9-19-08

My research is going really well. This is the classroom I'm working in. Today we had kids finishing up their designs and testing them in the hot box. Inside each of these little dwellings is a penguin-shaped ice cube. Some designs worked better than others- students will have a chance to re-design next week.

Our yard almost looks like a normal grassy yard, not quite two weeks after the grass was planted. Just look at it growing in, so thick and beautiful. It makes me want to trim it with scissors. But Dan said that was crazy. I still say it isn't. We should be raking the hay out soon.

9-18-08

This is what happens when you get on skis and the rope slips, catching your fingernail in the process. We think Dan might lose his nail. Yikes! Will it grow back? Stay tuned...

9-14-08

Today is Sunday and our grass was planted 6 days ago. Just look at it growing! We had company for dinner tonight, good friends who were introduced here at our dinner table some years ago, set up by our daughter Jes who worked with the man and knew the woman since she was a little girl. They were married six months later, and are still so very happy together. I made chicken etouffee and these sesame green beans. mmmm.

The Browns

9-15-08

This picture was taken this summer after Squirt completed 10 days of rock climbing and backpacking in Montana. I just photoshopped it (got out the red eyes) and cropped it to the right size to submit for his senior yearbook photo. I just love it. Just look at that smile!

9-13-08

Click to zoom in. What do you see? Baby grass! We have baby grass in our yard!

This is my third computer in a month. I have to send the second one back because the monitor was malfunctioning and we couldn't tell if it was the monitor or the video card. After we switched hard drives and set this identical one up, Dan plugged the old monitor into his laptop and it started malfunctioning. So, it was the monitor after all. I hope this is my last desktop for quite a while!

I got a migraine last night/this morning and have had a hard time working today.

9-11-08

Happy Birthday to me! Mom sent me some new chicken items which I will have to photo and add to my Chrissy's Chicken blog. Dan got me my favorite marzipan-covered cake. Squirt and Aza came out to dinner with us, and Jes called from Colorado right when I was thinking of how much I wished she was with us at dinner. Squirt gave me chocolate for a present, wrapped in a unique type of "paper." It was a perfect, wonderful, absolutely great day. 45 is good so far.

9-10-08

The yard is all seeded, front and back. We've had a steady soft rain for a few days so the grass should sprout within a week. I've been working hard on my dissertation. Looking forward to my birthday tomorrow.

9-9-08

We are having our whole yard re-done. Today the workers finished the back and side yards and half the front yard. I can't wait to see how nice it will look when it's all done.
This is the school where I'm doing my dissertation research. I come here every day, sign in and get an orange guest sticker. Then I sit on my butt and write like a mad-woman to capture every single thing I can that goes on in the day. It's fun but tiring.
NEW CONTEST: Which of these soda cans is the coldest? They were in the fridge for 4 days. When they were removed this morning, the teacher wrapped each one up in a different material.
Waxed paper, Wool sock, Paper towel, Aluminum foil, Nothing, Cotton sock.
I know the answer. Come on, guess. I sit here writing and doing research all evening and need some entertaining comments on my blog. Aza, you should know this one.

9-8-08

This teeny picture was taken with my cell phone. I guess I zoomed in too much. I was trying to capture the teal-colored object on the bumper. I was following this minivan on my way to the school where I'm doing research when I spotted this object and knew RIGHT away what it was. It was just perched there. As I passed the van, I could see that it wasn't attached to anything, just riding along.

CONTEST RULES: Comment on this photo and guess what the object is. Come on, don't be shy. Take a wild guess. Beck, if you're reading this, YOU of all people will know. The winner will receive something. I'm not sure what yet.

9-1-08

Today the next door neighbor came over and dug up my rosebush and my lavender bush. This makes my garden now officially empty. Grass should grow here well with all the soil amending I've done. We just want plain old grass here now.
This is the 8-foot high pile of tree debris at the end of the driveway.

I haven't blogged much lately because I've been collecting data all week in a classroom. We took Sunday off and had friends over for dinner. Squirt was sick this week and missed some school. My laptop crashed this week- thankfully my desktop is up and running. I lost all my software because I had to reinstall the operating system. So long SPSS and Starry Night. Lesson learned: Always make backup CDs of software you install.

