Happy Halloween!

When you have a "OK, whatever you want is fine with me" kind of dog, doesn't that obligate you to set up and take these kinds of pictures?

Arf!

What a day (and a half)

I knew this was coming, but yesterday, my car wouldn't start. Thankfully I have AAA, so the tow to the mechanic was free. I have a great repair shop, whose only downside is that they are too small to have anybody around to give me a ride to or from work. Mr W's dad was nice enough to lend me one of his cars, and my plan was to ask my coworker to help me get my car this afternoon.

Unfortunately, she was out today, so I ended up dropping off the borrowed truck and taking the bus to the repair shop. I have been lucky to not need public transit often, but it always reminds me of my first year of college, when I lived at home and took a bus down to Cleveland State University for classes. It started to rain a very cold rain about 5 minutes after I got into my car, and I was grateful for not having to do my car-getting in the rain.

At 170,000 miles, I asked the car guy, "when is it time to buy a new car?" He said my car is doing fine, has lots of life left in it, and that they'll tell me when that tipping point is reached where putting any more money into the car is a bad idea. It's good to have repair people you can trust.

The other thing that happened today is that I got the results back from the x-ray of my lower back. I had gone in on Friday, because my lower back starts to hurt after I stand for a while, and it's gotten to the point where it doesn't feel like I can stretch it out anymore to make it feel better. As these things go, they left a message on my home answering machine yesterday, which I didn't get until after the office closed.

It's so hard to read anything from "we've got the results from your x-ray, give us a call", so I tried hard not to read anything into it. The verdict: a low degree of bone degeneration (i.e. arthritis) in my hip, which I knew about and doesn't bother me, and what they called "mild scoliosis". Huh. As in a mild curvature of my spine. The recommendation is to get started on physical therapy and go back in a month or so.

Mild scoliosis? My initial reaction was something like, "That's awesome!" out of relief as much as anything else. It's been named and now is a dealable thing. I was thankful, but it's been a busy day and a half.

Health coverage guilt

I went to the doctor on Friday for some low back pain I've been having. It seems to be related to the hip injury I had back in 1991. The initial thinking is that I've compensated by shifting my weight to the left side and now my left lower back hurts.

I had PT for the hip at the beginning of the year, as it had gotten stiff and hurt sometimes when I walked. It's good. It feels pretty darn good. But my back is getting worse, and it's aggravated by standing, so it needs to be looked at.

So I went to the doctor, and they recommend starting with an x-ray. I go over to the imaging center, and the sign says, "Please have your I.D. and your insurance card ready to hand to the receptionist". I have these things, so it's not a problem for me, but it got me thinking about the health care debate and that there are plenty of people who would not, could not go to the doctor to get themselves checked out because they simply couldn't afford it.

I feel guilty for having coverage and not doing anything about other people not having it.

It's too soon to know what the x-ray will show, and I have to admit that there's always a fear (always) that there's a big old tumor back there that only feels like back pain and off we'll go on it being Linda's turn to die young. I know, I'm getting ahead of myself. This class thing has been stressful, and I know that I don't want more stress in my life. I'm all about the balance stuff. On the flip side, it's been nice to put some money into savings.

Fall Color - Colorado Style

We don't get much in the way of fall color here. There's yellows, but really it's no comparison to what was routinely seen in Ohio. This pic is of one of the trees on my tree lawn, a Serviceberry. The robins love the berries in early summer, and it puts on a good show in the fall. We got a few inches of snow a few weeks ago, and I thought that would put the kibosh on nice color. This ain't bad.

Out of the goodness of my heart

I just got back from hosting a study session at a local coffee shop. After the first exam, I felt badly that some students were just not "getting it", and this was something I was willing to offer to help students understand the difficult concepts.

We've been studying cellular respiration and photosynthesis, which are two reasonably difficult topics, especially if all you've had was high school biology. I scheduled what I thought was a perfectly reasonable time of the day, 10 am - noon on a Saturday (today) for the session.

