Saturday, April 30, 2011

Container Gardens 2011

Every year I plant small containers for the steps in the front and back of my house. Here is this year's edition!

Back Deck
Back Deck Stairs

Deck Container 1

Deck Container 2

Fairy Garden
Fairy House

Front Steps
Front Stairs

Front Container 1

Front Container 2

Friday, April 29, 2011

Is Saying "TGIF" Too Cliche?

Usually Fridays aren't super-special for me. Weekends are nice, but teaching is a career where weekends aren't actually time off. They are time to grade papers and plan lessons, and maybe get a few extra hours of sleep, but there's always something work-related to be done. This weekend, there is not. Not really, anyway. I've got to plan for next week, and write up an assignment for a paper my students are supposed to be working on, but other than that, I've very little to do, and it's a lovely feeling. I've been in crafter-mode for most of the last week, and I want to keep going with that. Plus, this weekend is Beltane, and I want to be free to celebrate. I bought a new altar cloth a few days ago, and I am going to make some time on Sunday to have a fire in the evening.

The sun is finally shining, and I feel so much more energized than I have in a while. I want to open all the windows in my house and let SPRING in. I want to clean things! The office needs my attention, and the garden is waiting. I've got so many small things to work on, and still a big craft project that I want to put together. Also, I want to go antiquing. This probably won't happen, since A) I don't need anything, and B) no one here will go with me, but it's still a nice thought. I like looking at old, pretty things, and imagining new lives for them. The only thing I can think of that I could claim to need are bookshelves, and maybe a new desk for the office. The old one is in pretty sad condition, but replacing it needs to be negotiated. Perhaps I will go bookshelf-hunting...

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Another Finished Project!

I finished another project today. Beginning to end, this one took me all of 45 minutes.

Change

The piece is called Change.

I used a one-and-a-half-inch square frame pendant for this little book. The paper is from JoAnn Fabrics, and the butterflies are actuallu part of a sticker border from the scrapbooking supplies at Michael's. Then I stamped each page in gold in with a letter: C-H-A-N-G-E, and went over the ink with a black Sharpie. The three little crystals on the front are Swarovski, which were a gift someone brought me from Italy. The lyrics on the page also tie into the theme of change; they say, "Silver and gold. Silver and gold. Darling I'm growing, growing old."

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Another Missed Monday

This is the second week in a row that I've skipped my Monday posting. Honestly, I just didn't think about it. I mostly spent the day trying to get papers graded, as I did no work over break. Today is much the same, grading papers and trying to start organizing my room for the end of the year. The amount of paper that I need to sort through is overwhelming. A lot of it I can probably throw away, but I have yet to come up with a good system for storing extra copies of worksheets and assignments that aren't digital. Maybe I can just toss them all, since I have digital copies, but it seems wasteful to get rid of blank worksheets.

This post is definitely a case of posting because I'm "supposed to" post on Monday. Such is life, but I think the discipline of writing, even though I don't have a lot I want to talk about, is important.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Closer Look

New Orleans Assemblage

Finished assemblage!

A List of Projects is a List of Dreams

One of the things I love about being an artist is that there's really never an end to making things. Even if one project isn't taking my attention, something else is. There are a lot of projects currently in the works including my Yes I Am photo project, my New Orleans vacation assemblage, and my coconut shell mobile.

Then there are the half-abandoned projects, like the numerous half-completed counted cross stitch pieces I have sitting around. The pile of books I started reading that I want to go back to. The home improvement ideas that range from "almost done" to "just a sketch on paper". The stories I've started writing and never finished.

