Current Mood: 
grateful
grateful20 most recent
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Thu, May. 15th, 2008, 08:13 pm
A good birthday
Yesterday, May 14, was my birthday, when I turned 30 (if you count in base 19). It was a good time--one of my best birthdays. I am very gratified by the good wishes I got from all of my family and friends.
Fri, May. 2nd, 2008, 07:21 am
Last Man Standing
As ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
mia_mcdavid wrote last night, she is home sick today. I got up this morning to find a note from our son J in the kitchen table. He is also unwell, and is staying home today. People I know from work, church, and ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
colgaffneyis are also under the weather.
However, I am feeling OK, if a bit tired (perhaps more on that later), and am on my way to the office.
mia_mcdavid wrote last night, she is home sick today. I got up this morning to find a note from our son J in the kitchen table. He is also unwell, and is staying home today. People I know from work, church, and colgaffneyis are also under the weather.However, I am feeling OK, if a bit tired (perhaps more on that later), and am on my way to the office.
Current Mood: 
okay
okaySat, Apr. 12th, 2008, 08:21 pm
Dialects
Sat, Mar. 15th, 2008, 04:47 pm
My weekend here
mia_mcdavid is in Michigan for the weekend and the first couple days of next week. Her aunt died after a long struggle with Alzheimer's. She has posted about it, most recently here.I cleaned off my workbench this morning, and am trying to make some progress on at least some of my unfinished projects. ( Quite a list )
Tomorrow I will go to Church in the morning, get there early for choir rehearsal. It will be Palm Sunday and there will be a lot going on. It occurred last week that joining the choir in the middle of Lent may not have been good timing. We have been working hard on music for Holy Week, the busiest time in the Church Year. However, it is certainly interesting.
After church I am going to the Day of Irish dance in downtown St. Paul, where I will be working at the Gaeltacht Minnesota table.
Sat, Feb. 16th, 2008, 07:38 pm
Updates on Tom
From mia_mcdavid:
mia_mcdavid:- Today (Feb. 15)
- The thing about beating your head against the wall... (Feb. 16)
Current Mood: relieved
relievedThu, Feb. 14th, 2008, 08:43 am
Preoccupied
Thomas, our younger son, has been hospitalized. Mia has been writing about this:
On a totally different front, I have to work on Sunday, thereby missing the second day ofcolgaffneyis at the St. Paul Scottish Ramble. I have two big system implementation projects to complete. These are the sort of thing that can only be done outside of business hours, and require extensive coordination with my co-workers. So scheduling is always hard, and compromises have to be made.
- Worried about Tom (Feb. 11).
- Tom update (Feb. 13).
- Today with Tom (Feb. 13).
On a totally different front, I have to work on Sunday, thereby missing the second day of
colgaffneyis at the St. Paul Scottish Ramble. I have two big system implementation projects to complete. These are the sort of thing that can only be done outside of business hours, and require extensive coordination with my co-workers. So scheduling is always hard, and compromises have to be made.
Sun, Dec. 23rd, 2007, 07:45 pm
I did something wrong
( with my old camera )
Current Mood: 
frustrated
frustratedThu, Nov. 22nd, 2007, 10:01 pm
Thanksgiving
( Read more... )
Current Mood: thankful
thankfulWed, Oct. 17th, 2007, 10:06 am
Scary words
Last night was the monthly meeting of colgaffneyis Board of Directors, of which I am the Secretary. The Treasurer proposed a very reasonable settlement of an issue that had been hanging over our heads for a long time. However mia_mcdavid and I cringed at one phrase that he used: ( Read more... )
colgaffneyis Board of Directors, of which I am the Secretary. The Treasurer proposed a very reasonable settlement of an issue that had been hanging over our heads for a long time. However mia_mcdavid and I cringed at one phrase that he used: ( Read more... )
Thu, Sep. 20th, 2007, 09:09 pm
Breakdowns
A major project at work is falling apart. One small, but absolutely critical, piece cannot be made to work. I was fighting this all afternoon, fiddling with computer configurations and exchanging e-mails and phone calls with co-workers. The project is already running late. If it gets postponed again one or both of my October weekends with colgaffneyis will be in jeopardy.
In the middle of this comes an e-mail informing me of a new family problem, asking me to make some inquiries. After doing so and communicating the results (interleaving all of this personal business with my work crisis) I learn this will cost us over $800.
And J has found another way to mismanage his affairs. It is particularly Irritating because it is a new manifestation of something we thought we had beaten.
colgaffneyis will be in jeopardy.In the middle of this comes an e-mail informing me of a new family problem, asking me to make some inquiries. After doing so and communicating the results (interleaving all of this personal business with my work crisis) I learn this will cost us over $800.
