Back from the dead?

I haven't posted here for months and months. One thing I did in that time was write a novel during NaNoWriMo. And I self-published it so now you can buy it at Amazon or CreateSpace. All my royalties go to Doctors without Borders.

Hummer

Thanks for the comments on my new tattoo! :-) I'm very happy with it.

We're back home now.

See this little guy? He (she?) has decided that this particular spot on the tomato cage is where he wants to spend most of his day. He periodically flits over to snack on the California fuschia you can see in the background, but then he always flies back, and he perches there a long time. Sometimes another hummer comes along and dive-bombs him, bu he chases it off. It's nifty because he either can't see us through the window or doesn't care, so I can get within about 3 feet of him. I love hummingbirds.

Not sure what variety this is. Possibly a female or juvenile Anna's humminbird. or possibly not. :-)

Still Alive!

We're on vacation. Spent last week in Vancouver (which we liked a lot) and this week is in Portland. The kids and Spike came with us, and today I got a new tattoo. :-)

Summer

Thing1 flew all by herself to Oregon, for visits with relatives and then camp. See how grown-up she looks, in this pic I took at the airport?

Meanwhile, T2 celebrated Crazy Hair Day at school.

I am stuck with book revisions and emergency budget meetings. Bleh!!

I'm alive!

Okay, so I haven't posted in a really really long time. Not too much exciting going on here, really. But Thing 2 is now somewhere in the middle of the 4th Harry Potter book, which is pretty impressive for a kid who hasn't yet started 1st grade. Here she is posing with the book and no teeth.

Thing 2 is finishing up the series for the second time. She's off to camp on Saturday, where she'll be for 3 weeks. It's going to be very quiet around here.

Here's T1 and Spike enjoying lunch at Red Lobster to celebrate a good report card (for T1, that is. Spike didn't get one). T1 has a thing for eating shrimp.

Student Video

Want to see a video some of the students in my Hate Crimes class made? Here it is. They did a nice job. There's even a blooper reel at the end.

Last night was the last ceramics class until fall. I had two things to bring home. A spider tile:

I like it because I actually drew the spider, which is the limit of my drawing ability. And a sun:

Four of the rays had fallen off by the time it was bisque fired. So I glazed them separately, knowing I could glue them on later. And even though I used the same glaze on everything, as you can see, 3 of the rays turned out a totally different color. I guess they were in different spot in the kiln. In any case, I really like the the end result anyway, so it was a happy accident.

I plan to sign up again in the fall.

Garden

Thing 2 is very happy with the cherry tomato plant she planted in the Topsy Turvy thing. At least it'll give the snails a challenge to find it.

Ceramics FOs

Haven't had any pottery things to show in a while, so here's an odd little collection of ceramics projects. First there's this happy little guy. I'd meant him as a wall hanging, and he has holes in his head for nails, but he actually turned out to be a good size and shape ro become a cheese plate. But maybe I'm the only one who'd like to eat cheese off a skull:

I was thinking knitting needle holder when I made this, though it could be a vase, too. I think it looks kinda like a tree stump:

Here they are together, for scale:

Finally, I made a bowl I really like, but I can't seem to get a decent picture of it:

Ahoy, mateys!

Got the roof graphic for Mick and Hubby installed it last night. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are pictures:


I think it's safe to say I have the only car like this in town. :-)

Yet another note from T2

My Mom recently visited, and was discussing some distant cousins with the Things. I think that's what prompted this sweet note Thing 2 wrote today.

Dear cusens:
Wat is your names? I wont to play with you. Can you have a play dat with
me? How old ar you? Wat is your favrit color? My name is [T2] I am six years
old. I have a sister named [T1]. Wate grad are you in? My favret couler is
purple.

My kids don't actually have any first cousins, and no relatives at all close enough for a play date. :-(

Strawberry Pie!

This weekend we were gifted with a half flat of strawberries from the berry stand down the road. Several of us are berry fans, but even we can't eat that much, so tonight Thing 1 and I made strawberry pie. This is a recipe I got at a berry farm in Oregon in 1987. I know the year because it has the date on the recipe itself. It's a delicious pie, a fave of mine and Hubby's, but I hadn't made it for years. I forgot how good it is! T1 has announced it's the most delicious food in the world. T2 will have a taste tomorrow. Strawberry pie for breakfast?

