Monday, August 03, 2020

Forever?


It's August and we're still having multiple daily work meetings spaced out all day. The rest of the day is building each class and syllabus manually on our new platform, Canvas. While all this counts as doing the necessary--perhaps even as accomplishing something new--I didn't get a chance to settle in to 'deep work' or dream up projects this summer.

There are days of dread about what might be in store and today was one of them. Would I worry less if there was an end in sight?

Sunday, August 02, 2020

Modality: Baleful

The tiniest member of the family has the most terrifying glare.

(This is because At wouldn't share his Boss Day mint chicken with Huckie Bear anymore.)

Saturday, August 01, 2020

Synchrony, serendipity, sweetness

 
A long meander through MSU arboretum early this morning with L, T, and R while the rest of the fam slept in. Moving up and down the line I overheard bits of conversations as one does. But today, two things. 

First, L said she loved lantana. And so, later today, I was able to make her a teensy posy with some of my last blooms for the season. 

Then, R mentioned she'd been spending a lot of time on the Russ and Daughters website looking at all the things she wanted to order and that she was tempted to order the smoked sablefish, but it cost 55$$$$. Now, earlier this week, when picking food for my Imperfect delivery, I thought I had ordered some black cod, because that Nobu dish is a highlight of our lives. As it turns out, what I had actually ordered and had delivered yesterday, was smoked black cod or (the package informed me) sablefish. Exactly What R wanted! So the package made its way to R, much to her delight.

We ended the day with the brownies from bestie LB--some with walnuts for me and Big A and some nut-free for Nu and At. Some small sweetnesses from today.

Friday, July 31, 2020

A Different Season

Perhaps I asked the wrong question 
of this place
at such a time

Imagining what we've become
at that time
in this place

Discovering us borderless 
I open to shelter
--maybe laughter?

Like a wave in our spacious sky 
--I who cannot swim
see my shadow float


Thursday, July 30, 2020

Life as busy-work

Our governor has closed indoor bars and has limited indoor gatherings to <10 ahead of campuses reopening, and is rightfully getting some love on the capitol lawns as EG's photo shows. Lots or ire too, I expect.

We figured out some glitches with Nu's Khan Academy sign-ins and established some house rules for timely work. Then Nu and I worked like friendly but respectful office buddies for a large part of the morning. Big A set the kids to work on clearing the front drive and they may or may not have had a leafblower battle, but they did a great job. Our long driveway was cleared by the time Big A and I set out on our riverwalk (we did a 'full Sparty' today--all the way to the football stadium).

I've needed to read something light after heart heavy reads earlier this week, and picked up and abandoned a couple of books before I decided on Kevin Wilson's Perfect Little World.  Among those abandoned--The Dinner ListI was slightly irritated by the 'Indian' name "Sumir," which while plausible, is so close to names like "Samir" or "Sumit" that it seemed like a typo. Then I was full-on irritated by another ostensibly Indian, but nonsensical name "Swani." OK, c'mon; how difficult would it have been to appeal to your social media hivemind or do a google search to find actual names?! Another book I abandoned was something donated to our Little Free Library--I had been forbidden to read it when I was a teen, so I went into it with high hopes, but it was very disappointing, and even determined skimming didn't turn up anything smutty. 

And finally after dinner, At took us through  Starship Troopers in an abbreviated (liberal fast-forwarding) and annotated ride (connecting to Umberto Eco's work) and then we retreated to our books, screens, and alone time. As Nu said somewhat wistfully earlier this week when they came to say goodnight, "And another day is done."

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

'The Big Picture'



Syllabus building proceeds apace. So many details remain to be filled in, but I think I have the big picture.

Kinda like this goofy peacock (?) at the MSU Arboretum--all those individual pots of begonias will fill out the plot with plumage, but for now, we have to compartmentalize, trust circumstances will cooperate, and hope for the best. 

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Taking a Few

A hike at Hawk Island and a socially distant picnic with Grandpa R (namaste-ing in this pic) before he returns to N.C.

The water was brilliant; the skies clear and blue; the woods deep and green and quiet. There were tons of people, but there was so much space that it didn't matter--or not very much. The bento boxes I customized (puff pastry rolls and salads) for each of us were a goddamn hit.

No significant 'real' work was accomplished today, and I think I'm going to be ok with that.

a day to be proud...

1) of my WGS students who set up 25 wonderful interactive booths to discuss subjects as varied as the female gaze in films, non-binary erasu...