Turtleblues

Did I tell you I was doing Yoga on Mondays?

2004-09-27T06:57:00.000-04:00

My yoga teacher's name is Mike Condiff. I am on my third week of yoga classess at the Mind Body USA studio. I have been enjoying the distraction of being focused. I am not sure if I will continue with Yoga but it has been beneficial so far.

2004-09-19T14:56:00.000-04:00

A view from above

2004-09-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

Arial photography from the TerraServer USA website of our little rental house. Here are some facts about Huddleston:
Huddleston, VA
Quick FactsCity: HuddlestonState: VirginiaCounty: Bedford CountyZip Code: 24104Area Code: 540Population: 45656Latitude: 37.154717Longitude: 79.494856
Well, I am sure you found that helpful. Our little cottage is in the center of this picture. I love the web for being able to access this kind of image. I first learned about sites like this from my Weird Uncle Fred on his site Fragments from Floyd. I most recently was reminded of this site on Jay's blog JayBaz.
Jessica and I have played around with the idea of someday building our own nest. I will try to post a picture of that property soon. Thank God for inlaws with land!

Notes from the Shed/Office:Pizza in the oven!

2004-09-14T20:03:00.000-04:00

Should I trust my life to this man?

2004-09-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

I think this kind of boat is called a shredder. The man piloting the boat is named Howard Kirkland. I have been invited by my good friend Joe to take a little trip down the Lower Gauley River in West Virginia the second weekend of October with some of his Blue Ridge River Runner buddies. I will be in a raft with this man. I must tell you I am not the adventurous type. I love being on a river. Joe and I use to take his canoe down the James River all the time. But most of that was floating. I did try my hand at kayaking for awhile. The result was some torn cartlidge and a boat that sat in Joe's basement till he took it down a flooded creek knocking a whole in it. I don't miss the boat and my torn chest healed. (By the way, I hurt myself getting out of the boat to pee not on some big rapid.) I went canoe camping once before. We did about 60 miles of the James River from a place called Iron Gate to the town of Glasgow, VA. Glasgow might be familiar to any of you AT through hikers out there.
I had a little trouble the first day but was loving it on the second! We ended up being on the river for four days.
This trip is a little different. It is just for two days and one night. I will be riding in the raft with someone who has been down this stretch of river a lot of times in many different boats. I have no responsibilities besides staying in the boat and helping unpack the gear. The gear is for all the guys in kayaks like my friend Joe. I am praying for warm weather.

Am I becoming a Geek?

2004-09-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have traveled down a slippery slope. I was seeing how easy it was to find my blog on Google when I stumbled upon Blogshares. Yes, I signed up immediately for this virtual whatnot. Under my newly installed links you will see the icon. I now own 1200 shares of my own blog plus shares in Heather's World and Rob's Rabbet. I really wanted to buy some shares of Fragments From Floyd but I don't have enough virtual currency. (Note to my weird uncle Fred: You should really check this out if you need a confidence booster! Turtleblues is trading at like .22 cents while Fragments is trading at like $528.22 or something. Sheesh! To rich for my blood.) So, here I am playing an online game that I would usually make into a joke. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you spend Sunday morning online.
Let me know if I should be watching your blog stock by adding your URL to the comments section.

Notes from the Shed/Office

2004-09-07T18:22:00.000-04:00

Notes from the Shed/Office: Organization has taken place!

2004-09-06T11:01:00.000-04:00

Enchanting

2004-09-06T10:12:00.000-04:00

This beautiful building is The Aviary in Miller Park in Lynchburg VA. I have been to swing dances and lectures there. This is also the place where we held our reception after the wedding. I love this building and particularly this picture.

The Picture did not come with the frame.

2004-09-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I have not been married long. This dream picture comes from my Wedding day. Jessica, my wife, recently framed this picture for our living room. It serves as a gentle reminder that we find each other beautiful above all esle. We have over six-hundred pictures of our Wedding day. We had an excellent photographer. Our photographer was Sam Dean. He did the photography for our wedding then went to Afganistan as an imbedded reporter for the Roanoke Times. It makes a big difference in the pictures to have a photo-journalist as your photographer instead of the usual portrait artist. We were very happy with our pictures.
For the last few months we have been listening to Sam's adventures on our local public radio station WVTF. I love our local station. It introduced me to my weird uncle Fred by way of a radio essay. I have been daydreaming about sending an essay in my myself. Fred also is the reason I entered the blogging world. He really has a blog worth reading in Fragments From Floyd. I encourage all of you to go visit immediately especially if you like nature photography.

