I have thought long and hard <grrrr> about this new year.
The 2nd Yahrzeit (anniversary) of Erich's passing was last weekend; I this point it's a given that he's not coming back (yes, that's a joke). Boots is pushing 19 years old and at night I wake up and touch her just to make sure she's still breathing; I don't know how much longer she has left but let's hope it's until 2026.

School's going good and even though it's just the first week I am enjoying the classes and the teachers.  Last year I took the bus from the parking lot to the LBJ Student center and then walked to the Art building for my morning classes. My afternoon class was on the quad so I would walk there and usually have lunch in one of the dining areas and after class then walk back to the car. On average, per my Fitbit, I was walking 2700 steps, 1+ miles, and 7 flights of stairs.  I plan to walk both ways this year unless I am carrying too much stuff, it is brutally hot and/or humid or freezing or raining. I did this Monday and I walked 3+ miles, 24 floors, and 8+ thousand steps.  I am also NOT going to each lunches in the dining areas... I am packing a sandwich, fruit, veg, snack, and water. I might each lunch or dinner either in a dining hall or nearby restaurant if I forget or stay late on campus. I am also planning on going to the Rec Center on Friday mornings to get in a weight workout; I shall get my walking in as mentioned in the prior sentences. My GOAL is to drop another 10+ pounds, at least. I lost 20 pounds last year.

The rental property is having work done on it. The floor in one room needs fixing, the inside and out needs to be painted, and the entire yard needs work too. Then it will go up for sale. The sale will then fund the purchase of a new, to me, home in New Braunfels. It's after I move in the the new home that I will do some fixes on this home and then sell it. I am in no rush and I have a list of requirements such as a good space for my studio; this could be a home with a workshop, a 3-car garage or a game/media room that would hold the tools and equipment. Another requirement is to NOT be in a flood zone. Realtor.com and Homes.com display the flood risk to I want a 1 of 10 but a 2 or 3 would be acceptable too.

Last year my sleeping was OK but below my goal of 8 hours per night, it was 7.75 hours. During the winter break it was less than that. I have set an alarm on my phone for bed-time with an hour earlier notification to take my meds, fill Boots's bowl with food, freshen her water, push shit in messenger bag for the next day if needed, etc. 

Lastly I am organizing my Things-I-Want-Make list - some things are make a baby spoon, make a new quilt for Eliza of Scotland, master making/soldering pin back, more drawing/coloring/painting, and make stuff to sell through the metals guild on campus to just make and get some pocket *mad* money. 

During the summer, when I took the Easy Peasy Japanesy quilt in to the quilt shop to be quilted, I came across the Klimt fabric. I knew it would be the next quilt so I started buying fat quarter and full yard cuts along with one of the Klimt style panels which was a cat. I knew I was starting school soon so I set it aside for my Winter break project. 
Winter break started on December 13 and that's when I sat down and finalized the block for the quilt which would be for the couch in the family room. I my plan was to everything on 2", 4", 8", or 12" sizes of 4-Patch, Half-Square Triangles, Ohio Stars, Hour Glass, and Flying Geese. Below are all the pictures of the progress. 
I also planned on using some of the extra blocks to create a center panel for the backing. That soon got away from me and I ended up with a second top which is a "quilters casserole". AND I have enough fabric to put together a lap quilt for Elisa of Scotland... which she will get sometime next year.

The semester is over, one down and another 11 semesters to go until I graduate - that's taking a reduced load in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.

​How did I do? Let's just say I am beaming because I am quite proud of my grades and the extra work I did certainly paid off! 

