Summer Done List

Well, I'm super late getting this post done, but I have been wanting to continue my tradition (since 2014) of posting a list of highlights from the summer. As I write this, it's Wednesday night of the 6th week of classes, so I can certainly say I'm fully in back-to-school mode by now, even starting to feel more or less settled into the new routine. But I was just telling a friend the other day that it was a fabulous summer, and here's how I spent it: 

Work

After four years of service, this was my final summer as T/ESOL Program Director (well, at least for now--I've agreed to participate in a rotation, but I hope it'll be several years before it's my turn again!). So my priorities were to facilitate the placement testing for incoming international students and help with a smooth transition for my colleague Ana, who would be taking over. Unfortunately, neither of us were given a summer contract, and our placement testing budget was tight. So we had to be very intentional about how we spent our time, and there were things I would have liked to do in terms of training her that we just weren't able to. On the plus side, it was fantastic to have her partnership in the placement testing work, and she did quite a bit of the heavy lifting in several areas (like creating calibration materials). We also had to continue adapting our procedures to accommodate the current stage of the pandemic, but at least this time we had last year's decisions to build on. 

In other work news, I submitted paperwork in May to request approval to apply for promotion a year early, and that request was approved in August. This week, I finalized my materials for the promotion dossier, which will spend most of this academic year working its way through various levels of review. If the promotion is granted, I should know by May, and it'll go into effect for Fall 2022, with a nice raise. (Such a long process!). 

I was also able to spend some time on professional development--I watched quite a few recorded sessions from the virtual TESOL Convention (which took place in March, with our access lasting till June). And I attended the Consortium on Graduate Communication virtual conference in June. Meanwhile, I submitted two proposals for TESOL 2022, which I recently found out were both accepted! This is kind of big news because that conference typically has about a 25% acceptance rate, and my proposals from the last few years haven't gotten in. It's also a bit funny because both of these accepted ones were reworked from previous submissions. :-) Here's hoping we'll be able to have the  conference in March 2022 in Pittsburgh as is currently planned. 

watching TESOL 2021 sessions on the front porch

Mark's major work commitment in the summer was band camp for the Falcon Marching Band, which takes place for 10 days just before classes start. It was a difficult band camp (for a bunch of reasons I won't get into here). On the plus side, his section is doing well--having grown by several members compared to last year. We were also delighted to be able to host an end-of-band camp gathering for the drumline at our house. The students were lovely guests, and they seem to really enjoy spending time together. 

chips, salsa, sausage dip, sub sandwiches

fruit & dessert

veggies, dip, hummus, pita chips

drinks

a group of students eating in the living room

a bit later on, playing Wii bowling

the group hanging out in the yard
got Mark to play a game of cornhole

a group playing video games upstairs

Mark's percussion equipment was a 
hit--he and several others spent
some time playing drum set

such polite houseguests--everyone took off shoes ;-)

Home

Speaking of the house, another big part of our summer was continuing to settle in and work on various projects. One adjustment has certainly been taking care of the yard--Mark's in charge of mowing, and I've been keeping up with the flower beds (plus the one tomato plant I was given as a housewarming). I had low expectations for all these things given my track record with plants, but the flowers were happy all summer, and the tomato plant has also done quite well! 

hostas in the flowerbed

yellow and brown lilies

red and dark mauve lilies

orange daylilies by the curb/alley

yellow daylilies 

purple coneflowers

tomato plant

one of my first tomatoes!

a plate of tomatoes--I've had a steady supply for 
weeks now, but I think the harvest is about over

Inside the house, our blinds were installed (most of them at the end of June, with one straggler that had to be reordered finally installed at the beginning of September). In July, we also ordered some blackout curtains to put over the blinds in our bedroom. They're doing a great job letting us sleep through the bright morning sun, plus we've found they also muffle the street noise--a bonus! We also ordered hardware for our kitchen cabinets but haven't made time yet to install it (that one, we're DIYing). And I've made some improvements in my home office--cleaning and setting up a beautiful rug (a wedding gift that we've not had a use for since we lived in ABQ!), and ordering a proper office chair (it makes a huge difference to have a more comfortable place to sit!). I've also done a bit of reorganizing here and there, with more things like that on my list as I find time and energy. 

very effective blackout blinds in Mark's game room

blinds in our bedroom

kitchen window blinds

living room blinds

bedroom window with curtains

the wrap-around curtain rods also help

freshly cleaned rug in the office

my desk with new office chair
(I have since added a rug underneath)

The major home owner headache has been our air conditioner. I'll spare you the details (you may have already put up with my complaining along the way!). But it seems like we might finally have the issue fixed and a partial payment for the work coming from our home warranty company. Lots of phone calls to get it all done, and it kept me feeling pretty anxious while we were figuring it all out. On the plus side, the HVAC company we worked with had really excellent customer service, so at least we have someone to call again when we need something in the future. 

new evaporator coil

Tin Man HVAC truck in our driveway

Travel & Visitors

The most exciting part of this summer, though, was being able to go places and see people again! I've already written about a few of those, but here's a rundown: 

We had an early summer visit from Mom, Dad, Katie, and Kaden--meeting our nephew for the first time! 

me with Kaden

Mark with Kaden

Kaden, Mom, me & Katie at tea

Dad reading while Kaden naps

Mark and I went to Cuyahoga Valley and Niagara Falls for a mini-vacation. 

