Bob Dylan and Multitechnological Distractions

Working on lesson plans for the Minnesota Humanities class, I wrote one on Bob Dylan and Hibbing, MN. The gist of the lesson was a student photo documentary on the sliding scale of alienation and a sense of belonging in a student's local community (school or otherwise).
What happens to me when I work on the web looking for resources is that I am distracted considerably. There must be some label for people like me, who cannot stay focused on the task at had and gets distracted with the multitude of information, video, photographs, web links, and interesting sidelines to the direct goal at hand. Instead of my mind working in a circular format, it goes out into the abyss, scattering to the wind. Some would call it "easily distracted". I guess I would call it "There is sure alot of stuff out there".

Iowa Sweetcorn: or Bloom where you are Planted

We were a little late getting out there, but a church friend and farmer has a patch of sweetcorn he graciously gives away each year to people. So, this morning, Saturday, the last weekend before teacher inservice, we stood inside the corn patch with our metal baskets shucking corn. The sky was blue, the white clouds floated effortlessly overhead and the breeze rustled the trees in the grove nearby. At that moment, I was in pure bliss. No, I am not in Beijing, China for the 2008 Olympics...No, I am not on some sunny beach by the ocean taking in the sound of the waves....No, I am not at the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking in the J. M. W. Turner exhibit.

Now the work begins as we scald, scrape and bag the corn for the freezer. Lots of work? yes. But, there is much satisfaction in knowing where my corn has come from, who has handled it, and how it was processed. Nothing worse than a bag of frozen corn from the store, without personality or flavor. Another example of craftsmanship and process.

"TEchNoloGy for the novice" or the "Leap of Faith" into the digital abiss

I constructed a new blog today. I felt inspired to create a blog specifically for the Lake Mills 7-12th grade artroom. Inspiration and motivation swept me into the designing of a new name for it. I came up with Designing Dogs. (We are the Lake Mills Bulldogs) I tried many names before I could find one that was available. So, this is it. I feel good about that. What I do not feel good about is the fact that I altered my "About Me" for the Designing Dogs blog which is presently rather dry and without any personality. And in doing so, I also altered the great write up I had for "Roadside Park". One influenced the other. I suspected this might happen and therefore copied and saved the original. Great idea, right? The bad news is that , in a moment of haste, I copied over it to insert the schools Mission Statement. All in all, technology is a great tool. But, there is so much unknown to this individual. Trial by error is necessary. It is the leap of faith into the digital abiss.

The harvest begins..

Here they are...tomatoes and onions. Salsa. I am a little short on the green peppers, however. Jalapenos I have!! Celia is guarding the tomatoes. This morning I am trying my hand at drying tomatoes. The last two Mother Earth News had articles on drying vegetables and making your own cheese. I am going to try both. I am a new reader of Mother Earth. We have had it in the past but I was "too busy" to mess with that stuff. Now my mission is to slow down an develop more of a craftsman attitude in my process. The old "Quality over Quantity..." "Less is More"...

I found this quote by Johannes Brahms the composer..

“Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind”

The importance of slowing down and paying attention to what you are doing. This is good words for the upcoming school year where I tend to be totally split into multiple responsibilities and objective. Creating a sense of wholeness versus a disconnected jumble of pieces should be my main goal for the year.

Meanwhile.... I put garden produce away for the winter. School starts Monday.

Ode to Ely....

This is a short video I took with my digital camera of the lakeshore. Just peaceful remembrance.

Frank goes back to teach part time music starting Monday at the school. He will be giving instruction to beginning 5th graders. He will be aligning their nurons into musical patterns. I have one more week until I start inservice. Many miscellaneous odds and ends need to be completed before my time is no longer my own. And, now as in every August, the garden's bounty has arrived. Corn, cucumbers, carrots, green pepper, tomatoes, the inevitable zucchini, eggplant and more, more ,more.. I did learn today after church that you can microwave an ear of corn wrapped in waxed paper for three minutes and it comes out pretty good without boiling a ton of water. Tip for the day.

Time for School

Where did the month go? I just returned from the Iowa State Educational Association/s three day summer workshop in Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa. A couple days before that I was spending a week in Ely, Minnesota with my sisters while the men in our lives were in the Quetico, Canada on a canoe trip.
Yesterday I went to school to sort through a few boxes to put art supplies together that come in the mail over the summer. Four hours later, I emerged. I needed to sort through a coop purchasing order that was combined with the other art teacher and the school secretaries. We ended up opening each box and sorting through because there was no names on anything. It took a long period of time. Now, I need to get it to my artroom and put it away. That is another day.

Ely Adventure

Back up north to Ely, MN tomorrow. The husbands and male cousins are going to Quetico Boundary Waters canoeing for a week, nine of them. My sisters and I are going to camp in a more civilized manner (pop-up-camper at a resort on a lake) Luckily, the Blueberry Festival will be in progress when we arrive and we will be able to participate in that. Therefore, I am collecting things to do (knitting, drawing supplies, writing equipment, books to read, yarn to spindle, layettes to sew for church,) and also food to pack. I have my clothes ready to go. This will be my respite ofr the summer, my total immersion into waves lapping onto a beach, wind rustling in the tree tops and the scent of pine in the air. I will lose myself completely........... and when I return it will be time to refocus on the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.