But first let me tell you about College Writing I. I really did not want to take this course; despite not being required to take the majority of the Texas State Core Education requirements I did have a Core set of classes as a Post-Baccalaureate student and so Writing I and Writing II were part of it. I found it odd because I did excused from a Foreign Language which was taken 50 years ago in High School. I took English all through High School and I had to take an English class and a Technical Writing class for my Undergraduate degree. Go Figure. Well, I figured I would do the work and just put up with it only to discover the teacher was really good and the majority of the course was learning to write four different types of Essays with little lessons on grammar and MLA style. I was actually enjoying it and spent quite a bit of time on the essays. For the first 3 essays I received grades in the high-90's having lost points on stupid things like missing periods, formatting, and other minor grammer things.  I was determined to get a 100 on the last essay. Oh, the essay was supposed to be about our our career goals but because I am retired and don't have any, the teacher gave me permission to write about what I wanted. I decided to write about my love of learning and how I arrived back at school to get the B.F.A. I wrote the essay the weekend after it was assign and I did 10 revisions on it. The work paid off, I did get that 100!! The final, for the class, was to talk, 4-6 minutes, about our essay with some sort of visual aide but NOT a PowerPoint presentation. I brought in some of the products I worked on, as an Engineer, and some of my metal work. I volunteered to go first because I knew the other students would be nervous and reluctant to be first. Well it went smoothly, and no I did not prepare nor did I have notes, and every one was interested in looking at my items as I passed them around. 

​I have now checked and my final grades are:
Studio I: A
Core I: A
College Writing I: A
Semester GPA: 4.0

Here it is November 25, and it's our anniversary - what would be our 37th.  Well it is our 37th, but half the team is missing.  I think this day is going to difficult every year, from now on.

This picture was taken on one of our many trips to see Mike & Elisa in Scotland. We took the train down to Montrose to go agate hunting. This picture was taken was along the train tracks as we were coming back, we came upon this stone entryway, all by itself. 

WTF, I completely missed posting in October but I did post, over on The Adventurous Silversmith. 

So let's catch up. 
Things are going well with school. The semester is two-thirds done and for each of my three classes I am pulling grades in the 90's; for one I have a 100.  

In College Writing I,  I am really enjoying the class and so far I have had 2 tests, written 3 essays, and done 10 reader responses for various essays, op-ed's, and articles we have had to read.

In Studio I we have done small and large collages, more sketching and drawings. My drawings skills have drastically improved because I am doing extra work during the weekends; I have even done extra work with colored pencils. I have set the water color paints and pencils aside; I will get back to them during the Winter break when I might be able to squeeze in a private lesson with a teacher from the New Braunfels Art Guild.

In Core I, we have moved from 2D and 3D art into 4D (video). I have finished a 5+ minute video that will be critiqued on Friday.

Then last week I registered for the Spring Semester. I plan on taking Beginning Drawing, Studio II and Core II. I figured the sooner I take the drawing the class, the better I will get and correct any bad habits I have picket up and it would be good to take it before I take Painting I. 

Lastly, I found out that my advisor has reviewed my transcripts and gave me a pass on College Writing II because I did take a writing course for my B.S. degree 50 years ago. I don't get credit but that's one less non-art class I have to take, I still have to take 2 History classes, 2 Political Science classes, and 1 Communication class. I plan on taking them during the summer semesters and remotely so I don't have to drive to campus

Here's some bark and lichen I drew and colored today

Let's just say being back at school is interesting. Oh, how things have changed since I started college 50 years ago; did I mention that the day school started at TxSt (Texas State) it was actually 50 years to the DAY!! that I started at Case. 

First, let's set the stage for the three classes I am taking:
Art Studio I:This course emphasizes a hands-on experience with drawing and two-dimensional design. Students engage in a series of short exercises and longer projects that incorporate contemporary art-making methods such as collage, photography, sculptural exercises, digital technologies, collaborative processes and interdisciplinary activities. 

Core I: This course introduces practical and theoretical content in disciplinary and interdisciplinary art and design practices. Through thematic collaborative projects, students will engage various 2D, 3D, and 4D materials, methods, tools, and concepts independently and in relation to each other.

