Back to school again. What a week! I have moved into my new office in the mall. Still can't believe I work in a mall. But the office is nice and spacious and will do the job. I bought a nice rug and am moving in colorful pictures and comfy things to make it feel like home. The most difficult part of this new set-up will be the commuting back and forth between downtown and the West campus, where I teach 3 classes. But today I got a dual parking pass for both lots which will make it much easier.

Jake's first week of school went really well. He likes 5th grade and seems in much better spirits now that school has started. He loves learning, thank goodness.

Back in the US again. South Africa was really a wonderful place to be for 2 weeks. The trip started out with a very, very long journey. First a plane trip to London Heathrow from Detroit. Then a 13 hour layover -- but smart me pre-booked a hotel room and I hung out there and slept and watched TV. Then the 6022 mile journey from London to Cape Town. That is a long flight. Might not have been the best idea to take an Ambien and drink 3 wines, but I did sleep most of the way!

The next smart thing I did, was decide not to rent a car. I am a pretty seasoned and gutsy driver, but Cape Town is a nutty place to drive and I would've freaked out! First, you have to drive on the left side of the road, and second the construction there is crazy with the World Cup coming there in 2010. I was met at the airport by my very nice driver (so cool to have someone waiting for you with the little sign with your name on it!) who took me to my apartment in City Center. What a luxury pad! It was a very modern 1-bedroom apartment with all of the trimmings. I had a kitchen, full bath, nice bed, washer & dryer, TV, great view of Table Mountain, the works. It was a nice place to hang out and convenient.

Cape Town, being a big city and not safe after dark, was not my favorite part of the trip. But it was a place you should see when you've gone that far. The first day I walked around a bit and did some grocery shopping, and bought a cheap cell phone. Good move -- it came in handy. And took a nap. I started to get hooked on the South African soaps on TV. They are hysterical and so different than their US counterparts. The thing that fascinated me the most was the slipping in and out of languages, sometimes from word to word. There are 11 officially recognized languages there, but the 3 most common are English, Afrikans, and Zulu.

The next day I woke up early and met the Baz Bus for a day-long tour of the Cape Peninsula. The Baz Bus caters to backpackers, so the trip was cheap and no-frills, which was fine with me. We drove to a town where there is a preserve for African penguins (aka "Jack Ass" penguins). I walked out on the boardwalk paths down to the beach, and you can see the little guys all around. Very cute. Unfortunately, even while holding the rail, I managed to take a really bad fall on the slippery boards and whammed my left elbow. I thought I had broken it, but didn't. It hurt like a bitch for a long time and I had a nice bruise in a few days. It still hurts after 3 weeks!

We then stopped at a place where we took a boat trip out to Seal Island, a small, rocky island where hundreds of Cape Fur seals congregate. The boat ride was beautiful, and the seals were beautiful as well.

OK, here comes the "what was I thinking?" moment of the trip. We stopped at a national park area, where we were given the opportunity to take a 6 km bike ride to commune with nature, see wildlife, die! Being significantly older than the other 6 people on the bus (all were in college) I couldn't shame myself and just ride with the bus to the ending spot. No, I hopped on a rickety old bike and did the ride. I thought I was gonna die! I made it, but every muscle and sinew in my body screamed in agony for 3 days.

We then visited a lighthouse point (I rode the tram up the mountain, thank you very much), then the Cape of Good Hope, which was beautiful. It is the southernmost point of Africa. And then back to Cape Town, where I proceeded to collapse in my bed and suffer in agony. Thank god for the soaps on TV and nice bottle of South African wine. Did I mentioned that there was a wine and liquor store next to my apartment building?

The next day I walked down to the V & A seaport, which was harrowing! Trying to cross traffic amidst construction and a strangely convoluted idea of directions was dangerous. It was a gigantic tourist attraction, thus my disappointment. But the sun was out and it was a nice walk. I managed to finagle a ticket to Robben Island that day on the 3 PM boat. Now this was worth the trip! RI is where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment, as did many other political prisoners before the abolition of apartheid. But only black, asiatic, and "coloured" male prisoners. ("Coloured" referred to the people of mixed-race that haved lived in the Cape area for hundreds of years.) The tour started by a drive around the island, which is pretty barren and scrubby. We saw the outprison where other prisoners where held; the limestone quarry where prisoners served their hard labor; the town on the island where the guards and their families lived and now is populated by some of them who remained on the island as well as former prisoners who chose to stay; the cemetery where the lepers were buried (the island once served as a leper colony); and a tour of the prison facility that was built for political prisoners.

The tour of the prison was conducted by a former inmate, which made it especially interesting and moving. We saw the cell where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment and the yard where he spent a lot of time.

Then I had dinner at "Mama Africa," this cool restaurant in a funky part of town.

OK, signing off for now. I'll continue posting my vacation highlights tomorrow!

Big day today. Mark and the Hondurans started to clear out and clean up the back yard and the gutters. Yeah!!!! I love these guys. I am proud that I limited myself to only a few rows of the lace shawl today. It is looking nice. I love that with lace you have to wait for quite a few rows to really see anything except some random knitting and a what looks like a bunch of knots. But at the magical point you start to see the patterns emerge. Knitting is so zen.

