I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of rain falling off the eaves. A strong wind made the house creak a bit, and it must have been that which raised me from my snores. It is currently 56 with a forecast high of 50, so the temperature is going to fall through the day. The weather, the slight green tinge that lingers on the lawns, and the grayness of the trees has had me thinking it feels a lot like early spring, and that is a strange feeling for so early in the year. I have had all the winter I want, though the winter I have had has been slight.

I broke my wee little left toe Sunday trying to walk around the coffee table. Hobble here, hobble there, and carefully navigate the stairs that seem to be everywhere in this city. I can go up stairs with little problem, it is going down that requires thought. To add to my decrepitude, the hobbling has made my right knee want to whinge a bit, so I grimace with the left toe, then squeak as my opposing knee spasms. This increasing decay has led me to decide that I will no longer grow a year older with each birthday. On my next birthday I shall become one year younger.

I am going to go gloat about the 92-degree temperature difference between here and Cold Lake. This is the reason I moved down here!

I am deeply disappointed. I moved south so I could gloat about the warm winter I am having while those stuck in northern climes were shivering in below zero weather. But it is not happening! I have yet to see any 40 belows, and they have not lingered for weeks the way I had hoped. To make matters worse, it was cold here the past few weeks, and yesterday and today. It is not fair.

I had a good week at school. I was nearly overwhelmed with joy as my last class was wrapping up yesterday evening. I do love my three day holiday, well, almost four because Monday's class is not until six pm. Did I mention how my teaching went Thursday? It was difficult to keep the classes attention, but it would be hard for those who have done it for years as it was the active/passive voice. I did learn a great deal however. Strange to think of myself standing in front of a group of people and talking for an hour.

This weekend is not as busy as last. I have to write/edit a poem for Monday, comment on classmates poems, read _Cold Mountain_, read some critical writing on/about African American literature, and something I am forgetting. Ahh well. I may have an essay topic for my AA lit class' final paper: Closure in Chestnutt's stories. I need to do some research on that, but it is an idea I can pursue I think. If it warms up a little, I may do some walking as well, but with a high of 39, that is not likely today. It is a damp cold for those of you who might be thinking things like "get over it" or "yeah, like thats really cold" and it really does sink into the bones...ok, so it is not really cold, but it is fun to think that it is.

Snows-a-coming

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THE HORROR:

Sunday January 20
There is a little dusting of white stuff (ain't saying the word)laying on the lawn. My disgruntlement is large, I did not go far enough south yet. I made some cool cupcakes yesterday, and some cinnamon buns are rising now. I can taste their awesomeness already!


Just one:

Sinsamon buns:

Iced cupcakes:

Uniced cupcakes:



Saturday January 19
Though it is Saturday, it feels like Sunday. Monday is a holiday for me, and I had yesterday 'off' which might explain the loss of any sense of what day it actually could be. Yesterday I went off to Whole Foods and picked up some of the necessities of life, and some things that are less necessary but add pleasure to existence, and that is a Saturday kind of activity. So I guess I have good excuses for my day confusion.

The weather the past few days has been cold and damp. Thursday it rained much of the day, though I do not think huge accumulations of water occurred. there was enough to leave puddles on the streets, and I know this cause some ding-a-ling deliberately drove through one and splashed me. The things I will do to get toast. I had left school and trotted through the miserably cold streets to get to the nearest toaster seller because the old one had collapsed. I found a nice cheap one at the drug store, and it is working quite nicely.

I have a busy weekend planned. I have to read _Collected Stories of Charles W. Chestnutt_ for a class, prepare a lesson on active and passive voice and another on the features of a science article for Tuesday's class, and get a poem ready for class that I can send out later this week.

Active voice: I write beautiful sentences.
Passive voice: Beautiful sentences are written.

I think the next thing I will be teaching the class is APA style of citation. I have not used that style in years, but it is fairly simple. I have a nice big handbook for it, MLA, and Chicago Style. All I do not know at all is the international science format, but it is not necessary for me to know it, at least not yet.

There is a winter storm warning out for this area beginning around noon. They are calling for the potential for a few inches of snow, and given the location and the drivers abilities, this is a major concern. I am hoping it does not turn into an ice storm. The trees are often very close to the power lines here, it would not take much to create a huge outage. It is hard to tell that it is winter here. Walking to the store yesterday I saw some kind of rose blooming (Rose of Sharon?), some kind of vine/shrub covered in yellow flowers, and on Thursday a tree near the Library covered in pink blossoms. There are, of course, pansies everywhere.

Wednesday, January 16 2008

It is cold this morning, and there is talk of enough snowfall overnight to actually accumulate! I think I should have moved further south, somewhere warmer, maybe Hawaii??

Yesterday I did some actual teaching in the Eng 101 class I am TA'ing for. I learned a lot from the experience, and though I was not effective, I think I managed to help the students gain some deeper awareness of the article we were discussing. Strangely enough, I am feeling eager to tackle the next project (next Tuesday)which is talking about the main features of a science article, and talking about the use of passive and active voice. I may have trouble avoiding my preference for the use of passive voice, while acknowledging it is hated in English classes.

Today is a quiet class day. I have some office hours followed by my Contemporary Southern Lit class.

