2009 - Year of Minor Crises

We began 2009 by taking off in early January for Oklahoma where Carolyn would finish her year-long sabbatical work and we could visit with family. It was great to be around Carolyn's Mom, the kids and the grandkids.

Carolyn was continuing work in the virtual world Second Life by building the two virtual "islands" for the university and creating educational content for them. She built the islands of Biome and Biome II in a group of educational areas called Scilands. In addition she has worked with Mary Ann Clark, a colleague from Texas Wesleyan University, to do research on the use of virtual worlds in education.

Around the middle of March, the friend who was watching the house called and told us our roof was leaking and that he would have some people come over and shovel off the snow. A few days later one of the young men who was shoveling the roof called and told us we had a bigger problem than we knew. We called our daughter, Jennifer, and asked her to check on it. She went by, called us and said "where's the water shut off?" She sent us some snapshots that

showed huge trashcans filled with water in the kitchen. We knew we were in trouble. At that time our thought was that a pipe

had frozen. We called the insurance company and arranged for Jennifer to meet with the adjuster. At that point we knew that the kitchen was completely destroyed and that there was a lot of damage in the basement. We still didn't have a good idea of what had really happened. The insurance adjuster said he would get a clean-up company (Service Master out of Iron Mountain - we DO NOT recommend them) to come in and get it ready for repairs. Jennifer, who was working for the UP Builders Association, recommended a very good contracting company, IHS, to do the reconstruction. We decided to stay a bit longer in Oklahoma so that the work would be done when we got home.

Meanwhile back at the ranch (Oklahoma) Carolyn broke her toe in a very painful way, there

were several trips to the hospital with various family members, but lots of fun with family and her niece's wedding in Texas.

Jennifer became engaged to Jay Phillips and scheduled a wedding for late April. We left Oklahoma with an assurance from the insurance company that, while all the construction wasn't completed, we could move back into the house and that it had been cleaned by the clean-up company.

We arrived home about 2am on the day before Jennifer's wedding to find that there was a huge pod (like a truck trailer) parked in the middle of our very long country driveway so we had to trek through the foot of snow (yes snow at the end of April - it's the UP) in sandals up to the house. We walked in and couldn't believe the house. We could barely breathe for the mold in the air. The place was filthy, half the cabinets were taken out - the others weren't, nothing had been done in the basement or the upstairs bathroom. We also learned that it was not a frozen pipe - it was an inside pipe in the wall by the upstairs shower. Basically it ran like a bathtub for a week then everything molded. We couldn't stay that way so we went to a hotel and also got a room for Lisa since she was coming in for the wedding.

Jennifer and Jay had a beautiful, small, family-oriented wedding at the indoor pavilion on Presque Isle in Marquette. They looked blissfully happy. Lisa was able to make it to be Jennifer's matron of honor.

We informed the insurance company that we had moved to a hotel and they moved us to the Ramada Inn in downtown Marquette. We had to fight to get a different clean-up company to come in and finally won that battle. They (SCI of Marquette) were remarkable. We DO recommend them - highly. They took out walls, subflooring, cabi

nets - everything that had been wet or molded. We found at this time that Service Master, who had rented the pod, had not put anything in it but the insurance company was paying for it. We ended up living in the Ramada Inn for 20 weeks and 2 days. We finally got home in the middle of September - after school started. On a good note - we survived a small room with 2 double beds, a dog, a cat and a bird for 20 weeks without killing each other or even screaming. I think we have a solid marriage. Below is our one-bed organization system for our "home away from home".

During the summer, Carolyn taught an online graduate course. Jennifer and Jay moved to California - good for them, not so good for us - we miss Jennifer.

We have a completely new kitchen (as you can see by the before and after picture below) and upstairs bathroom as well as all new flooring in the basement. At the same time, they repaired the roof so we have a better insulated home with no roof leaks (it turns out that there was a leak from the roof although that wasn't the main problem).

