I've been doing some thinking

I want to write a bit more about that one plant I mentioned in an earlier post (click here to read it).  

It nearly died living indoors for two years and since we moved here, I've been growing it outdoors where it is thriving and multiplying.  I’ve let one of its cuttings grow inside, and they could be completely different plants, they look so distinct from one another.  The ones outdoors are strong, leaves growing upwards, thick and hardy.  The colour is denser, redder and, well, stronger – if a colour can be stronger. Its stems are sturdy. The one indoors trails down over the edges of its pot.  It has developed fine, delicate and pretty features.  But it snaps when barely touched.  

It’s the same for all indoor plants, they don’t have any elements to fight (apart from supremely dry air) so they just don’t grow strong - they don't need to.  I now realise its why the herbs I tried growing indoors last year couldn’t stand up to anything and never got bigger than an inch – every time they were knocked slightly, they would die. 

I think this is a good analogy for life.  Which would you rather be – a breakable, delicate, indoor plant, or a strong, yet weathered, outdoor plant? 

On ya bike

There’s nothing like riding a bike down hill to keep you focussed on the moment.  Rushing past trees, the road below, the cars all around.  It can be exhilarating.  Bloomington has a healthy number of hills too.  

Jbird and I have been getting around on bikes for about a year now and it has improved our standard of living greatly – places that would take an hour to walk to, are now only 15 minutes away.  It also means we are getting exercise every day.  We have put a crate on the back of mine, making grocery shopping by bike more manageable.  In this town, no one shouts out the windows at me to “get on the sidewalk” either: Baltimore could be quite terrifying on a bike.

It’s fun to ride together and the weather has been largely gorgeous since we moved here.  People often say “what a beautiful day for a bike ride” when we pull up and we agree!  The physical activity leaves me feeling as though I’ve achieved something too.  As long as it’s not raining and I’ve brought enough clothing to keep me warm, I’m happy. 

Double Boiler Madness

The idea of making anything with a double boiler can seem a little overwhelming.  I have found it gets easier/smoother/quicker the more I do it.  It only took me 15 minutes to make chocolate mousse just now!  That doesn't include the dishes, of course.  I’ve given up trying to skip using a double boiler too, as I will always ALWAYS over-cook/burn/scramble the food if I do.

The trick is to get that water boiling as soon as you step in the kitchen.  If it’s ready and waiting for you when you need it, you don’t then resent it while you’re waiting for it to come to the boil.  I’ve come to enjoy being glued to the pot too, as the food thickens and its temperature slowly rises.  It’s only yummy food, after all, and doesn’t resent you having little tastes as it reaches its desired quality.

The first Saturday of the month

...is a fun day in the Bird house – its half price day at the local op. shop <thrift store>.   Its taken me a while to reconnect with my love of op shops.  I have to take a deep breath when I first walk in and get stuck in for the long haul, carefully going through each section, looking at individual items to find their potential.  I’ve stopped making plans to do anything immediately afterwards, as it’s often a big job to get our finds home.  The one in Baltimore was a bit dusty so I could never bring myself to go through the clothes (I have an allergy to dust which obliterates my skin) but everything seems pretty clean here.  

This time, we got a brand new duvet/comforter (i.e.: still in its box) for our spare bed for just $15.  I got 3 cute skirts, a dress and a pair of adidas track pants.  We got some glass food storage jars and a photo frame for a wedding picture.  It has been frame-less since the glass got broken on our move out here.  Jbird found another picture in a frame for our walls. We got all this for a grand total of $38.  Half price day is GOLD day! Unfortunately, I’ll be in NZ for the next one (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it). 

I think ‘op’ is short for opportunity and I know why.

The bird came first

One of the most surprising discoveries we – or perhaps just I – have made, on moving to this large land mass, is that other people in the world don’t know what a kiwi (bird) is.  We kiwis find so much of our identity in that little fluffy guy who has a nocturnal nature, a long beak, and a lack of flight and site, that we assumed he was well known.  He’s not! 

I remember feeling such a strong sense of indignation when a character in book asked her mother to pass her a kiwi that I considered writing to the author and telling her she’d left a word out, it’s a kiwi fruit.  I think I was eight.  It didn’t occur to me that nothing else was called a kiwi in their world so they didn’t need to distinguish between the bird and the fruit.

