12-16-16

Aza is home! Time to start a holiday puzzle... And she brought Zara, who is going to live with us this year until Aza graduates.

Zara says, "What are you looking at. I did not drink that milk you left on the counter..."

12-15-16

The bathroom is officially done, and we moved back onto our bedroom today after 4 months.

It feels good!

And here's a peek at my home office. I'm thinking of re-doing the artwork arrangement, and re-painting.

12-14-16

The bathroom is ALMOST done... just need knobs, and then moving all our stuff back in.

I finished blocking this baby blanket today- a gift for a former student.

12-12-16

Campus is empty this evening after I leave, having worked most of the day meeting students and such.

12-9-16

I'm writing this today. Sometimes I back-date my entries, and have to check the calendar to see what I even did that day. But today is today.

Last night I made cheese straw dough so I could bake them this morning for our department party. I had to bake them all and be there by 10am. I was pretty much on time and it was really fun to just sit and talk and eat and drink coffee with my colleagues. It really was.

Then I graded papers.

Then I came home and Dan was finishing up the tile work. He hung the mirror that we debated about for WEEKS.  We are both really pleased.

We also got the frame for the cabinet in the laundry room and I think it looks awesome.

This weekend I need to finish grading, and we need to go and celebrate our anniversary (Thanks Mom and Dad for the gift that will fund our fancy dinner!), and clean up the rest of the house, and move BACK into our bedroom!!!

Then--- next week---- it's time to get our jingle bells on and get excited about the kids coming home and us ALL BEING TOGETHER.

12-8-16

I was inside the house grading papers (classes are over and I'm buried under so much grading) when I noticed how beautiful this tree was outside. I ran out to take a picture and said hey to my student who was driving by. She had been at my house the night before learning to knit socks for the Penguins kit. Also, another student came by last night for some help with lesson plans. And the heating and air guy fixed the heater. And the tile guys came over to look at the defective tiles they laid. It was a busy day--- yesterday--- but today I just graded papers all day long and here was this tree.
Here is our beautiful fall maple on December 8th.

12-7-16

I finished painting and now Dan is doing the tile backsplash.

Today I went to teach knitting at a school in the country. I got lost on the way--- even though I've been a dozen times or more, and ended up being 30 minutes late. 

12-3-16

It's been raining lately. For almost a week now, it seems, we have gotten rain. It prevented my weekly walk today. I spent all day painting the bathroom.

12-1-16

What color to paint the walls?

We picked White Down, the one on the left. And so, I will paint this weekend.

Today I met with a professor in another department to get some advice. He showed me the faculty dining hall---- had no idea it existed--- and I had a great salad!

11-25-16

We spent the day in Williamsburg and Jamestown.

I got to get reacquainted with my ancestor, Pocahontas.

Jamestown was fascinating--- we hadn't been since all the archeology results were available.

11-24 16

Thanksgiving day.

I made a Paleo dinner:

 A turkey breast stuffed with spinach, mushrooms and onions,

Gravy from turkey broth, schmaltz, and cauliflower (it was delish)

Butternut squash souffles

Roasted sweet potatoes and onions with rosemary

and for dessert--- bread pudding from pumpkin bread I'd made with almond flour.

11-23-16

Woke up-- no migraine-- and we drove to Richmond in time to have lunch with my BFF and her husband. 

53 years of friendship looks like this!

Then we snagged Aza and headed for the river. 

Ah, the quiet-- and the birds and the water--- and it felt good.

Dan and I looking off into the sunset.
(This was staged....)

11-22-16

We drove as far as Smithfield NC today. I had a migraine and collapsed into the hotel bed while Dan ran out for dinner take-out. Hoping this isn't the start of a several day migraine. 

11-21-16

The tile is laid. This photo is not a very good one--- it looks better than this.  Now we will be able to leave tomorrow for Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Aza. We rented a cottage on the York River for three days.

11-20-16

This morning I asked Dan to light a fire and he did :)

It made me very happy and I pulled up the green chair and drank my coffee and did some work at my computer, then when the battery needed recharging, I sat and read by the fire. Such a special feeling and sound and smell... on a Sunday warm and cozy.

It feels restful in my bones for some reason.

Must be my TSH going back up to normal. It's almost time to get it checked to see how normal it might be.

