Sophie's Treasures

Last night we moved the cedar chest. Underneath it we found 14 sparklie balls, 1 fluffy ball, and one toy mouse. Sophie immediately reclaimed her treasures:

















Then our clever girl showed us how they got there in the first place:


















Before I went to bed, I put all the these toys in the toy basket. When I got up this morning, Sophie had moved 10 of the sparklie balls to strategic locations around the apartment. She was a busy girl!

Happy Retirement, Mr. Tuttle!

One of my favorite high school teachers, Mr. Tom Tuttle, is retiring.

Mr. Tuttle, after putting up with us kids for 36 years and spending your summers teaching driver's training, I hope you have a wonderful retirement! I'll never forget all the fun we had in Earth Science and Astronomy, or how disappointed I was when you didn't get selected for the teaching space program, or how glad I was that you weren't on Challenger that day. I wish you happy travels always; may you find many more additions for your space memorabilia collection.

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Here's the story from The Davison Index:

Long-time teacher retiring

Tom Tuttle in his classroom. He’s been teaching in room 344 since 1972.

By Monica Dufour
INDEX Staff Writer

DAVISON — Davison High School opened its doors in 1972, with Tom Tuttle teaching in room 344.

This June, the earth science teacher will close the door for the last time.
“I think the time is right for me to retire,” Tuttle said. “I’ve been teaching in the same classroom for 36 years.”

Tuttle said the earth science program is transferring to the Davison Middle School after this school year because of a state mandate, so he thought the time was right for him to leave.
He’s enjoyed his time at the high school. “I was hired by Don Green, the assistant superintendent,” Tuttle said. “I remember him telling me I’d like teaching in the Davison school system. He was right.”

Tuttle’s involvement at the school didn’t stop with teaching sciences. He has taught driver’s education for 27 years. He has been the Gen-Net Fiber optic instructor, teaching earth science and astronomy for 10 years.

He has volunteered for high school activities such as working in the press box at Cardinal stadium during games and has assisted with the basketball team. Tuttle has helped out with Davison’s senior prom since 1982. “I enjoy helping with the prom,” he said. “It’s a great community activity for kids and parents.”

The development of technology is something he’s noticed as one of the biggest changes over the years. “Especially with the Gen-Net program,” he said. “It allows me to teach to students at other schools.”

Tuttle said the same activities that have kept him busy over the years will be what he will misses the most.

“I’m planning on helping out still with football games if they need me,” he said.

Tuttle will also miss the staff. “We have a great support staff in Davison. We have the best secretaries, custodians, coaches and aides,” he said. “They’re fantastic people who make teachers’ jobs a lot easier.”

The Richfield Township resident said that once he’s retired, he’d like to travel. “My summers I would spend teaching driver’s education, so now I will have some time to go to places I haven’t been able to go,” he said.

Tuttle and his wife, Kathleen, have been married for 37 years. They have two daughters, Jennifer, and Heather.

In his spare time, he enjoys collecting space memorabilia from American and Russian Space programs.

Review: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want is the sixth book in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne series. In this much-anticipated book, we learn what happens after the death Russ’s wife and Clare’s reinstatement in the military at the end of All Mortal Flesh.

In you aren’t familiar with this series, it’s set in the small town of Millers [sic] Kill in up state New York where ex-military helicopter pilot and newly ordained Episcopal Priest Clare Fergusson often gets involved in the criminal cases of Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. Clare is a refreshingly unusual heroine while Russ, also ex-military, is a much more traditional hero: an admirably good and decent man who is also a very good cop. The two are antagonistic at first but soon realized they are strongly attracted to each other. Clare is reluctant to get involved with a married man for moral reasons and Russ is determined to be faithful to his wife despite recent troubles in their marriage. Trite as it sounds, the tension between Clare and Russ is the driving force between these two very likeable characters in a very well-crafted series. All of the plots are amazingly but understandably complex and compellingly unpredictable. Keeping with the theme of Clare’s vocation, each book title refers to a hymn or scripture with the related text included as a preface.

I Shall Not Want starts off with a bang that will drive you crazy until you see how it plays out. You may be tempted to skip to the end but resist the urge and enjoy the ride. The plot is excellent, as usual, and involves the deaths Latino immigrants who work on the local farms. Clare’s work with the immigrants throws her into close proximity of Russ and the tension between the two is heightened by the grief and guilt they feel over the recent accidental death of Russ’s wife. The possibility that Clare’s unit will be called up for active duty in Iraq increases the tension throughout the book.

