“If you’re e.e. Cummings or Joyce or someone like that, you can play around because you already know the rules. You’re completely disciplined in it, so you can play around. But you have know the language first; otherwise it’s just a lot of blather.”
Frank McCourt.
It’s been a busy few months for me and that has meant that my lovely blog has had to take a bit of a back seat to Life. I didn’t mean to leave you hanging, but needs must (as people say).
The biggest thing since September was a surprise diagnosis of me with stage 3a stomach cancer. This rather threw our lives into a spin for a while, requiring surgery in Dallas, four rounds of chemo and a lot of vomit. 😦
I’m on the flip side of this diagnosis now, though, and am grateful for that. The surgery means that I don’t actually have a stomach any more (true), but modern medicine has made a replacement and now I’m learning how to eat with this new equipment. Every meal is an adventure, let me tell you.
And what about the reading, I hear you ask? Ahh. I actually didn’t read books whilst I was dealing with that medical stuff. I just didn’t have the headspace to do that, so there was lots of magazine and website reading instead – just not any books. (I never thought that would happen, but since it did, that’s ok.)
Now things have calmed down, medically speaking, I find myself back to picking up books and enjoying them immensely. I’ll have the details to come in more posts, but suffice to say, I’m back on the blog again.
Tee hee.
It’s the post-Christmas weekend and I’ve already put all the holiday decorations away. I’ve kept out the fairy lights (since they’re so pretty and not necessarily Christmas-related), but all the other stuff has been put back in the garage for later on in 2020. The decs are lovely before and during Christmas, but once the actual day has gone by, they seem to be clutter-y so I’m quite quick to take them all down again to get the house back to normal.
It was a fun Christmas here at Chez JOMP.T The semester ended smoothly, grades were entered, and then the Superhero and I did a quick trip out of town (details to follow). My lovely mum flew in from England for the week of Christmas and we ended up having a quiet but still fun visit and speed-completed two jigsaw puzzles in four days — one was 500 pieces and the other was 1,000 pieces (so a bit bigger and more challenging). Mum and I are puzzle fiends though, so we had a lot of fun completing these – we’re both as obsessed as each other with these things, so we ended up spending hours together, listening to music and finding “just one more piece for that section there”… (You know how it goes!)
Mum is now visiting my sister in California before flying down to LA to play there for a few days and then popping home to England again. I’m so impressed by her energetic travels – not bad for someone who’s going to turn 84 in May this year. 🙂
The Superhero and I have been following a plant-based diet since seeing the movie Gamechangers and so that’s been interesting and a challenge at the same time. I don’t miss meat, but it’s nearly all 100 percent new recipes at the moment and so we’re tracking down recipes that are both tasty and don’t take all day to get ready. If any of you have a good website that you regularly use for your plant-based cooking, please let me know. I’d love to get more choices!
So, it’s been a busy week or two. I feel behind in my reading and my blogging, so expect a post or two over the next few days of catching up.
So – how about you all? How were your last few weeks of 2019? I hope you can say that you’ve been having fun interspersed with some great reading!
It’s been a little while since I’ve done a catchup post on here and thought that today would be good for one of those. Enjoy!
The university semester is almost finished and we’re in the midst of Final Exams Week (or Finals Week as we call it). My students had their final exam for my class last Saturday so I’m immersed in grading those and calculating their overall final grades. (Hooray for Excel sheets. They make life so much easier for this sort of task.)
It’s been a fun semester teaching this group, and I hope that we’ve both learnt a lot over the past few weeks and months. As much as I love them, I’m ready for a break though, and am looking forward to a few things during the break.
The first big thing is that we’re going to go to New Orleans for a few days, just to hang out and see things. I’ve been doing some research (as I am wont to do) and have lots of ideas of how and where to spend our time while we’re down in the Big Easy, and so we’re looking forward to the trip. More deets to come.
The second big thing is that both the Superhero and I are off work until after Christmas so that means loads of time to do not much (or as much as we want to of whatever we want to), so that’s a great holiday present right there. I’m still planning out what I’m thinking of doing, but I’m sure it will be fun (or if not fun, at least productive – I see some cleaning/organizing of the house in my future).
The third big thing is that my lovely mum is traveling from England for the holidays, so that will be great to spend some time with her. She and I are rather alike in how we like to spend our time, so that makes trips easy and laid-back for the most part, so I see lots of shopping, jigsaw puzzles, reading and going to thrift shops during her visit here in Texas.
