Yesterday we decided to take a drive to Montague and have lunch at the Bookmill. The Bookmill is an old grist mill in Montague (about 15 miles north of Northampton) that’s been converted into a cafe, used bookstore, used music store, and antique shop. It’s a really cool place. The dining area overlooks the river. With the window open beside our table we enjoyed lunch to the sound of running water. After, we took some family photos.
The day after M, D, M, & C arrived, we rented a minivan and drove out to the coast. At Plum Island, some people got wet in the Atlantic Ocean. We saw a lighthouse in Gloucester, and then drove to Marblehead for an evening stroll through the town. Marblehead has an amazing number of original houses dating back to the 1700s. Then we got back in the van and drove through the “Big Dig” in downtown Boston on our way back home.
So yesterday I submitted my Starred Paper. Over the last two weeks, I and several of my peers repeatedly threatened to quit grad school. Now that the papers are submitted, we get to wait for the results. Once we get the results, several of us may do more than merely threaten to quit grad school. (Sigh) Anyway, now it’s on to other things…like hosting my inlaws for a week. They’ll be arriving later today. A lot of fun that will be. (My inlaws read this blog and know that I’m kidding…I hope.)
So after some helpful tips from Quiltpixie I am learning how to applique. The pieces don’t always turn out on the angle that I had planned, but isn’t it the imperfections that give character. I have a feeling that it may take me a while to finish this project, but it is a great thing to do when you only have a few minutes.
As Lowell said in the previous post the pressure is on. However my boys still want to find time to hang out with each other, so here L is ‘helping’ Dad grade exams.
We now have a new camera to take pictures with, but little time to experiment with a variety of subject matter, so here is another picture of the most entertaining thing in our lives.
So next week Friday I have to submit my first “Starred Paper” to the philosophy department. Before I finish my pre-dissertation requirements, I will have to submit one more. The philosophy department uses these papers to see who, among the grad students in the program, is capable of doing PhD-dissertation-quality work. Historically, people who have done poorly on these papers have had their funding levels reduced in the following semesters. The pressure is on.
Anyway, I have to get back to work. I can’t get back to polishing my Starred Paper till I’ve finished grading the stack of Introduction to Ethics exams I have beside me–all 200 of them.
I found an interesting bit of news today. CBC is reporting that somebody (or a couple of somebodies) stole some road-working equipment in Saskatchewan including a grader and a bulldozer. The person who stole the bulldozer drove it to a nearby farmyard and bulldozed a vacant house on the property. The person who stole the grader did some “roadwork” on a nearby farmyard. Imagine coming home and discovering that somebody had bulldozed some buildings on your yard while you were away.
It’s that time of year again. Taxes are due and it’s crunch time at the university. Pam does the taxes (and seemingly everything else around here) and I write the papers.
Do those papers look familiar? They’re from Canada. Oh and get this. Apparently, I am a Canadian resident, but Pam isn’t. How does that work? I guess we have an interesting family. I’m a Canadian resident that doesn’t live in Canada; Pam is a Canadian American resident; and L is an American born to Canadian parents. Would anyone like to do our taxes for us?
Here Dad is saying goodbye before heading off to teach.
