4-30-10

Today we drove to Carmel, Indiana to see my sister and her husband. They are moving there in June and this is the house they bought. We were able to witness the deal go through- and take a tour of the house. So exciting! She will only be a three hour drive from me.

The town of Carmel is really nice. Very artsy, nice restaurants, and fresh policemen. Below is a photo of me and Stae. Don't we look alike?

Very friendly people live there... they don't even mind sharing the morning paper with you up close and personal.

This evening we went to see the movie, Date Night with Stae and her husband. It was hilarious! A fun date night for the four of us. Probably the first time we've done that since the kids started coming 24 years ago.

4-29-10

Last class of the semester. I liked this group of students and I think they liked me too. I'm looking forward to teaching middle-level science ed majors in the fall, but I've really taken a liking to teaching and motivating these elementary ed majors who just three months ago didn't like science, didn't want to teach it, didn't know how to teach it. Today they presented their interdisciplinary unit. Here is one presentation:

My dragon carrot seeds have germinated and sprouted in the garden! Photos to follow.

4-28-10

I have no idea what this flower is. The greenery lasted all winter and I really wondered what it would be. Isn't it lovely?

Well, the Squirt has a job. He's been going all week now- yes, he's a Census Enumerator. This is his black bag full of secret documents I'm not allowed to see.

And Aza is almost a college graduate. We received her announcement in the mail this week, and I might add, a very fine announcement it was. What a scholar she is! She starts graduate school two weeks after graduation. So much for a summer break... We will watch her graduate on May 8th...

As for me, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I had lunch today with a new friend from church and it was so nice. She was a transplant from Virginia herself at one time, and she kept reassuring me that it takes a good year or two to adjust to a new job/town/state/etc... We had lunch at an African restaurant and this evening I tried to recreate my wonderful lunch--- pretty darned successfully. I will most likely be a regular at that place.

I'm looking forward to seeing my sister Stae this weekend. She and her family are moving to Indiana, about 3.5 hours north of here.

4-27-10

It rained and it rained today. I ended up going to school anyway with my umbrella. Rode the bus both ways... worked on random stuff. I'm not being very productive. I'm not a happy camper. Happiness is positively correlated with productivity. I would have been happier today if LOST was actually on TV tonight.

The top and bottom flowers are Columbine. The red bud is a peony about to burst open. I don't know what the purple bell-shaped flowers are.

4-26-10

This is growing in my yard. I know what it is, but the Squirt sure didn't and he was suspicious!!!
Monday. I worked from home today. I was lonely...

4-25-10

Sunday. Dan left for his trip east. I don't like it when he's gone...
I think the things on top are what the wood poppies turned into. I have no idea what the purple flowers on the bottom are.

4-25-10

April 2 ...........April 11 .......... April 25 ....

When I dig out the bag from the smelly wet decaying WARM compost, I find that the bag is in great shape. No decomposition at all.

In other news, I graded papers today, played with Lego solar cars, and ate leftover fudge sauce from last night's dinner. Dan went to C'ville for meetings so I'm home with the Squirt and Frisbee trying to hold down the fort.

4-24-10

 

This morning was really difficult but the afternoon got better. We decided to invite some friends over for dinner and I spent the afternoon cooking what I thought would be a replica of what I had for dinner last night at Jean Farris Winery and Bistro. I had the sea scallops and they were SO good I just had to try and replicate the experience. Not...even...close. Oh well, we enjoyed our company then settled in for a tornado watch and thunderstorm/flood warning. Photo courtesy of Dan.

4-22-10

 

 

Thursday. Earth Day. I had lunch with some friends then Dan picked me up and we went to Keeneland to see the races. Only stayed an hour or so. I really don't like crowds. We watched the movie, The Lovely Bones, tonight and it was terrible. The book was so good and it was a shame to see it hacked to pieces and rearranged into some funky wierdo thing.

4-21-10

 

 

 

Wednesday. I've had bad headaches all week. Today I finally took a Maxalt to wipe it out. Managed to photo some of the garden this evening.

4-18-10

 

 

 

 

Sunday. Went to Farmers' Market. Framed my friend's painting and hung it in the den. Took pictures of flowers in garden. That's about all I remember.

4-17-10

 

 

 

I did it. It took nearly all day (actually it took two years but who's counting!), but I framed my Rodrigue print. I found the perfect frame in an "as is" section of a frame store (it has a slight defect). It's gold leaf, very very nice. I got the part to fix my mat cutter a couple weeks ago, and got new blades. This morning I ordered the glass and picked it up around noon. I'd purchased the acid-free archival-quality mat board last weekend so I was all set to go. "Measure twice, cut once." It came out beautifully! Many thanks once again to the American-Mexican musician/professor who made all this possible.

This evening I celebrated after dinner by crawling in bed with a book and a Dove Bar (thanks to Squirt and his trip to Kroger). What a treat. I'm reading "The Help", a gift from Aza.

