Adult Education

I am a firm believer in life-long learning. Perhaps it’s my publishing background where I collaborate with such smart authors and publishing professionals.  I try to challenge myself to try new things, and even allow myself to experiment and fail.

 

In Carrboro, we have a great art school called the Artscenter.  I’ve taken two courses and plan to take more.  Sadly, most of the classes that I am interested in are on Tuesday nights when my knitting group meets.

 

Here are the courses that I’ve signed up for this spring: 

 

2011: ADVANCED WEB WEAVING WITH DREAMWEAVER AND FIREWORKS

 

Explore advanced methods for creating Web sites using these two popular applications, with the emphasis on Dreamweaver.  Increase your familiarity with the HTML codes that underlie every web page and learn how to manipulate blocks of content through the use of common tags.  Go beyond the basics to learn how to use cascading style sheets and server-side includes to enliven your pages and easily control the look of an entire site from only a few files.  Learn how to incorporate media objects in your pages, and how to create and add graphic buttons and simple, layer-based animation.

2066: ABSOLUTE BEGINNER SEWING

 

Are you afraid of your sewing machine?  Do you try to sew but can't get past the tangle in the bobbin?  This class is even more basic than basic sewing.  Bring your sewing machine (or use ours) and learn how a sewing machine sews, all about thread, needles and much more.  You will learn how your machine sews and what to do when it doesn't work.  Turn that repair or costume project from a chore to a joy.

 

 

2021: WRITING AND DRAWING CARTOONING FOR ADULTS

 

A course for both writers and artists. Learn to write and illustrate your own stories or write and draw your own editorial cartoons, comic strips and comic books. We will explore the history and development of cartooning and learn the chemistry of humor and drama told in both words and pictures; learn how to visually design your characters so they fit their parts; caricature your favorite (or least favorite) public figures and visually editorialize your views of them; and study the direction and timing that goes into creating sequential art-from greeting cards and multi-paneled comic strips to comic books and graphic novels.

Our recent visit to Boston

A few weeks ago, I took my kids to Boston to visit my family. My dad's health is not doing well, so it was nice to see him.

My sister Marianne was very generous to buy us all tickets. We spent time with her and her boyfriend. My kids were very excited about the snow and her dogs.

We went to the aquarium together. It was hard to manage Owen there. My sister doesn't have kids, and she was surprised by my two. She offered to bring them to an orphanage. They are a handful to say the least.

We went to Tricia and Mick's house next. It was great to see them and their amazing baby Ian. Zoe had a great time playing mommy with Ian.



I left the kids with family for a night on the town. Four of us went out to the theater. It was very nice to do something adult for a change.

We took the kids on the subway. Owen loves trains so it was a special treat for him. It's amusing to me that my kids are such country bumpkins. I grew up in the city and my mom didn't drive until I was 10. She used to take us "downtown" on the bus and subway.

We went to have lunch at my friend Christine's place. She lives in the finacial district near the waterfront. Owen climbed on their sofa, tried to jump out the window, licked their windows, and nearly broke their blinds. Luckily, my kids didn't break anything. It wasn't for lack of trying. We walked to the Children's Museum. My kids were pretty rotten, and my friend who also has no kids was very tollerant. Very.

We had a family birthday party with cake and candles. The cake was amazing, from my favorite Boston bakery.

It was nice to see everyone and have a few days back home.