Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving prompts me to think about:

• What I am thankful for
• Traditions 

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving Day is the annual prompt to take stock - to acknowledge and appreciate. Are the aspects of our lives for which we are thankful also the aspects that contribute to our feelings of happiness? For me - I think they are. And Thanksgiving Day 2013 finds me celebrating an abundance of good vibes:

Family (husband, daughter, parents, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins). Most of the family is far away this Thanksgiving but 2013 has been a better year than 2012 - the trend is good and I’m thankful for that.

Health. Feeling well enough to do all the things that make life wonderful ---- it’s not something I take for granted. I’m thankful.

Coursera. I am hooked on the many offerings from Coursera. It seems like I have 3 or 4 going almost all the time. The topics, quality of presentation, and cost (generally free) are all worth being thankful. It is one of the areas of technology that I appreciate without any reservations.

Volunteer work for Neighbor Ride and Howard Country Conservancy. I am thankful for non-profit organizations in my community that provide me with a meaningful way to give back to my community by volunteering. Somehow volunteering has more personal meaning than simply donating money.

Home. Every time I travel I realize how thankful I am to have a home to welcome me back. Coming back from Florida just a few days before Thanksgiving means that we are cleaning house first thing Thanksgiving Day…and then relaxing to have our feast.

Traditions

There are activities that are like clockwork this time of year

Three cobs of Indian corn are hung on the front door. They are over 5 years old but dried corn lasts a long time. I like the colors - the dark, muted colors of fall - against our dark green door.

Food

Brisket cooking in the crockpot. My husband does not like turkey so we cook something else that will result in a lot of left overs - a brisket. It totally fills the crockpot. Our big meal with be in the evening so I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to start the main course like I did when we were eating the feast at midday.

Cranberry orange relish from the Wegmans recipe. This was a tradition started last year. I liked this relish so much that I’ll never make the old boiled cranberries in sugar recipe ever again.

Pumpkin custard and baked potatoes and cooked in the same oven. We always make custard rather than pie and, since our family is small, the custard goes into the oven 1.5 hours before meal time at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Then at 1.25 hours before meal time the potatoes go into the oven as it gets turned down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The custard is done about 0.5 hours before meal time and is taken out to cool.

Old videos. This is the new ‘tradition’ starting this year. We’re going to dig out 20 year old videos of our daughter as a young child - to recall a trip to Florida from that time in our lives and contrast the Florida of 2013. Next year we’ll look at some other old videos.

Pervious Thanksgiving posts 

• 2011
• 2012

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - October 2013

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for October 2013.

Everything fit into the suitcases. Once the packing is done….the realization that everything needed for a vacation actually fit into the suitcases is worth a celebration.

Utah. Actually this celebration lasted for 8 days. Even though the national parks were closed there was still a lot to enjoy: the aspens in the Abejo Mountains, Edge of Cedars State Park, Monument Valley, Dead Horse Point State Park, Wilson’s Arch, La Sal Mountains, Needles Overlook and Valley of the Gods. Travel expands horizons - in more than just the physical sense - and provides a myriad of opportunities for celebration.

Home again. Much as I enjoy traveling, coming home is always savored.

Rainy day. I’m not sure why - but a rainy day that keeps be indoors after days away from home is just perfect. I celebrated with a good book and hot tea….while moving the loads of laundry from suitcases to baskets to washer to drier.

Caught up with Coursera courses. There were 4 courses that were ongoing while I was in Utah which meant there was a lot of lecture and resource review once I got back. I felt a real sense of accomplishment once I caught up - and celebrated with some dark chocolate.

Hot tea laced with apple cider. Some beverages seem to go with fall. Apple cider is one of them for me. It’s too sweet at full strength so I use it as sweetener for hot tea. It’s another way to celebrate the season.

Out and about. The fall is one of my favorite times to be out and about the local neighborhood. This year the trees seem to reach peak color and then drop their leaves very quickly. I celebrate when I see a tree full of yellows and reds - knowing the vision is a transitory one.

Vicarious celebration. My daughter achieved a milestone in graduate school. The celebration was hers….but I celebrated vicariously.

