Today, I spotted a new electrical box on the wall behind our two parking spots for a future EV. Along with almost half of our building’s residents we opted to pay to have the wiring installed. This was expensive with long cable runs to connect each charger to control equipment in a distant room, so I’m impressed by the number of neighbors who participated.
Category: In This Together
Multiple Realities
At the Walker Art Center today: “Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Eastern Bloc, 1960s–1980s,” artists who pushed boundaries under communism. The threats faced by our current system share unsettling parallels, whether it’s the targeting of sexual minorities, the suppression of inconvenient historical truths, “alternative facts,” or attempts to control access to information.
Deciphering Metaphors
Thursdays are my ELL (English Language Learning) days. I support three classes: Intermediate, Advanced, and Writing For Advanced Learners. This week, metaphors were the main attraction. The Intermediate class delved into powerful lines from MLK’s speeches, like the “same boat” analogy. Later, in the Writing class we explored Frost’s “Road Less Traveled.”
Getting a Head Start on 2024
Took two online classes as part of a continuing education requirement. Previously I’d completed some English Language teaching classes, but today I took required general classes on teaching adults.
Christmas Goodies
Grateful for friends and their decadent homemade treats from here in Minnesota and England (that wonderful Christmas cake). Not shown: the best homemade lefse (all gone).
Santa’s Been to the ATM
Carefully curated Christmas presents for our teenage nephews were about to be tastefully packaged in envelopes. Our entire Christmas gift shopping.
A Merry Countdown.
My thoughtful sister-in-law has gifted us an early Christmas present: an advent calendar filled with 24 miniature wine bottles, all different. Each day we’ll open a new door to reveal another liquid delight.
The Unspoken Rules of Adjective Order
An adjective order exercise was in the lesson plan today. There are many nuances in the English language that we are never taught explicitly, we just learn them through trial and error: correct adjective order is one of them. For non-native speakers, it needs to be taught explicitly.
A Trip to Dayton’s
Walked around a chilly Downtown, mainly indoors, with friends. At the reimagined former Dayton’s flagship department store, visited a Winter Makers Market. Tomorrow my friends celebrate 55 years of marriage, how time flies.
ELL Training
Completed an online ELL (English Language Learning) training course this afternoon as part of the annual training requirements set by the Minnesota Department of Education.