Too nippy this morning to sit outside sipping coffee so I am inside staring at the bookcase I have to pack today. The sun has hit the edge of the coffee table covering it in a pattern of light and waving tree branch shadows.
Yesterday's journey to Chapel Hill was interesting. We will be going back in a few days (21st) to see a friend defend their dissertation. I had a good lunch with one of my fellow MFAers, but I did not manage to get to any of the used bookstores. Bit depressing.
Carol's meeting went well, but now she has to get to work.
I might have some photos up at my picassa site from Chapel Hill later this morning, it depends on how energetic I get, and whether any of them turn out. By the time we got home (six), had supper (Channa Masala take home), and watched a movie it was too late for me to do anything with them.
Packing today, packing tomorrow, packing Friday.... Maybe I will take a morning off and go somewhere one of those days. Only 15 days to the magic moment of gollee its time to go day. Denton.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
A cool infographic exists here that shows where people live in America. I will be near the big Dallas spike in a few weeks.
More packing today as well as a little cleaning. Tomorrow I am tagging along with Carol (who goes to see her committee) and visiting the Coker. Hopefully the weather will be nice and allow me to take some decent photos.
More packing today as well as a little cleaning. Tomorrow I am tagging along with Carol (who goes to see her committee) and visiting the Coker. Hopefully the weather will be nice and allow me to take some decent photos.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's "Day
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers who may read this blog.
I could grow to love the smell of honeysuckle in the morning. It is a sweet scent to meet when stepping outside. This morning the creek behind the house is high enough to be almost audible over the ac and traffic. It is Sunday morning, so the traffic is light, though the cars that are using Gorman are noisier than normal. Or they sound noisier due to the smaller number of them.
I doped the cat this morning before feeding her. She looked up at me after as if I were Attila the Hun coming to rape and kill all her children. I hope our new home is easier on her allergies.
I am enjoying the Texas gardening book. It seems Denton is in the same hardiness zone as Raleigh. Sadly, the bump from 8b does not quite reach our new home. Though I suppose, as we are that close to the change over, it might be possible to see some plants from the southern zone survive. I was looking at the Denton master gardener site a day or two ago and noticed that the chance for final frost (90%) is April 6. First frost (50%) is November 16. On a cold year we will only have a 7.5 month growing season. I am looking forward to growing a few veggies and some annuals as soon as I get there. It will be too hot for planting many things, but there are a few I should be able to hang here and there, and stick a few containers round our patio for color and accent. I hope to build a cheap frame and do a little herb/veggie garden in the fall as well. Neat thing is that a fair number of veggies grow well in the fall (August to November). According to the book, some root crops can even be grown over winter. And yes, for those of you living in zones 2, 3, and 4, I will engage in excessive boasting and gloating as I plant pansies in November. Some day, when I live in a place more settled, I will plant some camellia bushes. I love their flowers, and I love that they bloom for a large part of the winter.
Even though I am not wanting to pack and move all that much, I am getting excited about doing some growing when I arrive. I will need to take some time to figure out the light patterns around the house, but I hope to be able to run down to the nursery and get started mid-June.
Yesterday was NCSU's formal graduation ceremony. I did not bother attending. The reading was my graduation, after that it felt like the whole show was over. From the schoool site, I should be able to slip down to the registrars office and pick up my diploma May 20-22. If I don't do it then, they will send it too me, which might cause some problems as I will be gone shortly after that. There might be enough time if they mailed it the 23, but it would be a close thing. So, I will try to go collect it the 20th, which is the following Wednesday.
Packing is going along nicely. I am puttering away at things, and getting most of the rarely used items in boxes. I will do the major tear down of my computer on the 25th, and make sure that the boxes we are going to ship to Denton by UPS are gone that day as well. If we ship Monday, our stuff should be there by Thursday, and not have to sit outside for more than the one night. We might even be able to have it delivered Friday instead of Thursday.
Exciting times huh?
I could grow to love the smell of honeysuckle in the morning. It is a sweet scent to meet when stepping outside. This morning the creek behind the house is high enough to be almost audible over the ac and traffic. It is Sunday morning, so the traffic is light, though the cars that are using Gorman are noisier than normal. Or they sound noisier due to the smaller number of them.
