Reverberating boom 6 "one thousands" after the sky changed colors

Thunder and lightening and rain. Maybe we actually are on the warm side of winter.
Amazes me how I much miss this sound. And how comforting I find the fear of the storm.




Though I would trade the sound of wet cars for campers in a heartbeat.

Snow, Show, and Vertigo

This week's blizzard was awesome for at least two reasons.

1. I got to play in snow!

2. Snowstorm sleepovers!

My roommate from teaching and I were talking this evening about how we miss the social life we had in the middle of nowhere. I'm more social in the city and am happy about that. But I miss the weekend getaways. And we both miss the low-key, hang-out at someone's place sleep-overs that were a normal part of the culture out there. Here I feel like I need an explanation or excuse to have a slumber party. It's not the, "so, can I come over for the weekend?" call.

But with the blizzard I could totally say, "Do you want to cancel on dinner tonight or plan on spending the night?" And the next day, I could call my friend from the coffeeshop, saying I'd walked the two miles to get first friend back home. Could I come over to her place? Spend the night? Excellent!

I should make this a more regular occurrence.

Anyway, I've finally uploaded pictures.


Poor cars stuck on every sidestreet.

I still haven't shoveled my car out. (No, we don't have to switch sides of the street.)


The horizon disappeared. "That's why it's called a white-out," my friend told me. "Yes, but I can see the tree. It's not that white out."


There weren't many people out in the morning. It was still snowing, so I guess that's legit. But the people who were out were friendly. Like this guy, taking a photo of the snow plow. He'd been out looking for skis. Couldn't find them.


I wish I had cross-country skis.


Though I'm doubt they'd help me reach the door. Those are supposed to be steps. I'm still not sure how what I walked on matches the ground underneath.


Loved the playgrounds. In the morning.


And in the afternoon.


The slide seemed so much shorter when there was no drop at the end.


Love the patterns of snow sticking to the wall.


Who am I kidding? I just love a good snow!

~~~~

From the Life Checks list:

5. Pay to go to a show by myself (I already go to free ones, but this needs to be something I really want to see)

Check. Bam. I'm doing well on this list.

I've got a subscription for one to the local Broadway tours. Went to my first show all by myself.

Now my subscription is the cheap one. I have nosebleed seats. You really notice the set from the next to last row in the theater. But I got a tip at intermission that there were empty seats to the side of the second row from the front. Totally moved. Didn't get ushered out. 'Cause I'm cool like that. Y'know.

I did miss the gushing about the show with friends afterward. But this performance didn't leave me gushing anyway, so perhaps it was just as well that I wasn't expected to.

~~~

Last part of the title is vertigo. Had a bout of it this morning, which was a new expierence for me. There are enough possible explanations and it subsided quickly and, yes, I'll go to the doctor if it continues, but honestly not too worried about it.

The expirence alerted me to how much I take the sense of balance for granted. When every eye movement, never mind head turning, never mind actually walking, set the room spinning I just wanted to sit absolutely still. Except I'm bad at sitting still. So for now I'm grateful that my sense of balance has returned. And I beg it not to leave me again.

The years become a moment in the everchanging sand

Playlist for this post:
I Came to Hear the Music by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Leaves Don't Drop (They Just Let Go) by Carrie Newcomer
Written On The Breeze by Joel P West
Antebellum by Vienna Teng

~~~

Yesterday I looked out my window at a clear blue sky and just had to get out.

Walked to the waterfront and declared I was glad I'd emptied the trash so the excursion wasn't a total waste. It was the type of day that looks nice from the window, where you can't feel the wind.

~~~

I skipped church this morning. Didn't want to spread my cold germs to everyone on the bus. In the church. Walking around the street. The sheer exposure to people in the city astounds me when I stop to think about it.