I brought my notes, the textbook, and the study guide. I got there a few minutes early and got a table for 4, thinking we could easily move to one of the larger tables if there were enough people to warrant doing so.

So I'm sitting there, feeling benevolent, and the first person walks in. Then, shortly after, the second (and last) person comes in. Who were these students, you ask?

They were two of the five who are in no danger of getting anything other than an A for the class, two of the best students in the class. They each had a couple of questions about the lab we did yesterday, which they had already stared writing up.

So, no one that really needed the extra help showed up. I was of course happy to help these ladies, who, being close to my age, have built-in cred with me. This experience has helped me to realize something, though. My teaching contributes maybe half of what they are going to learn (as measured by the quizzes and exams) in this course.

The other half comes from their efforts - to read the chapter, study, come to and pay attention in class, and do the online learning stuff. It's their deal. With the exception of a couple of them, they are more than smart enough to "get" the material. For those students, they really will get out of it what they put in. I feel sort of bad, though, for the ones whose expectation is that they will be fed this stuff and then all they'll need to do is memorize most of their notes and spit them back.

I'll do more of these sessions, but now my expectations are a little more realistic.

Man, I miss knitting - to my own peril!

This past weekend, it was my turn to watch Mr W, and we did a nice assortment of kid stuff and house stuff, and I worked on my school stuff a bit. Not enough. Throughout, I had this really strong urge to knit. Man, I miss knitting. So I started something small - a little knit ornament - and picked a scarf pattern that I haven't started yet.

I really got into knitting a couple of years ago. I was perfectly content in the evenings to listen to World Cafe with my feet up and knit for a couple of hours before bed. This worked well in the winter, especially. In the summer, my interest kind of wanes, and small things that don't warm my lap up (like socks) are good to work on.

You'll notice by the picture that I have several UFOs - that's unfinished objects, in knitspeak. From the left, there's the second sock of a pair I've been working on since spring - I'm trying to teach myself to knit socks from the toe-up instead of from the cuff down - I have to rip out the heel on these before I can continue, and the pattern makes it hard to do so, so I've done nothing. Next is a scrumptiously soft merino/alpaca yarn that I'm going to make a hat out of. Hope it gets done before it warms up in the spring. After that is the gold yarn for the ornament - just a few rows of that are done. Next is my Clapotis, which is done in sock yarn and is a scarf/wrap thing. Finally, there's my Radiate sweater that I wanted to complete this summer.

*sigh*

Oh, lest I forget, I have a vest for my niece that I really do need to finish. Before she's in high school (she's in second grade this year). Mental block on that one. Someday soon, I hope.

School has sucked out all of my free time. I am nervous because I'm going to AZ in a couple of weeks, and also going to Ohio for Thanksgiving. It's almost too much. I was barely prepared for class today, and completely forgot to write the quiz that was scheduled. I felt terrible. I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend, which means no knitting, no housework, no projects.

I still like teaching, though.

It's a good thing

In the class that I'm teaching, we are finishing up respiration today, and I have one more chapter (Photosynthesis) of material that I've learned, but learned a long time ago, to get through before we start something I know something about.

After we're done with Photosynthesis, we start Genetics - phew! There's still stuff I need to bone up on but this is much more familiar territory and I've felt like a bit of an impostor by presenting some of this stuff about metabolism and cellular respiration when I've just relearned it for myself and my knowledge of it is pretty shallow. I guess it is to be expected, and if I were to continue teaching, I'd "get it" more and more myself each time.

I did just find out, though, that my chances for a full time gig went down dramatically because a former full time instructor is coming back after doing a stint as a dean. All of the sudden, I'm not as motivated to stay on at the expense of feeling too busy. He's a great teacher, as is the lead instructor, so it's not like they are hiring poor instructors.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to talking about genetics stuff, and think I might have them do a - gasp - group project! Maybe a pairs project that is on some aspect of biotechnology. They respond really well to the extra stuff I throw out there, so I think they'd learn something from the exercise.

