Quick Takes

Between flu and the bustles in settling into the new year's routines and schedules, I have been dormant on the blogging front. Here are few quick takes -

• The enrollment for one my painting classes is at full capacity, the other two shy of maximum cap. Our tiny studio is a jumble of easels and taborets (a furniture fitted with wheels for holding palette and carting all the painting paraphernalia), jutting into and against each other. Negotiating through the lot tests one's agility and patience. 

• For the fourth year I'm working with a K-6 Catholic school on an art program for their Catholic School Week. Yesterday marked the first day of this year's project - so far, so okay. If I don't forget the camera tomorrow, I should have photos to share soon. 

• Maureen Mullarkey, whom I mentioned in the previous post, is now blogging at First Things. What a development! 

• Yesterday during the class with the first graders, the teacher sub inquired about my accent. I explained that I was Chinese. She said "I know. But it's not that. I don't know, but you sound like you might be from, like, Ireland, or somewhere." 

• KDM and I were given Season One of the 24 TV series for Christmas. We're now officially addicts although we try to limit it to two episodes a day. Tonight we watched hours 9 through 11. The actions are getting red-hot (since it's only halfway through the clockwork, I assume the white-hot stuff are still to come) as the plots become impossibly thicker. For the first time I had queasy stomach and irregular heartbeats from watching. KDM reported similar reactions. I didn't have to refrain from dipping into the next hour - two were all I could stomach. 

• It has not stopped raining since mid morning. We were under tornado watch for ten hours. When I got home no dog was there to give me the routine car-side welcome. I knew right away they had boarded Noah's ark - the mud porch. KDM said when the first thunders rolled in they beat him inside two by two. 

• Ireland??

With that, Good Night from here.