Koolhaas Hat

Koolhaas Hat
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

I finished my new recess hat just in time for spring! I can probably wear it today, though, as it's pretty cool around here.

Almost No-Knead Bread

IMG_0156
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

We've gotten on the dutch-oven baked bread wagon and boy does it taste good! Much better than what we can buy at our local stores (bakeries excluded). And it's so easy! We've been using the updated recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I think J would like a fresh loaf every day. We didn't buy the fancy $200 dutch oven, we went with the $40 one they recommend here.

Relaxation interrupted

I've been regularly attending a yoga class on Thursday nights since October. It has helped with my flexibility and strength, but it's also helped me keep everyday annoyances in perspective, such as work frustrations or trying to figure out what to make for dinner once I get home. I'm not naturally gifted at relaxation/meditation, but I'm getting better at it by practicing.
Ironically, while I can keep outside annoyances in check during yoga class, I cannot GET OVER how annoying some people are in yoga class. Here are a few examples:

Our class begins at 6:30 p.m. I tend to arrive at the gym a little before 6:00 p.m. and I place my mat in my favorite spot (back interior corner, no drafts!) and then warm up on the elliptical machine. I arrive in the yoga "studio" at 6:25 to get ready for class. Last week there were only 3 people there at 6:25. Tonight there were 15 people there. Three more straggled in before 6:30, creating quite a packed house. Our instructor turned down the lights and began the class. At 6:50 (yes, I looked at the clock) one woman walked in, picked up a mat, walked around the entire room trying to find a spot, and then "nestled" herself in between four of us who were there from the get-go, forcing us to re-arrange our mats because otherwise we'd be knocking arms with each other during the sun salutations. And then she kept moving her stuff around: her blanket ended up at the top of my mat and I was about to throw it at her. Another woman arrived at 6:55 and at least she had the good sense to pick a corner spot near the door. Being that I have an (overabundant) sense of justice, I was incensed that this late arrival thought she had the right to disrupt four of us who had arrived on time and were 20 minutes into the class when she arrived. I admit, it took me about 10 minutes to stop fuming. After that, I just got annoyed every time I had to move to accomodate her. Do you think that a gym should have a policy against people entering yoga classes that have been in session more than 10 minutes?

And I won't even discuss the inappropriate undergarments (or lack thereof) I have the misfortune of seeing during class. Don't people understand that we're going to be doing a lot of stetching and bending in yoga class and that they should pick clothing that allows them freedom of movement without flashing the crack of their behind to those of us unfortunate enough to be stationed behind them? Sigh.

I can usually pull it back together enough to enjoy the ending relaxation, but I admit that these things annoy me, right in the middle of me trying to relax. I guess I have a lot of yoga learning still to do.

Corner of Joseph's Blankie of Many Colors

Corner of Joseph's
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

I can only show you this corner of the blanket in case the mom-to-be stops by the blog. I am very happy with how it turned out. The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting and I followed their suggestions on separating warm and cool colors. How could you look at that colorful thing and not smile?

A few reasons why I'm glad I'm not a Victorian woman

After watching both "Becoming Jane" and the recent version of "Pride and Prejudice" I have compiled a list of reasons I am happy that I am not a Victorian woman:
1. My marriage was not a business transaction.
2. My mother did not spend all of her time trying to marry me off.
3. I am educated. Enough said.
4. I do not have to wear a corset.
5. Paper is not scarce (I do so love to write lists)
6. "Class" does not dictate who your friends can be, or what your prospects can be.
7. I could tell J how I felt about him, instead of all kinds of deal-making.

Things I probably wouldn't have minded:
1. Going to balls!
2. Pretty dresses
3. Pretty hats

I also just read the memoir by Jerramy Fine called Someday My Prince Will Come. It was pretty funny.

Lame and Lamer

In this case, I am Lame, and J is Lamer. I am lame because I had a small surgery on Friday and have stitches in my mid-back that limit my movement. J is Lamer because he came down with a knock-down drag-out case of the flu last Tuesday which has now become a sinus infection. What a motley crew we are. And this is school vacation week so we should be having some fun. Alas. Through my exuberant use of disinfecting wipes and airing out the house, I appear to have come out of the germ den unscathed (meaning no flu for me) so send healthy thoughts this way to help keep it that way!

Writing again

I'm lucky enough to attend Teachers As Scholars this year (do follow the link, it's quite an amazing professional development opportunity) and I'm taking a writing seminar (H36 - Creating Truths: Memoir and Personal Narrative). One of the best parts of Teachers As Scholars is that they acknowledge that not all of your professional development needs to be in your narrow area of specialty--they believe in the teacher as a multi-faceted learner.

I used to journal regularly, and while I willingly admit that many times it broke down into a list of the daily minutae a person could drown in, I have missed taking that time to write down my thoughts and reflections. During our seminar yesterday we had three free writing periods and about 95% of that time I was able to just dump my thoughts and words onto a page. The tricky part, of course, is that it's a writing course on memoir and personal narrative, so it includes a lot about real people and events. Here's the title of one of the things I was working on yesterday: "Can a youngest child and an eldest son have a successful marriage? A case study." I know everyone out there has some feelings on birth order and personality...let 'er rip! (of course I know we have a successful marriage, but it's funny to think of us just as our personality types and how they work together)

Here's a not-so-minutae tidbit: my principal and school secretary have both announced that they're retiring at the end of the year. Craziness shall ensue, I'm sure.