In addition to the usual supporting characters, we meet a new police officer Hadley Knox, who returns to Millers Kill as a divorced mom. The first female officer in the Millers Kill PD struggles to adapt and has her own romantic problems that complicate her new career. I really like her and hope she sticks around!

The book has an ending that will satisfactorily resolve some issues but leave you looking forward to the next book. I can’t say more than that without giving anything away! Do plan on uninterrupted reading time because once you start this book, you won’t want to stop.

If you haven’t read the series I strongly recommend you start at the beginning so you don't miss any of these fantastic stories or the on-going character development:

1. In the Bleak Midwinter (2002. Agatha Award for Best First Novel)
2. A Fountain Filled With Blood (2003.)
3. Out of the Deep I Cry (2004. Finalist 2005 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel)
4. To Darkness and to Death (2005.)
5. All Mortal Flesh (2006. 2007 Nero Award, Finalist 2006 Agatha Award for Best Novel, Finalist 2007 Macavity Award for Best Novel, and Finalist 2007 Anthony Award for Best Mystery)
6. I Shall Not Want (2008.)

Thank you, Julia, for another wonderful book and for allowing me to review it! I hope to goodness you are busy writing the next one. ☺

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

I got this link from a colleague and just had to share. (Thanks, Jan B.!) It's hilariously funny: deadpan engineers discuss cat care. Don't drink while you are watching, especially the cat yodeling sequence, unless you want to spit all over your computer screen. Be sure to get a good look at the smallest cat (Ginger); she looks a lot like my Saffron!




If the connection is slow, here's the direct link to YouTube.com: An Engineer's Guide to Cats. Thank you to Paul Klusman and T. J. Wingard (Engineers) and Oscar, Zoey, and Ginger (stunt cats) for this wonderful video!

Titanic

This is the last known picture of Titanic. She sank 96 years ago today, taking over 1,500 people with her.

I've been thinking about it all day and was inspired to write another Haiku:

Starry night, white ice
Titanic meets destiny
A legend is born

Godspeed Titanic, her victims, and all who keep her memory alive.

My First Haiku

Aren't these crocuses pretty? I've been too busy to take pictures lately; I found this one on Wikimedia. The spring weather has inspired my first attempt at poetry in decades:

Warm sun, bright flowers
Bringing forth pollen and mold
I sneeze joyfully

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Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed to see if I'm OK. I am, just too busy to blog. I had bronchitis the second week of March and got way behind on my grading. I've done nothing but go to class and grade papers for the last four weeks. The end is in sight though! This is the last week of class and I should be done with all of my grading sometime next week. I'm looking forward to having the Spring and Summer semesters off!

Camp Stitchalot

Feb. 29-Mar. 2 Stitches 'N Things (my favorite store!) hosted Camp Stitchalot at the Comfort Inn in Davison, MI. The weekend featured classes by three needlework designers, a needle felting class by Deb Koch of Stitches 'N Things, an on-site store, and lots of time to stitch! I attended with my stitchin' friends Laurie and Sue.

We spent most of the weekend stitching current projects. Laurie started and nearly finished a Huckwork baby afghan. Huckwork is a Swedish surface weaving done with yarn on Monk's Cloth, a soft, layered cloth that's easy to work with -- and the needlework doesn't show on the back! Huckwork goes quickly, as long as you count correctly on the first row.

Sue worked on a beautiful counted-thread "housewife" piece by Betsy Morgan (Willing Hands Designs). I keep thinking it's Hardanger because it includes eyelet stitches, but there is no cut work on this piece! It looks like a long, narrow band sampler on the outside but is designed to roll up to carry around your stitching tools and threads inside. She's stitching it in variegated silk floss on linen. I'd never be patient enough to do such beautiful work! It's amazing.

Here's the cover of Betsy's book and Sue's work in progress:






















A close-up of Sue's work:


























Isn't the shading amazing?! Sue uses a laying tool so all the threads lay flat to show off the stitches and shading. She says there's a reason I can't find a web site for Betsy:

She may not have a website because you can only take her pieces when you take a class from her. She gets hired for seminars and by guilds, then you can get her stuff. You really need her, because of the idiosyncrasies in her stuff that she tells you in person, then you write your own notes so you remember. Plus her technique for joining from the outside is pretty nifty – you need to see it in person – then have her watch you do it so you can complete the project later.