It's only 5

Is it time to put up the storm windows already? We can't possibly be done with fall, can we? Well, we are for a few days, anyway, and there's snow and cold temps a-coming.

I almost missed my opportunity. We got a break in the weather today, and it was about 50 out. I came home a little early, put up the storms, and went to the dog park. A minute before I pulled in, it got all blustery and the cold front that was predicted to come through started coming through.

I hate putting up and taking down storm windows. There are only 5 of them (it's a small house) that need to be put up and taken down each year, but three of them are the old fashioned kind. The rest are a mish-mash of windows with integrated storms and screens, and one window with just a screen, that I need to order storm window for (come to think of it).

Those big kahunas, though, are a bit of a challenge. They are a little taller than me, and made of wood and glass, and are about 20-25 lbs. each. They hang on these hook things mounted to the outside of the house, and I have to lift the window so its parts catch on the hooks and it hangs there. Of course, being over 100 years old, they don't fit like they used to, so I bang a bit with my rubber mallet and try to wedge them in their spots.

This task is the epitome of living by myself. I can do it, but it would be easier with some help, but it takes me less than an hour, so it's not worth making arrangements to get help. Nevertheless, I curse, and I sing, and I talk to the dog, who almost got bonked with a screen that I was trying to push out from the inside ("Sally! Look out! Good dog - nice reflexes"). It's a task that tempts me to feel a little sorry for myself that I can't say, "Honey? Do you think it's time to put up the storms? I'll clean up the garden. Thanks."

I recently passed 4 years in this house. Mr W noted the time as well, doing the math to see that we moved here when he was half his present age. He lives in two homes, really - but that's fodder for another post. I'm satisfied that all he can really remember is the present routine.

But for now, I have my sweater on, I'm going to made some tea - or pour a glass of wine maybe, and knit for a while. I miss knitting.

At Last

I've been working on a project at work that was one of those that was supposed to be pretty straightforward, but wasn't. The data mostly told the story we were hoping they would tell, with one exception. The most isolated population was supposed to show signs of that and have a measurable amount of inbreeding. Instead, the other 5 populations showed it, and this one didn't.

This led to several weeks of trying to figure out a biological answer to explain these results. In the end there wasn't one. It was more or less user error (i.e. my error). When we amplify fragments of DNA, the process, called PCR, cycles the temperature of the reactions up close to boiling, and back down to 50-60 degrees C, over and over again. I was using a cycling program that was recommended by the company that makes the machine that we visualize the PCR fragments on. Turns out the program was too hot, and some fragments must have dropped out to give me these results.

I figured this out by rerunning some of the samples at a lower temperature, and lo and behold, no inbreeding. Just like that. So now I'm trying to get the rest of the 300 or so samples processed as fast as I can, so we can get the manuscript out. My boss and another investigator discovered a new population of this certain form of mosquito and I've been holding up the show as far as what their population genetics look like.

This is one aspect of my job that I would change if I could. The part of the CDC I work for doesn't generally look at population genetics, so if I run into a problem, I have to go outside to get help. Since I'm still living where I went to school, this isn't too big of a deal, it's just that there's no one to bounce ideas off of in house. I think things run slower sometimes because I have to figure them out on my own.

I feel like there's something I should do to "make up for" the fact that this took so long. I'll have to think about that.

Three down

In a class of 21 students, I had one out last week, and two emailed me this morning to say they've got a fever and likely the flu, and thus would not be coming to class today. My response was, "Good! Please don't come in until you've been without a fever for 24 hours. We'll work out the details when you come back. "

So here we go. Hopefully, the sick ones will stay home and I won't get sick. We're as ready as we can be, I guess. I got my seasonal flu shot about a week ago, and the CDC will offer H1N1 vaccines as they become available. I'm OK with getting the vaccine, especially after I heard that it's prepared the same way that seasonal flu vaccines are prepared each year.