I’ve also been reading, but at not quite the same pace as in November when a lot of us were involved with Nonfiction November. I thoroughly enjoyed this community project and was lucky to be introduced to a lot of new bloggers, so I’m definitely signing up for the next round of that. Thanks to the hosts-with-the-mosts (Doing Dewey, JulzReads, Whats Nonfiction, Sarah’s Bookshelves, and Shelf Aware).
I will also be having an update on my books in another post to come… So – how’s your life? Are you involved in the academic calendar (on any level)? What are your plans for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Solstice, something completely different or none-of-the-above? 🙂
Well, classes on campus start this week which means that summer is now dusted and over, at least in terms of (no) job responsibilities etc. The really hot temps are going to be around for at least another two months (if not more), and the weather forecasters warned this morning of temperatures around 106 and 109 this week. Crikey. That’s a bit too hot for me. (ETA (later the same day): It was up to 115 degrees in my car today. Wah.)
Still, I’m ready for school to start and to get back into that routine. I really enjoyed the summer though and wouldn’t turn down a few more days of doing-not-much if it was offered to me! We have a week or so of school, then it’s Labor Day and then we’re back into the academic calendar for realz.
Seeing as it’s going to be sooooo hot this week outside, I foresee quite a lot of staying inside the house in the AC, so perhaps a jigsaw puzzle may be in order over the next day or two. I have a couple in the cupboard that I could finish and I haven’t done a puzzle for quite some time.
This semester, I’m scheduled to teach the same class but this time only having the lecture class. (So me talking to about 60 students about the topic). In previous years, I’ve typically had a lab as well as the lecture, which means that I get 20 of those 60 students mentioned above, but in a smaller computer classroom with lots of one-on-one time and lots of grading. But – no lab for me means no grading which means more extra time which is a nice unforeseen bonus. What to do with the extra time…? 🙂
Reading-wise, I seem to be over the lassitude of late summer (and fatigue from summer school) and now I’m reading up a storm. (Reviews to come.) I’d like to start picking up some more POC reads. Since the demise of Toni Morrison, perhaps I should read one of her titles? Haven’t read her for quite some time. (In case you’re curious, here are my thoughts on Sula, Beloved, and Jazz…)
Movies? We saw the latest Tarantino one – “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” which is a slow-burning movie but pretty good overall. Tomorrow, I think we’re off to see the British movie, “Blinded by the Light” which has 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Curiously, the movie is also set in 1980s Luton, a small town close to where I grew up in England and a town where nothing much ever seemed to happen. Despite that, this year I’ve read a fiction book set there (The Thrill of it All) and now this movie… Who knows what will happen to that metropolis in the future? The world is its oyster, right now. 🙂
Hit the back-to-school sales for some new back-to-work clothing, but it’s far too hot to wear anything that is remotely related to autumnal sartorial choices. Right now – we’re probably going to hit the outside pool this weekend. (Wear your sunscreen, folks. A free PSA for you.)
Hope your seasonal changes are going smoothly as well!
Summer has been in full swing for a few weeks now, and since I’m faculty, I am privileged to enjoy a long break. It’s only my second faculty summer so it’s still quite new for me, and I have to admit that it’s a very nice set-up. 🙂
School finished up in mid-May with getting those final grades in, graduation and sorting out the related debris from the semester. Then I chillaxed a little bit (in between doing some heavy-duty yard work), and prepared for a week-long trip to Canada, Vancouver in particular. (You know how I likes me to over-prepare in pre-researching our destinations that don’t revolve around a beach.)
So, I completed those front beds (and their numerous rocks), I planted some marigolds in a pot (and they are still alive). Worked pretty hard on a difficult (and ultimately impossible for me) jigsaw puzzle, so now have donated that to the FoL folks. (Maybe one of them will have more luck.) It was a shame as it would have been a good image at the end, but oh my. For some reason, I wasn’t that thrilled with it and so passed it on to another loving home. There’s more in the cupboard when I’m moved by the puzzle spirit! 🙂
I’ve also been reading, but not at quite the usual manic speed. (It’s hot in Texas right now. Did you see that Paris was over a 100 degrees the other day? Yikes. And not much air-conditioning. Even more yikes.)
Just a note to let you know that I’m back and there’ll be a few posts in the upcoming days about books, Vancouver and anything else that comes up.
