Jenni had her baby. Autumn will be 2 weeks old this Thursday. She grows like a weed. I saw her last Thursday, and again on Sunday. She was noticeably larger, her face more round.

All babies look alike in the beginning--it's something to do with being small and pink and having hazy blue eyes--but you can't stop staring at the one you know. We watch her every movement, waiting for the break in the clouds--the brief moment when her eyes open and the light shines forth. She spends those brief moments looking puzzled, wondering at the big shapes hovering over her uttering complete gibberish.

When I told Jon I wanted to see Ghost Rider, he put his head in his hands and gave a despairing "Noooo!"

It always takes a little bit to readjust to school. I have 2 classes within one day, at weird times, so it's impossible to do anything much except wait in between. I'm taking Collection Development and Technical Services.
Professor Carrigan teaches the Collection Development course. He always has fun at the interpreter's expense. He deliberately says "blah blah blah" to see them sign it. You start out with your index fingers pointed out, touching at the tips, other fingers curled in, then move them away from each other while moving them up and down, as if you are illustrating a very pointy mountainrange.
That explanation probably makes no sense, but even non-hard-of-hearing people--once they see the sign--will appreciate it illustrates the concept.

I've discovered a wonderful author, Juliet Marillier. She writes historical fantasy that takes place in the British isles area. I don't normally read contemporary authors of fantasy/sci-fi simply because there is so much of it out there, and I have no desire to spend time separating the wheat from the chaff. But I decided to browse the new fantasy section at the library and happened across her newest book, part of the Bridei Chronicles, and devoured it within a week. I am starting to see what kind of books I tend towards, ones that give character to the environment, so that the landscape has a life of its own and thereby makes the characters of the stories more real.
I also like fairy tale re-tellings, so I snapped up her Daughter of the Forest when I saw that it was the story of the brothers that are enchanted to become swans and the sister that must toil for years at making clothes that will turn them back into humans. Not only does she make the fairy tale real, she adds insight that makes the reading experience richer.

Hello. I think I have forgotten about my blog for a while. I guess that's what the holidays do to you.
In a strange twist of events, Jon got a teaching job that he applied for but was turned down because a certified applicant had applied. They offered him an instructional aide position (which is quite beneath his talents--I speak with no bias towards him-- he really does know his science stuff), which he accepted just to get his foot in the door. Then on the very first day of work, within several hours, they offered him a teaching position. How crazy is that?
So it looks like we'll be moving to Wilmore, since W. Jessamine high school is about 4 miles outside of it. We're happy to be getting away from Lexington, but it'll feel a little weird going back to the town where I went to college. I remember the first couple years of not having a car, and just being able to go to Wal-mart in Nicholasville was a treat (even though I was well aware at that time of how ridiculous that was, having been given relative freedom by my parents while in high school--I know Mom is laughing over this right now, but I guess I was a rather boring kid who didn't do much to rile the parents. I don't have any stories to tell that can top those of Sue's).