New Starts

The "Intro to Quilting" class I've been looking forward to started this week, and I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm glad the first few hours are over. Not that the ladies taking the class aren't amazing, but there's always something a little nerve wracking about the first day of class.

No matter how well I know the material, how passionate I am about the subject, or how many students there are, I get tense and start talking way too fast. I think back to the very first class I can remember teaching: I was in my 5th year of Air Cadets and had to teach a class on (ironically enough) Instructional Techniques. I think I scripted every sentence down to when I should breathe, in fact there were side notes on the lesson plan that read "breathe" and "smile." I remember holding the page with both hands shaking so much I couldn't even read what I had written. Somehow we got through the 20-minutes, and I swore off teaching as a profession.

Somewhere over the next four years my mind was changed and I moved to Edmonton to complete my Bacc. en Education at Campus Saint-Jean (the Francophone campus of the University of Alberta).  With lofty ideas of changing the world one class at a time.  Statistically speaking, I shouldn't really be surprised that after a year of teaching High School I was looking for something else, but it was a bit dissapointing. 

I've been teaching at a private business college for the last three years, and have really enjoyed it.  But it's time to move on again to a career that better suits my family's changing needs.  I'll have more details to share next week about that--what I can say is that it will allow me the flexibility to be the kind of mom I want to be, and to take my role in Balanced Needles Knitting & Quilting to the next level while still offering challenging work with a lot of reward.

What if...

I was having a very geeky moment this morning, so I apologise in advance to any readers who are not Doctor Who fans, you might not get some of what I'm talking about today.

"Oh the weather outside is frightful..." indeed, it is April 11 and this is the road report for the highway I drive every morning:

Typically by this time of year we're expecting high in the low teens (Celsius), and this year we've been lucky if we're above zero.

Then I had a thought:  What if I've had an encounter with The Silence, and the Doctor has rescued me but we've gone back in time and it actually is November.  The calendar is wrong because the crack in Amy Pond's wall has gotten bigger and the relationship between space and time is even more fragile than before? 

If you're still reading, you've probably caught up to where my next thought went:  Impossible, if I had an encounter with The Silence, I wouldn't remember.  And there would be a lot more weirdness going on, and probably some creepy background music.  So instead of searching around calling out "Doctor?  Doctor?" I finished getting ready for work, bundled Ian up and ventured out into the snow.

Maybe it's because I'm "getting old," or because it seems my memory has been somehow distorted after having Ian, but I don't really remember having a lot of imaginary friends growing up.  Yet somehow this morning I almost wanted to be living in the fantasy world of one of my favourite TV shows.  I think it has to do with this lingering winter weather.  Next week marks our 6th month with snow on the ground!  But never fear, I have a lot of spring inspired fabrics in my stash, and even if the weather is not cooperating I can add some colour to our home.

Until next time...
Dez

Today's Project

Just a quick note today. I'm about half-way through this Bargello style top. First it will be a sample for my class, then it will be going to one of Ian's girlfriends. The working title is "Norah's Quilt." I know, not very creative, but I'm open to suggestions.
Until we meet again,
Dez