What a view!

2004-09-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

My first car was a 1964 Ford Falcon Futura convertible. When I bought it the front bumper was in the back seat, the windows wouldn't roll up, and there were an assortment of minor ailments. But I loved that old beater. I remember driving it around Knoxville Tennessee to mini car shows. It was nice to have everyone looking at you wondering, "hey, where is that guy going?" . It is amazing how material possessions can bring you so much joy and how quickly you can get attached to something. I sold this car when I went to college. It had a few problems that I didn't have the resources to fix like a severely rusted frame. But someday I hope to have another classic beater to play with when I have the resources to make it what I want.
I am learning about patience these days. If I were to run out with my check book in hand, I could probably buy a little beater to fix up but after it was here I couldn't do anything to make it solid. Oh, and I am sure Jessica wouldn't like to trade our small savings for something that would rust in the yard. So, I will wait. I will plan. I will dream. I will use patience to get what I want.

Daydreaming in the Shed/Office

2004-09-06T10:08:00.000-04:00

What we have here is a 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon. I have been keeping my eyes open for one of these for years now. Unfortunately, I haven't found one when I had a little cash saved up. This particular wagon was for sale on ebay a couple of years ago. It went for the incredibly low price of $1250. So maybe one day I can pick me up a little grocery getter like this and transform it into a roadtrip car.
Jessica and I have been talking a lot about the future. Trying to combine our individual dreams with our collective. She really likes this dream of the classic station wagon. I too have been attracted to some of her dreams. It is amazing what two people working together can accomplish. I have great faith in a future full of realized dreams.

Making New Friends

2004-08-23T19:19:00.000-04:00

Here is my new friend Reid. You may remember me telling you about a recent trip to a wedding in Pennsylvania. We were there to be with Jessica's many Blacksburg friends celebrating one of the groups wedding day. I really only knew the groom. I met many interesting people on this little trip. By far, my favorite was the Bazuzi family: Jay, Julie, and Reid. I had seperation anxiety when we left the Chalk Hill Lodge. My nurturing wife had to comfort me all the way home. If you would like, you can check out Jay's Blog. His blog is way over my head as far as daily content. It is all about computer codes and such but occasionally he posts some personal stuff that I can relate to.

Struggling with my usage.

2004-08-22T21:49:00.000-04:00

Have you heard about the grammar book on the New York Times bestseller list? It is called Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. I will admit to reading a chapter or two from this book. My grammar is consistentlly incorrect. Now, you may be thinking this is an odd trait to find in an English teacher. Perhaps, I should explain further. A long debate has taken place about what is standard English and what is correct grammar. I believe we all have our own grammar. As long as we are consistent it is "correct". For instance, when you are in your home town you may speak differently then when you are attending your college reunion. I think this is fine. In both instances you use a consistent grammar with others who recognize your usage. As an English teacher I want students to retain their ability to speak in a home code as well as speak in the hall of academia. My problem is this: I can't seem to stay in one code! One minute I am speaking like an NPR broadcaster and the next you would think I am speaking to my Scotch-Irish ancestors buried on a mountain side in Floyd and Augusta Counties! Well, I may have been pushing it abit with the whole NPR thing. Anway, I am bit nervous about next week. I have been silent around the other English teachers.
I am not endorsing Lynne Truss' book. I am still searching for the grammar book that will help me with, what David Foster Wallace would call, my standard white english. Until then, please pray for the poor souls who think I am going to teach them the right way. I am not even sure it exists.
I have been in an article reading mood. If you are sharing this need for quality essays (and probably not getting those needs met here) please check out his article by Louis Menand called Bad Comma in one of the June issues of the New Yorker.

