Not Too Many More Weeks of the Easy-to-Nab Flower Arrangements. They're Slowly Dwindling and Drying Up, But For Now, Some Color

I figured I should begin the first week of school with a little flare, as it's hard to know that so much of m mental space needs to transition from CWP Teacher-Leadership joy back to the routines of meeting, bureaucracy, hubris, and power plays. I just want to teach, do service, and continue the research I came here to do. I have no desire to be pulled into all the other games.

I'm still thinking about my first year at Fairfield when senior colleagues said to me, "the river is splitting for you soon. You'll have to choose sides." I never did. I simply kept my oars down in National Writing Project, NCTE, NCTEAR, and LRA waters and didn't get into the local politics of my school. Yes, I found those across campus that did the same and have always been quick to jump on committee work with integrity and a purpose. All else is a distraction, but it takes a lot of might to put up a resistance to their distractions.

Inhale. Exhale. I'm here for kids, teachers, and the communities I belong, too. 

Last night, the Silvers had me over for barbecue and corn hole (how is Ethan 23 already) and I ate my fill and then some. Fantastic chicken and ribs. I definitely owe them a meal or three, because they always include me in their family shindigs. I also love have school administrators in my world, helping me to see what research doesn't detect....especially for those who dedicate themselves to urban schools. 

My psoriasis flare-up is definitely aware that it's about to start back up. I should remember, though, that the summer months are 100 times more demanding that Fall and Spring semesters...it's just the bureaucracy is amplified by all who disappear in the summer returning with their demands, needs, and power trips. It is something.

Ah, but I have the flowers blooming, use of my front porch to make magic happen, and my best intentions to ride along with me. 

As Kathy said tonight, "Just do you, Crandall. Nothing else matters." 

And with that...I have a motto.

The Fine-Dining Days Will Soon Be Ending as a New Semester Kicks In, But For Now, When I Have Time, I'll Spend a Day Cooking

I had four-cheese tortellini and bacon and made the mistake of typing that into Google. I found a creamy dish (like my creamed potatoes), and had asparagus, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spinach, too. The result? Well, I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen making a dish to see how it would turn out. It was fun to make (after the bacon...not a fan of any grease). 

Pam matched the dish with chicken glazed with apricot jelly and with a little Italian bread, we had a quality out-to-eat experience but from our own labor. Two nights in a row we've been eating like we're food influencers on Tik-Tok trying to get fans. So, so good. 

Today is supposed to rain all day, so I'm hoping to go into grant writing land and book editing mode. I worked on syllabi all last week and laid low with the academic labor Friday and Saturday. I suppose I should get back to it today...I don't mind the work I like to do. I just don't like doing the silly work that goes no where with committees. I remember my colleague Rona once said, "I like to get shit done," and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the majority of University work is meeting after meeting talking about what might be possible without every getting anything done (or listening to this that get the work done). So, I try to chisel my time for what I know I will accomplish with colleagues beyond campus in National Writing Project work.

Lawn was mowed. Karal was walked. Kitchen was cleaned and dog poop was removed. This was followed by another awesome dinner, so I'll call the day a success. 

Okay, Sunday before Labor Day....be a good one. Hello, September. We meet again.

Pam Mastered the Greek Chicken, Feta, Tomato Pita-Bread Sandwich and I Was There to Be Witness (Delicious)

She told me she bought a Greek skewer to stack chicken, onion, and potatoes in her oven. It was a pyramid of poultry, but we knew the flavors within the pita-bread sandwich was a secret sauce. I cut up pickles, tomatoes, and cucumber, and she also added tater tots and a tahini dressing. It was better than any restaurant's version and I will be talking about it for years.

This was the last Friday before Labor Day weekend, and the kick-off of a new school year. The meal was one for a lifetime and I'm very happy I have the friends and family that I have. The temperatures cooled, no humidity, and the beach sky was superb.

I even got a nap in, having started my morning with a walk where I was drenched from sweat, simply because we went so far. 

I still need to clean the hulk. She's a mess of receipts, loose food, and dog hair. I hope to vacuum her out today and also to mow the lawn. I should also trim the trees and bushes, now that the neighbors behind me have excavating their backyard and I can see it now. It's no longer a jungle.

Kudos, too, for no olives. I know some like that sort of vomit in their Greek food, but not me. What a meal and great way to kick off a three-day weekend. It was a healthy meal, too...one to replicate in the future. Delicious. Teeth-licking joy.

Meat tower...whod've thunk it? And potatoes on the bottom for Beverly.

This was a winning meal, indeed. A+++++++.

I may never go back to cheese and crackers again. I want to do a total replay of the meal during tonight's dinner-fest. Delicious.

And with that...Goodbye August and Summer '24 - last day today. Phew. That was fast.

13 Years Ago I Came for Faculty Orientation as a Professor of the Practice Still Needing To Finish His Dissertation (and I Met These Two)

I was living on campus when I arrived to Fairfield (they said it was faculty housing, but it was a two floor townhouse with hard-as-a-rock mattresses. I survived (as I taught the teacher institute and by Fall I found a three-bedroom house to rent in northern Stratford (rent was three times as high as my mortgage in Syracuse). Welcome to Connecticut, they said.

During orientation, where mission and identity were highly encouraged, I heard a woman speak from across the room. She was a new hire in the MFA program and I realized quickly, "She's Brown School, super cool, and I'm going to be her friend." She made it to full professor several years before I did, but she also came in from another institution. I had to finished my doctorate, first. I did that (actually won a doctoral prize for outstanding research) and started my career as this POP thing. Two years in, the then Provost talked to me about taking a tenure track position, which I did (by reapplying and pretending I didn't know anyone) and then started the journey towards publication, teaching, and service. 

