Wednesday, December 29, 2010

_MG_0302


_MG_0302
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fifty-One / Fifty-Two 12.18.10 - 12.24.10

It's a pity that I had to wait until the very last day of my week in California to get a photo with a blue sky. Jen and I flew out on the Saturday just after school ended. We were here for six days, and it rained on every single one of them. Everything we had planned to do - go to Venice Beach, go to Disney Land, check out City Walk - ended up not happening. We did go to the Getty on Sunday, and on Monday I got my Kindle and we took a drive down Rodeo Drive, oh, and we found The Witch's House (more info here): www.seeing-stars.com/Landmarks/WitchesHouse.shtml That was also the day my parents' came out. On Tuesday we spent most of the day with my Bubby, working on hanging all the artwork in her apartment and generally doing a bit of clean-up around her place. Wednesday was a quiet day with a nice evening of a birthday dinner and Hanukah/ Christmas/ birthday present opening, and Thursday morning we headed for the airport to fly back to Chicago.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Morning Frost


Morning Frost
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fifty / Fifty-two 12.10.10 - 12.16.10

The bitter cold has arrived this week. I've spent every morning scraping the frost off my car, and though it is pretty, I could definitely do without it. I am looking forward to getting to California and getting some sunshine.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Lights and Ornaments


Lights and Ornaments
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Forty-Nine / Fifty-Two 12.03.10 - 12.09.10

The tree is up and dressed in its holiday finery. I love decorating my tree - it's a yearly ritual that sets the tone for the holiday season. This year's tone: quiet and minimal. I didn't try to cram on every ornament I've got, and I didn't make a big deal out of putting on music and making cookies on tree-day. I took a couple hours in the evening to get the lights and ornaments on, and that was it. Simple. Low-key. Easy.

Friday, December 10, 2010

The Empty Room


The Empty Room
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Forty-Eight/Fifty-Two 11.26.10 - 12.02.10

My student teacher, John finished his last week this week. Thursday was his last day, and when I came in on Friday morning, it was strange to see an empty classroom. After three months, I was adjusted to seeing him in the room in the mornings. The next couple weeks of work are going to be so odd.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Fly-By #2


Fly-By #2
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fourty-six/Fifty-two 11.12.10 - 11.18.10

This week has been hectic. Incredibly so. In fact, it went by fast enough that I didn't take the photo for it until three weeks later, because I've been doing so much other stuff. Oh yes, I am a busy girl. But at least I'm having fun!

04 - Set Table


04 - Set Table
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fourty-Seven/Fifty-two 11.19.10 - 11.25.10

This week's big event was Thanksgiving. We cooked for eight people, and made way too much food, but it was such fun! We had leftovers for everyone to take home, and there was still enough food in the house to eat for a week. The menu was as follows:

Cheese and Crackers (Hors D'oeuvres)
Turkey (brined in orange and apple juice)
Green Bean Casserole
Traditional Sausage Stuffing
Spinach-Gruyere Stuffing
Scalloped Potatoes (Ben's dish)
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Acorn Squash
Cranberry Relish
Spinach-Jicama Salad (Diane's dish)
Deviled Eggs (Linn's dish)
Pumpkin Pie
Ice Cream Cake (Diane's dish)
Wine - Clos Pegase Chardonnay
Wine - Eroica Reisling

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Physical Touch
with a secondary love language being
Words of Affirmation.

Complete set of results

Physical Touch: 10
Words of Affirmation: 7
Acts of Service: 5
Quality Time: 4
Receiving Gifts: 4


Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Golden


Golden
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fourty-Five/ Fifty-Two 11.05.10 - 11.11.10

Fall is finally mostly over here. There are some trees still clinging to the edges of green, and several are golden or brown, but for the most part, they are all bare branches just waiting for winter. It's been an odd autumn for me. I spent so much of it inside that I don't feel as if it actually happened. In many ways, the markers of the season were lost to me, especially the changing colors outside that mirror the changes waiting to happen in my inner landscape. So I'm jumping from the bright blooms of summer directly into the stark contrasts and sharp cold of winter. I wonder, is this a metaphor for something, or is it just the circumstance of my life?