Grading machine

Here is what J has looked like for the last two weeks:

That's right, it's end of term and all of the students' papers and tests must be graded before grades are due. The poor guy has been been a grading machine. I do my part, but I can only grade the empirical parts on the exams (matching, etc.) but all the open response stuff he has to do himself.

It does mean that I have been knitting again:

On Hold! (for 65 minutes and counting)

I have spent over an hour on hold with the doctor's office. Thankfully, I am a very healthy person and rarely have to deal with this stuff, but COME ON! At least give me an option to leave a message rather than sit here, especially since I'm calling because I haven't received the paperwork I need for my appointment next Monday. That's ALL I'm calling about. And this is a dermatology office I'm calling, so it's not like people were having a bunch of dermatological emergencies over the weekend that they're piling up this morning.

But then I have that stupid fear that as soon as I hang up, it would have been my turn. Sigh. Harvard Pilgrim/Beth Israel Deaconess does not get my vote for helpful phone service.

A Miri Visit!

Miri came for a visit while her parents went to the movies. After she got upset that they left her (and then crawled around the entire first floor looking for them) she settled in with us and had a fun time.

I even got to see her pulling up/standing skills in person!

Some Knitting

IMG_0136
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

I lost my knitting mojo last fall, but I seem to have found at least a bit of it. I decided I should finish up some projects that I had started...one of them is Bryant's Slipover.

I have been working on J's socks and I am fairly certain I am not going to have enough yarn. I am in denial.

Hooray for Snow Days, Boo for broken trees

J's out there trying to shake the snow off the trees because of the fallen branch you can see in that second photo. Hopefully that will be the only "casualty" today. I'm also hoping we'll be able to go out snowshoeing later...

Update: No Snowshoeing...evidently with falling branches/trees, J thinks it's too dangerous.

Who knew?

Who knew that in the middle of Montana (where there is no cell-phone reception (not even analog!)) and the maps clearly show which towns have gas stations, that we would see 90+ wind turbines in action?!

It was amazing. A bit sci-fi movie-like, but amazing. A glimpse of the future.

(p.s. those photos were taken through a car windshield, sorry. But our new camera (Canon 570IS) from Mom and Dad works great!)

Merry Christmas to All!

I wanted to post a cool Flickr post that would link easily to all of the holiday photos I uploaded to Flickr. Did you notice I said "wanted." Flickr doesn't seem to remember who I am, so here's the old fashioned way of linking:

Christmas Photos

If Flickr decides to make nice, I'll re-post.

Winter Wonderland

We've received a deluge of snow lately (don't ask J about his 4.5 hour commute, though) and went out to enjoy the quiet beauty on our snowshoes. As we climbed up to the overlook area at Noon Hill I honest-to-goodness felt like I was in a Christmas card. These are just shots from the back year because I didn't bring the camera along.

Time Flies!

We're in the midst of getting ready for our trip to Montana for Christmas, plus J's finishing up his projects for his class, so we're a bit frazzled around here.

Lady Eleanor and Swallowtail=Complete!

Lady Eleanor
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

If only it would cool off around here, I have two nice shawls to wear to keep the chill off of my shoulders. I finished Lady Eeanor (shown here) and also the silk/cashmere lace shawl called the Swallowtail Shawl (click on the photo and you can see photos of it in Flickr). I haven't been knitting as much lately, but I've been knitting more challenging projects. Lots of friends are having babies, though, so I think I'll be knitting baby items for them in the near future.

Fancy Schmancy New Computer

BC Tailgating
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

I've been silent on the blog because our old computer was past the point of running more than one program efficiently, which made posting (especially with pictures) a time-consuming and frustrating experience. We're now the owners of a new Dell laptop, and boy are we cruising between programs like you wouldn't believe! Hence, I bring you September/October 2007: A Retrospective.

We went to a BC Football Game on October 6th. My colleague Tracey got us tickets and a tailgating pass (who knew the Corolla was destined for such great things!). Tracey's husband works for BC so we got the special treatment. We also got special treatment because BC scored 55 points or so. Sheesh!

The Red Sox are in the World Series! We've had friends over to watch baseball and it's been a lot of fun (and not just because we keep winning). It makes for very sleepy mornings after the games, but it's been worth it.

J's about half-done with his class for this semester, and I'm getting ready for the annual Massachusetts School Library Assocation Conference.

Oh, and work is fine too. :)

Full 43 days!

It's been far too long since I posted (43 days!), but I'm happy to report that it's because we've been having a lot of fun and there's been no time to post.
Since the last post, I:
Went camping in New Hampshire
Finished the lace shawl
Went to Wisconsin for a week
Went to the Cape for an anniversary trip
Went sea kayaking for the first time
Turned 30 years old
Started another school year of teaching
Had a very fun 30th birthday party (Thanks, J!)
Attended Miri's baptism
Finished knitting the Lady Eleanor Entrelac Wrap (it still needs to have the edging added)

Doesn't that all sound like fun?!

New Couch!

New Couch
Originally uploaded by kjourdan

Our new couch arrived! We've been working hard to get everything in the living room organized now that the furniture has all changed, but it will be a few more weeks before our new tv cabinet arrives. It's looking better, though!

(There are more pictures on Flickr..if you click on the photo above, it should take you to my flickr photos)