Soon after moving home Kevin made a trip to Oregon for some family business and then on November 12 he had sinus, nose and ear surgery. The surgery has not gone well so now, two days before Christmas - he is still recovering.

On a very bright side, In November we also had a new grandbaby born to Curt and Mandy. Maya Julia Deason was born healthy and with fat little cheeks and lots of black hair on November 9.

Carolyn is in Oklahoma with the family while Kevin is home alone (Hopefully it won't turn out like the movie).

So ends a year we hope never to repeat although it could have been much worse.

WE ARE NOT DEAD!!!!

Nope, the blog was not dead. It has been hibernating! You know - like critters do when there's a lot of snow - like this: Yes, that's me on April 12 this year outside our house. I am SO ready for spring! Let's hope this is the end of the snow.


So what are we up to? Other than 2 ft of white stuff? I went to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving then we both went for Christmas. Between then, I was able to go to Rhode Island for MJ's baptism. Since then we've been crazy busy with school, work, and, for me, traveling.

Makwa turned "almost 50" today (i.e., 49). Since I was traveling all weekend I didn't make a cake but he got cupcakes at church where we had a potluck after our Ward conference. I did make a good stew though.

We've got one more week of classes then finals week. It would be nice to say that things are winding down then but they aren't. They are going to be nuts until August. Then they will wind down. Let's just hope we don't have any more snow. Here's a picture we took today outside the church.

Way, way late update

OK - I get it. I guess it's time to update. Where to start? Hmmmmm. In May I (I'm saying "I" until Kevin decides to put his 2 cents in - I'm not holding my breath) took off and went to Chihuahua City for a few days with some colleagues from NMU. My impressions were: It is a lot the same as I expected and also a lot different. I was impressed with their diet. Yes it was Mexican food (Kevin warned me I would get overdosed on Mexican food and be tired of it and I said NEVER! Guess what? I was right! I could eat it all the time.) The fruit - I have never eaten so much fruit in all my life. They have fruit with every meal. The enchiladas with mole' (did you know mole' was made with CHOCOLATE? How could I resist?) - yummmmm! I visited a bilingual school - very sparse on equipment as compared to our classrooms but very high on attitude! I went into a 9th grade classroom and remembered why I love teaching those grades so much. I also got a picture of the Curves there - Kevin and I joke that "they're everywhere!" They really are. We got to hobnob with some biggies and I took pictures of a Tarahumara Indian mother and daughter. I learned a lot about the culture, particularly the more advantaged people. I definitely want to go back. There are some beautiful places there and I would like to go camping in the desert and in Copper Canyon in the Sierras.


As soon as I got back we left for about 5 weeks in Oklahoma. We visited with babies and kids, helped my Mom and Andrew with their houses and stuff and sloshed through the rain and rain and rain .... you get it. It rained the last 18 days we were there - every day - straight through. It was a record. Even Mom's yard looked like a lake at times. Andrew literally had ducks swimming behind his house. I'm really not kidding. Mandy, Ella and I managed to get in a trip to the zoo and I visited the egret rookery before the rain started. Driving home it rained so much we had to stop in Kansas City for the night and I-35 was closed going south (good thing we were going north).

We arrived home around 5am on a Monday and I began teaching that morning at 8. I taught every day for 2 weeks then had a couple of days off. Then I took off for one of those events of a lifetime. Somehow I was on a list to attend a NASA education conference and then watch the space shuttle, STS 118, launch on August 8. 2007 from the VIP viewing area at Banana Creek. What an amazing sight! People always ask me if it was loud. I don't honestly know. I was yelling with the rest of the crowd! It was one of the most exciting things I have ever seen. And yes, I really did take that picture myself!



