fifth week of teaching complete

My fifth week of teaching is done and it was a pretty good week. My two British Literary History II classes went well and my other classes were both okay. I took a trip to Big Stone Gap (which I had never seen) and overall it was a disappointment. I didn’t find any pretty little trout streams although I did fish the Clinch and the North Fork of the Holston. I didn’t even get a hit although I fished the Holston seriously. Instead of walking around a cute little town, I ended up at an Applebee’s in nearby Norton. I guess I am glad I finally got out that way. Everything in the hollow is fine. I have done some more road and orchard trimming and I have been eating lettuce from my greenhouse. I have replanted the spinach and I am hoping the second planting does a lot better. Cathy Gallo sounds much better and I am very glad. I was pretty worried about her.

fourth week of classes--still slightly sane

It is Friday the 20th of September and my fourth week of teaching is over. I had a good class on Keats and a decent class on introducing the Victorians so I feel a little better toward the Literary History course. My other classes are going well but I don’t have many decent poets in my Poetry Writing class. I have the house in good shape and I will try to cut the grass on Sunday. It rained heavily this morning and we really needed the rain. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and that will also be good. I will see Gyorgyi for dinner and a movie tomorrow and that should be fun. I have made my reservations for Wild Dunes for the 23-27 of December (where I will see Gabe and Francesca and Julian) and I paid for my Big Bend tickets today in Lynchburg. With the thousand dollar voucher the train trip will only cost me 339 dollars. It should be a fairly inexpensive trip. David is supposed to come on Sunday and start work on the ailanthus infestation and I hope the weather is okay. I should be eating fresh lettuce from the greenhouse this week although the spinach hasn’t worked out to much. I will replant tomorrow and give it another try. I talked to Rosemary about this semester and explained how hard the Literary History course is and I asked her to give me the American Literary History course next time. I do have a good schedule of the spring and that will make my life a lot less difficult. I talked to Dean O’Brien today and we had a nice chat. He is doing well and I will see him over Thanksgiving. Cathy Gallo isn’t doing too well but hopefully the antibiotics will help soon.

a very busy and stressful second week

My blogging will have to be pretty occasional with all the work I have to do this semester. 331, British Literary History, is killing me. TV dish and up by the solar panels. I played golf for the first time in a week since I have been so busy, and though me back was aching (I had to take some ibuprophen) I shot a 45 with some very lucky shots. I am riding my bike every day and I practiced my sax for the first time in a week this morning. My greenhouse is doing well with the peas at least six inches tall and a lot of lettuce up. I should be eating some within two weeks. I had a talk with Jeff but he refuses to admit that Edward Snowden is a criminal and there is really no point of discussion. Snowden clearly broke some major laws and to me the question is whether his criminal behavior is justified. There is no doubt he is a criminal. I am too busy to waste time trying to get Jeff to at least accept the facts of the case. My health continues good although I am tired a lot. Part of that is my irregular sleeping and part of it is the heat and the pollen, which is very high. I got Dougie the GED book and I offered to help him with any things he doesn’t understand. I think he really appreciates my offer. I will be glad to celebrate with him when he gets his GED. I got my first walk in this week this morning and the wildflowers are still blooming. I saw touch me not, white snakeroot, great lobelia, heal all, thin leaved coneflower, heart leaved aster, and several others. It was great to get in some aerobic exercise.

first week of classes finished

It is Friday, August 30th and my first week of classes is over. It was a pretty easy week and I should not be too pressed to prepare for next week, when the work really starts. My biggest problem is how tired I am and I hope when the weather gets cooler I will feel more energetic. I have lettuce and sugar snap peas up in the greenhouse and that is a comfort. The house is half stained and it looks very good but the color is so different that I am going to have Mark’s workers do the back porch and the deck. The new receiver from dish is working fine so that should last for a number of years. I have been riding every day on my new bike and I really like it. I also am doing regular walks in the morning and practicing my sax. I am also continuing with the yoga and weights. I have played golf a few times and on Wednesday I shot from the white tees and scored a 48. I do think I am playing well and should be able to give Craig a good challenge when we play next. My finances are holding steady but when Gabe pays me back some of the money, I will pay down my equity line debt a little. I have made reservations to go to New York for 4 days at Thanksgiving (planning to see Gabe, Francesca and Julian) but if I am too busy grading, I will have to pass on that trip.