College Writing I: Expository writing as a means of exploring and shaping ideas. Emphasis on critical reading and the improvement of essays through revision.

I have Writing and Studio on Tuesdays and Thursday; Studio meets for 3 hours each day and Writing meets for 1.5 hours each day  and Core on Fridays (4 hours all at once).  

I leave the house 2 hours before classes start since the drive is about 50 minutes long. Note: I leave Boots plenty of food and water so she can nibble through the day. I park in the commuter parking lot on the far east side of campus. Due to all the construction on campus many other lots are closed so they gave us the shitty lot. I then walk just under 10 minutes to get the shuttle stop to take the bus to the Student Center, this is in the middle of the campus. From the there I walk to the Arts building on the far West side of campus. The bus cuts the morning walk in half and a lot of it is uphill. I have time before class starts to get what I need from my art locker and finish the coffee I am carrying with me. After Studio, I walk to either one of the dining halls or the food court restaurants for lunch and I relax before Writing I starts; I have a 2 hour break for lunch and then walk to Writing which puts me about a quarter of the way back to the parking lot. After class I walk downhill and through the park, by the San Marcos river and eventually to my car for the drive home. On Fridays, after Core I, sometimes grab dinner in the dining hall, but walk all the way back to my car.
​
Here are my FitBit stats from last week. Yes it is a lot of walking! At the end of the first week, I fell asleep in the chair, watching TV, on Friday night.  Yes, I am kinda out of shape so that's why I take the bus in the morning; I am aiming to walk both directions in a few more weeks. 

How for my thoughts on the classes and school in general.

I found Studio and Core to be frustrating at first because we are sketching things and some of us in class have NO formal drawing experience; there are students who are making wonderful drawings. I spoke to both teachers and they said we are not getting graded on the quality of the drawings but on class participation, grasping concepts, and getting the assignments completed, participating in peer reviews and more which made me feel much better.  Below the FitBit picture are some of the drawings I have done; the last one is single point perspective which I had no issue making since I learned this back in Drafting and Mechanical Engineering classes at Case. Writing I, which I have to take because it's a core requirement for Post-Baccalaureate/Graduate students, and which I thought I would be bored in is actually quite enjoyable. We are reading various essays and articles and writing responses, summaries, and whole new essays along with peer reviews.

As for home work - in Studio I we have to do 2 sketches, at home, each week and we share them in class on Tuesdays. We do a larger drawing on Thursdays which we have to finish at home and upload into the assignment web page in the CANVAS system ( Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) used by universities and colleges worldwide to support online teaching and learning). Core hasn't really had homework unless you don't finish what we are working on in class and then you bring it back to class. Next week in Core we are doing peer reviews of all the work we have done for the first three weeks (I don't have pictures) such as Cyanotypes, Negative drawings, and Contour Drawings.  For Writing I, we had to read an essay each week and write either a response or a summary. This week we have to write a full essay with sections that are summary, illustration, and response, based upon one of the three essays we have already read. The draft was due Tuesday and the final version is due this week; which we upload into Canvas but have to hand in the draft and the final version too. Let's just say I am busy and glad I did not take more classes.

And finally, here are all my other thoughts.
OH, these kids are sooooo young. There are a few students in my classes that are in their later 20's but most are right out of High School.  Even walking around campus there are very few "older" students. I am even older than my teachers; I overheard one student in Core say "my grandfather was born in the 60's.." let's just say I kept my mouth shut. And on the bus the other day, a girl sitting in one of the front seats marked for disabled riders offered me her seat; I thanked her but declined.  Now, let's also discuss what these kids are wearing around campus; lets just say OY-VEY. I see people wearing long sleeved sweatshirts with hood up but short shorts barely showing below the sweatshirt; tube tops covered in rhinestones or spaghetti strap t's and all sorts of baggy, ripped, shorts and pants; gym shorts, sweat pants; if you can imagine it, it's here. There are crocs everywhere or slippers, flip-flops, Doc Martens, high top sneakers, Birkenstocks and more for footwear.  As for me I wear a T-shirt and shorts with socks and sturdy shoes because with flat feet, I need good arch support for all these miles I am walking. 