I also learned about the virtual world Second Life and I was pretty embarrassed that NMU, a supposedly high tech university, knew nothing about it when over 100 universities from the US and others from over 13 other countries were involved along with NASA, NOAA, the American Cancer Society, Nature, NPR....... So I am now in there and trying to establish a foothold for NMU. If you want to see me there, my avatar is Clowey Greenwood. Kevin (Makwa Greenwood) is in there too and we have built a log cabin on some virtual land owned by some LDS people (Cumorah Island - part of Adam-ondi-ahman Island). I also have a space (seen behind me above) near the Star Trek museum for my students to hang out and for me to have class with them.


I flew directly from Orlando to Madison where I attended and participated in the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference at the Monona Conference Center. It was a good conference. I got home and almost immediately began teaching a one week seminar in Escanaba. The next week was professional development stuff at NMU and the following week Kevin and I started back to school. Whew!

Kevin is broadcasting for public radio here, WNMU-FM 90.1: http://wnmu.publicbroadcasting.net/. He is typically online on T, W & Th nights from 7-10pm and on Saturdays from 2-8pm. Tune in on the website and listen. He has a great radio voice. He has been very involved with helping the Native American community get some of their events publicized on air as well as NMU's diversity conference.

I gave a presentation about diversity in Second Life during the conference and also sponsored a LDSSA event. Last week we had the annual Seaborg science and math education conference and I presented two sessions about space. So that is a quick and dirty update. The animals have been ornery lately - Amber and Jane went across 553 and had to be separated and controlled, Nurmi learned how to open a side door on his cage and get out. Melvin is just obnoxious but not as much since Amber is home alone - Melvin is glad to see her without that pesky, rowdy Jane (in his opinion). Such is the crazy life!

Mother's Day too

As I was reading my daughter's Mother's Day post, and after talking with her last night, I was reflecting on motherhood. I had visions of what motherhood would be like before I ever had a baby. I guess in some ways my visions were accurate. But mostly being a mother was a lot more and a lot less than I thought.

I thought I would love a baby a lot. I really had no remote idea how much I would love my children. There aren't words to describe what "a lot" means when it comes to love for your own child.

I thought that, if I did things right, they would always be "good". Well...I guess it all depends on what you consider to be good. All in all they turned out all right.

I thought that I would always do things right. I learned I'm not perfect and life gets in the way sometimes.

I thought kids would be grown up and I wouldn't ever worry about them once they graduated from high school. I pray every day about someone or something to do with the kids. And I pray that they pray.

I thought that kids would always be the kids and I would always be the adult. I learned as much from them - even when they were very little - as I taught - maybe more.

I thought I would be happy when my babies were all kids. I found I really loved having babies.

I thought being a mom would bring joy. I had no idea how much fun and laughter it would bring.

I thought that, if I did the best I could, they would understand. I found that sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Sometimes the best isn't good enough.

I thought that, if I made them be accountable for their mistakes, they would grow to be responsible. I was completely right on this one. They are amazing and, at least to a small part, I think it was because I did expect them to be honest and accountable.

I thought that, if I loved science they would too. I think they like it OK and a couple are in a peripheral field but no scientists (yet - I have one in the making in my granddaughter).

I thought it would be easy to have a happy home. It has taken me so long to get to this place the kids are all grown and gone.

I thought that, since I was a good mother and good teacher, I could be a good stepmother. I had no idea that this would be the hardest job of my life.

I thought that being a mother would be a peaceful ride on the slow river. I found it was a raging torrent always going faster and faster with a thunderstorm overhead.

I thought kids would certainly not make the same mistakes I did. Some did, some haven't yet, some may be working on them now.

I thought I would know everything my kids did. Every holiday dinner I learn more things I didn't know and probably never needed to know (you know - the soy sauce on the dining room table as a slip-and-slide?).

I thought motherhood would be one feeling. I had no idea the breadth of feelings it brings - joy and pain, laughter and worry, relief and anxiety, glad they are grown and wish they were still little kids, gratitude and......well, just gratitude to Heavenly Father for wonderful kids who make me proud. Loving, caring, mature, intelligent, responsible adults - the kind of person I wish I was at their age. I was certainly sent some very special spirits. I hope they know that.

