Yummy Dessert

Just because we like sweets.

I once caught a fish this big . . .

New Rug and Baseboards

About 2 weeks ago, Ted and I got a new rug, which you can see in the picture below. Do you like it?



Ted also cut all the baseboards last weekend, and if you look closely, you can see them. They have not been painted or nailed in yet; we decided we would finish our painting first and then nail them in. Since I was still studying last weekend, we knew we couldn't get to that project right away. But now we (or at least I) should be able to tackle that project now that the exams are out of the way.

All Done!

I took my last preliminary exam on Wednesday, and since then, I haven't really known what to do with myself. I studied for the exams three days a week, approximately six hours per day, for nine months. Now that it's over, I have this nagging feeling that I need to be doing something - like reading or skimming through my notes. I'm sure the feeling will go away eventually. Besides, I am still in a graduate program, and I still have a long way to go. But for now, I going to try to relax and enjoy the fact that I only have teaching to worry about right now.

I should know in a couple of weeks whether or not I have passed the exams. I met with my dissertation director yesterday, and he basically assured me that unless something went terribly wrong during the exam, I should have this thing wrapped up. In fact, he was grading the first exam that I took for him when I walked in.

He and I also discussed what I need to be working on in order to complete my complete my prospectus. You see, the university decided not to renew his contract, in spite of the fact that he is one of the most widely published and prestigious professors at the university. Go figure. World Magazine did a piece on him recently. You can view it at: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/13891

In any event, I will be working long distance with my director. It will be challenging, no doubt, but I hope that it will work in my favor, allowing me to have more freedom as I write. We'll see how it goes!

One down, two to go

I have survived my first of three preliminary exams. The exam itself was fine. I was well prepared for the question and felt that I answered it thoroughly. The events leading up to the exam, however, were less than ideal.

I entered the English office five minutes before I was scheduled to take the exam. When Lois, the English department secretary, arrived, she attempted to retrieve my exam question. After one full hour of questions, phone calls, and discussions (I sent you the question. Why don't you have it? No sir, you did not send the question. I have not received any communication from you in several months. I thought I sent it. What did I do with it? I'll look in my email. It's not in my email. Where could it be!?!? Oh, here it is. On my desk . . . where I left it), I was finally able to take my exam, albeit in a different location and at a different time than I had actually anticipated. Oh well. I suppose all in all that I'm pretty lucky. At least I didn't get one of those awful questions that every grad student has heard about - the kind that are nearly impossible to answer or have little to no relation to the texts you read and studied diligently for several months.

I have been assured that this will not happen during my next two exams. I have also been promised lunch. So at least I have that to look forward to for all my morning woes today.

Our New Look

Our flooring is finished and our new furniture has landed. Here's a few photos of the new look.

The photos above were taken just as Concrete Guy was finishing up his work late on Friday (as in 9 pm, 'cause he didn't start working on our place until around 6 pm . . . )

The next set of photos show what the floor looked like after a day of "setting" and with the new furniture:

Let me remind you, that is black stain. No, the color did not turn out black, but we still love it. Apparently, Concrete Guy would have had to spray several coats of stain on the concrete to get it to look truly black, but he decided to make it lighter. Good call Concrete Guy. We're very happy with the way it turned out and are loving our first set of furniture. We feel like we have a brand new place that is really, truly our home. On top of all that, the flooring is environmentally friendly. It maintains a temperature of 68 degrees, which means that our place will stay much cooler in the summer, allowing us to save money on our electricity bill. That means our flooring should pay for itself in a few years' time.

Now that the flooring is done, we need to tackle our other projects: painting, installing baseboards, staining the rail in the stairwell, replacing lighting fixtures, replacing the vanity in the half bath, and adding some accents to the living room. A remodeler's work is never finished.