I have thought, though, about what I'll do if I get sick for a week. I can't imagine excusing myself from my responsibilities for that long. Not that I'm particularly essential for anything, I guess I just usually feel pretty busy with this and that. But I would heed my own advice, and make soup and hopefully feel good enough to knit.

A friend sent me a useful email the other day, listing things people could do, besides hand washing, to help reduce their chances of getting the flu. I hadn't thought of a couple of these. The advice centered around the fact that the virus has to physically be at a point of entry (i.e. inside one's mouth or nose) for a while, an hour to a few hours, to be able to get into one's body. With this in mind, the advice encouraged drinking plenty of warm liquids to wash any virus down to the inhospitable conditions of the stomach. Also, it was suggested to use a saline nasal spray a couple of times a day, followed by "vigorous" nose blowing, to dislodge virus in nostrils.

Simple stuff, but stuff I had not really thought of. It's definitely getting to be the dry season here, and I'm trying hard to keep my hands from cracking due to all the hand washing. I'll try these things (maybe with moderate nose blowing), cross my fingers, get enough rest, and hope for the best.

Tough week, once removed

Isn't it strange how things sometimes happen in waves? This week, a dear friend's hopes for the start of a new relationship were abruptly halted when the other party ended things, and the wife of an acquaintance died young. I read on Facebook of another friend who attended three funerals this week. Ouch.

Sometimes tragedy does seem to come in waves. What a great time to take stock. I saw yet another friend today who has had some health issues lately (including the flu making the rounds) and when he said, "So, how are you?" I laughed sort of nervously and said, "Fine! Just fine, nothing hurts and the kid is healthy".

I've been washing my hands a lot, and being extra careful to have Mr W do the hand sanitizer and/or wash his hands as soon as he gets home. Trying not to touch my nose or mouth too much during the day, and also to drink enough fluids. I realized the other day that this is just the start of the vigilance - it's still not quite seasonal flu season yet.

In other news, Mr W's dad has been out of town this week, and I didn't get my usual couple of days kid-free. It makes me appreciate that aspect of the parenting arrangement. Funny, though. I was remarking to someone on Friday that I've got Mr W just the way I like him. He's getting enough rest, is not too sassy, not testing the limits too much. And then tomorrow or the next day he'll stay with his dad for a few days, and the cycle starts again.

Not that his dad does a bad job, I imagine it's more just the transition from house to house that makes the kid want to verify what the rules are at the moment, and that's fine.

Miss you, Mom

My mom passed away on this date in 1993. Sixteen years. It seems like 16 years; it seems like she's been gone a long time. Her death came as such as surprise to us all at the time. I guess it was because we couldn't imagine what life would be like without her.

I was thinking whether I had an electronic picture of her and realized that I don't and I'm kind of shocked. I'll have to dig around and find some snapshots to scan. She passed away before people really started keeping their photos on their computers.

Shitfire (for some reason this word is not in the dictionary, and it is the only word flagged as misspelled in this post). There are times when I'm as OK as a person can be when she's lost both her mom and her sister young. Mom was 56, Kris was only 45. I try to look forward while having learned from the past; that's how I want to live my life. But there are times when I'm tired (like now) and the loss still seems so profound that I have trouble measuring its consequences.

So that's it. Just a marking of the day. Remembering.

Eight Hours Earlier - The Next Day

That's the time difference between most of Australia and Colorado. CB's off for three weeks of working in southern OZ (as the cool people refer to it) and I have a few thoughts.

First it IS a long way from home. It's about a 14 hour flight from Los Angeles. Usually CB's trips keep him in this hemisphere (although he did go to Spain in May) and this trip seems different both because it's longer and farther away. Never mind that he'll be home for three weeks then goes back to New Zealand for another tour in November. Bounce bounce bounce.

By the end his internal clock has been thoroughly messed with, and it takes some time to figure itself out. In the meantime, he's overcome by the need to sleep occasionally and not much can be done about it. We've figured out that me waiting a week and then coming down for a visit seems to work best.