It's raining leaves

It seems like the oak trees on our property are the last to lose their leaves in Bloomington but they finally started falling this week.  Before anyone could tidy them up, I took advantage of a nice afternoon and collected a few bags.  I will scatter some seeds in my flower patch and place a layer of leaves over the top when the weather gets more consistently cool.  I read that the seeds should then remain naturally dormant through the winter, protected by the leaves on top.  I’m only doing it with a few flower seeds because I don’t want my vegetable seedlings destroyed by a late spring frost.  I’ll plant those in little pots and replant them when the weather is sure to be warm enough.  The leaves will be perfect plant food when they’re all broken down but I know a lot of leaves turns to almost nothing so I will be out there again soon, collecting more. 

It's getting harder to say maths

Click on this link to read a condensed version of what I have been reading, writing, thinking and dreaming about for a Current Issues in Teaching Mathematics course I have been doing through Massey University.  It has had me gripped, too, by the seat of my pants (quite literally, I have tried so hard not to move from this one chair...).  I have written papers on teaching issues, student issues, and am finishing one off on assessment issues.  I have read hundreds of pages of journal articles with some intense ideas for me to process, at times spending more than an hour on ten pages.  Every aspect of my life now relate to issues in teaching mathematics and all I want to do is get into a New Zealand classroom and use what I have learned.  But that's not the purpose of doing the course.  The purpose is to give me something to do while we're here (job well done). 

Now I have six sleeps until the course is over and I'm on 'summer' winter break.  I have a back log of knitting/crocheting to do to keep me busy but I will definitely miss the intellectual stimuli.  

Jbird says I need to tell you the meaning of the title of this post.  Americans say "math", New Zealanders say "maths".  It's getting harder to say "maths", "math" is beginning to make sense to me.

I'm a Tom Waits kinda gal

You’re either an enthusiast or a hater when it comes to Tom Waits.  Jbird is definitely the later.  It’s hard for me to respect this, and I often insist on a back to back TW album night despite it.  He is so gritty and raw, yet melodious.   I heard an interview with him on NPR (National Public Radio) recently, and it made me love him even more.  He came across as an intelligent thinker, as he spoke about how he and his wife write the songs together, and how his father made him and his siblings speak Spanish at the dinner table.  His respect for his wife is evident and refreshing to hear of a musician I had taken to have some kind black life/history (it’s hard not to if you listen to his lyrics). 

NPR have posted a live gig from 2008 (they had the new album up for a week but you’ve missed it now).  I wonder if it’s your cup o’ tea? I'll try to understand if you're just not into him.

An adult student

I’m not a huge fan of teaching adult violin students.  They miss lessons, don’t practice, often don’t like being told what would help them, and inevitably give up.  They also always start with huge intentions and I just look at them and judge them right out: oh man, my experience tells me you’re never going to get there!  There’s a huge difference between what an adult can soak up subconsciously and what a child can soak up.  The flexibility of their brains are reflected in the suppleness of their fingers and limbs.  But the money is good so I never say no. 

That being said, I have been taking piano ‘lessons’ from Jbird and I don’t want to give up!  It’s been 13 years since I had lessons so I’ve gone a far ways backwards.  He doesn’t give me real lessons, I use my own expertise to know how to practice and sometimes ask him what I should do next.  I'm struggling through, taking baby steps.  

Remember my post about needing time to be creative?  I’ve got the time right now but I hope when life gets busier, I am motivated to carry on. Or that life doesn't get any busier.

The common slice

I love making slices for our morning tea. I had decided, after searching online for slices on all the common recipe websites, not finding any, AND never seeing one at a potluck, that Americans do not make slices.  Having come to this conclusion, it followed that I would be limited to my Edmond’s cookbook (a common NZ cookbook) for slice recipes.   Because I have found NZ flour to be different from US flour, requiring different quantities, I basically have to make an educated guess on how much flour to add to the slice and hope it turns out okay.  Sometimes it does.  Just as often it does not.

This week, my brain had a little click (a Vygotsky-an ‘ah ha’ moment) and I realised that when people say “oh, it’s like a bar”, it doesn’t follow that the only bar they know/make is a muesli bar.  That’s just the only bar I know!  American's call it a granola bar.  Somehow, I suddenly knew that if I looked up raspberry bar, a slice recipe would be suggested and low and behold it was!  This may seem like it’s not really worth sharing but it is YEARS of unconscious research for me.  My brain is slower at picking this stuff up than a child’s.