My second batch of Leland Blue came out of the tumbler today. They are AWESOME! I'm not sure what I did differently this time, but this batch came out really shiny. Maybe I left them in longer or putting in more Beanie Baby pellets did the trick. Several of the pieces have big blobs of metal in them that came to the surface. Really cool. Hopefully I will find a more efficient and less expensive way to drill holes in my rocks. Mark says he knows what to get but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe the rock hounds up north will be able to hook me into some cheap drilling places.

I really have to get back to practicing the viola. I have to play the Bach Chaconne in about 2 weeks, so it is imperative that I get off my ass and start practicing like yesterday! I'm just having too much fun being a lump -- call that a "crafting lump."

Ah, that unique end of the year time slot when my work is over at the university and Jake is still in school. It is a true luxury to have entire days all to myself. It makes me realize the beauty of pre-marriage and pre-child days! I wouldn't trade my life now, but it was so much easier then! I've cleaned out my bedroom and the closets and took bags of cloths and shoes to the resale store and to the charity. The only reasonable way to justify buying anything new! I finished knitting my Aran sweater and it turned out awesome -- just like I wanted it to. It hardly needed any blocking, just a light steaming from on the reverse side. It's big and baggy and comfy. Yeah!! I've started (for the 3rd time) a lace shawl. Lace is frustrating!! Lifelines, lifelines! And I've been buying way too many beading supplies and making way too many earrings. But it is so much fun. Hopefully I get to sell some to reduce the stock and to fund more jewelry making. Everything in Iowa is popping with green. It's amazing how the desolate, barren winter landscape literally bursts with green in just a few days.

Day 1 of string juries are over. One more to go. I'm bummed at myself for forgetting Cameo's recital yesterday. Sorry, Cameo! The gutters need to be cleaned. I'm almost finished with the first sleeve on my sweater. And I've run out of yarn and had to order a new skein. Good excuse to take a break from this project for a while. I get pretty obsessive with my projects. The beginning of the summer break is within sight and I'm happy about it. I can't wait to get back to northern Michigan and enjoy the sunsets and beachwalking again. Beachwalking is such a wonderful way to destress and focus. Very meditative. I have some good ideas of the types of rocks I will collect this summer. My first stop will be my secret beach for collecting Leland Blue; if you go at the beginning of the summer you can find all of the rocks that have washed up over the winter. And of course Petoskey stones. I have a batch tumbling that just went to the fine grit stage. A batch of Leland Blue is about half-way done with the fine grit stage, then the polish. I'm anxious to see how those turn out. And I'm starting to see the South Africa trip looming in the not-so-far distance. Only 2 months!

Jake's play is now over and it was a great success. It was so fun to watch him blossom from the fall's play. He certainly has not trouble expressing himself on stage! I'll try to post a video clip if I can figure out how to do it. I also enjoyed being a stage mother for a week. It was great to have the week free enough to take him to practice and pick him up for most of the rehearsals and performances. Young Footliters is really a great organization. I'm glad we've stuck with it.

It's Mother's Day today. Jake bought me red carnations, a wonderful funny card, and cooked me scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee for breakfast in bed, which is where I remain. I have read most of the NY Times, finished the crossword puzzle in record time, and am goofing around on the computer, downloading cool iPhone apps, and cuddling with the dogs. It is a beautiful day outside, sunny, cool, and breezy. Hopefully I'll get off of my butt and do some weeding in the front garden, which looks like some empty Detroit lot at the moment. (Hey Detroit, I love you!)

I only 2 days of string juries, starting tomorrow, then I'm done. I've got too much practicing to do, but lots of time to do it. I have to learn the Bach Chaconne on baroque viola for several performances starting in June. It sounds so beautiful on baroque viola and is so much easier to play as well. There also lots of things to do around the house, such as cleaning... God, I hate to clean. And Linnet Press editions to finish and have printed. Looking forward to the Farjeon and Dale releases this summer. I bought the domain name finally, and need to construct a site for that.

Last night my student Diana Mayne gave a truly great recital. I am very proud of her accomplishments this year. The last movement of Der Schwanendreher as solid as a rock! Today is the last day of classes for the year. It is a relief, but kind of weird, just like the entire year. I'm about to head over to The Wedge to pick up the pizzas for the studio party. Yum. I am hungry! Tonight is the premiere of Jake's play, "Fairy Tale Courtroom." He is playing the Bailiff in the trial of the Big Bad Wolf. His costume rocks! I think he's having a good time. But at Wednesday's rehearsal the BBW said something to him he didn't like, and Jake stormed off the stage saying that he could not work like that. A diva is born. Needless to say I was choking trying to hold myself back from grabbing him and dragging him back on stage. But he recovered. This is part of our ongoing issue with Jake: he is a target for bullies. Well, more on that later in another posting.

I'm new to this blogging thing, but it has always intrigued me. I should have started a long time ago. It's been such a stressful year. Life gets complicated. Work IS complicated. It's amazing how much an angry river can affect life. After teaching in a basement for a semester, then teaching in a very non-soundproofed and small office, I will move again to another location. That will be in a shopping mall! I never thought I'd work in a mall again since I was 17! But it will be much better than the current location.

So that's all I'm going to post now. I'll get the hang of this!