**Busy few weeks**

Acclimating to this new job has been interesting. Ten hour days are the norm (for me, but I can't say that for everyone). I am finally getting to the point where I can take some weekend time off and for the last two Fridays I have been able to work at home. This new job is probably 75% administrative, something I said I would never want to do, but, in reality, is a pleasant change of pace. I think it is the challenge of it all. There is no training for this job, the expectation was that I would figure it out as I went a long. And I have. But a few deadlines staring me in the face as I started made for a hectic couple of weeks. Now I am teaching my class, handling several job reviews and thinking about what I might tackle for my next research project. I am down to one unpacked box and 4 or five stacks of materials left to be "organized" in my office. That may be the most unpacked I have ever been.

I have looked on line for an image of the building where I work, but none was to be found. This should provide some insight into it's aesthetic qualities. There are few. But it is functional, yet overcrowded with a program that is growing, so hopefully in within a decade or so, it will be replaced. I must admit that I have a very beautiful view out my third floor office window. If you ignore the parking structure below, Cayuga Lake stretches to the horizon off in the distance. Since the college is perched about 800 feet above the city below, the view is largely unobstructed except for the trees at the crest of the hill. I am envisioning a view of many sailboats on the lake in the summer. I will try and take a picture.

My house sold in Oregon yesterday, but not before my neighbor's yard guy came over and cleaned the beds, deadheaded the flowers, fertilized and charged me $70. Consider it my housewarming gift to the new owners. Our raised ranch house in New York is older, but not old enough to be interesting architecturally. I think it was built in the mid 1960's and has had one major renovation that included a sitting area off the new kitchen with a beautiful picture window to the back 5 acres. The previous owners neglected to insulate the house so we are reeling from the first fuel bill and S. is busy down in the basement as I write, insulating the floor. It would be one thing to have 4 inch walls, little-to-no insulation and numerous single paned windows if I lived in Oregon, but with the lows here regularly in the single digits... desperate measures are in order. The dog, who has to sleep on a bean bag covered by a blanket, would agree:












We will be looking for contractors to expand the master bedroom this spring now that we have sold the old house. Once that is in, we can build a deck off the back - one that we can access from the living area and the bedroom. Somewhere in this addition will be a sauna or hot tub. This climate is begging for it.

#1 son comes to visit occasionally. This is his favorite spot, petting his favorite dog, talking to his favorite female (and it is not me):












The first time he came to visit we were researching one Sunday morning what kind of hawks (it was a pair of redtails) were perched in our tree and we all were working on our respective laptops googling this and that since our bird books all focus on the west. At that time I was transition to a new laptop so I had two at the house. We set them up on the table and then added all the cell phones between us because it occurred to use that the there were more cell phones and laptops than humans in the house (this did not count the old g4 laptop that was in the back room waiting to be passed on to a cousin. This was the result- three macbook pros and a pc:


More soon....