12/19: getting
...annual Covid vaccine and flu vaccine shots today. Later than is ideal, but better late than never.
12/17: getting in
...a morning walk and a lunch of fried rice, as well as an afternoon and evening of solid work. I didn't do a very long walk, but it was still good to be out in the air and moving my body. Fried rice is my go-to weekend lunch, but since I was working from home today, I got to make it on a weekday, which felt like a treat. In the afternoon and evening I graded the final Percy Jackson assignments, and that went smoothly and clearly. After I was finished with that, I read the upper-level Latin students' semester reflections: they really liked the narrated PowerPoint assignments as well as our workshop atmosphere. Yes.
12/16: still taking a breather
...from grading. I wrote more cards--to friends as well as to folks on the Angel Card list. I drove a friend to the airport. I did a little grocery shopping. I listened to some of Vita Nostra. I read Emma Southon's chapter on Sulpicia Lepidina in A Rome of One's Own (and I wish I had had everyone in the upper-level Latin class read that particular chapter instead of its being one option among many).
12/14: taking
...my usual weekend walk for the first time in 3 weeks. I had been too ill recently, and I didn't want to risk getting more ill during the end-of-semester push.
12/12: recentering
...myself after a too-centrifugal yesterday. I listened to the beginning Latin students' recordings in the morning; I sorted papers in the early afternoon; I read (an article on Homer & fan fiction, Artforum, and some of A Rome of One's Own) while the Percy Jackson students were doing their final writing sessions; I continued reading this evening; and I wrote some notes to students unselfconsciously, saying good things that I wanted to say and not worrying about it.
And an extra good thing: one of the Percy Jackson students suggested that the class wear pajamas for their final (we call the class PJO for "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," so it would be PJs-for-PJO), and a bunch of them did wear pajama bottoms : ) I didn't, but I brought in my Schleich llama who is named Pajama, and I put Pajama on my desk for them as a good luck mascot.
12/11: acting on an invitation
...to go to a student's senior presentation (in another department) on queer theory & entomology. It was an interesting talk, and I was grateful to step back from my practical tasks and current woes and instead think about someone else's interesting thoughts (plus have some of my own).
12/10: getting more done
...today than I anticipated. I hope it will make tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday more manageable.
12/9: 122
...cards written by students & faculty for The Angel Card Project at today's card-writing session.
12/7: making lists
...for end-of-semester tasks because I was feeling overwhelmed by reminders on post-it notes. Listing items on different sheets--one sheet for each course plus an extra one for non-course related things--calmed me down. And then I did a few items and got to cross them off.
After I posted this, I remembered another good thing--a great thing, in fact--from today: there were at least 15 bluebirds at our birdbaths!
12/6: good thoughts
...about this old semester (a rich conversation in the Percy Jackson class today) and the new one ahead (ideas about how to plan some course components more smoothly).
12/4: handing out
...the little joke cards to students today, and I think that they liked them. This morning I had realized that I should add a quick message in Latin (bona fortuna) for the beginning Latin class and one in Greek (eu genoito, may it turn out well) for the Percy Jackson course. I also got the cards ready for the upper-level Latin class and included gaudeas valeasque (enjoy & be well).
12/3: one at school, one at home
A good thing at school: good conversation in the upper-level Latin class about Emma Southon's project in A Rome of One's Own.
A good thing at home: getting little joke cards with a well-wishing note from me ready to hand out in two of my classes tomorrow. I enjoyed laughing at the jokes and putting the cards into matching colored envelopes.
12/2: finishing
...the last bit of substantial grading I have to do before finals. There will be some little assignments later this week, but for the most part I'm in a grading respite until next week.
12/1: writing
...the first holiday cards of the season--to all the people named Rebecca or Becky on the Angel Card Project list.
11/30: listening
...to my students' narrated PowerPoints with their close readings of some Latin passages of their choice. I asked them to talk about ways in which the forms, arrangements, and sounds of the Latin words themselves were strengthening meaning. The class did a really wonderful job with this assignment, both in making their own presentations and in responding to their classmates. It's a case where technology--both the PowerPoint program and our class space in Teams--could be used to a good pedagogical point.
11/29: delaying
...our usual Thanksgiving dinner--a fruit cobbler--until we were feeling better, and that "until" was today.
11/28: spending most of the day
...designing then printing and folding a pamphlet. I woke up from a medicine-induced nap mid-morning with the idea, and I put it into practice. Given that I was too under-the-weather for our normal Thanksgiving walk and cobbler-baking, this was a nice way to have a holiday break from work. And I'll send the pamphlets along with my holiday cards in the coming weeks.
11/27: stitching
...a very limited edition set of pamphlets for my upper-level Latin class. They did erasures of a Latin passage, and I thought it would be nice to compile them in a semi-formal way.
11/26: the day before
...Thanksgiving break has its own feel on campus. Classes are technically still being held, but a lot of students and professors are already gone. I proctored Latin quizzes, held office hours, and did some (seemingly endless) work. It was quiet, which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed toggling between creative and business-y tasks as well as talking with the students who came by office hours in a more relaxed pre-holiday mode.
11/25: good conversation
...in the Percy Jackson class today about Riordan's uses of Homer's Iliad in The Last Olympian.
11/24: despite
...being sick, having some good things in the day. I designed a birthday card for a dear friend, settling on something I like after several non-successes. I listened to Vita Nostra while doing housework. I made a good ginger dressing (sans recipe) for our salad at dinnertime. I finished grading a round of student writing.
11/20: marinated cucumber
...subs, made in an attempt to replicate ones Chris and I used to get in Riverside, CA, 30 years ago.
11/19: a mirative use
...of the Latin subjunctive. While tracking down possibilities for a particular use of the subjunctive in the text I'm reading with the students, I was delighted to discover the words "mirative" and "mirativity."
11/18: laughing
...at jokes from a box of 150 little joke cards. I got them so that I could give them to students when they needed a smile, but I'll be getting smiles along the way from them too.
11/17: hearing
...the word ululating as I was listening to The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik during my morning walk. On Thursday in Latin class we had the word exululavit, which I had paused on to explain to the students. I'm excited to be able to tell them about the coincidental timing.
11/16: spending
...some "free" money I got from signing up for a new credit card. After charging and paying off a certain amount (which I did before letting any interest accrue), I got $200 in bonus money. Today some of that bonus money paid for another year of Artforum. I'm very behind in reading issues, but I don't want to think about what it would feel like to not get it anymore.
