9-28-11

It has been quite a while since I updated my blog. Things are ok, not to worry, but I'm busy with school and home life and a bit overwrought. My computer crashed again, hard drive failure. So, I'm not taking many photos and think I may have lost a couple months worth of pictures. Here are some recents from my iPhone.

Perimenopause is a strange beast. I am changing and do not like it. It worries me. I installed the PostSecret app on my phone and shared my biggest fear right now.

Here is the Squirt climbing out onto the roof. Scared the bejeebers out of me.

I made dough last week for a really cool circuits lab. It's called squishy circuits.

This is a sushi circuit, also called a parallel circuit.

Looking down.

Looking up.

9-18-11

Graded papers all day, picked flowers, cooked dinner.

9-17-11

Guess where I went for dinner? After grading papers all day long...

9-16-11

Squirt and Aza studying calculus together.
Today I graded papers, cooked dinner, watched some TV, talked with the kids... Much more grading to do this weekend. Book chapter awaits my attention too.

9-15-11

The CSA share is getting small. Summer's winding down. Gave an exam today- lots of grading to do this weekend.

9-14-11

Mr. Potato Head and his family. Prior to skinning these beauties and roasting them in the oven, I played with them. Yes, I like to play with my food.

9-12-11

Banana Muffin and Cherry Merry Muffin. I tried to entertain Lex with these today when I babysat her, but she did not go for them. They belonged to Jes and Aza when they were little.

9-11-11

It's my 48th birthday and it was a great day for me. Aza made the family a breakfast of French Toast, watermelon, bacon, and coffee. Squirt made me a pitcher carrot/lemon/ginger juice. The four of us went to see the movie, The Help, and we went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant. I also got my car cleaned out, my kitchen cleaned up, and Jes called for a nice talk. Perfect birthday. I also got my wish (for the most part) which was peace on Earth for a day. I think it was pretty peaceful, considering.

Me at 48.

I wrote this essay for my Facebook page and thought I'd share it here too. It's titled 9-11-2001

I woke up happy. It was my 38th birthday.

I was a teacher at Village School, and since we didn't start the school year until after Labor Day, we were just back in session. There was a Princess Cake from Albemarle Baking in the VS fridge. My children were ages 15, 13, and 10. Jes was in high school, Aza was with me at VS, and Squirt was at the Catholic School. I'd had a wonderful summer vacation with the highlight being a trip to Amelia Island with the extended family for my grandmother's 80th birthday. I was tan, thin, healthy, and content.

My birth father was alive and I still had hopes he would reach out to me.
I'd never had cancer and thought it impossible.
I'd never had a miscarriage, and figured that happened to "other people."
I was in a rock band.
My thyroid was in my neck and my ovaries were intact.
My marriage seemed unshakable.
I loved my job and thought it would always be mine.
My son did not have scoliosis.
I did not take any medications because I had no need for them.
My face did not hurt constantly with trigeminal neuralgia, and I'd never even heard the term.

It seems like everything changed on that day, 9-11-2001. It seems like a snowball of events were set in motion on that horrible day.

For the past 10 years I've been trying to re-claim that summer of 2001 when I was fit, tan, healthy, and content. I've been trying to unroll that snowball of bad luck, bad decisions, bad karma, and evil that had come into the world.

So, it's with great joy that I reflect on the summer of 2011 which was full of joy, reconciliation, peace and balance, health,and family unity. It's with great joy that I celebrate my 48th birthday having passed through the Decade of the Dark Night of the Soul and thrived.

No need to go back to the summer of 2001 because the fall of 2011 is looking even better. And as for those big, healing, family reunions, my grandmother's 90th birthday is next week and the reunion is in Florida. I'll be there. Not-so-tan, not-so-fit, but happy and content.

9-10-11

Squirt and I are growing wheat grass in a clay pot. Wheat grass juice is soooo gooood..

Dan was finally able to get the new piece of wood on the window frame today. It's been raining every day for a week. Next, paint the trim and re-paint the siding.

9-9-11

I got to babysit little Lex today. Such a happy baby!

9-6-11

I made a really good lasagna. Sausage, peppers, spinach, garlic, parsley... and fresh tomatoes.

9-5-11

The studio front, painted, with a very large fig tree in front!

9-4-11

Today I posted some things on Freecycle and Facebook to give away. Found takers, all.

9-3-11

9-1-11

8-31-11

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.