January 14

I am sitting in the Day-Op at UNC Chapel Hill hospital waiting for Carol to get some cataract surgery. They told her she needed some responsible person to be with her when she got out of surgery, and she was left with no option but me. I am pretending, with some success I believe, that I am that responsible person. It was strange coming to Chapel Hill this morning on the bus. Everything that was so green and lush is now gray and looking worn out. The weather is decent though, sunny and moderately warm.

Last Thursday's class went well. I am hoping that the entire class is as comfortable as the first. I am going to look forward to having my Fridays off. With a late class on Monday it is going to feel like a long weekend every week. I will be very busy over the next few months, but I should learn a few things as well. At least that is my hope. Tonight I get to see what my poetry workshop will be like. I am hoping it will be a great learning experience. And fun.

I am a little shocked to say that the first month of the year is already half over!



January 10

I am sitting on my back deck sipping my coffee. I am wearing a robe and some nice comfy slippers but it is not too cold. I may not stay here long, but I had to brag a little. The local people are saying that this is an unusually warm winter, not really seasonal at all, but true or not I am quite happy to enjoy the warmth.

My first class yesterday was short and pleasant. I will have a lot of reading to do, but that is what I would expect from a graduate level course. On the up side, there are no exams, only two papers. The two papers will require a lot of work, but at least I don't have to write an exam.

Today I meet the class I will be TA'ing for. I am a little nervous, but strangely, a lot more excited. Maybe I will update my blog when I get home this evening.

January 8
I went for a walk down to the lake after lunch. I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt and I still walked up a little sweat. I was wishing I had put on my sandals. Weather like this, and in January, is why I wanted to come here. I know it wont last, but it is a delight right now.

As a preschool treat I made some chocolate cupcakes with a creamy (vegan) buttery (vegan) chocolate icing. I am looking forward to devouring these later this evening as I watch the Simpson's movie.

My first class of the spring semester is tomorrow evening. I am hoping it is as fun as I imagine.


January 7


First a couple of small things. I have added a link in the photos below that will take you to the front page of my Picasa photos, from there you can access all the photos taken since I started uploading to that site. There are a few new ones there, including the one above, which was taken just yesterday.

Second,I have put up my spring schedule on the left. It is crooked and rather fuzzy cause I could not figure out how to put up a copy of the actual worksheet. There is no Friday because I have no classes Friday. A more detailed version is linked to the Google calender below.

I have had a quiet winter break. I went nowhere exciting. I had a quiet Christmas and New Year, both meals taken at home. They were delicious and worth the hours and hours of labor that went into their construction. I received a few wonderful gifts from friends and family, and a whole pack of cards which was great. During the break Carol and I walked other other day, including boxing day and New Years day. Some where in the week between Christmas and the New Year we had a wonderful rain that pushed us up to a normal rainfall for the month. I think it is the first normal rainfall month since I have been here, all the others were way below normal. Hopefully January will be a wet and soggy month, though today is not. It is currently 51 with a forecast high of 71 (73 tomorrow). I am considering pulling out my sandals and shorts. I did not miss having any white stuff on the ground, in fact I was happy to see the ferns growing green out in the woods.

For the last month I have spent my hours reading, writing, and staring out my window at the grass and dandelions. The lawn types have not been by for a few weeks and the dandelions are going to seed. It is pleasant to see them bloom in January, though the pansies are prettier.

Classes begin again in two days, and it will be great to be back in class. This is going to be a busy semester. Three classes as a student, and one as a TA. I am going to earn my money this term. I am hoping the classes will all be pleasant and interesting. The idea of being a TA causes some anxiety, but I am looking forward to it at the same time. I suspect I may need to do some whining about the work load this term however.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/New Year and have started a healthy and profitable year. Oh, I did the Southern thing for New Year: I ate black eyed peas and collards, so my year is sure to be good.

It is 7:35, December 11 and I am sitting on the back deck watching the sun squeeze through the naked tree trunks. I am wearing a short sleeved Hawaiian style shirt, and socks. It is a bit too cold for shorts, so I have a pair of long pants on, keeping my legs warm. The wind is a bit cool, but not cool enough to go inside.

I handed in my last paper for this term yesterday. I left the school at one-thirty, and was home relaxing shortly after two.

I think I have all my books for a Southern Literature course now, 12 in total. I will try to read as many of them over the holiday, and hopefully, reduce the amount of work I will have next term. I have more texts to acquire for other courses, but they have not listed their books so far.

I will be taking a walk today, and taking some photos. I will update this page later, and add some images.

I am glad the term is finished, 1/4 of my masters!

Blog Brag: an update

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Just back from my walk to the lake (see the photos above). I started out with a sweater on, but I soon had to remove because I was too warm. I am now sitting in my office with the window open. Perhaps I enjoy being able to do this a little too much, but how often could I sit in my room up north at this time of the year?

I am going to get busy doing nothing now. I am looking forward to having the day off.

I hear the sound of a lawn mower, summer sounds in the midst of winter.

I was thinking as I was walking (I can chew gum and walk as well!) that the naked trees have reduced the sense of this being an alien place. It feels more like home now than in the past, however, just when I begin to feel complacently at home I see a sign on the side of a truck reading Raleigh NC, and I am once more unhomed.