ninth week done

Another catch up entry and I guess that is the best I can do. It is March 24th and I have finished my ninth week of classes. No big problems with the students but I am exhausted, mainly because of allergies. I did a short hike this morning, then went through my jazz songs once, then weights and yoga, then off to teach two classes, then a drive to Bburg to meet Claire Hall and catch up with her engagement stuff. She is doing fine and I did respond to the pre-invite and I will be going to her wedding. Haven’t heard from Kelly in three weeks and I am going to continue to leave the situation alone since I don’t want to be in the middle of the house debate. If she needs me I am always there for her. Claire Gallo called me and wanted to talk and I was able to calm her down a bit. I will be so glad when she graduates. I took a nice walk with Rob and then it was over to VT for a needed bike ride. Now I am watching the Duke Oregon game and Oregon is leading my 5 at halftime. The situation at RU is better, although I am not sure how long I can last. I will not make any decisions until after I rehab completely and I teach the fall semester. I am sure I can teach the spring semester and then teaching the following fall would get me in pretty good shape to retire. My greenhouse is doing okay but the lettuce isn’t doing that well, even with a second planting. I may plant again this weekend. Coltsfoot is peaking and bloodroot and cut leaved toothwort are starting. My drainage ditch is leaking a little into the main road and I guess I am going to have to pile some more dirt at the point where it is leaking in. I thought that problem was solved but I guess not. I got three loads of stone from mike young (one 357 and two 57s) and that really had helped the road. I hope he will come up soon to clean the gutters. I like my new truck but the camper top that Anchor put on was the wrong one and I have to go back in a couple of weeks to get the right one. I almost hurt myself getting in the back to take a nap this afternoon and my walk with Rob. Haven’t gotten a confirmation from Gabes about his visit so I don’t know what to think. I need to know so there will be not conflict with Brian when he finally comes out to connect the electricity. I also may have to teach just a few students in my summer course at 300 per student. I feel responsible because I agreed with Rosemary to cancel the 340 course that I was going to teach in the fall, hoping that this would push up my summer school registration. We will see. I have my office in great shape for the move. It has been a hard three weeks.

One more day of Spring Break

I decided on Wednesday after hearing my kayak friend was unavailable for Saturday, I decided to head to Chincoteague for a quick trip. I figured I would stop in Short Pump so I stopped a little earlier to ride my bike at an Elementary school. It was boring but I got my hour in. I got to the Short Pump Town Center a little before dark and ate at Maggioni’s. Then I walked around the center and found a decent hat to buy at Dick’s. I left the Comfort Suites at 9 and the driving went well and by 12 I was playing golf on the Palmer course at Bay Creek for the very reasonable price of 35 dollars. Then I drove on and made it to Chincoteague in time for a bike ride and a short walk along the beach. I napped for a half hour and then headed out to eat at Don’s Seafood place. It was okay but certainly not great. The next morning I headed out to ride around the marshes and walk the beach and then I headed back to my room for a quick nap before I started back, intending to stop at Williamsburg. However, traffic was fine and I kept driving and when I got to Charlottesville, I realized I could make it home before dark if I didn’t head to Montebello so I kept driving and still had time to fish the Maury and get home just before dark, nap for a half hour, and head into town for a bike ride at VT and dinner at Panera. I was disappointed that Andy hadn’t gotten up to my house with a load of stone. Today was quite a day. I walked to the orchard three times, then did some outside work, took a nap, went fishing from the bend up, played jazz piano, did my yoga and limited weights (my left shoulder hurt from slipping while going up the bank), then went to the Meadows to play golf (and shot a 48 even with a hurt shoulder) then went to RU, took a quick nap, then did a lot of work in my office (including my lumosity training), then rode my bike around campus for an hour, then headed to O’Charley’s to watch the UVA/North Carolina game. I haven’t heard from Kelly since I sent her the email about her mother saying how lovely her house was. I didn’t know what to say and I said that in the email. It is probably better to have less contact with her right now. I also haven’t heard from Claire Hall so I hope things are going well with her. My cousin Tina has left her husband and that is probably good for her. I was never a fan of Phil’s. My friend Dave seems to be also on the verge of a breakup with his new wife. She is not an easy person to deal with. I have my office in pretty good shape and I could get it completely ready in a day or so. I am still scheduled to have my knee done on the 16th of May and I guess I am getting a little worried. I do hope I can get a trip in up to NY just before the operation. Cathy had a cold and I hope she’s feeling better. Claire has seven more weeks to get through. I so hope she can do it. I should have my camper top in a couple more weeks and then I can clear out my kitchen. My greenhouse peas are doing well and I hope the second planting of lettuce comes up in the next few days.

