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....

7-25-11

 

We got home at 2am and I pretty much slept and crashed all day. Frisbee enjoyed his gift from Nana.

7-24-11

Driving.... arrived home around 2am....

7-23-11

 

 

 

This day was incredible. I have to write about it later after it all sinks in. What a fabulous day.

They crowned me Homecoming Queen because I brought everyone home. It was so touching.

7-22-11

 

 

 

 

Had friends over for coffee this morning. Brainstormed prizes/awards for Saturday night. Wish I'd taken photos!

Tour of school at 2pm... hot... we all stood on the hill where we used to have pep rallies and Dan took the picture.

Meeting at a restaurant/bar for the evening get-together. What fun! Here's Dan with the husband of some of my best friends from high school. We done good!

7-21-11

 

We drove all day and arrived in Auburn in the evening. Mom had this planter on the floor of her office and I knew right away it was for me. A chicken planter!

7-20-11

 

Tomorrow we leave for my 30 year high school reunion! Tonight I organized all the name tags. Aza helped me assemble them and sort them by first name into envelopes. After over five months of hard work, this is finally happening with 100 people- the exact number I'd set my mind on back when I reserved the museum for the main event. This going to be EPIC!

7-19-11

 

Having Aza at home is so wonderful. In the evenings we might watch TV or a movie together. She will be working on her cross stitch and I will be working on my crochet. Lately we've been watching the first season of Mad Men.

7-18-11

 

I bottled a batch of kombucha today. These are two bottles I purchased last week from IKEA. Makes a nice looking product, eh? Today I was awarded my first NSF grant. I am the principal investigator on a collaborative project with Virginia Tech. We will be working with kids in rural Appalachia to bring innovative STEM curriculum to them. I'm so excited to finally have this grant, and the money to continue my research!

7-17-11

 

 

Figs. We have so many figs growing on the fig tree in the back yard that I'm just going to have to do something other than eat them off the tree this year.

Here is a painting that I framed yesterday. It looks good, but I'm not sure it's in a great place.