Winter update

Welcome to 2014 and a rambling post.

Above is the back of Julianna, and I'm now working on the identical front.  There, that's the only knitting news.

There were several time-consuming reports for school, plus my first observation by an administrator under the new teacher evaluation system.  This also required much prep, to the point of ridiculousness. 

I've become quite involved in the RI chapter of Moms Demand Action, and have volunteered to be the Membership/Volunteer Lead.  An organizational meeting is planned for this week, which promises to be our largest state meeting to date, as word of the group and its mission for common sense gun legislation has spread.  In December Moms became strengthened by affiliation with Mayors Against Illegal Guns.  

I've made some New Year's resolutions, which are actually just confirmations to continue goals I made over the past year or so.  One is to keep up exercising during the cold months, when I don't get out bike riding.  I started up again with the exercise DVDs in November, after slothing about for over a month, and have managed to continue with my target of at least 5 days a week.  Though I haven't lost weight, I'm feeling strong and healthy, and have worked up to using 8 pound hand weights for most of the weight bearing moves.

 I have been keeping a log of the print and audio books that I read.  Not so good about writing a little reflection on each in the journal, never mind on the blog.  I read 47 books in 2013 ( 8 print, 39 audio). According to my own little idiosyncratic 5 star rating system, with 1 being a dud and 5 excellent, I read two '1's', eight '5's', and the rest were pretty evenly divided among the 2's, 3's, and 4's.

 I met some new-to me authors, whose other books I'll be seeking out, including Alice Hoffman and Camilla Gibb.  At the tippy-top of my favorites was All for the Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elijah Hunt Rhodes.  That this true historical diary was written by a Rhode Islander makes it even more compelling to me.  Rhodes was only 19 when he signed up to serve in the Union Army at the start of the Civil War, and remained until the end, when he was 23.  He was active in or witness to most of the most famous battles.  His writing is thoughtful and eloquent (would that more young adults today were so reflective and capable of such writing), and through all the horrors he buoys himself with the mantra, "All for the Union".  

The photos are from a walk on the beach on a blustery winter's day.

Comments

[Sherill]

8-lb weights! Wow - I can only do 3-lb at the gym classes I go to. And two beautiful beach pictures.

[Lifesastitch]

Interested in hearing more about your book list. I've been doing audio books on my lunch hour walks. Always looking for good ones. The narrator makes a big difference.