A Good Fall Hobby
I signed up for a knitting class in November to try to get myself on the right track. My Gramma showed me when I was a kid and I have sort of remembered from that but I am teaching myself a weird, non-standard form of knitting so I need to get some professional help. I think in my class I will end up producing something really cool like a washcloth. Oh well, gotta start somewhere.
Crisp and Fresh
Another Busy Week
Last Friday, LeeAnne came to visit and we went to an interior design class. It was interesting and generated some new ideas though more than anything, it made me wish I had the resources (time and money) to be able to do a lot of things to my little piece of the world. Ah well, I do like our new place a lot and it's coming together, slowly but surely.
Then Sat-Sun we went to Austin's parents' to visit with his brother. I'm going to post some pics of beautiful fall leaves from their yard. Anyway, it was a good visit but we got home fairly late on Sunday and it seems like I've been spending this whole week trying to catch up.
I keep saying I need to compare my class syllabi every semester but I never do and then somehow I end up with every section turning in compositions at the same time. I'm currently buried under 106! I also volunteered to help someone with research on language acquisition, a field I'm very interested in but that's one more thing to work on. Besides work, I'm writing papers for an education class I'm taking this semester too. I feel busy but so does everyone else in the world so I have to say I'm thankful to be busy with things I like (mostly).
Tomorrow night, my sis and bro-in-law will be staying with us. I think we're going to check out a new Irish pub that opened. I previewed it with Sean and Angie last night and was pleased. We really needed something like that. Then the rest of the weekend will be spent digging out! It's a rare weekend that we won't be busy straight through and I'm happy to be at home in our own space. I'm loving the gas fireplace and I think I will continue to get good use out of it as the weather keeps getting cooler. Correcting comps doesn't sound
as bad if it's at home in the pj's in front of the fire with a glass of wine.
Back Again
My recent lapse in posting was caused by an annoying cold; it's that time of year again. I ended up losing my voice which presents an occupational challenge for a Spanish teacher. Anyway, this meant that I mostly had my students doing packets and worksheets so now that I'm feeling better, I'm scrambling to catch up and do everything else that I wanted. Oh well, it'll all shake out eventually.
Tomorrow my friend LeeAnne will be visiting and we're going to a really cool floral/gift shop for a class called something like "Feathering Your Nest, Decorating on a Budget for 20-somethings." The title was really intriguing, not to mention I love all the stuff in this little shop. I called Avalon to register at a cost of $15, mostly to defer wine costs, I was told. Sounds like my kinda deal! Even if I don't learn much (which I hope to), hanging out in a really cool setting, sipping wine and eating hors d'oeuvres doesn't sound like a bad way to spend a Friday.
On Saturday, Austin and I will be spending some time at his parents' house since his brother will be in town. Nick is a pilot so his schedule is sporadic to say the least. Whenever he's in town, then, we like to hang out with him.
It'll be a good weekend but I'm already finding almost every weekend booked up into... December. Yikes. Also, A & I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year now that we have the space and are really excited to do so but I think that will be an adventure in itself!
Here are some pictures shamelessly harvested from the Avalon's site.
A Very Decent Cup
My friend was in France this summer and naturally had to stop by
Mariage Frères to check out their fine, fine teas. She was generous enough to also select one for me and even picked a kind of tea similar to one we drank in college (Misty Jasmine, which Celestial Seasonings tragically discontinued). My favorite thing about the loose tea is that you can tell what it's made out of, unlike the dusty stuff that comes in an opaque bag (though I am not above drinking that). Look at the picture below and you can actually see the jasmine blossoms.
I love how it looks in the water, like a little creek in the springtime. My friend Sharon, usually a latté drinker, said she is often envious of the process and ceremony in which the tea drinker engages. I agree, it is definitely calming to look at loose tea as it steeps in hot water and wait for it to turn just the right color so you know it's ready for sipping.
Today it felt like a sauna outside with the unseasonable heat and humidity but I'm really excited to hear that the temperature will be droppping tomorrow and the rest of the week so I can experiment with some other loose tea that my friend LeeAnne brought me back from China.