Mark & me at Brandywine Falls 
(Cuyahoga Valley National Park)

Mark & me at Cave of the Winds
(Niagara Falls State Park)

Then we went to Springfield to see Mark's parents, Grandpa and some siblings. 

group selfie

me, Grandpa, & Mark

My parents took a road trip and visited us here in BG. 

Me, Mom, Dad, & Mark at tea

I flew out to ABQ to see everyone there. 

Daniel & me reading a book

Grandpa Mike, me, & Grandma

family photo at Gillman Tunnels, Jemez Mountains

My sister, Julie, and her family, Ben and Daniel, made a day trip to BG to hang out during their visit to Michigan to see Ben's extended family. This was Mark's first chance to meet Daniel! We had lots of pics of and with our nephew, but none with Ben & Julie--oops!

Mark, Daniel, & me

Mark & Daniel play bongos

I also had a lot of great one-on-one visits with my friends all throughout the summer, including an unexpected (but lovely) few days hosting Angela from Tennessee, and a lunch date with Terry from South Carolina. I coordinated a tea at the Swan House with my common meal dinner group (which survived the last year and a half on virtual meetings but is back in person now thanks to the vaccine--hooray!). I was pleased to have some local friends over and go to their houses, too. 

me & Terry

a beautiful breakfast tea at a friend's house

Common Meal group at the Swan House

Rest & Relaxation

As usual, I also tried to read a lot. Some of my favorite fiction from this summer (including young adult novels): Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, Beyond the Bright Sea, The Hired Girl, Downstairs Girl, Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, League of Extraordinary Women 1&2. And non-fiction: Rest, Don't Overthink It, Lazy Genius, Art of Gathering.

And I watched some movies & TV, including a couple seasons of The Good Place (with Mark--we're still working our way through), Making the Cut season 2, Behind the Attraction, and a variety of shows on Discovery + and Disney +. We also watched quite a bit of Olympics coverage on live TV. 

I continue to enjoy podcasts as well, and I tried a few new ones like Body Stuff, Anxiety Coaches, Lazy Genius, along with old favorites like Next Right Thing, Pantsuit Politics, Be Our Guest, Gastropod. 

Miscellaneous

We enjoyed taking lots of walks, exploring all over our new neighborhood (really, anywhere with in a 30-minute walking distance, we've checked out!). We made a visit or two to the Simpson Garden park, which has only gotten lovelier over the years. I've enjoyed stopping by the Farmer's Market most weeks, which is easier than ever now that we live only about 3 blocks away. 

stained glass at Simpson Garden Park

Mark did a great job of checking the schedules at the two drive in theaters nearby, and we went to each one once this summer. We saw Cruella Deville & Raya and the Last Dragon at one theater, then Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings & Free Guy. Both times, we lucked out with perfect weather. We liked all the movies except Cruella. 

the Sundance Kid Drive In at dusk

I love posing with these silly things--me in a car
with curious dinosaurs at the drive in

the screen and parking at Field of Dreams drive in

We were also able to support our friend Oliva, who graduated from high school, performed in her last local dance recital, and participated in the Wauseon homecoming weekend as the previous pageant winner. 

Mark, Olivia, & me at graduation

...and at the grad party

...and after the dance recital

...and at Homecoming

Near the end of August, my friend Chad and I continued our tradition of scouting out a Hatch chile roasting to replenish our freezers...this year's trip to the Detroit area was more than we bargained for thanks to low tire pressure, pop-up thunderstorms, and flooded roads. It took us about twice as long as we expected, but in the end, we did get our chiles (and our sweet treats from the Shatila Bakery). I am so thankful that I figured out how to get an annual supply of chiles out here!

the chile stand and roaster just after the rain

a trunkful of chile!

the flooded highway...we chose not to drive
across, but were stuck for quite a while

bakery treats--so delicious!

a large tray of peeled green chiles

estimated rainfall of 2-3 inches in Detroit that
day...we were right in the middle of it!

And last, but certainly not least, Mark and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. This year, we were grateful to be able to go out on a date: dinner and a movie (Black Widow--in the theater!). 

So, overall, it was a fantastic summer! And it's always hard to let summer go, but I'm determined to enjoy what fall has to offer as well. Happily, that's included some cooler weather, apple crisp, and continued connections with friends, along with the return to teaching classes (and the passing of the directorship torch!). 

my first-year writing classroom this fall

selfie on the first day of classes

Thanks for reading--if you're here, you're special to me, and I'm glad you're part of my life. How was your summer? What are you looking forward to this fall?