12/30: something new
Yesterday's post was about one of my long-time favorite dishes; today's is about a new one: garlic ginger soup with noodles. I have a feeling I'll be making it again before long.
12/29: the last bit
...of pierogi casserole, which has become traditional at the holidays for us. Since I don't follow a set recipe, it evolves each year based on chance and memory, and I think that this year's was the best yet.
12/28: open and not crowded
The walking track. I appreciated being able to do some steps indoors since it was cold-cold-cold outside.
12/26: night(ish) flight
Despite some practical challenges at the airport, Chris took us on a quick spin over Conway after sunset.
12/24: a garland
Chris and I don't really decorate for the holidays, but today we made a garland of dictionary pages and patterned craft papers and hung it across the main room; it looks sweet and celebratory. We even had a few extra bits and made a tiny garland to string across the hallway. We used colors that weren't "Christmas-y," so who knows? Maybe the garlands will stay up well into the new year.
12/23: some
...reading over morning coffee.
...Heron Tree work.
...poems by Robert Lax.
...walking on the ridge.
...listening to I Shall Wear Midnight and The Shepherd's Crown.
...house-cleaning.
...praising the cats and especially snuggling with Tilde.
...cooking and baking.
...hanging out with Chris.
...Heron Tree work.
...poems by Robert Lax.
...walking on the ridge.
...listening to I Shall Wear Midnight and The Shepherd's Crown.
...house-cleaning.
...praising the cats and especially snuggling with Tilde.
...cooking and baking.
...hanging out with Chris.
12/22: pears
My sister & brother-in-law sent us a box of pears for the holiday. We've had some fresh, but tonight we made a pear crumble and topped it with clotted cream.
12/20: thrice
We fed and petted the outdoor cat three times today. He's still not calm enough for us to pick him up and take him to the vet, but there's slow progress.
12/18: at the dock
...for sunset. I used to go almost every day but have fallen out of the habit. Today I went for just 10 minutes, but they were a good 10 minutes.
12/17: tiffany aching
I'm so grateful for Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series--so funny, wise, humane. I think we'd all be better people if we read these books! I'm also really grateful for Stephen Briggs' recordings of the novels. Every time I listen to a bit of one it's a good thing in my day, whether I post about it here or not, and I'm glad that I still have one more to go after I Shall Wear Midnight.
12/15: clearing & organizing
I spent some time last night and this morning tidying the house and organizing some course materials. It was a good pause in grading and helped me clear/refresh my mind for the next rounds of paper-reading.
12/14: non-school week-day
I still have grading and other things to do to wrap this semester up and set myself up for the next one, but I didn't have meetings, classes, or exams today. So Chris and I got up in the middle of the night to watch meteors, I read the NYT Book Review over breakfast, I met a friend for lunch, and I enjoyed an afternoon walk in the sun along the ridge.
12/13: remembering
...to write an email to our new vegan/vegetarian chef on campus to thank her for the great selections she's made available this semester.
12/12: lunch conversation
I had a good lunch-time discussion with two colleagues about Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing. It's the fourth book the three of us have read/discussed together this year, and I'm grateful for their thoughts, perspectives, and reading camaraderie.
12/11: reading
I often do a little grading while I'm proctoring students' final exams, but it can make me (more than usually) self-conscious to be sitting at the front of the class with my marking pen while students are taking a test that will soon be meeting said marking pen. So after a bit of grading during today's Greek exam I decided to read a novel--John Green's new Turtles All the Way Down--on my iPad instead. And it was good to be thinking a bit about metaphor and the body and the self.
12/9: like snow
I woke up early in the morning, hours before sunrise, and outside things were covered with what looked like a heavy dusting of snow. No snowfall was reported, so it must have been thick frost--thicker than any frost I'd ever seen. And it was all but gone an hour later.
12/8: some nice responses
...about two, my most recent pamphlet, and about the Cupid & Psyche dinner last week.
12/7: a soapberry (?) tree
...with its leafless branches and pale berries against the blue twilight sky.
12/6: claiming
...a moment of calm in the afternoon to write a card to one of my aunts and then dropping it into the downtown blue-box before driving home.
12/5: la la la
I recently gave a friend a copy of La La La: A Story of Hope, a picturebook by Kate DiCamillo and Jaime Kim. Today she gave me a pin with "la la la" on it in return.
12/4: at the end of the day
Enjoying writing a recommendation letter while hearing the sky churning outside. (We need rain and I think it's coming!)
12/3: aloft
...with Chris at the helm. We had planned to take an afternoon flight over the Thanksgiving holiday, but both of the planes we use were out of commission. Today one was ready with a new battery.
12/2: three
Eating chili paneer for the first time.
Seeing Emma the Cat's ears prick up when he heard the sound of bells.
Realizing that there wasn't a porch light on: it was the moon.
Seeing Emma the Cat's ears prick up when he heard the sound of bells.
Realizing that there wasn't a porch light on: it was the moon.
12/1: a handful of good things
...giving my Greek students little end-of-semester Pegasus good-luck charms.
...having company for Quiet Writing.
...hosting a sweet dinner/reading of Apuleius' tale of Cupid & Psyche.
...having company for Quiet Writing.
...hosting a sweet dinner/reading of Apuleius' tale of Cupid & Psyche.
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