8-5-17

Today we woke late-- Dan made us eggs and sausages. After lunch we went to see Thor's Well, a feature which looks like a hole in the ocean. It was really really cool (below) . Above is a panorama of the view from above. We hiked down to see this feature where the tide comes in and the pool fills with water and then it drains down like a bathtub.

I went to an art gallery while Dan and Squirt did a three hour hike up a mountain. Then I knitted and graded papers. Tomorrow is our last day here and we plan to get up early and go look in the tide pools for critters.

8-4-17

Friday. We hiked the Yachats 804, a trail along the shore. It went through some dense dark woods too. It cut across the highway and up into a botanical gardens with interesting plants and huge trees.

For dinner we went to a fish and chips place. It was misting a bit so we sat outside under a canopy.

I am sleeping SO well with the window open just so I can hear the sound of the surf crashing on the rocks. What a perfect lullaby.

Being with Squirt is so rewarding. 

8-3-17

This morning Dan and I walked to the OSU campus and back, stopping at a Starbucks for a venti iced green tea on the way, and stopping at a yarn store on the way back. It was about a five mile trip. The campus was striking with its huge trees- we saw a giant sequoia, redwoods, cypress trees.

I wore my AU t-shirt, which Dan said was like rubbing salt in a wound but I didn't care.

Squirt got off work and came to our little room and picked us up. We drove 2 hours to the coast and found our little cottage in Yachats. We had dinner at the brewery and I had hemp milk curried falafel and fig kombucha. 

8-2-17

We are staying in a room on the back of this house through Airbnb. I can't describe how hot 106 F is. We went out in the morning and walked around the city some, but had to get back in time to stay cool in our little room.  

After dinner Squirt came over and took us to see where he works. I was very impressed with the interior and especially all the food they stock in the kitchen! 

8-1-17

                      

 We woke at 4am and drove to ATL watching the sun rise.

Then, we flew across the country. It took 15 hours to get from out house to Squirt's house but we did it anyways. Here is a view of Mt. Hood from the plane. Or maybe that was Mt. Ranier. I can't remember.

7-30-17

Nana and Teensie

Today I played piano at church, had a nice visit with a fellow ATN endurer, had a visit from my mom, cooked a really good chicken curry, and generally felt well.

7-29-17

Today is today.

I just caught up on two weeks of posts, but really only remember what the photo reminds me of. My calendar helps. But this blog does its job- it helps me remember my life.

Yesterday a woman came up to me and said, "Christine!" I looked at her blankly. She said her name. Blank look. She tried to remind me how I knew her. Blank look. I apologized. Then I googled her and she is the DIRECTOR of an important center on campus. A very important person whom I've met. My brain is going.

Today I worked on a proposal for a conference and finished it. Whew! 

We went to dinner with one of the ladies that Dan helps through the volunteer organization he works for. We went to dinner in the neighboring town-- here is a photo of it.

7-28-17

I grew these from seeds! Watered them religiously since they are under the eaves... and they are multi-colored and beautiful. I plan to harvest the seeds and grow more next year all around the yard.

Today I was pretty stressed out. I got a new laptop (from work) and had to wipe my old one. In the process, I accidentally deleted Dropbox and had to undelete everything before my 11am meeting. Stayed at work until 4pm or so. 

7-27-17

I made a stick bowl. I took 3.5 pounds of white clay and made a tall cylinder, then stuck a stick in it and pulled it with two hands to the side. It took 30 minutes from set up to clean up. Next week I'll trim it and let it dry. It will shrink, so it will be too small to be a salad bowl, but I'll figure something out. 

Tonight we went to a science pub talk. I had to wear earplugs because the audience of 100 was NOISY and disrespectful to the professor who was speaking about fossils. 

7-26-17

These are my pills. I take too many of them. Morning on the left, night on the right, all to try and treat the pain in my face. As I type this at 8pm I feel it creeping in. The pills help, but they are no cure. I'm not sure I'll ever have a cure-- my trigeminal nerve is damaged somehow, for some reason. Fortunately, it's not debilitating and I've managed to have a full life since it started in February of 2002. 

Kitten picture!

7-25-17

Today was magical and I don't know why or how.

I woke up at 4am and worked for three hours then went for a walk and ended up running most of the way. When I came back, I sat on the porch under the eaves eating figs I'd just picked, watching the rain. This was followed by a fruit salad and a wonderful day.