The Robot in Me

2004-08-22T09:49:00.000-04:00

QRIO and I have a lot in common. QRIO is a marvelous new invention from Sony. This is the first robot able to run. I am in the middle of teacher orientation for my local school district or teacher programming for the herd mentality. I have been feeling a bit like a sell out. I went to school all these years to prepare myself to be a teacher. Turns out, all you have to do is teach the material the school board has given you on the school board's timeline and in the end use the school board's assessments. The system is trying to idiot proof itself. An idiot being anyone who may wander from the map.
It gives me a headache when they tell me to use all multiple choice questions when I test. I understand their reasoning. The standardized tests use multiple choice questions; using multiple choice questions in the classroom will better prepare the students for these tests. It doesn't matter that multiple choice questions are a horrible way to assess student knowledge. This is just one instance of the kind of selling out I am asked to do.
Adding to my frustration is the fact that I am considered a floater. A floater is a teacher without a classroom. I go to someone else's classroom to teach. So I am a bit of a gypsy. At the moment it is doubtful that I will even have my own computer to use while at school. I guess I will have to buy a bigger bag.
I keep telling myself it will all be ok when the students arrive. That this will be my reward for constant oversight. I hope I am right. Until then, I will do my QRIO dance and get back up when I am knocked down. I do this by running home to read the words of Neil Postman and John Taylor Gatto.
My friend, Matt, was the first to introduce QRIO to me on his website jedimom.com

When a cat sneezes....

2004-08-17T09:19:00.000-04:00

Did you miss me?

2004-08-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

Falling Water
I was away from the blogging world this weekend. Jessica and I went to a friend's wedding up in Pennsylvania. It was our first wedding we attended as a married couple. Having a new view point on what it takes to put on a gathering such as this made us much more appreciative of being invited. While we were there we visited the famous Falling Water House by Frank Lloyd Wright. We throughly enjoyed the tour. Unfortunately, the house on Bear Run was designed for the Kaufman's who must have been very short people. The tour guides where very vigilant in telling me to watch my head since most doorways were six inches shorter than I. I managed to make it all the way to the guest house before cranking my head on a doorway. It does make me wonder about my height? I am the tallest member of my family ever surpassing my father's 6 foot 2 inches. Will I have a giant kid? Are people really getting taller? Why? Are we evolving to play basketball and reach the high shelves? My Ma use to tell our friends she put Miracle Grow in my shoes. Maybe it was all the Golly Green Giant canned vegetables. Whatever it was that led to my growth, I will be sure to have a house that matches me when Jessica and I decide to build.

Notes from the Shed/Office: Last Day of Work

2004-08-12T09:28:00.000-04:00

A writer's place

2004-08-12T08:59:00.000-04:00

Anne Spencer's Edankraal

Brief description of the Shed/Office.

2004-08-12T08:25:00.000-04:00

A desk I would feel much more comfortable with having. But my desk will do for our current purposes. Many of you have asked about my little shed/office on the edge of the cow pasture. Well, I am sorry I don't have any pictures to share with you of the shed/office as of yet. Jessica and I are still deciding on what kind of camera to purchase. Maybe I will run out and buy one of those disposal digital jobs . Temporarily , using it to fast foward a few images of my new abode.

I can't begin to tell you about the new place before telling you about the one I left. I lived, for five years, in a one room cottage in the woods that overlooked a pond. That place was very important to me and it was hard to leave. I rented it from Danny Givens. He is also the one who one's the bookstore where I am finishing up working. Today is my last day at the bookstore. Check my audio post for more on this. When I say the cottage was one room, I mean that literally. It had a kitchen area, my bed, futon, but it was mostly taken up by a wraparound computer desk that is on loan from my friend Joe Schuppe. I ate all my meals at that desk and generally spent most of my time either at the desk or on the porch; both overlooked the pond. So, after Jessica and I were married, I had to do something about a place to write and study. Luckily, we had this shed. At one time, I am told, an old farm worker lived in this place. It isn't very big but he had electricity and wood burning stove. The stove is gone but there is still the chimney pipe open for the elements. Before I but a temporary cap on the chimney, I had a nice little waterfall into a five gallon bucket when ever it rained. I set up the same desk from the cottage up in the corner then began setting up the computer. Last week I ran a phone line from the house to the shed.
I am an only child. Having my own space is very important. I am sitting her this morning watching the cows graze right outside my window. I still have many repairs and a lot of organizing to do. There is a mountain of rubbermaids behind me awaiting some organization. On the to do list of repairs is the following:
A new door
Two new windows
Fresh coat of paint on the tin roof
Hanging of a shop light

