thoughts (and girly things)

Back from Spain.

I've been trying to work up to blogging since I got back from Spain. Let's see if this works!

Eliza and I had a good trip-- our first ever sister vacation! We spent a day and two afternoons/nights in Madrid, and the remaining five or six days in Cordoba. There were a few disappointments:

1. It was cold and rainy. I had promised Eliza that it would be sunny and hot. Why? Because I have been in Cordoba/Spain in May four times, and never has it rained! Never has it been cooler than 100-degrees out! I was beginning to doubt my memories, but all the native cordobeses assured us that this was not a normal May. We spent the week in the same jeans and sweaters and had to buy new, non-smelly clothes for the trip home.

2. Too much walking=injuries. I have some sort of tendon sprain in my knee, which kept me in pain for a lot of the trip and meant we spent one morning in a Cordoba clinic. Once I got my anti-inflammatory medications, I felt slightly better. What was I supposed to do? Not walk around? Eliza hurt her foot, too. We blame the deadly flip flops/cobblestones combination for her injury.

3. For a few days in Cordoba, we kept somehow not getting on the right food schedule. I don't know how it happened! So we'd end up hungry at the wrong times and unable to find anything to eat. Until our first really good lunch at the Patio de la Juderia restaurant, Eliza had a very grim outlook on Spanish food.

Other than that, though, it was a great time. We stayed with my friend Nadia (actually, with her aunt) in a house that was in a fantastic part of the city. I got to show Eliza my favorite things in Cordoba: the mosque, the gardens at the Real Alcazar, my old school, the windy streets, the Plaza de la Corredera, my favorite cafes and bars... We explored Madrid and went to the Reina Sofia museum, saw a lot of great contemporary art. We wrote an unbelievable number of postcards, which I can thank Eliza for, since I am never much of a postcard writer. And Eliza really improved in her Spanish that week-- especially with Nadia, who was a big factor in my own experience becoming a comfortable Spanish speaker. She never lets up, but in a friendly and funny way, to the point where we spent whole evenings with just the two of them talking to each other and Nadia saying, every time Eliza looked to me for help, "Your sister's not here! Ignore her!"

Plus, Eliza now likes olives. A big accomplishment.

ravelry

I guess I must think I'm going to start knitting again for real. I just signed up for ravelry!

Scribblethon shop

Remember the professor? Well, Scott successfully completed Scribblethon way back when and spent a few months working on his art. Now, he's compiled his favorite Scribblethon drawings into a couple of Cafe Press shops:

Throw...Thermal...Pod

Throw...Thermal...Kids!

There are quite a few mean birds and street toughs I wouldn't mind having on a wall clock!

projects

I think I'm about to pick up something I stopped knitting five years ago... Can you do that?

it's been a while...

so, since I'm actually going to Spain in a few weeks, I think it's time to start thinking about the fact that I get to visit my *favorite store* women's secret.

So far I like:

Why do I only get to visit this underwear store once every four years? Should this affect my career choices?

I forgot to say:

High pass! Looks like I'll be graduating!

Preparation

I can only hope that having read all these books will mean I am ready for my big exam, this coming Wednesday and Thursday. Right now I'm looking over my notes and trying to organize my brain around what questions I might be asked. I am also drinking a beer.

Further symptoms of Spring...

finding things i want on anthropologie:

I swear, I haven't taken any drugs today. I'm just undernourished!

Hey, so a few weeks ago, the Winterpills song "Hide Me" was featured on the new show Eli Stone, which is on ABC after Lost. Well, apparently they liked "Hide Me" so much they decided to use "Cranky" on tonight's episode! I can't say I blame them-- those are two of my favorites.

Since I've spent my week drinking milk shakes and watching The Wire (wisdom-tooth-removal is a really good excuse for laziness), I think I'll be happy to stick to a similar plan tonight, and see how the song fits into the episode.