I doped the cat this morning before feeding her. She looked up at me after as if I were Attila the Hun coming to rape and kill all her children. I hope our new home is easier on her allergies.
I am enjoying the Texas gardening book. It seems Denton is in the same hardiness zone as Raleigh. Sadly, the bump from 8b does not quite reach our new home. Though I suppose, as we are that close to the change over, it might be possible to see some plants from the southern zone survive. I was looking at the Denton master gardener site a day or two ago and noticed that the chance for final frost (90%) is April 6. First frost (50%) is November 16. On a cold year we will only have a 7.5 month growing season. I am looking forward to growing a few veggies and some annuals as soon as I get there. It will be too hot for planting many things, but there are a few I should be able to hang here and there, and stick a few containers round our patio for color and accent. I hope to build a cheap frame and do a little herb/veggie garden in the fall as well. Neat thing is that a fair number of veggies grow well in the fall (August to November). According to the book, some root crops can even be grown over winter. And yes, for those of you living in zones 2, 3, and 4, I will engage in excessive boasting and gloating as I plant pansies in November. Some day, when I live in a place more settled, I will plant some camellia bushes. I love their flowers, and I love that they bloom for a large part of the winter.
Even though I am not wanting to pack and move all that much, I am getting excited about doing some growing when I arrive. I will need to take some time to figure out the light patterns around the house, but I hope to be able to run down to the nursery and get started mid-June.
Yesterday was NCSU's formal graduation ceremony. I did not bother attending. The reading was my graduation, after that it felt like the whole show was over. From the schoool site, I should be able to slip down to the registrars office and pick up my diploma May 20-22. If I don't do it then, they will send it too me, which might cause some problems as I will be gone shortly after that. There might be enough time if they mailed it the 23, but it would be a close thing. So, I will try to go collect it the 20th, which is the following Wednesday.
Packing is going along nicely. I am puttering away at things, and getting most of the rarely used items in boxes. I will do the major tear down of my computer on the 25th, and make sure that the boxes we are going to ship to Denton by UPS are gone that day as well. If we ship Monday, our stuff should be there by Thursday, and not have to sit outside for more than the one night. We might even be able to have it delivered Friday instead of Thursday.
Exciting times huh?
Friday, May 8, 2009
21 days
Time flies when you are trying to avoid packing. Boxes are massing in strange spaces (all those unused spaces that have collected dust in the past two years). My office is mostly ready, all that remains is tearing down my computer and desk, but that won't happen for another two weeks. I shall take it down the last week I am residing in this house. Shelves are mostly down, books boxed, some knick-nackery is stowed, and I can no longer find things easily. The move is happening.
Yesterday I called UNC-Chapel Hill's registrars office and canceled my registration. That was a bit depressing, I don't think I have ever canceled going to school since I achieved maturity. After doing that, I went down to the tailor and picked up some clothes we had dropped off last week. Expensive, but now they fit. Walking home was fun, but a bit humid. Temps were rising, and it was post rain storm. I was dripping by the time I stepped into the house.
A chopper is twapping its way round and round this morning disturbing my peaceful sit outside. The honeysuckle is twice as sweet as normal, and the air has the just rained freshness that is so delightful.
I have mentioned Carol a number of times in this blog without really saying anything about her. I shall take a moment to remedy that this morning. She is working on completing her Ph.D in library stuff, with only a year to go. She loves teaching and researching, so she will make a great professor. She loves to argue, though she rarely wins, in fact if I wait long enough she will argue her way round to my position. Her politics are liberal, and she believes in one payer health care. She enjoys poetry (gets joy out of some of the poets I love!), and makes a good first reader for most of the material I produce though I have not produced much lately. She is a good friend, her support has been instrumental in my success with the MFA program, and she enjoys walking when she can make the time. Though that is not as often as she wishes at the moment. Her presence in my life brings me peace, comfort, and joy.
I am sure I missed lots of stuff, but hey, one must start somewhere.
