Monday, August 03, 2009

I'm back....

... but just for a bit.

The last two weeks of July were simply hair raising, or hair graying, as the case may be.

1) I was in the throes of finishing a six week long seminar with faculty at two of our eastern campuses. This seminar is very time intensive because the material is presented in an "online" format, but the seminar includes 3 face-to-face meetings. I am often asked by faculty at commonwealth locations if we couldn't just put the whole seminar "online". They just want to complete the assignments, and call it a day. However, every experience we've had with this course, tells us that the face-to-face meetings are irreplaceable, and every group tells me that they want MORE of them not fewer. It may surprise folks but it is rare for faculty to have the opportunity to just sit down in a non-threatening environment and talk about their work. And when they do...the floodgates open, and all kinds of revelations occur. I have yet to have a faculty member tell me that this kind of opportunity has not made them a better instructor. And isn't that what you want for your tens of thousands of dollars?

2) I was trying to organize for my "spring" cleaning. Yes, in July. Every July, an Amish friend brings a young relative or two, and they spend the day, washing, dusting, vacuuming, and all the things that we who work have no time to do on a weekly basis. It means tearing all the rooms apart, and then putting them back together when the washing, dusting and scrubbing are finished. When I drive them home for the day, it doesn't look clean at all, more like a Murphy's Oil Soap Tornado was through. I usually have most of the "mess" reorganized though by the end of the day. This year, however, nothing was "normal". They stayed longer than they originally planned. I obligingly stopped at a grocery store on the way home (which is about 15 miles out in the country), so M could shop a bit. Everything, of course, took longer than planned. I didn't get back to my house until 7:30. Yoi! And on my way back, a phone starts to ring, and lo and behold, it is M's cell phone. (Apparently, cell phones are allowed for business purposes.) Her basket overturned and the phone was left on the floor of the car. (She carries her lunch in a basket, just like Red Riding Hood.) So I spent the evening and following morning trying to get her phone back to her. And let me tell you, she got more calls that I do!!





3) Mid month, we spent at day at our local Art's Festival with our niece, nephew, and their new baby, our great nephew. He was just about 3 months old, and just starting to get the drift of smiling etc. What a cutie. I think he looks a lot like Sean his daddy.







4) It wasn't all work and no play, because one Saturday we went to a jazz performance. However, because I'm a dope, with too many balls in the air, I forgot to get tickets when they were available a block from where I work, so on the warmest Saturday so far (which really wasn't all that warm) I drove to Tallyrand Park in downtown Bellefonte to purchase tickets. (Did you ever see the original Pollyanna? It is a park like that.) I have never walked to the park during the day (mostly because I have no reason to be in Bellefonte during the day). But this day, I parked on the other side of a little bridge and walked across Spring Creek to the park. Here's what I saw on the bridge:



Yes, it's duck food in bubble gum machines.












Then there was this sight when you look over the railing of the bridge:



After a bit of research I figured out that those silvery things are fish...probably, trout. BIG trout. Fishing is prohibited in Tallyrand and now I'm wondering if the food is actually for the fish. They're big enough.








Now I'm trying to get all my outstanding stuff done before I take a much needed break before arrival weekend. (Someone stab me in the heart, please!!) But I'm blogging instead. I must be crazy.

Hopefully, I'll be able to update my knitting before I leave, which has been happening regularly, even though I had to miss my knitting group because of my "spring cleaning".

2 comments:

Bezzie said...

NOt crazy at all! Guess what I'm planning the last week of August? "Spring" cleaning of my own!

Bezzie said...

P.S. Cute great Newphew! Eee!