Bees and teens
I won a spot in a beekeeping workshop this weekend, so I spent most of the weekend hanging out there. The course was taught by a woman I know, and was held three blocks from my house at this yoga studio. I've walked by the space often and it's quite nice on the outside, so it was pretty exciting to get to go inside the space.
The workshop was pretty great. I had a good time interacting and talking with the other participants. One was a chef who just moved here from England and she is interested in making local cheeses. Another was a woman who had done 2 years teaching English in France, and was very interested in local food and sustainable communities. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone. I found that I do know quite a bit about bees, but there's still so much to learn! I've also started thinking more about beekeeping, and how I can become a beekeeper, eventually. It definitely won't be happening this year.
I did also learn that beekeeping is legal in the city of Calgary, but not in Edmonton (yet). I'm thinking that eventually, I might want to get some bees and put them out on a friend's farm. It's not like I don't know people with large areas of land in the province :) I also think I want to go and work at a beekeeper's at some point to get more experience.
Aside from my beekeeping workshop, I taught my teen writers group. We talked about submitting manuscripts and giving readings, and it was a very talky lesson. Our normal space was occupied by a group of people that looked a bit down and out. We moved to a room on the other side, and I told some of the people to send lost teenagers over to my room. One guy told me that it was a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I've never run into one of them before, so it was pretty interesting just to see one.
I also told the teens that I won't be teaching the group next year, partially because I want to concentrate and work on my own fiction. I know that one of the kids was kind of sad about this, because we've really built up a bond and I could see it on her face when I announced it. I'm sad about this too. I hope she stays in touch with me. Some of the other teens will be turning 19, so they won't be able to take the program anyway.
I did try to make it a positive thing, and said that the new instructor might have interest or expertise in areas that I don't do. One of the kids said that it might be exciting to have a new instructor, but it has also been nice to work with me the past 2 years. I was pretty touched by this.
After my busy day, I went to the gym and pushed myself pretty hard. Then I came home, talked on the phone, watched some episodes of "Skins" on DVD, read and vegged. I ended up having one of the best sleeps that I've had in weeks. I've stepped up my scheduled exercise to four days a week, and intend to keep it this way. I definitely want to see if it affects my sleep and my ability to sleep.
The workshop was pretty great. I had a good time interacting and talking with the other participants. One was a chef who just moved here from England and she is interested in making local cheeses. Another was a woman who had done 2 years teaching English in France, and was very interested in local food and sustainable communities. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone. I found that I do know quite a bit about bees, but there's still so much to learn! I've also started thinking more about beekeeping, and how I can become a beekeeper, eventually. It definitely won't be happening this year.
I did also learn that beekeeping is legal in the city of Calgary, but not in Edmonton (yet). I'm thinking that eventually, I might want to get some bees and put them out on a friend's farm. It's not like I don't know people with large areas of land in the province :) I also think I want to go and work at a beekeeper's at some point to get more experience.
Aside from my beekeeping workshop, I taught my teen writers group. We talked about submitting manuscripts and giving readings, and it was a very talky lesson. Our normal space was occupied by a group of people that looked a bit down and out. We moved to a room on the other side, and I told some of the people to send lost teenagers over to my room. One guy told me that it was a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I've never run into one of them before, so it was pretty interesting just to see one.
I also told the teens that I won't be teaching the group next year, partially because I want to concentrate and work on my own fiction. I know that one of the kids was kind of sad about this, because we've really built up a bond and I could see it on her face when I announced it. I'm sad about this too. I hope she stays in touch with me. Some of the other teens will be turning 19, so they won't be able to take the program anyway.
I did try to make it a positive thing, and said that the new instructor might have interest or expertise in areas that I don't do. One of the kids said that it might be exciting to have a new instructor, but it has also been nice to work with me the past 2 years. I was pretty touched by this.
After my busy day, I went to the gym and pushed myself pretty hard. Then I came home, talked on the phone, watched some episodes of "Skins" on DVD, read and vegged. I ended up having one of the best sleeps that I've had in weeks. I've stepped up my scheduled exercise to four days a week, and intend to keep it this way. I definitely want to see if it affects my sleep and my ability to sleep.