Assorted Beautiful Things 12/7-13/11: Conferences, Roast Beef, Like Eating in Kellogg, Sixteen Tons a Blessing, Water Photos

1.  Conferences continued with WR 121 students and they continued to be gratifying.  Improvement in writing is an erratic and slow process.  It's unpredictable.  I wouldn't go so far as to say I find it miraculous as students grow in their writing, but I do find an element of wonder in it -- especially because for most of my students, school simply cannot be their first concern and they can't give their best energy to the work I require.  Their school experience is so different than mine was.  Mine was much easier. 

2.  The highlight of my cooking week?  A beef roast that marinated in olive oil, Montreal seasoning, garlic, and thyme for a couple of days and that I cooked in Firestone Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout with potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and, the clincher, the height of good tasting food, Brussel sprouts.  The Deke made stupendous gravy and two of us groaned with pleasure as we ate this pink beef, the tender sprouts, the potatoes, mushrooms and onions swimming in the rich, thick gravy.  Neither one of us could believe our good fortune that we were capable of cooking such good food.   Bonus:  it might have been even better the next day when enjoyed as leftovers!

3.  Ye Olde Pancake House has become my go to place for experiencing something sort of approximating eating breakfast at Sam's or the Silver Spoon in Kellogg.  It's not cool.  The food is good.  It's busy.  The faces of the customers remind me of home.

4.  Hmmmm....could going to Sixteen Tons to talk be among the best things that's happened to me and the Deke over the last fourteen years?  I love their beer.  The Deke loves their wine.  We go when it's quiet.  We wind down, talk about the day.  We dream stuff up.  We went there to recover from losing Snug.  We chat with Emily.  Jesse and I talk up NBA stuff.  Sometimes we have a drink with the Troxstar.  Whenever I get a text from the Deke suggesting we meet at 16 Tons, it makes me very happy.

5.  On these clear sunshiny and even icy days I've been drawn to water surfaces, the Delta Ponds, the Willamette River, the Millrace, to take pictures of the water surfaces, especially as they reflect the colors and shapes of what's on the shore.  I'll be posting albums soon.