June 17

Next year I’m going to be so good.

1966

Last day of school. I’m glad. Chemistry, bye-bye! Math, farewell! My marks weren’t so good in Spanish and English, though. I went down 6 in Spanish and 8 in English.

My cumulative average is 89.98. Next year I’m going to be so good.

Comment 2023

We could drop one major subject senior year; I chose Math, and took art instead. Big mistake, since I still had to take Physics, which turned out to be very much based on the math I wasn’t taking.

1980

The trip to New York was tiring but an excellent change of pace. I feel very stimulated, also very broke. Boy, did we spend money. But then again, we made lots of nice memories. The Rainbow Room is my favorite. The view! The music! The ambiance! It was all so beautiful and so perfect. It was the closest I’ve been to fairyland since I was a kid.

It’s slow getting back to work, but I’m confident I will get done. There are some things to finish up - -  reading here and there, my data. Then I should start on my course preparation.

I mailed off my article over a week ago and am now waiting (a lot). I hope it’s accepted. Life would be a dream, sh-boom, if I could only see my name in black and white!

Time for lunch.

Comment 2023

This was a truly epic trip. Our friends moved to MD from Wisconsin and had never been to New York, so we planned a long weekend packed full of every possible tourist activity. Circle Line Tour! Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, a Broadway show (They’re Playing Our Song), the Metropolitan Museum, FAO Schwarz, and…The Rainbow Room. We all gawked like the rubes we were.

1984

Here we are in Atlanta. We came on the train overnight from DC. Kiddo bumped her head and scared everyone. Then we didn't sleep all that well because the AC wasn't working and we woke up at each stop. Still it was fun. Atlanta was hot but we explored quite a bit of the heart of downtown. The change of pace has been pleasant, if not restful. Now onto Milledgeville, whatever/wherever it is. Quiet, I hope.

1986

A really good couple of days - -  cool, dry and productive. The heat has let up and I don’t feel so uncomfortable. This past weekend I had the chance to do some more sewing, which was soothing. Funny how accomplishments make me feel more like doing things. I think the baby grew an inch today - -  there’s more of a lump there and it’s hard. Maybe it just stood up. The whole world seems to know about it now. TK is expecting, too, which is nice to hear. 

1997

The last day of school for the kids at last. Another rough year for Kiddo 1, and a surprisingly good one for Kiddo 2. Kiddo 1 is taking a serious interest in languages and music; maybe it’s an auditory thing?

1998

And so the school year ends. It was a good school year for both kids. Kiddo one improved her grades and learn to tackle distasteful assignments and talk to her teachers about whatever problems she had. She found her focus (two, actually – – languages and music) and weathered some terrible emotional storms. She earned recognition for ability and work – – her voice study really paid off. Kiddo two survived sixth grade and the sixth grade play with good humor and steady work. His discipline really improved and he became quite responsible. 

I am stumbling a bit in my resolve. The things are really getting behind, the GRB project is lagging behind. The WIT project is getting all the energy next week. This week is chopped up with meetings, more than last week. Poo!

2004

Somewhere in Nevada, between Elko and Winnemucca (I think). The last twelve hours I have been looking out at a wilderness, sometimes a landscape from an old western movie, sometimes a moonscape. I slept well, waking briefly about three times, just long enough to check the time and roll over.

I have finished the first half of “The Secret Life of Bees”, and am so fearful of a sad or even horrible ending. The author has charmed me into caring about the characters, and I want them to live happily ever after,

The trackside is strewn with cattle skeletons. Also: I had no idea rocks came in so many colors.

Comment 2023

Winnemucca, Nevada. In our old family photo album from the 1953 trip to California, Winnemucca is represented by a picture of me and my brother sitting in those metal chairs in front of our motel room. Every time we looked at the album, my mother would let everyone know that Winnemucca was where “Jo got carsick”. 

2016

The Social Security thing is done! Now to do blogging and research. The deadly stuff is mostly done!

I have an empty head today. I really don't know how to fill up these pages. I already admitted to my inner bitch. She's never going away. That comes of being a "nice white lady" for so long. Repressing yourself is never a good idea.

I am reading Michael Kimmel’s Guyland and actually finding much of use for my upcoming sermon on aging. After all, culture is a soup we all float in. I am may be moving towards an understanding – – finally – – of "how culture works as seen through clothing".

I want time to do some art. Sewing, drawing, origami, pop-ups. Something. Maybe in addition to morning pages I need an art break later in the day. But not today I don't think.

First is fitness – – specifically exercise. I'm sitting on my fitness ball, rocking slowly back-and-forth. Supposedly it's good for your core. Well, my core sure needs it.

Eight of wands. Making the final push to get something done, feeling somewhat fearful.

Well, that was me last week, but not sure it works this week. It is more the beginning of things. Though it may not feel much like that yet. I need to print out or compile my notes. I think they may be useful, I also need to send my service description to Melinda and find music.

2019

So I skipped yesterday, and also Saturday, I’m pretty sure. But the weekend was worth skipping. The cider etc. dinner went really well. Three courses, four ciders and beers. And some very good conversations. 

I am down 4 lbs in two weeks. 

We leave for Connie’s place and then Star Island in two days, and I have so much to do. I am 90% packed (of course). But I need to find reading material for my ESOL student, use up leftover food, and do what seems like a gazillion tiny things. I would also like to go to the pool (either one) but the weather doesn’t look great. When I finish with morning papers, I am going to the library to look for ESOL-friendly readings. Nothing I have is suitable. Maybe songs, I dunno. I need to start thinking of more structured lessons, not just conversation. And probably I need to drive to Silver Spring tomorrow, not just take the Metro. Not enough time.

I am loving listening to classical music again.

Ay! I need to wade through my email and respond to the Andover Library, before we leave. And stake my plants. And do laundry and eat perishables. And take the key next door. And feed my plants. Gah! And finish that very strange book, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. Some of it is cringe-worthy, but it’s mostly a fascinating story. It makes me reluctant to finish my Nebraska story. But I want to, someday. Just to see how it turns out.

The weather is turning summery, making it hard to get my steps in. I am up to 4500 now, which I can do just by walking around the house in bursts. That was surprising. I probably looked odd, doing figure eights around the living room and dining room. But it worked!!

2023 

Feeling a little jealous of all my June travels. It’s ok, I get to go to Star Island soon.

2024

I am on Star Island RIGHT NOW!

I am wearing all the clothes that wouldn’t fit in my backpack. A flowy paisley skirt. Pink, violet, green, and yellow swirls on a bright red background. A turquoise linen t-shirt I knitted several years ago and seldom wear. A huge voile scarf, pink and gray, very lightweight but just right for sleeping on the train. A cotton patchwork jacket covered with sashiko stitching in white and red. If all that weren’t enough, I am also carrying a cross-body bag with a vivid orange and black print, and a small orange phone pouch.

For those of you who don’t know me, I am wearing more colors at one time than I have worn individually in the last month. I have also received more compliments from from total strangers than I have in my entire life.

This requires some thought.