I will be heating the little area with an electric radiator heater. I heated my whole cottage with one back in Lynchburg. I will do my best to get some pictures up soon of the new writing home. As a teacher, I am always telling students they need a place to work on their studies. A desk, a window seat, or a spot in a library will do, but they need to feel some security in their place. I often use as an example Anne Bethel Spencer. She is a famous poet who lived in Lynchburg. I frequently went to her gardens to read. Her husband built a small writing space in the gardens that she named Edankraal. Her family preseved the house and grounds as a historical monument. It really is quite neat. I will post a picture of it soon. I often looked in the windows to see if I could see her at work. (She died the year I was born.) Sometimes, I thought I saw her shadow.
So, a place to work is very important to me. This is why you will hear me mention the shed/office so much. You will hear about the view from the window, where the dog is laying, and how the cat jumped into my lap with very wet paws on her way to take a nap in her special cubby hole complete with a rug I crocheted for her. The only thing I can add to the list of things that this place needs is a name. Any ideas?

Notes from the Shed/Office

2004-08-11T09:58:00.000-04:00

Boys & Girls

2004-08-11T08:43:00.000-04:00

Cora Cowart
This picture is a few years old. That happy smile belongs to Cora who is the daughter of my friend Mark. I have never seen Cora in person but am thankful for the technology that brought this image to me. Yesterday, techonolgy also brought a challenge to my thinking. Even though I am a new blogger (which is becoming more and more obvious when I try to post something), I have been enjoying other people's blogs for a while now. You may have seen the link to Fragments From Floyd in an earlier post. Fragments is probably the reason I started this blog. I hope, through this blog, my writing might progress along the lines of my Weird Uncle Fred (Uncle here being an affectionate term and not to be confused with some family tree). But I read other blogs not written by men with grey beards. One such blog is called Heather's World.
This blog is a lot of fun. Heather lives up in Vermont, with her mother (who also blogs Wendy Usually Wanders), filling her time up with being a carpenter, homesteader, traveler, shade tree mechanic, and organic farmer. Let's just say this is one incredibly ambitious 20 year old.
On her website yesterday was an essay about her feelings toward gender roles and dating. I and about 20 other people helped to flood the comment section with rants and ideologies that must have flooded Heather's inbox. My problem was simple. I hated the old paradigm of gender roles and wouldn't allow Heather to make her own decisions. So in all my rants I fell flat on my face. It had nothing to do with being right.
As school time approaches I hope this lesson learned will help me relate to my ninth graders. I do not want to force them into old gender roles in the classroom. You know...Girls are smart...Boys have behavior problems. I was hoping my small readership could at to my understanding by telling us a story or two about how gender roles affected your education or how it is affecting the education of your children and grandchildren. I have to tell you that I am a bit scarred that one of my sensitivity rants will come out in the classroom.
Thank you all for visiting today. I would be happy to visit your blog if you leave the address in the comments section. I hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Goodmorning audio

2004-08-10T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Wife and I

2004-08-10T11:11:00.000-04:00

I'm the one on the right. The beautiful women to my left is my wife Jessica. This photo was taken by Fred First in Floyd Virginia last year on a visit to Fred's beautiful homeplace. Please visit his blog: Fragments From Floyd

Welcome!

2004-08-10T10:32:00.000-04:00

I have really enjoyed reading other writer's blogs. So now I will enter this world myself. I am not sure what form this blog will take or even if it will survive the next few weeks. I recently ran a phone line out to my shed/office. I have been writing a few letters out here and listening to Animal Radio when I try to organize. I love mail and emails that I can respond with letters and emails of my own. So welcome to my non-place. The view from here is still a little fuzzy.