Cranberry orange relish. This is another fall favorite. I use the recipe from Wegmans with some modification: two oranges instead of one and stevia instead of sugar.

Finding a dental discount plan. My dental insurance expired…but my dentist suggested a discount plan available from the dentalplans.com site....and I had a good checkup too!

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - September 2013

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10.

Classes. The quality of the courses I’m taking on Coursera is excellent. I celebrate the first week of courses --- when it becomes obvious how good it is going to be --- and then when something unexpected is offered. The ‘Meet the Researcher’ segment of the Animal Behavior course is one such serendipity.

My weight. I finally - after more than 20 years - I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight!

Good food. This month I discovered how yummy baked yogurt custard can be - and also enjoyed the best splurge around: a very chocolaty brownie.

Clothes. The t-shirt dresses were so comfortable for the warm days of the month and I discovered that many clothes I pulled out for the cooler days fit better than they did last year (or are too big!).

Books. September was a month I savored some books from authors I’d enjoyed before (May Sarton and Kinky Friedman) and discovered the Amanda Cross mysteries.

Longwood Gardens. Every time we make the trek to these gardens is a treat. You’ve seen evidence of how much I enjoyed the outing in September in the blog posts.

HC Conservancy. It’s always worth celebrating finding another place close enough to home that it can be visited on a regular basis.

Fabulous fall weather. September has been full of perfect days to be outdoors.

Change. I intentionally turned off the computer for hours at a time throughout the month to force some change in my days….and enjoyed the difference!

Visual richness. We aren’t in the colorful part of fall yet but there were two images of September than stand out: a corn field ready for harvest near our neighborhood and a zinnia in a small vase beside my computer monitor. 

Feeling Energized at Home - 2013

Last year I wrote about September being my high energy month of the year - and it is still true in 2013. This year the energy level seems to be even greater and directed over a broader swath of activities.

Basil ready to dryLike last year, there is a lot to do outdoor as we near the end of the growing season. The red-purple leafed plum tree has lost enough leaves to begin raking; my plan it to spread them over the garden patch cleared of lemon balm, honeysuckle, and other wild plants in August. I’ll scatter seed pods from cone flowers and zinnias there so that flowers will grow there next summer under the sycamore.  I am also harvest basil and mint from the containers on the deck; the basil is already in a tray in the kitchen drying. The mint may take more than one tray so I’m waiting to cut and process it until the basil is dry and stored away for winter soups.

Clearing ‘stuff’ from the house is splitting into two efforts.

• Two T-shirt DressThe first is to change items into forms that are more useful. The two t-shirt dresses are an example I wrote about earlier this month. I’ve also made a Kaftan from a piece of fabric - using an old handkerchief for part of the neckline (I’ll post about it when I finish). I’ve also discovered that an old Mr. Coffee carafe (the machine itself has long since been replaced) with its handle removed fits in crockpot for baking and custards. We’ve also repurposed my husband’s the old chair mat that was cracked to protect the carpet under and around the cat litter.
• The second is to start reducing the number of ‘keepsake’ boxes. For over 15 years while my daughter was growing up we always had a box that was catching anything we did not immediately decide to recycle or trash. There are several boxes for every year! I’m going to use a ping pong table to make annual piles and I’m sure there will be quite a lot that is not worth keeping.

Considerable energy is going into planning for travel and guests for the next 6 months. I always like to do my research about places I travel and understand what guests will be most interesting in seeing when they are in town. I enjoy the planning almost as much as the activities planned!

I’ve already posted about classes in progress. There are now 4 Coursera classes in progress. They are all excellent - thought provoking in very different ways.

September is definitely a high energy month for me. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about everything in my days.

Classes without Tests

When I first started taking Coursera courses, I did everything: listened to videos, made notes, read supplementary material, took tests, and participated in discussion forums. The only rationale I had for tests was that it verified that I had indeed picked up the most important points from the instructor. Most of the time my score was 100% or one missed.

At this point in my life - there is no purpose of proving what I have learned to anyone…and what I want to learn may actually be somewhat different than the main points of the instructor. I stopped taking the tests this past summer. It is refreshing to realize I’ve overcome the mindset developed through so many years of ‘school’ that learning must be tested to be real.

