Friday Fragments: Sketching an Olive Tree and Other Nuggets from Week 1 of Fall Term

I'm not sure I have a single focus blog post in me today.  Let me record a few observations from the past week, some fragments that will point to the whole.

--I went to the dermatologist yesterday for my yearly inspection.  Last year I had two skin cancers and lots of spots that needed to be zapped with liquid nitrogen.  This year, no skin cancers and several spots to be zapped and a wart removed.  The weird spot on my arm seems to be some kind of insect bite or sting that left a scar.

--I made a sketch of an olive tree.  It's delighted me, and I hesitate to add color to it, for fear that I'll mess it up.

--I am happy remembering our anniversary dinner.  We thought about going out, but with the money we would spend going out, we could get the kind of ingredients that we don't usually buy for ourselves, like filet mignon and scallops.  So that's what we did.  And we bought better wine and prosecco than we usually buy, because we weren't driving.  It was a treat of an evening.

--It's been a good week of teaching.  So far, my students have put devices, earbuds, and headphones away when I’ve asked. They’ve seemed good natured and been responsive. I love the first week of fall term best for just this very reason. The first week of spring term can find students tired, depressed, unreasonable.

--So far, the drive has not been bad.  But I can already tell that it's tiring in ways that will be draining.  Happily, there will be weeks when I don't have to drive this way (Labor Day, Fall Break, professional development).

--I have been counting calories and keeping a food journal for two weeks, and so far, I'm happy with that process.  I've lost somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds.  You might ask why I can't be more precise.  I can't read the numbers on our old-fashioned scale with precision.  I've bought other scales, digital scales, hoping for precision, only to have them break within months of purchase.  I can live with imprecision. 

--I am going to keep walking before I head to school each day.  It's easy now, when the morning is the cool of the day and the sun is close to rising.  I have a back up plan for later, when it's colder and darker.  But let me not get ahead of myself.