First day down, and I think it went well! My "kids" (must stop calling them that!) are so sweet and so eager to learn - a teacher's dream.
And speaking of dreams, I must go plan lessons because I am exhausted and need to go to bed. Thanks SO much for your prayers!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Deja vu week
Many of my new colleagues have commented that their first year teaching was very challenging, but since I've taught before, I "won't find it as hard". I've wanted to reply hastily that a first year is a first year, no matter what. But this week could be called "deja vu week" because of all the similarities I've noticed between teaching high school and teaching college. I don't want to cast aspersions on my present or former institution, nor my present or past colleagues. But this week brought more than a few laughs as I realized that, in this world, some things are universal.
While my contract did not begin until Thursday of this week, I went to campus Monday in hopes of being more productive in the office than at home. (Apparently everyone else had the same idea.) I asked a male colleague what the dress code was for various meetings through the week. He explained, and then finished by saying, "Well, look around, and notice that the men wear a tie, and the women wear whatever they want!" I immediately burst out laughing, because this was an annual discussion (verbatim) held at the high school. Deja vu!
Then I went to explore the faculty lounge. Another colleague was also there, hunting for some grub. I asked about how things go, and heard that "the unwritten rule is: if it's on the table it's fair game, if it's in the fridge it's hands off." Deja vu!
That night I went to a new faculty orientation meeting. The Assistant Academic Dean oriented us to the academic policies of the school. Many (if not all) of them are identical to the ones I'm accustomed to. And even as she exhorted us and pled with us to not violate these policies in ways I can't believe any professional ever would (and yet I know they do!), I thought to myself "Deja vu!"
At Thursday's round of back to school meetings, it was deja vu all over again. The president gave the State of the School address. Then we broke up for department meetings, wherein the usual grousing took place. Lunch was on the house, and the afternoon held a faculty meeting. Deja vu!
Not all was deja vu. News to report is that at the orientation Mass, I publicly took the Oath of Fidelity to the Catholic Church. The University requires (in accordance with Church law) that all Theology and Catechetics faculty, priests, and anyone in a position of directly teaching the Faith take this oath. I knew I would do that and hadn't really given it a thought, because I have been living the oath already for 13 years of teaching. But the doing of it was a solemn and beautiful moment for me. When I finished, the Bishop handed me the mandatum, his official permission that I can teach theology at a university, which is required by canon law. I'm in now!
So it turns out my colleagues were right after all, in that I have an advantage by having 13 years experience teaching in a school. In addition, I have God's grace to help me, now that I've placed myself under oath. Classes begin Tuesday. Pray for me, that the Holy Spirit guides me to (as the Oath of Fidelity says) "preserve and transmit the Deposit of Faith in its beauty and integrity."
While my contract did not begin until Thursday of this week, I went to campus Monday in hopes of being more productive in the office than at home. (Apparently everyone else had the same idea.) I asked a male colleague what the dress code was for various meetings through the week. He explained, and then finished by saying, "Well, look around, and notice that the men wear a tie, and the women wear whatever they want!" I immediately burst out laughing, because this was an annual discussion (verbatim) held at the high school. Deja vu!
Then I went to explore the faculty lounge. Another colleague was also there, hunting for some grub. I asked about how things go, and heard that "the unwritten rule is: if it's on the table it's fair game, if it's in the fridge it's hands off." Deja vu!
That night I went to a new faculty orientation meeting. The Assistant Academic Dean oriented us to the academic policies of the school. Many (if not all) of them are identical to the ones I'm accustomed to. And even as she exhorted us and pled with us to not violate these policies in ways I can't believe any professional ever would (and yet I know they do!), I thought to myself "Deja vu!"
At Thursday's round of back to school meetings, it was deja vu all over again. The president gave the State of the School address. Then we broke up for department meetings, wherein the usual grousing took place. Lunch was on the house, and the afternoon held a faculty meeting. Deja vu!
Not all was deja vu. News to report is that at the orientation Mass, I publicly took the Oath of Fidelity to the Catholic Church. The University requires (in accordance with Church law) that all Theology and Catechetics faculty, priests, and anyone in a position of directly teaching the Faith take this oath. I knew I would do that and hadn't really given it a thought, because I have been living the oath already for 13 years of teaching. But the doing of it was a solemn and beautiful moment for me. When I finished, the Bishop handed me the mandatum, his official permission that I can teach theology at a university, which is required by canon law. I'm in now!