My purpose in taking the courses is to gain a framework into other - perhaps tangential - areas relative to the topic of the course. It seems to happen automatically. The richness of the resources available on the internet and when I travel is so tremendous that I find myself savoring the relative order of the courses as the starting point for lots of other exploring.

I hope the Coursera folks realize that there are probably a lot of people like me that are getting a lot from their offerings - even though we are not taking the tests.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - August 2013

A year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10.

Hummingbirds. The zinnas and cardinal flowers on our deck have been magnets for hummingbirds all during August. I love watching them from my kitchen window. They are the flying jewels of the garden.

Laurie Colwin. I had read most of her books years ago but finally read Home Cooking this month. I celebrated the books she wrote - wishing she had lived to produce more.

Declining weight. It is a wonderful thing when a diet has the desired effect. I celebrated a major milestone with a piece of cheesecake and each lower weight with small piece of dark chocolate. Of course - those celebratory calories have to be included in the total for the day….no backsliding allowed.

Goldfinches. The seeds on the blazing stars are ripening enough to be attractive to goldfinches. I am anticipating that we will see more of them as it gets cooler.

Gardening. It is unusual to have the flowerbeds weed free at the same time. I’m celebrating the accomplishment…..and the room it gives me to try propagating the overgrown hydrangea bushes.

Flip flops. I found 2 flip flops in my size on sale - and it was the sale tax free week too!

Open window. It was wonderfully cool on quite a few mornings this August and I opened my office window to the sounds of the outdoors. How much more connected people were with the outdoors before air conditioning!

Morning snack ritual. I enjoy sitting outside while eating my fruit at mid-morning. The deck is in heavy shade at that time of day and I light the shelf fungus wick in a plate of oil. The large, bell toned chimes add to the sounds of insects and birds with every little breeze.

Coursera History of Humankind. It is probably the most thought provoking course I’ve taken so far….and I am celebrating that it lasts for 17 weeks!

Fresh mint tea. I have harvest mint twice this summer already and there will be another harvest before frost. My favorite beverage is made with a chopped mint leaves and black tea in the filter of my tea maker (a coffee maker that has never made coffee). Most of the crop is dried but the pots made with the freshly chopped leaves are always the most fragrant and flavorful.

In the Mood for Classes Again

This time of year I always am looking forward to classes starting again. It’s been a lot of years since I finished my formal schooling but I’m still in the annual rhythm that was established when I was in school then reinforced by my daughter’s school years (and she is still in graduate school).

Coursera lets me indulge….and it’s even better for my needs that a tradition class because it is

• Free
• The material can be viewed any time and any place that is convenient - as long as reasonably good internet connectivity is available.

The only challenge for me is - I am interested in so many of the offerings that it is hard to choose. I’ve decided I can handle 4 but will have to be very organized to keep up during any travel weeks during the courses. The courses that I have selected that start over the course of the next month are:

• A Brief History of Humankind from Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Animal Behavior from University of Melbourne
• New Models of Business in Society from University of Virginia
• A History of the World since 1300 from Princeton University 

I’m always impressed with the number of partner organizations (mostly universities but some museums are showing up now as well). The quality of the courses is generally quite good. There may come a time when I want to experience an old fashioned class with the teacher and students all in the same place at the same time- but, until then, I am thoroughly enjoying Coursera!

The Healthy Matriarch

Many of us enter our 60s without major health problems and have refined our strategies to sustain that health as long as possible. What are the top 5 things you are doing toward a healthy you? Mine are: 

• Take at least 12,000 steps per day (using a Fitbit to measure ‘steps’)
• Sleep 7-8 (but not more than 8) hours per day (also measured by the Fitbit )
• Eat a healthy diet - lots of fruits and veggies, some meat and grains, some fat (olive oil and nuts) - and take reasonable supplements
• Sustain or reduce weight to ‘normal’ for my height
• Continue a high level of continuous learning 

OK - I combined a whole lot in the ‘eat a healthy diet’ item and the ‘continuous learning’ items.