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ritual Pumpkins


Ritual Pumpkins
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fourty-four/Fifty-two 10.29.10 - 11.04.10

My parents and my grandmother were in town this weekend for my show. It also happened to be Samhain weekend, so we carved pumpkins and held a small Samhain ritual. We burned the mourning wreath from Julia's funeral, I told the story of Persephone, we ate pomegranate seeds, and finally, we spoke our stories of who we had each carved our pumpkin for. Each one was carved to represent someone(s) who had passed away in the last year.

It was really nice to have my family here for ritual. It's not something I've gotten to do recently - it's been years since we were all in the same place for one of the sabbats.

Finished Design


Finished Design
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Fourty-three/Fifty-two 10.22.10 - 10.28.10\

This has been such a hectic month that I haven't had the chance to work on many crafty projects. I did make this ankle bracelet though, which I love. I've had the crystals for years - they were a gift from a college friend, and I never had a piece where they seemed to fit. I'm thinking I might make earrings that match, using just the chain and the crystals. I haven't been wearing a lot of jewelry this year. I go through phases - sometimes I want tons of decoration, and sometimes I just want to be as fuss-free as possible. This has definitely been a school year where I want to be fuss-free.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Gourds


Gourds
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Forty-two/ Fifty-two 10.15.10 - 10.21.10

I went to Bengston Farm last night, and these are what I came home with. There is one for each person who has passed away this year.

Gloria - Green
Julia - White
Liz - Yellow

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Sound Of Her Wings


The Sound Of Her Wings
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Forty-One/ Fifty-Two 10.8.10 - 10.14.10

October is all about death and dying for me. This year, that's a more poignant thought that it has been in years past. They say it comes in threes, and though two of my three weren't even during October, and one of them wasn't even really exactly mine, they've all touched my life more than death ever has in the past.

I've been working hard this week to just keep moving forward. I keep telling myself that I can make it; I can just keep putting on foot in front of the other, and eventually I'll get where I need to be. I'm worn out though. There's so much going on with work, theater, home life, friends, etc. that I'm starting to feel like I'm being stretched a bit thin. I love having so much to do, and I'm passionate about all the projects I've got going on, but I could use a couple days to just be lazy - sleep, read, take more photos... Even this photo was mostly an accident. I happened to catch it between two activities at the theater.

Friday, October 8, 2010

She Bleeds For Me


She Bleeds For Me
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Forty/ Fifty-Two 10.1.10 - 10.7.10

This week, I lost a friend. She was someone I haven't talked with much for a long while, but with whom I was good friends in high school. We ate lunch together every day for a couple years, and even though it's been such a long time since we've seen each other, she has remained in my mind, a shining star, a soft wind, and a bit of sunlight. Her name was -is- Liz. It is odd to talk about her in the past tense. It's not that I can't conceive of her being gone, but more that I can't imagine than death is the end for her soul. She was such a bright spirit, and I have to keep believing that somehow, somewhere, there is still Liz-ness in the universe. Therefore, all that she was, she is, and I will speak of her with no tense at all, for it is her immortal part of which I speak.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Family (mom had the camera)


Family (mom had the camera)
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-Nine / Fifty-two 9.24.10 - 9.30.10
I went home this weekend for a fairly major event. My father was playing a show at the Kent Stage with the band Two Worlds Collide as part of The Debacle, a two-day shindig consisting of 17 bands from the late 70's and early 80's Kent-Akron area music scene. Jen and I flew in for the event, because it was not an extended weekend. We stayed at my grandmother's house, which was nice, and we spent a good chunk of Saturday at Stan Hywet, which was awesome, because I got to take a good bunch of photos. The best part of the weekend was that no one knew that Jenny was in town, so when we pulled up in front of my parents' house and she got out of the car my father literally jumped up and down, because he was so happy to see her. It was super-cute, and I was so glad we were able to be there for him.

The View From My Desk


The View From My Desk
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-eight/ Fifty-two 9.17.10 - 9.23.10 (Ignore the date on the board!)

This is the front of my classroom this year. I've tried to do a better job of making it visually appealing to my students, but also useful. I'm really rocking the blue tape this time around.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

For Liz

Let me be clear - Liz and I were never lovers. I never did kiss her. But I did love her, deeply, dearly, in the way that one loves the sun on your face, or the wind in the trees. Liz, to me, was a force of nature, an endless stream of possibilities, and I loved her in my own way. And so, I offer her, and those who also loved her, these lines from Pablo Neruda.


