yeah, it's nice

Edited to add: typing on this manuscript, I had a place where I had written "large tracts of prairie land" and I have changed it to "huge tracts of prairie land" (which I might also change to "huge tracts of land in prairie"). Because I can. And because if it makes it past the editor and he does not ask me to change it, I will be deeply and eternally amused to have published a paper with a Monty Python and the Holy Grail stealth reference in it.

I definitely need the plans to go out and get better groceries, and also to do a little shopping for cute and fun things. (In one of my Aranzi Aronzo books, there is a little comic about White Bunny and Brown Bunny where they conclude girls will die without cute things, and I am beginning to wonder if that's true. Oh, not literally, but figuratively I can feel myself sort of drying out and curling up around the edges without exposure to cute things on a regular basis).

Also today I get to go home for lunch, the only day so far this week. (In the fall, I had few labs, so usually 3 days I week I could manage that. This spring, I have three afternoon labs and it seems Tuesday is now the day when I am Needed for things here on campus, so I just drag along a carton of yogurt and eat a Sad Desk Lunch).

AND my Adagio Teas order came yesterday, despite their telling me "SmartPost" (which isn't very) was going to somehow hang on to it between Monday and Saturday, despite it having arrived in a place near Dallas on Monday. (for the record: Hutchins, where it was, is just over 100 miles from me. I could have WALKED there between Monday and Saturday, most likely). So I can try a new tea at lunch today. (I bought a couple of Narnia "fandom" teas - one being inspired by Mr. Tumnus, the other by the Beaver couple. (There are several particularly nice and cozy scenes in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The later books in the series do not always have the same coziness, though there is something nice about the idea of the Pevensies roasting apples in the abandoned courtyard of the castle in the second book)

Last night was AAUW. Sometimes it feels a bit arduous going out to these meetings but sometimes I think it's good for me as it's one of the rare times I get to talk to people about something other than work or volunteer-work. A local author (instructor here) read from his latest book but I also got some time to talk to people during the refreshment time - talked to one woman about knitting (I was wearing the Greek pullover I made so many years ago, and she commented on it, and I also talked about my current top-down raglan (my invigilating sweater) and my concerns that it might not fit right given my broad shoulders and I might have to alter the pattern on the fly....) And I talked to the retired (though I guess she's actually out of retirement now as she mentioned writing a sermon for Sunday) Presbyterian minister and we talked about Sunday school, and the challenges with teaching some books of the Bible (the minor prophets! We both laughed over how hard some of the minor prophets can be to work with). And it was just nice. I don't get that kind of interaction nearly enough.

So the week ended up a lot better than where it started. I do have a lot to do today to open tomorrow up for shopping (grading all the student papers, maybe writing the exam for next Friday, writing my Sunday school lesson), but I think I can do that all this afternoon and early evening, especially with the promise of "you can buy yourself a new lipstick or a blind-bag toy of some kind or a copy of Simply Knitting if the new issue is out" for tomorrow. (And the promise of better grocery shopping, though I admit I am apprehensive as it's the first Saturday of the month, AND the Super Bowl is Sunday - I better leave early in the day to do my shopping so I can get to the Kroger's before the afternoon rush)