Hi all,
Just a quick note to let you know I am taking a little break. Nothing is tragic or anything like that. Just needing a little time to think.
Will be back before you know it!
Until then, eat lots of honey, sit in the sunshine, kiss your cat, and enjoy the folks you love.
Many hugs,
Matty
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Random Thoughts
Before I even sat down to work on the computer this morning, I dropped my coffee on the lovely handtied rug in front on my rocker and my English muffin with peanut butter face down on top of the coffee. Somehow, I don't trust today.
After dropping my toast and coffee, I sat down to read college email. Another professor had sent out an email reminding us to vote for our safety video which is a finalist in the statewide contest. Sadly, he meant to write "push." He missed a letter. I can't stop giggling because the next email from him attempted to explain it. Somehow, I think his day is going to be worse than mine. Lesson: proofread and don't explain.
Yesterday we had 46 eggs. (Yes, Ron, I have JUMBOS this week!) The girls are happy to be rid of the snake. Me, too.
Moose and Anabell aren't eating their food which means they have found deer remains somewhere. I have tried to catch them so we could get rid of it, but haven't been able to do it until Tuesday morning when I saw Moosie come to the porch, nudge Anabel and the two of them sauntered down the road. Evidently, they thought I had left, because when I showed up with the car following them (I was on an errand), they took off running to the house as though they had been caught with their paws in the Milk Bone jar. Isn't it funny how even dogs feel guilty? What's up with that??
Monday morning the Mister went out to uncover the bike for his ride to work. He heard: "Peep! peep! peep!" He looked everywhere, but couldn't find the source... that is... until he lifted the other bike cover. One of the escapee hens had set up a nest and her little guys were hatching! We have two yellow diddles and one black diddle. Mama is doing well; we are now checking everywhere for more rogue nests.
My nephew, who is 12, has decided to go into real estate because his CDs are not earning enough money. He is now looking at houses. He announced after leaving one house: "It smells like dog pee and would cost to much to recarpet. We need a fixer upper, but not one that needs that much fixer upping..." Somehow, I feel a future tycoon in the making.
Fall is in the air. For three nights now we have had to use a blanket and I have offered the Mister $20 to get up first and close the windows. Where did summer go?
How's your week been??
After dropping my toast and coffee, I sat down to read college email. Another professor had sent out an email reminding us to vote for our safety video which is a finalist in the statewide contest. Sadly, he meant to write "push." He missed a letter. I can't stop giggling because the next email from him attempted to explain it. Somehow, I think his day is going to be worse than mine. Lesson: proofread and don't explain.
Yesterday we had 46 eggs. (Yes, Ron, I have JUMBOS this week!) The girls are happy to be rid of the snake. Me, too.
Moose and Anabell aren't eating their food which means they have found deer remains somewhere. I have tried to catch them so we could get rid of it, but haven't been able to do it until Tuesday morning when I saw Moosie come to the porch, nudge Anabel and the two of them sauntered down the road. Evidently, they thought I had left, because when I showed up with the car following them (I was on an errand), they took off running to the house as though they had been caught with their paws in the Milk Bone jar. Isn't it funny how even dogs feel guilty? What's up with that??
Monday morning the Mister went out to uncover the bike for his ride to work. He heard: "Peep! peep! peep!" He looked everywhere, but couldn't find the source... that is... until he lifted the other bike cover. One of the escapee hens had set up a nest and her little guys were hatching! We have two yellow diddles and one black diddle. Mama is doing well; we are now checking everywhere for more rogue nests.
My nephew, who is 12, has decided to go into real estate because his CDs are not earning enough money. He is now looking at houses. He announced after leaving one house: "It smells like dog pee and would cost to much to recarpet. We need a fixer upper, but not one that needs that much fixer upping..." Somehow, I feel a future tycoon in the making.
Fall is in the air. For three nights now we have had to use a blanket and I have offered the Mister $20 to get up first and close the windows. Where did summer go?
How's your week been??
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Good-bye, Dear One
The first time we saw Mary, she was tied to a clothesline in front of a trailer on top of a mountain. The Mister swore he heard banjo music (think: Deliverance) as we drove the winding narrow road. I had decided I wanted a goat and a student had told me of one that needed a home as her owner was divorcing and couldn't afford to keep her.
"She's a goat," is all my student told me.
She was.
