Death and Math

The best part of the semester so far is telling people what my classes are on Tues/Thur - Death and Math.

Now, if you know me very well you're probably thinking I mean that I'm dying from having to take math. True. That's not an exaggeration as I think this math class just might do me in this semester... But then I think that every time I take math, right?

However, my death class is actually just that. A class on death and dying. It's a sociology class about how societies, the U.S. in particular, deal with death, dying, and bereavement. It's really very interesting but it's oh so fun to see people's reactions when I tell them what class I'm taking. One girl stopped by our classroom on the second day of class looking for the room she should be in and asked what class it was. "Death." She didn't even say anything else, just turned and walked quickly away.

The professor walked in the first day, "You're all here for death and dying?" We all just laughed.

You also get some weird looks when reading the text book in public. Some people would rather not sit by you. I wonder what people who are going to mortician school feel like? They must be the pariahs of society.

Now, I do have to say there are a couple people in the class that are a little too into this whole death thing and one girl even has the Mexican Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skull tattooed on her arm. She's also super excited because there's a school of design that just opened in an old morgue and you can still see blood on the drains in the floor that they couldn't get out. "It's so cool to just go sit in there." Ok, seriously, that's a little over the top. Fortunately, most of the class are normal and aren't there for the gross factor.

Since death is not something we're comfortable with, and we certainly don't talk about it, it makes for some interesting looks when you take this sort of class. If you thought I was crazy before, now you know. We're going on a field trip to a mortuary and cemetery and I told the J he could go with me but he said he'll pass. Chicken. heh, heh.

Hmm, I think I might enjoy Halloween a little more than usual this year...

Well, I need to go catch up on my death reading and find a topic for my death paper. hahahaha!

(I'm having entirely too much fun with this...)

Pears

Last Saturday Mom, Becky, and I canned pears. 110 pounds of pears which came out to be I think 56 quarts of pears. What a sticky mess. It's one of those times you just need a fire hose to spray down the kitchen because you use multiple rags and mop at least twice before the sticky goes away.

And you know how pears turn brown if they sit after you've cut them? Well, as it turns out the pear juice that you get on your fingers and under your finger nails also turns brown. Especially if your skin is dry. Then it just settles right into the little crevices in your skin and browns right up. It's gorgeous dahling! Especially since it's Wednesday and I can still see it. It looks like I haven't cleaned under my nails in ages. Maybe I'll just have to cut the long ones and start over...

I asked the J if he remembered these pears - they were his favorite when he was little but he hasn't had them in a very long time! He said, "Yeah, I love those with macaroni and cheese." Yep. That was his combo. He'd eat that as often as he could get it. And he never cared much for fresh pears because he preferred the bottled ones.

Some of our pears:

We had a few pears left over so I've been on a search to find great pear recipes. On Sunday I made a Pear Croustade for dessert that was yummy.

And on Monday I made Grilled Pears & Ham for dinner.

All this yummy fresh food is a blessing of summer!

So Long Summer

Summer is coming to a close. Well, I know, I know it doesn't technically end for awhile but school starts Monday for me and that means that summer is over.

Some things I enjoyed this summer:

*Seeing a fox in our yard - many times. My favorite was when I saw him running through the front yard with a hamburger and two hot dogs in his mouth. Some poor neighbor, who was all set to BBQ, probably ran in the house for something and came out to find his food missing. I think that would be confusing and probably a little annoying. But I sure got a kick out of seeing the thief run off with his loot!

*This was a summer of creating. I had fun learning how to knit a little better, make jewelry, and sew a little (not as much as I might have). I've made a number of Christmas gifts (clearly I can't post pictures yet...) and that was fun.

*I rediscovered audio books. I always check those out when I drive to Utah and occasionally I put one on my iPod (no worries, I erase it as soon as I'm done listening!), but this summer I've listened to several of them. I had lots of drive time going to the Springs and downtown Denver every week and that's what got me started. Then I realized that I have lots of drive time anyway so I might as well listen to a book or learn something. It's been quite enjoyable and I think I will continue the tradition. Maybe I'll be able to tackle a few more on that BBC Top 100 list...

*The weather was fabulous! It was never terribly hot and there was plenty of rain. The hail and lightning storms that have been present far more often than usual were interesting to watch. And did I mention that it's been a pretty reasonable temperature all summer long? I mean there were only a few days (so far... I do realize that the weather part of summer is not over) that got into the 90s - blech!

*My staycation at home all by myself. Now before you get all antsy, you know you'd love one of those too! It's not that I don't love everyone it's just that it was sure nice to have some 100% down time.

Alas, summer is over and it's time to get back to real life. School starts Monday and usually by this time I'm excited and ready for it. Usually. But this time for some reason I'm not. I'm sure it'll be great, I'm just not there yet. I have all 16 of my required books, new folders and paper and pencils (love those!). I have freezer meals done and frozen. I almost have my desk organized - it's as close as it ever is. I've lunched with long lost friends. So, really I should be ready to go. I guess I just need to give myself a pep talk and dive in. :)

I hope your summer has been great too!

Invasion of the Flies

On Tuesday I was sitting at my computer an a fly started buzzing around me. Then 4 flies started flying around. We have windows that open without a screen on one side so I opened it and shooed 7 (seven!) flies outside. Every room I went into there was a swarm of flies! Where the heck did they come from? I went around and made sure all the windows were closed - they were. There were honest to goodness at least 7-10 flies in every room!

When I went to bed there was a mad fly (as in, insane) that was flying in circles around my room and it would fly into one mirror and bounce off then fly to the other mirror and bounce off then fly in a circle again and repeat the whole process. It finally took a rest and I was able to kill it. I thought I was safe... but as soon as I turned off the light --- there was another buzz! Oh my heck!!

Yesterday and today there are still a couple stragglers but the swarm is gone. The whole thing still boggles my mind - where did the come from, why were they here for one day, where did they go, and how'd they get in?? So bizarre!

Bumper Stickers

I just love some of the bumper stickers I've seen lately. There's only so much room on the back of a car so how does one choose? Now really I'm not the type to plaster bumper stickers on my car so I'll just have to admire them from afar... I don't know if you can read all of these or if they're too small but you might get a kick out of them.

You can find these and many more at http://www.survivingobamunism.com/