Eating a healthy diet requires tweaking. Your food should help you feel good - not bloated, tired, or break out in hives! Supplements are the backup of diet - not the main event. Take supplements for those vitamins and minerals that you cannot get through diet and keep up with the research. For example, recently there has been quite a lot in the media about the pluses and minuses of taking calcium supplements…with the minuses currently winning when it comes to people that do not have bone density issues already.

‘Continuous learning’ makes it to my top 5 for sustaining health because healthy mind is so closely linked to healthy body. Whatever one does for ‘continuous learning’ needs occasional tweaking too. This year I have added Coursera to my regime and reduced the number of physical books that I read (even though the net books read is about the same…it is just a shift in media type). And I am on the lookout for volunteer activities that will be ‘learning experiences.’

The gist of all this is - articulate what you are doing to sustain your good health. It’s a way to make sure you are focused on the things that are right for you.

Free Online Courses - Coursera

I had mentioned Coursera in several other blog posts (here and here). There was a news story about it this past week - More Elite Universities Offer Free Online Courses - that prompts me to write about them again.

The tangential learning has, on two occasions, been more significant for me that the main topic of the course. I was prompted to learn more about Genetically Modified Organisms by the Obesity Economics course (the topic came up in the forums….and off I went). The Critical Thinking course actually prompted tangential learning by asking students to pick one of 4 topics to practice their critical thinking skills. I picked Population and enjoyed the references provided plus the forum posts the students produced. It increased the critical thinking I do about items in the news.

The quality of the courses is inconsistent. Some of the videos are patched together from live lectures while some appear to be made with a web cam on the speaker’s PC. Almost all the videos switch between the speaker and charts with varying amounts of expertise. Sometimes the charts are created by the speaker as the lecture proceeds (like a white board) and other times they are formal charts. Sometimes the charts are available for download and sometimes not. Most of the courses have multiple choice questions embedded in the lectures although often it is just one question at the end of the lecture….and sometimes the embedded quiz is missing altogether.

The Modern World course is providing a good framework for things I learned long ago in school and via reading since then. Somehow the history courses when I was in school in the ‘60s and ‘70s rushed through the World Wars and what happened afterwards….up to the present. The energy that daround the early history of the US - from colonization to just past the Civil War petered out too soon. And the courses were only looking at the US perspective. World history classes also seemed more enthusiastic about Greek and Roman times than the 1900s. The increased discussion of ‘why?’ is also quite a welcome upgrade. Even in college in the 1970s - I don’t recall the history courses trying to help the student understand the perspective of people at the time to increase the understanding of why decisions or events were happened.

The forums are interesting but overwhelming for the larger classes. Several of the courses I am taking have over 10,000 students from around the world! If the course requires posting as part of the course - then there are a huge number of posts. Some are enlightening….some interesting….but wading through the ones that are not is time consuming/impossible/frustrating.

It is true that because they are “free” and not for credit - people that sign up may not complete the course requirements. Are they collecting data on why people do not complete the course? It is not obvious that they are. I’ve dropped one completely because I signed up for too many courses at one time and have gone into ‘sponge’ mode on another (i.e. just reading the forums rather than posting) because I am just too overwhelmed to dive into posting. Still - I am getting what I want from the second course even without completing all the requirements.

The bottom line of the whole experiment for me is that Coursera offerings are a worthwhile addition to the bevy of activities I use to continue to learn new things.

Bravo to Coursera and the universities that are contributing content!

The Joy of Free Courses

Years after college, I am still in the mood to start classes in September and January. The rhythm of the school year is evidently one that will last all my life.

It is easier now than ever before to study at your own pace and without traveling to a university. Courses are offered using all kinds media - videos, forums, simulations, readings. And many are free. In some cases, formal credit for the course is offered upon completion.

Coursera is my favorite for free online courses with 212 courses that are freely available. I have enrolled in 3 courses that will start up this month; it’s such a thrill to have a richness of topics from which to choose. I found it challenging to choose just three! I’m signed up for:

The Modern World: Global History since 1760

Science from Superheroes to Global Warming

Critical Thinking in Global Challenges

I’ve already selected another that will start in February (Aboriginal Worldviews and Education) and one in April (Nutrition, Health, and Lifestyles: Issues and Insights).