Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Fall Break

Professors and teachers look forward to fall break more than the students. I have been in both roles, and I really do look forward to the extra days off more as a professor. Our fall break started Saturday and extended to Monday and Tuesday. So what did I do over my fall break?

1.) Laundry - Saturday was a beautiful, warm, sunny, windy day. Perfect for hanging laundry out on the line. The clothes line is one of the things I love most about our abode. And hanging the laundry our has become one of my favorite chores. It seems strange to me that something I enjoy so much is a symbol of domestic drudgery. I enjoy figuring out how to fit all the clothes on, I love seeing the colors grouped together (the red load, the blue load, etc.), I love watching the clothes flapping in the wind. I also like that hanging the clothes, in a very small way, offsets the extra fossil fuels I now have to spend driving to and from work 15 miles away.


2.) Mowed the lawn - Well, my husband did most of the work on this. But I wanted to mention it here, as this is another way I try to offset my addition greenhouse gas emissions. For the last 7 years, we had lived in apartments or duplexes where we were not responsible for the yard work. In our new abode, we do have to take care of the lawn. I really wanted a "Leave-it-to-Beaver" reel push mower. So we got one. And I love it. No keeping gas in the garage, no fumes while mowing, and no noise! I love how quite this mower is. I could mow the lawn at 6 am or 11 pm, if I so desired. Which, when summertime temps hit 95+ F, may not be such a bad idea.


3.) A personal fiber fest - I did use some of the extra time off to do some knitting and spinning. I mostly knit on the Clementine Shawlette. But I spent more time spinning. I guess I could take pictures of my spinning as well as my knitting. Something to consider. I am currently spinning a three-ply yarn out of a beautiful blue roving I bought at the Yarn Barn in Lawrence Kansas. Pictures will be forthcoming.


4.) Visited friends in Lawrence - Even though Monday was a gray and rainy day, we took the 1 hour trip back to Lawrence to visit friends there. I had a great time catching up with people. We had a lovely dinner with friends at a local Mexican Restaurant, even though the food was bland.

5.) Catching up on work stuff - No so much fun, but it is nice to get to have an extra day with no teaching to get caught up with work.

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