PoMo Golightly

Abounds

Dear Blog,

Well, hey, there.  How have you been?  You've had that silly Night of the Living Dead picture from Halloween up for a while now.  Are you a little embarrassed about that?  I thought you might be. I'm sorry I left you like that for so long, but I'll tell you what I've been doing and maybe you'll feel more understanding.

Before I do that, though, I have to ask: did Typepad merge with Wordpress?  Because, you know I use both, and suddenly you look an awful lot like my Wordpress blogs.  Just here, on the dashboard page.  Curious, that.

I kind of wish I were a poet; I'd write you a poem.  I know you'd find that difficult to resist.  It would go something like this, only better:

Students. Conferences.  Papers.  Crises.  

I8-year-olds abound.

Words abound: NaNoWriMo

Hitting 15,000 was a triumph. Want 40,000 by Monday.

Story sucks, but still I write.

Froth intended. Darkness.  It abounds.

Trip to Tennessee to celebrate

MB

and visit dearest Sheila

Brother, niece and nephew, too.

Woke the week before

Determined that poor-no-name-slob of a Sony Vaio and I

must finally part

ways.  He found a loving home, 

I found Rupert and love.

Knitting. It is sparse.  

Pictures.  They will come.

November. It abounds.

I hope this letter finds you well.  If you have any other readers beyond me, give them my love.  

Your,

Beverly

Boo!

Crummy Little Orange Calculator

The first batch of grading is still underway.  I sometimes leave the house to grade, settling in at a coffeeshop, where the distractions don't really involve me.  No dogs to let out, no floors to clean, no husbands to chat with.  Just (sometimes good, sometimes bad) music and (sometimes good, sometimes bad) papers, a warm drink, and my optimism.

When I began teaching in 2000, I had a really difficult time figuring out how to determine grades.  Now I use a 1,000 point scale, and all work has a maximum point value towards that perfect 1,000.  I'm a writer, people, not a mathlete!  My boss at the time gave me the tiny calculator pictured.  I have a cheat sheet on the back that lets me know how many points out of, say, 15, make a "B".  I've been using this calculator for almost ten years.

I came home from the coffeeshop on Monday and tore my tote bag and purse apart looking for it.  I was nearly brought to tears over its loss.  I called the coffeeshop, and what do you know?  Two hours after I left there, it was waiting for me on a table.  I had to laugh.  Here I was, acting like I'd left my laptop or iPhone behind.  I couldn't believe someone hadn't seen it and snagged it for themselves! This crummy calculator is just a little swag giveaway my old boss got years ago.  But it is orange.  It fits perfectly in my hand.  It has the cheat sheet.  It's the tool I've used to grade almost everything I've graded since that first class. 

I'm just a sentimental goofball, I guess. Do you have something like the little orange calculator?  Pretty worthless, but devastating if you lost it?  Tell me about it, will you?

Baby Ellie's Booties

What girl can't use a cute pair of shoes? Inspired by Sarah's adorable Saartje's Booties in angora, I made these for a new baby girl. The buttons are my favorite part--I totally want to knit a close fitting cardigan and use the same buttons on it.

We've had such a pretty fall weekend here in Connecticut.  I hope we have the same weather in Rhinebeck next weekend.  Yesterday after I finished up some grading and Neal some renovating, we hopped on our bikes and did a quick 14 miles on our nearby bike path.  As much as I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere in this little town and miss my city life, I am fortunate to have so many great places to play.  Neal took Africabike on the path while I rode Trixie Trek, and he fell hard for the fun, fun ride she provides.  I think there may be another townie bike in our future.

I'm off to do more grading.  I reward myself every few papers and after really painful-to-read papers with a few rows of knitting.  Hope your Sunday is restful and rewarding, too!

Green Beer

I'm usually more of a Guinness girl, but I couldn't resist a little something different.

The Clapotis and I had a little bit of a spat.  Okay, I got frustrated by knotty yarn and knowing that I could not finish for Rhinebeck unless I gave up, oh, everything else I do day to day.  Last weekend I cast on for Dandy using the Green Beer I purchased from Beth at Sugar Spun Yarns.  The color had the girls at SnB cooing, and the yarn's springiness has made knitting a pure pleasure.  Beth has more of her fabu handspun for sale--she's assured me that the Honey Mustard is from a similar batt and spun just like the Green Beer.  I just nabbed a little Candy Corn from her because I discovered over the summer that orange is my new pink. 

This weekend I'll be back in the grading frenzy.  I have a really nice group of students this year, even if the first paper I read had me shouting to Neal lines that were so fraught with meaninglessness that I had to stop for a few sips of Green Beer to relieve the pressure that threatened to make my brain drain from my ears.