Also, the time change is wacked, in terms of trying to talk every few days. I'll need to be better at carrying my phone around, and crappy connections are more the rule than the exception. It's a mixed bag to be all excited to talk only to have to keep saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that" and "I'm sorry, you just cut out".

That being said, connectivity is apparently a lot better than it used to be. For example, CB said it's possible to go to Google Earth and get street views of the hotels they are staying in. I can only assume that means that the place in general is moving towards better and faster internet, but at least I can see the place!

Finally, I think about how I was the first two years for this trip. For some reason, the combination of factors for this particular trip made me anxious while he was gone. Anxious about whether the relationship was going to work out, anxious about his safety, etc. I have since come to a realization, and I had to go through a few trips to get to this place. The realization is that, left to my own devices, I worry too much about things that aren't worth worrying about and that further, I can do nothing about. And knowing the process can happen sort of names it, and then it goes away.

So this year, I'm too busy to worry! It's not just that I have the teaching gig to keep me busy. We've now done this enough that I know the routine and know that I'll hear from him when he's able to call. So simple. But keeping busy does help, and if I ever feel like I've gotten ahead, I've got a pair of socks, a sweater, a scarf and a bag waiting as unfinished knitting projects that are just waiting for me to come back!

That's not how it looks from here - oh wait

It's Saturday morning, I slept well, and the day will be full of getting things done. Unfortunately, it's mostly going to be related to making up hours at work and doing things for class. Playing catch-up, as it were.

I've been in a grading vortex the last couple of days, where I'm plodding through a stack (and it's not a huge stack, only 21 papers) of lab reports. These mostly first-time college students who have no experience writing scientifically are expected to churn out a lab report that conforms to and is graded based on how people write scientific journal articles. If they put me in charge (ha ha) we'd start with the pieces of it, because no one gets it. I write lots and lots of comments (hint: never say "First you take a measuring tape...") and I've already put 8 hours into grading these damn things and I've got another 8 reports to do. Harumphhhhh.

It's times like this when it's really important for me to step back and look my situation from a different, wider perspective. One that takes into account the temporary nature of this "problem" and the fact that I have it because I have a full time job plus took this on. It's going to be a beautiful day, and I'm meeting up with a friend for dinner, and once I get over this hump of grading, I'll be able to actually work ahead on lectures a bit.

That's a good thing, a really good thing, because I think it's getting more important in this class that I don't spend the time yakking up front. I'm on the look out for activities they can do in class, and so far it's worked well. I gave the first exam Monday, and while the average was 70%, a lot of people didn't do as well as they had hoped and I want them all to succeed.

And for all my kvetching (I'm sorry to those of you that have had to listen to it) I really, really like it. I wish someone would hire me to do it full time. I have noticed that my effectiveness and maybe my skill as a teacher are directly related to how comfortable I am with the material, and the students of course respond well (both with their attention and with good questions) when I'm in that zone. I suppose that's a no-brainer, but it's been my experience (teaching three labs a week in grad school) that getting to the "I've done this before, so I'm comfortable" stage doesn't happen the same way when teaching only one class - I have to be really well rehearsed instead.

So with that, I'm off to get ready for the day. I'll start out at work, where I owe them some hours and am looking forward to seeing some results of a test. Then I'll maybe go someplace nice and get the rest of these lab reports done.


image

A Word to My Boss

Dear H,

A couple of days ago, I was getting myself, my kid and my dog all ready for the day and it struck me how amazingly great it is not to have a set clock-in time for work. Your attitude has always been one of, "You guys are adults, you know how to get your hours in, and as long as the work gets done, I don't need to hear the gory details".

I was thinking, then, about the implications of this attitude. For starters, it has allowed me to carry on a long distance relationship with CB by letting me work weekends to bank hours in order to visit (or be visited) a few days every few weeks. With 10 measly days of vacation, I couldn't swing it otherwise. And while I'm thinking of it, thanks for hiring me at a decent wage. If I'm there for another year I'm going to ask to be upgraded a pay level, but I think it will be worth it for everyone.