Four Years Later

Yesterday was our 4th anniversary. Compared to my friends, many of whom are approaching their 30th anniversary, that is just a baby-step. It is kind of sad that we met so late in life - we certainly would have enjoyed the young-family thing. But better late than never. One of the children says we are now an "ordinary couple" meaning, perhaps, that our rlelationship has degenerated into the humdrum of life. However, we do not feel that way at all. I suppose we are more used to being with each other (although this semester has tested that more than usual) but we are as much in love today as we were four years ago. No, that's not true. The more we get to know each other, the more amazing it is how much we complement each other, and the deeper the love. OK, so now we know the truth - neither of us is perfect. However, given our ages and experiences from the past, we already knew that . The question is never whether someone is "good enough" for someone else - it is whether the other person can live with the particular flaws of the other one. We can live with these. In fact, life is wonderfully good. Sorry kids, I didn't mean to burst your bubble of humdrum with pukiness.

End of Semester Rantings from Carolyn

I guess I just need a place to rant and rave about the end of the semester stress on professors. Students complain and groan over late-night study and cram marathons and paper-writing sessions. As soon as that last final is over - they are GONE! WHOOPEE! It is summer. OK - I remember those days. What a stress it was before that last day. I remember having to take 3 finals and write 2 term papers and do 1 class presentation. It never dawned on me what I left behind. Let me tell you students what is left behind.

I have 19 lengthy research papers to read and grade - about 42 if you count the rough drafts. There were 40 tests to complete grading this week - probably 60 journal articles not counting one class's summary journal articles (there are 40 of those), 40 virtual "babies" to look at, 4 meetings to attend, 1 entire day at the high school to present students' projects to high school kids, 17 oral presentations to watch and grade. And that's just the last 2 weeks. That doesn't count the 18 hours of class time last week, 6 hours this week and the time spent with my online course. Oh, and I need some laundry done and I have to eat and sleep sometime. Every semester I wonder why I don't just lecture, lecture, lecture and then give bubble-sheet tests and be done with it. But I honestly don't think that results in good learning. I love what I do until the last two weeks of every semester. Then I stress out beyond all belief. A colleague of mine looked so stressed I thought he was ill. I understood.

So, students, after taking that last test, writing that last paper, doing that last course evaluation, putting on those shorts and heading south, think about me and all my colleagues knee deep in your work and only until next Tuesday at noon to turn grades in. Now - back to grading.......

Summer's on it's way (supposedly)

Well, the weather has warmed to the 50's in the UP. Not quite up to spring-time but people are in shorts and sandals (this IS the UP after all - we're a tough breed). Yes, people in Florida - this is warm weather. This is a picture of one of our cooler-weather visitors, a pileated woodpecker (Carolyn says, "Yes, I know, I kind of obsess with woodpeckers. If you want to see all my discussions on woodpeckers and other science stuff see my science blog").


Last Sunday was in the 80's, a brief aberration but nice nonetheless. After church and a brief nap, we had the missionaries and Jennifer and Robert over for dinner then went to Jennifer and Robert's property to look at the excavation. It was exciting to see where their house will go.

The snow is gone except for some remnants on the ski hill. A couple of years ago there was still a tiny pile on the 4th of July. Of course they make snow there all winter so it is deeper and harder packed. There is no snow anywhere else. There are stories though of people cutting ice from Lake Superior for their 4th of July celebration. That hasn't happened for about 100 years though. Usually by then it is well into the high 70's or 80's in the daytime. The nice thing is that, even when it is really hot, it cools to the 50's or 60's at night and you can just open the windows for some of our cool, smog-free, balsam-smelling air. Don't you wish you were here for the summer?

This summer we are doing some family visiting, temple-hopping, and baseball game attending. After that, Kevin is taking some classes and I am teaching a couple of courses in science education. We are offering a 2 week institute for K-12 science teachers during July. Anyone interested can go to Carolyn's science blog or e-mail her.