Saturday, October 23, 2010

Saturday!

So after 6+hours of staring at the computer screen yesterday, working on the research paper, I could close my eyes and the lines of print never went away... So I took a break of being on the computer and relaxed.

My body, however, had different plans for this morning. So instead of sleeping in, I was up at 5:00 and by 6:30, I had made flashcards, breakfasted, showered and was off to participate in a cause walk. I wasn't planning on going but I said that if I woke up in time, I would go...

Famous last words...

But, the walk was awesome... Well, maybe not the walk part since it was a bit anticlimactic but the memories we made! Driving with friends, singing along to songs, going to this cute little zoo, playing on the playground, In N Out and getting lost while trying to go home.

The oddest part:
being told by an automated voice that loitering (in the park) was prohibited and our pictures were being sent to the police department. Hmm... What do people do in parks other than loiter? And FYI, we were walking. Not stopping, just walking. Well, the police department now has great pics of our awesome orange and white homemade shirts.

My favorite part: calling my mom for directions on the way home. I told her that I was with friends and we went on an adventure and got lost. She asked me where I was. I told her ___ city (~ 2hrs away) which then spawned the rest of the people in the car to suggest other alternatives such as the following:

  • Hey Mom, I went for a drive... Why do all the license plates say Wyoming?
  • Hey Mom, there's this border crossing thing and all the agents are wearing red with funny hats...
  • Hey Mom, I went for a walk and now I see this sign: where's Ca-nad-a?

More posts forthcoming... stay tuned!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

How does the garden grow?

When we planted the peas, I wasn't sure how to support them without purchasing a lot of materials. As it turned out, Mom had saved some old netting and on a short visit home I found some unused stakes that I could use...




The netting is attached to the balcony railing with yellow yarn that I borrowed from another project. This will hopefully keep the weight of the peas from dragging the netting down.
There were also a few strategically placed nails on the railing (from the previous tenants) that proved quite useful.


The first planter.


I think this is mid-thinning...



And this is this week:

Friday, October 15, 2010

Clouds...

"'Wouldn't it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true, and we could live in them?' said Jo after a little pause." - Little Women









Friday, October 8, 2010

In Unexpected Places...

In the midst of my errands today, I stopped at the library to drop off a couple of books and walked in...

That was a mistake; because after all, I was in a hurry to get back studying. cough, cough, ahem. So I just thought I would pop in and see what was of interest... I would be quick after all. At this point my family would be laughing because quick at the library for me is under 30 minutes but that's another story!

The library has a wonderful small selection of DVD's that I love to browse but try not to borrow since I don't need yet another distraction. I pulled the newest version of Mansfield Park off the shelf (I was feeling a little austentatious). The woman next to me, exclaimed "Oh, that's a good one! Do you like Jane Austen too?" I smiled and said yes and we started to compare notes on movies. We ended up talking about Jane Eyre and she had just watched the 2006 version. (A beautiful movie with a rather modern interpretation in my opinion.) I shared that my favorite Jane Eyre movie was the Timothy Dalton version which while not visual exciting is very true to the book and very well acted. She asked "Is this it?" and sure enough she had checked it out. She was also checking out my favorite version of Emma (with Kate Beckinsale). It was so nice to meet someone with similar tastes in movies; I was so glad I went in.

Anne calls them kindred spirits or as Miss Cornelia says "the race that knows Joseph". Sometimes I find them among other Christians, homeschoolers, 4hers, plant nerds or students. Or at the library. Where is an unexpected place you've found a kindred spirit?

Monday, October 4, 2010

Life...


The weather is wonderful here! It's been gray and windy and cloudy and yes, I know that doesn't sound like great weather to most people... Call me crazy but this weather is invigorating. Plus, when it gets too cold to be outside, tea time!

The sad part of the change in weather is that everyone is getting sick! At least one person in each of my classes today was coughing and hacking. In two cases, they were seated next to me. Yeah, could you breathe in that direction. Thanks.

In my physics class, my professor was sick and he lectures right next to my desk... Don't breathe. Don't breathe. But he is an awesome teacher. He matches my Environmental Science teacher at DA for enthusiasm and energy (and that is a feat).

We've played with levers and used physics to set up pulley systems 10ft up without using ladders and not breaking windows. We've had class outside, built roller coasters and made carts. He's borrowed my pencils and pens to demonstrate the force of gravity and stapled my notebook to show that a stapler could be two types of lever. I just want to video tape the lectures so badly. He is so much fun to watch! He also is a botanist (and fire-ecologist) so he uses botanical names for plants! Sigh :) When I visited during office hours, he had a poinsettia "blooming" on his desk!

Every time I look up: there's God's handiwork in the most amazing clouds.
Get ready for a cloud post!