The flu flew into our house Monday night of this week and nested inside both Hillary and me. That lucky devil got to stay home from school Tuesday; but Tuesdays and Thursdays are my teaching days, so I dragged myself to work. (FRIEND: "And how many people did you infect?" ME: "All of them. They're teachers-in-training; they've got to start building up their immunity.")
Things seemed better by Tuesday night, and Hillary returned to school Wednesday (although neither of us was necessarily craving chili or spaghetti or anything spicier than Cream of Wheat). This morning, however, the flu flew back . . . to Hillary, that is. I had awoken très early to get some work done on the computer, so I was in the office with the door closed when I heard Hillary "experiencing flu symptoms" on her way from her bedroom into the bathroom. I opened the door to find Susan across the hallway in our bedroom doorway, and we both went into action--she in tending to our child and I in cleaning up the hallway and bathroom floors and walls.
I stayed home with Hillary this morning, and Susan came home for the afternoon so that I could tend to appointments that I had today. One of those was teaching a mini-lesson on computers at the girls' elementary school. The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) sponsors various "mini-lessons" to give children a chance to learn a little more about specialized topics of interest to them. For an hour today and an hour next Friday, kids have signed up to attend mini-lessons on cooking, hunter safety, judo, babysitting, and so on.
The PAC asked me to teach one called Computer Fun, so I used the theme of Valentine's Day (our last session will be February 13) to create a WebQuest for them to do, and I'm showing them how to use Microsoft Office Publisher to make a valentine newsletter for a family member. In the newsletter they're including facts about Valentine's Day that they learned from the WebQuest; they're including digital photographs of themselves that we took today; they're inserting Microsoft clip art of their choosing (hearts, Cupid, roses, etc.); and they're writing a personal Valentine's Day message to the recipients of their newsletters. Next week they'll finish and print out their newsletters and play some online games with a Valentine's Day theme. They might also be receiving some sweet treats from me, too, in honor of the holiday.
(Suzanna and Abigail both signed up for my session and were model students today. Should you like to try the WebQuest yourself or learn more about what we did, check out the Computer Fun mini-lesson here.)
Tonight was another concert in the series to which we have season tickets. Susan took the two older girls while I stayed home with Hillary, so I don't have much to say about the concert other than that Susan, Suzanna, and Abigail reported afterward that it was terrific. (Hillary and I played with baby dolls and watched cartoons while they were at the concert.) The group was the Joe Trio, and judging by their Web site, the concert program, and the girls' synopsis of tonight's concert, they're as funny as they are talented. One of the musicians' biography in the program, for example, says, "Charles was born at a very early age." All the songs in the program are listed with random numbers: 37 -- 99 -- 14 -- Any Prime # -- 6 -- 72 -- 1 -- 4,789,324.65 -- Infinity. The cover of the program has a photo of the three musicians; the middle guy is upside-down, so under the photo his name is printed upside-down, too. Check out their site for more humor and samples of their music.
So, to review: flu, Computer Fun, Joe Trio. That about does it for tonight's post, folks. Drive safely, and good night.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Mourning a Friend
I have terribly sad news to share: a dear friend has died. CJ Hosier, a university friend with whom I acted in plays, died in his sleep at the astonishingly young age of 34.
He was funny, faithful, energetic, eccentric, hard-working, multi-talented, generous, and positive, bringing happy energy into others' lives--a kind spirit and a good friend. I have great memories of being on stage with him, of performing improv with him, of working backstage with him, of hanging out on campus with him, and especially of attending parties with him. CJ was always a benign, friendly, humorous presence at a party, equally at ease with being the center of attention or watching from the side. Great guy all around.
After university, he moved back to Denver and made a name for himself in the theatre scene there--so much so that the Denver Post ran a multi-media article on him this week. Check it out for a slideshow of him in some notable roles in Denver, an audio clip of an interview with him a couple years ago, and an article about him that features praise from a wide variety of people, each of whose life he brightened by simply being in it. You'll get a good impression of the type of man he was by reading others' words about him.
[ADDED FEB. 6: And his obituary from the Rocky Mountain News is here.]
My friends from our university days are spread across the country, and I don't hear from them all frequently; but we've been in contact this week, exchanging condolences and sharing some of our favorite memories of CJ. It's polite to share only positive stories and not to mention the negative when a person dies, but in CJ's case, we likely couldn't come up with something negative if we tried. This may sound cliché, but he truly was a man who brought goodness into the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to get to know him.