But by lunch, I was restless. Online reviews pointed me to a trail that wasn't too crowded. I'd drive there, so I got over my guilt. Besides the sniffles and coughs are lessening.

~~~

Even as remnants of summer flowers greet me,


and some trees appear unchanged,


the woods welcome me to Autumn.

Looking up


and down


gives evidence of the shifting seasons.

As I wander, I keep a lookout for the little things.


Like these acorn tops. If I were a button designer, I'd find a way to master this pattern. It's perfect for woolen fall coats.

The way the sun shines through the leaves

and the blossoms, barely hanging on.


Leaving the trail


and returning to civilized-nation, I reflect on what it means.


Only to realize, I'm not sure what "it" is.

Homecoming week means not so much planning

Wind. Lightening. Open sky.

It was a weird drive home. Hauntingly gorgeous. Made surreal by the lack of rain and thunder. Like you were in a movie theater but the music was cut off to indicate that something truly major is just about to happen.

Resisting the urge to pull over, I turned on some calming music. And my nightowl housemate was in bed before I made it home.

The snow is blowing sideways

I'm just saying.

It's late April, after all. You know?

still snowing?

During the day it was clear blue skies. Sunny. Grass beginning to show some hints of green (at least in the sections where it was laid down last fall). It was cool, but I was still wishing I could be outside.

Bell rings. I go home, excited to be able to get out for a walk. Before I make it home it started snowing.

That was six hours ago. It's still snowing.

Boo. Don't they know it's April?

Straws that break the back

It's finally getting warm, which is great. I went on a hike yesterday. I love that it's not dark when I go to school in the morning. Sure it's supposed to snow again tomorrow, but really, it's nice.

Except.

The fridge has stopped working.

And the temperature outside means that the car is no longer an extra freezer.

And I don't want all my food frozen. Some I just want chilled.

The freezer is working, so hopefully it's an easily fixable if you know what you're doing thing. But I've already cleared out the ice that was blocking the vent from the freezer to the fridge. And readjusted controls. And the food's just rotting. Smells awful.

And it's not like there's a grocery store I can just run to on a daily basis for what I need. Really this needs to be fixed NOW.

I talked to maintenance this morning. Hopefully this won't take as long as the pipes. Hopefully the bill for it won't be passed back to us (like the price for heating the pipes). The problem with the school being your landlord is that there's no one who's really dedicated to fixing the problems in the same way.

Delayed post...

Today I went to the Post Office.

At least I tried to.

I left the trailer during the hour when the window was open. I wanted to say hi to whoever was working and check if there were updates on the funeral for the father of some students. On my walk over, I stopped to talk to the security guard. We chatted. No updates on the funeral that he'd heard. He loaned me a book. Eventually a friend called, giving me an out. "I need to go clean up before she arrives." By the time I got to the Post Office it was closed. Locked up for the weekend. I thought the front door stayed open until noon, must be 11:30. Alas.

I do love that the weather was nice enough for me to stand outside talking for an hour. Spring is coming!

Casting a shadow

To fill up an extra ten minutes in class on Tuesday I talked about the eclipse. I got super-excited running around trying to model the effect of what happens, looking up pictures online. It filled up the time and at least one student asked, "So when is this happening?" It made me feel like maybe I'd somehow done something (even if not directly related to my class) to spark an interest.

The eclipse tonight wasn't all that exciting. At least not to the degree that I was running around the classroom.

Eclipses, at least lunar eclipses, are one of those ideas that are fun to learn about. They always sound so cool. But really it's just the way things line up. Though watching your shadow grow longer can be pretty fun too (just on warmer days).

I want things to work out as well in real-life as they do in theory. Like planning ahead. Teaching with models. Keeping up with e-mails. Cooking leftovers on weekends so I don't eat out of a box during the week. Getting more sleep.

And with that will follow directions and go to bed.


P.S. Wow, for the place where I'm trying to be positive, I feel like this has had a negative twist recently. There are good things going on. Four of my classes really got what was going on today. (Granted, in two of them I was only working with one student.) Some of the students who I struggled with the most in the fall have really been on the ball recently. I'm amazed at how much attitudes have improved. I'm hopeful that some days the material actually sinks in. Wish I was better at giving the applications that were fun, but that's something to work on for next year.

I really prefer living in a first world country

Setting: the FEMA trailer ~15 minutes ago, Self closes door and IMs the following to housemate (still working at school)

so the maintenance guys stopped by before they left

just now

saying to do whatever that needs water in the next hour

it'll spill out, but he expects it to freeze again tonight

tomorrow they're going to go digging

and then may end up replacing the line

and who knows what

which is all to say, i'm going to take a quick shower now.

and if you want one in our house you should come home soon to get it.

yay

end scene