Also?  I'm a little worried about the situation with NASA crashing into the moon.  I mean, I know they are smart people and all, but I can't help feeling alarmed, like this is going to set off the plot of a bad Sci-Fi novel.

Finally, I'll leave off by saying that I'm thrilled about President Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  The haters may get off on saying that he hasn't done "anything" yet, but I think a reading of the committee's statement makes it clear that the President was an excellent, timely choice for the prize.

Enjoy the weekend!  I'm looking forward to plowing through my grading and taking those Green Beer breaks regularly!

Granola

Neal and I both like granola, but the brands we prefer are a bit pricey.  Enter Mark Bittman's recipe and a trip to the local health food store, and we have a custom, economical version.  I left out the coconut as I'm not a fan, and I used pepitas, sunflower seeds, and almonds.  Next time I'll put in more dried fruit, and flax seed.  It's so yummy over yogurt (next on my list of make-it-myself foods), and really delish with milk and fresh berries.  Best of all?  I get super happy when I see the two jars up in my new (nearly finished) cabinet. 

What (vegetarian) recipes make you happy lately?

Get a Load of This, Mr. Jeffries, or Pup Pr*n

She may be older than the adorable Olive, but Coco feels that Mr. Jeffries (her no-longer-secret crush) should not squander all of his affections on a mere pup.  To entice him, she asked me to post  her recent bathing beauty photo.  If this doesn't catch his eye, she may resort to sending him half-dead beetles with which to amuse himself, or perhaps even a few slugs in which to roll and achieve that je ne sais quois she adores.

She even plans to donate to the Red Scarf Fund to prove her affection.

One Special Day and 99 Others

Yesterday was Neal's birthday.  I love this picture taken in the meadow over the summer with George the iPhone.  Sweet little kisses among the flowers are one of life's joys, don't you think?

Last Tuesday we hit 100 days until the end of the year, and in a final push to meet some goals, Neal and I have undertaken the 100 Days Project.  We have fitness and financial goals to meet, and I have some writing and crafting goals as well.  Since I seem to fail at goals that I proclaim publicly, I'm going to keep this set mum for the most part, but I'll be sure to let you know what success I meet.

Remember when knit bloggers used to write about knitting on their blogs?  Ravelry has caused me to move a lot of what I have to say about the craft off of the blog and onto my Projects pages, and I think I want to shift back here a little more.  Right now I'm in the midst of a Clapotis (surely I do not need to link to the pattern).  I want to wear it to Rhinebeck, which means a lot of knitting ahead of me.  At some point, though, I may decide I can't achieve that goal and switch my plan.  Beth has opened a shop for her lovely handspun, and I scored about 300 yards of her Green Beer worsted.  This fantastic yarn may become a Milkweed Shawl (Rav link) if I think I can squeak by with what I have.  Anyway, that's Plan B.

Are you going to Rhinebeck?  Are we going to see each other there?  I sure hope so!

No Pachanga Here

Johnny Castle never backed down.  He wasn't afraid to express himself.  He did what it took to survive.  He admired people who deserved admiration.  He wasn't going to settle for the pachanga when his dancers knew a livelier, fresher way to move.  He knew that no young woman should be put in a corner.

Patrick Swayze's passing hit me hard.  I came to adore him later than most.  The fall that "Dirty Dancing" was out, I was working like crazy at a couple of different jobs and in school.  Neal and I were dating for the first time.  I think I saw one movie that fall.  When spring came, I added even more work to my schedule as I was saving up to spend a month in Australia.  By the time I returned home and settled back into a more civilized pace of life, "Dirty Dancing" wasn't even in the 99 cent theater.  I did have a cut pair of denim shorts to my knee just like Baby sports, though.

Fast forward to the late 1990s.  My girlfriend Jessie, a dancer, couldn't believe that I'd never seen what can only be deemed a classic movie.  She had an extra copy and gave it to me.  I think I watched it three times in a row that first time.  I rarely can watch just once.  I think this lovely essay gets to the heart of what is so special about "Dirty Dancing" and Patrick Swayze.

This weekend, I'm going to have a little "Dirty Dancing" marathon.  I'm going to fix something wonderful to eat, curl up on the couch, and feel the thrill of first love again.  Then I might talk Neal into another round of dancing lessons.  Let's face it, who doesn't want to be Baby in that final scene, even for a moment?

Never Forget

It's rainy today, which suits the eighth anniversary of the scariest day of my life.  I will never forget being at the train station and seeing the smoke curl up into the air, an empty space where the Towers that used to glint pink in the sunset. I will never forget the smell of the air. I will never forget the pain of so many around me.  I will never forget the fear.  I will never forget the bravery.  I will never forget the unification of so many.  I will never forget the determination to not be afraid.  I will never forget my pride in the United States of America.

Please do a kindness today in remembrance of those who lost their lives eight years ago.