blast from the past-scanned

When I was in the height of my Magic playing days, I saw a piece of art someone had made from cutting multiple copies of cards and gluing them together to make a mini-shadow box diorama. I did the same with some magic cards and some cards from the Milestone series of comics.

I took one of the Magic ones to the Comic convention in Philly when I saw that the artist was going to be there. He enjoyed it and signed it for me.

Barcode

An article in a magazine pointed out the obvious, one that I had already dabbled in but forgotten, that the scanner can be a fun toy to make art.

The decorative grasses that emerge at the corner of the house near the garbage cans create a small island of emerald and cream contrast. While I must do battle with this probably invasive and aggressive species, I do admire the plant's beauty. When lined up on the scanner, I could almost read the leaves at a grocery store checkout.

What would my work be without the requisite spiral. I lightly dampened this shell before putting an old, faded piece of construction paper over it.
I tried some still life compositions with materials found in the yard. I like them, but I will certainly have to spend some time with the medium before I achieve the look and feel I want. I do love ferns, and this is their season!
Lastly, I created a high-resolution close-up of one of the purple flowers. I cropped to what seemed to me to create an other-worldly image. Imagine a yellow rocket launching from a purple landscape.

Probably my scanner is unhappy with plant residues, but I like this promising start of a new hobby.

Cards baseball

Thanks to Sarah and her family, I was indoctrinated early into fandom for the Cardinals. Living out of market, I have in the past received only a few telecasts a year when they were playing on national tv at a time when I could watch. Last year, I purchased the cable extrainnings package. It was disappointing to say the least. Most broadcasts were the away team, and many games were just not broadcast at all. This year, I switched to trying mlb.tv because more games would be available, and with the premium package, I could choose the broadcast I wanted to watch. Initially, I have had to watch it on the web interface either through the mac mini connected to our tv or on my computer. The feed is choppy and very unsatisfactory. Today, I updated the roku player upstairs and the version of Boxee on the mac mini downstairs. Now they both play mlb.tv and do so much better than the web interface. yay!

San Diego and Back

Rose eating crackers
Serena who Rose led around the house and yard for quite a while.
Cousin Jenny, Serena and Tyler's mom.
Dad (Granddad) and Tyler
Uncle Dave
Aunt Judy
Uncle Roger

Missing due to Rose's love of the delete button are Grandma Linda, and Toby dog.

There is nothing like leaving the New England area on a plane and touching down where rows of palm trees and cacti declare unequivocally that you have left home. This last week we visited family in San Diego where my aunt lives. Rose was a great hit and spread the love with her cheery personality. One of the presents she received was her very own camera. After some trips to get batteries, a memory card, and a small screw driver, we were able to put the thing together. Rose loves the sounds it makes when turning on and off, when moving through the pictures she has taken, and unfortunately when she deletes them. She also loved the pictures of the various folks visiting and living in San Diego.

recycling and more

This is the new composting center that just fits next to our back door. The bins are easy to take out, it fits a very small footprint, and it is not garishly colored. Quite perfect for what we need. Bins as a bit small, but that was stated in reviews online. We just take stuff out a few times a week to the larger bins on the back porch.

Other than that, busy, busy, busy.

flowers

Crocuses are opening, the sun is shining, and spring may finally be here. The appearance of flowers always tremendously lifts my mood.

The mad dash

I have just finished reading Stones into Schools after having read Three Cups of Tea in preparation for a whole school reading event. The book, newly out, is on a speed read program at my library which means it can only be checked out for one week and is not renewable. I didn't fully grasp this until the two days until due email appeared in my inbox. I have since then become absorbed in reading in a way reminiscent of my childhood. I would disappear into Narnia, Moomin Valley, and many other fantastical or realistic realms only to surface for food, sleep (as necessary), and other necessities. Only when the book was done would I want to go back outside and join the neighborhood games of tag or practice soccer. Books have always been able to draw me in, and it was refreshing to be so deeply immersed in the narrative of how the vision to promote education, and specifically girls' education, to rural Pakistan and Afghanistan has unfolded over time. Both books were beautiful, moving, and inspiring. I highly recommend them.

Mariachi

My writing group met for a social dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Amy's husband plays in a mariachi band there on Wednesdays. It was great food, great company, and great music.

Rose and Bubbles

Rose loved drawing with crayons.
I got a new sodastream carbonator. The plus is no more bottles from the store, water from the tap. The minus is carbonation doesn't last too long, refill canisters are pricey, and supposedly customer service is bad. I am using fruit juice and some flavored syrups to add a bit of flavor to my drinks.

old video

scruff

A heroic effort this morning removed the two week old scruff. This is always an important step in my mental attitude toward recovery.

of snow and shoulders

Snow on the tree in front.
The new deli is finally open. Guess why I've been waiting for this one!
Maya hangs with Rose.
Mom and Rose share a laugh.

