"Mr. Thomas Burr Has Accepted Your Request to Be Friends" and Why This is Important....

So, unless you are a classmate or one of my brothers, the name Tom Burr means nothing. Period. You will bypass this and think it too personal or too irrelevant. Tonight, I am posting this to capture my immediate reaction upon opening Facebook and reading the news of Mr. Burr's passing. Now, I took Biology with Mr. Burr. We dissected frogs, and fetal pigs,  and cats in Advanced Bio. He was our teacher. Not someone who, at that age, I had any interest in actually "knowing as a real person." Then, a couple of years ago, I created a Facebook account. Mr. Burr was one of the first people who popped into my FB world through other classmates. I remember thinking how interesting this encounter was. Here was this man who obviously had touched thousands of minds. I asked myself, "What do you honestly know about Mr. Tom Burr?" Well...thanks to FB it took very little time to understand fully that this was an amazingly talented, intelligent, and interesting "Teacher Turned Friend." FB allowed me to appreciate his interest in religion, in nature, photography, blogging, and of course in humanity. I have often questioned the amount of time that I have spent on Facebook. I have scolded myself for squandering moments and even hours. But tonight, I realize that without FB, Mr. Burr would have just been that Bio teacher from Ramsey High. I would have missed a great opportunity. With that, I will gladly steal as many FB moments as possible. I will remember Mr. Burr when I'm using my macro lens to photograph a great butterfly or a beautiful flower and the unknown possibilities of "Friending" someone you only thought you knew.   Rest in Peace, Mr. Burr and Thank You!

11 Days of "Time Off"

Well, it's Sunday night; January 2, 2011 and my R&R is about to come to an end. It's back to work for me tomorrow and I suppose it's time!
During my time off from work, I did lots of different things. I slept in almost every day. I lounged around in my PJ's until noon on several days (without guilt.) I learned to make Ciabatta bread from Cooks Illustrated and discovered their wonderful web site. I knitted, and knitted, and visited my favorite yarn shop. I reunited with my Aunt Dottie and Steve and his family. I discovered my Aunt's book of short stories which made me laugh and cry! I played my flute for myself and for others!! I read yarn magazines, watched the Today show, took in 3 Netflix movies, honored my traditions of PJ's on Christmas Eve and Lobster Boil on New Year's Eve and of course, Bloody Mary's on New Years Day! I hung out with my Sadie and Bear Brown. I fed chickens, collected eggs, fed my alpacas and a Bull named Chaps. I did a little photography and a lot of cooking which I love to do.
I could go on and on but you get the gist. I did whatever I felt like doing and I enjoyed every minute.
Here's what I did not do:
I did not....
Sleep in a hotel
Eat out - anywhere!
Answer many emails
Worry about work
Fly in an airplane
Or...get padded down by someone who claims to be security in an airport!

It was a lovely and relaxing vacation. Can't wait to do it again.
Happy New Year!

New Year's 2011

A couple of FO's. (For the non-knitters, that's "Finished Objects.) The mittens were knitted in November of 2010 and are really fun. They look like Bomber Mittens.
The Shawl was knitted between Christmas and New Year's 2010.