11/15: the patience
...of two cats at this very moment. They know it's time for me to feed them for the evening. Phineas is resting in the cat-bed on a small table next to my chair, and Simon is sitting upright a few feet away, looking at me. They don't want to bother me, though they want to know as soon as I make my move. (And they probably want to remind me to make my move but aren't pressing the point except with their presence.)
11/14: pink
...in the sky as I drove home from campus. Getting to see the beginning of sunset on my drive is some consolation for the shortening days.
11/13: finally
...getting my Real ID. I meant to do it in spring 2020--and then COVID happened. And I've kept meaning to do it. But my driver's license expires next week, so I left the house a little earlier than usual and stopped by the revenue office to combine the license renewal with getting a Real ID. I could have gone into the grace period (one month after expiration), but I'm glad I got it checked off my list now instead.
11/12: eating out of my hand
Emma the Cat, that is. He needs to take a pill a day, and for the past 3 days he's eaten it from my palm (once I've covered the pill in juicy wet catfood).
11/11: time to spare
...in Latin class. I had been packing class-time too tightly, which didn't give us enough breathing room. On Friday and again today I didn't do that, so we had time for extra practice as well as less rushing. I'm sure I'll overstuff the lesson plan again (always unintentionally), but it felt good to have two days without unfinished work that needed to flow over into the next class meeting.
11/9: receiving
...a birthday note from my aunt, along with a silk scarf she found in a second-hand store.
11/8: a quiet close
...to the school week. (I have to call it the "school week," because it's now the case that the "work week" never ends.) A student and I met to talk through a collage project he's been doing since the spring. It felt good to discuss his pieces in an unrushed way, and undisturbed by general comings and goings around us since we were the only people left in my part of the hall by that time of the day. The sky outside my windows was dark and close, making it feel even more like we had a temporary special space marked off from the rest of the world for our conversation.
11/7: the arrival
...of a chapbook of erasures which a friend and I collaborated on. As payment, we each got 13 copies from the publisher.
11/6: a variety of good things
Listening to my beginning Latin students' recordings.
Enjoying a good conversation in the Percy Jackson class.
Having nice office hour meetings with students.
Getting closer to being caught up on grading.
Receiving a few pieces of candy from a student.
Being stung by a wasp but hurting from it for just a few seconds.
Writing to a colleague with a concern and having it addressed very quickly and smoothly.
11/4: making headway
...with designing (and writing descriptions of) some assignments for the upper-level Latin class.
11/3: ordering
...some photo prints to test holiday card possibilities. I had worked on some options in mid-October but then delayed getting prints made. I'm glad I took the time to submit an order today: the cards should reach me by mid-November, giving me just enough time to rush-order a bunch of whichever one I choose for holiday mailing.
11/2: morning, afternoon, evening
Morning: voting without a long line.
Afternoon: baking a chocolate gingerbread cake (recipe here).
Evening: doing 3 school tasks.
11/1: good afternoon meetings
...with students. It was a tough week in many ways, so I was especially grateful for thoughtful, unrushed conversations in my office this afternoon.
Oh! And a bonus good thing: a student gave me a little bag of Halloween goodies.
10/31: hearing people
...at my "Origami, Etymology, and Bats" workshop be excited about words and word histories.
10/30: getting some reassurance
...about my eye. I had a sudden PVD (posterior vitreous detachment) episode during my afternoon class yesterday, and I got an emergency appointment today to have it looked at. Right now it doesn't seem like it's connected to anything worse (like a tear), but I'll have a follow-up in a few weeks. In the meanwhile, it's quite an adjustment to get used to disrupted vision, as if I'm looking through a dirty window all the time. Still, I'm grateful that it's only that adjustment that I'm needing to deal with.
10/29: showing
...my pamphlets to the students in a letterpress class at work. They were so amazingly nice and thoughtful.
10/28: writing
...a quick postcard reply to a friend who had asked me what I've been reading recently.
10/27: finally
....writing a recommendation letter for an excellent former student. There was nothing about the task itself that made me put it off until near the due-date, just busy-ness with other things with closer due-dates. But I wanted to get it submitted before the end of the weekend, so I sat down after dinner and did it. It was good to have some dedicated time to remember this student and all her wonderful work.
10/25: writing
...an unpleasant letter that I wasn't expecting to have to write. Not a good thing, but getting it done before I go to bed is. Now it's not something to wake up to.
And other folks writing in support of what I wrote about in the unpleasant letter.
10/24: enjoying thoughts
...as I prepared for my upper-level Latin class, and again enjoying thoughts--my own, my students', ours together--as I taught the class.
10/22: being
...a little loopy in Beginning Latin (and I think the students actually enjoyed that?).
10/21: sending
...the difficult documents (mentioned yesterday) by email this afternoon, a few hours earlier than I expected. It was good to make myself send them so that I wouldn't keep fussing over them.
Also, on a more wholly happy note, I got some origami bats ready for Halloween mailing.
10/20: writing
...difficult documents in support of the Classics program at the college where I work. That I had to write them at all (and especially over what was supposed to be a break) isn't a great thing, but it's good to have them done and nearly ready to send tomorrow.
10/19: a good round
...of flashcard-making from my students. I've been checking them over the past few days, and one student even drew little pictures on many of them to aid memorization!
10/18: seeing
...the comet (though hazily). And remembering that I had seen deer while driving to and from work earlier in the week. I meant to make deer-sighting a good thing then, but I forgot, so better late than never.
10/17: working at home
...because it's fall break. I had hoped to be able to have a day or two of no work at all, but that wasn't in the cards. At least I can work in comfy clothes, with Chris and the cats nearby, and have the chance to mix in a few other things, like a morning walk and an afternoon break to make a peanut butter pie.
10/15: making a poster
...for an event on campus later this month, and finding a really good bat graphic to use.
10/14: chopping
...vegetables for lentil soup. It took time that in some ways I didn't have (or shouldn't have spent in such a way), but I needed to do something like that--not schoolwork, with my hands, and aimed at making dinners easier for a few days.
10/13: the gift of insomnia
...helped me to get my grading done by 8 am this morning. I woke up around 1:45 and couldn't go back to sleep. After trying for over an hour, I got up and got to work. The unexpected early start meant that I had time to fit in a morning walk as well as work on my other tasks (grocering, prepping for tomorrow, doing laundry) without anxiety. But now I am very tired so I am going to bed where (I hope) I won't have insomnia tonight.
10/12: taking quick breaks
...from grading a pile of writing assignments by folding origami bats for Halloween. I'd set myself a goal, knowing that when I reached it I'd get to fold another bat. And it worked nicely as a motivation and reward.