XX Tonight I Can Write...

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is shattered

and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I help her in my arms.

I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes, I loved her too.

How could one not love her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Ti think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.

And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.

The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.

My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight searches for her as though to go to her.

My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.

We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.

My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.

Her voice. Her bright body. He infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.

Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms

my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain she makes me suffer

and these the last verses that I write for her.


Friday, September 17, 2010

The Front Garden


The Front Garden
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-seven/ Fifty-two 9.10.10-9.16.10

Today's (this being Sunday) big project was ripping out the ugly front garden and starting again. There were pricker-bushes all along the lower step of the garden that were a) ugly b) hard to prune c) hiding the hydrangeas. They've been replaced with lavender and asters.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Old Art in a New Home


Old Art in a New Home
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-Six/ Fifty-Two 9.3.10 - 9.9.10

Julia Anich Hull, wife, mother, Professor Emeritus, and force of nature, died Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

She was born in Akron to Nick and Mary Anich September 2nd, 1923, their second oldest. She spoke Serbo-Croatian until she began public school where she learned English, as children will, given a chance. Because of her experiences, especially with her first and eighth grade teachers, she determined to join their ranks as an educator.

She graduated from East High in 1941. Despite her grandmother’s derision, with the moral support of her father she enrolled at the University of Akron and began taking education classes. It was with a heavy heart that she determined that there was no way in hell she could stick out that course of study, basket weaving being her particular bane, and so she became an English major, abandoning all hopes of teaching.

After graduation she cast about as the job market for English majors then was about as bleak as it remains. Then she did what all English majors do: applied to Graduate school. Whilst retrieving her transcript one spring day in 1947, she bumped into the English Department Head. He inquired with a straight face whether she had found employment and told her of his dire need for bodies to throw before the flood of returning veterans attending college under the GI bill.

She took up the task of teaching men older than she who had seen the ravages of war (and the actual buildings they would read about). She bunked in an office with her former professors which was intimidating in the extreme. As the end of the term approached, she asked her mentor, Ruth Putman, whether she thought that they would keep her on. Ruth replied, in her Alabama drawl, “Oh, Joo’ya, you just stay until they tell you to leave.” And so she did for the next 43 years.

Having already applied to Western Reserve University for graduate work, and in spite of the fact that she had actually managed to land a job, she began taking classes. A part timer in the English department, John Hull, offered to drive her to Cleveland since he was studying there as well. After the first trip she returned home and told her older sister “I’m going to marry him.” John evidently did not get that memo.

They worked together, rode together, and socialized together for years while she finished her MA but it was only after a drunken party at the home of Leonard and Nellie Bertsch that he got up the nerve to propose. She said yes. He threw up on the way home. She cried herself to sleep. However, with her father’s blessing they wed and their marriage was a match for the ages, still remarked upon. They brought out the best in each other. “Cut off in the flower of his youth,” John died October 2, 1971 after a prolonged illness leaving Julia alone as the single mother of their only child, Jane Alexandra, nearly thirteen.

Julia had a great ability to communicate her enthusiasm for literature and the arts. She coached the debate team, helped start The Johnson Club, an academic social club, advised Alpha Lambda Delta, Freshman scholastic honorary, performed in faculty plays, taught literature, drama, poetry, and Western Culture, and almost always got stuck with at least one Freshman Comp class until she was so old that they felt sorry for her and stopped assigning it to her.

She had an extraordinary combination of kindness and sardonic wit, yet a sharp eye for the ridiculous and the despicable. She loathed faculty meetings although she enjoyed her colleagues--many as friends and some as cannon fodder. As her niece put it, “When she comes at you with open arms you are never sure whether you are walking into a hug or a propeller.” She enjoyed argument, that which weaker personalities call “fighting.” She loved art and cooking and was happily making French food after that other Julia’s book came out. She enjoyed music and was very grateful that her husband faithfully supported the nascent Akron Symphony since she found it painful to listen to in the early years and didn’t want to go. She loved to travel and had an unerring sense of direction: she was always exactly wrong, which, if you consider, is as good as being always exactly right. She enjoyed torturing her daughter with art and architecture lessons whenever they traveled (Clerestory, mom. Flying buttresses. Barrel vault...)