So it turns out my colleagues were right after all, in that I have an advantage by having 13 years experience teaching in a school. In addition, I have God's grace to help me, now that I've placed myself under oath. Classes begin Tuesday. Pray for me, that the Holy Spirit guides me to (as the Oath of Fidelity says) "preserve and transmit the Deposit of Faith in its beauty and integrity."
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Workout woes
Many of you know I've avidly Jazzercised for the past 8 years. Since I'd have to travel 45 minutes one way to get to the nearest Jazzercise class in this area, I knew I 'd said goodbye-for-now to Jazzercise when I moved. I assumed I could find something just as effective here, even if I didn't like it as well. Not so much.
I should probably state right off the bat that since I've never been what anyone (in their right mind) would call "athletic", I have never really enjoyed exercise. I tried it all, it seemed, and anything that didn't cause some sort of injury just wasn't enjoyable. The only real exception to that was dance. I took ballet classes in middle school and really loved the beauty of it. But when I tried again as an adult, I found that while I liked the toning I got, it just didn't increase my heart rate. It was also expensive. When I found Jazzercise, I found everything I needed: a fun way to get my aerobic workout through dance, lots of good toning exercises, encouragement to push myself a little harder combined with assurance that I didn't have to keep up with everyone else, and instructions on how to modify exercises so I didn't injure myself. The benefits were fantastic: I became healthier and stronger overall; I protected my vulnerable back from further injury through core work; I had a healthy outlet for managing my stress; I slept better; and my clothes fit better. What more can you ask?
Would that every exercise offering could do that for me.
My first attempt at "replacement-cise" focused on the programs offered by my work. I heard from HR that a step aerobics class meets a few times a week, and a "jazzercise" class meets at alternate times, but they were on summer hiatus when I arrived. However, once they reconvened, I got right in there. Both instructor and class welcomed a new class member enthusiastically. But my heart rate didn't rise as I'm used to, and we didn't do any toning exercises, both of which I need. I have a weak back and have to work my core pretty hard to keep from injuring myself, and it didn't look like these classes would cut the mustard for my regular workout. On to Option 2.
A local YMCA offers a number of classes. I reviewed the schedule and thought "Total Body Conditioning" looked promising. At the perfunctory gym tour I was told the instructor taught two back-to-back classes several days a week and used to weigh 212 pounds. Hopes high, I entered the workout studio. The instructor was spunky and sassy and yes, appeared to weigh just about 100 pounds to her 5 foot frame. But she sported a severe case of what seemed like osteoporosis. Still, as we gathered steps and mats and hand weights and rubber bands, I remained hopeful that this class could help me. Hopes dashed. We did light step aerobics for 10 minutes (hasn't anyone heard that 20 minutes is the minimum for an effective workout?), paused for 5 minutes to chat and wipe the sweat off our brows, hand weights for 10 minutes, paused for 5 minutes to chat and wipe the sweat off our brows, core for 10 minutes, paused for 5 minutes to chat & wipe the sweat off our brows, paused for 5 more minutes to wonder what time class ended and what we should do for the rest of the time, then cooled down for 10 minutes. (Why we needed a cool down remained a mystery to me, but there you have it...a full 60-minute class.) Since they wouldn't let me try any other classes without joining, I moved on to Option 3.
I've heard about Zumba for a few years, and assumed it's a kind of Jazzercise, Latin style. While I'm not very adept at the whole Latin dance thing, I knew it would give me the core workout I need. I heard about an instructor who has her own studio, called, got the class schedule, and braved a class. We started the class by moshing. (Who needs a warm-up??) We continued to mosh, head-bang, and belly dance (!) at the highest possible intensity for the next 55 minutes. I kept up pretty well, and was glad to finally sweat and get some core work, but I had to modify a bit to keep from hurting myself. (I thought moshing & head-banging ended after high school...?) And I wished for some toning exercises for my arms & legs.
I researched all the options I could find on the internet. Maybe a gym offers Zumba classes, I thought. Nope. At best, one night a week. I don't want to join a gym. I've been to a gym. Or, more accurately, I paid dues to be a member of a gym. I certainly never worked out at the gym. When the gym is always open, I always say "I'll go later." I need a class time that I either make or I don't. So joining the gym for a once-a-week dance class isn't a good option. Maybe another Jazzercise class has miraculously sprung into being, I thought. Nope. I began wondering if I could make that hour and a half round trip commute, plus hour-long class, three nights a week. I realized that if I were crazy enough to sign up for that, it would become a practical impossibility once snow flies. In total desperation, I began researching how to become a Jazzercise instructor. (Go ahead and laugh.) I realized that I may be driven to that some day, but to take on not one but two new teaching jobs in the same year would utterly defeat the purpose. I want my exercise to decrease my stress level, not increase it.