10/11: a trio
A colleague I rarely see came by with apple/honey themed treats.
I offered my Origami + Epic artist's book workshop again, and it went swimmingly.
10/10: some notable things
As part of my lunch break at work I learned how to fold a fairly (for me) elaborate origami tato or envelope. (The video I used is here.)
In my upper-level Latin class, the students did some very good careful analysis of Liz Clarke's graphic novel of Perpetua's prison diary.
I watched the sky go magenta with the Northern Lights, and Chris watched for awhile with me too. I texted my mother (in PA, where they were more visible) and a friend here (whose niece and nephew are visiting, so I thought they might like to see it).
Later, Chris let me know that owls were hooting. He hooted at them, and they hooted back.
Plus I saw a bat.
10/9: talking about age
...in The Titan's Curse in class today. I didn't plan for it to emerge as a theme as much as it did--and I'm glad it did.
10/8: joining
...Chris' tree walk with his students this morning. I didn't mean to. I was walking on campus to put up posters for an event, and I ran into Chris with his group, so I tagged along for a bit since we were going in the same direction.
10/7: enjoying
...reading my students' posts about Riordan's wordcraft in The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters.
10/6: thinking
...about this year's holiday card and working on some possibilities so that I don't get stressed next month when it's time to settle on a choice and order prints.
10/5: returning
...to a "no-schoolwork Saturday." I really needed a break from it today, even though there's more than plenty to do. I walked, collaged, read, watched TV with Chris, listened to an audiobook, and wrote some postcards and notes.
10/4: doing
...my own assignments so that students have examples of responses. This way they get to see one possible way of going about it, and I get to find out what the assignment feels like from the other end. As they worked on their in-class writing today, I enjoyed putting together my sample responses for an assignment due on Monday.
10/3: an email
...from a student who had a very creative idea for participating in my ongoing altering epics project.
10/2: recovering time
...since my school laptop got replaced. Its cursor had started jumping around: I'd be typing a sentence, and then all of a sudden my cursor would be in the middle of a sentence I had already typed 5 lines ago. Everything basically needed to get typed 2 or 3 times, and I needed to do a lot of proofreading to make sure I caught all the glitches. Now that the jumping cursor is no longer part of my life, I'm surprised at how quickly typing goes.
10/1: chatting
...with a student before his quiz and seeing him smile when I mentioned that I went to the same college that his sister is graduating from this year. We had some common ground.
9/30: the effects and benefits of humor
...beyond funniness in Riordan's modifications of ancient sources in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This was our opening topic in class today, and the board was filled with the students' thoughts.
9/28: calmly
...doing things today. I took a walk for the first time in 2 weeks; I made my favorite fried-rice lunch and drank a gin & tonic with it; I worked on a pamphlet. Even my evening schoolwork felt relaxing. Such a difference from the past week.
9/27: a hug and a card
...from someone at work today when a new round of technological trouble became the last straw.
9/26: a good workshop
...with students and Chris, using a basic origami fold, some colored paper, and words clipped from ancient epics. It went more smoothly than some other workshops I've run (I guess I'm learning how to avoid glitches), and more people than ever attended.
9/25: Phineas is diagnosed
...with pneumonia. The illness isn't a good thing, but having a diagnosis--and medicine from the vet--is. I am so grateful to Chris for taking him to the vet, and it was heartening to see how much just one dose of medicine perked Phin up. Hopefully after a week of doses our sweet orange cat will be back to his self again.
9/24: Phineas is eating
...a little more food today than yesterday. Chris will drop him off at the vet tomorrow for a look-over, which will be good. This evening it was encouraging to see him come for the night round of dry food: even though he didn't eat much of it, his internal clock and habits kicked in.
9/23: some reassurance
...from an email. I had been sick at heart about a mistake I made on Saturday, and a note about it today made me feel a bit better.
9/22: a full dose
...of medicine this evening. When I got a 90-day supply 90 days ago, the prescription had been filed incorrectly, and I only got half the amount I would normally take. (Trying to get that sorted out--mostly unsuccessfully--was unfun at various intervals over the past weeks.) But I got a new, corrected prescription sent over once it was time for a refill, and--thankfully--I now have the right amount. I'll know to always make sure the prescription is correct before I pay for it and insurance gets notified.
9/20: a quick meeting
...that could have been a lot more tricky. I was grateful for the clarity and smoothness at the end of a long week.
9/18: seeing
...some of my new-student advisees as they signed up for individual meetings with me in the coming days.
9/16: finally doing
...a few home-finance tasks that had been lingering (cancelling subscriptions, moving money to different accounts, etc.).
9/15: lots of red
...among the fallen leaves today. And when the red leaves are flipped over, they are pink, which I especially love.
9/13: at school, at home
At school a student ended Latin class by saying that it was her birthday and asking if I'd sing Happy Birthday in Latin. I declined ; ) But I did write a happy birthday greeting in Latin on the board, and all of us said it aloud to her.
At home an unexpected letter from a childhood/neighborhood friend was waiting in my mailbox.
9/11: a good conversation
...in my Myth & Percy Jackson course today: the interplay of fate and agency; the different understanding of "hero;" un-othering; and the consequences (or fittingness) of Percy's being Poseidon's child.
9/9: having my day made
...before sunrise, by receiving a very nice note about my pamphlet mailings.
9/8: writing a thank-you
...to my 9th-grade art teacher. She included art history in her classes, and that has turned out to be so important in my life, so I wanted her to know. (Fingers crossed that the address I scrounged up is accurate and the note reaches her.)
9/7: finding
...more poems by Beddoes, and coming across these adverbs in one of them: ghostily, witchingly, moonily.
9/5: working
...at home this morning because I had to wait for the Terminix person to come. I stayed steadily at it and got more done more smoothly than I would have in the office.
9/4: taking the time
...to get a nice dinner ready, even though I was feeling rushed when I walked in the door after work.
9/2: a new story
...from The Sandwich Princess Substack, delivered to my inbox. A sweet evening surprise.
9/1: reaching
...one of my summer goals: finishing all the Heron Tree PDFs for volume 11. I just sent out the last one for the poet's review. There may be tinkerings as the poets get back to me, but it's nice to have them basically done before the school year gets very busy. And given that I didn't meet many of my summer goals, I'm grateful for this one.
8/30: Friday afternoon
...used to be quiet writing time, and I miss it. Today I thought I might be able to squeeze some in, but it was better to stay in my office and get a little caught up on other work. Those uninterrupted two hours were welcome, and in their own way a nice come-down from the week.
