6/9: preliminaries done

All the preparations for this month's research project are over, thanks to the unexpected (and very welcome) external help provided by my trip to DC. Things are now underway, and that's an exciting feeling. I'm looking forward to sinking into work over the next few weeks.

6/8: strangely compelling

We've been watching the Canadian TV series called Trailer Park Boys through Netflix. It's well done in many ways (and the scenario is admittedly off-beat). We're hooked. Are we fans, or addicts?

6/7: giving myself a margin

Before I left for my trip, I did a tentative plan for this week's work. I knew that I'd be getting home late on Monday night, so I--very sanely--didn't put a lot on my list for today. Over Sunday and Monday I was travelling more than than not, and all the motion tired me out, even though for most of the travel-time I was sitting and reading. I was grateful that I had a modest slate of things to do today, and it feels good to end the day knowing that I did all of them.

6/5-6/6: checking things out

A colleague recently suggested that a Classics foundation in DC might be able to help me with one of my research projects. They're flying me up there for a meeting on Monday, and we'll see if things develop in a mutually happy way. In any case, I'm glad for the chance to explore an unexpected option while Chris holds down the fort (i.e., keeps the cats company).

6/4: no longer a hurdle

I used to dislike packing for trips, and as a result I'd take a long time doing it. But for the past few trips I've taken, packing hasn't been so bad. It's nice for something that used to be a kind of fraught experience to have become unfraught. I'm all packed up for a quick business trip I'm going on tomorrow.

6/3: readers

As everyday life gets seemingly more & more complicated, more & more full-to-bursting, more & more fragmented, more & more distracting, I'm glad that people continue to read books. I know reading isn't the magic antidote to the whirlwind of the world, but it does seem to offset the roar of the whirlwind just a bit. Today I had some nice contact with fellow readers: a friend wrote to thank me for the children's books that I sent to her to share with her baby; a student wrote to thank me for a book recommendation; and a bunch of new students emailed me to sign up for some voluntary book groups which Chris and I run at our school. I'm grateful to cross paths with such enthusiastic readers, who also want to share their excitement about reading.

6/2: so tender

I'm still listening to The Last Chronicle of Barset on my iPod as I walk. It's a long book, so I've been listening to it for months, but I don't mind because I love it very much. Since I've read the book a number of times, there's an extra pleasure as I listen in being able to remember that this-or-that detail is just about to come up. Tonight I reached a wonderful chapter about the aging Septimus Harding; Trollope presents it all so beautifully and carefully.

6/1: bee adventure

Chris is on a county list of people to call if you a bee swarm has landed at your house. Yesterday a woman called because some bees had taken up residence in a sort of cabinet on her porch. We drove to her place (a beautiful spot by the river) and spent two hours collecting the bees. Now they're in a hive-box here, and we'll see if they decide to stay put.