It's time for me to get some homework completed. 

I started to plan this trip back in April or May when I decided to attend my 50th High School reunion. 
Day 1 - Drive to Memphis, Tennessee
Day 2 - Drive to Roanoke, Virginia
Day 3 - Drive into Pennsylvania and scatter some of Erich ashes on his father's grave site; continue into NJ. Have dinner with Liza Nechamkin.
Day 4 - Drive to Tom's (H.S. friend) in N.J and hang with him and his wife.
Day 5 - Drive to Long Island and go to the informal get together in town and talk to friends who were not going to the dinner
Day 6 - Pick up Pam (another H.S friend). Visit our old houses, visit with another friend I have knowns since 3rd grade and her mother, scatter some ashes on the beach. Attend reunion dinner and see lots of people I never knew in H.S along with many I did.
Day 7 - Drive to my parents gravesite and scatter more ashes and then take Tom back to NJ and head to D.C
Day 8 - Hang with my sister and go the the Cryptologic Museum at the NSA and a quilt exhibit
Day 9 - Hang with my sister and go to the FBI Experience at the FBI headquarters and another exhibit at Smithsonian which were fiber arts and quilts
Day 10 - Drive from Washington D.C to Williamsburg, Virginia
Day 11 - Hang with my brother-in-law John and take a side trip to Colonial Williamsburg
Day 12 - Drive from Williamsburg, Virginia to southern North Carolina
Day 13 - Hang with my cousin Amy, her husband Andy, their daughter Jen, and her son Conner.
Day 14 - Drive from southern North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee 
Day 15 - Drive from Memphis to HOME!!
Day 16 - PICKUP BOOTs
Some pictures are out of order; I think you can deal with it

I don't think I have been this excited about going to school since I went to Case for my Engineering degree which is 50 years ago - 4 weeks. 

So much is happening and has been done

• I registered for classes
• I got my Student ID
• I paid for my commuter parking pass
• I took a field trip to campus to figuring out where the buildings were for my 3 classes. Two will be on Tuesdays/Thursday and one on Fridays. One on T/Th and the one on Friday are in the art building on the west side of the campus and the other T/Th class is along the central quad which will take me a good 15 minutes to walk between*. Luckily I have an hour and a half between them so I can also eat lunch during this time too. 
• I have an appointment with the Office of Disability Services who will review my request for physical printed books vs. all the ebooks that are now used. Because of my dyslexia I have issues reading books, web pages, and the like on-line due to the scrolling. 
• On the field trip, I found the commuter parking lot which is on the north east side of the campus by the sport fields*

*Let's just say with all this walking 2 days a week for 15 weeks I will be getting my exercise.

I also decided to splurge and get myself a new messenger bag. My existing bag is lime/yellow/purple by Timbuk2 which I bought when I started doing Big-Six consulting over 20 years ago; its dirty, stitches are popped and the waterproof liner has cracks making it not very waterproof. It has had a good life.
This is the new custom color bag I just placed an order for; I got the large size that can hold a 17" laptop and the extra padded divider for the laptop (I don't have one but when I travel I can carry lots of stuff) and I also got the water bottle sleeve that goes inside the main pocket.