8/29: such nice responses
...from some people to whom I recently sent pamphlets. I am grateful that the internet has helped me make such connections.
8/28: a lot
...of conversation about the opening passage of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan in our first class meeting today. Students spent a few minutes quietly analyzing and marking it up, and then they had more observations and thoughts about it than we had time for.
8/25: just in time
...to retrieve two bags of groceries which I accidentally left behind (after I paid for them!). When I got back to the store, the clerks were in the process of sending the items to be reshelved, since the freezer goods in them would have melted if they had waited much longer.
8/24: finishing
...creating the individual PDFs for all the poems in Heron Tree volume 11. I still need to proofread them and send them to the authors for review, but I set myself the goal of the end of the summer for this, and I'm going to meet it.
8/19: electricity
...sooner than expected. It went out around 9:30 pm last night, and at midnight the estimate was that it wouldn't be restored until 10 pm tonight. But they got it fixed by 4:30 am!
8/18: baking a bundt cake
...with Chris. He said we should make one this weekend, so I pulled out a bundt pan and a cookbook which my parents gave to me as gifts in the 1980s. The bundt pan's enamel was flaking a little, so this bake was its last hurrah, but the cake turned out well. I usually don't give myself seconds of desserts, but today I did (and so did Chris).
8/17: at home
...with Chris and the cats. After a few days of meetings at work, a day of no meetings and no extra people was welcome.
8/15: free
...snacks. Sometimes the person who refills the vending machine in my office building will leave recently expired items out for the taking. I picked up three small bags of Cheetos this afternoon.
8/14: very nice people
...who helped me navigate bureaucratic difficulties I was having related to the businesses they work for.
8/13: doing & not doing
Doing some unfun things that were necessary.
Not doing an unfun thing that was not necessary (and telling the person who wanted me to do it why).
8/12: realizing
...that although it was fun to think about possible papers I could develop (see yesterday's good thing), I need to focus on some other things in the coming weeks and months: work already underway but incomplete, home (re)organization, Chris and the cats.
8/11: thinking about
...possibilities. I looked at some calls for papers this morning, and there were at least two that I am considering submitting an abstract for. On the one hand, more work! On the other hand, it's exciting to have new thoughts.
8/10: a mention
...of Persephone and her story in The Secret Book of Flora Lea as I was listening to it this morning. I didn't expect to come across Classics in the novel, but there it was, and I'll be interested to hear if more is made of it.
8/9: using
...one of the small group study rooms in the library for my collage meet-up with a friend. It was a perfect space for it, and since school hasn't started yet, the library was deserted--we definitely weren't using a room other people were needing or wanting for more serious purposes ; ) And the collaborative collages we made turned out nicely.
8/8: visiting
...the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts with Chris to see the Delta Triennial. I especially loved the silhouettes of Mr. Keeby and Ms. Woods by Letitia Huckaby.
8/6: listening
...to the book chosen for this year's If All Arkansas Read the Same Book program: The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry.
8/5: laughing
...at Emma the Cat, caught eating a ravioli that he had fished out of a saucepan while we were out of the kitchen!
8/4: doing some things
...that I've been putting off: transferring photos to an external storage drive; offering pamphlets on Facebook; ordering a new Mac for working on photos since the old one can't be upgraded.
8/1: setting up
...a high-yield CD online. It was easy--so easy that I wish I had done it earlier. But at least it's done while interest rates are still up.
7/29: being delighted
...by the little solar-powered fountain that floats in our bird-bath. Chris bought it while I was away, and today I got to see it really going when the full sun hit it.
7/28: adding
...a little bit of punctuation to the pamphlet I formatted yesterday. It was just the right touch.
7/25: thinking
...about the Odyssey as I read secondary scholarship. I didn't agree with everything I read, and that too was good: it pushed me to clarify my own thoughts in the margins.
7/24: receiving
...ground coffee and fresh bread from El Salvador, brought back by a friend whom I picked up at the airport today.
7/23: opening
...some of the mail I received over the 3 weeks I was gone. I've decided to open the envelopes gradually so that I can enjoy each one. People have written me some very nice things, and I am grateful.
7/22: cruise control
...and GPS. They helped me drive 1000 miles to Pennsylvania and then back again.
7/20: resting
...in a hotel room. I could have tried to drive more today. I could have tried to do work. But what I really need to do is rest, and that's what I'm doing.
7/19: driving
...behind a horse-drawn buggy for a bit, just before I crossed the state line from Pennsylvania to Maryland.
7/17: okay after all
I made chocolate meringues, and they didn't seem to work. But left to sit overnight in the oven and then for another day, they dried up and were fine. We had them as part of an Eton mess for dessert with a neighbor.
7/14: another Sunday visit
...to a museum. This week I went to a different branch of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, the one just down the hill from my mother's house in Loretto.
7/13: taking an unexpected walk
...along the Camino de Saint Francis Trail. One of the trailheads is at the lake where I like to go on my morning walk when I'm in Loretto, and I decided to use the trail rather than roads to head back to my mother's house. Though the as-the-crow-flies distance isn't much, the trail was very twisty and in some places impossible to follow, so it was in no way a quick walk home. A 5-minute walk took about 10 times that long. But Chris was on the phone with me the whole way as well as watching my progress on Google Maps, so it was a fun way to take an unusual, uncertain, and muddy walk.
7/8: having a game night
...in person with a group of friends rather than virtually, since we're temporarily in the same general area.
7/7: going
...to Altoona to see the galleries at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art. The 2 temporary exhibits worked together really well, and I was able to see some new-to-me pieces from the permanent collection as well as visit one that counts as an old friend.
7/4: a great dinner
...with 3 contributors: my mother provided pierogies and sauerkraut, a family friend brought vegetarian hot dogs and baked beans, and I made peanut butter and jelly pie.
7/3: tracing a path
...that works kind of like a meditation labyrinth through the Mt. Assisi formal garden. I had figured it out 5 years ago (the last time I visited), but I had forgotten how it worked when I walked in the garden on Monday. Tonight it came back to me easily. And I really needed to have something like a meditation labyrinth as the day neared its end, so the timing was perfect! As I finished, the fireflies were beginning to blink in the shadows.
And another good thing: a collection of very nice and helpful people--some friends, some strangers--as I dealt with my mother's surgery and an unfortunate bit of car trouble.
6/28: getting word
...that a recent pamphlet reached its recipient--and the book I used for the pamphlet's erasure (The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame) is one of her favorites.