I have two books on gardening in Texas now. I have looked at images of our new back yard a few times, and I am beginning to consider what might grow there. I would like to make a small garden plot to begin with, and stick to containers for the flowers, at least for the moment. I have no idea how long we will live in the house we are renting (minimum of one year), so I don't want to put in too much money, though the work will be good for me. I want to grow some herbs (chives, mint, basil, etc.), some tomatoes, and some greens. I should be able to do that in a small plot. Carol has put in a request for lots of lantana, so there will be some of that hanging around. I am not sure of the light patterns in our new home, so plant selection is a bit difficult at the moment. The early choices will have to be heat resistant though as we arrive just as summer starts to kick it up. I am looking forward to the warmth. My old achy bones don't much like the cold.
It is a gorgeous morning though it will become warm later (88 going for the record 90). Sitting outside, sipping my coffee, watching the sun gild the leaves, listening to the birds and frogs is one of the great pleasures in my life.
Yesterday I called UNC-Chapel Hill's registrars office and canceled my registration. That was a bit depressing, I don't think I have ever canceled going to school since I achieved maturity. After doing that, I went down to the tailor and picked up some clothes we had dropped off last week. Expensive, but now they fit. Walking home was fun, but a bit humid. Temps were rising, and it was post rain storm. I was dripping by the time I stepped into the house.
A chopper is twapping its way round and round this morning disturbing my peaceful sit outside. The honeysuckle is twice as sweet as normal, and the air has the just rained freshness that is so delightful.
I have mentioned Carol a number of times in this blog without really saying anything about her. I shall take a moment to remedy that this morning. She is working on completing her Ph.D in library stuff, with only a year to go. She loves teaching and researching, so she will make a great professor. She loves to argue, though she rarely wins, in fact if I wait long enough she will argue her way round to my position. Her politics are liberal, and she believes in one payer health care. She enjoys poetry (gets joy out of some of the poets I love!), and makes a good first reader for most of the material I produce though I have not produced much lately. She is a good friend, her support has been instrumental in my success with the MFA program, and she enjoys walking when she can make the time. Though that is not as often as she wishes at the moment. Her presence in my life brings me peace, comfort, and joy.
I am sure I missed lots of stuff, but hey, one must start somewhere.
I have two books on gardening in Texas now. I have looked at images of our new back yard a few times, and I am beginning to consider what might grow there. I would like to make a small garden plot to begin with, and stick to containers for the flowers, at least for the moment. I have no idea how long we will live in the house we are renting (minimum of one year), so I don't want to put in too much money, though the work will be good for me. I want to grow some herbs (chives, mint, basil, etc.), some tomatoes, and some greens. I should be able to do that in a small plot. Carol has put in a request for lots of lantana, so there will be some of that hanging around. I am not sure of the light patterns in our new home, so plant selection is a bit difficult at the moment. The early choices will have to be heat resistant though as we arrive just as summer starts to kick it up. I am looking forward to the warmth. My old achy bones don't much like the cold.
It is a gorgeous morning though it will become warm later (88 going for the record 90). Sitting outside, sipping my coffee, watching the sun gild the leaves, listening to the birds and frogs is one of the great pleasures in my life.
Monday, May 4, 2009
May morning
Carol accidentally left her new fancy laptop downstairs last night and I have unplugged it and stepped outside with it to sit on the back porch sipping my early morning coffee. It is just after 6:30 am, a bit cloudy and a balmy 71 degrees. The forecast high is 82, so not a great deal of change today.
Earlier a hawk was hollering at me from the trees along the shore of the creek. Unable to move me, it flew to the chimney of the neighboring house, screamed a little more, then flew east. As I sat down to begin writing this post, a mallard quacked and splashed down in the creek. All the while, a wealth of honeysuckle has tickled my nose with its sweetness, cardinals and a multitude of other birds have been broadcasting their pleasure (or displeasure) with the new day. A mourning dove whoos in the distance, a sound I shall always associate with NC. The first morning after I arrived here and went for a walk, feeling totally weirded out by the new local and mess of green, they were whooing. I am going to miss this place when I arrive at Texas. What I won't miss, I hope, is the traffic roar. Though Gorman is not a main drag, it does connect to the ring road, and a fair amount of traffic uses it to cut through to where ever it goes.
