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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