So I've decided to join the Zumba classes. I'm going to get some DVDs to use at home in hopes of getting some arm/leg work in. (Hopefully they won't end up as useless as the gym membership.) I may also take the aerobic intensity down in class and use some wrist weights I have to tone the arms. The instructor offered me a new student special, which will take me through first semester, but regularly her classes are well out of the price range. So I may face the same dilemma come January. Stay tuned for further whining. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Zumba.
Update: Okay, so I've returned - not from Zumba, but from the Zumba teacher's "toning" class. Every muscle group is quivering. She asked if I wanted to stay for belly dancing but I don't think I could make my body - or my belly - obey any command. Maybe Zumba will work out after all. (And yes, I too am cracking up at the mental image of me belly dancing. Among other things, I have no groove or rhythm whatsoever. It's a, um, genetic deficiency.)
I should probably state right off the bat that since I've never been what anyone (in their right mind) would call "athletic", I have never really enjoyed exercise. I tried it all, it seemed, and anything that didn't cause some sort of injury just wasn't enjoyable. The only real exception to that was dance. I took ballet classes in middle school and really loved the beauty of it. But when I tried again as an adult, I found that while I liked the toning I got, it just didn't increase my heart rate. It was also expensive. When I found Jazzercise, I found everything I needed: a fun way to get my aerobic workout through dance, lots of good toning exercises, encouragement to push myself a little harder combined with assurance that I didn't have to keep up with everyone else, and instructions on how to modify exercises so I didn't injure myself. The benefits were fantastic: I became healthier and stronger overall; I protected my vulnerable back from further injury through core work; I had a healthy outlet for managing my stress; I slept better; and my clothes fit better. What more can you ask?
Would that every exercise offering could do that for me.
My first attempt at "replacement-cise" focused on the programs offered by my work. I heard from HR that a step aerobics class meets a few times a week, and a "jazzercise" class meets at alternate times, but they were on summer hiatus when I arrived. However, once they reconvened, I got right in there. Both instructor and class welcomed a new class member enthusiastically. But my heart rate didn't rise as I'm used to, and we didn't do any toning exercises, both of which I need. I have a weak back and have to work my core pretty hard to keep from injuring myself, and it didn't look like these classes would cut the mustard for my regular workout. On to Option 2.
A local YMCA offers a number of classes. I reviewed the schedule and thought "Total Body Conditioning" looked promising. At the perfunctory gym tour I was told the instructor taught two back-to-back classes several days a week and used to weigh 212 pounds. Hopes high, I entered the workout studio. The instructor was spunky and sassy and yes, appeared to weigh just about 100 pounds to her 5 foot frame. But she sported a severe case of what seemed like osteoporosis. Still, as we gathered steps and mats and hand weights and rubber bands, I remained hopeful that this class could help me. Hopes dashed. We did light step aerobics for 10 minutes (hasn't anyone heard that 20 minutes is the minimum for an effective workout?), paused for 5 minutes to chat and wipe the sweat off our brows, hand weights for 10 minutes, paused for 5 minutes to chat and wipe the sweat off our brows, core for 10 minutes, paused for 5 minutes to chat & wipe the sweat off our brows, paused for 5 more minutes to wonder what time class ended and what we should do for the rest of the time, then cooled down for 10 minutes. (Why we needed a cool down remained a mystery to me, but there you have it...a full 60-minute class.) Since they wouldn't let me try any other classes without joining, I moved on to Option 3.
I've heard about Zumba for a few years, and assumed it's a kind of Jazzercise, Latin style. While I'm not very adept at the whole Latin dance thing, I knew it would give me the core workout I need. I heard about an instructor who has her own studio, called, got the class schedule, and braved a class. We started the class by moshing. (Who needs a warm-up??) We continued to mosh, head-bang, and belly dance (!) at the highest possible intensity for the next 55 minutes. I kept up pretty well, and was glad to finally sweat and get some core work, but I had to modify a bit to keep from hurting myself. (I thought moshing & head-banging ended after high school...?) And I wished for some toning exercises for my arms & legs.
