Sunday Wrap Up 2/2/2014

I wrote recently about people whose attitudes and actions are similar to those of their ancestors.  Some actions I was thinking of then (but did not mention) were either neutral or negative--things like chronic tardiness, being highly competitive, focused on financial success,  using sloppy language, parting with money only under protest, being organized, picky eaters, spontaneous, independent, etc.

Today I realized just how strongly positive such ancestral attitudes and actions can be.  I thought of it when Joe was expressing his appreciation for our ministers during the share time.  He is from a family that has, over several generations, done better than most at seeing the good in others and giving them the benefit of any doubt that might surface.  This generosity of spirit is revealed also in sharing readily of material things and of extending a helping hand.  We all know what to expect from that family.

Someone from another state once asked me what kind of people "they" were.  The questioner had learned to know well only one family member so far, but the parents had just been in the community for a visit.  After I had given a good report, the person who asked me said simply, "I thought that's how they seemed."

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We're in an area for which 6-10 inches of snow is predicted to fall between Monday evening and Tuesday evening.  Blowing and drifting snow is likely.  That's unlikely to amount to the equivalent of an inch of rain, but the moisture will be very welcome for anyone who cares about gardening and agriculture.  Most of Kansas will likely get snow.

A second system is expected near the end of the week, with accumulating snowfall arriving with it. Between the two systems, temperatures will drop to almost zero.

It looks like a wintry week.

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This is super-bowl Sunday.  I couldn't care less.

Such mania is too incomprehensible for me.  It is high.  I cannot attain unto it.

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On Friday of this week our school staff members are scattering to various area schools for a day of observing other classes.  I will be going to Sterling College to sit in on several composition classes.  I also hope to talk to the professor who teaches most of the classes in their new writing and editing major.  I wish they had offered such a major in my time there.

To my surprise, the head of the English department invited me to have lunch with the profs in the department, so I plan to do that.

I think I'll be a little out of my element, but I plan to pretend otherwise.  Who knows?  Maybe going there for a few classes will make sense some time.  The immediate goal is to see what is expected of incoming students and to learn what I can about how better to prepare our college-bound students.  That's a little tricky, of course, because most of our students don't know for sure whether they'll go to college, and our preparation must also take into account "real life" for the non-college-educated adult.

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For this Wednesday evening a group of six of us are preparing for a literature evening.  It's a fairly diverse group, and I am by far the oldest.  It's been fun to get together to plan, and I think it will be an enjoyable evening for everyone.  My contribution will focus on the "short story" genre.

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Night school is planned to begin at 2:30 or so on Thursday morning at our high school.  We'll wind down around breakfast time and go home for the day.

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The first group of CASP volunteers has come and gone.  We haven't been introduced to the new crew.

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Darrell and Karen are hoping to visit again soon in the Middle East--for several months, perhaps.

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Wyatt, the newest grandson, is doing great.  His Grandma Prettyman went home to Washington today.  He's two weeks and two days old.  Grant posts a picture of Wyatt on Facebook almost every day.  To think that Grant was just "that wonderful" when he was a baby, and most of the world had no idea.  Only Hiromi and I were privy to that information.

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Two of my nieces, Andrea and Joelle, are expecting babies within the next few weeks.  That will swell my parents' great-grandchildren's ranks by two, for a total of six.  The other four are our grandchildren.   Great-grandchildren by the name of Miller are still a long way off, by all appearances.

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My brother-in-law, Matthew's pain and difficulty with walking have diminished somewhat, at last report.  That is a real gift from God.  No obvious credit can be given to medical interventions.

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I learned that the alfalfa sprouts the food production class members started at school met a variety of fates after they went home with students before the weekend.  One student finished the first batch successfully and promptly bought more seeds and started another batch.  He's on his third batch now.  Others spoke of having forgotten to do the rinsing regularly or not having kept them covered while the sprouts were elongating in the pan.  The uncovered ones dried out and the unrinsed ones got smelly--or maybe not, I was told later, since "Mom" had done some of the rinsing and had begun eating the sprouts without ill effect.

I'm waiting on a report of success from each student.

The Candy onions we planted are growing under lights in the lab.

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I can't figure out why all the Atlas asparagus seeds are available only in the UK, since the sole producer is in the US.  None have been on the market for the past few years.

I did find one supplier whose physical address I can't find.  I suspect it's outside the country though, given the fact that the seeds are $4.95 for 10 and the postage is over $11.00.

Atlas produces longer than most varieties, and is quite disease resistant and heat tolerant.  The spears are thick.  I have some growing at the farm, but moving them seems like a lot of work, and I think I'd feel a little cheap taking them away from Shane's family.

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This blog has had more than 1,000 posts.  We passed the milestone while I wasn't looking.