Library Research

This morning, I got up and dressed as warmly as I could for what I packed. I came prepared for a few rainy, cool days, not a week, so I've been layering as much as possible. I had breakfast here at the house and then walked to the train in the rain. Petra's shop is not open on Mondays, so she did not take me part way, so I got a little more exercise today. Thankfully, I had allowed enough time to still arrive at the library on time. At the station, I saw a school group of what looked to be 8-9 year olds trekking out on a field trip. It has been fun seeing students around town and at the library.

I managed to get a rough outline of the social studies portion of my unit completed today and hope to complete that in the morning. I plan to get the entire unit roughed out by Wednesday, but that will depend entirely upon whether or not I can find the secondary resources I need from journals, etc. I did quite a bit of reading in one of the novels I found to supplement my unit, since I cannot take that out of the library. I'm hoping that after the poetry conference is over at the end of this week, I'll be able to get a little more help from Claudia, the English language specialist, as well as the others. The poetry conference is a really big deal, they're having politicians and funding groups from around the country to come in, so I understand their stress.

For lunch today, we had a "dumpling" in a creamy mushroom sauce with cheese. It was sort of like a stuffing meatball with cheese melted on top in a heavy cream sauce with mushrooms; very good, but very rich. It was so filling; it reminded me of trying to eat a whole dish of pasta alfredo at Olive Garden. Shea didn't care for hers, so she gave it to some of the staff at the library. I've included a picture here. I'm hoping tomorrow will be something with a few more veggies.

After lunch, I continued my reading and went over to the lending library to pick up a book about propaganda. I also found a few more resources from the web, including a website from Illinois, which requires that the Holocaust be taught in all public schools, as well as current instances of genocide. Thanks to Junka, the professor from Chicago, for cluing me in on that bit of information. After cleaning out the locker, I picked up the currants I left over the weekend and munched on those on the bus.

After leaving the library, it was so dreary and rainy, I just wanted to come back to the house. So, I stopped in Pasing, picked up a pretzel as a snack and took the train home. The picture here is a pretzel from yesterday... I didn't eat one that large today!I was greeted by Alegra at the door, who thankfully didn't bark, as Petra was taking a nap in the living room. After eating my snack and changing into comfy clothes, I went downstairs to put my currants in the fridge and visited a bit with Laura. I haven't gotten to know the girls as much as I'd like, simply because they seem to be typical teenage girls and are busy with their social lives.

We've had quite a few thunder storms this afternoon and evening, including some hail, so it's been a nice afternoon to sit and research, read, and listen the the internet radio. I've included a few more pictures here from the Botanical Gardens from yesterday. Enjoy!