Happy Wednesday everyone! My next entry will be about nail polish, I promise!
As you know, this is the year of my sabbatical. Every seven years, professors at my university (and others) have a year off, with pay. The idea is that we will take time away from teaching and administrative work to write papers, come up with research ideas, and write grants. It is not that we don't do those things the rest of the time, but often during the school year, we are in meetings a lot, teaching and supervising students, and our own work falls to the bottom of ever growing piles of things that have to be published. I personally like the time to remind myself that I do love teaching, and a bit of time away helps to give me perspective on what it is that I accomplish in my classrooms.
That being said, I do like to enjoy myself away from work, so the first month of sabbatical was about disconnecting from email and the internet. I did manage that, with a few email emergencies that needed my attention. I spent a lot of time in my backyard, enjoying the garden, with Elektra. Loki did come out a few times to join us.
I read a lot, but even more so when I take time away from work. I read Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart, which is a compendium of dangerous plants. I enjoy popular science books, and tend to alternate this genre with fiction. I also read The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser. It, unfortunately, read more like a text book than a compendium, and I found it lacked a coherent structure around it's central theme of warrior women who break convention and pursue war for religious or personal reasons. If you like this sort of topic, you may want to check it out, but I often enjoy historical fiction which focuses on famous figures, like Cleopatra or Boudicea. If I weren't a psychologist, I would love to write historical fiction! I also read book 5 of the George R.R. Martin Song of Fire and Ice series, A Dance with Dragons. It was excellent! I have enjoyed all of the books, but was somewhat disappointed with book 4, because my favourite characters were not in the chapters. They are back in this one, and the cliffhangers at the end are going to kill me - hurry up with the next one, George!!
I also had some eating adventures. I love food, and enjoy trying new things. My first week off, I had afternoon tea with one of my friends from York, and we tried a place that was new to us, MoRoCo. This is a chocolate shop that serves afternoon tea, and you can either have tea or sipping chocolate, with your sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Because there was chocolate in the food, I went with a tea that had cinnamon and spices in it (I don't recall the flavour). Here are some pictures of the lovely tea service and food.
The food was excellent - desserts were all made there, and were all chocolate. One of the scones was plain, the others cherry (which was my favourite), and double chocolate. I think this is the priciest tea I have had in Toronto, at about $15 to $20 more than other places, but the ambience and quality of the food made it worth it. Their chocolates are outstanding, and of course I bought some to bring home.
Other than some local fun, Phil and I went to Vancouver. We were there for only five days, and at a conference, so we didn't really see a lot of the sights. I did take a few pictures of the lovely scenery, and am sure I will go back to experience more of the area.
That sums up the most exciting parts of the first month of sabbatical. Thanks for looking!
As you know, this is the year of my sabbatical. Every seven years, professors at my university (and others) have a year off, with pay. The idea is that we will take time away from teaching and administrative work to write papers, come up with research ideas, and write grants. It is not that we don't do those things the rest of the time, but often during the school year, we are in meetings a lot, teaching and supervising students, and our own work falls to the bottom of ever growing piles of things that have to be published. I personally like the time to remind myself that I do love teaching, and a bit of time away helps to give me perspective on what it is that I accomplish in my classrooms.
That being said, I do like to enjoy myself away from work, so the first month of sabbatical was about disconnecting from email and the internet. I did manage that, with a few email emergencies that needed my attention. I spent a lot of time in my backyard, enjoying the garden, with Elektra. Loki did come out a few times to join us.
I read a lot, but even more so when I take time away from work. I read Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart, which is a compendium of dangerous plants. I enjoy popular science books, and tend to alternate this genre with fiction. I also read The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser. It, unfortunately, read more like a text book than a compendium, and I found it lacked a coherent structure around it's central theme of warrior women who break convention and pursue war for religious or personal reasons. If you like this sort of topic, you may want to check it out, but I often enjoy historical fiction which focuses on famous figures, like Cleopatra or Boudicea. If I weren't a psychologist, I would love to write historical fiction! I also read book 5 of the George R.R. Martin Song of Fire and Ice series, A Dance with Dragons. It was excellent! I have enjoyed all of the books, but was somewhat disappointed with book 4, because my favourite characters were not in the chapters. They are back in this one, and the cliffhangers at the end are going to kill me - hurry up with the next one, George!!
I also had some eating adventures. I love food, and enjoy trying new things. My first week off, I had afternoon tea with one of my friends from York, and we tried a place that was new to us, MoRoCo. This is a chocolate shop that serves afternoon tea, and you can either have tea or sipping chocolate, with your sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Because there was chocolate in the food, I went with a tea that had cinnamon and spices in it (I don't recall the flavour). Here are some pictures of the lovely tea service and food.
Other than some local fun, Phil and I went to Vancouver. We were there for only five days, and at a conference, so we didn't really see a lot of the sights. I did take a few pictures of the lovely scenery, and am sure I will go back to experience more of the area.
While we were in Vancouver, we tried Japadog, a hot dog chain that is on the West Coast, and that we had seen featured on Eat St., a Food Network show. I had the one on the right, with nori (seaweed), sauce, and fried onions, and Phil had the one on the left, which was a bratwurst with radish and green onion. They were both excellent, and I really hope Japadog comes to Toronto!
That sums up the most exciting parts of the first month of sabbatical. Thanks for looking!
From all the photos, it looks like you really had a wonderful time! :) And I liked the polish you wore. (Yes, I noticed...hehe.)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Japadog before, but it looks really different. The seaweed one looks a little intimidating to me, but I'll take your word that it was delicious. :) It's fun to try new things, especially when they turn out to be a pleasant surprise.
- Mary
Hi Mary! I will be posting the polish I wore in a few days. It is China Glaze Cha Cha Cha from the Island Escape collection. And, yes, the seaweed dog was very yummy. The cool thing was you could substitute a veggie dog for any of the hot dogs or sausages, so they definitely cater to everyone.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are having a great time so far!
ReplyDeleteThanks Allison! :)
ReplyDelete