Report on a Great Week-End

We had a great week-end, which in was an unexpected gift for the week-end before grades are due.  We started off on Friday night by driving up to Boynton Beach to meet an old friend from undergraduate school.  It was great to reconnect.

At some point during the day on Friday, I realized that our phone service wasn't working.  Oddly, we still had Internet connection; usually we lose both.  Ordinarily, we'd turn the modem on and off to see if we could restore phone service.  Since we need an Internet connection both to grade and to turn in grades, we decided not to take that approach, for fear of losing the Internet too.

Knowing that we could have problems at any time gave me motivation to get my grades done earlier rather than later--at least the grading of the last batch of essays.  Turning in the grades doesn't take as long--at least when things are going well.

We did other things this week-end:  I went to have a haircut, and we spent some time by the pool on Saturday.  We replaced the empty propane tanks with full ones.  On Saturday afternoon, we had a person pressure wash the pavers in the back yard.  I had no idea how dirty they had gotten.

Of course, much of that gunk washed into the pool, so it's good we planned to grade all afternoon on Sunday, since it wouldn't be a pool day.  After I got my grades turned in, we walked to the beach, and when we saw the empty table at Margaritaville, we decided to have a drink.  It was a great reminder of why it can be wonderful to live here.

I got some creative time too.  On Saturday, I started a new file and put poems for a possible new collection into it.  I find it enjoyable to look at old poems--I'm often amazed at what I've accomplished.  I need to look through my poetry legal pads and make sure there aren't any Jesus-in-the-world poems that need to be typed in.

On Sunday morning, I ordered a small purse from a friend's Etsy site.  She publicized the site on Facebook, and I suggested the wristlet be made with an outside zipper pocket and a longer strap to hang over one's shoulder while grocery shopping.  I loved picking out fabric.  That felt creative too.

And then I went to church to lead a mosaic project; go to this post on my theology blog to see more.  I even got to do a glass block, and I loved it.  I've done mosaic before and loved it--the difference this time is that we don't need to worry about grout, which is the part of mosaics I like least.

It's been a wonderful week-end--let me hope to carry some of its spirit into the week.