6/27: moving
...the books and shelves from my old storage unit into a new (bigger and less expensive) one that Chris has rented. The ideal is to have no books in storage at all--to give away many of them and only keep the ones I really need/want, but for now consolidating so that we're renting only one unit rather than two has to count as a victory.
6/26: unexpected time
...spent writing. The power went out this morning, which curtailed some of my plans. So I brought Ferrero and Adreani's Odyssey into the main room, where I could look at it with the help of the light through the big windows. What a pleasure to look at, think about, and be interested in.
6/25: getting good news
...at the end of a day with vexations. A chapbook I co-authored with a friend has been accepted for publication. It had been accepted some time ago by a different press that went dark after Covid, so it's especially nice that it found a new home at last.
6/24: trying
...to let very nice mail and email from friends counterbalance some frustrations in my day.
6/23: finishing
...The Wildcat Behind Glass by Alki Zei, translated by Karen Emmerich. I'm really glad that the review in the NYTBR prompted me to give it a go!
6/22: meeting up
...with a friend this afternoon for some conversation at a microbrewery/coffee bar. I tried a drink that was a mixture of iced coffee, orange juice, pineapple syrup, and oat milk.
6/20: packing
...books from the small storage unit to move into the larger one (so we won't be paying for two). We had meant to do this months ago (sigh), but things got busy and hard. At least it's happening now. I'll go back tomorrow and try to do more so that we can finish next week.
6/19: readying
...some re-printed pamphlets for mailing. I sent out a baker's dozen back in March, not knowing at the time that the fuser on my laser printer was worn out and so wasn't sealing the toner sufficiently. By accident I learned that the press of the postal machines meant that the excess toner got imprinted on the facing pages. And oh how mortifying that something I wanted to send as a pleasure arrived messed up. It's taken me months (practically and emotionally) to get my printer situation sorted, re-print copies that (hopefully) will fare better, and write an explanatory note. But now that's all done and copies are in their addressed envelopes, set to go out in tomorrow's mail.
6/18: managing
...to do good (and necessary) work on Heron Tree this afternoon, despite not having slept at all last night.
6/17: combined
...doctor visits. When I made my appointments, the scheduler said they needed to be two separate ones for insurance purposes. But when I went to my first one today, the doctor said she could do them both at the same time--so I don't have to go again later this week.
6/16: drafting
...an embarrassing letter. It'll go out to a small group of friends and family to whom I sent a pamphlet back in March. I didn't realize at the time that the fuser on my printer wasn't working and consequently the toner wasn't sealed--so the excess got pressed onto the facing pages when the pamphlet went through the postal machines. Not how I want a pamphlet to arrive on someone else's end! Now that I have a new printer, I made fresh copies to send out and wrote a letter to explain. I was dreading dealing with this--I'm mortified that it happened and red-cheeked when I think of sending the new ones out, but I know I'll feel better once it's all in the past tense.
6/14: another round
...of Quiet Writing at a distance with a friend. I'm under-the-weather today, so I didn't know if I'd have 2 hours' worth of thoughts & words, but I did! Though my summer project of looking at images that close retellings of the Odyssey is turning out to be bigger than expected (and that feels overwhelming / anxiety-producing at times), it is really fun to linger on analyzing the pictures.
6/12: receiving postcards
...from the iHanna DIY Postcard Swap. It was a pleasure to send mine out, and it's nice to find some from other people in my mailbox.
6/11: two hours
...of writing about Gareth Hinds' graphic novel adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. I focused mostly on its closing pages and how they relate to the opening ones.
6/10: embossing
...a booklet in response to a mail call for tactile art. No words--just embossed asemics.
6/9: starting the morning
...by reading an article in Artforum. It got me into a creative mindset that lasted the rest of the day as I worked on a new pamphlet. Though I didn't end the day with a satisfying "product," it was a luxury to spend hours trying different things.
6/7: returning
...the new printer that wasn't working. I spent a good amount of time on the manufacturer's help line (to no avail), and then I discovered another thing that wasn't working about it. The store where I bought it was willing to let me return it without all of the original packaging, so I'm calling that a win.
6/6: making
...a birthday card for a friend, and liking the way it came out.
Also: making connections between an article I read this morning (on the depiction of alternative education in children's literature) and the seemingly unrelated research I'm doing this summer (on closing images in illustrated or graphic novel versions of the Odyssey).
6/5: 3 good things combined
...this morning: sitting on the porch with the cats in the cool air, doing quiet writing, and focusing in my writing on analyzing images (from Marcia Williams' retelling of the Iliad and Odyssey).
6/4: getting
...Tilde's insulin. It took 4 trips to the pharmacy plus some phone calls and texts to get everything sorted out, but through it all the pharmacy staff was friendly and helpful.
6/3: learning
...how to make an origami mini-book this morning. I used the tutorial for "Method 2" here: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Origami-Book (I already knew how to make the "Method 1" book). I used scraps of origami paper I had on hand, and the result is colorful. I've left it standing up, fanned out, on the table all day so that it can make me smile when I walk by it.
6/2: returning
...to Artforum. I've let the issues pile up, and now it's a pleasure to-be-deferred no longer.
6/1: thinking
...about fragments and closure--two things that are often on my mind literature-wise but that I hadn't connected until today.
5/31: swapping
...the gendered words in Elsie Finnimore Buckley's story of Echo and Narcissus. I was following the model of Gender Swapped Greek Myths by Jonathan Plackett and Karrie Fransman, a book whose experimental bent I appreciate. The point isn't to suggest that the gender swapped versions are "better" or are "rectifications" of historical injustices--instead, they are invitations to noticing and thinking about one's own perceptions and reactions. I definitely felt that Plackett and Fransman's book was a kind of mirror as I read it. And I felt the mirror effect in a different way when I went through a story word by word and did the swapping myself.
5/30: sending a note
...to the students who are continuing in Latin next year. I passed along the free PDF of Cloelia: Puella Romana plus some extra notes I made for/about it earlier this week. A few students always ask if there's something they can do to work on their Latin over the summer, and I usually point them to Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles, but it has some things that we haven't learned in the first year. Cloelia is easier and shorter so would be less taxing over the summer, and I feel good about having spent the time getting to know it and writing the extra notes. Now it's ready to be sent out in future years too.
5/27: heading out
...to Woolly Hollow in the morning. It was too hot to walk even early, so Woolly Hollow--with its cascade (thanks to recent rains) and shade--was a good option. Chris came too! We saw a snake (same snake but spotted by each of us at a different time), and Chris made a great video of some bugs walking with a rotating leader. I, of course, photographed the water. It was good to venture out of the daily pattern a little.