She was lucky enough to find a neighborhood of loving and fun friends and she lived there from 1956 until she died. She was an avid gardener, antique hunter, and fixer-upper. The parties with the Slocums and Gentners were some of her fondest times. There was the Momus Club, a monthly gathering of faculty for the purpose of food, merriment, and argument (fighting). All in all, not a bad life for a girl from east Akron whose funny name kept her from rushing any of the sororities at Akron U.

Dr. Johnson wrote, “While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it.” The grief is fresh for those who cared for Julia through the brutal affliction of Alzheimer’s Disease: close friend and devoted caregiver Millie McMasters, care-givers neighbor Nicole Flower and Shelby Black, faithful sister-in-law Marilyn Smith who made Thursday meals her mission and delivered Sunday flowers regularly. Other members of Julia’s care-team have included John Wiandt, Dave Stevenson, Joni James, Amy Kobb, and Julia’s neighbor of 54 years, Marge Slocum. Each of them provided exactly what was needed at exactly the right time. The family is grateful to Sue McCausland from Aseracare Hospice for her compassion during Julia’s last few days and the doctors of Ghent Family Practice for the amazing care and support they have provided throughout the last six years, especially to Dr. Pirozzi who is wise enough to know that you can’t thwart death.

Burying friend and family alike, Julia saw herself as “the last leaf on the tree,” leaving behind her only remaining sibling, younger sister Bonnie Uher, along with numerous nieces and nephews of both sword and distaff sides, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, friends, students, and colleagues. She is survived by daughter Jane Alexandra and her family: Arthur, Susan, Sarah, Stefan, Jenny, Lori, and Lucy- The- Wondercat.

Julia would not approve of wasting money on flowers. Make donations to the Friends of the Akron University Library, the Wright Scholarship established by Ruth Clinefelter to support women studying Classics, Archaeology, History, or Women’s Studies, the Summit County Historical Society, Visiting Nurse Hospice, or the Alzheimer’s Association’s Research Fund at www.alz.org. She wanted no money to be donated directly to the University of Akron except to established funds for specific purposes. She did not approve of, and refused to support, the commercialization of education and the degradation of faculty that she perceived had occurred over the past three administrations at Akron U.

It was Julia’s direction that she die in her own bed at home and then be cremated. She has been obeyed.

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. ~ The Winter's Tale, IV.2

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Temple Door


Temple Door
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thiry-five/ Fifty-two 8.27.10 - 9.2.10

One of the places I've intended to go for the past few months is to the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. Jenny and I have been collecting money on an altar, which we took to donate. They don't allow photographs inside the temple, but they said I was welcome to wander the grounds and take photos of the outside of the building. This is one of the doors to the Durga-Shiva-Ganesh temple. It was absolutely impossible to capture just how beautiful the place was, but I was particularly intrigued by the mandala painted on the ground in front of the door. I would like to paint something like that somewhere around my house some day.

Shadow Reflections


Shadow Reflections
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-four/ Fifty-two 8.20.10 -8.26.10

Audition day at Chicago Shakespeare! It was also Tall Ships weekend, so the Pier was crazy, but we managed to get there early enough to get a decent parking space. You can see my reflection in between the reflections of two other ensemble members. We were all waiting up on the 6th floor of CST for our turns to audition. I don't know what parts I have yet, but I should know within a couple weeks!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Cicada


Cicada
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-three/ Fifty-two 8.13.10 - 8.19.10

Sometimes it's the little things, like walking out the door and seeing a cicada or a new flower, that make a week worthwhile. This week has been odd. I'm eager to get back to teaching, and I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do with my classes and my classroom this school year, but I can't enact any of them until at least Tuesday of next week. I am not a patient person, and though I'm getting better at waiting for things to happen, I still would rather be doing something. So these small moments when I can stop planning and thinking are nice. Little, delicate moments that give me a chance to breathe and enjoy the beauty in the world have been few and far between this summer, and I cherish the ones I do have.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Fairy House with Mushrooms


Fairy House with Mushrooms
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-two/ Fifty two 8.6.10 - 8.12.10

The moment I saw these mushrooms, I knew I had to get some for the fairy house. There are four different ones - the purple one is camouflaged. I got them at a craft fair at Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN. That trip, plus a lot of work on the garden have been the highlights of my week. For the most part, it has been too hot to be outside, so I've been confined to the house. I've spent a lot of time reading and wishing I could enjoy the yard more, having done so much work on it. Next week should be more comfortable though.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier


Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty-one/ Fifty-two 7.30.10 - 8.5.10

I spent Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. At the end of the school year I was invited to select some students and bring them, and myself, to participate in a program called CPS Shakespere, wherein teachers and students form an ensemble cast that puts on an abridged version of a Shakespeare play on the CTS mainstage. It is the only time in the entire year when students are allowed on the stage, so it's a very big deal.