It just occurred to me that this place is the first place I have lived in for years that has allowed me to sit outside in the early morning since I left the farm. The trailer was too claustrophobic to allow for sitting outside, besides, I would have been looking at the neighbors walls or the street, neither of which was all that appealing. In the city I did not have an outside chair, and I never felt comfortable sitting on the side of the street. Here the trees offer shelter from the apartment complex on the other side of the creek, the shrubbery (some kind of berry bearing tree)hides me from Brent. It is like having my own little private bush house in the middle of the city.
I have boxed about 3/4 of the books in the house. What remains are a few special books in a cabinet and some of Carol's research books she is unwilling to put away just yet. Ph.D people are so needy when it comes to their comfort books. I am unsure what I shall do today as Carol's best friend is coming to spend a few nights. I need to do some cleaning, and I may slip over to Harry Teeter for some tomatoes and such. I may dig out the wall putty and begin filling holes here and there as well.
A bumble bee as big as my head is moving around over there requiring my full attention. A cardinal just flew in for a morning nibble from the feeder. The sun is highlighting one second-story window on the neighbors house. The other cardinals, not quite as brave as the first, sit in the tree calling me names.
Earlier a hawk was hollering at me from the trees along the shore of the creek. Unable to move me, it flew to the chimney of the neighboring house, screamed a little more, then flew east. As I sat down to begin writing this post, a mallard quacked and splashed down in the creek. All the while, a wealth of honeysuckle has tickled my nose with its sweetness, cardinals and a multitude of other birds have been broadcasting their pleasure (or displeasure) with the new day. A mourning dove whoos in the distance, a sound I shall always associate with NC. The first morning after I arrived here and went for a walk, feeling totally weirded out by the new local and mess of green, they were whooing. I am going to miss this place when I arrive at Texas. What I won't miss, I hope, is the traffic roar. Though Gorman is not a main drag, it does connect to the ring road, and a fair amount of traffic uses it to cut through to where ever it goes.
It just occurred to me that this place is the first place I have lived in for years that has allowed me to sit outside in the early morning since I left the farm. The trailer was too claustrophobic to allow for sitting outside, besides, I would have been looking at the neighbors walls or the street, neither of which was all that appealing. In the city I did not have an outside chair, and I never felt comfortable sitting on the side of the street. Here the trees offer shelter from the apartment complex on the other side of the creek, the shrubbery (some kind of berry bearing tree)hides me from Brent. It is like having my own little private bush house in the middle of the city.
I have boxed about 3/4 of the books in the house. What remains are a few special books in a cabinet and some of Carol's research books she is unwilling to put away just yet. Ph.D people are so needy when it comes to their comfort books. I am unsure what I shall do today as Carol's best friend is coming to spend a few nights. I need to do some cleaning, and I may slip over to Harry Teeter for some tomatoes and such. I may dig out the wall putty and begin filling holes here and there as well.
A bumble bee as big as my head is moving around over there requiring my full attention. A cardinal just flew in for a morning nibble from the feeder. The sun is highlighting one second-story window on the neighbors house. The other cardinals, not quite as brave as the first, sit in the tree calling me names.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Post anniversary
I was sitting on the back deck drinking my morning coffee and I realized, I have been here for 2 years. How strange is that? The green is still amazing, even after two years of being here.
Spring is a bit slower this year though. When I arrived in 07, the magnolia were beginning to bloom. I have not seen any even budding yet. Well, not counting the early bloomers back in February and March.
I still find myself weirded out occasionally when I become aware of where I am living.
Two years ago I was waiting for boxes and searching for a place to live come the summer. Now I am busy putting things into boxes getting ready for another move. Someday I would like to settle down and not have to box my life up.
Or, I wish I were young again and everything I own could fit in the trunk/backseat of my Camaro. Remember those days?
Spring is a bit slower this year though. When I arrived in 07, the magnolia were beginning to bloom. I have not seen any even budding yet. Well, not counting the early bloomers back in February and March.
I still find myself weirded out occasionally when I become aware of where I am living.
Two years ago I was waiting for boxes and searching for a place to live come the summer. Now I am busy putting things into boxes getting ready for another move. Someday I would like to settle down and not have to box my life up.
Or, I wish I were young again and everything I own could fit in the trunk/backseat of my Camaro. Remember those days?
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