Perhaps most importantly, being freed from a set start time has promoted a calm and largely anxiety-free atmosphere in the mornings at my house. I know what time I want to get to get out of the house that day, and if I miss that by 5 or 10 minutes, no one cares. I see women putting make-up on at stop lights, and hear about "breakfast on the go" and am thankful we don't have to do that.

And while I'm at it, I also appreciate the way you let us work on our projects without hovering. There's sort of this understanding that we'll come to you with updates and problems, and it's really great to be free to work on my stuff at my own pace.

So that's it. Thanks again, and I'll try to have that manuscript finished by the end of next week.

Linda

Don't look now, here come the holidays

My family is scattered around the country - Ohio, Minnesota, and South Carolina. It used to be assumed that I would come in yearly for either Thanksgiving or Christmas and spend a few days.

I've been thinking lately about how some things have changed, though. Since my divorce, it's Mr W and I who will travel together (CB's working for most of that time). Last year, which was the first Christmas after my sister died, I simply couldn't bear to be in her house without her, so I didn't go to Ohio at all. I elected to meet up with my siblings in South Carolina, and had a great time.

But the desire to meet up with family during the holidays stays the same. I guess there are more choices now.

I'm getting the same feelings of anxiety when I think about how they'll have the house decorated without Kris there. Hmm, I'm a little surprised about this myself.

Anyway, plans are shaping up, and I need to decide where Mr W and I will spend Thanksgiving or Christmas. Thankfully, Mr W's dad is flexible as to the holiday schedule, so I don't have to worry that a battle will ensue over holiday time. That IS a good thing that I often take for granted.

Mr W's developed some anxiety of his own regarding flying, and I need to help him work on that. CB suggested we get some books about the ins and outs of flying because, as I often say myself, knowledge is power.

Back from radio silence

I've fallen off of posting and intend to get back on it soon. CB was here for a few days, and we were BUSY most of the time. I need to see if he can send me some of the video from the bike parade that went past my house last Saturday - it was fun to watch. Next year, we're doing it, though, not going to be spectators.

Teaching is going well, but I feel a bit behind. They have their first exam on Monday, and I haven't written it yet. Good thing those copy machines are available on Saturday.

Finally found some music lessons for Mr W that I think will work - more on that later. The short version is that they were going to have him in a class, but all the other kids were 6, so he'll get private lessons for the same price.

I'm starting to think about the holidays, too. Looks like Mr W and I will go somewhere, just not sure where yet. Probably Ohio for a few days.

I just noticed the date. My recollection of 9-11 includes spending a lot of time in the basement of the house my x and I were living in at the time. Mr W was 7 months old, and I remember having him on my lap, and he was gnawing on my fingers like babies will do. At one point, I felt two little ridges in his bottom jaw, and there were his first teeth just starting to poke through. Life marching on.

A Musical Wumpkin

Mr W is the nickname I use for my son Zach. After he was born, they brought him into the room and I said something like, "there's my little wumpkin". Or maybe it was pumpkin, but no matter, wumpkin stuck and he, as of this writing, will still answer to it.

He's an only child, and spends his time equally between his dad's house and my house; we all live in the same town so this usually isn't too much of a problem. He does well in school, and given the choice, he'd play on the computer or his handheld DS game thingy for the remainder of his free time. OK, that's not entirely true, but his dad and I (mostly I) felt that he should develop some other interests.

I did not come from musical people. This might be revisionist history, but I remember coming home in 3rd grade and wanting to play the clarinet. And my parents said no. As a parent of a kid who to date hasn't shown the initiative to say "I'd like to try X" I'm still surprised I got turned down. But my parents weren't musical either, so they didn't have a basis to know what they were getting into.

And, neither do I, but I'd like Mr W to have some musical background. A friend's son takes lessons from the terrific music director at our church, so I contacted him and was put on a wait list for private piano lessons. I think Mr W would benefit from the lessons, but looking back, I don't think he's ready to dive in. And, while Mr W's interest right now is an electronic keyboard, those lessons' point is to make him into a piano player.