And J has found another way to mismanage his affairs. It is particularly Irritating because it is a new manifestation of something we thought we had beaten.
Mon, Sep. 17th, 2007, 09:25 am
The Age of Miracles is not over!
.... My son James got up for school this morning entirely on his own.
Fri, Sep. 14th, 2007, 12:28 pm
Update on the Travelers, and those left behind
mia_mcdavid and her mother are in the northern Chicago suburbs, staying with a family friend. They fly to Dublin tonight.I got J up and off to school yesterday and today, without too much whining on his part.
Last night I started a sewing project for my
colgaffneyis kit. I had been procrastinating about it for months. Not a big job, but the fitting is fussy.We might have visitors this weekend. Some old (30+ years) friends were talking about stopping by on their way between South Dakota and Michigan. That was a couple weeks ago, before I went to Colorado, and they have not called back, unless they talked to Mia while I was away. So there may be a van with Michigan plates sitting in my driveway tonight.
Current Mood: 
lonely
lonelyMon, Sep. 10th, 2007, 01:05 pm
"Seduced by a couple of bottles of Carlings Black Label beer"
....How my father got started in the study of American dialects, from his 1979 autobiographical statement, "Linguistics through the Kitchen Door", in First Person Singular: Papers from the Conference on an Oral Archive for the History of American Linguistics (First paper after the introduction).
The paper begins:
BTW, I have no idea why the proofreading of First Person Singular is so bad.
The paper begins:
From my point of view, the plan for an informal history of linguistics is the brain child of Bill Austin, begot in the informal gourmet club composed of himself, Bill Card, Virginia [McDavid] and me. At irregular intervals during his years at IIT we would meet for a distinguished meal, and the conversation regularly turned to our experiences as linguists, and with other linguists.I remember this "gourmet club" well, and was privileged to attend some of its sessions, where I learned a lot about both linguistics and food.
BTW, I have no idea why the proofreading of First Person Singular is so bad.
Current Mood: 
nostalgic
nostalgicSun, Sep. 9th, 2007, 03:32 pm
Going Home
I took Mom shopping this morning. Her interest in food has increased quite noticeably in the days I have been here.
I am about to board my plane home. The Col. Springs airport has good wi-fi!
I am about to board my plane home. The Col. Springs airport has good wi-fi!
Current Mood: pleased
pleasedSat, Sep. 8th, 2007, 08:34 pm
Last Night in Colorado
My mother continues to get better, but this is a long, slow road. I am going home to Minnesota tomorrow, so I won't see the next steps.
My brother Raven, his wife Anne, and their sons Patrick and Ian took me to dinner tonight at a local Mexican restaurant. Anne works for a local restaurant chain and I asked her if this was one of hers. She answered: "Don't I wish!" It is a neighborhood family place. It reminded me of the kind of Mexican restaurant we used to visit in Chicago. We have not found the equivalent in the Twin Cities. I am sure it exists, but it is a long way from Roseville, which is close to being a culinary dead zone.
This was a good visit. I feel I have made a difference in my mother's life, and in the lives of my brother and his family, who would otherwise have been alone on the front line in this crisis.
My brother Raven, his wife Anne, and their sons Patrick and Ian took me to dinner tonight at a local Mexican restaurant. Anne works for a local restaurant chain and I asked her if this was one of hers. She answered: "Don't I wish!" It is a neighborhood family place. It reminded me of the kind of Mexican restaurant we used to visit in Chicago. We have not found the equivalent in the Twin Cities. I am sure it exists, but it is a long way from Roseville, which is close to being a culinary dead zone.
This was a good visit. I feel I have made a difference in my mother's life, and in the lives of my brother and his family, who would otherwise have been alone on the front line in this crisis.
Current Mood: content
contentFri, Sep. 7th, 2007, 08:40 pm
Quiet day in Colorado
( Read more... )
Current Mood: content
contentThu, Sep. 6th, 2007, 04:52 pm
Not what I expected--much better!
( Mom is home )
Current Mood: pleased
pleasedWed, Sep. 5th, 2007, 03:42 pm
Article about my Mother
...On page 3 of http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dsna/DSNAN
Tue, Sep. 4th, 2007, 09:06 pm
Plans Made, and other news
I made my travel arrangements for Colorado Springs--going out Thursday morning, returning Sunday afternoon (assuming no new medical crisis). No problems arranging this at the office, to my considerable relief.
( Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? )
( Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? )
Current Mood: okay
okay