The first week was spent doing a lot of ensemble-building and familiarizing the students with the play and the process of reading and analyzing a Shakespearean text. I've been keeping a journal, most of which I won't share, but here's an excerpt if you're interested:

"8.2.10
I got out to the theater early again, so I spent time wandering and taking pictures. After coffee (very bad coffee, by the way) we went downstairs and actually got to get on the stage. it's still set up for the family show that's in the space right now, but we were able to get used to moving around. Being a klutz, I of course tripped the first time I walked up the stairs onto the stage. =) After warm-ups we went on a tour of the theater, which I've been on before, but it was still neat to be in the non-audience space. Also, it gave me ideas for some things I want to try next year in terms of my theater program.

We spent the afternoon doing text work, and on my part, fighting off a headache. It's so cool to see the students taking Shakespeare and understanding it a line at a time. I have a much better sense now of how to approach script reading next year, and I'm excited to tackle teaching Shakespeare again. I'm trying to decide between A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. We didn't get to do combat today, and probably won't again until October, but it was still a good day."

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Looking Up


Looking Up
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Thirty/ Fifty-two 7.23.10 - 7.29.10

I love this photo representing this week for two reasons. First, because I took it on a day when important but risky things were happening. Even though I should have been very nervous, I was able to lie on the grass in the park and relax. As I lay on the grass my worries and fears seemed to melt away. Second, this image represents a sense of hopefulness to me. The sun. the green, the looking upward, all seem so positive to me, and positive is definitely important in my life right now.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Magic: The Gathering


Magic: The Gathering
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Twenty-nine/ Fifty-two 7.16.10 - 7.22.10
Recently I've started getting interested in Magic: The Gathering again. Jen and I have been to the comic shop three times this week. The first time we bought basic decks. The second time we got booster packs. And the third time we started looking at the individual cards. Currently we're each winning about half of the games. Here's the dining room table, at the conclusion of a game.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My Eye, Post-Surgery


My Eye, Post-Surgery
Originally uploaded by ninniane

Twenty-eight/ Fifty-two 7.9.10 - 7.15.10

I had eyelid surgery yesterday (7.12.10) to correct "congenital ptosis of the left upper eyelid". Basically that means that my left eyelid droops (well, drooped, anyway) and impaired my vision. Once this heals I'll see whether I can see better. The stitches come out next week on Wednesday (7.21.10).

The experience of the surgery itself wasn't too bad, though there were moments that were slightly unnerving. The surgeon used a local anesthetic, so I was awake through the procedure, albeit with one of those paper napkins over my face. The worst part was the shot for the anesthetic itself - I really, really hate needles, and it doesn't matter if I can't see them. The stabby feeling of the needle was very icky. Beyond that, every time the surgeon did something that should have hurt, I just felt pressure, but I felt it all through the back of my nose and in my teeth. I kept saying "ouch" because, quite frankly, feeling pressure in my teeth was painful!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

There, and Back


There, and Back
Originally uploaded by ninniane

I've spent the last week in Boston, cameraless. The lack of camera was a conscious choice, since I knew that I was going to be staying indoors most of the time, and that I wasn't going to have the chance to get out and sightsee. A part of me is very glad I didn't take it, as it would have been just one more thing to carry, but another part of me is sad that I didn't have it with me, because there were a variety of interesting retro-styled things where I was staying that I would have liked to have taken photos of for my "oldness" set.

Mostly I spent my time in Boston reading my book and working on my counted cross-stitch. There was also a daily trip to the swimming pool. I briefly revived my interest in Red Sox baseball until they got swept by Tampa Bay, at which point I turned my attention to the Tour de France. I do enjoy watching cycling, though it's not something I want to do myself. Jen is trying to encourage me to try it, but it just doesn't appeal.