5/26: a small glass
...of fresh orange juice. During the school year I fell out of the habit of juicing an orange each morning, but I'd like to get back into the practice for the summer.
5/24: moving the tree
I didn't really move a tree. But I made a choice about formatting a pamphlet, changing where I put the text on the page. When I remember that I can make that kind of choice and that it solves a problem, I think of Lily Briscoe in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and how she realizes she can move a tree in her painting. It's the part of To the Lighthouse that has stuck with me most since I first read it in 1986 or so.
5/22: extending
...my reading this morning since both Emma and Phineas were curled up with (and somewhat on) me.
5/21: putting together
...a little found poem by remixing a page from The Wind in the Willows--and then spending some time working on a pamphlet format for it.
5/19: making
...peanut butter pie. And I spread a layer of jelly on the graham cracker shell before I put in the filling, so it's a peanut butter and jelly pie.
5/18: calming my mind
...with colors. This morning on my walk--greens, yellows, blues. And again this evening as I clipped yellows, oranges, purples, blues, and greens for grid collages.
5/15: finishing
...a draft of an end-of-year bureaucratic report. It took several hours, but at least I can close the day with a complete draft. (And hopefully when I look at it tomorrow it won't seem like it needs a lot of revision.)
5/7: working from home
...today. I was glad I was able to, since I needed some uninterrupted grading time.
5/6: reflecting
...a little on the school year. I did some quiet writing while a student was taking a make-up exam.
5/5: writing a business letter
...this afternoon. I knew it would be something that I'd have to be deliberate about, so I had set aside the afternoon and evening for it, but I managed to finish it before dinner. That meant I could do some sweeping this evening.
5/4: remembering
...that the mulberry tree on campus had some ripe berries and that I meant to use that as a good thing earlier this week (but forgot). After dinner I had to get something at my school office, and I walked over to the mulberry tree to pick a berry so it could be a good thing for today instead.
5/3: reading
...the Myth students' lists of 3 things they especially enjoyed about the course. It was heartening, and some of the comments were especially wonderful.
5/2: quietly printing
...my Myth students' final assignments so I don't have to read them on the screen. They amount to quite a stack!
5/1: getting
...24 small bags of chips plus a pallet of 24 individually wrapped blueberry muffins with this semester's "free" dining dollars. It doesn't use up my allowance, but at least I didn't let go as much to waste as last semester.
4/30: having a day
...to deal with a few loose ends work-wise and home-wise before the next round of assignments comes in.
4/29: having a meeting
...that I was nervous about. I think I spoke well and smartly, though I was also my usual awkward self. And now it's over.
4/28: spending most of the day's energy
...on the Myth students' final altered page assignments. It's been interesting to see how this project has worked this semester.
4/27: trying smoked paprika
...in peanut butter cookies. I hadn't baked cookies since December, so it was fun to make a quick batch and test the paprika addition (which I had read about online). I also added cinnamon, so the taste is overall more complicated. Too complicated? We'll see. I'm going to make a "straight" batch tomorrow to compare.
4/26: finishing my day's grading
...at school, so I didn't have to work in the evening. Instead, Chris popped some popcorn, and we watched a movie that we knew was unlikely to be good but hoped would un-good in a fun way.
4/25: 3 good things
A smooth appointment at the dentist's office.
Good final Myth classes, with a format for students' responses to one another's altered pages that worked well.
A reading and discussion of The Skull by Jon Klassen with some students. I think they all enjoyed it, and some of them very much so.
4/24: noticing
...last night that the ants are back in our walls--not a good thing. But the Terminix people were already scheduled to come this morning for a quarterly visit, so that was perfect timing, and they were really nice as I explained to them that we wanted to take care of the ants but limit the chemicals elsewhere.
4/21: preparing
...for the last week of classes: partly by reading for pleasure (to give myself some escapist relief), partly by doing another round of grading (to be as caught up as possible), and partly by making a batch of flaxseed breakfast muffins (to help me start the coming week's mornings well).
4/20: finishing
...a round of grading. I try not to do schoolwork on Saturdays, but it was a must today. The upside is that after tomorrow evening's grading I will be completely caught up as we head into the last week of classes.
4/19: hearing
...a colleague whose office is next to mine laugh as she spoke to a student we have in common. She doesn't laugh much, so it really caught my ear, and it made me smile to think that her conversation with such a nice student was delighting her on a Friday afternoon near the end of a tiring semester.
4/18: hearing
...the last of the senior presentations today. It's been nice this week to see each of them do their own thing.
4/16: smelling
...flowers in the wet air this morning. More red roses than we've ever had blooming at once, and the start of honeysuckle.
4/15: egg lemon soup
...for the third dinner in a row. We used to have it often, but then I stopped making it. I won't wait years before the next batch, but I will try a vegan version.
4/13: sipping
...a drink of iced coffee with lemonade, talking with a friend, and not thinking about some pretty big worries for 2 hours.
4/12: two
...bits of nice feedback about my teaching today. One from a student who was in a course with me last semester and called the class "joyous." Another from a student who has been taking Latin with me all year and said that they stuck with it because of the way I teach.
4/11: the second day
...in Myth class for the old reading assignment that I split into two this year. It went well. A successful experiment.
4/10: writing
...the directions for a new final project that I'm trying out for my Myth class. I'm pleased with myself for coming up with something innovative (and, hopefully, interesting), and I'll be excited to see what the students come up with.
4/9: a good decision
...to split a reading assignment from Ovid's Metamorphoses into two. It made for a better class today. It was, I think, the best first discussion day of Ovid that I've ever had.
4/8: micro and macro wonders
Chris came and got me this morning to show me hundreds of queen ants emerging from the ground, fluttering their wings, and taking flight.
And this afternoon we watched the total solar eclipse.
4/7: a big revision
...of a pamphlet I had worked on over spring break. It's very different now, and nearly done.
4/6: 2 things, 2 bags
The young man who was the cashier and bagger at the store today was really nice: he put the 2 things I purchased in 2 separate bags so that the can of apple pie filling wouldn't crush the loaf of bread. (I'm sensitive to the issue of plastic bags, but these will get reused.) And why apple pie filling and bread? So that we could try making some mountain pies in the fire pit.
4/5: in
...my hand: some twigs and leaves that a young neighbor gave me as I walked.
...the air: two bats in the spring twilight as Chris and I sat by a fire.
