The day after

Yesterday was a breeze, but a long windy one. I left home at 7 and returned around 4 (earlier than expected). The day long class was pretty much what I expected, lots of boring stuff, interspersed with some interesting stuff. A lot of what they were talking about was logistical: how to access the class site, where to find assignments, etc. etc. Some of the info was about the assignments and their order. The library sent a person who spent an hour talking about their site, but it was no more complicated than the talk I gave my students about NCSU's library. In other words, I found her talk quite boring, and in places erroneous. But, the age and skill range in the class is quite varied, from clearly retired (70 something), to still in undergraduate work. Though the ones at both extremes was limited. Most of the students were in their mid to late 20's early 30's.

Friday night Carol and I took a drive and found the building (thanks gps!) so I was confident yesterday morning that I could find the place without any problems, and I did. The class room where they held the class was easy to find, though poorly numbered. Some grad students were stationed outside the door directing us poor lost souls into the room. The room itself was large (class has 230 students registered apparently), and as the day wore on, very cold. By lunch time I was shivering, by the time I left, I had my sleeves rolled down and my arms tucked as close to my body as possible. It felt great walking outside into the warm air.

When I entered the room there were a fair number of students near the back and spattered around the middle. The two front rows of tables were both empty, and I, bravely, selected one right up front and facing the big screen. As a small note of triumph over my sa, in the afternoon I had to make use of the facilities. I walked out of the room, down the middle aisle, and had no sense of being self-conscious. Not long ago, I would not have been able to do that, so I guess I am still getting better.

The course itself is quite basic, but it should make a great introduction to the program and the profession. I don't forsee myself having any difficulty with the material. Any problem I might have will be with scheduling,but I have begun a calendar,so I have hopes that I will be able to stay on top of things.

It is a beautiful morning, 75, a bit o a breeze, some clouds and sun. Great morning to relax in the back yard.

I am glad I did not sign up for the online 5600 course. They are meeting for the next three days in the same room I spent all of yesterday. They will meet from 8-5 all three of those days. blech.

My second masters has begun. All I am waiting on right now is funding, and I hope to have that cleared up next week. And yes, waiting for the money is stressful and worrying me a little.

I am off this morning to UNT for a full, day-long educational experience. Fortunately, I only have to do one of these.

I will write more when I have done some time at the class.

On the shortness of summer

It is a beautiful morning. No clouds, a light breeze, a few small birds speaking to each other,and distant traffic. I do not know where the mocking bird has gone, but I have not seen him around lately. Maybe he got mated up and no longer needs to brag? It is a pleasure to sit out back with all the plants growing and looking healthy. I tossed the two geraniums that were dying/dead and in the process figured out why they were dying. The soil they were in was sopping wet. Too much water and the roots rotted even though the top of the soil was dry and the plants showed heat stress in the hot part of the day. I replaced them with some more purslane, which has been very successful so far. The lantana has taken of and is attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. My hydrangea is setting itself well into its hard soil, so I have hopes it might bloom next spring. I think most of the plants, with the exception previously noted, and some herbs, have done well. I am learning their likes and dislikes, so that helps as well. Even the little baby rosemary I bought at the farmers market has tripled in size.

I have mostly decided on UNT for this fall. Unless something changes, that is where I will be studying in a few days. Which is the lead into the post heading. It does not seem that long since we arrived here, though careful counting suggests 10 weeks or so. It just does not seem that long.

Carol and I went for a tour of Texas yesterday morning. Had a look at the local lake, or part of it at least. TX still looks like southern Alberta in many ways.

Denton feels less alien now. I was heading to petsmart yesterday morning, enjoying the warm sun, feeling comfortable driving, knowing where I was going, where to turn, etc. etc. It is not "home" yet, but I am feeling comfortable here.

Another quiet week has slipped away. Last Thursday I bought a cheap version of Simcity 4 (the 6 year old city building game), and spent most of the week building cities. I have become less obsessed with the game as the week has faded, and now my cities are stagnating on my hard drive.

Carol and I went for a short cruise this morning. We headed west and then north a bit. Silly me, I left home without my camera so I have no photos to share, but the drive was fun. For the first time in two years I left a city, and for the first time in years, I went for a drive with no particular destination in mind.We did end up in a very rural area with some big ranches and one huge 1/2 mile long greenhouse. Some of the roads are the kind you see on TV and the movies of the south and Texas. Very beautiful. I discovered that there are still gravel roads in America. We also saw two turkey vultures sitting on a power pole just as we were leaving the city. I still find it interesting that those birds are here in such great numbers. Not quite as many of them as ravens, I don't think.

This week I have to make a decision on which school to attend. Time is running out, and I need to act.

I put the hydrangea in the ground earlier this week,and it looks to be doing well. Carol bought a few plants on line (one is some kind of succulent, the other an ornamental grass)that I have also planted. The succulents will need to be transplanted once more, once they become rooted (they are cuttings).The rest of the plants, not counting the geraniums, are doing well. The geraniums seem happier in the shade, and have begun to bloom once more. Maybe it was just too hot for the poor things right out in the full sun.

I was looking at the long range forecast this morning, and there is not one day in the next 14 where the daytime high falls below 90. Guess this is Texas.

I am currently sitting outside enjoying the morning, and a humming bird buzzed by, stopped, looked at me, and considered the lantana before leaving. Between the lantana and the purslane, there are many options for the little birds.

July 29

Another wet rainy morning, not that I am complaining. It had been dry enough just before the rain began that I was considering...watering the lawn!! gasp! But now, I won't have to as it has rained a great deal in the last few days. I will have to get out and mow it one of these days however. The rain has encouraged a great deal of growing.

The last two days I played computer tech. Carol's desktop has been down for a while, so I began with it. It did not want to install a new xp, so I installed Windows 7 RC. Way cool program, satisfies the geek in me, and is very easy to use. My desktop stopped loading Vista, mostly because I had set the os partition to small (based on internet advice) when I first set it up. It was not able to do the proper os updates,and I think during one of those update/restart acts, their was corruption in the gears. Anyway, I got it working as well on Sunday. Monday, my laptop quit working, so I spent all yesterday getting it going (finding drivers etc., some are still down), and finishing updating my desktop. Everything seems to be working fine (knocks on wood) now. I surely would hate to do rebuilds of software for a living.

Other than that, it has been quiet here. Mags hides when thunder is about, she hates storms. Daph has begun to sit on top of my desktop (will have to discourage that). Carol sent her lit review off to the rest of her committee with the approval of her adviser, a major step in the whole phd process.

The leaves on my geraniums are pale,and they do not seem all that happy. Wish I knew why...

the strange case of the dissapearing week (and )

This week is over, and it feels like it never happened. Monday - Wednesday were rain days. Yesterday I got sick, and today I am still not fully recovered. Feeling better though. I think it is viral in origin, though it could be a case of food poison. I was freezing last night, sweating this morning, so a bit of a fever as well.

Strange to say the highlight of my week was getting ill. I live an exciting life. :)

The which is beside the g and d, below the r and above the cv on the keyboard or this laptop is not working well. So if some words seem to be missing something it likely is an .

Sometimes I wish I were still on the farm getting ready to head out to cut some hay. It would be a good morning/day for it here I think.

OOps. It just occurred to me, something exciting did happen this week, though I had the misfortune to leave my camera at home. 300 yards from home, we saw a turkey vulture on the side of the road eating something dead. Strangely enough, the real bird acts a lot like the cartoon birds do. Even look alike.