Tell me your news…
Phew. It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’m finally starting to reduce my to-do list to a more manageable size. I had a great Spring Break, but a full week out of the office can do chaos to the schedule sometimes. (It was very worth it though. Just takes a few days to climb out of the pile.)
To do a brief catch-up, I thought I’d use a format that other bloggers have used and which I rather like as well…
Currently: I’ve just been to a breakfast meeting with a potential new faculty member who seems to be very nice. Plus – breakfast was yummy. Plus – I finally got to got to know some other faculty who are in my department, but who have very different schedules than I have so we didn’t know each other very well. We do now!
Reading: I’m a little bit behind in my book reviews, but I have had some crazy-good reads lately. Reviews to come. I’m now in the middle of a non-fiction anthology, “Cooking and Stealing: The Tin House Nonfiction Reader” (Charles d’Ambrosio, editor). A mixed bag for sure, but a good chunk of the articles have been excellent. (But there are typos scattered throughout. Why are there typos? Grr.)
Watching: In the middle of the latest season of “True Detective” (a little intense but very good), along with whichever Seinfeld episode we can find at the moment of watching. Over Spring Break, my mum and I binge-watched a lot of HGTV which we both happen to really enjoy. 🙂
Listening: Just found a good remake of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” song, this one by Hardy, so that’s on quite-a-lot-of-repeat right now.
Planning: The weekend ahead of us. Right now, it’s a choice between a movie of some type or a local play. We’ll see how this pans out. Either way (or something completely different) is fine.
Credit for post idea goes to Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness.
I’m really enjoying this faculty summer schedule and am having a good time doing… well, not much really. I am auditing a class to renew what I know (and don’t know) about news writing (particularly with regard to AP), and although it might sound a bit dry, I am really enjoying it. Since I’m auditing it, I’m not doing it for a grade which is very freeing in many ways. I just sit at the back of the classroom, be quiet and take notes. It’s a fun way to learn….
As part of that class, I’m reading my way through The AP Style Book (which is the gold standard for journalistic writing and is similar to reading a huge dictionary). This sounds like it would be an arduous and boring task, but it’s actually not as reading the AP Stylebook is more like studying for a very particular game of trivia in some ways. I’m also learning a lot (which is extra fun).
So the mornings are usually taken up by class with a lot of homework (since it’s an abbreviated summer school class which means it’s very fast-paced).
The afternoons are usually filled with going to the gym, doing the class homework, and then reading (more deets to come) before the DH comes home after work and we start to do supper etc.
And – drum roll please. I put the last piece into that challenging jigsaw puzzle that I’ve been working on, and here’s the pic of the final version. (I’m finding jigsaw puzzles to be very addictive!):
Abraham Lincoln monument in DC.
So, if you’re in any way connected with the U.S. education system, you will be probably be familiar with the cheers and hoorahs that occur from both the students and the teachers when it’s time for Spring Break… Thus, it was mine the other week, and so I jetted off to meet my lovely mum in the nation’s capitol, Washington D.C.
Many moons ago and in an earlier life, I lived and worked in D.C., but I haven’t been back there for anything longer than a weekend since then, and so it was rather a Rip-van-Winkle experience as we walked around the Mall and environs. I remembered bits and pieces of long-ago events, but for the most part, my time there is lost in the fog of youthful times. (Probably a good thing, as well.)
Mum has not really visited the East Coast of the U.S. that much, although she’s very well-travelled in other regions, and so we chose D.C. as being quite a central place for us to meet, she flying in from London and me from Texas. My mum is a trooper for traveling long distances, but I also wanted to choose a destination that wouldn’t take a long and uncomfortable journey for her to reach since she’s getting a bit up there, age-wise. (She can still walk me into the ground re: stamina, but you know what I mean.) We had tried to hook up with me, my twin sister, and mum, but the differing Spring Break dates between the college where my twin sis teaches and the one at which I teach meant that was a no-go this year.
This pic was taken at the Museum of American History and was included in an exhibition of the history of immigration to the U.S. This was the recommended way to talk with foreigners getting ready for the spoken English exam. How are you, my alien friend? 🙂
So – to the travel. Flying there was uneventful, thank goodness, although I did end up traveling whilst I was wearing a big medical leg brace since I’m still healing from the ankle surgery last December. Not to worry. I packed quite lightly (But. Must. Do. Better. Next. Time.), and having the leg brace, cumbersome though it was, meant that I finally got to ride the airport carts and get early boarding for prime seating since I’m walking at a top speed of a tortoise right now. No worries.
