I opened up a book of poetry this morning and WOW - this poem instantly quenched something deep within me. I've felt a little bit lost lately (not in a bad way, but navigating change and uncertainty can be tough for me), and this poem reminded me of what is at my core. That happens so often for me when I open a book of poetry. It is just. so. rich.
Te Deum
by Charles Reznikoff
Not because of victories
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largess of the spring.
Not for victory
but for the day's work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.
.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
New Life
Green in sprouting up everywhere, including our backyard! Here's a summary of yard activity:
Currently we've got arugula, spinach, basil, thyme, cilantro, cherokee heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes in our garden. The indoor seeds I started (lettuce, chives, parsley and green onions) may not survive the drought caused by my forgetfulness in watering them. Oops. :/ The garden is now rabbit-proof (we have LOTS of rabbits).
Our raspberry bushes (2) are growing quickly -- I am so thrilled, even if we will be waiting a year or more for raspberries. The leaves are beautiful. We've also got a small patch of tall and hearty ferns, as well as a few very dainty maidenhead ferns that I recently planted under our cherry tree. Our rose bush (more like a little tree, really) is growing, too, and some of our peonies appear ready to pop!
Lily of the valley is abundant and I'm trying to transplant it to spread in designated areas. The same is true for day lilies and hastas -- I'm not a huge fan of either but am hoping to find places (less prime real estate) for them to still flourish in our yard. We also have a number of barrels with perennials in them -- echinacea and butterfly weed, to name a few. They haven't made too much progress yet.
This sounds like so much flora as I write it, but really our yard is very tiny and it doesn't even seem like it has all that much going on! That being said, I expect to keep expanding our gardening adventures year-to-year; for kind of a wimp (I despise bugs), I'm really getting into gardening. Even weeding is incredibly satisfying and relaxing.
Also, one of our indoor plants recently sprouted new life in a surprising place..! (Sorry, not the best photo.)
Currently we've got arugula, spinach, basil, thyme, cilantro, cherokee heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes in our garden. The indoor seeds I started (lettuce, chives, parsley and green onions) may not survive the drought caused by my forgetfulness in watering them. Oops. :/ The garden is now rabbit-proof (we have LOTS of rabbits).
Our raspberry bushes (2) are growing quickly -- I am so thrilled, even if we will be waiting a year or more for raspberries. The leaves are beautiful. We've also got a small patch of tall and hearty ferns, as well as a few very dainty maidenhead ferns that I recently planted under our cherry tree. Our rose bush (more like a little tree, really) is growing, too, and some of our peonies appear ready to pop!
Lily of the valley is abundant and I'm trying to transplant it to spread in designated areas. The same is true for day lilies and hastas -- I'm not a huge fan of either but am hoping to find places (less prime real estate) for them to still flourish in our yard. We also have a number of barrels with perennials in them -- echinacea and butterfly weed, to name a few. They haven't made too much progress yet.
This sounds like so much flora as I write it, but really our yard is very tiny and it doesn't even seem like it has all that much going on! That being said, I expect to keep expanding our gardening adventures year-to-year; for kind of a wimp (I despise bugs), I'm really getting into gardening. Even weeding is incredibly satisfying and relaxing.
Also, one of our indoor plants recently sprouted new life in a surprising place..! (Sorry, not the best photo.)
Friday, May 6, 2016
It's that glorious day again...
FRIDAY! And it has been so sunny and warm and wonderful lately. Spring is so blissful.
In addition to the lovely weather, I'm looking for a weekend full of celebrating --
- Tonight we celebrate mother's day with my mom and my niece's fifth(!) birthday.
- Tomorrow I celebrate SB as he takes part in his first Gran Fondo (a 100-mile bike ride).
- Sunday we celebrate SB's mom with a backyard barbecue. Yum.
On a side note, did I mention that I applied for a job? Interestingly, the process made me realize how happy I am where I am. The position is a good fit for my experience and pays better than my current job, but since applying I learned that a) my current work got a huge bump in funding and I'll soon get to re-write my own job description (and pick and choose my responsibilities, delegating the rest to a new assistant) and b) I'll be managing two highly skilled students on evaluation projects this summer.
A recent experience with graduate student consultants made me realize that I really enjoy and have the skill set for project management and supervising students; now that I've demonstrated that ability and my organization is expanding rapidly (our budget has doubled in the past year), I may end up supervising staff in the not-so-distant future, which would be a great learning experience for me.
I have grown so much in my current job that even though the pay is abysmal, the experience is so rich and my resume and confidence are really benefitting. It is a trade-off I can afford to make for now, and hopefully when I want to make a switch I'll have the resume and experience to get me to the next level in my career.
Time to celebrate the weekend with great song and ridiculous music video.
In addition to the lovely weather, I'm looking for a weekend full of celebrating --
- Tonight we celebrate mother's day with my mom and my niece's fifth(!) birthday.
- Tomorrow I celebrate SB as he takes part in his first Gran Fondo (a 100-mile bike ride).
- Sunday we celebrate SB's mom with a backyard barbecue. Yum.
On a side note, did I mention that I applied for a job? Interestingly, the process made me realize how happy I am where I am. The position is a good fit for my experience and pays better than my current job, but since applying I learned that a) my current work got a huge bump in funding and I'll soon get to re-write my own job description (and pick and choose my responsibilities, delegating the rest to a new assistant) and b) I'll be managing two highly skilled students on evaluation projects this summer.
A recent experience with graduate student consultants made me realize that I really enjoy and have the skill set for project management and supervising students; now that I've demonstrated that ability and my organization is expanding rapidly (our budget has doubled in the past year), I may end up supervising staff in the not-so-distant future, which would be a great learning experience for me.
I have grown so much in my current job that even though the pay is abysmal, the experience is so rich and my resume and confidence are really benefitting. It is a trade-off I can afford to make for now, and hopefully when I want to make a switch I'll have the resume and experience to get me to the next level in my career.
Time to celebrate the weekend with great song and ridiculous music video.
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