10/8: hornbeam and quiet time

Today I have two good things to report.

The first is the discovery of a new-to-me tree: the hornbeam. Chris and I walked down the street from campus for coffee this afternoon, and on the way back we sat on a bench we always sit on when we go for coffee. But this time we noticed some interesting seeds hanging from a nearby tree. We went to investigate, and luckily the tree had an identifying placard: it's a hornbeam. I'm glad to have a new tree-friend.

The second good thing is the claiming of a little quiet time for myself this evening. Chris decided to stay at school late in order to knit with the knitting club (he's their advisor). I thought about joining in because I like the students and it's also a way to spend time with him. But my energy had been low all day and I had a headache, so I decided to come home after my last class. And I'm glad I did. I made myself some dinner, I took a walk, and now I'm going to have a nice shower and then work on a birthday present for my sister. I really needed some care-of-the-self time today.

10/7: litany/list

So here I am, sitting at the computer and wondering what-in-the-world to choose as my good thing for the day. Nothing jumps out, but it wasn't a bad or sad day. So here's a quick survey of some good things:

- There were good clouds in the sky this morning; I used my book-bag camera to take some shots (and I think that my knock-around camera may do better at sky shots than my "good" camera).

- My Greek class is starting to translate Euripides, so I got to read some Attic Greek today. We had been translating New Testament Greek, and though I love NT Greek for its own quirkiness and solidity, it felt good to be spending time with Attic again. It's harder, but the work-out is good for the students (and me).

- At the start of Greek class each of my students wrote down what they saw as the three most pressing/interesting interpretive questions about Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis (the play we'll be working on this month). They did a really nice job of framing their questions.

- In my Latin class, we didn't get through all the material I had planned. But the class is slightly ahead of schedule, so we still didn't fall behind, and that's a good thing.

- Chris and I had our short-story discussion group in the library today, and though the air-conditioning was freezing (really really cold), the conversation was lively and interesting.

- I returned home with an empty book-bag (or at least empty-of-work book-bag), so I can relax this evening and maybe get to sleep on time.

- When I got home this evening there was a peace lily (present from my parents) waiting for me on our front porch plus a pile of good mail from around the world.

10/6: two walks

It's been rainy all day, but I managed to take two walks: the first to the coffee shop after Latin today, and the second along the ridge after dinner and some quiz-grading.

10/5: reading together

Chris and I needed to choose the story that will be the springboard for our short-story reading group in the library later this week. So after dinner and before we started our separate work for the night, we read two stories out loud, both by Kate Chopin (and both fairly grim). But it was fun to read just to one another, something we haven't done in awhile.

10/4: sappho on stage

The Dance Ensemble at school is doing a performance piece using my translation and arrangement of some fragments of poems by Sappho. I got to see a rehearsal this evening--and it is going to be beautiful.

10/3: unknown hardy (unknown no longer)

I started reading a Thomas Hardy novel which I hadn't even known existed: Two on a Tower. It's fantastic! I feel bad being enthusiastic when I know things are going to end unfortunately (at best) for the characters in the book, but what a pleasure to read a book by someone who really (really, really) knows how to write.

10/2: half day

I somehow re-caught my old cold or managed to get a new one--not a good thing. But I did make the wise and kind-to-self decision to come home after my classes today. I don't like cancelling office hours and other appointments, but after an afternoon of real resting I feel like I might be on the mend.

10/1: bits of blue

It's a grey day, but on my morning walk I saw four different kinds of blue flowers, and their color was cheering. Then, as I drove to school this morning, I saw a great blue heron by the lake. On blue-sky days blue herons look grey, but on grey days they look blue indeed!