Stuff

My grandma D died this morning. She had Alzheimer's, and has been "gone" for years... so it's a mercy. But it's still sad. I'm glad that my third grandma is still doing reasonably well. (Grandma M died a number of years ago now.)

I felt kind of like moping around home all day, but made myself go out and enjoy some sunshine (finally some decent weather) and then go play with clay. My first piece had it's first firing, so I painted glaze on it, and then made three sets of buttons. I didn't feel like doing anything involving more effort.

I'll be teaching a class this fall. It's not the one I was hoping to teach (intro to programming), but similar to one that I didn't really do well at the first time (known to the local students as "computer useless"). I'm hoping to learn how to teach this course effectively. Plus I'll earn enough to replace my laptop, and I won't be leaving the department scrambling to find a replacement for the person they had intended to do the job. (The grad student initially offered the job decided not to take the position.) Of course, it's possible they just made the offer because they knew I could use the money.

Another benefit of taking the job is that I will have sufficient hours this year to guarantee my benefits for another year. (Assuming continuing employment in my other position, of course.)

Of course, now that I know that I can replace my laptop... do I wait until I've actually earned the money, or do I take advantage of the iPod deal going on now, use my savings, and replace the money as it comes in? I *am* going to get more RAM now, to make my current laptop more functional. (When I have two, I'll leave my old one at the office, and my new one at home, reducing stress on each, and making my backpack lighter.) I suppose I could consider a desktop for home. I suspect I'll put off the new computer purchase just so that I can decide *what* I want. (Plus, that'll let me test how much better my current laptop performs once it has more RAM.)

I had to prune several more branches off the maple in front of mom's... the stupid kids from the townhouse keep treating it like a jungle gym, and the branches and bark are just too soft for that kind of treatment.

It's nice that there's been some lovely days lately. Of course, we keep getting drenching downpours separating them, so that I can't dig more of the garden yet.

Mrs C planted more plants in front. I think she thinks this is a competition. If I liked her better, I'd actually talk to her and explain things... and ask if she'd like some space left for her to plant. I'll just garden around what she plants, and move them later in the fall when I put everything in their final spots. (I think she planted one of the flowers that is basically an invasive weed, though, and I haven't decided what to do about that.)

When I went outside today, I sat in the sun for a bit and read the library books that are due Thursday. The sun was quite hot, and since I wasn't interested in burning, I moved over to the shade fairly quickly. I was going to continue reading in the shade, but the caretaker came over, and we chatted for a while. Hopefully I'll get them read tomorrow. They're still "new and noted", and, as such, I suspect that there's more people on the waiting list. (I had to wait for a while myself... and if there's someone waiting, you can't renew.)

Well, it's getting late. I think I'll post this, check the renewals, then read a bit before bed. Good night!