I researched all the options I could find on the internet. Maybe a gym offers Zumba classes, I thought. Nope. At best, one night a week. I don't want to join a gym. I've been to a gym. Or, more accurately, I paid dues to be a member of a gym. I certainly never worked out at the gym. When the gym is always open, I always say "I'll go later." I need a class time that I either make or I don't. So joining the gym for a once-a-week dance class isn't a good option. Maybe another Jazzercise class has miraculously sprung into being, I thought. Nope. I began wondering if I could make that hour and a half round trip commute, plus hour-long class, three nights a week. I realized that if I were crazy enough to sign up for that, it would become a practical impossibility once snow flies. In total desperation, I began researching how to become a Jazzercise instructor. (Go ahead and laugh.) I realized that I may be driven to that some day, but to take on not one but two new teaching jobs in the same year would utterly defeat the purpose. I want my exercise to decrease my stress level, not increase it.
So I've decided to join the Zumba classes. I'm going to get some DVDs to use at home in hopes of getting some arm/leg work in. (Hopefully they won't end up as useless as the gym membership.) I may also take the aerobic intensity down in class and use some wrist weights I have to tone the arms. The instructor offered me a new student special, which will take me through first semester, but regularly her classes are well out of the price range. So I may face the same dilemma come January. Stay tuned for further whining. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Zumba.
Update: Okay, so I've returned - not from Zumba, but from the Zumba teacher's "toning" class. Every muscle group is quivering. She asked if I wanted to stay for belly dancing but I don't think I could make my body - or my belly - obey any command. Maybe Zumba will work out after all. (And yes, I too am cracking up at the mental image of me belly dancing. Among other things, I have no groove or rhythm whatsoever. It's a, um, genetic deficiency.)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Counting down
Ten days from today, I will begin the meetings, in services, and advising sessions that precede the start of classes. Classes officially begin on August 30, which seems very late to this former high school teacher, but the date stares me in the face with the force of...I don't know what. I'm really excited about my classes, and also terrified. Not terrified of the students - I might feel better once I see them face to face. Terrified because there is so much to do to prepare and I'm not making the progress I'd like to and I don't know how I will ever keep up once school begins.
I've been reading the texts for the courses as I prepare the lessons, and have been fascinated by them. Some of the texts I read as a grad student, and so they are quite invigorating to re-read with the perspective of 13 years experience behind me. Some of the texts are new - either unassigned in my grad program or assigned but never quite read. (Students are students no matter what level of education!)
A text I finished yesterday is A Map of Life by Frank Sheed. I've read two of Sheed's other works: Theology for Beginners was the first book that ever explained to me the teachings of the Catholic Church, and To Know Christ Jesus beautifully tells the story of Jesus in a way that helped me not just know about Him, but know Him. So when I learned that Map is a required text for one of my classes, I eagerly picked it up. My students have to write a reflection on it; here's an abbreviated rough draft of my own.
In A Map of Life (aptly subtitled "A Simple Study of the Catholic Faith"), Sheed seeks to explain the most fundamental truths of the Faith from the perspective that Heaven is our destination, and the Faith is our road map for how to get there. He explains that God made each of us for Heaven, but that we cannot get there on our own power. We need God to show us the way to go, and to give us the power to get there. When Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," He is telling us that He is fulfilling what we need Him to do. Sheed then goes on to marvelously explain the tenets of the Catholic Faith in light of that reality.
One of the parts that struck me most was the discussion of how supernatural Life comes into the soul. Sheed reminds the reader that this is sheer grace, total gift from God, not earned by us but given in love by Him who loves us infinitely. He also reminds us that at Baptism, we become members of Christ's body, and Christ's life is given to us. St. Paul said as much in saying "I live, yet now not I, but Christ lives in me." Sheed goes on to beautifully explain how prayer directs our lives to God. But then he pointed out:
Man is not an isolated unit, but a being linked by his very nature to other men. He owes his coming into existence to a man and a woman; he owes his continuance in existence, the development of his powers of mind and body, the full life of his emotions, to a certain cooperation with others. If prayer is to be a directing of his life to God, this necessary social element in his nature must not be excluded -- otherwise there would be a whole side of his nature not consecrated to God. Therefore, not only must he pray for his fellow men, he must from time to time join with them in the worship of God.