In my shower, I realized how spoiled I am to take running water (and draining water) for granted. Necessity. Freak out when I don't have it.


That's great. Can we please have the water working for real tomorrow?

hunkering down with tofu

The "wintry mix" outside meant that I stayed home today instead of going grocery shopping and baking Christmas cookies with a friend who lives near the store. It's been a lovely, non-school productive but gotten things cleaned, day. I haven't actually curled up with hot chocolate and a book (neither one actually), but still managed to wear PJs all day.

Wasn't really in the soup mood and I'm running "low" on groceries (enough to make it through Wednesday, no problem, could probably go a full week if necessary), so I looked online for recipes. Recently I've been looking at vegan blogs, so maybe it's not a surprise that I ended up looking at Spinach Tofu Stuffed Shells.

I had frozen spinach, because I always have frozen spinach (except I'm out now, yikes!). I had tofu, because I wanted to try cooking with it (never had before). I had canned tomatoes to make sauce. I didn't have the shells, nor do I keep rice cheese, but I decided to try it anyway. It's not pretty enough to take a picture, but, definitely worth noting for the future. My annotated adaption is below. Tofu is something that I'm learning to like. The texture of it scared me for so long. I don't like it when it's rubbery, which it can be way to often. In this dish though, it was smooth and creamy. Happy, not scary.

Tomato Sauce. Any sauce would work. This was just tonight's incarnation.
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
Generous shaking of basil
Sprinkling of oregano
Sprinkling of pepper
Half a dash of salt
2 cloves chopped garlic

Simmer sauce while pasta cooks and preparing noodles.

Noodles.
Half a bag of multi-colored whole wheat nugget pasta
1 package frozen spinach
1 package tofu
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Dash of salt
Sprinkling basil

Boil water and cook pasta. Drain when done.

Defrost spinach in microwave. (I suppose it'd be nice if you knew you were doing this to just let it thaw during the day.) Squeeze extra water out.

Blend tofu, olive oil, and salt in food processor. Should be smooth.

In medium mixing bowl, stir tofu mixture, spinach, and basil together. Stir pasta in.

The Casserole
Oh gosh, start preheating the oven now. (Unless you read ahead and remembered to do this earlier.) 350 F.

Tomato Sauce
Noodle Yumminess
Cheese (I used three handfuls of grated mozzarella)

Pour tomato sauce into 9 by 13 casserole dish. Cover bottom of pan half-inch to inch thick. No, you won't use all the sauce.

Spoon out the noodle yumminess, distributing it evenly across the casserole.

Sprinkle on cheese.

Put in oven. The original recipe calls for covering for the first 15 minutes, taking the cover off and then cooking 20 more minutes. I just put it in the oven, washed dishes, remembered something about covering it, put some aluminum on, kept on cooking. I'm not really sure how long it was in. Longer than 35 minutes though. Enough time to wash all my dishes from today.


Take out and enjoy.

Musings on surroundings

We turned on the heat yesterday. Hopefully, the electrical company will be by soon to adjust settings so that we can pay less for the electricity used to heat the trailer. I haven't unpacked many of my winter clothes yet, but they're coming out fast. Wind, rain, and temperatures in the 40's encourage that.

Yesterday I went to a craft fair in the big town nearby. Got one of the other young teachers to come with, which was a good way to get to know her better. (I also learned a back road,so the trip's only 35 minutes!)

I found out about the fair from one of the older teachers at the school. We ended up having lunch with her and half of the women in her extended family (mother, sister, sister-in-law...). It was great to be with a family. Great to be welcomed into the community here.

But it also helps me remember why my trip back to visit college last weekend was so amazing. Being reminded that I have (close) friends my own age. I've been in the bubble with people my own age for so long, it seems odd not to be surrounded anymore. I've always been adopted by older church members, so I'm comfortable with the setting here. It's just healthy to remember that I have friends of all ages and that's okay.

we all head west cause we were told the west had more daylight

It's crazy how late the sun sets here. But I'm fearing winter. It's going to rise so late. How will I get out of bed? Wake up to teach? And no, taking up coffee is not an option.

something out a dream

It was foggy on our walk to school today.

As my housemates and I were walking, we saw six horses emerge out of the fog. They galloped in front of us and turned onto the old track before disappearing again.

Thunder's coming

Sometimes I'm in awe of how much people actually pay attention to what I say.

I just received an e-mail from one of the people in college relations. He remembered that in one of our conversations (mostly just chit-chat type things) I mentioned that I'd be gone next week. Silly job training. Was wondering if I would be missing Commencement rehearsal, which is apparently where graduates pick up free tickets for the post-ceremony picnic. He could just put mine in my mailbox.

I replied that I should be back in time (getting in late the night before) but I'd call in mild panic if that fell through. 2 minutes later I get a reply telling me not to panic, but just call if necessary.

I'm really impressed that he figured out that I might not be here and followed through. And the reply was just fun.

I think the thunder part of the storm's over, but the rain's still here. Wonder what part of my own whirlwind I'm in....