This kind of beautiful, detailed work is way out of my league! I used to like complicated pieces but now that I have very limited stitching time I stitch mostly small, simple things that I can actually finish. I really admire Sue and others who have time patience and dedication for such amazing and time-consuming projects!


I only took one class this weekend:

Deb Koch of Stitches N Things

The "'Sheep Tricks' Needle Felting Pin" class included a kit with everything we needed to learn how to needle felt and make a cute sheep pin. Mine looks like the one on the right. I chose it because it's cute and the bell reminds me of an iPod (these are very smart sheep). Deb also told us about the history of needle felting. This was my second needle felting project (the first was a snowman pin when I took Deb's other class last October). This time I learned that when she says to go slow and be careful with those sharp, barbed needles, she's not kidding!

When I wasn't doing that I started and finished cross-stitching "Frosty Whiskers" by Mosey N Me:

















I stitched the piece on the right but used a light pewter gray instead of light blue for the background. This was one of the few times I've stitched on linen instead of aida cloth and I really like it! The linen is a finer even weave cloth than aida; this linen was 25 threads/squares per inch so I stitched over two threads/squares. This makes the three-quarters stitches much easier and neater. I'm very pleased with myself for starting and finishing two projects in one weekend!

I enjoyed meeting the designers and admiring their work. Their classes looked really cool but I already have so many projects to work on! Here are the classes I did not take (descriptions adapted from the Stitches 'N Things web site):

Betsy Stinner of Earth Threads

The "Amish Basket Stitching Smalls" kit included a basket handmade by an eighty year old Amish woman. Stitchers made the "smalls" to go in the basket: a needle book, wax container, and scissor fob. The class also included a lecture on the Amish people and their way of life presented with Power Point. (I love the irony of that!)

Catherine Strickler of Indigo Rose

Students in "Kate's Necessaire" class made a cool caddy for needlework tools. When closed, it looks like fancy book. When, open it has pockets for scissors, a laying tool, and needle tin. It even has a tiny pin cushion!

Denise Archer



Students in this class learned how to make, bead, and finish/assemble a "biscornu" (pronounced "biss-kor-noo" or "biss-core-new"), a French adjective that means "that which has an irregular form, with projections" or "complicated and bizarre." It's also called a "tuffet" (yes, as in "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet"!). It's a tiny cushion that can be used as a pincushion, ornament, scissor fob, sachet, or whatever else you can think of. (In our house it would be a cat toy.) The kit included buttons and beads for the top and a magnet for the bottom. I wasn't interested until I actually saw these! They are interesting, attractive, and look like a lot of fun to stitch!

As always, it was fun and inspiring to see what all the other stitchers (about 40 in all) were working on. I saw lots of cool needlework, made new friends, and am very glad we went! I'm already looking forward to the next camp in October.

French Hall Remodeling

French Hall, the building where my office and classrooms are located, is under construction. The central portion is blocked off and only two hallways are open.

Here's the Foreign Language hall (photos courtesy of my colleague Fred):






















Here's the English Department hall:






















Interesting, eh? The overhead lights disappeared with the drop ceiling and we are amused by the temporary coal-mine style lighting. (If you can't tell from the photos, the lightbulbs are in cages on a heavy extension-cord type line, strung along the hall at ceiling level.) When I look at all the steel above the ceiling level I am amazed that my cell phone works at all in this building!

This phase of remodeling should be done around the end of this semester (April). Then they'll start on our hall: rearranging walls, painting, recarpeting, etc. I'm glad I'm not teaching spring or summer semesters and will miss all the mess, but it will be weird to pack up and leave my old office and come back to a brand new one!

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While Googling "French Hall" for external pics of our building, I found a few related links:

French Hall Renovations (with a really nice external photo)

The University of Michigan-Flint on Wikipedia (who knew?!)

Indy's Back!

