Campus, Gardens and History--all in a weekend's work!

Our wonderful friend Cassie came to visit us for the weekend of October 16 (I know, I am a bit behind in posting), but I wanted to share some of the wonderful adventures we took with her.

The first stop Saturday morning was campus. We showed Cassie around the UNC campus and showed her my office. We also visited the Old Well, the main landmark on the UNC campus. We had to wait awhile to get a picture in front of it because everyone wants a picture in front of the Old Well.

We then moved on to lunch at Panera Bread. Yum. After that, we were off to the Botanical Garden that Shawn and I always drive by and say we should visit. We only walked though a portion of the garden, but it was pretty interesting. They had sculptures out in the various displays, one of which Cassie posed in front of.

We also spent some time there in the herb garden. They had the typical herbs, but they also had sections for poisonous herbs and medicinal herbs, too. One of the best parts though would have to be the awesome chess set. Cassie and Shawn took a stab at playing (or playing with the pieces anyway).

After checking out some more areas in the Botanical Garden we choose to head out back to Durham. We wanted to visit Historic Stagville. Historic Stagville is an old plantation that still has the slave quarters standing. It was so interesting to hear about the various people who lived there.

The plantation was one of the largest in the area and was almost like a self sustaining city, creating most everything the residents needed. The plantation had about 900 enslaved people who lived there at one time. It was ridiculous to see how nice the main house was compared to the slave quarters, and we only got to see the "nice" versions that were created after plantation owners realized the sub-par conditions were leading to sickness and therefore less productive workers.

The main house had wainscoting, paint, and imported fabrics and glass. It also had four poster beds. The houses for the enslaved people had one bed and pallets to sleep on and each room housed around 5-10 people. It was also really interesting because although there was a marked difference between the two settings, this plantation would be considered very modest compared to some that existed in the South. It was certainly an interesting tour.

Below are some pictures from a barn that was built in just under 5 months by some of the enslaved people. The barn didn't even use nails in the construction. It is believed that the barn was engineered by boat-makers who were brought in from the coast because of the various techniques they used. Also, the beams used in building the barn were hand-carved (see pic below). One of the beams extends all the way from one side to the other, and it is a solid beam of wood that would have been hand carved out of one large tree. It was very impressive.

After our day of adventures we spent the evening making and eating pizza and watching old movies and television shows. All in all it was a great weekend!

Dodgeball winners

So I agreed earlier this week to play in a dodgeball competition. It was a one day event sponsored by UNC recreation, and a group of the grad students in the J-School thought it would be a good idea. 

Now, I am an experienced dodgeball player. I know, it is hard to believe, but I played on an intramural team in college. Unfortunately, the team I played on at WSU didn't win. We certainly had heart though, and we walked away from the season without a win but with the sportsmanship award, which I think was pretty awesome. However, although I have dodgeball experience, I am not very good (Arianna and Tim could vouch for this from my undergrad days). I wasn't good then, and time and a lack of practice certainly haven't helped me improve.

However, that being said, OUR TEAM WON! We won our first match and will be playing again tomorrow evening. Hopefully we will win that game and have another, eventually making it to the championship round and being dodgeball champions. I know. It is a lofty goal. But it is one we are willing to work toward. :-)

Shawn came out to support the team, but he didn't feel comfortable taking pictures...maybe tomorrow. As for the game, I was actually the first one to catch a ball and get a member of the other team out, so although my dodgeball skills aren't the sharpest, I didn't completely embarrass myself tonight.

Life in Carroll Hall

I have been spending a lot of time at the office lately. The middle of October means the middle of the semester, which, as usual, means I have a number of projects that need to get finished. This week is one of many deadlines including half of my law paper on disclosure in advertising (I have never written a law paper before so this is a new experience), a presentation in my health com class on how text messaging can be a useful health tool (very cool stuff), and a proposal for a book chapter so that maybe (fingers crossed!) I can get a publication going.

I thought that since I have been spending so much time at the office, I should show you what it looks like.

I sit on the side by the window while my office mate, Laura, sits on the other side. Yes, I do have two computers out in that picture. It is amazing how much one person can do with two computers. :-)

Since I sit next to the window, I might as well show you my view.