I guess if you put the two together, snow and shoulders, you get a cold shoulder. In my case, it is just winter in New England and shoulder surgery. A torn rotator cuff was the diagnosis for my pain, and surgery was the answer. I am now going to PT in order to regain range of motion and strength in the arm. Mom came for a little over two weeks to help out with Rose while I was recovering, and she has just left.

I got a new camera in order to aid my taking photos. My old one, a Canon S80, was a bit too bulky to carry around easily in a pocket. My new one, a Canon SD780 IS, is sleek and easy to slide in a pocket. It doesn't have as good a lens or feature set, but I think being able to carry it will lead to more photos. We'll see.

Huh, so the school year started...

Yep, I have been inundated by a very challenging school year. My blogging has dropped off considerably. Here is a month plus of photos.

Harvard Common has a very cool new playground.

Rose explored the kitchen drawers when my parents were visiting.
Fall was beautiful this year. The tree in front has these amazing multi-colored, Rorschach styled leaves.


Rose is amazing.
Snow is not.
Rose likes to read and tear up catalogs.

Mind Stretch

The beginning of this year has been quite a mind stretch. I have not had to dig this deep into my teaching skills and rethink my basic approach for quite some time. This intense focus has kept me from things like blog posting and such. Here is a sampling of the last month.

The Autumn season brings lots of fairs and child centered events to the parks nearby. This is Rose enjoying walking near the big fire truck at one such fair.
Rose is showing off her one-handed drinking skilz.
Rose is happily playing with a comb after her first haircut. She no longer has hair poking in her eyes all of the time.
Snow! This is the second snowfall of the year, and some of the gloppy, wet stuff is sticking. It is heading into the night, so temps might drop enough for some significant shoveling in the morning. I really hope not.



I had quite the scare on Friday. Sudden sharp chest pain on the right side had me worried. After visiting the doctor and the hospital for various tests, I come away from the experience believing it to be a rib cage muscle pull. Not fun, but not too serious either. Anyway, I am feeling much better at this time.

The Year Ends as the Year Begins

In the ongoing attempt to reclaim space and get rid of stuff, I went through college binders and copy packets. I really don't think I'll be reading the articles from my Schools in American Cities course taken in '91. Along with those, many other papers filled the recycle bin to overflowing and cleared up much shelf space.
This moth alighted on the screen outside the dining room. Rose and I watched it for a while. The fabulous colors don't really show up in this photo.
Siamese Pin.
My room before school started.
Rose showing off her gangsta in pajamas look.
I drew two circles in green; Rose did the rest. Crayons are fun!

We have just returned from Philly and celebrating Rosh Hashana with Reena's family. It is the New Year in the Jewish calendar. Interestingly enough, it coincides pretty well with the new year in the academic world as well.

The crops are being brought in, some places are near or past their first frost, so the agricultural year is winding down in the Northern Latitudes.

I am finding my way in this new year. I only have four students this year, and I have not adjusted quite right to the classroom management needed for a small group. Another growth opportunity. I am looking forward to this year, but a lot of work has to be crammed in at the beginning to get them ready for a secondary school entrance test and for next schools applications.

Rose continues to be amazing and a wonder. She learns new things daily and delights in sharing them with us.




One of my great joys in childhood was taking apart anything electronic. I loved making the gears into tops.

The many distractions of life

Sugar Hill is my all-time favorite contra dance weekend. It is a time of friends. Here are Joe and Ben. Joe was one of the first people to welcome me upon my return to St. Louis after living in Philly. He and I have held a great and wonderful friendship from that time on. Ben is a new friend in my life, and my life is richer for it. Sugar Hill is about maintaining and growing established friendships and being open to new ones forming.
Sugar Hill is dancing. The hall is one of my favorites with its arched wood ceiling, large enough but not too large space, nice acoustics, and nature views just off the porch. The kitchen is to the left in this image, and I spent Saturday evening in there preparing the annual meal of burritos.


This image of David captures the feel of the dance. Details in focus as the world blurs around you. David is also a must dance partner. He plays, calls, and does just about everything else including sound. David also makes it easy for me to get to the dance. I flew into Indy and he gave me a ride to Bloomington. One of the wonderful people that make me want to return every year.This picture does not do the place justice. This building is actually one that is hardly used, but it gives an idea of the architecture of the few buildings we occupy. Camping is another reason I go each year. I did not take my camera to the lake, and it was too cold to swim much this year, anyway. I did, however, make my pilgrimage to the other side by canoe to comb the fossil beach for treasures of crinoids and geodes.
Back to reality, and my classroom. It is in much better shape. All that is in my room is my own, and not much is not in my room that should be there. I am getting organized and ready with physical space for the year. Curriculum, however, needs much attention.
I moved the white board and screen so that they were anchored to studs. The space beneath the screan will be where the smart board is installed w

Rose does new things daily. She has clearly taken the "Bye bye" from her current care provider along with blown kisses into her vocabulary. A quick one can be heard on this video, though she is much clearer when walking around the room waving bye and blowing kisses.


This morning, Rose really took a liking to the blanket Uncle John gave us for our wedding.