I missed writing in June, sorry about that. 
Here's a recap of the month - 

• The grief hit me really hard last month and so I spent a lot of time just sitting, missing Erich and crying.
• Other times I spent on the cleaning/purging/reorganization of Erich workshop which is now done. 
• I went to the Tobin Center to see a lecture by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, my second time, and treated myself to a nice dinner beforehand. I paid extra to attend the after Q&A session; there were some very good questions and of course answers too.
• I took the quilt I made in May to the quilter and got it back; it's now on the couch to snuggle under while watching TV. Then I made another quilt which is now at the quilter. I have been collecting Asian themed fabric for 20 years and I thought that since I need a new quilt for my bed why not use ALL the fabrics. I went with a scrappy pattern called Turning 20 which uses 20 fat quarters but I had not only fat quarters but YARDS so I used fabric from all of it and ended up with a King sized quilt.  See the pictures below 

Now I cleaning my studio which has been sitting idle since the start of the pandemic. It's important this get done NOW - see the news below.  Before and after pictures will be posted when it's done. 

Now for the big news. 
I am now in the Class of 2028 at Texas State University - San Marcos.
I am going back to school to get a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art with an emphasis in Metals.

I investigated this when we moved here, for when I retired, but of course some much has happened over the past year it just got delayed. I started to pursue it at the beginning of the year -I I filled out the application, I wrote 2 of the 3 optional essays, and then had my H.S., B.S., and M.S. transcripts sent in. Then there was a delay because the M.S. transcript never arrived and I had to have it sent again with verification of receipt.  Three weeks later I received the email that I had been accepted (now you can understand why I am getting the studio in order).

I will be a 3/4 part-time student with 3 classes in the Fall/Spring semesters and 2 classes in the Summer so I can still finish in 4 years but have more free time to take care of me, my hobbies, and the house.  

​I start classes at the end of August. 

Forty some odd years ago I found myself in this situation - I couldn't sleep, I couldn't make decisions, I had issues getting my thoughts in to words, I had no interest in doing anything, and yes I wanted to die because I hated feeling this way.  I sought help and it was determined I was depressed prescribed pills and told to rest and go to therapy once a week to seek out the cause of what had gotten me into such a state.

After a few months I felt better and I was weaned off the antidepressant medication. As for finding the cause, well let's just say no one event or events had the pin stuck in it; it was determined to be an after effect of graduation and being in a new city without friends or family.  But about 9 months later I could tell the depression was returning and so back to the doctor I went.  After much talking and review of what was going on in my life as well as in the past I was diagnosed with Unipolar depression, I do have some periods of hyperactivity but no true manic phases <whew!>

I was prescribed a SSRI medication, stayed in therapy and worked on changing my lifestyle which was a major cause of bringing the depressed states on.  Turns out being a Type-A personality and being predisposed to  a serotonin deficiency is not a good mix. 

Over time and few attempts of weaning myself off the medications I gave up on that idea; I found I was on a two-plus year cycle of depression and feeling normal which is when I would reduce my meds only to find I was getting depressed again. I finally came to the conclusion that I am never going to stop taking the meds but I can lower it slowly over time and then increase it if/when I need it. 

So how do I control the cycling - I make a massive effort to get 8+ hours of sleep a night and when I don't I make sure I do for several nights later in the week. When I was working, I became "a worker bee" - I turned down being a technical lead and I also gave up the goal of being a manager plus I found out I did NOT like being a manager. Unlike my father who always had a pet project when he was in that position; I found that most times the people whom I worked for were not happy when I had one and that did not make me a happy camper. 

Now, being retired I strive to get lots of rest and sleep and do things I enjoy and mostly NOT GET STRESSED.

Speaking of which, I decided 3 weeks ago to make a new quilt for me because the one on the bed is 30 years old and the binding is fraying; the rest if fine thus it is time to put it away and make a new one. I spent a week of evenings, while watching TV planning to take a quilt pattern that was for a throw and scale it to queen size. I already had the fabric which was 1-yard cuts; and digging through the fabric closet I found the perfect fabric for the border. Last week I took it in to the quilter and while that was happening I used the leftover fabric to make  the bias binding. The quilting was done on Wednesday and yesterday I spent the day sewing the binding on and then washed it; it is now on my bed!! 

This week I am finishing the workshop and afterwards I will start another quilt which will also be for me; I cut the fabric last week while this quilt was being quilted.