Major Life Changes

I got the notification today that I have passed my last Teacher Performance Assessment. On Thursday I will be finished with my formal education. On Friday I spend my last day with my students at Somerset Middle School as their student teacher in physical education and promptly jump on Amtrak to head up to Ukiah. The plan was to spend a week searching for a place to live when I move up there permanently in January but craigslist and some footwork on Laura's part means that I may spend that week moving a few boxes and setting up a house instead.

Warning: corny analogy ahead

I feel like this transition time has been a lot like my strategy for putting together puzzles. I don't look at the box so I don't really know what everything is supposed to look like but I always start by finding all of the edge pieces. Once I've sorted them all I out I begin to assemble the border and figure out how much space on the table I am going to need. After I've put together the border I start sorting the remaining pieces by coloring so that I can start putting together little chunks of the picture. If one of these chunks happens to fit onto the border I'll put it in the puzzle. As the chunks get bigger and I can start to see how they might fit with each other the middle of the picture begins to fill itself in. Finally, all that you are left with are the pieces that look exactly the same and you just start trying them to see if they'll fit in the empty holes.

My first trip to Ukiah was a whirlwind visit that did little more than give me a glimpse of the town itself but in each weekend trip that I've made since then I have been able to figure out a little chunk of what life will look like. Finding a church, frequenting the farmers market, walking most everywhere, exploring the lake, hiking through the hills, going to parks, finding local activities, and speaking with future employers have all given me brief glimpses into some of the things that I know I will love about living there. Spending a week in Ukiah will give me a chance to start figuring out where each of these chunks of the puzzle belong.

I will be largely nomadic for the month of December but am truly looking forward to starting fresh in 2013, putting the last few pieces in place to complete the new picture.

Homemade Candy

I've made a few candies this fall. A couple of people have asked for recipes so here they are:

Junior Mints and Peppermint Patties based loosely on this recipe.

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups based loosely on this recipe.

And tonight, a giant KitKat bar based on some chocolate and wafers.

I have also learned that the camera on my ipod just isn't that great compared to my real camera.

There is nothing more satisfying to me

than raking leaves and clearing storm drains. I don't know why but it has always been one of my favorite past times. There is nothing like the feeling that I get from standing on the street, drenched in rain, rake in hand, clearing the leaves from the tops of the drains, and hearing the satisfying sound of water cascading off the street and into the storm drain. It's just a nice feeling to know that I made a flooded street passable again.

Digging In Dirt

I must admit that I've been a little lost the last few weeks. I teach students and then go to school. Wake up early, go to bed not nearly early enough. Three days a week I start before eight and finish over twelve hours later. A continual pattern of physical and emotional exhaustion. There are so few things that I am connected to.

It has finally cooled off enough to finish replacing our sprinkler system. There is something inherently fulfilling about digging around in the dirt, fixing things, doing manual labor, and being able to say it's done. I probably should have chosen a career involving dirt. It grounds me and makes the world just a little bit clearer.

Collections

I found a way to display my foreign coins.