4/4: being relieved
...that the cards I had printed with one of my mother's costume sketches came out okay. They are for a celebration-of-life for a family friend who passed away recently and who had been in a lot of my parents' productions over the years. I thought it would be nice for attendees to get a card that showed my mother's costume design for one of his favorite roles. I was so worried that the reproduction wouldn't turn out well (and had been waiting nervously for the package to arrive), but the cards look really nice. Whew.
4/3: reading
...some of Sophus Helle's translation of Enheduana then mentioning it to a student who I thought would be interested. The student immediately said that they might get Helle's book for themself as an end-of-semester treat, which made me smile because (though they didn't know it) I had ordered a copy of the book for myself with the thought that it would be my own end-of-semester treat.
4/2: remembering
...that I had some meclizine in my bookbag just in case. Today was an "in case" day.
4/1: coinciding
...with Chris in my walk to the parking lot at the end of the day. Usually we leave school at different times, but not today. Before we crossed the street to our cars, we paused to admire the dogwoods flowering on campus.
3/31: visiting
...the dogwoods in our woods. Only one of them was flowering and not robustly at that--concerning, but still a good sight. And on the way we came across some narcissus flowers that Chris had planted as a surprise. They had grown such tall stems among the trees, and their white heads seemed so brave.
3/30: making
...food in the kitchen with Chris: vegetarian cream chipped "beef" for dinner, and stollen for Easter tomorrow.
3/29: changing plans
...and deciding to do an easier lesson in Latin today. I think the students and I needed a breather.
3/28: a flower
...that a student picked and put on my desk so that it would be waiting for me when I came into class.
3/27: seeing
...Tilde the Cat curling up alongside Emma the Cat to enjoy his closeness and his licks.
3/26: a back-up
...on my office Keurig machine to catch coffee that misses or overflows the cup. This morning I forgot to put the mug on the machine at all before turning it on and leaving it to do its thing! It would have been quite a mess if it had all gone onto the rug, and I was relieved that I didn't have to troubleshoot that during my long day.
3/25: getting the chance
...(unexpectedly) to read The Skull Jon Klassen to a friend and colleague and then getting to enthuse with her about it afterward.
3/23: coffee
...with someone I met online during the pandemic, and feeling lucky that our paths have crossed, first digitally and now in person.
3/22: watering
...the plants in Chris' grow-tent and hoop-house. Stepping inside either one, you can feel the green in the air.
3/21: cleaning out
...the water basin for the birds then enjoying the sound and sight when I pour fresh water in.
3/20: the tulips
...planted by Chris! Each single bloom with so many colors mixed together: pinks, white, purples, red.
3/16: close up and from above
On my morning walk I got to see spiderwebs covered dew. On an afternoon flight with Chris piloting I got to photograph the farm fields just north of our house, something I hadn't done for over 4 years.
3/15: comfort
...on an afternoon walk from Stephen Briggs' reading of Terry Pratchett's Nation. Also from rainwater lingering since last night on the road, running alongside it, and reflecting light. And in the evening, from quiet and conversation with Chris as we sat by a fire in our yard.
3/14: good timing
...for the Homeric Hymns in the myth class. We've been in the difficult stretch before spring break, so the hymns have been a relief. There are a lot of interesting ideas to discuss without the reading being too difficult or taxing. Today was our last hymn, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. I tried a different way of setting up the conversation, and I think it worked well. If someone had been observing today, they wouldn't have thought the students were as worn out as they are.
3/13: trying out
...a new format for my part of the written exam for senior Classics majors. I think it was easier for them to study for it, and it'll be easier for me to grade.
3/12: good attendance
...and discussion in Classical Myth, even though everyone is tired as spring break nears.
3/11: using
...the small personal printer that I keep at school as a back-up. This morning I couldn't connect to the school's printers, so having an off-network printer provided a safety net and enabled me to print worksheets for my Latin class.
3/10: seeing
...an eagle while walking this morning. I hadn't seen one flying near our house in some time, so it was an especially welcome sight. Also especially welcome (though engaging a different sense): a return to listening to Stephen Briggs reading Terry Pratchett, this time Nation.
3/9: visiting
...the yellow trout lilies on the Cove Creek trail with Chris and then virtually visiting with my mother and hometown friends for a game night.
3/4: managing
...to go grocery shopping after office hours and before dinner. Chris has been doing most of the grocering recently, even though it's generally been one of my chores, so I was glad to be able to do it today.
3/2: taking
...a short walk. I didn't feel up to my usual 1-hour weekend walk, but I'm glad I got myself outside, in the fresh air, to do half that, and I started listening to A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes for company.
2/28: beginning to read and grade
...my Myth students' first altered page projects. I worked through a third of them this evening, enjoying their pages, their commentary on their choices, and their remarks on one another's pages.
2/27: not being thrown
...for any loops today. Last week had loop after loop, and even yesterday there was one. I am grateful for a break in that pattern, even if it's only temporary.
2/26: Japanese quinces
...flowering, both at home (a little one that Chris is growing in a pot) and at school (my favorite bush as I walk to my office from the parking lot).
2/24: looking at
...some crocuses with Chris. He had planted more bulbs in the eastern part of the yard.
2/22: hearing
...the students' thoughts about the choices made by different translators in translating some specific lines from the Odyssey.
2/21: having leftovers
...waiting at home after a very long day (10 meetings in the afternoon!) so I just needed to make a salad to complete the dinner.
2/20: coming up with an idea
...for extra credit in my Myth course: a student can choose a few pages from Gareth Hinds' graphic novel adaptation of the Odyssey and discuss them with me. I don't know how many folks will take me up on it, but those who do will (I think) enjoy it, and I will too.
2/19: watching
...sunlight on the lake in the late afternoon. It was a work-from-home day because of "midwinter break," and that meant I could take a walk between tasks. I turned from my usual path to head down to the water, and I enjoyed the glintings as they rolled by on little waves.
2/18: going down to little rock
...to see "Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art" at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. It was our first visit since its big renovation and re-opening, and it was an exhibit I was grateful to see.
2/16: a very good score
...on a quiz for a student with whom I worked one-on-one earlier in the week. I was so happy that I had to write them an email right away to let them know they had done so well--I didn't want to wait for them to know until after the long weekend.
2/14: remembering
...a good thing from yesterday early this morning: we made Shrove Tuesday pancakes with lemon sauce. It's not a tradition I grew up with or generally follow, but once a friend in Los Angeles made them for me on the day before Ash Wednesday, and she was on my mind, so Chris and I made them for dinner. This morning I ate leftovers for breakfast, so a good thing from one day carried into the next.