In case you haven't heard, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth Indy movie and the first in almost 20 years, will be released May 22. Take a look at the trailer:



I can hardly wait! It looks like an outstanding successor to Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They've advanced the timeline 20 years so it's set in the 50s with Indy fighting Commies instead of Nazis, with Cate Blanchett at the head of the bad guys. Other characters include Marion Ravenwood; her father and Indy's mentor, Abner (who was supposed to be dead before Raiders so let's hope we see him via flashback); and a new character, Mutt Williams (rumored to be Indy and Marion's son). Sadly, Denholm Elliott (who played Dr. Marcus Brody) died in 1992 and there is no sign of John Rhys-Davies (who played Sallah) or Sean Connery (Dr. Henry Jones, Sr.). I hope they are just being careful with the credits and we'll get to see Indy's dad.

For more info visit Indian Jones: The Official Site, The Raider (fan site), or The Internet Movie Database (which isn't very helpful at this point).

Get your Fedora and leather jacket ready... only 87 more days...

Always a Marine

In memory of my cousin, Gene, who died unexpectedly this week of heart failure at age 57. He was one of my favorite cousins, and one of the nicest guys I've ever known. We hadn't been close for years, but I will miss him and I am proud of his service as a Marine -- and he was one of the best.

I love you, big Gene.

Marines' Hymn

From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.

Our Flag's unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun.
We have fought in every clime and place, where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job, the United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps, which we are proud to serve.
In many a strife we've fought for life and never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven's scenes,
they will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.


Taps

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, neath the sky;
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

Happy Valentine's Wedding

Congratulations to my nephew, Derrik, and his beautiful bride, Katrina, on their romantic Valentine's Day wedding!

Bifocal Contacts

A couple of years ago I had to get bifocal eyeglasses. Since I wear my contact lenses about 14 hours a day and they changed the contact Rx slowly, I never noticed a problem with my aging eyes -- until now.

Recently I've had trouble reading small print. I just can't get it to focus no matter where I put it, even with a new Rx for my contacts. I spent the weekend with a pair of over-the-counter reading glasses for emergencies but they weren't quite right either. I was so frustrated! Oh sure, reading glasses are way better than the Coke-bottle glasses I used to wear before I got contacts at age 18, but I don't like the inconvenience.

Today they eye doctor gave me bifocal contacts to try. Unlike my old contacts where one eye saw clearly up close and the other eye saw clearly far away (don't ask me how my brain figured it out!), these contacts are bifocal lenses, just like my glasses. I don't understand how they work but they are like magic! Once again I can see any range and it feels very natural. Best of all, no reading glasses are required. Whew.

I've got to stop typing now. Now that I can see better, I have papers to grade and books to read!

Winter as it Should Be

For the first time in years, I have a snow day today! (U of M closing last Friday, a day we don't have class, in anticipation of bad weather we did not get, does not count!)

Yesterday we got a foot of snow. One report said we were getting an inch an hour but judging by the amount of snow each time I cleared off my car, I'm sure it was faster than that! It was so heavy I couldn't see a block away. It was so heavy that snow accumulated on the roof of my car, then slid down on the windshield in an avalanche so heavy the wipers couldn't move. I was so glad to get home and out of the mess! All the schools, including U of M, closed early.

Since a snow day is an unexpected gift from God, and rare indeed at U of M, I decided to enjoy my holiday. I mostly spent it cuddling with my cats and reading The Bradbury Chronicles by Sam Weller.

So much for global warming, eh? :) This is winter as is should be, the kind of winters I grew up with: lots of snow with an occasional snow day. I just wish the meteorologists would stop acting like snowstorms are something new!

6 More Weeks of Winter

In case you missed it on CNN: "Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter."

For more on this quaint superstition, follow the CNN link above or visit:



Groundhog.org - Official site of the Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Groundhog Club

Groundhog.com - yet another site about Phil

Brain Age and Other Puzzles

I've never been good at crossword puzzles or Scrabble (oh, the irony for an English/writing teacher!), so I've doing more crosswords and slowly getting better. The last time we went to Traverse City, I discovered that the Detroit Free Press has an acrostic puzzle every Saturday. I love acrostics! I like Sudoku, too, as I've mentioned before.

Last year my mom-in-law got a Nintendo DS Lite and a Brain Age 2 game for her birthday. The game is supposed to stimulate the cortex, improving memory. The games are challenging but fun.

As a reward for surviving the first three weeks of the semester and completing my Major Review, I bought myself a Nintendo DS Lite and Brain Age 1. Brain Age 1 has completely difference games than Brain Age 2, so Mom and I can trade. I'd like to get Ultimate Brain Games and Ultimate Card Games when they are released for the DS.