With legs no more than six inches long, she managed to carry her barrel-shaped body around as though she were a ballet dancer on pointe. She surveyed us carefully as we got out of the car, obviously shaping us up as novices in the world of goat ownership. I thought she looked pregnant and asked the owner. She didn't know.
"Bubba!" she shouted at her son (really, that was his name). "That there goat down the road. Hit's a boy goat or a gal gal?"
Bubba didn't want to leave the front seat of the car he was sitting in and listening to the radio. He rolled down the window to answer her.
"I dunno, Momma," he slurred. "Might be. Who can tell?"
I knew I had to rescue this gal from her life on the clothesline.
"How much for her?" I inquired.
We settled on $25. I got the best end of the bargain.
Mary was one of those goats who always knew she was in charge. Unlike the ladylike "baaaas" from the other gals, Mary sounded like Bea Arthur. She would stand at the fence, look at the house, and bellow "nnnneeeeeaaaahhhhh" as though she were swearing. When she would run, her tummy would rotate her trunk, while she tossed her head like a beauty queen and spritely twinkled to where you wouldn't want her.
She was just that way.
This past winter she kid, her second kidding. We didn't mean for her to be pregnant, but she had different ideas. She ended up with a c-section and one darling little guy with an Elvis curl. The surgery left her weak and lacking luster. After a week of forcing yoghurt and water into her, she rebounded and became the curmudgeon we knew she was. It was a frequent thing to see her little guy standing on her back, surveying "his" goat yard.
Yesterday, after a perfect first day of classes, we got home to feed. I headed to the milking parlor and opened the door to check the does. Mary was dead. Apparently, she had a heart attack early yesterday and just fell over where she was standing -- at the milking parlor door -- waiting for dinner.
This morning it was tough to not hear her call from the yard. But, she is buried next to her darling Maestro, the billy she loved more than anything. He, tall, magnificent; her, short, round. But, they were devoted to each other until he died. They spent hours next to each other, on opposite sides of the fence, rubbing, talking, and her adoring him. Now she is with him again, looking up at him, and saying, "What a goat! what a goat! what a goat!"
"She's a goat," is all my student told me.
She was.
With legs no more than six inches long, she managed to carry her barrel-shaped body around as though she were a ballet dancer on pointe. She surveyed us carefully as we got out of the car, obviously shaping us up as novices in the world of goat ownership. I thought she looked pregnant and asked the owner. She didn't know.
"Bubba!" she shouted at her son (really, that was his name). "That there goat down the road. Hit's a boy goat or a gal gal?"
Bubba didn't want to leave the front seat of the car he was sitting in and listening to the radio. He rolled down the window to answer her.
"I dunno, Momma," he slurred. "Might be. Who can tell?"
I knew I had to rescue this gal from her life on the clothesline.
"How much for her?" I inquired.
We settled on $25. I got the best end of the bargain.
Mary was one of those goats who always knew she was in charge. Unlike the ladylike "baaaas" from the other gals, Mary sounded like Bea Arthur. She would stand at the fence, look at the house, and bellow "nnnneeeeeaaaahhhhh" as though she were swearing. When she would run, her tummy would rotate her trunk, while she tossed her head like a beauty queen and spritely twinkled to where you wouldn't want her.
She was just that way.
This past winter she kid, her second kidding. We didn't mean for her to be pregnant, but she had different ideas. She ended up with a c-section and one darling little guy with an Elvis curl. The surgery left her weak and lacking luster. After a week of forcing yoghurt and water into her, she rebounded and became the curmudgeon we knew she was. It was a frequent thing to see her little guy standing on her back, surveying "his" goat yard.
Yesterday, after a perfect first day of classes, we got home to feed. I headed to the milking parlor and opened the door to check the does. Mary was dead. Apparently, she had a heart attack early yesterday and just fell over where she was standing -- at the milking parlor door -- waiting for dinner.
This morning it was tough to not hear her call from the yard. But, she is buried next to her darling Maestro, the billy she loved more than anything. He, tall, magnificent; her, short, round. But, they were devoted to each other until he died. They spent hours next to each other, on opposite sides of the fence, rubbing, talking, and her adoring him. Now she is with him again, looking up at him, and saying, "What a goat! what a goat! what a goat!"
Sunday, August 21, 2011
First Day Musings: Possibility
I dwell in Possibility--
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors--
Of Chambers as the Cedars--
Impregnable of Eye--
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky--
Of Visitors--the fairest--
For Occupation--This--
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise--
-- Emily Dickinson
This is The Day Before Classes Start. It is a Day of Possibilities. Everyone has an A. Everyone is happy. Everyone is successful. I haven't gained 12 pounds from medicinal application of chocolate.
