...to end 2021. I read some of The Heiress by Molly Greeley, worked on Heron Tree volume 8, and did a virtual bhangra dance New Year's Eve group session with Gurdeep Pandher. The Heiress was recommended by a mail-friend; it was great to revisit the Heron Tree poems from the past year; and after watching Gurdeep Pandher's daily dancing videos throughout the pandemic, I was glad to give bhangra a go myself. He was a really good teacher, and there were at least 250 other people in the Zoom meeting, which makes it the largest New Year's Eve gathering I've ever attended.
12/30: waking up
...pain-free. I am glad to have gotten the booster, but--wow--the muscle pain was hard to take, and I'm glad I didn't have to take it much longer.
12/29: dinner already made
...because I made it yesterday, knowing that there would be leftovers! This was an especially happy thing because the side-effects of the booster rendered me not-so-functional today.
12/28: getting
...my COVID-19 booster this morning. I was waiting until my paper was done so that I wouldn't become worried if it made me feel out of it. I am feeling out of it, but now that my paper's done, it's a kind of luxury rather than source of anxiety.
12/26: getting nice feedback
...from Chris about my paper. It felt good to have the words read by someone other than me, and his encouragement gave me a boost as I got panicky about making the PowerPoint to accompany the talk. I finished the PowerPoint this evening, and I should be set to record the presentation tomorrow! (The conference isn't until January, but the talks are pre-recorded and due this week.)
12/25: picking up
...trash along the ridge. It seemed like a good thing to do this morning, and in an hour I filled a bag.
12/23: early grocering etc.
...because I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep. So I went to the store soon after it opened, and I was grateful to beat the rush that no doubt developed later in the day.
My early start also meant that I took my walk on the ridge at a slightly different time, and I got to see one of my neighbors, who showed me the little waterfall he's constructed on his property.
I cut my morning walk a little short, since I planned to go to the dock later for sunset. I did, and even though the sun wasn't able to push through the cloud cover much, I'm glad I went. Neighbors' holiday lights cheered me as I walked back up the hill in the growing dark.
12/22: remembering
...to take a little detour off the road during my walk in order to smell the winter honeysuckle.
12/21: a handful
...of good things:
Walking in the morning light.
Talking with my neighbor, who praised the photograph on my holiday card.
Beginning to write my conference paper.
Making street tacos with vegan "beef."
Stopping at the lake for some photos after running an errand in town.
Stepping outside during sunset to enjoy the pink clouds.
Hearing the birds peeping as darkness came on.
Calling a friend.
12/20: visiting
...the labyrinth on campus. I haven't walked it in quite awhile! Chris needed to run into his office today while we were in town this afternoon, and that provided the perfect amount of time to do a full circuit in and out along the labyrinth's path.
12/19: realizing
...that I needed to go for a walk today, and enjoying the cold air and warm sun this morning. An hour outside went by very quickly.
12/18: turning in earnest
...to a paper I need to write. I'm nervous that I've waited this long to "dig in," but the semester was busier than I had anticipated. I'm glad I'm working on it now!
12/16: some nice outcomes
...for some students who worked hard this semester. As I was finalizing grades for my courses today, there were times when I burst into smiles or cheers upon seeing the spreadsheet's results.
12/15: reading
...the students' reflections on some word activities we did this semester--noun catalogs, collage remixes, erasures, centos--and feeling glad I gave those exercises a try.
12/14: trying out
...different kinds of questions on the final test for the Myth course. Today I read the students' answers, and the results made me glad that I experimented with some new prompts.
12/13: seeing
...a smile from under a student's face mask when I told them I appreciated their careful work on one of the final assignments for the course. It's been hard all semester to gauge student reactions, but this student seemed to light up, and that was a nice last exchange.
12/11: repair averted
It looked like our dishwasher would need a visit from a repair person, but Chris fixed it!
12/10: grading
...more than I expected today. This is a very welcome thing at this time of year! I still have some full days of grading ahead next week, but they will feel less harried now.
12/9: really liking
...some erasures and noun inventories which my students did. It was a wonderful pleasure to read them this morning.
12/8: taking some notes
...for a paper I need to write soon. I have a lot more to take, but it's good to have gotten a real start.
12/7: at home
...grading exams today for a change. I was far enough along that I was able to take a late afternoon walking break, which was a welcome thing.
12/6: quick
My work laptop needed some attention from IT today, and I was worried that I'd have to relinquish it for longer than would be comfortable. The laptop is so integrated into how I function at school that the prospect of being without it for a day or more made me nervous. But the IT person fixed it in less than an hour--hurray!
12/5: more active
...today than during my doldrums of yesterday. In the morning I worked a little on a pamphlet and went grocering. In the afternoon I made chili and hemmed pants with Chris. In the evening I hemmed some more, baked flaxseed muffins for breakfast this week, and did some work for school and Heron Tree.
12/4: comfort
...from Phineas the Cat. I was in low spirits for much of the day, and Phineas did a lot of cuddling with me, for which I was grateful.
12/2: considering
...the use of the myth of Niobe in a sonnet by Henrietta Cordelia Ray, a narrative poem by William Logan, and a painting by Johnny Floyd.
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