I'm not a fan of homemade ice cream. Every time I've tried it I've disliked the consistancy, the lack of creaminess, and the ice crystals. Also, making it is a bitch! You had to gather the salt, gather the ice, precool as much as you could, and then either crank it by hand or with an electric mixer. For my money, store bought ice cream was so much creamier and tastier.

 

So what possessed me than to buy a home made ice cream machine? Well, for one thing I'm running again and I sorely like a bowl of ice cream after a long run. Nothing else tastes as good. Secondly, I saw the Top Chef episode (yes, I'm addicted and my Tivo makes sure I don't miss an episode) where all the cooks made weird ice cream flavors, such as avocado and bacon ice cream. In that episode they used a Cuisinart ice cream maker that was self-contained. No need for salt, ice, or anything else. You throw the ingrediants in a bowl, turn the thing on, and the built in compressor freezes the mixture while the machine mixes and mixes.

 

So I ordered one and it came in this weekend.

 

And I'm in love.

 

I decided to start with a simple recipe so that I really could taste and compare to the kind of gelato I love. I made Dove Bar Chocolate ice cream. I must admit I was skeptical, but it came out rich, creamy, and even better than store bought! It was the kind of chocolate ice cream I remember from my youth. Chocolatey and rich. The kind of ice cream that makes you want to lick your fingers and the container to get the last drop. It had just the right consistency, and it kept its consistency after being in the freezer over night.

 

Now I know what you're thinking. How was there any left to stay in the freezer over night? This ice cream is so rich I could only eat a few scoops, that's how good it is.

 

So I'm in love and now I have to keep running. After all, I'm thinking next weekend of homemade blueberry ice cream. I've even bought the ingredients for it!

 

And I can't wait to try homemade frozen yogurt!

Worked hard this weekend to get caught up. Began with Friday preparation for the faculty fundraising show, Puttin on the Hits. I'm doing Don McCLean's "Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie", and also playing the criminologist in the Rocky Horror Picture Show Time Warp Dance skit, plus in several other spear carrier roles! Should be another fun show this year. Rehersals every week now until the show. In the morning I also got the QUIT web-site up-to-date.

 

Saturday was spent on catching up with my own homework for the two on-line classes I'm taking. I am learning a load of new stuff and it's forcing me to keep working on the cartoons. In one of the classes I had my second perfect test! Yeah! I know how my students feel, though, as each test is difficult. It's rewarding, though, to see how much I'm learning.

 

Sunday, was Quaker Meeting in the morning, and then a long run in the afternoon. This is the end of the second week of my being back to running. Began the third week of running this morning at 5 am. Still not up to what used to be a daily 6 mile run. Did 3 miles this morning, but they were hilly and it's a start. I'm so over-weight going downhill is easy. I just roll.

 

Yesterday was spent grading the first tests of Winter Intersession. Most did real well. Then I had to set up the grading program on my website. A lot of work now, but the rest of the semester is basically done and all I need do is put the grades into the program. Also made up the first lab for my statistics students. Finally finished that at 9 pm last night, when I sat down to a pork roast made while I was grading, and a treat of homemade brownies that I also baked while working. The brownies were a wonderful treat and I'll take some to work with me today.

 

Yesterday I also prepared the agenda, announcement, and registration forms for Pacific Yearly Meeting (PYM) Representative Committee, which happens the first weekend in March. I clerk that meeting. It will be my first chance to clerk the Yearly Meeting, so it's very important. I'm really anxious about it and glad that piece of work is finished. Sent it out for comments and by week's end I will try to send it ouot to all Quakers in PYM.

 

So...a productive weekend!

Well, it's been good to be back from Hawai'i. I got a lot of work done this week. Winter intersession moves as quickly as summer session, so I had to scurry around to not only get my work done for the classes I'm teaching, but I also had to my own homework for the two classes I'm taking. Wondered if I would have the time to finish both assignments, but they're done. One class is a class in Flash. It's the one I enjoyed the most this week. Here's the link to my finished assignment in that class:

 

 

The other class is a class in Painter. I've been wanting to learn the program for awhile. I didn't havem uch time for the assignment this week, but here's the link for the finished project:

 

 

It is, of course, not The Monster. But then this is a dog I learned to draw awhile ago and since I didn't have the time to do a real sketch of The Monster I thought I'd do something I could sketch quickly. More valuable to me was beginning to learn the program interface, and the teacher said not to spend a lot of time on the sketch.

 

So already I'm having fun this semester! Good classes to teach and to take!

It's good to be back home, though the day I got back the 70 mph winds put a tree branch through my camper side window and the next day I got up in the morning to a flat on my truck tire! Spent Sunday getting the flat flixed and catching up on work that had piled up over Christmas vacation. Yesterday spent time getting ready for Winter intersession.

 

Winter intersession is like summer session. Six weeks of intensity. The good thing is that students who aren't used to working that hard drop out the first two weeks, so we generally have better classes for 6 week sessions. The class average tends to be higher with about the same success rate. It's a joy to say it, but after over twenty years of teaching I'm still looking forward to the new semester!

 

It was great fun to be included as part of Jaemon and Tana's family again. Christmas also included Jaemon's Mom, Elizabeth, and Tana's Mom, Rose Marie. It was a real treat being with everyone and Hawai'i was wonderful, as always. Not too much rain and I got to spend a day at the beach, which was nice. They are such a neat family. After five days Jennalise got used to me and stopped screaming whenever I tried to hold her. For the rest of the two weeks we were able to play and enjoy each other. What a beauty she is. Prettiest baby in the whole world, but then I'm biased!

 

Ruanne took care of Monster again. She said after a week he thought I should be back, so during the day he'd taken to sitting by the gate watching for me. He almost jumped out of his skin when i got back. My best buddy!

I've been watching some of the rememberances of Gerald Ford being aired on television. What I find truly remarkable about it all was that this country is honoring a man who exemplifies decency, honor, and political courage. A man who best exemplifies the ideals that have made us an important country in the world. This honoring is important. It takes place at a time when we have had our current President thumb his nose at the ideals of honesty, decency, and courage in the face of our worst fears. We have moved away from the high ideals of Ford, to the frightened and cowardly response of a President who thinks it is okay to torture, to kill, and to thrust aside our commitment to the rule of law.

 

I remember when Ford pardoned Nixon. I thought then he was wrong, but I was clearly wrong. Ford decided to take this country on a higher road than I would have taken it, the road of forgiveness and hope in the future. I am reminded today as I watched Ford's body come home to Michigan that this country may also need a President who calls me, at least, to a higher road. Carter, another decent man, followed Ford. Since Ford and Carter we have had Presidents who were anything but decent men. Reagan, the two Bushes, and Clinton were Presidents who played to this countries fears and baser instincts. Political expediancy and a fearful go-it-alone in the world attitude have been the hallmarks of our political process for the last twenty years.

 

We need a new President who calls us to our best instead of playing to our fears. I wonder if we have the courage to elect such a President, rejecting our worst fears to follow a President who calls us to our best hopes...