Summer Highlights 2023

Today is the last day of August, and we've definitely made the transition from summer to school year. I just finished the first week of classes, and Mark has already been through a 2-week long band camp and the first football game! So far, my students seem great, but it will take me a while to get used to this schedule (as it always does). 

In the meantime, I'll enjoy some rest this 3-day weekend and revel in a look back at this summer's highlights.  

Work

I was pleased to have another summer with no teaching or admin responsibilities, but I did a few things on my own, like attending the virtual CGC conference in June and reading some books (Grading for Growth and Teaching Effective Source Use). I also had the opportunity to work as a writing consultant at BGSU's first ever summer writing retreat for faculty. A colleague and I got paid a small stipend to be available for one-on-one consultations and provide feedback on drafts for faculty at the retreat, and it was super interesting! 

my writing consultation space in the library

Mark stayed busy with a variety of work throughout the summer, most notably running the largest drumline auditions he's ever done and writing drumline parts for two of this season's halftime shows. The auditions were competitive this year, and even after adding 5 cymbal players to the line, he had to make some tough cuts. 

watching a movie at the end of the first day of auditions

In the end, there are 36 students on the drumline this year, in the largest marching band in BGSU history. Mark also did a lot of work to help with planning for the season, and we checked in on the students who ran the "musical instrument petting zoo" again at Firefly Nights in June and July. 

kids playing tenor and snare

cymbals and base drum

During band camp, I dropped by a couple of times to say hello to the drumline and start meeting new students. We also hosted an end-of-band-camp gathering at our place, with the biggest turnout we've ever had. At their request, we moved it from Sunday evening (the day before classes) to Saturday night (after the last band camp event). It got a bit crowded here, but the students had a good time. We were tired when we kicked everyone out at midnight, but it was pretty nice to have a quiet Sunday all to ourselves before classes started!

Prof. Waters talking at band camp with
Mark next to him (he's rarely in any pics!)
courtesy FMB Facebook page

snare line on the field
courtesy FMB Facebook page

a base drum on the grass
courtesy FMB Facebook page

dessert table for the drumline gathering

drinks, sausage dip, and apple/pb slices

Travel

I've already posted about our trips separately, but they were certainly highlights of the summer (though they also feel like they happened a long time ago already!). Details about Alaska are here and here, and this is the post about Albuquerque. 

our feet propped up on the verandah

selfie with Mark at the Battleship waterfall

Friends

One of my goals this summer was to prioritize connecting with friends, and I think I did a pretty good job! I got together with people for lunch, caught up on the phone, and went on some outings. What I didn't always do was take pictures! But here are a few moments I got on camera!

Swan House lunch with Kimberly,
Maggie, and Lucinda 

Al Takeb, a middle eastern restaurant in Detroit

our food--I had the eggs with sausage (bottom left)

selfie with Xianlin & Angela at the Shatilla bakery

the Shatila bakery dessert
Mark & I like the best

a lovely lunch spread at Chad's house

Grand Rapids, OH mural downtown

me with a giant tiger statue in a
bookstore in Grand Rapids

I'd been craving a BLT, and this one from Georgette's
 in Maumee (with Maggie) really hit the spot!

green chile roasting at Walt Churchill's in Perrysburg

House & Yard

Nothing too interesting to report here, except that I continue to have trouble with getting any flowers planted from seed to grow in the front garden. Just a few zinnias and marigolds actually came up. The lilies out front and back continue to thrive, though! I have a tomato plant again, but so far, I've only had one tomato ripen. There are a good number of green ones on the vine now, so I'm hoping for more edible ones soon!

orange day lilies in the corner of the front yard

Other Fun

A few other interesting things to mention: 

We were lucky to see the Northern Lights on May 10! We went out on our normal walking route about 10pm with an eye to the sky, and, sure enough, we started to see them just a few blocks from home. So we watched a bit more from the alley behind our house, then drove out about 20 minutes from town to a dark parking lot in the middle of some fields for an even better show. It was spectacular! 

first glimpse, a few blocks from home

the sky through our neighbor's tree

looking north from the alley

the view from out of town

more colorful skies!

we were totally in awe :-)

I also celebrated another birthday--which happened to fall on the day we flew to ABQ. Our flight wasn't in the morning, so we took the chance to pick up doughnuts from our favorite local place. This turned out to be more important than I realized at the time because that bakery closed permanently just a few days later (we had no idea it was closing!). So I'm extra thankful I got those last couple of doughnuts!

doughnuts, milk, and cherries

In July, Mark and I had our 20th wedding anniversary! We had, of course, been celebrating all summer, especially on the Alaska cruise. But we also spent some time on the actual date by heading up to the Toledo Zoo in the morning. We went out to dinner that evening, too.

grizzly bears playing in their pond

mom & baby elephant

giant tortoise

selfie at dinner (Sunset Bistro)

We made it to the drive-in movie theater once, to see a double feature: Inside Out 2 (which we really liked) and Despicable Me 4 (which was silly but pretty fun). We also spent a lot of time watching the summer Olympics--the Peacock subscription was awesome. I especially enjoyed watching gymnastics, men's basketball, sport climbing, artistic swimming, and breakdancing.

selfie at the drive in--our first time in this car!

Olympics coverage on the Peacock app

After enjoying my experience with a friend last summer, I decided to buy a pool membership this year so I could go walking around the lazy river more often this summer. I was able to go enough times to break even on the price (compared to paying individually), but I don't think I'll buy the pool pass again...it's fun to walk, but I never went to the pool for anything else, and I'm not sure I like it as exercise better than other things I can do for free at home. Oh well--it was an experiment!

panorama view of the lazy river and pool

On the other hand, I loved going to the Wintergarden Wildflower Walks again. I think I made it to all 5 this year! Most of the time, my friends Ana and Chad were there, too. 

selfie with wildflowers

our group walking through the meadow

wild bergamot flowers

marsh mallow flower

more flowers...but I don't remember names for these!

And, last but not least, I did a ton of reading--it's definitely my default way to spend my summer free time. A few favorite novels from this summer include: Mornings with Rosemary, Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Small Admissions, Babel, Elsewhere, What to Say Next, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, Tom Lake, and A True Account. 

So, it's been a great summer! And there's always lots to look forward to in the fall, aside from school: apple season, local festivals and events, nice weather. Now that school's started, I'm ready for all those other things, too. 

selfie the week before classes, in front
of a "welcome back" sign, wearing my
new English Department t-shirt