No doubt all this cortical stimulation will help me avoid perpetuating the absent-minded professor stereotype. :)

Whew!

Whew! Things are finally getting back to normal for me. When my uncle died, I spent that week at the funeral home and frantically preparing to teach my Winter semester classes (which started following Monday). Since the semester started, whenever I wasn't in class I was frantically working on the materials for my first Major Review, which I finished and turned in yesterday.

All professors do an annual review. Since I'm non-tenure track, our union requires a Major Review every 3-5 years. A Major Review covers the previous three years. I had to complete and present in a notebook:

A Summary
The Review Form
My Vita
My Teaching Philosophy
Syllabi for every class I've taught over the last 3 years
Student evaluations for every class I've taught over the last 3 years
My Analysis of Student Evaluations
My Analysis of My Successes and Challenges
At least one Classroom Observation by someone who outranks me (I included 3!)
Any Additional Materials

For additional materials I included a couple of assignment sheets, unsolicited feedback from students (letters, cards, e-mail, etc., about how I helped them, changed their lives, etc.), Golden Apple Awards (award certificates students can give to their instructors each semester), feedback from my Department Chairman and Director of Writing Programs on my previous reviews, and the papers I presented or published during the past three years.

Whew! I'm glad that's over. I'm really glad that since I turned it in I haven't thought of anything I should have included but forgot.

What do I get for all this? A promotion from Lecturer III to Lecturer IV, a raise, and more job security -- but I won't know for sure for about 2 months. The good news is that everyone who has seen the notebook tells me I have nothing to worry about. In the meantime, I'm glad to return to my normal stress/workload!

Christmas Cactus

Isn't this a beautiful Christmas Cactus? It is about 50 years old and was my grandma's. When we were preparing for my uncle's funeral we noticed that it was blooming. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but it is also full of buds! I've never had good luck with Christmas Cactuses (Cacti?) so I just hope we can keep it alive.

By the way, don't tell the plant it's supposed to bloom only at Christmas. It blooms from about Christmas to about Easter.

New Year

Our new year is not starting well. My uncle was taken from rehab to the Emergency Room early in the morning on New Year's Day. He was recovering from a urinary tract infection but they had not yet entirely ruled out the possibility that he had another TIA (mini-stroke) or a stroke. He was admitted to hospital and died about 5 a.m. Jan. 2.

We're not sure whether the infection went systemic or whether his heart gave out, but his death was very quick and peaceful. It was so fast that my brother and I didn't make it back to the hospital in time to be with him. A very nice nurse, Nancy, was with him when he died. She said it was very peaceful and easy. He was not in any pain or struggling to breath and we are thankful for that and that such a compassionate nurse was with him.

We are also thankful that he was able to attend our usual family Christmas Eve celebration and that he got to meet his newest great-great-nephew.


















After making funeral arrangements, visiting at the funeral home for two days, AND frantically getting ready for winter semester (which starts Monday), I am pretty tired. The funeral is today and it will hard to say good-bye to him for the last time.

Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed, called, sent flowers, cards, etc. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and moral support.

Skidboot, the World's Smartest Dog

A friend sent me this link about Skidboot, the World's Smartest Dog, and I was so impressed that I visited his web site.

Rest in Peace, Skidboot. You really did have a wonderful life and continue to inspire others.

Christmas Eve

Today is the big day! Our family always celebrates on Christmas Eve at my brother's and we're all very glad the doc gave us the OK for my uncle to leave the rehab for a few hours so he can celebrate with us.

I checked NORAD Tracks Santa at 9:30 a.m. and Santa had reached Fuji, Japan. The site is updated every 5 minutes and lets you follow Santa's trip on the map. There's even a link to track Santa in Google Earth!

As you can see, our kitties are waiting for Santa. I think it's funny that Sophie really likes this pillow:




















When she's not sleeping under the Christmas tree or playing in the empty Christmas tree box (aka the best toy in the world), Saffron likes to sleep in our Christmas village:






















Have you ever wondered how Santa gets around the world with all those stops in just one night? Mark Leiknes tried to answer it yesterday in his Cow and Boy comic:

Actually, NORAD Tracks Santa has the best answer. They even have Santa's e-mail address!

One more link and I'll leave you to your Christmas celebration: I got this interactive eCard from Ashland University from a friend and it's so beautiful I just had to share. Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a peaceful, joyous Christmas and happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.