Huh. I never heard such a clear explanation for the "why" behind the 3rd commandment! But he goes on:
There is not only a prayer of the individual cell but a prayer of the whole body. And if for its own individual prayer, the cell uses the life of the whole body, equally it joins in the prayer of the whole body and makes it its own. [This prayer of the body] must be the prayer of the Head, of him whose Body it is..."Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us."...His intercession for us is not a thing done upon Calvary once and for all, but a continuous thing, a thing that never ceases. In other words, Christ in heaven is unceasingly making intercession for us. But the basis of our Lord's intercession is Calvary. ...Therefore, Christ in heaving is continuously offering his own death upon Calvary to his Father on our behalf. That is the prayer of Christ himself. The prayer of his Body is an earthly participation in that.
And after several pages of explanation, he summarizes:
"Our situation as Catholics may be seen in its simplest elements. By baptism, we are built into the Body of Christ, and as cells in the Body we are able to live with the life of the Body. The condition of all life in God is prayer: our prayer in the Body culminates in the supreme prayer of the Mass, and from the Mass we receive Christ himself to be the food of our life in the Body. Communion, then, is God's supreme gift to us upon earth. Everything in our life is vitalized by it. Baptism leads up to it, everything else flows from it."
None of this is new information for me. But a new way of explaining and understanding something always helps me appreciate it more. So I carried it with me, in my mind and in my heart, to Mass this morning. And somehow, I experienced Mass far more beautifully than I have in quite some time.
A Map of Life is a short book that can be read quickly for information, or slowly for meditation. I highly recommend it, whether you are Catholic and want a refresher on the faith or non-Catholic and just want a brief overview of what Catholics believe and why.
Meanwhile, please pray for me to make progress on these lesson plans so that I can stay sane this semester!
I've been reading the texts for the courses as I prepare the lessons, and have been fascinated by them. Some of the texts I read as a grad student, and so they are quite invigorating to re-read with the perspective of 13 years experience behind me. Some of the texts are new - either unassigned in my grad program or assigned but never quite read. (Students are students no matter what level of education!)
A text I finished yesterday is A Map of Life by Frank Sheed. I've read two of Sheed's other works: Theology for Beginners was the first book that ever explained to me the teachings of the Catholic Church, and To Know Christ Jesus beautifully tells the story of Jesus in a way that helped me not just know about Him, but know Him. So when I learned that Map is a required text for one of my classes, I eagerly picked it up. My students have to write a reflection on it; here's an abbreviated rough draft of my own.
In A Map of Life (aptly subtitled "A Simple Study of the Catholic Faith"), Sheed seeks to explain the most fundamental truths of the Faith from the perspective that Heaven is our destination, and the Faith is our road map for how to get there. He explains that God made each of us for Heaven, but that we cannot get there on our own power. We need God to show us the way to go, and to give us the power to get there. When Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," He is telling us that He is fulfilling what we need Him to do. Sheed then goes on to marvelously explain the tenets of the Catholic Faith in light of that reality.
One of the parts that struck me most was the discussion of how supernatural Life comes into the soul. Sheed reminds the reader that this is sheer grace, total gift from God, not earned by us but given in love by Him who loves us infinitely. He also reminds us that at Baptism, we become members of Christ's body, and Christ's life is given to us. St. Paul said as much in saying "I live, yet now not I, but Christ lives in me." Sheed goes on to beautifully explain how prayer directs our lives to God. But then he pointed out:
Man is not an isolated unit, but a being linked by his very nature to other men. He owes his coming into existence to a man and a woman; he owes his continuance in existence, the development of his powers of mind and body, the full life of his emotions, to a certain cooperation with others. If prayer is to be a directing of his life to God, this necessary social element in his nature must not be excluded -- otherwise there would be a whole side of his nature not consecrated to God. Therefore, not only must he pray for his fellow men, he must from time to time join with them in the worship of God.
Huh. I never heard such a clear explanation for the "why" behind the 3rd commandment! But he goes on:
There is not only a prayer of the individual cell but a prayer of the whole body. And if for its own individual prayer, the cell uses the life of the whole body, equally it joins in the prayer of the whole body and makes it its own. [This prayer of the body] must be the prayer of the Head, of him whose Body it is..."Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us."...His intercession for us is not a thing done upon Calvary once and for all, but a continuous thing, a thing that never ceases. In other words, Christ in heaven is unceasingly making intercession for us. But the basis of our Lord's intercession is Calvary. ...Therefore, Christ in heaving is continuously offering his own death upon Calvary to his Father on our behalf. That is the prayer of Christ himself. The prayer of his Body is an earthly participation in that.
