January winding down

Well, it's interesting to see that all I have to do to get a lot of comments is to post a picture of pus. Glad so many of you enjoyed it!

I've been spending about as much time as I can stand to be on the computer doing family history research. There are several threads at many time depths and in different parts of the country that I am pursuing, with varied success. Today I was trying to find out about my great-grandmother who, family lore has it, was one of the first trained kindergarten teachers in the state of Michigan. In the course of that I found out about "normal school"--the teacher colleges of the time.

At the end of the 19th century (just before my ancestor would've been training), there was, at the Michigan Normal School, a disagreement about what the primary approach of the institution should be. Should the focus be on pedagogy and teaching students how to teach? Or should the focus be on giving the students a broad educational foundation?

It struck me as funny because the same debate continues today and it seems that the answer keeps swinging back and forth as to which is more important.

Top two pictures are dragon fruit; lower picts are rambutan. 

For those who've been hankering for more photos of tropical infections...  

Self-portrait in a park in Glebe, Sydney. 

Cool rocks along beach walk. 

Notice the jacket! 

The Australian Museum in Sydney absorbed us for many hours, with exhibits on all kinds of natural history. 

Maybe Coogee or Bronte Beach? 

There were many buildings around our hostel in Glebe with these striped corrugated verandah roofs, which we liked very much. 

I'm not sure I can explain why I enjoyed this so much, but maybe you will enjoy it too. 

We joined flocks of tourists in the Blue Mountains. 

The Three Sisters formation is on the left. 

This prehistoric-looking environment was really different from the areas higher up. 

I love trees like this! 

I thought the art deco details in red-brown brick were interesting. 

Does this look familiar? Katoomba was full of these California-style bungalows (so-called at a local real-estate office). 

Cheeky little California poppies in the Blue Mountains of Australia. They sure made me smile to see them--like running into an old friend. 

We were kind of lost at this point, but it was hard to worry in such a cheerful meadow. 

Spectacular views were not in short supply. 

Check out the cool rock that Justin's standing on! 

Doesn't this look like something about which there should be a folk story? 

I'd only seen these in fancy floral arrangements before seeing this in the wild. 

We saw several of these pretty parrots (or whatever). 

from Leura looking at Katoomba (I think!). 

A galah in Katoomba. There are many in the NT too, but we've never been able to get so close. 

Hawksbury Heights YHA eco-lodge, our second stay in the Blue Mountains.