Throughout it all, I always had Sonya Huber and her husband Cliff as guiding lights...sunshine for the dark days and artists along a parochial landscape. We're all creative, definitely outside the box, fight for justice, and have radars that see through nonsense rather quickly (which makes us outliers where we work, so we have to be very careful...and it's probably one of the reasons we only see one another on occasions. If we're in the same vicinity we tend to explode as if an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse. So we keep a loving distance, but not so much that we lose the oxygen we each provide.

Sonya is our new Faculty Welfare Committee President and I'm super happy for her leadership in protecting the rights of academic freedom, labor, and ethical deliberations. She is very deserving and I loved seeing her and Cliff at the afternoon picnic yesterday...so much so that I took their picture and realized how beautiful they both are.

I'm still not ready to admit that on Tuesday we're back in action, but we are and students begin arriving today. I'll stay home, thank you, as I've started a couple of writing projects and rally need deodorant and coffee. So, I'll likely go to the grocery store.

And in my next life I will have Cliff's hair...talk about hair model. Phew. it doesn't even look real. Here's to us and another year of persevering the impossible. 

Harvesting Cosmos Seeds and Hoping It Works. Bonus to Be Gifted Another Summer's Joys From the One's Blooming This Year

I never made it to the beach. It was way too hot...miserable hot. Karal and I walked in the morning and I was drenched. Her tongue dragged to the ground. I guess Connecticut needed a one-two punch of heat before the cool down (although it is coming without any storms). It was the oppressive heat kind of day - so much that you didn't know what to do but stand in a cold shower and drink ice water. Should I have a pool, I would have been in it the entire day, but as Bev said, "It's too hot even to stand in a pool" (that was her, not me).

So I accomplished much of my to-do list, moving further along the road than I expected. I will say that the heat reactivated my psoriasis to a whole new level and my legs are on fire. The poor ankles look like I've been attacked by fire ants.

With temperatures dropping today, I might take a roadtrip to Hartford to see my friend Jason who has been battling cancer. I've had a gift for him for a while, but he keeps having to go back into the hospital. I feel terrible I haven't made it to see him, and am hoping he is taking visitors in his home this week...one of the smartest English professors I know....NYTimes/Jeopardy/Wordle smart...and focused, passionate, driven, positive, and hard work.

The cancer diagnosis came quick and as he's a National Writing Project brother, it's been bothering me that I haven't made it that way. Today I am hoping to be the day, as well as harvesting more Cosmos seeds. Honestly, if I could give everyone Cosmos seeds each and every year, it would make me a much better human being. 

Here's to blooms.

Soaking In the Last Days of Summer Joy While We Can...The Dog Days are Dwindling and I Know One Canine Who Has Mastered the Intentions

I can't help but capture Karal's many positions as she takes respite from a busy weekend (and an even busier summer). She knows we only have a few days in-between summer work and the Fall semester, so she poses to remind me that the shorter days remain ahead. 

I hear her, and with temperatures heading to the high 80s today, I might just join her in taking some time to enjoy it. Maybe the beach, kayaking, paddle boarding, and feet in the sand (sorry, Karal...no paws allowed at Walnut Beach).

We are lucky to live where we live with the allure of kinder days.

I was talking to several teachers and administrators yesterday, setting our goals and promising one another to lock arms and dedicate ourselves to self-care and joy when I looked over to the dog and thought, "We all could learn a lot from Karal."

Find the light. Bask in it. 

We shall see what today will bring, as I've set syllabi goals, a communication task, and conference organization to be accomplished before any playtime. I was also working on the 11th edition of POW! Power of Words, and I'm hoping to get it to the publisher in record time (thanks to Corrigan Scholar Max Limric...what an awesome human being).

Here's to the blue skies and sunshine. We got this.

Yesterday Was International, Co-Dependent Fur-Monster Day for Those Who Celebrate and Since It's Tuesday, I'll Be a Day Late on this Platform

...as irrelevant as this platform has become (I'm an old dog and it takes me a while to learn new tricks). I was late to the Twitter world and will leave late, too, because I'm cautious about any and all changes I make in my life (not that nay of this stupid stuff matters anyway in the big picture). 

Kanyea, Courtney, and Malia-Celine left around 11:30 and I took Karal for a long walk to readjust her to a quieter home. I imagine she'll sleep for a few days because she was on high-energy mode the entire time they were on Mt. Pleasant. The baby made her jealous and she was on constant patrol of getting anyone's attention, including the 1 year-old's. such a spastic dog.

Tomorrow the temperatures spike high again, so I'm hoping to use today as a day to get the yard work completed, wash the car, work on syllabi, do laundry, clean the garage, and figure out life's meaning.

That won't happen, but I can make lists like Chitunga from time to time.

In the past few days I've been contacted by the majority of faculty who have left my school and department, wishing me a good year and saying, "Just hold your head down and continue to do the good work." That's been my mantra since 2011. Very few of the people who do just that remain, so holding that philosophy gets trickier and trickier each year. I'll try. I've told them I have no game plan for the year accept survival and more joy. I typically prioritize joy and integrity, which perplexes most who operate without joy or integrity. Fascinating actually. 

Okay, Tuesday. You had the ultimate four-day distraction, and now it it time to get back to the to-do list. Ugh. I've always said it takes a baby/toddler to calm me down. It remains, true.