And then there's the list of Things I'd Like To Do Some Day. The list is always evolving. Sometimes I add things, sometimes I outgrow ideas and I remove them. There are no rules for this list. This is the list that keeps me going. Some ideas are fully formed, but just not ready to begin. Other ideas are nothing more than wisps. A color. A texture. A word. A line of a song. Sometimes I think about all the things I'd like to do and it seems so overwhelming. There's no way I'm going to get all these things done in my lifetime. But that's ok. That's not the point. The point is that these projects are dreams, and my dreams are what keeps me going.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Last Day

Today is my last day in Boston, and it has come too soon in some ways, and not soon enough in others. I miss my house - my gardens, my pets, and my craft work are waiting for me to come back to them. I've got papers to grade and lessons to prepare for teaching days next week. It's weird to think that I have to go back to school on Monday. This is "testing week", which means that there will be a practice test, plus two days of exams, plus the seniors have one of their events, which I'm helping to chaperone. It'll be a busy week, but I won't have a lot of days of classes.

Today's romp was along Newbury St. in Boston, and a little bit around whatever they call their version of Little Italy here. I was hoping to score some really good finds at The Closet on Newbury St., but the two items I tried on didn't work out. The jacket I liked looked much better on the rack than it did on me (pity, really, it was Armani black label), and the skirt I tried on didn't fit. I did end up getting a couple things from another store - a lovely green pashama scarf and a not-teal-but-not-mint-green colored hoodie that says "Boston Massachusetts" on it. I'd hoped to have more time to poke around, but between the wind and the lack of public washrooms, coming back to where I'm staying and relaxing for a bit before dinner sounded like a good idea.

And now, it is time for that dinner!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Adventure of the Day

Today's adventure turned out to be a not-entirely-disappointing trip to Patriot Place, the mall next to Gillette Stadium. From the way it was being talked up, I thought that this would be something awesome to see, but in truth, it was a sad little group of stores. Granted there were a few I'd never heard of, but it was still nothing spectacular. The highlight of the trip was the 1/2-mile hiking path around the cranberry bog that's behind the Bass Pro Shops. I took some halfway decent photos, and though it's still not quite decided to be spring here, it's definitely thinking about the possibility. So, here are couple acceptably interesting photos from today's adventure.

It's Trying To Be Spring
It's Trying To Be Spring

Little Secrets
Little Secrets

This, My Friends, Is A Cranberry Bog Out of Season
This, My Friends, Is A Cranberry Bog Out of Season

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spring Break Is Never Sunny

I skipped my Monday posting because I am on vacation, and I found other ways to spend my time. Currently I'm in Boston, but I started my day yesterday in Groton, CT. We flew out on Sunday, landed at Boston-Loagn, got in the car, and went to Connecticut. We went to the MGM Grand, where I won $40, and then had dinner in Mystic, CT. We spent the night at a Best Western, and ended up going to the Submarine Force Library & Museum on Monday morning.

The submarine museum was actually really cool. I'd been on an old submarine a few times before because the Museum of Science and Industry has the U-505 boat that you can take tours of. The submarine at this museum was the USS Nautilus. It's American, not German, and it was newer than the U-505. The Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine. It could travel at a speed of 16 knots for extended periods of time while completely submerged, running on a lump of uranium the size of a golf ball weighing two pounds. The idea that something the size of a golf ball could be dense enough to weigh two pounds still boggles me a little bit. I'm trying to imagine picking it up, and how the heft of it would be in my hand, and I just can't quite wrap my mind around it. The closest comparison I have is handling a ball bearing.

While we were at the submarine museum we saw an actual submarine coming into the base. The training facility for all submariners is right next to the museum, which makes sense, all things considered. There are photos of the museum and the submarine on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninniane/sets/72157626402276945/

Today it's rainy and fairly chilly (high of 50, feels like 45), so I've elected to stay inside and read Stephen King's Under the Dome, and periodically check facebook and flickr. Sadly, my vacation fu regarding weather hasn't been all that good recently. It hasn't been terrible either, but I've managed to end up in places for vacation that ought to be nice (LA for Christmas, Boston at the end of April), and instead I've been cursed with rain, rain, and more rain. Additionally, I've managed to get at least mildly ill at the start of each of the last several vacations. Over Christmas it was two days over serious flu-like symptoms, and then a couple days to recover. This time, thankfully, it's just a sore throat and a bit of a stuffy head, but it's still irritating. It makes me more inclined to sleep than to adventure.