Lolich's Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 baked 9" pie shell cooled
1 3-oz. package of cream cheese
1 quart fresh strawberries
3/4 C sugar
1 C whipping cream
2 Tbs corn starch
1/4 tsp lemon juice

Blend cream cheese and 3 Tbs cream until smooth. Spread over baked pie shell. Wash and hull the berries. Set aside half (the prettier ones). Puree the rest of the berries with the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Cook the mixture in microwave on high for 6 min.s, turning and stirring twice, until mixture is thick and transparent. Pour 1/2 of puree over cream cheese mixture. Slice remaining berries in half and arrange in shell. Pour remaining puree over berries. Whip cream; add 1/2 tsp sugar. Top pie with whipped cream and chill. Gobble.


PS--The pink and blue spots in T1's mouth are fillings. Yes, they come in colors. Yes, we made sure she brushed her teeth well tonight!

Worms

I've bought and read all 7 Harry Potter books, and about 2 years ago I parked the set in Thing 1's bookshelf and gently urged her to read them. I knew she'd like them. Well, she's just recently decided to listen, and has zoomed through to the 4th book in about 3 weeks. And the other day she asked me if I had any recommendations for her after she finished the series. That was very satisfying.

Even more satisfying, this morning I discovered the first HP book propped open in Thing 2's room. She told me her sister had let her borrow it. I asked T2 if the book was too hard for her (she's 6 and in kindergarten, after all) and she said no and proceeded to retell the plot thus far. Cool.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have bred bookworms. :-)

Left

These results don't surprise me a bit. I'm too libertarian to be a Commie, I guess, so what does that make me?

My Political Views
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 7.08, Libertarian: 6.28

Political Spectrum Quiz

My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -7.14

Political Spectrum Quiz


My Culture War Stance
Score: -9.64

Political Spectrum Quiz

Water Rescue

It's Spring Break. My Mom's visiting, and today Hubby took the day off, too, so we went for a picnic at Yosemite Lake. Spike went too, and when he actually fell in the lake, Thing 1 had to mount a rescue operation:

Apparently, vampires don't float. Fortunately, they don't have to breathe, either, and the rescue was successful.

Thing 1, Vampire Rescuer.

Momentarily Sorta Cool

I'm in LA for a couple days for a meeting. Drove down in Mick the Mini, listening to my new iPod Nano, so I didn't mind the drive at all. I picked up a colleague 100 miles down the road, so I had company 2/3 of the way, too. Even people in LA think my car is cool. They let me in when I have to change lanes, in a way they rarely do when I'm in my SUV. And two young guys driving a Mini with the exact same color scheme flashed me smiles and peace signs as I passed them.

Video to watch

Someone sent me a link to this YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY

It's at the central station in Antwepr, and it's really great. Nothing like this ever happens here.

Grading is Fun

I was grading essays this morning while my students were taking an exam. As I got to one particular essay on the history of policing in the American south, I had to stifle a fit of the giggles. Here's the sentence that set me off:

They would also patrol for African American semen that came from the North;
the semen would have to stay on the boat and were not allowed to walk on the
street.

Snort!

Happy Day

Today was a very good day. I finished one major project at work and one moderate one, got good feedback on a project I finished a couple weeks ago, solved a student's thorny problem, and had a meeting that went very well. And when I returned to my office from the meeting, I discovered a former student had left a box of See's chocolates in my mailbox as a thank you for writing her a letter of recommendation. Let me tell you, of all the things I could find in my mailbox, it's hard to think of anything that would be nicer. :-)

And tonight I had ceramics class and made a big bowl and a spider tile.

Another note

I have the latest note from Thing2 to share. She wrote this Wednesday evening, when I was at ceramics class. She's supposed to be tucked into bed by the time I get home, and I think Hubby's been threatening her with my wrath if she isn't:

Dear Dad:
I wont to stay up lat. Asck Mom if she found me stayying up lat would she
be angy or happy. Is she ses she wold be angry, tell me thet she would be angry.
And if she sais she would be happy, tell me she wold be happy.
From: [Thing2]
To: Daddy

Obviously, I'm ecstatic when she stays up lat.

T2 had yet another birthday party to attend today, this one also 45 minutes away. But I didn't mind, actually, because it was at a park, and it was 78 degrees out with a tiny breeze, and I got to sit at a picnic bench and do some work on my laptop for 2 hours in perfect weather. The drive was down a bunch of country roads, and that's fun in my Mini. And all the cows and horses and goats have babies now, which is fun, too. We saw a big bunny, too. Plus, somebody we drove by keeps 3 camels (Bactrians--2 humps!) in a corral by the side of the road. I have no idea why.