Rest in peace, CJ.
He was funny, faithful, energetic, eccentric, hard-working, multi-talented, generous, and positive, bringing happy energy into others' lives--a kind spirit and a good friend. I have great memories of being on stage with him, of performing improv with him, of working backstage with him, of hanging out on campus with him, and especially of attending parties with him. CJ was always a benign, friendly, humorous presence at a party, equally at ease with being the center of attention or watching from the side. Great guy all around.
After university, he moved back to Denver and made a name for himself in the theatre scene there--so much so that the Denver Post ran a multi-media article on him this week. Check it out for a slideshow of him in some notable roles in Denver, an audio clip of an interview with him a couple years ago, and an article about him that features praise from a wide variety of people, each of whose life he brightened by simply being in it. You'll get a good impression of the type of man he was by reading others' words about him.
[ADDED FEB. 6: And his obituary from the Rocky Mountain News is here.]
My friends from our university days are spread across the country, and I don't hear from them all frequently; but we've been in contact this week, exchanging condolences and sharing some of our favorite memories of CJ. It's polite to share only positive stories and not to mention the negative when a person dies, but in CJ's case, we likely couldn't come up with something negative if we tried. This may sound cliché, but he truly was a man who brought goodness into the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to get to know him.
Rest in peace, CJ.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Super Buffet Sunday
Oh, how our family looks forward to Super Bowl Sunday each year! We're just as excited as the rest of the country to clear our schedule for the afternoon and evening, hunker down in front of a television, and dig into some delicious appetizer-y, snack-y food while we watch. I suppose one difference between our household and others is that, instead of watching the football game, we're watching HGTV or Food Network or a family-friendly movie. Otherwise, we're just exactly like everybody else!
I wouldn't want to disappoint those faithful readers who tune in to Pensive? No, Just Thinking solely to keep abreast of our most recent culinary adventures. Here ya go:
We spread a tablecloth on the family room floor in front of the TV and laid out all the tasty comestibles.
With the spinach dip, Susan served snow peas, jicama, celery, mushrooms, cucumbers, and carrots (notice the ridged slices thanks to her Pampered Chef equipment).
This plate holds both Buffalo chicken strips (that's what the bleu cheese dressing to the upper left is for) and pizza rolls.
These are overloaded potato skins similar to those we used to enjoy at the Ground Round when we used to work there in our university days. Potato skins, Tex-Mex-spiced ground beef, chili con queso y carne, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, black olives, and shredded cheese all topped with the salsa and sour cream that can be seen in other photos from this bunch.
Bruschetta! Susan sliced up a bread loaf, slathered the pieces with a garlic-y spread, and toasted them. We topped the garlic toasts with the mixture of tomatoes, basil, parsley, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings.
Shrimp cocktail. Our children would eat this with every meal if we let them.
Chile con queso y carne (melted cheese, Tex-Mex-spiced ground beef, and Rotel diced chilis and tomatoes). Served with corn chips.
I wouldn't want to disappoint those faithful readers who tune in to Pensive? No, Just Thinking solely to keep abreast of our most recent culinary adventures. Here ya go:
We spread a tablecloth on the family room floor in front of the TV and laid out all the tasty comestibles. With the spinach dip, Susan served snow peas, jicama, celery, mushrooms, cucumbers, and carrots (notice the ridged slices thanks to her Pampered Chef equipment).This plate holds both Buffalo chicken strips (that's what the bleu cheese dressing to the upper left is for) and pizza rolls.These are overloaded potato skins similar to those we used to enjoy at the Ground Round when we used to work there in our university days. Potato skins, Tex-Mex-spiced ground beef, chili con queso y carne, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, black olives, and shredded cheese all topped with the salsa and sour cream that can be seen in other photos from this bunch.Bruschetta! Susan sliced up a bread loaf, slathered the pieces with a garlic-y spread, and toasted them. We topped the garlic toasts with the mixture of tomatoes, basil, parsley, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings.Shrimp cocktail. Our children would eat this with every meal if we let them.Chile con queso y carne (melted cheese, Tex-Mex-spiced ground beef, and Rotel diced chilis and tomatoes). Served with corn chips."On the count of three, say 'Super Bowl'!" I snapped the pic while they were speaking. Now, let the eating begin!
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