I keep asking time to slow down. I can’t believe it’s already mid-November and soon it will be Thanksgiving, then Hanukkah and Christmas. This is my favorite time of year and it’s going by so quickly!
November has been pretty busy: the usual overload of teaching, plus some weddings and a few extra things. We’ve gone to another symphony concert, and have plans for one more before Thanksgiving. I’ve gotten more used to my early morning schedule…I had a few nights this week though where I was in bed at 8:30 pm, though I didn’t always go to sleep right away, I was exhausted! Some of my colleagues live closer, but I do have a 20 minute drive, and I like to just start my day, have breakfast and coffee before so that I feel normal.
This week I’m starting another wonderful online course. I’ve taken quite a few and this is with a teacher I’ve heard great things about. It’s about a time in the development when bow technique really starts getting exciting and I’m looking forward to learning a few more ideas. I will say this, I have found most of the classes I’ve taken to be super helpful with ideas, and I’ve found my teaching to be much more enjoyable over the past year or two. Somehow, the more I do, the more I enjoy it. I don’t know if it’s old age, or just acceptance that this is my career now, or what.
The one thing that bothers me is when people say things commenting incredulously at how many hours I teach. It’s really not a big deal. Yes, I teach a lot of hours (33-34 including before school, university, and private, plus a couple extra students right now for another teacher’s maternity leave) but if that’s all I do, my admin work is only about 1-3 hours a week (more when there are events/recitals/grading to do). I do some practicing, but I haven’t been doing much lately–I play a lot in lessons, so I don’t feel out of shape exactly, though I may want to add more in soon.
I guess my point is: yes, I work a lot. So do many people. It’s not like people pay me not to teach though!
Okay, okay enough annoyed ranting, I know, I know.
The weather this month is finally like fall! We had cold weather, hot weather, and cooler weather again, and the trees finally turned and the leaves are falling. It’s gorgeous outside. Except our front lawn where our volunteer black walnut tree lost its leaves right away and just looks craggy and dead. I put the garden down yesterday, took down my posts, yanked some stuff, put down cardboard and leaves and such. We had a good season, with basil, swiss chard, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, and peas. I made a lot of dilly beans, pesto with chard and basil, some pickles, and we ate lots of peas, chard, green beans, and lettuce. I’ll decide later what to plant next year.
Last weekend we got over to Forest Park for a lovely hike, though it was pretty warm. Today we are thinking of heading to Creve Coeur Lake to walk around, though it’ll be much cooler.
Cooking wise this month: I’ve made a carrot cake, black pepper tofu and eggplant (for the second time, highly recommend this dish, it’s delicious!), roasted shrimp and pea couscous salad, and an improvised crockpot lentil, sweet potato and kale coconut curry. We’ve also started eating out more normally, having gone to Union Loafers for lunch and dinner–they are seating again though you have to order at the counter and then sit down, to Rooster on South Grand for lunch, to Little Fox for dinner with Louie’s family (delicious!!!) and to Lily’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner–lately I’m obsessed with the fajitas there.
Reading wise I haven’t done anything exciting lately. I’ve been reading some new titles from a cozy mystery series I had enjoyed before (Meg Langslow series) and that’s been pretty much it. I have to read a book this week for my book club though, so I’ll start on that next. (How the One-armed Sister Sweeps Her House.) TV wise we started Yellowstone, are watching Succession, and also started season two of The Morning Show.
What have you been up to lately? Any books or tv shows to recommend?