11-19-16

Fast walking this morning in the leaf litter. It felt good to get out and walk with LACA.

Something about this just spoke to me and made me stop as I was crossing the street. I'm not sure what it means just yet, but it seemed poignant. 

I think the last time it rained was the beginning of September and before that, it was July. Seriously. We are in a severe drought. They aren't forecasting any rain all winter, and this is the rainy season for Alabama. Growing up here, all it did was rain all winter. Nope. Not now. See, even the lake in front of the museum is drying up and we have an island forming.

11-17-16

So I'm doing pretty well. I think being on a lower dose of Synthroid for six weeks now has helped with a lot of things. I feel more chill--- sleeping better, just more relaxed in general. It's good. The semester is almost over and that feels good too. I think my teaching evals will be good this semester. I thought this semester was going to be horrible with the way it started, but it's all fine. Here is what's on my needles. A baby blanket for a former student's baby boy due in the spring.

11-16-16

The shampoo area of the shower looks good!

In class tonight I took a hold of the Van de Graaff machine. The students called me Dr. Dandelion.

Lampshades arrived today---- to top off the lamps I made.

11-15-16

The tile guys have started!

This is where the sink and cabinet will be.

11-14-16

This is what I look like 20 pounds lighter than one year ago. Even my boots fit better! 

11-13-16

Super Moon tonight.

I went to a meeting this evening but was only thinking about Squirt because his tracker stopped working and it looked like he fell in a crevasse. But he was OK. He called once he got off the mountain and was back at his car. 

11-12-16

No, I am not here. Squirt is.

This is Mt. Shasta. He sent me this photo before setting off to climb the thing today.

That's the moon rising while he is hiking on frozen icy snow. He gave me access to his phone location so we could keep an eye on him.  You can see below where he camped for the night. We were so very relieved to hear that he had made it to the camp site.

11-11-16

My Nana died on this day when I was 24 in 1987.

I wore a baby blue sweater today to remind me of her--- somehow that color just makes me think of her. That, and yellow. And pink. And the smell of Ponds cold cream. And soft skin. And lemon drops. 

Pink, yellow, and baby blue.

Knitting socks for the penguin kits... I think I'm done doing this. Ready to make some sweaters or such.

Mood has been good lately. I'm still down 20 pounds from a year ago, and quite happy with the results. Shocks in my face still show up, but not every day. Overall face pain is still there, but I can ignore it pretty well. Migraines still show up, but I manage to cope. Work is a combination of fun and boring and stressful, but the joy still outweighs the pain.

I may never get another grant, I may never become a full professor, I may never publish another rigorous research study. If so, I need to put my heart into what brings me the most joy, which is teaching well, designing curriculum, and helping college students reach their potentials.

11-8-16

not that it mattered....

Watching this was a shock beyond shocks.

I don't care whether a R or a D is president.

But I did NOT want DJT to be elected.

11-5-16

I spent the weekend alone-- Dan was hiking in North Georgia with his twin. I stayed busy and did a lot of 3D printing.

But before I figure out the trick to keeping the print job on the platform, this one jumped off in the middle of the night and a huge glob of singed plastic shrouded the print head. 

The trick was in blue painters tape. Cover the platform in it, and then spray it with hair spray.

It worked!

The weekend went quickly by, and Dan was back before I knew it. 

11-4-16

Aza was on PBS NewsHour tonight. You can watch the story here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/videos/#197568
I texted her and she was able to watch it and even found herself a bit.... just a bit.

More importantly, I'm proud of her for several reasons.
First: She did what I told her to do and became a teacher. Like a good daughter.
Secondly: She did what she wanted to do and quit teaching. I'm actually proud of her for that.
Thirdly: She followed a new career path and went back to school, working as a nanny the first year to put herself through, attending full time last year and this year, taking out student loans. She will graduate in May.
Fourthly: She seems to be so happy in this new profession, like she has found her calling. And she volunteers to help poor people (even people in prison) with their health care.

11-1-16

I taught a really good class tonight. I actually got applause when it was over. I worked on the lesson for 5 days and it exhausted me. I was so worried it would go over poorly, and I even had a visitor watch me. Afterwards the visitor said, "You're good at this. Don't quit. Keep doing it." And the students applauded.