The following text brought to you by Teensie, who decided to use my computer while I was gone.

eewyœm,69l              v t9ocix467m hk        7wvsrw87e

7-24-17

Today sucked. 

I had to drive to Birmingham and thought I was going for a medical procedure on my face. I left around 10am. The drive up there wasn't too bad, and I found the hospital OK. I got a coffee on the way so I could stay awake. I think it made my face hurt a bit, but it was worth it. So, I saw the doctor and he said I couldn't have the medical procedure for two reasons: 1) I had to have a visit first and he had to order the procedure and then I had to come back again, and 2) he had never done the procedure I wanted before, ever, and had never seen a patient with ATN before. 

So, that sucked, but in a way, I was relieved because I knew it was going to hurt. So, then he ordered this other medical test that the doctor at Duke wanted me to have, and I waited around for 2 hours to see if I could get it done that day, and finally left at 4:20pm so I could get home by supper.

On the way home it rained a bit and I got this photo of a rainbow. See it?

I stopped at the store on the way home to get some cat food. I got home around 6:30pm.

Dan had picked up dinner for us, which I was very grateful for.

7-23-17

I started walking/running again because I can tell I'm losing strength and gaining a few pounds. Since it's really summer here, I've been going early in the morning. See the crepe myrtle in bloom?

Kitten picture!

7-22-17

I went to a potter demo today. This potter teaches at a nearby university and has a show here in town. He demonstrated how to make stick bowls, sphere bowls, and how to make tea bowls "off the hump." It was two hours of mesmerizing watching.

Kitten! 

7-21-17

In case you are tired of kitten pictures, here is one of a little penguin house a little kid built. My students and I provided science and engineering activities every day this month at a summer program. I taught the Baby Penguins activity today.

Oh... kitten picture! 

7-20-17

This is how tiny Teensie is.

I decided to name her Lady Tiffany Gray, AKA Teensie. She loves to snuggle under my chin, but I worry that may become a bad habit.

7-19-17

I was gone most of the day helping with a teacher workshop. I worried about Teensie missing me! It's like I have a little baby. But she is doing great and bonding with her new daddy too. 

7-18-17

Today I got to bring Teensie home with me. The foster dad had to bring her to the Humane Society and I had to fill out paperwork and pay $$ before I could bring her to her forever home. See how little she is? She weighs 1 lb. 12 oz.

7-16-17

Met Teensie, my new future kitten. She is sweet and affectionate and I don't want to put her down. My friend is fostering her from the Humane Society. She was abandoned there at only 4 weeks old. I'm going to adopt her in a couple days.

7-15-17

Today we left Nashville after dropping Jes off at the airport. It took forever to get home. There was rain that had us stalled for quite a while. 

7-14-17

This morning we got up and went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. There I saw THE blue suede shoes. Also some handwritten lyrics by John Prine. I am not a country music fan, but I love me some John Prine and Johnny Cash.

Lyrics to Angel from Montgomery by John Prine

Nashville is indeed music city. You walk down the street and there are musicians everywhere in every restaurant playing and trying to get discovered.

This is our little apartment which still does not have a working lock.

It is decorated in antiques.

7-13-17

 Jes and I showed up at the conference for a full day of sessions, including our own again. The first one was a dud. We looked at each other after an hour and decided to make an excuse and leave.
The one I was really looking forward to didn't happen-- the presenter didn't show. Finally we got to re-present our workshop and we had 12 participants who were highly engaged and really seemed to love it.

The campus of this place was absolutely amazing-- it looked like a miniature UVA.

When it was over we tried to get into The Bluebird Cafe but didn't. So we went to a BBQ restaurant for dinner then to Whole Foods to pick up some frozen dessert.

Came back from the BBQ restaurant and Whole Foods with our frozen almond milk dark chocolate mocha ice cream on a stick things, smelling like BBQ smoke, and our key to the apartment didn't work. Actually, Jes tried so hard to get the door open she actually broke the key into TWO!!

The owner came out and called a locksmith while we sat out back under the gazebo eating up the ice cream bars. Finally the locksmith drilled a hole in the lock and got us inside. The owner gave us a gift certificate for dinner to make up for the inconvenience. We were outside for about an hour.

7-12-17

We did it! We presented a workshop to ~20 teachers (all seats were taken) and it went so well, we were asked to repeat our session tomorrow. I LOVE presenting with my daughter. We make such a great team.