10/8: finally

The costume designer at school is also a Classicist, and I should have asked her years ago to do a public presentation under the auspices of the Classics program.  I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me earlier, but in August I asked her if she would be interested in giving a talk about her research into the clothing of tragic actors in antiquity, and she quickly said yes.  Tonight she gave her presentation:  it was interesting, there was a nice audience, it felt good to do, and it feels good that it's done.

10/7: bunny not snake

Chris saw a copperhead when he got home this evening.  I was luckier:  I saw a little rabbit.

10/6: some enthusiastic reactions

The students are very tired as we head into midterms and a wave of illness crosses campus.  But Errol Le Cain's Cupid and Psyche illustrations seemed to perk them up.

10/5: scanning

...illustrations by Errol Le Cain for Cupid and Psyche.  They're from a picturebook edition, but not really a picturebook for children.  I'd seen select illustrations from it over the years, and I finally acquired my own copy of the whole book.  I wonder what my students will make of the images tomorrow.

(And the process of scanning this evening was a good reminder that the digital image technology is really amazing.)

10/4: first time in weeks

I went to the indoor walking track for the first time since classes started.  It felt good.  After I finished my walk, I went to the community garden next to the track building and looked at all the things flourishing there.  Here's a piece of one magnificent leaf, from beneath:

10/3: sunlight

I've been getting up before sunrise most mornings.  It felt good to sleep well past sun-up today and see light coming through the windows as I awoke.

We went to the creek in the late afternoon.  Kind light on the water.

10/2: unexpected follow-up

Over the summer a student whom I taught last semester needed a last-minute recommendation for an extension of her scholarship.  She asked me to write it, and I was happy to.  I never heard back from her, and I was scared to write to her myself to follow up, in case her petition for the scholarship extension had been turned down:  I didn't want her to feel bad or awkward.  And I hadn't seen her on campus this semester--until this afternoon.  She called out to me, gave me a hug, told me the petition worked, thanked me for the recommendation, chatted, and then wanted to give me another hug before saying goodbye.  I am so glad that her scholarship is intact and that I got to see her.  It was a really good way to end a too-full work-week that had its share of my questioning myself.

10/1: sunny but not hot

We're getting an autumn feel in the air and light.  I got to enjoy it today today, sitting outside with a colleague for awhile in the morning and later walking with another colleague to lunch.