Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

 

So the whole masquerade mask project was fun and kept me from constantly reading what continues to be bad news on top of bad news, so I decided to try another artsy project. I just couldn't decide on what kind of project, though, so for a while, I sat and watched this: I am so thankful to the Rowe Sanctuary for having the live feed. The best times to watch are at dawn and then again at dusk. I was actually in tears yesterday as I watched the cranes, as if by some silent cue, all lift up at once, taking flight to go spend the day in the nearby fields. It was incredible. While streaming the feed to the TV (I decided to bring the TV down from upstairs; I figure if I'm going to have to be home, I might as well enjoy some movies), I looked over at the growing stack of newspaper by the fireplace. I almost got up to get a fire going, but then it hit me what to do for my next art project: paper beads. Instead of burning all that beautiful, colorful, useless paper, I might a...

I have imposed limits on my news consumption. I simply cannot read anymore without becoming emotional. I know we'll get through this, but the thoughts that so many people could be/most likely will be ill and there are those who are so vulnerable make me incredibly sad.  So, to distract myself (since I am now working from home until further notice, and the only way I can really do any work from home is to amuse myself with "fun" breaks in between grading papers), I made a mask. No, not the kind of mask that helps prevent the spreading of germs. Seriously, what would be the fun in that? That would just add to my sadness. I'm trying to alleviate said sadness, so a fun mask seemed the way to go. After much thought, I imposed a couple of rules. Rule 1: The mask had to be made mostly from trash. Rule 2. One rule was enough. So I found an egg carton I'd put into the recycling bin. I cut off the lid and trimmed the sides. Having no idea how to go about ma...

I lost my cool in my English 101 class. I try really hard to never let this happen, but . . .. I could tell my ire was rising when a student who missed class on Tuesday came in and said, "I wasn't here on Tuesday. What did I miss? And I don't know what you mean by annotated bibliography." In my head, my answer was, "Ummmmm, you missed the explanation for the two assignments that are due next week, one of which is the annotated bib. I spent an hour and fifteen minutes going over both assignments on Tuesday, making sure those who were in class understood what is being asked with the assignments. That's what you missed." Out of my mouth came, "I went over the two assigments. What exactly about the annotated bib don't you understand?" And for the next ten minutes, I stood by this student, explaining again what I explained on Tuesday. A few minutes later, another student asked for help. "I'm confused. I went to Google and typed in ...