The Students Move In

I actually slept pretty well last night (Thursday) and I was pretty rested when I awoke. I went to Radford and helped out with the students moving in and I did quite a bit of work, mainly getting stuff out of trucks and autos and then getting the vehicles down to Dedmon. I also sent my e-mail to Steger at VT to complain and the loud and violent movie last night fifty yards from the memorial to the shooting victims. The secretary I called thought I should send it. I have everything ready for the new semester and I hope I can handle it. If I don’t overcommit to things and stay on top of my classes, I should be okay. I pick up my new bike tomorrow and it will be great to go for a non-stationary ride again. I realize that if I retire I had better have very good plans to keep busy or I am going to be restless as hell. Kate and I talked a little about my novel and I don’t think it will work in its present incarnation. I think I need to make it humorous so that will be my goal.

The hollow is back to normal

I took my regular walk this morning and stopped to cut the grass by the house and cabin. It was getting pretty long. I saw a number of wildflowers in bloom, including heal all, tick trefoil, horse balm, southern harebell, indian tobacco, white wood aster, touch me not, thin-leaved coneflower, great lobelia, queen anne’s lace. I cleaned up the house some, did my yoga and weights (my left arm is much better), practiced my sax, washed the dishes and rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes. I have gained 6 pounds over my 208 weight so I have to slow down my eating at night. Last night I saw Elysium with Matt Damon and it was entertaining. I was ready for a movie. I am feeling a little better about starting teaching again and I found out a lot of info from Larry at HR and I really think I can retire a year earlier than I thought, in June of 2015. Health care will be about 585 a month and I can get a 120 dollar credit so it will be 465 a month. I will get the 2500 sick leave put into my 403B to avoid taxes. If I don’t get a sabbatical I think I will finish in two years so I may only have 4 semesters left.

end of Alaska trip and getting ready for a new semester

Wednesday was another fine day as I took Dave out for a late breakfast, then we went kayaking in the harbor, then I took my 11 mile bike ride, then I treated him to dinner at a fancy restaurant, 333, that was very good. We watched the Yankees lose in extra innings and then it was time for bed. I got up early, anxious to get going, but I instead did my yoga, went for a bike ride, and then took a nap. I was watching TV when Dave got up around 9:30 and I told him I had to get going and we bid one another goodbye for another year. I drove up 76, then got on I-15 north, then 215 north and finally reached I-40 at where I stopped and played the Marine Logistics course at Barstow. I played from the white (over 3200 yards) and I needed one very good putt on nine and one absolutely amazing chip on eight to break 50. The chip was in the thick rough but fairly high up and there was a mound between me and the pin and the pin was within 10 feet of the mound and downhill so I really had no chance to get close. I was hoping to get within eight or ten feet but my chip just cleared the mound, dropped on the fringe and rolled ever so slowly to within five inches of the cup. After that I drove on and took my bike ride. I drove on to Seligman and had a late dinner and some writing at the Roadkill café. I stayed at a gas station RV park and it was fine although I didn’t sleep very well and got on the road just after dawn. I decided to try to do a lot of driving on Friday and I did, ending up with over 400 miles (which means I’m about 1600 miles from home) but though I took a nice bike ride in Petrified Forest National park (not as interesting as the badlands), I was pretty bored until I got through Albuquerque and saw signs for the Sandia Crest and I gave up my 500 miles plan for a hike up on the crest and a stay in a local RV park. It was impossible to sleep (the altitude and a humming noise) so at 4:30 I got on the road and made some decent time until dawn. I stopped in Gallup for some lunch at the highly recommended Jerry’s café, an outstanding Mexican place. I stopped in Oklahoma City and rode my bike around the downtown area on Sunday morning. It was a pleasant ride and I stopped at the Memorial to the OKC bombing and that was pretty powerful. Monday was another drive day and I ended up doing over 380 miles so I am within easy reach of home tomorrow. I stayed at a combination RV park and Catfish farm, a fairly unusual mix. I couldn’t sleep very well because of the heat but I drove hard on Tuesday and arrived home in the afternoon. My 44 day trip is over and it was a good one. I got a little tired of driving a few times, but I saw some amazing things. It is Tuesday the 20th and I had a fun day playing 18 holes at Draper with Craig (I won the match; he won the stroke). I then went home and did my yoga and rode my stationary bike, although I must have pulled my left shoulder since I could hardly move it. I had a nice late lunch with Emily yesterday and I will have dinner with Rhonda on Thursday. I will be at the meetings on Thursday and then I will help the students move in on Friday and then meet with Kate to discuss my novel. The summer is almost over and I have few complaints.