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Image: refrigerator pickles in a jar on the pantry window.
These are AMAZING, by the way. I actually "canned" (they're just refrigerator pickles) these on Thursday when we got the CSA, and I tried one yesterday... given that the recipe I used was a catch all that included the advice: "throw in spices, ya know, whatever tastes good," I am EXTREMELY proud of my efforts. I now need to come up with something for lunch that uses dill pickles!
But, under the category of "Honestly, I swear I do more than cook and eat," I heard from the Loft today. My intermediate science fiction writing class will be going into the catalog for the weeks of September 23 to November 18. This is going to be a fully on-line class, asynchronous, so it really won't matter where in the world you are. If you've ever wanted to take a science fiction writing class from me, 2020 might be your year. The catalog is still in production, so I can't comment on how much it might cost you, but the Loft always gives out scholarships, so there's a chance you could take it for free or reduced. Also, my personal idea of "intermediate" is very loose. If you have written anything at all previously and are interested in trying to sell what you write, you qualify as "intermediate" to me. We will probably not cover much writing 101, unless it seems like the majority of students want/need that. So, I mean, also know what a scene is? Generally have a sense of the difference between plot and theme?
I haven't taught an online course in some time, so I'm expecting that the Loft will point me to a webinar or two to get prepping for this. Luckily, I have a few months to do what a lot of university professors and public school teachers had to do in a matter of days when COVID sent all their students home. As someone who really prefers in-person teaching, I have the utmost respect for folks who made this transition so fast. I really depend on discussion (or have in the past,) so it will be a challenge for me to come up with ways to teach this remotely. On the other hand, one of the things that I offer is critique of works-in-progress and, in some ways, doing that on-line might be even more rewarding for students.
I guess we'll see.
I'm looking forward to it. Even if the class doesn't end up running, I think learning how the on-line stuff can be structured will be very good for me. I often skip offering on-line options with the Loft because I've been a bit daunted by it and just generally fall back on what's comfortable (ie, the fact that I'm such an extrovert that "winging it" often works great for me), so this will be a good learning experience.
You gotta stretch a little, right?
In other news, the New York Times activities for tweens and teens section reminded me that I've been wanting to start an exchange diary with friends ever since I read My Solo Exchange Diary by Nagata Kabi. The manga isn't about an exchange diary, since they are normally actually passed between friends and this one wasn't, but looking up exchange diaries made me realize that I'd read something like it in Wandering Son by Shimura Takako (although that one ends badly, because other people get a hold of the friends' exchange diary and all of them are sharing their secret trans and queer feelings.) At any rate, even though it was popular in the 1990s among Japanese school girls, I feel like it would still be a fun thing to try here at 53 with my American colleagues. The idea is cool. You just basically pass a journal/diary between friends. In Japan, they're intended to be a fun friendship bonding thing--people will decorate them with pictures and photographs, so they're kind of part scrapbook and part journal. But, I figure we can have ours be whatever we want it to be, though FUN is definitely the point.
And, here, instead of food, is a picture of my cats being best friends:
Image: Willow and Buttercup sharing the porch window, looking in opposite directions.
I had to choose this picture of the ones I took, despite the blurriness, because without Willow's eyes in the picture she just became a formless void.
So, how's by y'all? Eating or cooking anything good? Other stuff? Surviving the continued pandemic okay?