And after several pages of explanation, he summarizes:
"Our situation as Catholics may be seen in its simplest elements. By baptism, we are built into the Body of Christ, and as cells in the Body we are able to live with the life of the Body. The condition of all life in God is prayer: our prayer in the Body culminates in the supreme prayer of the Mass, and from the Mass we receive Christ himself to be the food of our life in the Body. Communion, then, is God's supreme gift to us upon earth. Everything in our life is vitalized by it. Baptism leads up to it, everything else flows from it."
None of this is new information for me. But a new way of explaining and understanding something always helps me appreciate it more. So I carried it with me, in my mind and in my heart, to Mass this morning. And somehow, I experienced Mass far more beautifully than I have in quite some time.
A Map of Life is a short book that can be read quickly for information, or slowly for meditation. I highly recommend it, whether you are Catholic and want a refresher on the faith or non-Catholic and just want a brief overview of what Catholics believe and why.
Meanwhile, please pray for me to make progress on these lesson plans so that I can stay sane this semester!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
It is finished!!!
Thank the dear Lord for generous friends and helping hands. I could never have accomplished this move without them!
After getting a great start out of the gate in the moving race, I stalled. Everything, from grocery shopping to cooking to filing, seemed to be taking longer than I expected or wanted. (I mean, when this is all the counter space you've got, you can only chop so much at once!)
Anyway, my grad school friend Amy came to town for a few days to help me get my house in order. No kidding, we worked from dawn til way past dark unpacking, organizing, arranging. We stopped to eat some delicious meals, to go to Mass, to sleep. We talked non-stop while we worked (no surprise to her husband), so it was lots of fun! I could never have finished it without her.
Want a tour? Here it is, in 2 parts:
In reviewing the audio, I realize I over-use the word "great" and should have scripted what I was going to say. Sorry it's not very dynamic (or "great"), but several people have asked for pictures and I wanted you to be able to see what we did.
I delight in so much about this house! Last week as I answered email, a movement outside my window caught my eye. I looked up and saw several birds, including at least three goldfinches, searching for seeds in the sunflowers. I had thought to harvest those seeds for myself, but the birds provided such a great show that I think I'll let them have them. Now that the heat has broken, I've left the windows open at night - something I didn't feel safe doing in my one-level house - and the birds chirping woke me up the next morning. My drive through my neighborhood charms me: each house showcases more beautiful stone and more beautiful flowers than the one before it. (I need to take some pictures for a future blog post.) A friend and master gardener promised to look my garden over to identify some unknown plants, and I can't wait to get to work on helping it to thrive. And now that the boxes are all unpacked, I'm able to see the gorgeous hardwood floors I've got!
I'm so, so grateful for everyone's help, in my new home and old! I still have so much to do, & so little time...only 19 days til classes begin, and syllabi and lesson plans in embryonic stages. Hopefully I can get that in gear and get lots done over the next several days.
After getting a great start out of the gate in the moving race, I stalled. Everything, from grocery shopping to cooking to filing, seemed to be taking longer than I expected or wanted. (I mean, when this is all the counter space you've got, you can only chop so much at once!)
Anyway, my grad school friend Amy came to town for a few days to help me get my house in order. No kidding, we worked from dawn til way past dark unpacking, organizing, arranging. We stopped to eat some delicious meals, to go to Mass, to sleep. We talked non-stop while we worked (no surprise to her husband), so it was lots of fun! I could never have finished it without her.
Want a tour? Here it is, in 2 parts:
In reviewing the audio, I realize I over-use the word "great" and should have scripted what I was going to say. Sorry it's not very dynamic (or "great"), but several people have asked for pictures and I wanted you to be able to see what we did.
I delight in so much about this house! Last week as I answered email, a movement outside my window caught my eye. I looked up and saw several birds, including at least three goldfinches, searching for seeds in the sunflowers. I had thought to harvest those seeds for myself, but the birds provided such a great show that I think I'll let them have them. Now that the heat has broken, I've left the windows open at night - something I didn't feel safe doing in my one-level house - and the birds chirping woke me up the next morning. My drive through my neighborhood charms me: each house showcases more beautiful stone and more beautiful flowers than the one before it. (I need to take some pictures for a future blog post.) A friend and master gardener promised to look my garden over to identify some unknown plants, and I can't wait to get to work on helping it to thrive. And now that the boxes are all unpacked, I'm able to see the gorgeous hardwood floors I've got!
I'm so, so grateful for everyone's help, in my new home and old! I still have so much to do, & so little time...only 19 days til classes begin, and syllabi and lesson plans in embryonic stages. Hopefully I can get that in gear and get lots done over the next several days.
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