Red, White and Gold Double Weave Placemats

It was 6 weeks in the making, but finally this project is finished.  I like them, but don't ever want to take on this project again!

Grading Accomplished!

Hair Cut

Oliver Will be Missed

Oliver, our sweet orange kitty, passed away this morning.  He was with us for 14 years and was sweet and such a wonderful addition to our family.  He will be sorely missed.

Yeah, I'd say it's worth it

5.5 hours worth of work

...and I hope that the 4 placemats that I'll get out of this warp are worth it!

The Pile...

I didn't make much progress on the grading pile yesterday, but maybe today.  So many things get in my way...maybe I let them...because I do detest grading!

One more Pile left

...and it's grading, so I hate it, but I'm almost at a clean desk!

The desk...

...is still a mess, but the piles are receding--except for the grading one which is getting bigger despite my best efforts to ignore it.  Perhaps I need to do something about that.

Taking "THE PILE" and Making piles

So, today begins the great cleaning of the desk.  I'm starting by taking "THE PILE" of accumulated papers, documents, and proof that I've been busy, and putting them into smaller pileS in order to then file, write reports, etc.  I have here about 3 weeks worth of work...and I think I'm about 1/2 way through reorganizing.  Thank goodness.

When I'm done with the PILE shifting, I'll be able to write up my monthly progress report (to date) and put much of this documentation in my "Activity Binder" to have as proof that the work I've been doing has documentation to back it up. 

Being on a grant can be exhausting to those of us who don't like to file.  But, I have to admit it feels good to clean things up a bit!

What Have I been Doing?

So much, and none of it interesting.  Work has really been crazy busy and rather stressful of late.  I've had zero time and energy for blogging, weaving, reading, or otherwise enjoying life.  Things have finally slowed down and will hopefully maintain a regular pace so that I can keep up, have a life, and enjoy my job.  And don't get my wrong, I enjoy my job...just in littler pieces!  So, this is what I've been doing:

• conferencing with students
• interviewing and hiring peer mentors for our peer mentor program
• designing the training for our peer mentors
• meeting with our external evaluator
• meeting with our external consultant
• designing and delivering the training for our faculty advisors in the legal and ethical issues of advising
• designing and delivering the training for our professional staff in best practices of advising, intrusive advising and the legal and ethical issues of advising
• creating evaluation tools for all the above training
• managing our advisors as they began advising the students in my classes
• planning, designing activities and teaching 2 sections of a college success class (these are the pilot students who we will track for retention purposes and who are going through our advising model)
• grading assignments for the 2 sections I'm teaching

For fun I:

• Went to College Station and attended the season opener for the Texas Aggie football season
• Got my hair cut
• Went to bookclub
• Hosted my crafting group: The Crafty Vixens

And that's about it.  I hope to be back to more regular blogging soon.

Fun Times in Aggieland this Weekend

Book Review: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich follows the characters Ralph Truitt, a very rich man in Wisconsin, and his "mail order" bride, Catherine Land.  Catherine arrives in the middle of the first snow storm of the year to begin her life as the wife of Mr. Truitt.  She misrepresents herself from the start yet Mr. Truitt marries her anyway.  Her plan was to slowly poison him with arsenic and then bring her lover to live in his mansion.  Things don't go as planned for either, and to tell too much of the rest of the plot would give away more than anyone interested in reading the book would want. 

It's a quick read, even though it feels "big."  And mostly good.  I didn't like any of the characters and thought Goolrich's writing was overdone in many instances, but it was a good book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading books with surprise endings.

Something to Smile At when I come into my Office

Rust and Cream Scarf

This is a rust and cream bamboo and cotton scarf woven in a "plaited twill" pattern.  This is a commission for my friend Cathy.

Book Review: A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James is a Cinderella story complete with "rats," a fairy godmother, and of course the evil step mother.  Orphaned Kate must pretend to be her sister, Victoria, and go to the Prince's castle in order to get his blessing on their marriage.  While there, of course she falls in love with the Prince and he with her, but there's the complication of his betrothal that will be announced the night of the ball.

This is another lively book with a strong heroine by James. 

I loved it.

Remembering You by Eugenie Rocherolle

Elizabeth said this song made her feel sad when she listened to it last night.  I just love it, and hope that I evoked emotion in my playing.  Sorry about the lighting.  Will work on that for the next piano videos--which hopefully won't be 4 months from now!

Stress Management

Anyone out there have some good stress management tips?  I'm dealing with my 3rd migraine in a week, so apparently I'm not dealing with my stress very well, and would like to do so in a way that does not involve alcohol or migraines!  Any advice is appreciated.

Book Review: The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant tells the story of the town Dogtown as it is "dying"...people moving on and out.  I almost didn't pick the book up because the description sounded so depressing, but I'm glad I did because it's a beautifully written book that details the death of a town with both humor and love. 

I thought Diamant wrote a compelling story about how people move to and then leave Dogtown, what it means to the remaining residents, and of course, the dogs for whom the town is named.

Recommended.

4 Cotolin Towels

4 towels made using cotolin.  I tried to use up the yarn I had but still have quite a bit left, so there'll be another set soon.  LOVE these towels in all their bright plaid-y-ness.