Ramblings

Somehow it has been hard to return to the ol' blog. It would be wrong to refer to the following as "highlights"--they are ordinary events--but that's about all that has been going on the last few weeks.

• Remember the plants that I grew from seeds I found in Australia? The seeds were in pods on the ground under this bush with wonderfully perfumed flowers. I asked my son to find out the name of the plant, if he could. Yesterday he told me it was jasmine. Hmm. OK, jasmine grows like a vine and does not produce seed pods. So this seedling of which I have five iterations apparently came from the seeds of a tree above the jasmine shrub. I still don't know what it is. One pot is in my study; the plant is doing well. One pot is in the sun room and it is doing fairly well. One pot is outside and the stripling endured last night's snow very well. Whatever it is, it's hardy. Here is a close-up of the top of the plant. The leaves grow in pairs which close at night and pop open in the morning. Strange.


• We didn't leave town for Thanksgiving. My sister had invited us for dinner at her house (outskirts of Austin) and my brother said we could stay overnight at his house (San Antonio). Very kind of them, but the weather here threatened snow and the idea of driving down there at night in the snow (and returning in similar weather) was sufficiently offputting that we declined. Cat would not have been able to get off on Wednesday anyway (to make the 6-hour drive). When some friends from church invited us to eat at their house, we agreed. On Tuesday evening I got a message that the cabin near Santa Fe NM which had our name on the wait list (since summer) was suddenly available. No, we did not change all our plans and drive into the teeth of the storm just to get to a cabin in the snowy woods all to ourselves. How would I explain that to my siblings?


• I got out the Christmas tree and added lights. Now it will be time for Cat to hang the ornaments. Sometimes she lets me help with that. We bought some 12" long glass "icicles" from a company that was going out of business; they should be a nice addition. I am taking the chili pod lights to my office to decorate. I like to keep it interesting.


• Now I have to go finish grading papers and projects from my church history class. They give me a headache. Do American high school students learn how to read (with understanding)? I am beginning to doubt it. How I long to discover a student who really understands research and analysis. OK, enough whining--now for grading.