2/13: being glad
...and grateful that I was able to change my teaching schedule this semester so that I'm still teaching 3 classes but only 2 preps. It makes a lot of difference!
2/12: an analogy
...that was really good. I like using analogies in my teaching, and I'm always happy when I think of a new vivid simile for some aspect of what we're doing in a class. But today it was a student who came up with one. We were working on Latin sentence translation together in office hours so that he could see how the forms of words help you know what they're doing syntactically, and he described translating without attention to syntax as being like when someone tries to shove puzzle pieces together that don't fit.
2/11: picking up
...some trash along my walking route. It's something I meant to do at Christmastime, but I was ill and it was too cold, so I put it off. Today, though, I remembered to grab a plastic bag as I left the house, and there was plenty for me to put in it as I went. Not only does it feel good to have done it, but I also won't have to see the same bits of trash over and over again.
2/9: ideas coming together
...for a miniature & minimalist found-poetry artist-book workshop I'll be running at the end of the month. After I finished grading this afternoon, I had some time to make some format examples--to see if I like the result (and I do!). I had been tinkering throughout the week with other format possibilities, but this is the one I'll be settling on. And I also thought of a way that I can talk about Callimachus and scrolls at the outset of the workshop.
2/8: talking
...with a colleague over lunch. We went all of last semester without meeting up, so I was glad we found a way to make it work today.
Also: talking with the Myth students about Waterhouse's painting of Odysseus and the Sirens and how it compares and contrasts with some ancient vase paintings.
2/7: having a good meeting
...with a student who was well prepared. Their preparation and good nature were especially appreciated at the end of an afternoon string of meetings.
2/5: doing
...one of my own assignments as an example for the students. When I tell other professors that I sometimes do my own writing assignments, they think it's funny. I think it's so good to do: I feel what it's like to follow my directions; I have to put my ideas together in a succinct and clear way; and in a case like this (which is an assignment with a creative component) I show the students that I'm willing to put myself and my ideas "out there," so they're not alone.
2/4: smelling
...the winter honeysuckle on my walk this morning. It was the push I needed to spend some time this afternoon working on a winter-honeysuckle-related pamphlet (which was less fiddly than yesterday's pamphlet).
2/3: finishing
...some fiddly pamphlet-making. I had to do more second, third, and fourth takes with the sewing than with any other project, but at least it kept my hands and mind occupied, distracting me somewhat from some unpleasantness at work.
2/2: very nice students
...working at the library circulation desk when I went to pick up the picturebooks from last semester's course reserves.
1/31: making
...a collage with Chris and arranging the squares using 12-sided, 6 sided, and 4-sided dice.
1/29: planning
...an altered page to show my Myth class as an example. I decided to use a page from the Odyssey with one of my favorite passages: Hermes' flight to Ogygia and the description of Calypso's island.
1/28: someone volunteering
...in the grocery store to get a box of crackers for me that was on a shelf too high for me to reach.
1/27: reading
...Elle McNicoll's Show Us Who You Are. I started it last night and finished it this morning. Sometimes a book picked up in an unplanned way nevertheless turns out to be the perfect choice, unexpectedly resonant in that particular moment. This was one of those times.
1/26: working through
...some difficulties and reaching (perhaps) some clarity and (at least temporary) peace of mind. One involved coming up with a new teaching plan. One involved standing up for myself in the face of unfair treatment.
1/25: a passage
...from Book 3 of the Odyssey which a student brought up. One of Nestor's daughters helps Telemachus to bathe, and the student made really nice connections with other moments we had been discussing: Athena's enhancement of Telemachus in Book 2 and Telemachus' teaming-up with one of Nestor's sons.
1/24: a blanket
...of thick fog on the lake. I know that "a blanket of fog" is a cliché, but today I saw the image or metaphor as a reality. And it didn't lift all day.
1/22: a text
...from a neighbor, telling us that trumpeter swans were on the lake, so we went out in the slushy rain to look at them. (We were able to because we had a snow day!) Seeing the swans was especially welcome because we hadn't gone up to Heber Springs, the swans' usual go-to spot in this part of Arkansas, to watch them this year.
1/20: tinkering
...with a new pamphlet for which I gathered the words last night. I wasn't able to see the format through to the final product today, but I know what the next refinements should be.
1/19: writing
...directions for a new kind of assignment I'm trying this semester. It's like a deconstructed commonplace book: students will collect passages of interest to them all semester and then organize and comment on them at the end. I'm calling it a curation project, and I like the idea that a collection of passages is a miniature verbal museum.
1/15: a bit of a breather
...in back-to-school preparations because mid-afternoon we got word that classes are cancelled for tomorrow due to weather. So I focused on doing some Heron Tree things and on hemming four pairs of pants. I'll turn to syllabuses tomorrow.
1/14: watching
...the snow come down gently but steadily all afternoon. And seeing a fox in our yard!
1/13: receiving
...a letter from a friend, and then remembering that receiving a letter yesterday from another friend was also a good thing.
1/12: benefiting
...from yesterday's quiet writing today. Yesterday I wrote--in an exploratory, just-for-myself way--some of my thoughts about Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett's Gender Swapped Greek Myths. That helped me in my writing this afternoon, in which my goal was to write an overview of the book for a public audience.
1/11: plural good things
...today:
- Writing about Gender Swapped Greek Myths while doing quiet-writing-at-a-distance with a friend in Indiana.
- Going to Woolly Hollow to take advantage of a sunny, not cold day on which I was feeling sufficiently well.
- Having Russian carrot salad with Chris as part of dinner, so I could share with him one of the tastes I enjoyed at the Chicago restaurant.
- Deciding on some texts to propose for found poetry projects for Heron Tree volume 11.
- Working through some photos from sunsets on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at the dock.
1/10: all the factors coming together
...for a walk this afternoon: I had time; I felt well enough; the day was warm enough and clear.
1/7: done
...with travels for a bit. I'm glad that I did both trips over the past month--to the DC area and then Chicago--but I'm also glad that they are now over.
1/6: going back
...to the Russian Tea Time restaurant because I liked it so much! And I could be more relaxed since my presentation was done (and well received). After eating, a friend and I walked up and down Michigan Avenue during a light snowfall.
1/5: going out to dinner
...with friends. We went to Russian Tea Time (near the Art Institute of Chicago), and both the restaurant and the company were lovely.
1/4: flying non-stop
...to Chicago. It's nice not to have to switch planes mid-trip, and it's also nice that the flight to Chicago is only 2 hours.
1/1: making progress
...on putting together my presentation for this weekend, after having been set back last week by illness.
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