Everyone was extremely kind and understanding about it, and I have nothing but good things to say about traveling with United. (Note: It was impossible for us to get a cart or wheelchair at Houston Airport for unknown reasons and so we ended up walking 40-something gates or we were going to miss our connection, but moving on from that… The other stuff was great.)
My mum had landed in DC the day before I arrived and already had the hotel sussed out so that my late arrival went smoothly and we woke up the next morning ready to up and at them, tourist-style. (You just never know how these things are going to go when you book a hotel blind, amirite?)
I’d researched a rather vague itinerary prior to the trip, and I highly recommend that you do the same (although perhaps a little more detailed) if you travel to D.C. It’s a huge city, and there are approximately fifty billion museums and other cool places to visit, so it’s good to have a plan of some sort. We were interested in a mix of museums, art galleries, and other places, and with mum getting older and me in my leg brace, we chose the walking-intense National Mall to start off when we were fresh and pretty rested.
It’s a lot of walking if you want to see the Lincoln monument, the Reflecting Pool, the Vietnam War Memorial, and other iconic sights, and although there were the occasional (and slightly puzzling) DC Circulator buses that you could hop on to, the four-day passes that we bought for the Metro didn’t work on these buses, so there was quite a bit of faffing about with that until we worked it out.
The National Mall is also a food and drink desert (i.e. there are very few options for lunch, coffee or just a sit down out of the cold), so be prepared. You could buy a very over-priced ice cream, I think, but apart from that, there’s nada that we could find. Caveat emptor and all that.
So Mum and I walked past quite a few of these, hoping to catch the cherry blossoms that line that reflecting pool, but there’d been a hit of cold weather which had delayed their opening up. (You can follow the progress of the cherry blooms at this website.) Not to worry, it was still pretty with all the green buds out, and it was great to walk around in a pedestrian-friendly and safe environment with cool temperatures. (We’d just missed snow, thank goodness.) So we strolled up the Mall, and then came across the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
I’d skim-researched on-line about tickets to enter etc., and the guide book had mentioned that you could buy tickets ahead of time or there were some walk-ins available on the day. This is not quite accurate (as there were no available walk-ins), and so if you’re heading for DC and wanting to pop into this museum, get your tickets 1-2 months ahead of time. Tickets are for a timed-entry to prevent crowds overwhelming the building, so it was well organized, but you just couldn’t walk-in as the guide book suggested. (Note to self for next time.)
Just up the street were some more treasures so all was not lost. We visited the National Archives, and the very intriguing National Museum of American History (which is really interesting and seems to contain everything else that they couldn’t put into one of the other Smithsonian museums). Honestly, it’s a fascinating hodge-podge of topics, times and people, and we could have stayed there for hours.
Still, time was a-ticking so we hopped across the street to run through the National Gallery of Art to see what gorgeous pieces that they had there. One really unexpected display was a small indoor courtyard that was stuffed with the most gorgeous and prolific flowers… Just beautiful and very unexpected in an art museum…
By that time, we were running out of time and out of energy, so we whipped by the White House (didn’t stop as not a big fan of the current inhabitant), and then came back to the hotel. We were staying in a DoubleTree just outside the city in a place called Crystal City (close to the Pentagon etc.) and only a ten-minute subway ride from downtown. Cheaper, less traffic, more conference-focused hotel which was lovely and quiet.
Plus, they had the friendliest and most helpful staff I’ve ever encountered which was a big plus. (Say hello to Tyrone when you next see him. Great guy, and deserves a raise as he went waaay over and above in his customer service when we’d just missed the shuttle.)
The next day featured more of the museums at the other end of the Mall: the Library of Congress (with the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights et al.), a quick visit to the U.S. Capitol (where our politicians sometimes do their work), and then back for a rest.
Points to consider when traveling to DC:
Use your City-Smarts, and DC is a blast.
P.S. I did do some reading of some earlier work of Mary Roach (My Planet) whilst I was traveling, but it was a collection of her lifestyle columns from a newspaper, and trust me, it wasn’t her best work. Let me save you some time and money by saying that your life will continue if you don’t read this one. 🙂
The amazing Library of Congress in DC… Slightly posher than my own local branch… 🙂
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