Mid-December Snippets

I am more tired than I expected to be this morning.  But let me record a few snippets here and there, just so that I don't lose them:

--We are under a winter weather advisory tonight into tomorrow.  Even if it's not icy, it will be rainy.  So I decided that today should be a day of multiple walks, longer walks if possible.  I went out this morning before dawn--all the better to see some Christmas lights.  Magical!  I did have to wear my down jacket for the first time, and it worked beautifully.  I also wore the hat and scarf that a Create in Me retreat friend sent me--perfect!

--I finished reading Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Tower last night.  It wasn't nearly as compelling as it was when I first read it in high school.  I found it in a little free library back in October, and I was so happy to find it.  I do feel a bit of sorrow that I didn't love it as much as I remember.  I have revisited it before and liked it.  I'm not sure what changed this time.

--I turned in my research paper for Pastoral Care and Counseling class yesterday afternoon.  It was over 15 pages and full of scholarly citations.  It seems to do what the assignment asks.   But I find this professor difficult to anticipate in terms of what he says he wants and what gets rewarded.  He said that he expected graduate level work, which meant we needed to go beyond the books for the class, that we needed to demonstrate that we had done research.  So, I did the old-fashioned kind, in the library with books written on paper, and the 21st century kind, getting books and journal articles electronically.  I have used the research to support what I'm saying, not to supplant what I'm saying.  Fingers crossed--I have checked and doublechecked and revised and tinkered, and the paper is as good as I can make it.

--Most of my work for the Fall 2022 term in seminary is done.  All that's left is to go to Creative Process, Spiritual Practice class tomorrow to present my creative project (quilt squares--more to come!) and to complete my Church History I final.  The final exam is in two parts, a multiple choice test on facts and an essay.  We can take them separately, and we have until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday to finish.  Our professor told us not to wait until the very last minute, because the test will close on us.  I can't imagine waiting until late at night on Saturday to start the test.  But it's good to be warned.

--Meanwhile, back at our house in the mountains of North Carolina, the HVAC install is going well, and I am so relieved.  My spouse can't make much more progress on renovations until that project is done.

--We got an announcement that there were leftovers of Italian food served Sunday night at the Faculty dinner, and we were welcome to have some.  Worrying that I was already too late, I took my containers and went right over.  There was still so much food.  I will go back today with a freezer bag or two and get some more pasta that I can stash in my freezer.  I hate the thought of all that food being tossed, but I don't want to take all of it--that's how much is left over.

--I should mention national news, the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act that will protect same-sex marriage and marriages between people of different races.  As I type those words, I find myself wondering if I'm using the right/correct/preferred language.  I've been mildly aware of the World Cup, but couldn't tell you much about it.  It reminds me of a long ago World Cup at the art school where I taught, where the IT folks begged us not to watch on our individual computers, since we didn't have enough bandwidth to do that much streaming.  They set up a computer lab for everyone to watch together.  Now, of course, many people would watch on their phones and tablets.