There is something about Starting that Is So Good.
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. -- Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner
Yeah. Like that.
I think this is why I am addicted to Starting. I love the feeling of success before something can fail. I like the joy of completion before it is done. I crave the affirmation that I can do it before I have.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. -- Eccelsiasties 3:11
So, today I am going to dwell in possibilities. I am going to embrace the happiness of The Day Before and hope that it continues to The Next Day. As Pooh, I am going to anticipate the satisfaction of what is to come and believe it is every bit as delish as I can hope.
And, the cynic in me is ordering new pants....
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors--
Of Chambers as the Cedars--
Impregnable of Eye--
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky--
Of Visitors--the fairest--
For Occupation--This--
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise--
-- Emily Dickinson
This is The Day Before Classes Start. It is a Day of Possibilities. Everyone has an A. Everyone is happy. Everyone is successful. I haven't gained 12 pounds from medicinal application of chocolate.
There is something about Starting that Is So Good.
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. -- Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner
Yeah. Like that.
I think this is why I am addicted to Starting. I love the feeling of success before something can fail. I like the joy of completion before it is done. I crave the affirmation that I can do it before I have.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. -- Eccelsiasties 3:11
So, today I am going to dwell in possibilities. I am going to embrace the happiness of The Day Before and hope that it continues to The Next Day. As Pooh, I am going to anticipate the satisfaction of what is to come and believe it is every bit as delish as I can hope.
And, the cynic in me is ordering new pants....
Friday, August 19, 2011
In A Hurry
Email from a student: "Ms. H, may I add your class because I want to graduate on schedule."
Me: "Who did you take English 111 with and what grade did you make?"
Replay: "I took it with you in 2003 and made a B."
Yeah. Wants to finish in a hurry. It's a two year degree. Do the math...
This is why I need medicinal chocolate on a daily basis...
Me: "Who did you take English 111 with and what grade did you make?"
Replay: "I took it with you in 2003 and made a B."
Yeah. Wants to finish in a hurry. It's a two year degree. Do the math...
This is why I need medicinal chocolate on a daily basis...
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
A Little Research
As an academic, it is important that I continually conduct research in order to keep current in my field. As such, I have found that primary research, that which I conduct myself and not those of another researcher, are the most reliable and valid sources of information that I can utilize. As such, I present for you my findings on:
The top ten things to do in a meeting
10. Read an assignment you are giving to your students.
9. Knit.
8. Try to sleep without snoring.
7. Count how many other people are sleeping and are snoring.
6. Take bets with your seatmates over who will go to sleep first.
5. Text the most pregnant staff member and suggest she stand up and scream, "My water broke!"
4. Text another faculty member and ask them to grab their chest and fall on the floor (if number five doesn't work).
3. Play "Angry Birds" on your phone.
2. Count how many times the words "stakeholder", "progress", and "change" are used in one presentation.
1. Play "Hang Man" with a colleague using only words that describe the meeting.
Guess what I did today?
The top ten things to do in a meeting
10. Read an assignment you are giving to your students.
9. Knit.
8. Try to sleep without snoring.
7. Count how many other people are sleeping and are snoring.
6. Take bets with your seatmates over who will go to sleep first.
5. Text the most pregnant staff member and suggest she stand up and scream, "My water broke!"
4. Text another faculty member and ask them to grab their chest and fall on the floor (if number five doesn't work).
3. Play "Angry Birds" on your phone.
2. Count how many times the words "stakeholder", "progress", and "change" are used in one presentation.
1. Play "Hang Man" with a colleague using only words that describe the meeting.
Guess what I did today?
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Better'n TV
The Mister has a gig in a few weeks. This means he has taken out the violin and the mandolin and is practicing around the house. I love it!
This is one of his original compositions "Emerald Isle." It could just be that he is Irish and I am Scot-Irish, but this music touches us deeply.
Enjoy!
(I can't believe I learned how to do this! Whoppee! Pictures AND video?? OMGoodness.. nothing is sacred...)
This is one of his original compositions "Emerald Isle." It could just be that he is Irish and I am Scot-Irish, but this music touches us deeply.
Enjoy!
(I can't believe I learned how to do this! Whoppee! Pictures AND video?? OMGoodness.. nothing is sacred...)
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