This was a bit frustrating for me because I don't know what makes a good music teacher or program. I want him to be engaged and like it, despite the fact that he's got to practice.

And then, by chance, I found the place and program.

I was driving by our sad excuse for a mall (vacancy rate = 50%) and saw a colorful sign that said "Foundation Music School". Yup, I was attracted by the sign (hey look! color!). I looked at their website and they've got a program for kids 6-9 (Mr W is 8) that introduces them to piano through aural and visual means, and they play games and imitate sounds. I talked to one of the teachers yesterday, and she was enthusiastic and from the conversation, I think this would be a great introduction to music for the kid.

Phew! It's odd how chance played into this, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I just realized it's September

It's been a good summer. How is this measured? Well, partly by the absence of tragedy, but also by the extent to which the fact that it was summer was taken advantage of (if that's a sentence). Last summer we were all reeling still from my sister's death, and a couple of years before that was the whole divorce thing, so it may be the absence of tragedy. But we did do some good stuff:

Mr W, Sally and I went hiking, something I'd like to do more of, especially given this one trail that allows dogs off-leash. We also went to an amusement park and pushed his boundaries a bit as to what he was willing to go on ride-wise. I keep saying I'll go on whatever he'll go on, but I'm going to have to modify that to exclude rides that go around in speedy queasy circles. We rode our bikes fairly often, and he had a good summer at camp.

I got a decent garden in this year, although my landscaping projects have not come to fruition. Good thing about Colorado is that I've got some time yet before the snow flies to make some progress there. CB and I visited the Grand Canyon and looked for condors. Saw the former, looked for the latter for several hours with no luck. Over half the visitors seemed to me to be foreign - welcome, of course, but where's the Americans? I did some fieldwork for work and have concluded I prefer fieldwork on plants to that with mosquitoes. On the up side, I got to visit several cities in western CO that I had not been to, and they were lovely. Not to mention I collected specimens that will be my work for the next few months!

The weather wasn't too hot, which is always nice when one's house doesn't have AC. There is usually a stretch of a week or so when I contemplate putting the window AC unit in the living room, but it never stayed hot for that long.

So all in all, it was a good summer. Mr W was asking just yesterday about how long each season is, and I told him that if we end up with a mild winter (like we did last year) fall lasts a long time. Ah, sunny, jacket weather during the day and cooler temps at night. But there's always a chance of a blizzard in October as well, but that's the price of living here.

CB's coming in on Friday for several days. It's been a while since he's come here, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Yes, that's pretty much what I thought

I've been sort of struggling to get up to speed with lectures and the other stuff (so much other stuff!) involved in teaching this class. Getting to bed late, not sleeping as well as I usually do, that kind of thing. But it's getting better, and as long as I'm a chapter ahead, I'm good.

I had this dream the other night that was kind of telling. I was driving, and twice I was going over a hill, and it was so steep that I couldn't see what was ahead of me. The second time I remember saying to myself "I can't see what's ahead". I go over the top of the hill, and can see at the bottom that the river that runs alongside the road has flooded so that it is crossing the road and it's just about impassable. I start to get panicky, as I feel like I'm going to have to go into that flooded area. I look again, and there's a spot on the side of the road, just before the flooded area, where I can turn around. I was really relieved.

I think this is my mind reviewing how I was looking at the situation: first, not knowing what was going to be ahead, then getting caught up in this fast moving thing that I didn't know how to deal with. And finally, the relief of there being a place to turn around, which I think is the reminder that after the semester is over, I can go back to the old routine.

On a related note, I had a realization when I was talking to a student in the hallway before class. There is no way I can speak all of the information they are expected to know by us "covering" the material at the pace that we do. An instructor has no choice in this kind of class but to hit the high points and convey their expectations that the students read the book. I'm grateful that the book comes with this really extensive online learning program and I'm going to use it.