4-16-10

 

A day of meetings. 9am meeting to discuss my paper. 10am meeting to discuss stuff while other faculty meet with the dean. 11am lunch meeting to discuss what was discussed with the 10am meeting with the dean. 1pm meeting with other faculty with whom I'm conducting a workshop in May. 2pm meeting to finish up proposal. Finished by 4, home by 4:30, asleep shortly afterwards.

This photo is of my Rodrigue print and the frame I found for it. This weekend I'll order the glass, cut the mat, and assemble the whole thing. Hopefully by Sunday night you'll see a photo of it hanging on the wall! Dan was going to make me a frame from a piece of molding my neighbor gave us, and he even bought a clamping system for framing, but then I found this one and it's perfect.

4-15-10

 

 

 

 

Today was pretty amazing. I got up early and went into work to get set up for class. We had a special guest coming, and I was so nervous about my lesson and the guest. The guest was the president of the university and he just simply walked in my classroom at 10:30am. It was just simply amazing. He spoke with our students for about an hour. What a gift! I came home later that afternoon pretty exhausted and saw a beautiful sunset. As the sun was going down the light on the corner was stunning so I captured it in this photo. Also I photographed one of the many Jack in the Pulpits in my yard, a mystery flower that might be a Lily of the Valley? and an updated photo of our fig tree.

4-14-10

 

For those of you who are wondering what Frisbee is up to, he's having a good time running in the Arboretum, watching out the front door for when our car comes home then running around to the back door to greet us, sleeping in his sisters' beds, living the good dog's life.

Today I made my last observation of the semester- it felt good to be done with that part of my job. Went to the doctor to have a couple things checked out. Worked on planning for my lesson tomorrow. I still have to go to the store to buy Neodymium magnets, light bulbs for dissecting, and some brass wire for making motors.

4-13-10

Polyploid strawberry so big I couldn't bear to cut into it. I got my seeds from Seed Savers today and I've never had a garden that I actually started myself from seed- I've either inherited fully grown plants or bought plants from a nursery. Let's see if I can grow Dragon Carrots, Wisconson Lakes Peppers, Thai basil and Climbing French Beans!

Today I spent most of the day in meetings. Had a productive morning working on preparing for my class Thursday. The President of the university is coming to my class so I'm working extra hard to make it a great one!

4-12-10

I framed some things this weekend- my first watercolor in Kentucky and a print I bought about six years ago in Door County, Wisconsin. What did I frame the sailboats in? A door! Dan and I went to a place called Cowgirl Attic on Friday and I bought a little door with glass then used it as a frame.

The garden is still full of surprises. Dogwoods blooming, more bulbs popping up, it's pure entertainment to go outside each evening with my camera to see what is showing off.

Today I observed a student teacher then came home and slept most of the afternoon. Talked with my sister which was nice, and my Mom later on, which was nice too. My church had a dinner thing at a local pizza restaurant so I went with Dan and Squirt and it was nice to see my new friends there.

I miss my old friends. I made this break from Virginia and the memories of painful events there, but as the painful memories fade I realize how much I miss my old friends. So if you're an old friend from Virginia reading this, I miss you. And if I haven't spoken to you or called you or emailed you much, it's because of a lot of emotional crap I've had to deal with and pass through as I root myself somewhere new. We are coming back for Aza's graduation on May 8th so hopefully I'll see some of you then.

4-11-10

April 2nd............................................. April 11th
Buried under a deep layer of leaves, garden debris and kitchen scraps the 100% compostable SunChips bag still looks pretty good after 10 days. We will keep track of its progress (or lack therof) in becoming soil. Things take time to decompose and transform.

4-10-10

 

Saturday. This photo is for Jes who, as a child, had quite an affection for bunnies. No papers to grade today, I had a wonderful time just hanging around.

4-9-10

Spent the evening in Frankfort. First dinner, then a stroll around town, then we went to the Grand Theatre to hear the Clack Mountain String Band and Kentucky Wild Horse. The fiddle player in KWH is simply amazing. Here is a view of the river. I love rivers.

4-8-10

 

 

 

 

I'm a coffee drinker again and loving it. My class went wonderful today. I had the best time and my students learned so much. The theme was energy and the 64 million dollar question was, how does coal become electricity?

Here are some pictures of 1)a fern unfolding 2) a mystery blue flower and 3) the fig tree budding. The last picture is of the cabinet Dan installed today. It replaces a mini-fridge that was built in there. Now the fridge is in the studio and we have another cabinet. Hardware to follow.

4-7-10

Woke up and drank coffee. Picture me mid-morning happy and pain free. What was I thinking? Worked until 6:30 at school, then graded papers until very late at night. Looking forward to my class tomorrow.

4-6-10

 

Tuesday. I had a grant meeting this afternoon and on the way back to the office I stopped and got an iced tea from Starbucks (to treat the lingering bad headache) then toured the solar house on UK's campus.

This evening I was so happy to be watching LOST. It was a wonderful episode! The best! Afterward I went to bed early to try and fight off the headache. Not getting much grading done today...