Because not everything has to be gloom and doom....

[lunadelcorvo]

I mean, it takes effort, because every day there is some absolutely insane thing happening, but here we go; a list of Good Things™.

It is a sunny, gorgeous day, supposed to hit almost 70. For February, that is a wonderful thing. Feb. is hard because it's usually so grey, so this is most welcome!

I splurged and ordered myself some new colored pencils (I do not need these; y'all have no idea how many colored pencils this gal has!) in hopes of getting my drawing groove back on. I've been at that place where I feel the itch, just not the motivation.

I am working on what I hope will be a cool thing for the kiddos at school. We're studying China, so I had them all color circles (about 7" across) with Chinese motifs but didn't tell them what for. Another SS teacher and I are going to assemble them with added head and tail, into two gigantic dragons that we will hang in the hallway outside our classrooms. It won't last the week, I am sure, but I hope it will be at least a little bit of a 'wow' for some of them. (Yes, I will post photos if it works out!)

My next unit will be the Middle Ages, which is something of a mixed blessing. Yes, it's my medieval jam, so that's awesome! I get to talk about the 12th C Renaissance and Dante and manuscripts... But I can't teach it in anywhere near the depth I'd like, and the studied indifference of the middle schooler stings a little extra when it's something I'm super enthused about. Alas... but Middle Ages! Yay!!!!

My tinkering project lately has been getting a somewhat 'modernized' (i.e. modded) version of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion running and stable. Mixed success, but I'm discovering a lot of things that seemed incongruous in Skyrim actually make sense now, so that's cool.

I found a new place that has amazing (and cheap!) falafel, and the deliver to my school. I positively gorged on falafel and hummus for lunch, and it was glorious. It's funny how really good food can make things seem a bit better. Now I need a nap, though. Grrr.

So there we go. It's far from ground breaking, but it felt good to think about some positive stuff for a change.

Comments

[timeofgrey]

Yay for positive things!

In my neck of the woods, we're supposed to get snow/snow shower throughout the week with overnight temps getting into the 20's. I informed my manager I would be WFH this week. Because even if there's no snow here on my side of town, but the office is located (20 miles away) in an actual snow zone and known for icy roads.

My artistic inklings are dull at this time, but my writing bug has been fierce. It's only the second month into 2025 and I'm already half-way through one journal. LOL

P.S. I just saw your actual DW site. OH THE MEMORIES!! I remember this layout from your LJ. <3

[lunadelcorvo]

Oh, we'll get at least one more sub-freezing cold snap; it happens every year!

LOL Yep, I was in a bit of a rut, and tried to mimic LJ Component as much as I could. I was thinking of revamping, but last I looked the style system here was a little borked....

[cmcmck]

Other half is a medievalist- 15th century specialist!

[lunadelcorvo]

I think I remember that... Awesome!

[glowingfish]

When you are teaching about the Middle Ages to middle school kids, do you ever get any that are way too focused on grittier or gorier aspects of the Middle Ages and asks lots of questions about torture or diseases or things like that? That seems like it might come up, from what I remember about being a Middle Schooler.

[lunadelcorvo]

Not really, I lean pretty hard into the 'never use the term Dark ages in my hearing' approach, and focus on the growth in the 11th-12th C. I do shock the heck out of them when I start the Black Death though - I have them write ten names of people they know, then have them cross off seven of them at random. I then say 'now imagine all those people died in the last year. Welcome to the Black Death!' I knocked them back a bit, but in a way they seem to get a charge out of. We do have one teacher who goes full into the torture stuff though - there really is no concrete curriculum for History/Social Studies.

[jehanne1431]

This all sounds wonderful!

It won't be that warm here until June. I'd be happy with 35 and sunshine right now! But spring will soon be here, so that's encouraging.

[lunadelcorvo]

We won't keep the nice weather, trust me! It's already back down to 40, and it is inevitable that we get a few more sub-freezing cold stretches before the spring really takes hold. When it does, it's magnificent (spring here is like nowhere else I've ever been), but it's a way off yet.

[jehanne1431]

What area of the world are you in (if you don't mind me asking)?

[lunadelcorvo]

South-ish Midwestern US. That part where Southerners call you Yankees, and Northerners ask you if everyone here actually wears shoes. A small island of dedicated blue in a roiling sea of red!

[jehanne1431]

I'm upper Midwest, UP of MI. Except for Marquette (where I am not), it's a roiling sea of red as well. Although I don't know that we have enough people to count as a "sea." Maybe a puddle instead.