maine.

8. Transition from black tea to green tea.

9. Have hope.

10. Enjoy the rain. Free water.

11. Organize the clothing and simplify the room... de-clutter life.

12. Add new friends and cherish the old ones.

13. Cope with migraine and remember #9.

5-28-14

The photo shoot was so cool. The photographer came all the way from Pennsylvania to do this, and I had five grad students come. The man took over 300 photos. I can't wait to get some of them! I learned later that I had spaced out and not realized that the man always assigned the two female students with the role of "note taker" on the iPad, and let the male students do the active work of holding devices, etc. That makes me angry, and I can't believe I didn't notice it.

5-27-14

I went to school this morning at 9am to set up for the photo shoot at 11am. After interrupting a class and closing off the divider, and printing these gears and other stuff I realized that the photo shoot was not on this day, but the next day. I stayed for 4 hours getting stuff ready anyway. It felt nice to be at school- to escape in a way from my worries about CJ.