(In my defense, I read several medieval chronicles today and the story of Saint Mary of Egypt. I'm forsaking my lovely painkillers for lucidity and productivity. Not that you can tell that from this post... Three texts left on my reading list!)

Panic and the internet: a combination that means not studying enough for my Arabic test

I just spent a panicked few minutes thinking that Dave had missed his connection in Nashville and wasn't going to make it home tonight. But he's on the plane, it should be leaving any time now if it hasn't left already, and he'll be here in a few hours-- provided his car starts after two and a half weeks in long-term parking...

I got a lot of work done during his absence, both reading and cleaning the building. I am still a bit freaked out when I realize that my MA exam is coming up in less than one month and I still have work to do. But next week is Spring Break, and this week, hopefully, I'll be able to keep up my reading pace. I'm going to have to tell my students that their essays aren't getting graded before break, though.

Did you notice we hit that 40-degree mark, which makes New Englanders go crazy and start wearing t-shirts. I've had one student show up to class in shorts, but he new he was pressing his luck. Myself? I bought some new spring-timey shoes:

You almost can't see how dirty my apartment is. I've been on cleaning strike:

Here's one of the snow storms that I had to deal with while Dave was on tour:

But he'll be here soon enough!

(Ugh.. there's something unbearably bluesy downstairs tonight. I don't know what it is, but I hope they don't turn off my water like the drunken hippies from last week.)

Injustices in Western MA

Dave has been on tour for one week, and I've had two snow storms to deal with already. One significantly easier-to-deal-with than the other, thanks to rain later that evening. And now we're supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow AGAIN on Friday night. Is this really fair? I know he did most of the shoveling for the first part of the winter, but do I really have to do the same amount of shoveling in the three weeks he'll be away? Come on now!

Office Hours at UMass

As I sit here in my office, awaiting students that never arrive, I thought maybe I'd visit my own blog for a second. I got a little distracted lately by teaching and reading, so I feel I've been kind of neglectful. I did have a pretty crafty winter break, despite teaching a big intensive class at Hampshire College. I've been trying to make use of my 4 hour volunteer shift at Dandie in the Underworld, using their workshop space to make stuff for the shop. The sleep masks and coffee cozies seem to be a big hit still and are easy to make in a short period of time.

Mostly right now I need to read-- my MA exam is now officially scheduled for the first week in April, so I have a big stack of medieval Spanish texts to get through before then, and then organize my thoughts about them. It's hardest not knowing what I'll be asked about. Well, I'm getting work done, not as quickly as I hoped, but I think I'll finish in time.

I hope to be more productive maybe while Dave is away. He can be kind of distracting, since I like hanging out with him as much as possible. He leaves for a wedding in Seattle this weekend, then Winterpills will be on tour with Kris Delmhorst after that, starting in LA and ending up in Seattle again on March 9. I'm hoping they have a fun tour and I have a not fun, reading-filled non-tour.

Wow, what a boring post-- here, go listen to "Beesting", one of their new songs that I'm completely smitten with. That should be more fun! And I can get back to reading.

Office Hours at UMass

Wow, what a boring post-- here, go listen to "Beesting", one of their new songs that I'm completely smitten with. That should be more fun! And I can get back to reading.

I break Internet silence for this?

I emailed this to my Spanish students to let them know they weren't the only ones struggling with a new language. My new favorite word might be "esportivity."

Meet The Professor:

He was a Christmas present from our friend Scott Alden, who has committed himself to a one-man 24-hour drawing fest he calls Scribblethon, this Saturday (12/5). He will be drawing at a number of places all over Northampton and has put a lot of work into this project, which he hopes will help him in his dream of spending one year concentrating on his artistic endeavors. He already gave up his apartment and his job, I think he's serious! We've pledged him $1 per hour, and plan to hunt him down at one of his drawing spots, or at least end up at the big rock show that will mark the end of Scribblethon, at the Eleven's Saturday night.

For more details on Scribblethon, check out Kelsey Flynn's interview with Scott.