Still, I did get to meet up with an old friend last night. James, who I know from high school, and his girlfriend, and I went to dinner at a place called The Foundry. I had a lovely beet salad, a wonderful cheese plate, and a glass of Riesling. It also got to try a sip of absinthe, which was very delicious. I could get used to drinking it, I think. The ritual of the spoon, the sugar cube, and the water appeals to me, and although I'm not fond of black licorice generally, this is sweet enough and complex enough that I like it.

Friday, April 15, 2011

TODAY I AM SILENT...

Does "talking" via the internet count? I can't decide. The point of the Day of Silence is to demonstrate what happens to a society where people are silenced because of who they are and who they love. Therefore, it seems like any kind of communication ought to be kept to a minimum. At the same time, I feel that, the more people who know about the day, who understand what it means, the more awareness is raised.


Why Does It Matter?

Here are just a few statistics from http://www.pflagphoenix.org/education/youth_stats.html

* Suicide is the leading cause of death among gay and lesbian youth.
* Gay and lesbian youth are 2 to 6 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth.
* Over 30% of all reported teen suicides each year are committed by gay and lesbian youth.
* Approximately 28% of gay and lesbian youth drop out of high school because of discomfort (due to verbal and physical abuse) in the school environment.
* Gay and lesbian youth’s discomfort stems from fear of name calling and physical harm.
* Gay and lesbian youth are at greater risk for school failure than heterosexual children. Academic failure, lack of student involvement and low commitment to school are profound for gay and lesbian youth because schools are neither safe, healthy nor productive places for them to learn.
* Teenage students (gay AND straight) say the worst harassment in school is being called ‘gay’.
* In a national survey, youth (gay AND straight) described being called “lesbian” or “gay” as the most deeply upsetting form of sexual harassment they experienced.
* Gay students hear anti-gay slurs as often as 26 times each day; faculty intervention occurs in only about 3% of those cases.
* In Seattle, 34% of students who described themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported being the target of anti-gay harassment or violence at school or on the way to or from school, compared to 6% of heterosexual students.
* Gay and lesbian youth live, work and attempt to learn in constant fear of physical harm at school.
* 27% of gay and lesbian youth have been physically hurt by another student.
* In 53 schools in Washington State, 77 incidents of anti-gay harassment and violence have been reported in the past 3 years, with 34 of these incidents (44%) serious enough to warrant possible criminal allegations.


How I Am Involved

This is my second year as a full participant in the Day of Silence. I teach all day without talking. I use a combination of writing on the white board and pantomime to get my kids focused and working for the day. Even though it's supposed to be a "youth movement", I think it's important for youth to have adults who actively demonstrate their support of the activity and the people who are participating in it.


Here's the spiel:

On the National Day of Silence hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.

Today I am silent. I am silent to show my support of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth. I am joining many people nationally to protest the harassment, inequality, prejudice, discrimination, and violence faced by LGBT youth in schools.


INFO ABOUT THE DAY OF SILENCE From http://www.dayofsilence.org/content/getinformation.html

Sponsored by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the National Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across the country take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. Through their activities students can speak out against harassment and organize for change for their schools and communities.

The Day of Silence is a Tool for Change. Organizing a Day of Silence (DOS) activity or event can be a positive tool for change-both personally and community-wide. By taking a vow of silence, you're making a powerful statement about the important issue of anti-LGBT bullying. When you organize others to join you that message becomes louder and louder. You can use this attention as a building block in your plans for larger action.

The Serpent and The Panther

This is the current working title for a project that doesn't exist yet. A lot of times, my projects start like this; a name, with no substance. I remember that once upon a time my mother and I decided that if I ever were to write a book, I'd title it All The Things A Little White Girl From Indiana Can't Do, and it would be a collection of stories about growing up as a radical liberal in conservative Indianapolis. I had the name for a rock band in my head for a while, but I've forgotten what it was. Every few months I think up a new name for an album that now-nameless band might release.

