4/30: ending the month on a good note

...with a good day.  

I finished some Latin commentaries that were my work-goal for the week. 

I made a cup of lemon-lime black tea for my afternoon cup.  I had run out of it, but got a new shipment in the mail today and quickly made use of it.

I heard from a former student who had been on my mind.

Chris and I played pétanque in the park.

I took my kayak out for a little bit at sunset.  The air was wonderful, and I enjoyed watching the sky and water turn from blue to pink.

I saw some fireflies.

4/29: surprised

...by the Italian arum blooms on my walk this evening:  over 20 of them scattered on the west end of the ridge.  I see the leaves all the time, but this is the first time I can remember seeing blooms, and what a windfall of them!

4/28: the smell of flowers

...in the humid air as I walked in the morning.  And this afternoon I leaned in to sniff a rose.

4/27: a change of pace

Instead of reading and writing for my day's work, I focused on creating a commentary and supporting materials for the passage in Perpetua's diary where she recounts her first dream in prison.  My goal is to use it with students at the end of their first year of Latin.  I enjoyed the mechanical and technical nature of the task.

4/26: the metal balls

...of a pétanque set.  I've wanted to toss them ever since I saw the 1982 film version of Evil Under the Sun, in which one of the characters throws pétanque balls while being interviewed by Poirot.  Chris ordered us a set last week; I probably would have hemmed and hawed and kept dreaming about it in an unfulfilled way.  Today it arrived, and after dinner we did a little tossing.  It was satisfying.

4/25: planting

...herbs with Chris.

4/24: an assortment

I saw (online) an interesting painting of Circe by Charles Hermans, who placed her in a then-contemporary (1881) setting.

I dropped off old prescription medications at the police department for drug take-back day.

I received a postcard from a friend who wrote about a bird coming down her chimney and into her house.

We made rice pancakes for dinner.  I really like them, and we hadn't had them for a long time.

I caught some sunset color while standing on the deck.

And Chris heard a whippoorwill.  He tried to get me so I could hear it too, but I missed it.  I hope to hear it soon!  In the meanwhile, I'm glad he heard it--neither of us heard one last year at all.

4/23: smiling at

...this sentence from Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell:  "There is no word in the English language for a magician's garden two hundred years after the magician is dead."

4/22: finishing & filing

...my abstract.  I asked Chris if I could have the house to myself while I worked, so he generously went to his campus office for the morning and afternoon.  The solitude really helped.

4/21: getting some clarity

...in my thinking about an abstract for a possible conference paper.  The abstract is due on Friday, so the clarity is welcome, and I'm hoping that I've laid some mental groundwork for good writing tomorrow.

4/20: croquet again

...this time with Chris.

4/19: irises

...blooming in the neighborhood.  

4/18: a month later

It had been just over a month since Chris and I walked at Cove Creek, and when we went today there was a new array of blooming things.

4/17: cranberry sauce

...in April!  I'm not sure I'd ever eaten it outside the November/December holiday frame before.  I cooked some up today, and it was lovely.

4/16: watching

... Beyond the Visible, a documentary about Hilma af Klint, with Chris.

4/15: playing croquet

...in the park with a friend.  (We're both vaccinated and we socially distanced; croquet is good for that!)

4/14: an assortment

An uncrowded grocery store.

A voicemail letting me know that some medical tests I had done last week all came back "normal."

A recipe for orange cookies that I tinkered with by adding cinnamon, cardamom, and mini chocolate chips.

A Zoom lecture about Afrofutures in children's literature.

A Zoom dance concert with a piece choreographed by brother-in-law and costumed by my sister.

4/13: the next step for Marcus

Today we dropped Marcus the Dog off for fostering in Little Rock.  It seems like a really great home with other dogs for company and people who love (and are set up for keeping) dogs.  He couldn't stay with us long term, so this is a really good next step.  Still, it was a little sad to let him go.  I'm glad I got to sit with him for the drive to Little Rock.

4/12: on my walk

...one of our neighbors called me into her yard so she could show me all sorts of flowering things.

4/11: a possible lead

...on a foster home for Marcus the Dog.  Fingers crossed.

4/10: repaired

Someone backed into the side of my (parked) car a few weeks ago.  Today I got it back from the repair shop, and I'm so grateful to have it.

4/9: company

...outside this evening:  bats overhead, fireflies twinkling at the edge of the woods, Marcus the dog on our deck, and my friend talking with me on the phone. 

4/8: thinking about writing

I read a chunk of Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg today.  I don't see eye-to-eye with him on a number of topics, but he made some suggestions for writing and revising that I'll look forward to trying in my classes next year.

4/7: the dog Marcus

A Dutch shepherd dog whom Chris has named Marcus followed me home from my walk one day last week.  He was obviously hungry and tired and scared.  Maybe he got lost; maybe his humans abandoned him and he found his way to our neighborhood.  We've been feeding him, and Chris has been contacting places that can help in getting him a new home.  We're not equipped to take him in long-term, but he's a sweet dog and eager to make a connection.  It's been nice to see him become less desperate during his time with us.  Tomorrow he goes to the vet for a check-up!

4/6: typing a list

It was a bit of a destabilizing day with a doctor's appointment and some work-related email.  But my other task today was typing up a big list of Latin vocabulary, and the rote nature of the exercise was welcome. 

4/5: the last bit

...of Irish soda bread which my mother sent us.  I thought we had finished it, but we didn't, so I enjoyed having it as part of my lunch.

4/4: sundaes

...on Easter Sunday.  We made mini banana splits after dinner.

4/3: dogwood day

We visited the dogwoods in our woods this morning, an annual ritual.

4/2: crossing paths

...with a bunny on my walk this evening.  It startled me into a smile. 

4/1: doing

...a quick erasure of the opening of Alfred J. Church's retelling of The Faerie Queene.