Project Reflections
| Date | Place | Reflections |
| 10/01/05 | Harvest Festival | I enjoyed being around a lot of children I knew. I made my own luminary. I got the last cup of apple cider. It was delicious. I think the fastivities went well...everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I got to hang out with my 4 yr. old friend Talia, who was carving a pumpkin. |
| 10/26/05 | Skokomish Field Trip | It was very sad to see the gardens. I used to work out there when it was lush and kept very well. I was part of the sayuyay plant project when the first pond went in. Now weeds have taken over everything. Maybe it was necessary with the passing of Bruce, but it is still so sad. I hope I can go back there next spring to a once again lush and beautiful garden. |
| 11/01/05 | Mt. Tahoma Field Trip | I had a lovely time on the mountain. Of course I wish there was more time to hang out there, but I do feel I saw just the right amount. The walk was pleasant, the waterfall and hills were beautiful. I made a few good drawings in my journal. I enjoyed sleeping on Rhonda's shoulder on the way up there, and talking to her on the way back. |
| 11/01/05 | Day of the Dead Project | I can't wait until tomorrow! Our efforts will come through tomorrow night when we celabrate Day of the Dead. I am looking frowrd to making enchiladas and salsa borracha. I have had a lot of fun working on the project. I usually don't like working on things with other people too often, but I really enjoyed working with my group on the pinata and papal picados. We seemed to flow really nicely. I cannot wait to see how it turns out! |
| 11/8/05 | Flowerchild Day school project | Today Rhonda and I took the kids on a small hike through the Evergreen forest in F lot. We sang "the river is flowing...", while marching through the warm woods. The tops of the trees were swaying in the wind and we all paused to observe this. We stopped before the little wooden bridge for a snack. A thankful song was sung before munching. After snacks we began collecting specimens for our collage project next week; pinecones, lichens, mosses, leaves, twigs, any natural material found on the forest floor. But nothing off the path, and nothing still attached to a tree, according to Miss Sarah's rules. Today I also realized that SarahBear's helper, Hillary, is a close friend of my boyfriend's. I cannot wait to tell her! |
| 11/23/05 | working on computer | Today Hillary and I desperately tried to put my pictures from my camera onto a disc. We tried this at Flowerchild Day School. Needless to say, it did not work out, even after hours of trying. I was so frustrated! I ran to the store to try to get another disc and there were none. Turns out not only were my discs bad, but Sarah's computer would not copy them onto disc. And not only did we have trouble with that, we copied them onto her computer about 30 times each and had to go back and erase every single one! Then we finally deided to just erase alll of them-it was taking way too long. And now the photoshop at Evergreen is closed until December 2, go figure! |
| 11/29/05 | Plant Monograph | I am so excited that Marja has us working on plant moongraphs in this class! That was one of my favorite aspects about the sayuyay Plant Project. I have hosen Uva Ursi, or kinnikinnick. I have always felt some connection to this plant, maybe because she is so abundant, or maybe because she is so low to the ground. I have just always loved the way she looks. I harvested some small branches and I would like to make a tincture out of them. I may have been drawn to this plant because she is helpful to the urinary system and I used to get chronic UTI's. She also helps rid you of negative effects of alcohol, which I have consumed a lot of in the past 3 years and am now trying to cleanse myself of toxins. She is such a versatile little plant, from smoking mixtures, to raw or cooked food, to ingestable tinctures and teas, even to externally used washes. |
| 11/21/05 | Olympia Fire Station-Flowerchild Day School | Today Rhonda, the kids at Flowerchild Day School and their teachers, and I all took a field day to the downtown Olympia Fire Station. I had a blast! We saw the kitchen, the workout room, the on-site bedrooms, even the old fire pole, which is now on display since too many fire fighters died using it. The firefighter who showed us around was so nice. He let anyone who wanted to go in the truck, gave us all firehats and stickers, and put on his big, bulky fire uniform for us. This showed the kids not to be scared of the big scary creature with the deep voice (he breathed through an oxygen tank) in case of a fire. Just as he was finishing, the fire alarm went off and he had to run to a fire! We saw them rush out first hand! It was so cool! The lights flashed and the truck sped away. The sirens were going whawawiieeuuuuuu, whawaiiiueeuuu!!!! I was also really comfortable around the kids on this day. I felt like I was hanging out with my friends. I must have been. |
| 12/05/05 | Taking it to the Limit and beyond | This quarter, I have seen something happen to me that I may have never even seen before. I have actually been going through with my plans, and sometimes, pushing them even further. This is a rare thing for a Tara. I am a big quitter, slacker, minimizer. But this quarter, I've been quite an accomplisher. One example of this is Thanksgiving. I made 7 dishes! I was hoping for 5, and any other time in my life, I would have made 2. But I made 7 and I put just as much work and love in all of them. I also put in more than the minimum amount of hours for class this quarter. Maybe I'm actually starting to take my life seriously. I've also noticed it in the research I've done for class. I spent many hours making sure I had just the right information I needed for all of my assignments. I hope this keeps up, and I think it will because it makes me feel a lot better about myself. Each time I accomplish something, it gives me more strength to accomplish the next thing. |
| 12/05/05 | Work and School | My job over the summer was working outdoors with plants. I also continued to do this in the beginning of the fall and a little in the past few weeks. I miss it a little. I thought working with plants and learning about them in school was a great combination. The balance of school and work was also nice. But maybe it is good to have more time to study. Maybe next quarter I will find another mellow job that goes well with my studies. |
| 12/06/05 | Flowerchild-snowflakes | Today at Flowerchild I made snowflakes with the kids. It's been a long time since I've done this, so I was a little rusty. But I figured it out and it was smooth sailin'. The way we made snowflakes was to fold a square piece of paper in half to form a triangle, then in half again, then start cutting out shapes in the borders. I made so many and so did the kids! They did such a good job. Some people colored them and made beautiful designs on their beautiful snowflakes. I can't wait to see them all hung up for winter! I would like to do this activity with my little friend Talia, maybe today, and hang them up on the window. I felt really comfortable again today with the kids. One of them had trouble cutting a shape out of her snowflake. I decided to draw some lines in pencil for her to cut along. This worked better. Miss Hillary praised me for this and it made me feel really good. I like feeling confident enough to take charge and suggest how the kids get things done. I realize they need guidance and I finally feel a little comfortable giving it. |