Ok, so it doesn't look like much. Our window looks out on the rooftop that connects both parts of Carroll Hall (my building). I think the view is pretty good though, especially with the nice blue sky peeking out in October. It was a lovely 75+ today. I also like that I have an escape route if I ever need one. Always be prepared!

Lastly, I thought I would show you a picture from the street I walk up and down every day where Shawn drops me off and picks me up. This picture was taken in the evening when Shawn was heading to Chapel Hill to take me home for the day.

I think it's a pretty nice campus. I will have to post some more pictures soon so that you can decide for yourself. I walk down this pathway in the morning to head toward my building. One thing that is problematic is that I don't think the walkway has been updated since it was created. This means that there are dips and cracks and slopes of all kinds, which is especially problematic when it rains here. Especially since when it rains here, it pours! I might be investing in a pair of rain boots soon. Maybe you'll see a post on that. :-)

Happy Monday!

Puppy class

Last night was Bella and our first puppy socialization class. I swear, this blog is not just supposed to be about our pets, but with Bella being so new, a lot of the exciting stuff we do relates to her.

Puppy class was in another part of Durham, so that meant another car ride. Bella did a  bit better this time in the car and didn't seem quite so nervous. Again she was not as sure about getting out though...

At puppy class we worked on "sit," and Bella was one of the most progressed there (Yay for our smart little puppy!). We worked on name recognition, which she does really well with Shawn (She just ignores me). We also got to have her do some puppy socialization. At first, Bella was REALLY unsure. She stayed by my legs until Shawn led her out to one other puppy, then she stayed by his legs until the trainer bribed her with treats. She is our second pet highly motivated by food.

After that, she came out of her shell pretty quickly. She was chasing and playing with the best of them, even the larger poodles!

She did really well, and our next class will be next week. Before then we are supposed to teach her a trick as part of her homework-- it should be based on something that she already does. Some examples would be standing on her legs, shaking paws or crawling on her belly. Her belly crawl is one of the cutest things so we are going to aim for that.  Hopefully we'll do well helping her with her homework (since we have to display what she's learned next Sunday!)

PS: Here is a picture of what Jack did while we were at puppy class--nothing out of the ordinary.

A Saturday hike

I wanted to find something fun to do this weekend (even though the work has been piling up lately) so Shawn and I decided to take another hiking adventure. There are a lot of trails at Eno River, so we chose to trek down one that we did not attempt while my mom was here. This trail goes right by the water and is only a 1.2 mile loop. We thought that since it would a nice day and we had some free time, we might give Bella a taste of the great outdoors too.

We left mid-morning and drove out there. Bella has been in the car twice--once coming home from the shelter and then heading to the vet's office. Needless to say, she was not comfortable in the car.

After a few minutes, she finally relaxed enough to eat the treat we left out for her, but when we arrived at the parking lot, she still wasn't sure about the adventure. She sat timidly in my lap until we had her leashed up and set her outside the car.

The hike actually went really well. For the most part, Bella enjoyed meeting other dogs. We came across about a half dozen along the hike, and even the big full grown labs didn't really scare her. The yappy dogs that came running were another story, so in those instances we would just pick her up and walk on by.

This hike was a bit different from the one we took with my mom. It was right along the water, as I mentioned, and we saw some really cool turtles. They were on every few rocks or so. I know I have never seen turtles before on my hikes.

It was really nice being so close to the water. We even let Bella walk down to it and sniff around a bit (this inevitably led to her need for a bath). She really enjoyed it, so next time we might bring a towel and actually let her play in the water for a bit.

As for the hike itself, we didn't do the whole loop because about mid-way through I told Shawn I thought Bella had experienced enough (and was hyped up enough) that we should head back. If I had payed attention and realized it was a LOOP, we could have just kept going. Oh well. Next time I guess.

The drive home was a lot better. Bella was pretty tired out from all the hiking, and once we got home she got a  bath and a nap so that Shawn and I could do the mundane Saturday chores that needed to get done (like grocery shopping and cleaning).

Tonight is our first puppy class, so hopefully Bella will learn some skills and make some friends. :-) Shawn's already taught her sit, lay down, shake and, under certain circumstances, she understands stay.