8/31: a good switch
...in my school-morning breakfast routine. A batch of baked oatmeal with blueberries can last all week. It keeps me more satisfied than cereal, and it has less sugar (and more protein) than the chocolate flaxseed muffins I sometimes make.
8/30: hand-feeding
...Emma the Cat his pill. He is very good about taking it that way, and I am grateful every day that it isn't a contest of wills.
8/29: thinking a little
...about museums in children's literature, prompted by a student's observation yesterday, and enjoying coming up with some new thoughts.
8/28: squeezing in
...some bookbinding. I went to bed thinking about a possible solution to a teaching conundrum (what bindings to include or not in a course), and I woke up wanting to see if a new-to-me binding would be manageable (it was). I also thought of a way to incorporate discussion of some other bindings through examples I'll bring in.
8/27: considering
...pages and how they work. Students brought in interesting pages that they found and had good things to say about their own offerings and other people's.
8/26: educators
A high school friend / now school administrator had his final first-day-back-to-school. It was great to take some time to think about him, his career, and how lucky students have been to have him on their side.
A former student / now teacher sent me a card with some amazingly kind words about the time she spent with me during her undergraduate studies. It was wonderful to think about her and those days--and to know that she is doing good work in the world with her own students.
8/25: marking
...the shift in seasons, at least in terms of the academic year. Yesterday I finished reading the "Summer" section of Grant Snider's Poetry Comics--fitting because it was the day before the fall semester began. And today, at the end of the first day of classes, I started reading the "Fall" section.
8/24: working out
...some details for my courses this semester. And just in time, since classes begin tomorrow.
8/23: finalizing
...yet another pamphlet! Also talking with a friend so that she could finalize plans for a first-week assignment in one of her courses. Back-to-school can involve a lot of unpleasant bureaucracy, but talking about teaching reminded us of the very pleasant parts of heading back into the classroom!
8/22: wonderful feedback
...from people about my part in the traveling exhibit sponsored by Arkansas Committee of the National Museum for Women in the Arts. I usually don't write about myself on Facebook--I just post a photo a week, usually of nature. I felt like I should share this news, however, so I finally did (quite late in the game, since the exhibit started in February). I have a tricky time with compliments, but I've been very (very) grateful for people's good wishes.
8/21: a menagerie
...of very tiny metal animal figurines, which Chris has placed variously around the house. Today I spotted two new ones: an owl and a lobster.
8/19: getting an idea
...for a pamphlet in the morning, thinking about it in the afternoon, and making it this evening. I was prompted by a challenge for a mail swap--tell a story in 6 words--and my thoughts fell into line pretty quickly.
8/17: reading
...more of Asemic by Peter Schwenger. I didn't think I'd finish it before the start of classes, but after today's reading sessions, I think I will.
8/15: the continuing
...Summer of Pies. Blueberry filling and a crust (mixed and rolled by Chris) from a box of Jiffy pie crust mix. I bought it as a bridge between ready-made frozen shells (easy) and crust from scratch (intimidating), and I like the results. With the little bit of extra that was left over after we trimmed the crust to size, I also made a few cinnamon and sugar strips like my mother used to when she had leftover crust (which she always made from scratch).
8/14: taking
...my car for an outside wash & inside clean for the first time on my own. Every other time it's been done, I've gone with Chris or Chris has taken it on its own. It's an embarrassing milestone, but a milestone nonetheless. And just so I didn't feel so silly: another woman who was in the waiting room with me mentioned that it was her first time, so I told her it was my first time too and said "yay" for us.
8/12: having
...a word-collage workshop night with a friend over the phone, using Thomas Hardy's poems as source material.
8/11: coming across
...this funny sentence while reading Peter Schwenger's Asemic, The Art of Writing: "An inability to write cursive can also be a disadvantage in less obvious areas, like cake decorating."
Coincidentally a friend sent me a video of decorated cakes that had misspellings. Not the same "inability to write," but how often does cake decorating come up twice, in very different contexts, and within a few hours?
8/10: another
...indoor picnic lunch with a colleague at work. We met for lunch and conversation at the start of the summer, and it was nice to have another one at its close.
8/9: taking
...the pamphlet I've been working on through one revision and then another, each one subtracting. What's left is oh so minimal--and complete.
8/6: going
...to my (knock on wood) last medical appointment of the summer. With luck, I won't have another one until December.
8/5: leftover
...grasshopper pie filling. There was so much of it that it didn't fit into the pie shell when we made it last week. Now we're having the extra on chocolate graham crackers, a deconstructed pie.
8/4: choosing
...new glasses. I had gone in a few weeks ago and tentatively picked out two pairs. This afternoon one of those pairs still seemed right, but I found a better set instead of the other pair. Hopefully they will be ready for back-to-school.
8/3: scheduling
...a doctor's appointment for later this week. Why is this a good thing? Because I had been putting it off and putting it off and putting it off.
8/2: turning my head
...this morning and seeing Phineas the Cat quietly watching me at the side of the bed, as if he didn't want to disturb me or wanted to make sure he'd be welcome. So I made a "come here" gesture, and he came and curled up next to me.
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