8-3-08

Today Dan and I worked in the yard all day. We cut down four trees and hauled all the wood and branches into a huge pile. It was sad seeing some of my precious trees turn to wood and die. Unfortunately, it had to be done in order to get grass to grow, keep the house from getting scratched up, and make it pretttier for the market. We pruned back lots of branches in the front and back and side yards, bringing in more sunlight. The people should be coming out to start our new grass soon. Now that we have more sun, perhaps we'll have grass in the front yard instead of red clay.
The purple tree out front, all chopped down.
The front yard without the purple tree or the crepe myrtle.
That sideways leaning tree got the axe too.

8-23-08

The Kaos came over tonight and Squirt did some funny photo editing on my computer. Here the bass player is threating him with a push-up wheel. School started this week for the Squirt and Aza left for school today.

8-21-08

Aza, Sophie and Tom on the poof chair which we donated to a happy family through FreeCycle. If you aren't a member of FreeCycle, go to http://www.freecycle.org/ and find a location near you. Sign up for a daily digest and post items you want and items you want to get rid of. Save the landfills from trash! One person's trash is another's treasure. We found a taker for the Previa seats!

Aza went back to school today. Now it's just me, Dan and Squirt. Oh, and Frisbee and Mittens. I sure wish someone would find Maya so she could come home....

Working hard on the dissertation.

8-19-08

The Previa chairs. I'm trying to give them away on Freecycle. Dan and I spent all weekend Freecycling and we gave away so many things and cleaned up the garage and the workshop in the process. Today I transcribed my first interview for my dissertation. The work is well under way.

8-16-08

Aza left today for NC. Squirt left on Wednesday for Florida. Dan and I had the day to ourselves and we decided to start a garage sale pile. This is only the beginning. Hey kids, if you see something in this pile you must have, speak now or forever hold your peace. Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Sakura! Dan and I went for a very long walk this evening with Frisbee. We saw a deer. The river is all cloudy with green algae. Not a pretty sight. We watched Olympic history this evening on TV. Life is good.

8-15-08

Another family treasure. Papa's chair. Papa built it in the 1950s at his furniture factory in Richmond, Virginia. I sat in it as a child- it was "my chair" when I went to visit my grandparents. I spent hours crying in this chair because I didn't want to leave my grandparents' house after visits. We inherited the chair after my grandparents died, I had it recovered, and it endured cats and a dog and a pack of teenaged kids loving it to death. I found a lady on Freecycle who was looking for a chair for her dog, so I decided to give it away. I took the legs off because it only had three.

My favorite flowers to grow are zinnias. Here's a zinnia I grew from seed. The rest of my garden is overgrown with weeds and a horrid embarassment, but there are flowers.

8-14-08

Frisbee and Sophie in bed together. What a cute couple.
We got home a couple days ago and I ordered a new computer. It came today.
22 inch flatscreen monitor. Windows XP instead of that horrid Vista. I hope this one works out. My desktop photo is of Steamboat Springs, where Jes moved. It's good to be home. We had falafel for dinner the other night and I got a migraine that lasted for two days. I won't be eating that again! This week I'm going to test oranges though.

8-11-08

Dan and Aza left yesterday for home, Jes left for Colorado, and Squirt and I leave tomorrow for home. I spent the day visiting with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law while Squirt was still in Chicago, Jes was on the road, and Dan and Aza were home. I took this "glamour shot" of the minivan as a parting goodbye. Isn't it beautiful (it's showing it's good side)? Such a treasure. Such memories. I should print this out in 8x10 and frame it on the family photo wall. Previa Minivan (we knew you by no other name), you were a good car. We will miss you.

8-10-08

This is the view of the countryside from my in-laws' house. Today Squirt left for Chicago to visit a friend he'd met on his Outward Bound trip. He took the train- and barely made it.

8-9-08

The minivan hobbled to Wisconsin, but could travel no further. The exhaust system was ruined and it sounded like a Harley. Poor minivan. We decided to ship all of Dan's stuff back home and leave the beloved family vehicle behind for life as scrap metal.

8-8-08

Wow- today is 8-8-08. Today the entire family, including the baby, went to the Brewers game-- except me. I stayed back and worked on photos taken just before the game of the entire family and individual photos of family units. They all turned out well. These are some flowers Aza got from her boyfriend. Very pretty. Here are some family pics...