In other news, today is the Day of Silence. That's going to get its own post.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I'd Rather Be Gardening

The days before spring break always seem so interminably long. It's wearying to be sitting in a classroom watching the light move across the sky outside, while I am surrounded by papers and books, and am as distracted by thoughts of vacation as my students are. Even the most hardened and studious of academics would have a difficult time ignoring the allure of blue skies and 60-degree days.

Yesterday I taught two classes outside, and tomorrow I'll do the same. It helps somewhat, though I'd rather be gardening than overseeing my students' activities. At least we can all get some light and some fresh air.

Monday, April 11, 2011

The "YES I AM" Project

I've wanted to do a project like this for a while now: Select an album and create a set of photographs, one for each track on the album. There are several classic albums that people on flickr have done, but I haven't really gone looking at them. I want this project to be uninfluenced by anything other than my mind, my memories, and my music.

The album I've chosen to work with is Melissa Etheridge's "Yes I Am". It came out just as I was starting high school, and it, in many ways, echoes much of what I was going through as I was trying to find my way in terms of my spirituality, my sexuality, and my place in not-quite-adult society. This is also the album the prompted me to learn to play the guitar.

Here is the track list and the related lines of inspiration:

1. I'm The Only One: "Please baby, can't you see/ My mind's a burning hell..."
2. If I Wanted To: "There'd never be another woman who could make you think twice..."
3. Come To My Window: "I don't care what they think/ I don't care what they say..."
4. Silent Legacy: "You are digging for the answers/ Until your fingers bleed/ To satisfy the hunger/ To satiate the need..."
5. I Will Never Be The Same: "In the morning of the night/ You cried, a long-lost child/ And I tried, oh I tried to hold you/ But you were young and your were wild..."
6. Yes I Am: "In these days and these hours of fury/ When the darkness and answers are thin/ Lovers come and check out in a hurry/ Shallow and hollow again..."
7. All American Girl: "A decaf coffee in her hand/ And a Marlboro red..."
8. Resist: "A demon's day in madness kissed/ I swear I never had it like this/ Forbidden, yet I cannot resist..."
9. Ruins: "I will crawl through my past/ Over stones, blood, and glass/ In the ruins/ Reaching under the fence/ As I try to make sense/ In the ruins..."
10. Talking To My Angel: "I've always had to run/ I don't know just why/ Desire slowly smoking/ Under the Midwest sky/ But there's something waiting out there/ That says I have to try/ I've been talking to my angel/ And she says that it's all right..."

It may take me a very long time to get all the photos for this done. I know how I want them to look, and I'm not sure how to pull some of them off without a lot of help. I either need someone to be a model, or someone to be a photographer who can pull off the shots I describe while I model.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Mundane

I'm feeling distressingly mundane this evening. It's Monday, and that means journal day, but I don't feel enthusiastic about it. Driving home from getting my taxes done, I was thinking about just how lovely the budding trees looked against the sky, but there doesn't seem to be much to say about it beyond, "Oh. Pretty."

Mostly right now I'm just thinking about money and my cat. My cat, Moe, had a urinary tract blockage yesterday, and had to go to the emergency vet, The vet put a catheter in, did blood work, and generally cared for him overnight; he went back to the regular vet this morning. He's still there, and the vet took the catheter out, but he's not eating yet, which worries me a little. It looks like he's going to need a surgery that costs $2,000 to resolve this issue, as this is the second time it has happened in under a year. He's already been put on special food, and that didn't help as much as it should have. He might do better with wet food, so that's the next change. I also bought him a new water dish; he prefers to drink from the running tap, but I hope he'll drink from this dish as well.

So, between thinking about Moe-cat, getting my taxes done, and being three weeks away from my students taking the ACT, I'm in the land of stress and worry. It's not a nice place to visit, and I hope I get to leave soon.