Spring Break

A major catch up entry. I have finished my seventh week of teaching and teaching is going okay. I have one student in my 321 class who is testing me but I he is doing poorly in the course and I hope he drops it. Bryan won’t be out for three more weeks to attach the electricity so that is a bit of a problem, but the solar is working well. I just want to get it finished up. Kelly sprained her wrist roller skating but she didn’t want me to send her some flowers. Her mom’s sister died suddenly so I called to offer my condolences and Liz told me what a lovely house Kelly has and I didn’t know what to say. I know Kelly still has a lot of problems with that house but I am not going to get in a discussion with Liz about it. I guess it is better not to visit since I think the situation with Alfredo (who certainly likes the house more than Kelly) might get a little tense. Claire Hall and I went to Debbie, the mortgage person at Wells Fargo, and Claire learned a lot. I am down in Charlotte for a couple of days until it warms up in Ironto, and I had fun playing golf and riding my bike near the Hyatt I am staying at (solely to keep my Hyatt rewards points, since I will be staying at a Hyatt in Denver when I go to the CEA conference at the end of March). I worked on my paper and it is getting there. I should have a solid draft by the end of the break. The move to the new building has really gotten me down. I don’t think anybody cares about the double move I will have to go through (since I hope to be teaching summer school). It seems that facilities management is going to do whatever they want and that has had a very negative effect on my morale. I have worked at RU for thirty years and you would think I would have some power but in this instance I clearly don’t. If I could retire right now I probably would, although I really need to teach 5 more semesters to be financially secure. That would have me retiring a few months after turning 67. My new Toyota Tacoma pickup is turning out very well. I had been staying close to home with my old Nissan but after I traded it in 10 days ago and drove off with my Tacoma, I am now free to drive anywhere. I certainly would have gone further south (at least to Columbia during spring break) but tomorrow is going to be in the 50s up in Radford so there is no point. Spring is certainly coming (I saw one coltsfoot bloom about a week ago) and that means I have pretty much gotten through another winter. If can retire after 5 semesters, that means I only have two more winters to get through before I will be able to spend at least January and February down south. I have no love for winter right now. It means heavy snow on my road and icy conditions that could cause me to fall and break something. I am very careful now but I know where I live is a tricky place in the winter. I planted my greenhouse 10 days ago but when I checked before I left for Charlotte, the lettuce hadn’t come up. However I did see some peas pushing through so I will probably reseed the lettuce when I return. I will also buy some broccoli plants when I get back. I have done some trimming of the orchard road so I can get my new truck up without much damage and I need to fertilize the fruit trees. I ordered a new camper top (I decided on the smaller 20 to 25 inch top because it will be structurally more stable and I still remember the mess I had with the extra tall top I once got). I should get in by the end of March and I will have to figure out the bed situation and get new curtains. I had a fun dinner with Gyorgyi a couple of nights ago. I think I will try to visit her brother when I go up in May so I can see her niece Laura. Claire Gallo is still not feeling well and I am worried about that. I pray she will get through this semester and graduate. I now have my road in decent shape after all the digging that AEP did. I am hoping that with almost a week of dry weather, I will be about to really fix it and maybe get Andy to put some stone down. There are three spots where stone would really help, especially down by my gate where I almost got the tractor stuck. I have decided to leave the break in the French drain alone for now. The culvert that Brandy of AEP dug has ended the leakage on to the road and I will just give up on cutting the hill next to the greenhouse.