Day book ramblings. . .

Outside my window:
Earlier this morning the sky was grey and it looked like rain, but now the sun is out and it is just partly cloudy. I wonder when this drought is going to break. It can’t last forever, right?

I am thinking:
A lot about how busy I am and how I need to SLOW the hell DOWN. I have to find a way to change how I live my life. This 5 hours of sleep a night 4 days a week is taking a toll on my body and if that were not enough this working 18 hours a day 4 days a week aint makin’ me any younger either. I want time to sleep 8 hours in a row, to cook daily instead of doing it all for the week in one day, to read and think and stare into space, to paint and write. I know that this is for a short time but it has been 3 years and I am starting to feel a little resentful and like my life is passing too quickly to be spending it working constantly.

I am thankful for:
That the job I have to work so long and hard at is one I absolutely love, even if it is stealing my life away.


From the kitchen:
This weekend I am going camping. One of the things I am going to be making is hobo pie. I have a hobo pie maker. For the uninitiated a hobo pie maker is a little cast iron box on a long metal stick that you put in the camp fire to cook various things. I have 2 favorites. 1. Rye bread, sharp cheddar, spicy mustard and little smokies and 2. White bread, apple slices (or berries), cinnamon, brown sugar, oatmeal and a little bit of butter. See the picture right for a better view of the pie maker.


I am wearing:
A bun cage on my hair, it is a little metal cage with beads on it held in place by 2 silver pins. It captures my hair and keeps it together. (see picture for an example)

I am creating:
I am working on a paper on ROI for EHR implementation for small physician practices and the implications for compliance to the HITECH act and HIPAA.

I am going:
Camping this weekend! Oh I need the woods so much right now.

I am reading:
Bullfinch’s Greek and Roman Mythology

I am hoping:
For rain and that I will get some of the scholarships I have applied for.

I am hearing:
My students working on their test

Around the house:
As usual I need to clean it before I go camping this weekend. I have a friend house and pet sitting and I don’t want them to see what a complete slob I am. (Partial slob is fine though)

One of my favorite things:
Dramatically reading stories to little kids, even adults really

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Did I mention I am going camping?

Words I am pondering: I had never heard of this poem or this poet before yesterday and I love this poem:

Basket of Figs
Bring me your pain, love. Spread
it out like fine rugs, silk sashes,
warm eggs, cinnamon
and cloves in burlap sacks. Show me

the detail, the intricate embroidery
on the collar, tiny shell buttons,
the hem stitched the way you were taught,
pricking just a thread, almost invisible.

Unclasp it like jewels, the gold
still hot from your body. Empty
your basket of figs. Spill your wine.

That hard nugget of pain, I would suck it,
cradling it on my tongue like the slick
seed of pomegranate. I would lift it

tenderly, as a great animal might
carry a small one in the private
cave of the mouth.
Ellen Bass

Here is a picture I am sharing:

This is a pic of Ms Lily and me posing in a hamish way (sorry it is so dark, I couldn't get it brighter)

Cleansing the palate from woe

I have been feeling kind of blue and stressed lately so I decided to cleanse my palate and make a short list of 7 things I am grateful for/love . . .

1. I love it when my dog dreams and barks in her sleep, those funny, squeaky, quiet woofs always make me smile. I also really love my dog, Lily, she is an American Bulldog and is quite smart, and I also think she may have a sense of humor. In addition to all that, Lily is a world class spooner.

2. I love it when my house mate, who is a total owl, randomly makes me breakfast in the morning. My day starts at 5:30 AM while his is just ending and to not have to navigate fire and appliances in my semi comatose pre tea state is lovely.

3. I love my car, yes it has cost me a lot of money in the last year what with a new engine and transmission BUT it is practically a new car now. I like the color- bronze, it is delightfully fast, handles wonderfully, and looks deceptively lady like. By the way, it is a Dodge Intrepid in case you were wondering.

4. I seriously love my job. Every day there is something fun or delightful I get to do, every day I get to make a difference in people’s lives, every day I feel respected, liked and valued. It is awesome. I have the pleasure of teaching something I am passionate about and find endlessly fascinating. I also get to write papers and articles as well as speak at seminars.

5. I enjoy being immersed in academia, I teach for a living and I attend school. I love the conversations, the reading, the research and even the paper writing and how it all meshes together with my career enriching the classes I take, and the classes I take enriching my career.

6. I love my house. I have a beautiful comfortable bed. I have finally discovered the joys of sheets with thread counts higher than 12 grit. I have 9 pillows of various qualities, a very firm mattress and cozy rug on the floor. My room is full of bookshelves with an embarrassment of riches of books as well as little oddments I have collected. I have a great vintage velvet couch and love seat in my living room and 3 large fish tanks with interesting creatures leading their fishy lives.
I have a kitchen that is easy to cook in and I have food in my fridge and pantry. My yard is huge and I have flowers growing, lizards creeping and hummingbirds humming.

7. Most important of all, I have people I love who love me back. Even though we are far apart we still are connected to each other and that is a wonderful thing.